Before going into details how production monitoring may help you increase your efficiency, and profits, it may seem reasonable to explain what a production monitoring system really is about.
Production monitoring can be understood as a support of comprehensive optimization of the production process. What’s most important is the fact that the problems can be solved quickly, as based on the analysis of data gathered from a variety of sources.
The biggest advantage is that production employees may communicate with managers and report to them, and together with current and historic OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), accessible on phones, tablets, or laptops, it gives the chance of monitoring machine and production line downtime, or lack of utilization, availability, performance or quality.
What elements of the production process should be monitored?
In order to keep the production on the highest level, these Key Performance Indicators should be tracked by the production monitoring software:
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – analyzes the use of resources, if it grows, it means the highest quality of products, produced fast. Monitoring the factor can track reasons for losses, and eliminate waste.
- availability – gives the information about the percentage of time that has been lost due to stoppages.
- performance – describes the lost time due to slower production
- quality – provides the information on the amount of time lost due to bad, wasted products.
- Total Effective Equipment Performance (TEEP) – provides insight into the amount of time lost on scheduled tasks.
- count – assesses the time required for the process from raw materials to the finished products.
- task time – keeps track of the time required to complete a task.
The benefits of production monitoring
The most important benefit is the insight into the data, showing you the efficiency of your production chain, its components, machinery, and workers. You can react quickly, and to change any factors making your production inefficient.
What’s more, there is no more space for the discussion on the reasons for stoppages, with the clear data telling you what exactly happened. The production monitoring system can send you email notifications in case of any problems arising.
With the access to all important factors slowing your production down, or lowering your efficiency, you can react quickly, automatically, to prevent any future challenges, which will surely give you high return on investment.