Today's manufacturing industries are facing different challenges, to overcome which they are implementing many different systems in their own respective ways and techniques. The common challenges are Productivity, Capacity Utilisation, Cost of Production and Operations, Time to Deliver, Cost of Energy, Various Regulatory Compliances, Improved Quality and so on and so forth.

Regardless of the size of an organization, be it smaller or bigger; depending on fully automated or manual operations; number of employees, etc., the challenges are common for all manufacturers. The common question that arises in the minds of any business owner, or top management is whether there is any one way which could resolve the multiple challenges to make improvements?

The ideal expectation of the manufacturer is to have a common system which should be scalable and user-friendly, simple and implementable which can provide measurable results. To achieve this, the primary requirements are to define the Challenge Statements (goal), Expected Results (information that is required to make decisions), and Data Sources (the sources from where you will get some data which can be converted as valuable information). This will enable making an informed decision towards achieving a goal with measurable results and make decision on investments, changes to reach those desired results.

Today, all manufacturing plants are having specific information capturing systems to address specific user challenges like an energy monitoring system to monitor the energy cost, a production planning system to produce goods, quality management system to see the quality results and improvement, ERP for financial and operations, maintenance management system to monitor the asset performances by respective users like energy managers, production heads, quality managers, operation head and maintenance managers respectively. But the reality is that the data is used to see the history and a action taken is planned and the success of implementation of that action depends most of the time on how that is linked in the main stream work process with the other user departments. The possible missing link is "collaborative Information" across the board.

A simple example to illustrate this: a pump running in a plant is seen in different perspective by different user groups. This illustrates two major points, one, there is more and more information available in all the assets running in the plant, and two, any one data being interpreted or seen in different perspective by different user groups.

So if the manufacturer designs and implements a system which can contextualize these hidden data to the individual user perspective by adopting a collaborative system will help them bring the ways and means to address those challenges much more effectively.

The first step is to have these system specific to the goal set. And now apply the rule of business to which of the cause making most of the challenge and address them by process changes, cost effective automation, operator friendly machines, error proofed work flow, etc.

Some of the most commonly used collaborative plant information systems can provide application specific inputs are:

• SPC and QMS - Quality charts
• Machine/line efficiency with OEE and production performance
• Work flow error proofing - Ensure right activity in right stage of the process
• Track and trace - Genealogy of the produced product
• Specific energy consumption, and
• Energy part of BOM.

These collaborative systems can provide user-friendly reports using commonly used Excel sheets and review online through web and mobile devices using alerts mailing systems. Implementing these systems can improve the productivity and reduce the cost of production in many ways and gives desired pay pack levels.

Value Mapping Process

The primary steps to implement these systems are:

• List the KPI/KRA which has impact on the goal or a specific challenge you want to address
• Which are all the data required to derive those KPI
• Segregate the data source whether to collect automatically from the assets or requires user entry
• Feasibility of collecting the data from the assets and incorporate add on systems to provide data automatically
• Application designs to collect the user entries in the plant
• Net work plant assets with the central repository, and
• Reporting system design as to how would you like to see collaborative information.

Overall Benefits

• The system enables each user to get roll based real time reporting with appropriate information specific to that roll for effective decision making.
• The information available through a browser which is commonly used with data security.
• Information through graphical dash boards easy to understand.
• Drilled down to see micro level
• of information for faster res-olution.
• User configurable easy to use Excel based reporting.

Base Automation is a professionally managed solutions providing company having its presence in the industrial market since 1995. The core focus is to provide result based solutions to the manufacturing industries. And base has implemented many industrial applications successfully in India and abroad through their professional team who possess wide industry domain expertise.

(Base Automation Technologies Pvt Ltd, Chennai. Telefax: 91-44-24540238, 24541461. Email: sales@baseautomation.co.in)