Posted by Neil Gow on Tue, May 18, 2010 @ 07:03 AM
What an exciting time to be involved in software development! Right now the economy is tough, but we can't rest and wait for things to get better. Here at IQMS headquarters in Paso Robles, California the development team is pushing forward and creating our own destiny. Some of the most extraordinary new ideas are coming to fruition as we explore the possibilities.
Last year we introduced the RealTime LightStick to bring visibility and awareness to the plant floor. It doesn't matter if you are using Wired or Wireless RealTime. EnterpriseIQ can give the entire plant a look at what is running "lean" or not. With a glance at the Work Center everyone will instantly know if a machine is down, running standard, or faster/slower than standard! If the red light is blinking it means the work order has been completed. It can also be used as a call for technical help, just push a button and the LightStick scrolls through all the colors, attracting attention right away. Once you respond and cancel the call you can address the situation whatever it is!
What is even more exiting is that some of the best ideas come right from you the customer! A new LightStick status shows a flashing yellow light which indicates the scrap is exceeding the allowable scrap percentage on the Bill Of Material (BOM). Great customer input! This is now available for both Wired and Wireless RealTime users.
For those of you who have EnterpriseIQ ERP systems you know we work very hard to accommodate the ideas brought to us. This is all made possible through Community Server. Our online forum allows the customer to submit a software development request and if it is feasible, everyone who is paying attention gets to vote on the change. So if it works for you, great! If not, then chime in and voice your concern to both IQMS and the rest of the customers! Our management staff and the primary designers are watching Community Server for more of the ideas that meet your needs for today's competitive manufacturing world.
I'm thrilled to say my next blog will be regarding the newest idea to come from IQMS. I won't say anymore right now, but don't miss it! Its full of ideas from you!
Posted by Randy Flamm on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 @ 07:24 AM
We've all read how a popular automaker has been under fire recently for their quality problems. I can just imagine how devastating it must be to find out that a product you've been shipping for years is subject to a recall for a quality defect. The first step in damage control would be to completely understand the underlying cause of the problem. Many times the fault lies in one of the raw materials used to manufacture the product. In that case, strong lot tracing functionality can be the difference between recalling millions vs. recalling thousands or less. In order for lot traceability to be cost effective it should be built into the normal workflow of the manufacturing process.
The first step begins when the raw materials are purchased and received. At that time the vendor lot number of the container of material is communicated to your ERP system. This communication can take many forms such as a vendor supplied advance shipping notice (EDI ASN), bar coded labels or packing slips. However it's done the lot number must follow the raw material until it is consumed by the next level product. Many times an agreement can be made with the vendor to supply customer defined labeling for serialized control that can be sent electronically via EDI to the ERP system. This method eliminates the cost and accuracy issues of relabeling while converting foreign vendor labels to ERP native serialized labels. Business rules for manual receipts include being able to setup mandatory lot number entry before the transaction is allowed to go through.
The second step is to rely on the inventory control system to keep the material container lot numbers separated from each other. This separation must be built into the system and cause minimal burden to the user. As an example, a warehouse inventory location can contain many lots of the same material but they all need to be listed by FIFO and accessible for allocation or back flushing individually.
The third step is to have the system generate and assign a manufacturing (FG) lot number to the products being produced in real time. All levels of products including sub assemblies will be assigned FG lot numbers during production. Typically the generation of a new FG lot number happens when an event takes place. Events are things like starting a new raw material lot number, machine restarts or even operator changes. As a rule, the more often FG lot numbers are changed the more granular the lot traceability will be making it easier to pinpoint critical information.
The fourth step occurs during production reporting via hand scanners, touch screens, automated conveyors, pallet wrappers or input screens. The result of the reporting is a "balanced" inventory transaction. A balanced transaction includes adding the parts that were manufactured and relieving the raw material used to make them. As the transactions are applied to the perpetual inventory they are logged in the transaction log. All inventory transactions are logged. No exception. The transaction log is the key to lot number traceability. It contains all kinds of information about the transactions including both FG lot number and raw material lot number fields. This creates the ability to query the transaction log to cross reference lot number "trees".
Incorporating these 4 steps during the normal production reporting and inventory transaction process will provide bullet proof pain free lot traceability.
To download product datasheets on various capabilities mentioned, click here.
Posted by Neil Gow on Wed, Mar 31, 2010 @ 06:37 AM
Wouldn't it be great if we could all take the time to be an undercover boss? It seems like such a great idea. Slip in unnoticed and walk in the other person's shoes, spending a few day's on the "front lines" with the employees. With a good manufacturing ERP system and real-time monitoring you can accomplish just that.
If anyone knew you were the CEO or other corporate leader, they might try to impress you. Not everyone is going to be scared of what the boss might think of their work; however, if the boss was looking over your shoulder, you may have a tendency to act differently or work harder. You may even try to prove that you are worth the paycheck given to you at the end of the week. Perhaps even worthy of a raise!
In 1978 I entered into the manufacturing business of injection molding and was immediately confronted with a question, "How do you know what the people are doing right now?" At that time the only way to answer the question was to do "rounds". Which meant, start at one end of the shop, go to every work station, and check the status of all jobs. The trouble was I could never see the whole shop; I could only be at one machine at a time. And all the employees knew I would be along every ½ hour or so.
Well, if I had the technicians and lead personnel do rounds, I could become more efficient and have "eyes" in more places at once. I would then have them report how things were going. Great, but I was still lacking that snapshot view of how the shop was performing. In my world that was critical! I mean, if I blinked, the number of rejected parts could go through the roof! The wrong job was being set up! Material was not available! It seemed there was always something slipping through the cracks.
We had computers and programs which provided some answers to my dilemma. Work orders and inventory lists could be created and maintained. Schedules could be printed and machines had the ability to show cycle times and hours run. The trouble was none of these were linked together and could not be seen at a glance. The "office stuff" was available in print, but the shop floor was out on an island.
Within a few years, MRP systems could address many departmental needs. Eventually stand-alone systems were added for quality or cycle counting, even machine status (running, down, need help, etc.). These were outstanding developments! But something was still lacking.
Now with manufacturing ERP we can have a much broader view, from the prospects and quotes, to shipping finished goods and everything in-between. And for those who recognize the value, we can see how each and every machine is performing compared to the standard, and have it "live and in real-time". Data brought directly to your PC, your laptop or PDA, all without doing rounds!
So if you are thinking of trying to be an "Undercover Boss" for a few days, go ahead - but now, focus on the people and how your policies are affecting their performance. EnterpriseIQ Manufacturing ERP can guide you through the shop and can take you directly to where the issues are, and using RealTime Monitoring can help achieve higher yields while implementing lean manufacturing techniques. Let a good ERP system go under the covers in manufacturing and let your "rounds" be interactive and personal with your most valuable asset, your people on the front line.