How instant, accurate machine data and process information directly from the machine can boost performance for parts, supply and equipment manufacturers using real-time production monitoring and analysis to improve throughput, boost quality and reduce scrap.

Imagine what can be done with instant, accurate machine data and process information directly from the machine. Even depth and dimension is within reach with the help of a manufacturing execution system (MES). Medical parts, supply and equipment manufacturers use MES for real-time production monitoring and analysis to improve throughput, boost quality, and reduce scrap. More capacity can be achieved with the same machines and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)—working more efficiently and profitably. There are four steps to achieving these goals through an MES which helps reduce scrap, waste and machine downtime, improve cycle times, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), plant productivity and automatic part qualification, and schedule production effectively. Production MES also helps with becoming proactive in manufacturing operations and can anticipate and solve manufacturing problems before they occur.

Manage family-of-parts

Managing tools and dies can be a real challenge, especially for family molding. It gets easier with an MES designed to handle these complex scenarios. When an MES is designed for scheduling, cost reporting, and monitoring scrap across individual parts within a family, you achieve better control and the greatest possible efficiency. Manufacturers in the healthcare sector that use family molds should be able to use their MES system to automatically pinpoint and resolve tooling conflicts, efficiently manage color change requirements, produce uneven batches, and identify and scrap individual pieces. With the right MES system, you can plan in a proactive fashion and eliminate unnecessary wait time and inefficiencies.

Process and quality control

A quality control focus is crucial to ensure you ship high quality parts to your customers. It is no longer enough to simply collect real-time production data of your manufacturing operations, you also need to analyze the process conditions of your production, in real time, to prevent bad parts from being produced and shipped to customers.

Make sure the MES you are evaluating includes comprehensive Statistical Process Control (SPC) features that help you analyze important process conditions, and provides alerts when process conditions are out of tolerance. This way you will have full and immediate traceability back to the root cause of your quality issue.

SPC reduces bad parts produced and improves quality by collecting data from samples at various points within your process. Variations in the process that may affect the quality of the end product can be detected and corrected, thus reducing waste as well as the likelihood that problems will be passed on to the customer. It has an emphasis on early detection and prevention of problems.

Real-time information

The system should provide accurate 24/7 real-time manufacturing information of all plant operations. By gaining access to this information, you will be able to reduce scrap, waste and machine downtime, improve cycle times, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), plant productivity, and automatic part qualification. A proper MES system will enable a company’s manufacturing processes to become proactive, and help anticipate and solve manufacturing problems before they occur. Identifying resource inefficiencies lets you do more with your existing resources and find new capacity.

Eliminate manual processes

Collecting production data manually is time consuming and error prone. With no access to real-time data, bad parts might be produced for some time before realizing it. Halting production to find the bad parts and the root cause can result in significant costs.

If you are ready to find more capacity and do more with your existing resources, and anticipate and solve manufacturing problems before they happen, then it’s time to evaluate your manufacturing execution system options. The best MES system for medical parts, supply and equipment manufacturers is one that captures production and process data directly from the machine, provides depth and dimension of information, and delivers accurate, real-time production analysis. The checklist includes:

• access to real-time and historical data of your manufacturing performance
• ability to differentiate good parts from bad, on the fly, and reject parts to prevent bad parts from being shipped to the customer
• historical data that helps pro-actively plan machine maintenance and other tasks that disrupt production
• real-time production monitoring with key Statistical Process Control (SPC) functionality and analysis of process conditions
• ability to collect product quality compliance data to perform root cause analysis of quality problems.

Production monitoring

Epicor production monitoring software enables manufacturers to collect and analyze data across multiple plants, production lines and asset types, thus increasing productivity, unlocking capacity, and reducing inventory and labor costs. This includes process control for analog and digital signals, dynamic job scheduling, SPC/SQC analysis, scrap and downtime reporting, preventive maintenance management, operator tracking, alarms and alerts, as well as open communications and machine interfaces

Production control

Web-based insight means production monitoring from a company’s intranet or the internet. Visual clarity is also provided through color code R&D, test and other non-production tasks to distinguish from production runs and ensure time is reserved in the schedule. With production detail and descriptive information, users can see details with as many as four labels for each job in the scheduler, while the machine odometer means maintenance and reliability teams can more accurately plan preventative maintenance activities with easy-to-access machine condition reports.

The redesigned cycle history chart can be run within seconds, allowing quick monitoring of up to 100,000 cycles. Users can also add two printers per machine with Ultra Label Gold, or use the on-demand printing module and Zebra for more options with bar-coded label printing. Information and machine alarms monitor machine and plant performance instantly through cycle times, machine tool preventative maintenance information, instant alerts, and alarms.

There is also a comprehensive SPC program that provides analysis of part weights and dimensions as well as critical machine process parameters and an OPC Connector standardizes secure, reliable, and vendor-neutral transport of raw data and pre-processed information from your shop floor to a production planning, ERP, MIS, or other software system.

Edited from an by Epicor White Paper