Many of today’s manufacturing processes have grown increasingly complex, and as such, they can quickly become unorganized and scattered. If you work at a manufacturing site, you probably already know this. Like any strategic leader, you’re hoping to regain control and discover deeper insights about how to increase efficiency and profitability. To make significant improvements to plants and processes, the key is gathering accurate and detailed data. This information is the only way to implement real, workable solutions in your site.
However, many businesses struggle to track all the data generated at each plant. According to Forbes, many engineers working in manufacturing spend 30% or more of their time looking for information they need. When current data collection processes are so time-consuming, it’s no wonder these companies avoid implementing new solutions that require increased data upkeep.
Over the years, we’ve helped many of our clients overcome these same data challenges. With a few steps, any site can overcome their data problem and start making valuable process improvements.
Create Data Collection Tools
Before you can start better tracking and reporting data, your organization needs to set up a system to start collecting and sharing information across the site. We often run into scenarios where different departments manually gather only the data that is relevant to their job function with no easy way to reference data from other teams at the plant. Any data that may have been helpful for other departments is typically discarded. This lack of coordinated data collection results in data silos, which make it more difficult for the plant to respond to change, and decision-makers are left referencing inaccurate information.
As a first step, your teams need to communicate about which data from other departments would be beneficial for them to reference. Once those details are established, your site needs to implement a digital tool that gathers, stores, and shares data across departments. We often find that a digital tool that updates in real time is the most convenient and easy-to-implement solution for many organizations. Making data accessible throughout the site will cut down on any repeat data collection, which lowers to overall workload. It also prevents data silos from reappearing, giving teams at all levels a clear and accurate view of plant processes (as well as their inefficiencies).
Automate Your Data Collection
To further simplify your data collection process, be sure to connect your various supply chain systems whenever possible. If these external systems can share data, you’ll limit the time needed to update each individual platform with new information. Your team will spend less time colleting the data and instead dedicate more time analyzing it for improvements.
Additionally, the real-time data updates will help each of your supply chain tools unlock deeper, more powerful insights. When each system is working from the most current data, you can quickly and accurately analyze of the schedule for opportunities to take on new orders or products without disrupting other deadlines. These added capabilities can ultimately increase efficiency and profitability across production.
Ask for Help from the Experts
If the data collection process still seems overwhelming, it may be worth asking your software providers for help. These providers will know all the secret tricks and tips to their tool and may be able to provide advice. Perhaps there are configurations that you haven’t discovered yet that may be helpful, or there may be a feature they can add that will save you time. These expert tips may allow you to minimize the data input required to make the tool functional.
In the past, we’ve worked with our clients to create simpler data collection processes within our virtual modeling, planning and scheduling tool, VirtECS®. For example, for one of our specialty chemical manufacturing clients, we created templates within the software, which allowed them to duplicate fields as needed and quickly set up new products. We’ve also connected VirtECS® with our clients’ other tools, such as forecasting or ERP systems, to limit the need for data updates. If you’re interested in learning more about how VirtECS® helped one client gain control of their data, you can continue reading our internal case study here.
