Factory automation without the human element is a race to the bottom. The value of a good production monitoring system comes from decision velocity. Know what you need to change and when you need to change it, to reduce downtime, increase capacity and improve OEE. Many of the prospective customers that Mingo Smart Factory meets with talk about not having the data or confidence to know where to start.
It can be easy (read lazy) to think that automating a process will automatically – see what I did there – increase ROI. The common myth is that improving profits can only be achieved by making a process cheaper or reducing the human workforce. This can be a tempting idea if a CEO finds a shiny new machine or system to purchase with their annual budget, springs for priority shipping, spends the minimum amount of manpower to install it, and presto – saves money. The fallacy of this myth is compounded when the managers and operators charged with using the system view it as an extra (and unnecessary) part of their day. Automation without context, little oversight, and no interpretation, is a race to the bottom.
The Importance of Contextual Data in Production Automation
Good decision making starts with accurate data. If a manager wants to calculate the cycle time of battery canisters produced during 2nd shift versus 3rd, they’ll need a way to collect the counts. The analog counter on the machine that has kept track of how many parts have been produced over the machine’s lifetime won’t help. A written account by the operator at the end of each shift is better, but rarely accurate. After all, the operator is paid to make parts, not count them. They may be inclined to estimate they made 1,500 parts rather than 1,489. Bennett Bishop, Director of Operations & Finance at Ice Industries, found this to be a significant headache when he was tasked with matching warehouse inventory with actual production numbers across five plant locations. It was not unusual to write off $600,000 – $100,000 of inventory to balance the books.
Correlating the count data with the correct machine and shift is essential for accurate analysis. Pareto charts and historical analysis can’t be set-up if production data exists in a vacuum. Worse if it exists among hundreds of individual sheets of paper in a file cabinet or countless tabs of a spreadsheet. Knowing how many units were produced as they are being produced, without adding a step for operators, is required for this level of detail. Mingo’s customers recover an average of 8 hours each week by automating data collection and eliminating paper reporting. No more shift leaders wandering the factory floor collecting count estimates or depressed interns painstakingly entering the data into Excel. Lincoln Manufacturing was able to save $100,000 by eliminating traditional paper records and establishing effective OEE targets with the help of Mingo Smart Factory.
Human Oversight is an Essential Element of Production Monitoring
By combining human expertise with automatically collected data from monitoring systems, manufacturers can identify root causes of inefficiencies rather than just addressing symptoms. Production monitoring systems like Mingo Smart Factory should augment, not replace, the human decision-making process. Automation without oversight can lead to unintended consequences, such as prioritizing speed over quality or hyper-focusing on one part of the process at the expense of another. A clear dashboard should highlight opportunities to reduce downtime, increase throughput and improve visibility. Critical thinking ensures the insights provided within the dashboard are actionable and align with the manufacturer’s goals.
Tracking production in real time helps factory managers make decisions in real time rather than wait until its too late to prevent disaster. One of Mingo’s customers received an alert on the Mingo Smart Factory app that a machine had been turned on over the weekend when it should have been down for maintenance. A quick phone call prevented thousands of dollars in materials from being wasted in a defective machine. Mingo Smart Factory’s sensors seamlessly integrate into a single dashboard to accurately track production. Operators can easily track their progress and managers can set updates in real time. One of Ice Industries’ favorite features of the scoreboard system is visually showing supervisors and operators their performance metrics and if they are ‘in the green‘. They can make immediate adjustments if their metrics shifted into yellow or red.
Automated Reporting
These reports can also send updates via email. Lyons Blow Molding uses the Mingo dashboard to track process data and maintain quality. “Before, we had no system. We had no way to backtrack and know the setting if there was a process issue. I couldn’t tell you what the temperature of a certain component was yesterday if this wasn’t being measured or maintained in Mingo.” The human element can make decisions on which data points align with a better product and happy customers.
How to Avoid Data Overload When Streamlining the Factory Floor
Of course, there is such a thing as too much data. Have you ever looked at a spreadsheet of numbers and found your eyes unfocusing? If collecting the right data is step one, and interpreting it is step two, then step three is knowing when to stop. If you know 50% of your process is working efficiently and generating the most revenue, too many changes will not help isolate where improvements can be made.
Factory automation without a clear understanding of which metrics matter the most can lead to focusing on the wrong KPIs. Is the machine down because it needs parts are wearing out, operators are constantly realigning product or something else? The Mingo Smart Factory manufacturing dashboard can be configured with a critical lens to filter noise from meaningful data, ensuring decisions support operational goals like OEE, cycle times and downtime. The built-in Pareto Chart can rank the factors that are most significantly impacting downtime. One of Mingo’s customers discovered that their downtime was negatively impacted by a forklift!
Setting it and forgetting it is not an option to maximize the effectiveness of a production monitoring system. Automating every decision is a temptation that should be resisted. Instead, leverage monitoring systems to enhance strategic planning and continuous improvement efforts. The data becomes useless if no one uses it.
Mingo Is Fast to Deploy, Easy to Use, & Fast ROI
Mingo Smart Factory’s system is easy to use and fast to deploy. It also provides a quick ROI by helping manufacturers reduce downtime, increase efficiency, and ensure production stays aligned with operational goals. By automating data collection, offering real-time insights, and alerting teams to deviations, Mingo Smart Factory enables manufacturers to make data-driven decisions that keep their operations running smoothly and efficiently. Talk to an expert or watch a demo to learn more.
