A recent survey revealed more than 80 per cent of manufacturers say there is increasing demand for their products. However, 36 per cent of corporate respondents and 44 per cent of frontline workers say unexpected machine downtime is the biggest impediment to meeting production targets. Fortunately, recent advances in manufacturing technology can help overcome this challenge.
ERP Software
Despite the concerns over unplanned downtime, two-thirds of corporate respondents to the survey said they couldn’t see the real-time condition of their assets across all their sites, while less than half of frontline workers said they had access to information on the cost of machines breakdowns to the company.
Simply put, there are too many manufacturing execs and workers in the dark.
For starters, best-in-class ERP software can enable manufacturers to manage everything from shop floor operations to supply and inventory planning, providing end-to-end visibility. User dashboards, for example, empower employees with the information to act quickly and engineer, source, and make new products, and identify bottlenecks.
Manufacturers are the number users of ERP software, making up nearly half of all ERP users. Two-thirds of manufacturers who implement ERP rate it as successful or very successful. Nearly 30 per cent achieved ROI within a year and almost 60 per cent did so in less than two years. Clearly, many in the industry are eager to take advantage.
Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things
AI and IoT are powerful tools to bolster the digital transformation of your manufacturing technology, particularly when it comes to anticipating machine breakdowns.
More than 80 per cent of manufacturers use labour-intensive preventative maintenance strategies, which often leads to unnecessary work. Further, almost half run to failure, which is even more inefficient. Barely a quarter of manufacturers are deploying AI and IoT for real-time, condition-based predictive maintenance.
Instead of trying to manually interpret historical data to anticipate when a machine might break down, sensors can detect when a machine is actually nearing failure. Moreover, maintenance can be scheduled at the most convenient and cost-effective moment in the production schedule.
Industry 4.0, the automation of traditional industrial practices, has accelerated since the pandemic. A recent study from Google and The Harris Poll surveying over 1,000 companies found that two-thirds of manufacturers that use AI in their daily operations say their reliance on the technology is increasing.
We Know Your Industry
We understand manufacturing technology and we’re ready to help you drive innovation, raise margins, and achieve greater productivity. Our SYSPRO and Microsoft Dynamics AX and 365 solutions streamline and automate your manufacturing processes.
Benefits include:
- Insights to drive informed and faster decision-making
- Great visibility of end-to-end supply chain
- Automation of complex and unique services to deliver reliable output
- And more
Contact us today at one of our offices or visit our website to learn more.