UK manufacturing SMEs are being urged to link their critical success factors to the shop floor for gathering all-important real time data relating to productivity, quality and safety.
With so few companies using shop floor intelligence there are significant gains to be made – because the process involves all functions in a business – plus it’s a concept that teams are able to get their heads around quite easily says LMAC Consulting, who are specialists in Industry 4.0 adoption and the world-leading Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI).
Shop floor intelligence involves collecting real time, accurate and critical data – like progress tracking of jobs, quality of products, productivity of machines and everything in between – so that it can be processed and analysed to optimise performance and efficiencies.
LMAC MD Alastair Crawford, who was one of the very first certified SIRI assessor for the UK, explains: “The majority of companies we have taken through SIRI end up with this as one of their main priorities. In today’s dynamic, fast changing environment, the ability for people or systems to have the right information at the right time is critical to success. People resonate with this dimension and are often frustrated by the lack of timely data preventing them from doing their job.
“They can see how it will impact their role, which is exactly the kind of insight we need people to get to grips with if they are to embark on the journey to Industry 4.0 maturity.”
When building a client’s smarter Industry 4.0 roadmap, LMAC encourages them to engage in a simple yet revealing critical data exercise. This involves mapping the process and the data set they should be evaluating, to ensure they have the best possible visibility of those parameters to make informed decisions that will improve their performance.
The information gathered helps evaluate current shopfloor KPI maturity and also understanding of any gaps that exist and where they need to be closed.
Crawford adds: “It’s not just about the sexy tech which can be involved in Industry 4.0 adoption that turns heads. Rather, the data that new tech produces rules the roost – and not only the collection of the right data, but the transfer of that data to where we can do something useful, tangible and game changing with it.”
