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Five simple digital applications that are changing manufacturing

Adopting digital techniques doesn’t have to be a big problem for small manufacturing companies

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Following is an edited excerpt from a blog titled “Five Simple Digital Applications that are Changing Manufacturing” that was posted to the NIST website.

Digital applications in manufacturing are not only becoming increasingly accepted, they are expected. However, for smaller manufacturing firms, the process of adopting digital can be daunting. Initial expenses and the cost of training employees are enough to stop the process of “going digital” altogether.

But beginning the process doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With a little guidance and education, all manufacturers can start to implement digital manufacturing concepts in a staged approach that best fits their organization.

Following are five recommendations for digital applications to help you get started.

1. Digital performance management (DPM). Since 2010 the percentage of business conducted digitally has grown from 4% to almost 12%, and that trend is expected to continue. Finding an integrated way to analyze both business and IT metrics is key to optimizing the experience. This is done with DPM.

The ability to gain real-time, multidepartmental insights through DPM is an easy way to increase the effectiveness of your business decisions—and increase revenue and customer loyalty. Having an uncomplicated way to measure metrics, as well as a common language shared by all departments, simplifies the facilitation and dissemination of information, which increases productivity.

Using tools like a digital dashboard that pulls production information, including machine operating data and production output, into one place is a simple way to launch your own DPM platform.

2. Predictive maintenance. Anyone with manufacturing experience understands the need for ongoing preventive maintenance. However, digital manufacturing has introduced a new concept—predictive maintenance.

It differs from preventive maintenance in one important way. Instead of being prompted by variables such as time or routine readings, predictive maintenance seeks to anticipate when a future product might fail. Using a piece of equipment’s condition—often determined by installing monitoring equipment or software to collect data—as opposed to age or service recommendations, the goal of predictive maintenance is to let manufacturers see the current condition of equipment so they can schedule service to prevent a critical machine failure.

Establishing a successful predictive maintenance program will require you to:

• Gather the right data to be analyzed for your machinery.

• Accurately frame your analysis of problems.

• Ensure initial and ongoing evaluations are accurate in order to predict when maintenance will be needed.

3. Yield, energy, and throughput (YET) optimization. At its core, YET optimization is the continual examination of data to determine the best and most efficient processes. Implementing such a program will improve efficiencies, increase yields, and reduce overall energy use.

So where do you start? First, use the data you already have. For example, examine how long it should take to produce your individual units. Next, find a trustworthy consultant to assist you in selecting the appropriate software that can develop and monitor your individual algorithms. The last step is to monitor the information that your software provides and begin to develop an initial pilot program to increase efficiency.

4. Automation and robotics. Implementing automation—especially the use of robots—may seem daunting, but it’s becoming more and more common in manufacturing. In addition to lowering operating costs, automation also increases output, improves the quality of production, and enhances worker safety.

Before adopting automation, consider these factors:

• Employee training. Even with automation and robotics doing the production work, employees still need to know how to operate and maintain the machines. This could require training for current employees, as well as hiring personnel with required certifications and experience.

• Upfront investment. Automation lowers operating costs in the long run. However, there is usually an upfront investment. Choosing to implement automation will often require planning and budgeting before purchasing equipment.

What are some of the best initial projects to consider for automation? Short-cycle-time machine tending; low-speed material handling (<40 ppm); and simple, repetitive, consistent applications.

5. Digital quality management (DQM). Implementing a DQM system provides many benefits. Similar to digital performance management, DQM takes the key performance indicators you are currently analyzing and puts them into a digital application. Reducing human interaction involving quality-related decision-making reduces the possibility of human error. That, in turn, will increase the efficiency of your quality-management experience, reduce costs, and improve your ability to trace and mitigate errors.

When you decide to move from manual quality management to DQM, here are some best practices to consider:

• Upgrade your methodologies. It can be tempting to continue quality management the way it has always been done. But to get the most out of your investment, don’t just digitize existing methodologies. Define them. Use this opportunity to examine what you are measuring and its relevance to your desired outcomes. You might also consider exploring what additional metrics you can track with a digital platform.

• Use best practices. When looking at your DQM outcomes, be sure that any potential production change uses easy-to-configure solutions and that these are based on best practices. A digital platform may be able to give you more detailed information quicker than before, but it doesn’t replace years of industrial knowledge and experience.

• Employee buy-in and adoption. With all newly implemented technologies, user adoption is critical. But this is especially true when rolling out DQM. Getting your team members to buy in before implementation is crucial to success.

Hopefully, breaking down the implementation of digital applications will help clarify the process. If you have questions or are interested in learning more, please contact your local MEP center.