One of the biggest and most serious mistakes manufacturing companies make is only reacting to problems when they occur, instead of identifying their potential early in the process.

Manufacturing processes are in most cases quite complex and not transparent by themselves, so any sort of down time is detrimental to production. The best way to sustainably improve productivity and efficiency on the shop floor, is a proactive production management approach. There are several technical and organizational ways to be more proactive. Using a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) as the technical platform in combination with Manufacturing Operation Management (MOM) methods is the optimal approach to achieve immediate sustainable results.

Identify Small Issues Before They Become Bigger Ones

A minor glitch at any point in the Manufacturing Business Process could be just an isolated, non-serious issue. But in context with the complete production activity chain, the impact can become immense in a very short time. An MES / MOM combination is one of the best methods to immediately identify a small issue inside the larger manufacturing process chain without losing too much time or too many resources.

An MES allows a plant manager, supervisor or workcenter operator to look at the broad view of the production process chain and analyze the production data in real time. If a small issue is identified, then it can be addressed immediately to prevent bigger problems later on.

Track Employee Performance

Another benefit of MES applications is the ability to track employee performance in the context of executed production activities. You don’t want to wait until a production disaster occurs before you realize an employee hasn’t been meeting certain standards. The key to successful manufacturing scheduling is knowing all employees are doing their jobs. With all of the moving parts in a production plant, it can be difficult for managers to identify slacking employees on a daily basis. If managers had software to track employee performance in real time, then the statistics could be measured more accurately and appropriate action could be promptly taken.

View Production as a Whole and on a Small Scale

Many people in the MOM role can get too caught up in the bottom line, rather than looking at the individual processes. MES applications can simplify both aspects by giving a one-page view of production as a whole, as well as certain departments or processes.

In order to improve productivity on the shop floor, you have to be proactive as a manager. Depending on the size of the operations, you may not be able to walk around and monitor everything in person. Plant managers have too many other responsibilities to be micro-managing, so having the proper manufacturing execution system will help consolidate the important real-time data into your system.

The Manufacturing Business Process is difficult enough to manage, but the DIAMES team of professionals has solutions to help managers be more proactive at their jobs. Find out more about your options by contacting us today.