Integrated Factory Solutions
Our solutions provide the core workflow processes impacting track and trace. We specialise in industries requiring visibility and transparency throughout the supply chain. Our systems are flexible enabling you to decide your immediate requirements, then choose features and modules to implement in a staged and cost effective manner. Industries we particularly focus on are:
Food & Beverage
Medical
Hardware
Connecting everything in the factory is now technically a reality. Back office and shop floor systems need to flow together to deliver on expectations of better product safety. There’s so much data available so what’s more challenging is how this all works together in real-time so essential information is controlled and published to the correct parties. This is the connected factory story of today.
Manufacturers are the intersecting point of 2 supply chains – inbound materials from source then transforming these into outbound manufactured goods to market. Often both are the manufacturer’s responsibility to provide transparency and prove traceability. A single source of truth and a common set of data standards therefore needs to be core goals of the solutions deployed within the manufacturing hub for delivery of accurate data to all participants in the product’s journey.
SECURE DATA GATEWAY
Our data gateway supports a range of current XML-based EDI standards as well as many older legacy formats. Electronic data sharing is now an essential part of the modern supply chain. While it is important to be “Standards” driven when trading digitally, often the imminent critical need is to connect with customers or suppliers based purely on their current technology. Our gateway has been purpose built to enable the core business documents and related processes to be efficiently modified to suit specific requirements.
End-to-end integration
Enabling you to manage traceability throughout your entire supply chain
Good Practice in Production Systems
Planning
Every business operates a planning process of some sort. Decisions are somehow made as to which products are produced, what resources are required, when purchases are to be made and what promises given to customers. There are many methods and techniques to achieve the outcome. A set of tools to automate many of the data analysis throughout planning, sales, procurement and production can greatly impact the efficiency and accuracy of this task.
Master Data
Master Data within connected trading communities requires compliance to a common data framework for publicly shared elements. Additionally many other internal data points will also be required. Master data is more than just BOMs and recipes. For products, it also involves operational routes, control points, audits checks, identification codes (bar codes and RFID), product costs, nutritional data, packaging specifications, labelling requirements and marketing material. Then there may be requirements for customers, suppliers, operational competencies, resources and equipment.
Shop Floor Tracking
Real time tracking of shop floor operations enables a quantum leap in controlling traceability, performance KPI’s and safety chekcs. Typically a range of scanning, weighing, visual, voice and IOT devices are deployed across the entire production process, including connected plant. Once captured, the data provides a complete digital twin of the exact production situation covering sequencing of stock movements, resource utilisation, labour usage, quality audits or any KPI measure with all this information available for sharing through personalised dashboards and escalation messaging.
Throughput Costing
For food producers, the cost of manufacturing an item includes ingredient materials, packaging plus allocations for factory labour and overheads. Typically a periodic cost exercise is undertaken which would include making a range of assumptions about the allocation method and amounts for labour and overheads. These assumptions need regular checking against the live activity. Shop floor tracking is a game changer in this area allowing for real time analysis of material usage, cost recoveries and volume assumptions so any variation in margins can be quickly identified and remedied.
Traceabiliy & Event Tracking
Traceability is now a requirements for every quality standard and certain sectors require a 2 hour window for this to be done. If things go wrong, it is important to capture the event quickly and take whatever remedial action. Technology will play an increasing role in this so any contamination can be tracked to source in minutes, not weeks, as traditionally been the case. The specific technologies involved will inevitably change and improve but the underlying core must be a common set of data standards upon which all participants share their part of the story.
Dashboards
Dashboards turn data into information and information helps drive continuous improvement. Because of the breadth of IOT data now available, many areas can now be part of this KPI performance tool with personalised formats at any level of operation. Data is not just limited to stock or machine facts and figures. Video and voice tracked events are adding new dimensions of control to the production story.