Despite the addition of jobs and the advent of digital transformation in manufacturing, there's a reality that cannot be ignored: productivity remains surprisingly low. According to the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, the U.S. economy has seen the inclusion of 830,000 manufacturing jobs, yet productivity (measured in real output per hour of labor) in the sector has experienced a steady decline.
With the rise of Industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet of Things, and Smart Factories, people might expect that manufacturing productivity would soar. And while it's true that adoption has grown among large manufacturing companies, research indicates that small to mid-sized manufacturers still have a way to go in embracing these technologies. This discrepancy highlights the need to bridge the gap and ensure that all manufacturers fully understand the various options available to them and the advantages they can gain.
This article demonstrates how Worximity's real-time production monitoring solution can help manufacturers quickly capture and transform shop floor data into important performance metrics that help drive productivity.
Capturing Manufacturing Metrics
At the highest level, Worximity captures data from equipment (legacy and new) or production lines through a network of sensors that communicate back to our IoT device or via direct connectivity to a machine’s PLC.
This information is then securely uploaded to our Microsoft Azure-hosted cloud infrastructure. Here, sophisticated algorithms analyze the data to extract and compile manufacturing performance metrics related to overall equipment effectiveness.
This information is displayed on Worximity’s machine/production line KPI dashboard providing company stakeholders with a comprehensive and real-time snapshot of the machine availability, performance, and product quality. Let’s take a closer look at these manufacturing KPIs.
Worximity Manufacturing KPIs
Worximity’s manufacturing metrics are broken down into three main categories:
Availability
Worximity analyzes the percentage of time that the production line/equipment is producing over the total production time. This includes stoppages for breaks, maintenance, etc. and unplanned downtime. In certain instances, the operator will be required to justify excessive downtime. This feedback allows management to address issues related to the machine and/or operator and understand the top reasons for production interruptions.
Key performance metrics related to availability include:
• Quantity and duration of planned and unplanned downtimes*
• Uptime
• Downtimes to justify
*Planned and unplanned downtimes are configurable by the user in their account settings.
Performance
Performance (also known as efficiency) is the ratio of the actual production rate for the selected product against the target rate. This is presented in terms of the current SKU average rate per hour.
Key performance metrics related to performance that are made available on Worximity’s machine/line dashboard include:
• Production rate/hour
• Production rate/min
• Speed over the last 5 minutes
Quality
Production speed and efficiency are important, but not at the expense of quality. Worximity tracks the percentage of rejects in relation to all parts/products produced for a specific SKU. This is presented in terms of product quality and enabled via a reject form that allows operators to digitally track their reject quantities.
Worximity’s technology also enables the digitization of giveaway monitoring via connectivity to tabletop scales or in-line checkweighers. Total and average product weight is calculated and measured against a target to provide users with giveaway quantities as well as percentages.
Other Manufacturing KPIs
As with any job, understanding where you stand relative to objectives is important in staying motivated and accountable. This is why Worximity provides operators on the shop floor with real-time manufacturing metrics such as:
• Production quantities
• Completion rate (which calculates the ratio of quantity produced against targeted)
Each of these metrics is available by hour, shift and production day on a selected machine or production line.
Furthermore, Worximity takes advantage of API connectivity to seamlessly integrate its technology with a wide range of back-office systems, including ERPs. This integration eliminates the need for excessive human intervention and redundant tasks, as it automates essential inputs such as product and work order changes, planned quantities, product lists, downtime reasons, and user management.
This increases efficiency, and reduces the likelihood of errors, allowing your team to focus on higher-value tasks.
Your Manufacturing Metrics Partner
On the outside, the collection and transformation of raw data into meaningful metrics might seem like a complicated and time-consuming project. Worximity software is anything but. Our real-time production monitoring solution is rooted in years of hands-on manufacturing experience, proven technology, and personalized methodology which ensures a seamless and budget-friendly implementation.
Contact us here for more information or to book a demonstration.
