Transmission plant
selects DataRealm to install manufacturing
business intelligence system As the
sharing of plant information becomes
increasingly critical to effective
operations more and more manufacturers
are turning to DataRealm for highly
robust manufacturing business intelligence
(MBI) systems. The company's most
recent assignment will see it draw
on its systems integration skills
to install a plant wide factory information
system (FIS) at a large transmission
production plant operated by a major
automaker.
Key to the assignment is creating
a plant floor data acquisition system
to circumvent the various differences
in devices in a way that delivers
information in a common format to
management.
There are multiple values to factory
information systems or plant operating
systems as they are also known. One
of the most important is the impact
that data collected from the plant
floor can have in reducing downtime
and increasing production efficiencies.
Managers with access to comprehensive
metrics to analyze each plant's productivity,
costs, quality, predictive maintenance
and more often can gain a competitive
advantage. This is also a key benefit
to senior operational executives in
companies with a number of plants
producing the same products. Factory
information systems can provide them
with a continually updated, comprehensive
and precise window on operations at
each plant. Such information is valued
for forecasting and to compare the
output of each operation to others
in a group.
In the case of the transmission plant
project, DataRealm will implement
a system in which information collected
from the plant's complex interconnected
network of production stations will
provide a wealth of reports. These
include machine states, number of
parts produced, machine bottlenecks,
traceability, quality, fault summaries,
overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
and predictive maintenance.
In the past the complexity of a variety
of devices each with their own methods
of communicating often limited the
ability to gather information on a
timely basis. Using its skills in
systems integration, DataRealm is
able to implement systems in which
information flows freely and instantly
from a variety of devices such as
programmable logic controls (PLCs),
human-machine interfaces (HMI), meters,
computer numeric control (CNC), barcode
and radio frequency identification
(RFID) scanners and more.
With timely feedback from these devices,
plant managers are better able to
coordinate and run the operation of
their facilities. This is particularly
critical for plants following Six
Sigma which requires the analysis
of overall equipment effectiveness
and other parameters.
DataRealm has extensive experience
in the development, deployment and
upgrading of factory information systems.
In many cases its assignments have
often included defining new reporting
standards, particulalry for its larger
clients.
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