Whether we like it or not, modern manufacturing is data-driven. The companies who harness the power of data to inform and empower their employees are best positioned to compete. The most successful companies get the right data in front of the right employees at the right time.
When it comes to communicating what your ERP data is telling you to employees at all levels of a manufacturing operation “seeing is believing.” Seeing proof that a process is behind, or that an order is at risk of being late allows them to take ownership and seek solutions before having to be directed by someone else. If an employee fails to address a production issue, seeing the problem early on a touchscreen monitor can help managers and supervisors take action before it is too late.
Whiteboards are a popular way of getting data in front of employees and provide more accountability for meeting production goals or deadlines. They are inexpensive and do not require much training (if any) to use. The main drawback with whiteboards is the update process is manual and it can be hard to trust the information on it, as there is often a lack of transparency related to the accuracy and timing of the updates.
The manual process involved with updating whiteboards can be torturous as data is updated in the ERP, exported to a spreadsheet, then sorted, analyzed and further distilled to highlight only the data points to post on the whiteboard. The process is then repeated to update whiteboards at different points in the manufacturing process with delays and errors possible at any stage of the process. In some operations, this process is repeated several times a day!
Clearly, the benefits of having relevant data where the right employees can see it is greater than the cost in time and energy to produce the information, or whiteboards would not be as popular as they are. However, if the starting point for your company is your ERP data, there is a better way to keep your employees informed.
Interactive touchscreens connected to your ERP data can provide managers and employees real-time access to critical information. Nortek, Inc. is one such company that made the move to interactive touchscreens with Triple Helix’s VUE Critical Reporting solution.
The lack of real time feedback at Nortek was causing delays in the manufacturing process and leading to problems keeping up with increased orders from an important client. Using VUE, the employees at Nortek can view jobs in queue and arrange them by status, due date, or priority to keep every job on track for on-time completion. Best of all, the information on the screens comes straight from the ERP, meaning no manual work is needed to analyze the data for the screens.
Triple Helix has provided data and information systems for the aerospace and manufacturing industries for the last fifteen (15) years. Our solutions complement existing technology investments to avoid costly replacements. Contact us if you would like to schedule a risk-free consultation to see if Triple Helix can help your company better access and visualize data.
