Discrete manufacturing

It’s not unusual to have concerns about progress to plan when the majority of resources will be working remotely. That’s why we’ve decided to share our practices and experience in these trying times.

A highly automated factory is also inherently more resilient. In times of crisis, such as with the Coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic that the world is experiencing today, a highly automated factory is far more likely to continue manufacturing operations than a factory with low automation.

IT and OT each manage different aspects of a plant’s functioning. Equipment data is the domain of OT, and it becomes far more valuable when it goes into an IT environment for context and analysis. Only with IT and OT working in harmony can a plant achieve optimal performance.

Finding success with smart factories can be a frustrating experience. It’s not for lack of trying, since most major companies have undertaken projects, but as a Cap Gemini report shows, it appears they are not getting the results they’d expected.

The selection process for a MES system is by nature time consuming. If this downtime is properly used by the manufacturer, for all phases in which physical contact is not necessary once restrictions are lifted, it will be in ideal conditions for the final stages of the process.

As manufacturing relies on increasingly more complex equipment, the management of the recipes that the equipment will use for a certain process becomes increasingly important. Not only it’s a basic requirement to ensure that the right recipe is used for the right process, but also the recipe information is a key enabler for performance and efficiency improvement.

It is no secret technology keeps advancing. Today, it seems to do so at an accelerated pace with a level of innovation that is nothing short of spectacular! These advances have created new opportunities for manufacturers to explore new ways to increase productivity. At the same time, these technologies have opened up greater global competition, which is now placing new pressure to be more creative with how work gets done.

It is no secret technology keeps advancing. Today, it seems to do so at an accelerated pace with a level of innovation that is nothing short of spectacular! These advances have created new opportunities for manufacturers to explore new ways to increase productivity. At the same time, these technologies have opened up greater global competition, which is now placing new pressure to be more creative with how work gets done.

I am John Meulemeester from www.mesa.org and I would like to add some feedback to Francisco’s comments, focused on some particular items.
For me, SCADA and MES are not the same and should be separated. In my 30+ years visiting factories that produce everything you can imagine, I have personally witnessed that most manufacturers have some kind of HMI/SCADA