38 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk June/July 2024 Special Focus Manufacturing Monitoring Systems Lynn Loughmiller, Software Engineering Manager at DELMIAWorks, takes a closer look at how production and process manufacturing monitoring systems work to improve shop floor performance. Manufacturers face more pressure than ever to deliver quality products quickly, but any number of variables can throw off the best-planned production schedule—from machine and human error to unexpected downtime and materials shortages. Real-time production monitoring and process monitoring work in concert to provide immediate insights that enable manufacturers to rapidly identify and address potential issues before they impact the ability to deliver on customer commitments. Production monitoring vs. process monitoring Production monitoring and process monitoring both rely on real-time data from smart machines and sensors on equipment. However, they are effectively two different parts of a recipe for gaining insights into what is happening on the shop floor at any given time. Production monitoring is similar to the top part of a recipe that lists the ingredients, centering around parts and materials. It tracks the production of parts starting from the raw material used, such as a plastic pellet or metal sheet, to counting parts as they are created, tracking their movement into inventory, and recording any associated scrap. Process monitoring is much like the bottom of the recipe that looks at how things are being done. It focuses on conditions that affect processes, such as whether machine cycle times, temperatures, amperages, and lubrication levels are within specified parameters. Five ways production and process monitoring can improve your operations When real-time data from manufacturing monitoring systems is shared with a manufacturer’s enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution system (MES), and other related software, the information can automatically trigger actions and support decision-making throughout the business. The following are five examples of how production monitoring and process monitoring—either separately or working together—can be used to improve operations. Manufacturing monitoring systems: How to improve shop floor performance
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=