Today, a smart factory is a factory that has adapted to the principles of what has come to be called Industrial Revolution 4.0. It is how all processes are digitalized and part of technological advances, especially from the so-called ERP and business control and management software.
What is an Intelligent Factory?
An intelligent factory consists of one that has first incorporated digitization as a flag. It supposes a factor by which complete control of all the production processes, sectors, and departments involved in its activity can continue. It applies to human resources, machinery, warehouse, stock control, production chain, distribution chain, etc.
An ERP or business management software can gather all the information related to the production of a business space. With this information, it is possible to make better decisions and, in general, to improve the whole business’s efficiency significantly.
For example, knowing the workings of the machines, their time stops, failures in production, consumption, and many other variables can help us adjust their performance as much as possible.
Control of the times
The operators and the machinery comply with times that can be easily adjusted thanks to their knowledge and the control of downtime, breaks, or inefficient periods. With this, we can increase productivity and the quality of work for the operators themselves, making their tasks more dynamic and motivating.
Correcting faults in the production chain
The production chain is the backbone of any factory. That is why you should have great control over it and all the processes involved in it. An ERP is a tool that can allow us to correct failures simply and effectively, thanks to obtaining detailed information on the production chain. It will enable us to detect anomalies and errors in the supply chain in a minimum time to improve them, restore them, or delete them if necessary.
Improves the coordination and quality of communication
Another of the points that we must influence to get an intelligent factory is communication and coordination between different work teams, departments, and sectors of our productive space. In this way, we must ensure a continuous flow of information and be as organized and systematized as possible.
In this sense, the control and management software allows us to package the information efficiently to be transmitted and shared between departments and achieve better articulation and excellent performance.
Versatility, flexibility, and training
These three are some of the essential features that an intelligent factory should have. Versatility has to do with the ability to offer new answers according to the circumstances—flexibility, with obtaining new limits regarding performance through continuous improvement.
Finally, there is the question of training. It is a characteristic related to the previous two, which depends greatly on the circumstances of our factory or productive space.
It is precisely where, again, an ERP can fulfill an essential function thanks to its modular nature. It allows us to make the most of it specifically because it works by modules and will enable us to create an exclusive scheme for our company and sector. With this, he assures that the other two qualities, the versatility and flexibility of the same, are left overly covered.
Reduce costs
Thanks to all the points we have discussed and what ERP must do, they allow us to save on production costs. We minimize the time, waste, defects, and general waste of all kinds in our production. However, along with this, they can also make our business save a lot in losses thanks to the fact that they allow us to improve the quality of our future thanks to making better decisions in less time. In short, they make us much more competitive.
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