Tracking your inventory lets you reduce double ordering and spoilage. Using RFID and barcode can greatly reduce the time involved in capturing data. RFID portals can completely eliminate the human element. The portals will capture everything passing through and an exceptions report quickly highlights any items moved through the choke point.
Collecting labor data has historically been expensive. We estimate the average time required for an employee to record hours, and send this to a data entry employee results in 3-6 minutes of paid time per transaction. By embedding RFID tags into employee badges, this tracking can occur automatically without any disruption to the normal work process – a significant cost savings over manual tracking.
The bottom line is that today’s leading manufacturers are basing decisions on data. The more useful data you have at your disposal, the easier it is to forecast sales, set pricing, increase margins, reduce days of inventory, reduce lead times, and better serve customers.
In the past, it was often impossible to automate tool management tracking because of harsh production environments. With the advances in RFID tags that have occurred over the last 5-10 years, even metal tools and fixtures can be identified and tracked automatically.
We’ve heard many manufacturers say that automated data capture allows them to better schedule tomorrow, or even next shift, because they know what they produced this shift in real time. No more waiting until the Wednesday 9AM meeting to know what you produced on Monday. Additionally, having data about past production times and output helps improve lead time forecasting, balance line output, and the sync the ordering of materials with production needs.
Verify the correct type and/or quantity of ingredients is being added, verify the right tooling is in place before starting a process, or verify that only trained personnel are attempting to start a process. In each case, we are automatically capturing data, comparing it to a set of criteria, and creating an output.
Tracking allows you to know where these assets were shipped to, how long they’ve been out, and when they are due for service. Typical assets include servers, computers, notebooks, lab equipment, test fixtures, special equipment, etc. It also can include reusable trays, bins, kegs, totes or other types of product carriers. Often these assets contain your product and are sent out to your customers and distributors. They can be expensive to replace and can damage customer perception of your brand if not properly maintained/serviced.
With increased enforcement and regulation from the FDA and EPA, better traceability is a must. This requires capturing data throughout the production process to link work in process (WIP) to raw materials and finished goods to WIP. Not only do you avoid fines and get better compliance, a well designed system greatly reduces the production window involved in the event of a recall.