Asset Management Solutions for the Manufacturing Industry

With globalisation, increased competition and customers expecting more and more, the manufacturing industry is under immense pressure and are being forced to seek new ways to boost their bottom lines. To improve their ROI and respond to their customer’s demands for faster supply at a lower cost, companies are now looking to squeeze every last drop of availability and capacity from their assets with Asset Management solutions.

Managing a manufacturing plant, at the best of time, can be very challenging and time consuming. But for those who continue to maintain paper logs for inventory and recording repairs and replacements manually, the task is even more challenging. Given this growing pressure on manufacturing assets, it is crucial for companies to reassess their long-term asset management strategies with new technologies such as Asset Management software, to ensure that they can meet demand both in the short and long term.

On average, up to 15% of gross margin is wasted by unplanned downtime. By comparison, best-in-class performance is estimated at 5%. Eliminating these losses will require maintenance and production to work together in new ways. Gartner projects that by the end of 2018, 50% of asset-intensive organisations will rely on Asset Management& Inspections solutions to help them optimise the performance of their critical assets.

Today’s plant managers are discovering new ways to maximise the reliability and value of their assets. With asset management powered by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and machine learning, companies can leverage both equipment and process data to extend the life of their assets and achieve optimum reliability. Most organisations find that the collection of data centres on two fundamental resources – log sheets and the work order history.

There are many problems that tend to arise with the traditional pen and paper approach like:

• A high possibility of human errors which can lead to inaccuracies
• Sharing information with multiple people becomes tedious
• Keeping a constant track of what has been accomplished gets difficult
• The paperwork can get confusing when multiple service professionals are involved
• When several co-workers are accessing the records, they are likely to get misplaced

To stay one step ahead, it is vital to evolve beyond simple spreadsheets, worksheets and sketches to look at a total asset management system. With asset management software and mobile computers such as the DL-Axist Android rugged mobile computer, your manufacturing processes will gain more efficiency, reduce downtime and have an insight for unleashing future growth potential.

So how can Asset Management software help?

Asset management and inspection technology such as Asset-i, can save organisations substantial costs in labour and spare parts by streamlining their operations and enabling them to gain more value from their existing assets and move beyond reactive maintenance towards a more proactive process.

Key Benefits:

• Reduce downtime –

Downtime is the bane of every manufacturers schedule. If there’s a problem, it needs a resolution and fast. With added downtime, your production schedule backs up and your projected profits will go down. With asset management, you can take a more proactive stance with each production area and the assets involved in the production schedule. This will also help your staff work more efficiently and achieve their goals by giving them the resources and information they need.

• Streamline processes –

Streamlining and automation of critical practices within your plant, by integrating asset management into your manufacturing mix, will ensure you benefit as you move away from manual or repetitive processes with a more automated solution. Also, by staying up-to-date on your technology and organisational data, you know where everything is and what everyone is doing.

• Gain insights –

Running an effective manufacturing operation requires many technical, business and operational responsibilities. If your company wants to find where it can save funds or create more efficiency, it’s important to know what your cost of ownership is and how you can improve it.

Asset management is an indispensable resource to gain insights into your manufacturing operations and know-how your work centres perform.

Save money and time by getting more from your fixed assets with Asset-i. One of the main differences of ExPD’s new Asset-i software is that it is web-based, allowing information to be accessed across multiple devices including desk-based computers and devices on the shop floor like the Datalogic Memor 20. In addition, Asset-i also now incorporates features from another ExPD solution, Omni Check, which enables customers to configure their own applications to manage the inspection of equipment.