The dynamic competitive environment is synonymous to efficient product delivery—reduction of time and resources spent at the shop floor. In the manufacturing space, organizations are leveraging latest methodologies—just in time, lean, and 5S amongst others—to save time and minimize possibilities of an error at the shop floor. With Industry 4.0 or Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), manufacturers are able to establish connectivity between the shop floor machines for automating processes and saving time. FORCAM, a manufacturing tech company, incorporates IIoT, and smart manufacturing techniques to deliver an advanced shop floor management technology. The connected environment automates several processes and delivers significant data for the management to enhance decision-making. “As part of the Industry 4.0 initiative, the smart factory exists where intelligent parts and machines can communicate with each other to measure, analyze, and visualize the availability, performance, and quality of the plant,” begins Franz Eduard Gruber, Founder and CEO, FORCAM.

FORCAM FORCE, an advanced shop floor management technology, connects heterogeneous machines in various locations and performs production analysis for these assets. Being a single IT platform for the entire production line, it provides interoperability and seamless integration for systems such as SAP/ERP, and PLM. Therefore, the information retrieved through analytics is pushed in to these systems with complete access to the operators, plant managers, and management. With cloud technology, the solution ensures the distribution of instantaneous data to concerned departments or professionals. This real-time data enables the operators at the shop floor to determine the fault in the production line and simultaneously resolve it without any delay. It empowers the plant managers and management with an overview of the manufacturing process to address the areas of improvement for better results. This fulfills the need of instant availability of key metrics from the shop floor, and fast and efficient trouble shooting.

Industrial Internet will lead to new processes, products, and smart factories

Recently, AUDI AG, a pioneer in automobile manufacturing, needed a common integrated interface to monitor shop floor activities in real-time. With FORCAM’s solution, the auto manufacturer integrated their ERP with shop floor. It filled the gap between the machine and back-office systems, and improved productivity by 20 percent. With real-time machine data, the client gained increased transparency and overall equipment effectiveness.

FORCAM FORCE is a modular-based IT system including bridge, performance analysis, schedule and dispatch, energy control, track and trace, and document control modules. Bridge automatically collects the necessary data and integrates it with other FORCAM modules and third party solutions with a plug-in structure. This direct communication from the shop floor reduces the manual input of data and errors at the same time. The FORCAM FORCE performance analysis module comprises of three sub-modules including reporting, visualization, and alerting. The trio helps the manufacturer in monitoring performance data, obtaining a graphical overview of shop floor, informs about the incidents in real-time. It reduces the downtime and lowers inventory, logistics, and warehouse costs through just in time production. The Energy Control module records and documents energy consumption at the production sites and maps this information against operational data such as shifts and order volumes. The documentation enables the manufacturer to identify units consuming high amounts of energy. Additionally, it features traceability throughout the production process with Track and Trace module.

In the years to come, Gruber explains the evolution and significance of IIoT in manufacturing space and says, “First, the industrial revolution, we all know today. The second phase is the Internet and the current third phase is the merger of Internet processes and technologies. Industrial Internet will lead to new processes, products, and smart factories.”