Editorial from the March 2008 issue of Managing Automation

Few Achieve Shop Floor to Top Floor Integration (A Rare Breed)

by Jeff Moad, MA Editorial Staff

Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 11:37:48 AM                                     

Every year for the past seven years, Managing Automation has surveyed manufacturing executives about their plans for integrating plant floor systems and enterprise applications. And, every year, the responses have shown two consistent themes. First, manufacturers place a high strategic priority on shop floor-to-top floor integration, and most say they have at least started down that integration path. And second, each year manufacturers say they expect to complete plant-to-enterprise integration within two to three years.

When it comes to delivering on shop floor- to-top floor integration, many manufacturers must feel a bit like Sisyphus, the character from Greek mythology who, as punishment, was condemned to push a heavy rock up a steep hill.

Why has plant-to-enterprise integration proved so challenging? Several reasons, experts say. First, the environment is highly fragmented, with many different legacy systems in place. And that makes the task of developing and maintaining integrations complex and expensive.

Second, until fairly recently, vendors of ERP, MES, quality, supply chain, and plant control systems have not invested a lot in developing and maintaining plant-to-enterprise integrations. That has left it to manufacturers, such as electronics manufacturer Celestica Inc., to develop the integrations themselves, a time-consuming and expensive task. Although vendors, such as SAP, Visiprise, and others, recently began to create out-of-the-box integrations for their systems based on standards such as ISA 95, manufacturers say those integrations have yet to be tested in full production environments.

Despite such barriers, however, manufacturers continue to push the integration stone up the hill. If anything, experts say, manufacturers' focus on shop floor- to-top floor integration is increasing.

"More and more manufacturers are trying to integrate their ERP and manufacturing environments," says Amit Gupta, senior executive and global manufacturing lead at Accenture. "ERP systems have given companies some benefits from a resource management perspective. Now they are taking it to the next level."

Several issues are driving the mounting focus on integration, Gupta says. First, as more manufacturers globalize, they want to implement common manufacturing and business processes across their organizations, he says. But, in order to understand which of their widely dispersed plants and processes should be replicated globally, they need comprehensive and up-to-date data. And that means integrated enterprise and plant floor systems and processes, including common data definitions.

At the same time, competitive pressures mean that manufacturers need access to real-time performance metrics. Manufacturers such as Dairy Crest Ltd. understand that it is no longer enough to pull together performance metrics and KPIs long after the fact. To correct problems quickly and improve machine utilization, on-time delivery, and other measures of performance, they need real-time data that only integrated systems can deliver.

Also, compliance and quality concerns are driving interest in plant-to-enterprise integration. Now, more than ever, Gupta says, manufacturers understand they need up-to-the-minute information on which production processes are working and which are having trouble. An early-warning system, coupled with material traceability, can help manufacturers minimize exposure to quality missteps or avoid them altogether.

Page : 1 2 3 4 5 6   ... NEXT