Template-Based Manufacturing
There are many strategies to choose from when it comes to rolling out a manufacturing IT solution, especially for Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). For companies with multi-site production facilities, finding the best approach to delivering a complete rollout can be challenging. Thankfully, Engineering offers a template-based rollout approach that has been proven to generate a lot of success in the past for some of our biggest global customers.
What is a template solution?
A simple example of a template can be found in Microsoft Word; when you select a template for a letterhead, the standard opening and closing sections are already filled in. From here, all you need to do is fill in the variable parts. In the manufacturing world, a template is a solution set that serves as a framework for implementing a system, and then filling in the variable parts. The template contains a definition of services to provide, definitions of the data that will be used, definitions of the user interface screens, as well as a definition of a standard set of modules that work together.
Why do templates work?
Many companies today strive to achieve complete standardization of their manufacturing environments, the result of which brings a wide range of benefits for both business and operations. Thanks to this increasingly prevalent goal of standardization in the industry, it is quite common to hear manufacturing engineers pushing the purchase of machines from the same vendor in order to have a single set of equipment and tools used. It is also common to have industrial engineers setting a standard set of operations and practices to be adopted throughout their sites. Having the same set of IT solutions used throughout the company is also important.
Due to this desire to standardize manufacturing sites, a common template for a manufacturing IT solution makes a lot of sense. For example, instead of integrating the communication layer with equipment for every single site independently, it is more efficient to develop a single library for this communication and let all of a manufacturer’s sites leverage the template. It is also beneficial to design a common solution around a single standardized business process and replicate that process throughout the organization. Leveraging these standardized manufacturing processes allows for template-based IT solutions to work and bring tangible benefits to an organization.
How do you plan for a template?
When Engineering engages with customers to develop a global template, the first step is identifying a small number of pilot sites which can be used to represent the manufacturing processes of the entire organization. The Engineering consultants then visit each site and develop a design document based on all gathered requirements. After the documentation is complete, the team then develops a template solution for the customer. This solution can then be used as the basis for a rollout. Each site can then be quickly implemented based on the common solution, with a small amount of effort allocated to any specific site configurations and needs.
What are the benefits?
Although there is an upfront investment period for analysis and development of a template, this investment is minimal in comparison to the long-term benefits for a multi-site rollout. The template approach allows companies to invest once in the design and development of their standardized manufacturing environment. The result of this is strategy is a significantly more efficient, cheaper, and more effectively adopted environment for the enterprise rollout of a manufacturing IT solution.
