Improvements with Technology in recent years have allowed many businesses to remain both competitive and profitable, but perhaps in more recent times we need to also add in agile to meet the immediate needs of today's consumer. Technology has assisted businesses to grow as well as providing a systematic approach to make processes more efficient, to minimise errors and maintain profitability.
When we reflect on the evolution of the self-serve supermarket, previously we would unload our items onto the conveyor belt that we intended to purchase, and the Supermarket checkout operator would scan or look items to facilitate and complete the transaction.
Now, we simply scan a barcode on a product and the touch screen provides us with critical on demand information. Observing the screen, it will provide us information about the product, the price and the next steps. We repeat this process time and time again, but have you ever stopped to think, did anyone show you how to do this the first time?
Chances are, they did not.
The supermarket has reduced bottlenecks forming at checkouts and allowed throughput to continue. Perhaps provided a better overall experience for the consumer that only needed a few items. Consideration is that this may have also increased profitability while decreasing operational expense. In most cases in those self-serve checkout areas, there can be up to 10 Stations with only one staff member. That could have been 5 staff previously.
Barcode technology is nothing new, but the way in which this technology has allowed for a business to increase automation has.
How this relates to your business ?
When we reflect on the simple Barcode, in a production environment, the barcode technology can be found on a part label to call up a sub program located on a drive or server. This Barcode can quickly find a program for the intelligent CNC machine to run and execute the command.
Applying the same theory as when you are at the supermarket, scanning a barcode could provide you the following automation through CABINET VISION
Scan a Barcode on a Part Label – View Part Size and material information
Scan a Barcode on a Nested Sheet Printout – Show Machining Information
This in turn is calling up information to execute a command, providing a user critical information on what to do next. This system has proven to be highly efficient for improving accuracy for the machine operators, as well as providing information by way of the label to anyone that reads it. Outside the machine shop, the barcode has completed its process.
Any stage of the production line that follows would now just be reading a label. In something that started out super intelligent, now can be interpreted many ways.
As we begin to transition to digital systems, the benefit of a Production Management System enables us to read that same barcode through the remaining stages of production to achieve the following
Scan a Barcode, change the status on a Part to Cut, Edged, Assembled
Scan a Barcode, create a damaged or missing part alert
Scan a Barcode, call up critical information related to the stage of production
Scan a Barcode, be able to assist with part sorting into trolleys, bays
Scan a Barcode, create a kit to allow for shipping a group of parts
Scan a Barcode, generate a product label to be used for scanning onto a truck
Scan a Barcode, QA for checking before loading onto a truck
With the various challenges businesses are facing today, such as rising costs of materials and skilled labor shortages, to remain profitable we need to think a little like the supermarket. Invest in technology that helps to increase throughput and decrease inefficiencies, make it easy to onboard new staff, regardless of skill-set, make it easy to learn and make it fun.
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