What is Production Automation?

A production automation system is an enterprise 2.0 solutions information system that stores real time data about the entire production process of your company. The system tracks the process, starting from the potential order from your customer, to delivering the final product. Here are the main features of a production automation system:

• Customer and order tracking
• Product fulfillment tracking
• Production planning – based on production process (product specifications, technological components, and deliverables)
• Calculating the cost of raw materials
• Calculating labor costs
• Preparing estimates and reports
• Providing customer proposals and cost estimates
• Raw material purchasing and pricing information
• Accounting
• Collaborate with subcontractors
• Tracking the actual use of raw materials
• Tracking actual labor time spent
• Quality control
• Calculate actual total cost
• Breakdown other associated costs (e.g. shipping, product certification/approval)
• Warehouse management
• Create documents – contracts, bills, invoices, warranties
• Track warranty work
   

How Does Production Automation Work?

Company employees, from account managers to product specialists, enter their activities tied with the production process into the information system. A common practice is to create a plan for production and an estimated cost that, depending on the specifications of the product, can be completely automated or made to require minimal manual involvement. Following, a proposal can automatically be created for the client, along with the contract, invoice, etc.

Once the order is approved, the system automatically estimates various aspects of its production – availability of materials in the warehouse, availability of labor hours, and if needed notifies the designated staff about necessary actions (purchasing materials, assignment of tasks, etc.).

The production process has certain milestones, for example when obtaining raw materials, acceptance of production targets, and quality control. At the same time, the system tracks real time data on the use of production resources. It also constantly monitors the status of each order.

When certain conditions are met (e.g. the completion of all production tasks required in the order) the system automatically notifies the designated staff, and prepares the necessary documents (invoices, tickets, etc.)

During the process of fulfilling the order and after, the system allows you to analyze actual costs, profitability, and efficiency.

The Production Automation system also supports standard functions of the production process, such as logistics, accounting, planning, quality control, etc.

The actual functionality of the system and production process are based on the specific company for whom it is being developed, the base of the system however allows any manufacturer to employ worldwide best practices to solve common production challenges.

Benifits of Production Automation

Production automation allows you to:

• Increase the efficiency of your production process
• Receive and analyze information that is as accurate as possible about usage of your materials and labor time during the production process
• Speed up the production cycle
• Collaborate using web 2.0 development features
• Reduce errors
• Simplify accounting

Intechnic Corporation can provide a consultation where we will get an understanding of the specifics of your production process, and offer concrete suggestions for automating particular processes to improve the efficiency of your business. Contact us to schedule a consultation.