S O F T W A R E S A V V Y

andy.woods@openjanela.com

Practical Paperless Production?

You Must Be Kidding!

B Y A N D Y W O O D S

bout 20 years ago, high-tech

industries such as aerospace

began using paperless manu-

facturing. It was expensive, cumber-

some and required specialized staff

just to maintain it. None of us ever

imagined using it for window man-

ufacturing, but pricing and access to

ever-more-powerful personal com-

puters made everything change.

Today we have reasonably priced

computers, high-speed network con-

nections and interfaces that move

us closer and closer to closed-loop

production. A closed-loop material

requirements planning (MRP) system

is software that helps manufacturers

keep track of inventory and use that

down and communication between

work areas in the factory skyrockets.

If you break a piece of glass or need

to red-line an item for any reason, it is

not a problem. Problems can be han-

dled immediately, right at the worksta-

tion. End-to-end traceability gives your

management team the information

it needs to identify bottlenecks and

improve workﬂow. When a customer

inquiries about the status of an order, it

is right there—no more running to the

factory ﬂoor to ﬁnd out. Finally, you

reduce the hassle of scheduling with a

centralized electronic system.

Getting Started

Here are a few steps to

help you plan for a move to

paperless production:

. Review current process

a. Point out performance

indicators

b. Recognize weak areas in

workﬂow

c. Examine how information is

disseminated

d. Identify printing statistics

. Single out information silos

. Outline an ideal operational

model

The Beneﬁts

The production values are certainly

. Establish success benchmarks

knowledge, along with other produc- about the added beneﬁt of reducing there, but are there business beneﬁts?

tion variables, to adjust future manu- your printing expenses—machines, You bet. The ease of communica-

facturing plans. machine supplies, upkeep, and of tion and improved efﬁciency on the

Closed loops facilitate the transfor- course paper.

mation from a ﬂow economy to a cir-

shop ﬂoor goes right to your bottom

line. You can reduce, if not eliminate,

the time spent printing, physical-

cular one. This improves sustainabil- The Value

ity and ultimately leads to improve-

We have stated the obvious. Now ly running information, and dealing

ments. Waste, energy consumption, let’s take a deeper look at the value with mistakes. Your quality-control

transport processes and packaging proposition for moving to a paperless measures are based on real produc-

can be reduced or eliminated in a environment. Invest a few hundred tion data, so you can take steps to

closed–loop environment. But one dollars in each workstation and every improve them. Increased efﬁciency

thing may still be missing, and it can one of them, at every step in the pro- reduces labor costs. And, let us not

make the biggest difference in your cess, will get exactly the information forget the beneﬁts of improved com-

bottom line. I’m talking about mov- they need. No lost cut sheets, no cof- munication between the back ofﬁce

ing to a paperless production model. fee spills on paperwork, no missed and production workers, which is

What does that really mean?

Paperless production electronically … it just can’t happen. The informa-

delivery, no running out of printer ink always a sore subject in the factory.

Just applying the items in the call-

delivers the information you need to tion the operator needs is there, on out column to your situation will put

the right place, at the right time and the workstation. If something goes you well on your way to identifying

in the right order. Imagine informa- wrong with production, the order goes your speciﬁc bottlenecks and issues.

tion ﬂowing up- and down-stream to right back to be re-submitted, and Adding the beneﬁts of reduced errors,

every station in your manufacturing the next operator knows exactly what improvedqualitycontrolandincreased

process. Imagine eliminating “travel- happened.

customer satisfaction may be all it

ing documents” including production One single scan of the barcode takes for you to look into paperless

summary sheets, cutting reports and displays everything your production production.

shop tickets because that information worker needs to know. What’s more,

goes electronically to each worksta- the information is interactive and Andy Woods is the founder of Caliburn Inc.,

tion. Let your mind go wild, and think searchable. Silos of information come the parent company of OpenJanela.

Door & Window Market