3 Ways a Connected Plant Floor Improves Top Floor Decisions

All manufacturers need accurate and timely data to manage performance. Complete integration of real-time operational data, collected from the plant floor and made available to the top floor, is key.

Hatch Stamping Company is a world leader in precision metal stampings and assemblies for the automotive industry. About 50 percent of the company’s critical data—such as production rates, performance time, quality specifications, and inventory information—is generated on the plant floor. The challenge: how to improve visibility into said data for a more accurate assessment of business performance.

Eliminating Waste

For Hatch, connecting its plant floor with cloud ERP has improved visibility across the company. Instead of waiting for IT staff to generate reports that were often out of date by the time they were complete, any user can create reports within minutes. Hatch can now monitor and manage operations at both its U.S. and Mexico plants in real time, allowing management to accurately identify areas where it can eliminate waste and meet its lean manufacturing objectives.

Improving Equipment Uptime

With its connected plant floor, Hatch management can look at detailed information on Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), including: downtime, performance-to-rate, and quality. OEE reporting and analyses helps Hatch avoid costly breakdowns, expand its technical knowledge base, and respond quickly to maintenance problems. This information enables management to achieve world-class manufacturing performance levels.

Enabling Real-Time Traceability

With the change, the process for tracking parts, containers, and shipping details is simpler and more accurate. Part numbers, purchase order numbers, lot numbers, or any other information can be encoded into a barcode. This allows Hatch to provide its suppliers with precise information, and serve up management an accurate view of inventory at any time.

Learn how you can connect your plant floor for more informed decisions. Download the white paper Tying the Shop Floor to the ERP System.