
The pandemic exacerbated the labor shortage as those in manufacturing, along with much of the world’s workforce, reassessed their career options. To date, Malaysia lacks at least 1.2 million workers across manufacturing, plantation and construction, a shortage worsening daily as demand grows with an easing of the pandemic, industry and government data show. With that backdrop, how do you attract and retain skilled workers, operate efficiently, support customers, and drive revenue?
Advancements in Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) can help you streamline and succeed despite labor shortages. An MES system helps you reduce your labor footprint with capabilities that include:

Automated Changeovers
collect information about what the PLC system is doing so you can eliminate the need for operators to track changeovers.

Automated part counts
Collect cycle information from the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and eliminated counting for your operators.

Automated Label Printing
When a pack size is reached and needs a label, MES automatically prints one.

Automated Machine State Tracking
The PLC, or a sensor, can tell you when a machine is running, and you can automate uptime/downtime tracking.

Alerts & Alarms
When something isn’t running to spec (too slow, too much downtime, too much scrap, etc.) you can notify the appropriate.

Root Cause analysis
The data collected by MES can be used to implement continuous improvement initiatives and help you reduce waste and inefficiencies.

Process Monitoring
You can capture how a machine is operating and its parts output to reduce the need or frequency of physical quality inspections.

Automatic part qualification
If conditions at a machine are outside of process parameters, MES may be capable of communicating with it. For example, sending voltage to the machine that opens a gate and ejects a defective part.

Integrated with ERP
MES can update production status and inventory counts in your ERP system so your office employees, in purchasing or customer service for example, have the flexibility of working remotely.
The pandemic not only hindered manufacturing output but also hastened the shift to Industry 4.0, smart factory technology, and concepts like lights-out manufacturing.
Lights-out-manufacturing is when a production facility is completely automated and human intervention is all but eliminated. The actual term “lights-out” comes from the idea that in a fully automated facility, lighting is no longer needed. Automated machines are perfectly content working long hours in the dark. In reality, “lights-out” won’t eliminate the need for human labor anytime soon, but it has the potential to reduce repetitive and inefficient tasks. Want to know more about Epicor MES? Contact Finsoft for more information and let us be your trusted digital transformation partner!
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