How enterprise asset management can make facilities disruption-proof

Modern enterprise asset management (EAM) software can help improve manufacturing planning, production planning, production scheduling and more.

By Trent Maw January 4, 2022
Courtesy: Russelectric, New Products for Engineers Database

Manufacturing planning is your roadmap. It’s your guide through the ups and downs of the unknown. But to master it, you need something more than outdated tools and processes. Modern enterprise asset management (EAM) software can help manufacturers develop and stick to a solid manufacturing plan.

Modern EAM software can put manufacturers in control of realizing the objectives of manufacturing planning, production planning, production scheduling and more.

What is manufacturing planning?

Many likely know what manufacturing planning is — but when was the last time people looked at the strategy involved? When was the last time you asked yourself, “Has our current manufacturing planning process evolved along with our digital tools, supply chain challenges, customer demand, and overall needs?”

Traditional manufacturing planning has made many organizations feel slow and inflexible instead of sleek and streamlined. It addresses production disruptions by using the same tried-and-tested answers, even if those answers are becoming outdated. That’s why it’s important to go back to basics when updating your manufacturing planning process. Here are a few key things you should strive for:

  • Supply chain planning and insights.
  • Reliable asset performance.
  • Finite capacity scheduling.
  • Mobile manufacturing data access.
  • Fewer disruptions.
  • Controlled and transparent operational costs.
  • Workflow optimization.
  • Material requirements forecasting.

Modern EAM software’s role in manufacturing planning

The role of modern enterprise asset management (EAM) software in manufacturing planning is to succeed where traditional EAM has failed. It’s built on the same foundation, but it improves upon many of the original weaknesses — including low-value data, time-consuming implementation, disparate views and a frankly limiting focus on only machine maintenance.

Modern EAM software is here to help you combine insights, data, scheduling, asset control and spare parts inventory management tasks from across the shop floor into cohesive manufacturing plans that ensure disruptions to production are minimized. By combining maintenance and production data in a single digital workspace, each department has a solid understanding of its own needs, both independently and in relation to each other. That enables anyone to be an expert because everyone is referring to the same source of truth.

Although traditional EAM has its strengths, it’s notoriously time-consuming to implement, which cuts down on its functionality and ROI. By creating an all-inclusive platform for maintaining the ability to execute on your manufacturing plan, Modern EAM software puts data and insights at your fingertips without forcing you to jump through hoops. You’ll be able to find the answers you need within seconds, even in the middle of a manufacturing task.

These days, achieving the execution of manufacturing planning is a whole different animal. That’s why Modern EAM software can constantly evolve to help you understand your needs, implement targeted solutions and overcome new challenges — for example, a supply chain shortage or shifting customer satisfaction benchmarks.

Modern EAM software has also evolved in another sense: by improving upon the offerings of its predecessor. Rather than just illuminating issues as traditional EAM might do, today’s software provides multiple paths to resolution, including notifications and escalations. You can also prioritize solutions based on production scheduling needs, inventory challenges or advanced planning techniques.

Creating disruption-proof manufacturing planning

The ultimate goal of manufacturing planning and, thus, Modern EAM software is to create a disruption-proof operation. Here’s what that looks like:

Machine downtime versus non-machine downtime

Machine downtime is an obvious disruption in your production and, of course, really throws a wrench in your process and scheduling. However, non-machine downtime — any other issue that inhibits the ability to create quality products — is an equally important consideration for any manufacturing operation.

Luckily, Modern EAM software goes beyond machine breakdowns to give you insight into any obstacles or workflow interruptions you might encounter, including:

  • Maintenance scheduling.
  • Quality control.
  • Corrective action requests.
  • Incomplete shipments.
  • Damaged inventory or parts.
  • Safety audits.

It’s your tool for managing your organization holistically, rather than trying to tackle its pain points one at a time.

Increased visibility

In many ways, Modern EAM software acts like a pair of binoculars. It helps you synthesize multiple sources of data into one clear, transparent view of the truth. It also allows you to focus on resource allocation, employee activity, maintenance scheduling, supply chain management and all the other tasks involved in manufacturing planning.

This visibility doesn’t just help you solve problems on the factory floor. It also illuminates the areas in which your efforts are paying off, helping you set actionable goals for efficiency, productivity and advanced planning.

Ease of use

Today’s manufacturing process planning lives in the cloud. It’s quick and easy to implement, meaning operators can have it in users’ hands without a frustrating learning curve.  On top of that, it’s also a fan favorite. When workers like the software you’ve provided, they’re more likely to actually use it — which means you’ll get the data, insights and process improvements you’ve been looking for.

Streamline manufacturing planning with EAM

Manufacturing planning, like manufacturing itself, has a lot of moving parts. If you’ve been using traditional EAM to help with the heavy lifting of removing the disruptors to your plan, you’re missing out. Modern EAM software simplifies the process and empowers you to ensure the reliability of your equipment and execution, from production scheduling to asset management. It also puts data at your fingertips whenever and wherever you need it, helping boost efficiency across your factory.

– This originally appeared on L2L’s website. L2L is a CFE Media content partner.

Original content can be found at www.l2l.com.


Author Bio: Trent Maw, senior director of marketing, L2L (Leading2Lean)