Asset Maintenance Best Practices

Learn about the best practices for optimal asset maintenance performance and how to track your assets to ensure that everything is in working condition.

Asset maintenance refers to everything that goes into keeping your manufacturing assets in tip-top shape. With machinery, for example, asset maintenance means conducting frequent inspections and repairs. With office space, this term involves maintaining a clean, safe, and productive workplace. With products, it includes checking finished goods for any deficiencies or errors.

In a nutshell, asset maintenance helps prolong the performance and lifespan of equipment, machinery, goods, and more. Performing this strategy ensures that your essential business resources continue functioning smoothly and properly.

Learn the best practices for increasing asset maintenance performance:

Best practices for optimal asset maintenance performance

Implementing key best practices can improve asset maintenance in manufacturing. We’ve put together five crucial strategies to ensure your manufacturing firm is performing at its best while minimizing costs:

1. Gather as much info as possible

Gathering data on assets can help management make better informed production decisions. Asset tracking is a great technique to accomplish this.

2. Create a preventive maintenance schedule

The data that’s been collected will make it easier to create a preventive maintenance schedule. To create one, start by organizing asset data and analyzing the info you’ve amassed (e.g., how often each item must be checked and maintained). Lastly, prioritize your most important assets and allocate funds to maintain them.

schedule and audit asset maintenance work

3. Train workers

Investing in your employees pays off. Procedural documentation and training will help ensure that all maintenance work is thoroughly performed and recorded. Skills management software can help with ongoing management and tracking of employee skills and training requirements.

4. Apply an inventory tracking system

There is nothing worse than beginning a project only to find out that you don’t have all the moving parts to complete it. An inventory system helps reduce the chances of missing crucial product information and enables you to better track company assets.

5. Track asset maintenance key performance indicators (KPIs)

KPIs such as mean time between failures (MTBF), overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and work order resolution time can give a performance review on how well your assets are doing. They’re also great at pinpointing which areas could benefit from predictive maintenance, the process of checking for deficiencies to avoid future machine breakdowns.

Pro Tip

Asset management software like Augmentir’s Connected Worker Solution helps you simplify the operations and maintenance of your facility. Manage work and maintenance procedures, skill requirements, training, KPIs, and preventive maintenance schedules all through a visual interface. Connected worker solutions help integrate your CMMS with your shop floor operations.

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Advantages of asset maintenance

The maintenance of assets in manufacturing consists of regularly inspecting, repairing, and replacing equipment and other assets to confirm that everything is in workable condition.

Advantages of asset maintenance:

  • Enhanced workplace safety
  • Greater equipment reliability
  • Longer machine lifespan
  • Lower maintenance costs
  • Improved productivity
  • Better regulatory compliance

Asset maintenance tools and how Augmentir can help

Manufacturers are encouraged to manage and track assets to limit product flaws, prevent machine failure, and improve overall productivity. However, in today’s digital age, especially with more mobile devices, complex cloud-based technologies, and software updates, handling assets has become much more complicated.

This is where Augmentir’s AI-powered connected worker solution, or asset management software, comes in. Our solution allows manufacturing facilities to better monitor their assets and manage them effectively with easy-to-use customizable dashboards and real-time insights.

Asset maintenance with Augmentir

Ours is the world’s only connected worker suite that provides an overarching view of an asset’s life cycle. Accurate digital asset records can help manufacturers with resource planning. In addition, our tool helps with asset record keeping so that you don’t have to worry about not meeting regulatory compliance requirements.

Though a manufacturing firm could use a spreadsheet to track its assets, our digital solution gives workers the ability to evaluate asset-specific data and make better decisions about how to manage each one.

Transform how your company runs its maintenance operations. Request a live demo today!

 

 

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The Real Benefits of Digital Work Instructions in Manufacturing

The benefits of digital work instructions go far beyond simply standardizing work. The real benefit is in personalized guidance and support for today’s workers.

Digital work instructions are step-by-step directions on the best way to complete any task, from basic maintenance to fixing equipment. These digitized instructions are electronic versions of work procedures that are kept in a centralized system so workers can easily access them to work on tasks or to make timely decisions on projects. While the benefits of digital work instructions are numerous, the real benefit in manufacturing comes when digital work instructions can be personalized to the unique needs and skills of each worker.

So say goodbye to static documentation and hello to a new era of personalized digitization. If you’re interested in learning the real benefits of digital work instructions, read on about the following:

How digital work instructions are transforming manufacturing processes

Traditional instructions on paper can slow down a manufacturing operation. They can be lengthy, become quickly outdated, and are often full of mistakes. With paper-based reporting, for example, workers may forget to note the condition of equipment or update a faulty procedure.

Fortunately, digital instructions are an ideal solution. They offer visual demonstrations, how-to videos, and other resources for completing tasks. Most importantly, when digital work instructions are managed and delivered through a connected worker solution, they can be kept up-to-date to ensure compliance and product quality. According to Quality Magazine, not only do digital work instructions support overall enterprise productivity, but they also provide workers with an improved level of control over their work through enterprise data and automated insights.

benefits of digital work instructions

When you digitize your procedures, they can be accessed and kept up to date from wherever employees work. They can be enhanced with visual aids, contextual information, and augmented reality experiences to guide workers through complex jobs. Best of all, workers are less likely to make mistakes or miss steps when they can easily refer to clear and visually engaging information.

Digital work instructions are maintained via a connected worker solution, and delivered through mobile or wearable devices on the shop floor. These solutions can be coupled with AI-powered software to further help companies digitize production procedures.

This leads to greater worker productivity and output.

The real benefits of digital work instructions

Digital work instructions provide countless advantages when implemented throughout your entire organization, including improved production processes, decreased downtime, greater operational competence and safety, as well as support for a centralized database of knowledge. On their own, they deliver standard work guidelines but fail to consider the unique skills of each worker, which is increasingly important in today’s evolving and labor-constrained workforce.  The typical one-size-fits-all approach to managing, guiding, and supporting employees won’t cut it in today’s market.

Businesses need a solution that helps them improve manufacturing processes and meet their workers where they are.

This is where AI-based solutions come in.

Using AI-based connected worker solutions, organizations can digitize and easily manage skills tracking and training programs and connect them with frontline operations. Embedded AI can dynamically optimize work processes to deliver training in the flow of work, tailored support, and more. Solutions that combine skills tracking capabilities with connected worker technology and on-the-job digital guidance can deliver significant additional value. Data from actual work performance can inform workforce development initiatives allowing you to target your training, reskilling, and upskilling efforts where they have the largest impact.

It can generate an abundance of valuable data to provide tailored training support and skills endorsements and identify workforce opportunities. These benefits extend beyond simply standardizing work to include:

1. A more motivated, more engaged workforce

An organization’s commitment to cultivating its team’s skills can influence their attitudes toward the job. A worker is likelier to perform better when valued and appreciated. Digitized skills tracking also ensures that workers are qualified to perform their job.

2. Mitigate risk and ensure safety

Solutions that include personalized work instructions that incorporate worker skills allow organizations to validate at the time of work assignment who has the skill level to safely perform a specific task. This helps to mitigate risk and ensure safety.

3. Intelligently assigning work

Ensure the right person is assigned to the right job. Manage work assignments based on skill level, endorsements, and actual job performance.

skills taxonomy

4. Closes the skills gap

Tracking skills is a great way to identify gaps between the skills employees already have and the skills they need. With this information, the company can arrange for additional training or other ways to invest in their employees. Keep in mind that as your manufacturing organization evolves and grows, so should your employee skillset.

6. Identify upskilling or reskilling opportunities

Use data from actual work performance, combined with an employee’s current skills and endorsements to inform your reskilling and upskilling decisions. Knowing where improvements need to be made can close any learning gaps and boost the overall success of a company. Optimizing your workforce can help improve productivity in every department, giving your company a competitive edge in today’s market.

 

Connected worker solutions that combine skills management with digital work instructions, collaboration, and knowledge management are uniquely suited to optimize today’s variable workforce. AI-generated insights are pulled from patterns identified across all work activity in real-time. These insights identify where new and experienced workers may benefit from either reskilling or upskilling.

This combination of smart digital technology can also leverage your training resources, such as instructional videos, written instructions, or access to remote experts, to deliver personalized guidance for the worker to perform their best. These tools intelligently work together to help you assign workers to procedures based on required skill levels.

FAQs about digital work instructions

What is the purpose of digital work instructions?

Digitized work instructions provide clear, step-by-step directions on how each manufacturing task should be performed. They are kept in a centralized database for real-time view of procedures, how-to videos, training opportunities, and more. Companies implement them in order to improve workers’ procedural knowledge, ensure standard work compliance, reduce mistakes, and raise production quality overall.

How can digital work instructions help manufacturers?

Digital work instructions help manufacturers create a more productive workforce that values detail, quality, and learning. Work instructions can be updated to fit best practices, reduce human error, and provide learning opportunities with visual cues like videos, pictures, augmented reality experiences, and more.

Which work instruction software is right for me?

Although there are different software programs out there, Augmentir is the world’s leading connected worker solution, and the only solution that uses AI to personalize instructions based on individual worker proficiency and skill levels.

How Augmentir’s digital solutions can help

Digitizing work instructions is a great start to address manufacturing issues, however, alone, it won’t help completely solve some of the biggest workforce challenges. It’s not enough to simply move from paper-based to digital work instructions.

We must go a step further, for example, Augmentir’s platform provides complete digital workflow authoring tools that allow you to not only quickly convert your paper-based processes to digital work instructions, but also use AI to dynamically personalize them to the needs of your individual workers.

  • Digital work instructions, augmented with visual aids, contextual information, and industrial collaboration tools, help intelligently guide workers through complex jobs
  • Complete workflows allow you to digitize complex business processes
  • Embedded AI dynamically optimizes work procedures and workflows to deliver in-situ training and support

 

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How an Asset Hierarchy Can Help with Asset Maintenance

Connected frontline operations platforms are helping manufacturers reduce downtime and provide a foundation for a holistic preventive maintenance strategy.

An asset hierarchy outlines all of a business’s top equipment, machines, and components visually to help the business plan, execute and track maintenance activities. Asset hierarchies are usually in the shape of a pyramid, similar to an organizational chart. And since every operation is different, it’s likely you won’t have the same hierarchy as your competitor.

The benefits of an asset hierarchy include accurate maintenance planning, faster failure root cause analysis, and improved cost tracking. By implementing an asset hierarchy in conjunction with a frontline operations system, such as a connected worker solution, manufacturers can benefit by dramatically improved maintenance planning and execution. This article answers the following questions to help you learn more:

asset hierarchy improves maintenance

What is an asset hierarchy?

An asset hierarchy is an index of your most critical equipment, machines, and parts to better understand how these assets work together and monitor their maintenance needs. For example, building and maintaining your manufacturing business’s hierarchy can help you track and identify root causes of failure in your equipment.asset hierarchy and taxonomy - iso standard

This taxonomy is often represented as a pyramid, based on the ISO 14224 standard, which was developed for the collection and exchange of
reliability and maintenance data for equipment. Initially developed for the Petroleum, Petrochemical, and Natural Gas industry, this taxonomy for equipment and failure data can apply to any manufacturing environment, and has become the de-facto standard for every other industry.

Asset hierarchies are typically built and maintained within an organization’s EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) or CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System), which tracks asset maintenance and condition data, as well as maintenance schedules. Increasingly, EAMs, CMMS, and asset hierarchy information are being integrated with digitized frontline operations systems to improve maintenance planning and execution.

Pro Tip

It’s not enough to simply define your asset hierarchy with your EAM or CMMS. Innovative manufacturing companies are now extending this by integrating their asset hierarchies with connected worker solutions, which help digitize and optimize the actual work being done by frontline maintenance teams, improving maintenance execution.

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Better organization of equipment can also help workers understand how the action of one affects the other to solve any potential problems. This is another benefit of integrating your asset hierarchy with a connected worker solution. In a nutshell, strong hierarchies are a solid foundation for proper maintenance management and reliability.

What is asset maintenance?

While maintenance is generally synonymous with repair, in effective manufacturing facilities, maintaining equipment can prevent the need for repairs. Asset maintenance is an umbrella term for everything that goes into keeping your assets in tip-top shape.

For example, asset maintenance in manufacturing machinery may mean frequent inspections to prevent breakdowns and repairs. Your space as a whole relies on this type of maintenance to ensure everything is running smoothly, from equipment to everyday production processes.

Lastly, this term makes daily manufacturing processes more productive to manage. That’s because effective asset management tells you where assets are located, how they are used, and when changes were made to them.

How does an asset hierarchy improve asset maintenance?

An asset hierarchy and asset maintenance work in conjunction with one another. This visual tool gives workers a better idea of what each asset is and the dependencies between them.

Knowing what each asset is can help you schedule preventative inspections and tasks. If any problems arise, you can more easily identify all the working parts, find the root cause and fix it.

 

Augmentir’s AI-powered asset management software helps you simplify the operations and maintenance of your facility by integrating your asset hierarchy and maintenance data within a frontline operations system. Through Augmentir, organizations can benefit from a complete view of asset management, all through a visual mobile interface. Each asset contains a complete view of:

  • Kanban board for all asset activities
  • Work and maintenance procedures
  • Skills required for operation and maintenance
  • Collaboration related to the asset
  • Associated documentation
  • CIL/Standard Work schedule
  • History of all activities on the asset

Asset management with Augmentir

Augmentir’s asset management capabilities include an out-of-the-box autonomous maintenance solution, which gives equipment operators more control over equipment cleaning, inspections, and lubrications (CIL) to improve CIL completion rate, resulting in minimized machine downtime.

Request a live demo today to learn why companies are choosing Augmentir to help standardize and digitize their maintenance activities.

 

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Why Quality is Important in Manufacturing

Connected frontline operations platforms are helping manufacturers reduce downtime and provide a foundation for a holistic preventive maintenance strategy.

Quality in manufacturing depends on effective quality control (QC), a set of procedures used to measure and test products for compliance. The main function of QC is to ensure that all goods are free of defects, meet client expectations, and adhere to industry best practices.

Products have the potential either to increase customer satisfaction or to create legal and financial complications if deficiencies are found. In the current era where consumers are increasingly conscious of product safety and quality, it is paramount that manufacturers are doing all they can to ensure products meet all quality standards. Quality goods can affect a business’s success and advance its credibility to the public. They can also lead to fewer production costs and increases in profit.

With emerging digital technologies such as AI and connected worker solutions, manufacturers can improve quality control, decrease defects, and more. AI-powered connected worker platforms allow manufacturers to standardize quality control, resulting in fewer errors, reduced defects, and streamlined quality processes that are faster and more accurate.

Explore the following content to get a better idea of why quality is crucial and ways to improve it:

quality in manufacturing

Defining quality on industrial frontlines

Quality in the manufacturing realm is all about following procedures to meet product and compliance specifications. Once the standard for quality is set, the rest is about meeting product expectations through standardized procedures.

Quality in production can be broken down into three factors: design, quality control, and quality management.

Design: A product can be significantly improved by design. For example, goods should be made with the right materials to ensure functionality and a longer shelf life.

Quality control: The level of quality is improved when waste and product defects are reduced during the QC process.

Quality management: Completing production processes that follow regulatory standards is at the core of quality management.

Pro Tip

By digitizing quality control and quality assurance procedures, manufacturers can ensure a standardized approach towards inspections and quality data collection and improve overall compliance with quality standards.

Quality affects every facet of manufacturing

Production quality is more than just distributing products that people will trust and buy. Though that may be a key factor, quality affects every aspect of manufacturing, from workplace risk management to machine upkeep and inspection.

Quality affects many aspects of production. Examples include the following:

  • Risk management ensures products are safe to use by customers and follow safety protocols. Smart, connected worker solutions are able to improve risk management through standardization and optimization of quality checks.
  • Regulatory compliance is a key component of quality and can help prevent delays in production and fines. With digitized processes in place, manufacturers are able to ensure workers have access to the correct procedures and that tasks are performed in a standardized manner to avoid errors and promote improved compliance.
  • Waste reduction is possible when material resources are conserved and used accordingly in production processes. AI-powered analytics in conjunction with smart, connected worker solutions allow for improved, streamlined processes that are able to reduce waste and improve yield through optimized production.
  • Errors and defects are reduced when procedures are standardized using efficient QC processes to troubleshoot problems. With connected worker solutions and digitized quality control processes, mistakes can be identified as they happen, protecting the production process.
  • Machine upkeep and inspection can be strengthened when industry best practices are implemented. Digitizing machine inspection standards and upkeep notifications and connecting frontline workers via smart, connected worker platforms gives operators the ability to practice preventative and autonomous maintenance and improves overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and reduces unplanned downtime.

How to Improve Quality in Manufacturing

Quality improvement in manufacturing is vital to ensure a business is performing at its best. Here are some ways to boost quality with real-world examples:

Step 1: Practice lean manufacturing.

Lean manufacturing is the practice of reducing waste in production processes. Waste is defined as anything that does not bring value to the customer. This method requires an examination of your current practices to see which work and which leads to greater waste. The rise of digital technology is making it easier and more practical for manufacturers to connect and digitize their operations and drive further improvements and enhance lean manufacturing strategies.

Real-world application: An injection molding machine was found clogged with mold and was producing products with damaged seams. After resolving this issue by cleaning the machine, the company had less wasted plastic and fewer product malfunctions. With digitized notifications, real-time collaboration, and smart, connected worker solutions, situations like the above can be solved quickly and with reduced impact on production.

standardize and digitize quality assurance procedures

Step 2: Implement total productive maintenance.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) focuses on the idea that every employee should do their part to maximize equipment effectiveness. The objective is to create a culture where every worker adjusts and maintains machinery over the course of each shift. Through a combination of digital work instructions and real-time collaboration tools, manufacturers can better implement and improve TPM initiatives. This allows operators to independently complete maintenance tasks at peak performance and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

Real-world application: Both operators and maintenance staff can perform routine maintenance to check for errors or deficiencies. By implementing connected worker solutions organizations can improve the quality, transparency, and efficiency of maintenance and repair procedures and minimize machine downtime and reduce overall maintenance costs and impact.

Step 3: Embrace statistical process control.

This method involves detecting production issues by studying data anomalies to get rid of root causes before they ruin entire assembly lines. With connected frontline worker solutions that are integrated with enterprise quality management systems, organizations can improve statistical process control by optimizing data collection and inspection procedures through their frontline workforce. This essentially transforms frontline workers into quality sensors that further enhance and empower overall quality efforts.

Real-world application: Tracking the number of defective goods on each production line can help with identifying the root of any issue and taking corrective action. Smart, connected worker technology improves tracking ability, optimizes data collection, and identifies issues faster, reducing the risk of product recalls, and preserving consumer trust.

Digitizing Quality in Manufacturing with Augmentir

Companies are adopting innovative new technologies, processes, and methods to improve quality, productivity, and collaboration efforts across the industrial arena. Guaranteeing quality in manufacturing boils down to standardizing processes. Every procedure should contribute to product value and be carried out in a unified way. Implementing smart, connected solutions and coupling them with AI-powered analytics opens new paths for manufacturers to step forward and improve how they approach quality in the production process and beyond.

By digitizing analog paper practices, you enable better quality control and standardization of inspection procedures which, in turn, strengthens your overall manufacturing operations. Augmentir can help with the digitization and transformation process. We understand the need for effective quality control, and we have demonstrated success in helping manufacturers improve quality on the production floor.

Check out our quality use cases, and request a live demo today to learn for yourself why companies are choosing Augmentir to help standardize and digitize quality control procedures.

 

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How Skills Tracking Improves Work Allocation and Workforce Utilization

Connected frontline operations platforms are helping manufacturers reduce downtime and provide a foundation for a holistic preventive maintenance strategy.

Employee skills tracking is an excellent way to stay ahead of the curve in today’s ever-changing manufacturing landscape. Leaders can use this talent management strategy to close worker competency gaps, increase effective training, and hire qualified prospects.

Putting an emphasis on employee skills can also help manufacturers prioritize work allocation and workforce utilization. But what exactly do these two terms mean and how do they relate to tracking skills in manufacturing?

Work allocation is the process of assigning resources and roles to meet the objectives of a given task or production facility. Workforce utilization, meanwhile, refers to how a company or organization effectively utilizes its workforce to meet its operational goals and objectives.

skills tracking and workforce utilization in manufacturing

To keep up with competition, manufacturers should not only try to recruit the best possible hires, but also allocate work in an effective way to retain staff, satisfy customers, and boost profits.

Ultimately, keeping track of skills is a beneficial way to organize a company’s resources to attain sustainable business goals. Implementing a connected worker solution and digitizing skills management processes through smart manufacturing technologies is an effective way for organizations to instantly visualize the skills gaps in teams as well as track workforce skills and quickly assess both team and individual readiness.

Learn more about digital skills tracking and how it improves work allocation and workforce utilization below:

Skills tracking defined

Skills tracking helps ensure that all workers have the necessary expertise to complete tasks to their fullest potential. Basically, it closes the gap between the competencies employees already have and ones they need to further develop.

Every manufacturing firm has a unique set of job requirements and expectations. Tracking worker skills on a regular basis helps a company identify training needs and build workers’ knowledge so that they can meet expected targets. Skills management and tracking software help manufacturers identify and track employee expertise. You can map skills from a centralized library to individual workers, analyze the performance of your teams, and fill any skill gaps that exist.

skills tracking software

In a nutshell, measuring employee proficiencies can boost retention, decrease the amount of time spent on tasks, and improve overall productivity.

Benefits of tracking skills to improve work allocation

Through digitization and effective skills tracking, manufacturing firms can best allocate work to team members based on expertise, credentials, and actual ability. For example, an operator who has more than 10 years of experience using computer-controlled equipment may be a better fit to handle complex machinery than an entry-level worker who lacks that training.

Additionally, with a centralized digital repository managers have a better idea of each employee’s current skills level and potential areas of improvement. Then they can close any skill gaps through training opportunities. In return, workers who receive the necessary training are more likely to thrive in their roles and be productive.

In summary, measuring worker skills can help improve work allocation by:

  • Hiring or assigning current employees to the correct jobs and tasks
  • Facilitating worker development through mentorship and training
  • Retaining high-quality employees

How tracking skills boosts workforce utilization

Workforce utilization refers to how much of an employee’s time is devoted to billable work. Tracking skills can improve this, in turn boosting productivity and profits.

When you measure how efficiently employees are doing their jobs and how well a business manages its resources, you can assure that tasks are done well and see continuous increase in revenue. Think about how many hours of each staff member’s workweek need to be billable to remain profitable and whether they are on track. With a digitized tracking system, manufacturers are able to automate and streamline this process reducing errors, improving productivity, and ensuring success.

Pro Tip

Through the use of smart, connected worker solutions and AI-based workforce insights organizations can deliver continuous, on-the-job learning based on skill tracking and real job performance, promoting reskilling and upskilling efforts enterprise wide.

To summarize, tracking skills can help enhance workforce utilization by:

  • Setting profitable rates for services based on worker output and time billed
  • Compensating employees fairly
  • Gauging whether staff is being overworked or underutilized

By digitizing these tracking processes and implementing AI-driven support, organizations can also visualize, track and offset employee burnout. By taking highly granular connected worker data and using AI to filter out the unnecessary portions, industrial operations are able to not only improve tasks and productivity but better support and empower frontline workers.

Ways to track workforce skills

Tracking employee skills is a great way to improve worker performance and productivity by matching the right person with the right assignment.

One way to track an employee’s skills is through a skills matrix, which is a grid that maps staff credentials and qualifications. A skills matrix helps managers strategize and oversee current and wanted skills for a team, position, department, and more. A skills matrix is usually managed using a spreadsheet, but there are alternatives to skill matrices. For example, cloud-based skills management software can help identify and track employee competence and correlate it with actual job performance. The software can also help managers filter employee databases by skills to assemble teams or assign work based on specific qualifications.

skills matrix

Leadership can also track competencies through a skills taxonomy. Taxonomies help classify and organize skills into groups to better understand which skills employees have and which they should learn. Essentially, these structured lists help management identify and track skills to better allocate resources and worker training opportunities.

Lastly, a skills-tracking application can include AI-based software to identify and measure worker expertise and actual job performance. This is an excellent method for intelligently assigning work through skills mapping, optimizing training programs, and more. With AI-based insights and connected worker technology, organizations can bridge the gap between the training room and the shop floor, integrating training into the flow of work and creating an environment of continuous learning.

Skills management with Augmentir

Augmentir offers top-notch solutions to easily track and manage your frontline’s skillset. Our connected worker solution provides customized dashboards to streamline processes to improve workforce management, skills management, and deliver in-line training and support at the point of work, closing skills gaps at the moment of need.

If you are interested in learning how Augmentir can help improve your skills management, skills tracking, and workforce development – request a live demo.

 

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The Connected Enterprise: Why a Connected Worker Strategy is Critical to Success

Connected frontline operations platforms are helping manufacturers reduce downtime and provide a foundation for a holistic preventive maintenance strategy.

In today’s always-changing industrial landscape, organizations are acutely aware that adopting innovative technologies and processes is not just a “nice-to-have” but a “must” to stay competitive. According to PwC, 75% of manufacturers believe that Connected Enterprise technologies will have a major impact on their business over the next five years. By 2025, the number of connected devices in industrial settings is expected to reach 21.5 billion, making it clear that the adoption of connected technologies is a critical step for any organization that wants to succeed in the future.

connected enterprise

However, there is one aspect of a truly connected enterprise that many manufacturers overlook – their frontline workforce.

Frontline workers play a critical role in ensuring the safety, quality, and uptime of production operations, yet too often these workers are disconnected from the rest of the business. Connected frontline worker (CFW), refers to the use of technology to connect workers with the digital systems and processes in their organization, making it easier for them to collaborate, access information, and perform their jobs more efficiently. To fully realize the benefits of a connected workforce, it is essential to understand how they fit into the larger Connected Enterprise concept.

Learn more about what a connected enterprise is and the role that connected worker solutions play in the following sections:

What is a connected enterprise?

Connected Enterprise refers to the integration of digital technologies, data, and analytics across an organization’s entire operational landscape to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Companies are rapidly adopting advanced technologies to improve their business operations. This concept spans several initiatives within an organization: assets and equipment, the products being manufactured, the end customer, operations, workers, and the entire supply chain.

connected enterprise - LNS Research

Source: LNS Research

Connected worker (or connected frontline worker – CFW) technology is a crucial part of this concept – as it connects the human workforce with the digital systems and processes in the organization.

How to create a connected enterprise

The first step to creating a connected enterprise is implementing smart, connected worker solutions. AI and connected frontline worker technologies are some of the leading solutions organizations are turning to on their path toward a Connected Enterprise. Augmentir has seen manufacturers achieve significant results after successfully implementing connected frontline worker solutions in conjunction with AI-driven analytics:

  • Up to a 72% reduction in training and onboarding times
  • More than 20% decrease in downtime
  • Nearly a 25% increase in productivity

Solutions that incorporate enhanced mobile capabilities and combine training and skills tracking with connected worker technology and on-the-job digital guidance can deliver significant additional value for an organization’s connected enterprise initiative. Data from actual work performance combined with AI-based analytics can inform workforce development investments, and deliver smart insights that reduce time to productivity, enable targeted reskilling and upskilling, and provide individualized guidance and support at the point of work so that you get the best each person has to offer.

connected worker as part of connected enterprise

However, companies need to be strategic and take a structured approach. It is imperative that the right solutions are identified and tested by the right divisions, personnel, and business units.

LNS Research has developed an “Industrial Transformation Reference Architecture” approach that provides a framework and simplifies implementation into four layers:

  1. Business Processes and Systems
  2. Connected Assets and Operations
  3. Data and Analytics
  4. Connected Worker

These guidelines give organizations reference points to help guide them along their path of industrial transformation and set them up for success in connecting their operations.

Key benefits of connecting your workforce to your enterprise

By leveraging AI and other smart technologies, companies are providing workers with real-time guidance and assistance, enabling them to perform their jobs more effectively. Frontline workers can access information, collaborate with colleagues, and receive real-time alerts on potential hazards, all of which help to improve their productivity and safety.

The benefits offered by AI and connected technologies are significant:

  • Improved efficiency: By automating routine tasks and providing real-time information, AI and connected worker technologies can help streamline operations and reduce errors.
  • Increased productivity: AI and connected worker technologies can help workers perform their jobs more effectively, enabling them to produce more goods in less time.
  • Better quality control: By providing real-time data on production processes and product quality, AI and connected worker technologies can help identify issues early and prevent defects.
  • Enhanced safety: Connected worker technologies can provide workers with real-time guidance and assistance, enabling them to perform their jobs more safely and avoid accidents.
  • Cost savings: By reducing downtime, improving efficiency, and enhancing product quality, connected worker technologies can help companies save money and increase profitability.
  • Improved decision-making: By providing real-time insights and data analytics, connected worker technologies can help companies make more informed decisions about their operations and identify new opportunities for growth.

According to McKinsey & Company, by 2030, the adoption of “Connected Enterprise” technologies is expected to generate $1-2 trillion in value for the global economy, including the manufacturing industry. As the transformation from paper processes to digital continues, industrial organizations are consistently finding that CFW solutions are an essential component of a larger “Connected Enterprise”. By leveraging AI and other advanced technologies to better analyze data and provide actionable insights, companies empower workers with the tools to perform their jobs more effectively, improving productivity, efficiency, and safety. Adopting AI and connected worker technologies is a key part of industrial transformation and of “Connected Enterprise” initiatives, offering industrial organizations an enhanced competitive advantage and solutions to many of the obstacles they face in today’s markets.

Implementing a connected enterprise with Augmentir

If you are interested in learning for yourself why companies are choosing Augmentir to help them connect, digitize, and optimize their frontline operations – reach out to book a demo.

 

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Dust Away One-Size-Fits-All Work Instructions

AI-powered technology may be the missing puzzle piece for today’s workforce crisis.

Are you still printing work instructions and operating manuals? If so, we need to have a serious chat! Maybe you invested in “going digital” a while back and think your work is done. You’re not alone. It was considered “groundbreaking” when PDF files made their way to the factory floor. 

The first generation of digital work instructions were birthed after learning 46 percent of field technicians claimed paperwork and administrative tasks were the worst part of their day-to-day job. No argument here. Completing and filing paperwork is time-consuming and there is potential for lost information. There was an obvious upside to going digital, except for no longer being able to tell your supervisor that your dog ate your worker performance report. 

But even now that technology is ready for the archives. An estimated $1.3 trillion (and counting!) has been spent on digital transformation initiatives as the online connected workplace and market continue to move at a rapid pace. 

We are no fortune tellers, but studies show that 25 to 31 percent of 3.3. million business service jobs will be automated in the next decade. This doesn’t mean everyone is being replaced by robots. On the contrary. It means technology is improving to help workers do their jobs even better. Manufacturing companies need to be prepared to hop on this next-generation train if they aren’t already.

Move over one-size-fits-all training and work instructions 

The individualized, real-time, connected worker platform is here. Let us emphasize individualized. Connected worker platforms are being implemented in myriad industries, from automotive to food processing. Any industry which is adapting daily to the constant shifts and pressures of the global economy. Regardless of the industry, standard digital work instructions are no longer effective. They do not reflect the real-time changes happening in the operation, such as order fulfilment and materials inventory, or equipment maintenance needs and the capabilities of the workers operating the machines. Imagine working on the manufacturing floor for five years and handed with the same standardized work instructions as the new hire.

Does this make sense? Not anymore. Not when AI-based technology is changing what’s possible. And what’s different about this latest wave of technology that makes it so special? It’s built around optimizing the performance of people (Gasp.)

Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. – John C. Maxwell

A marriage made in heaven–the next generation of workers is ready for a digitally connected workplace

Recruiting and retaining talented workers is one of the greatest challenges facing operations today. We get it. But there’s good news. As one generation of workers readies for retirement, another is stepping up to fill the gap. Gen Z is overflowing with talented innovators in the tech world having grown up surrounded by non-stop advancements and devices. Need one of them to look somebody up in the phone book? Forget it. But need assistance when your home computer suddenly “dies”? These are your people. 

It’s more than video games. Their education has been largely based on a digital foundation. Nearly every function of their daily lives has an element of connectivity to the broader online world. You could say this generation is hardwired to respond best to customized digital learning platforms. It’s their love language. And so the potential to drastically improve productivity is real.

The beauty of the digitally connected worker–could they be “the One”?

The digitally connected worker has all the right stuff for a long-lasting relationship with your operation. The digital training and work instruction platform holds their unique inventory of skills, goals, and performance history, and works with them to become a better version of themselves on the floor. Workers whose individual needs are supported are better, more engaged employees. They have the self-confidence – as well as the tools and specific instructions – to address problems head on when they arise. An investment in AI-powered technology is an investment in a stable, adaptable, and reliable workforce.

Are you and your workforce ready to take this next step in digitization? Contact Augmentir to start the conversation. Together let’s step into the full potential that this generation has to offer to improve your operational efficiency.

How Centerlining Improves Efficiency in Manufacturing

Connected frontline operations platforms are helping manufacturers reduce downtime and provide a foundation for a holistic preventive maintenance strategy.

Centerlining in manufacturing is a methodology that uses standardized process settings to assure that all shop floor operations are carried out consistently.

For example, in manufacturing, it pinpoints which machine settings are needed to execute a given process and ensures operators implement those settings to avoid any defects on the shop floor. This works to decrease product and procedure discrepancies by improving machine efficiency.

centerlining in manufacturing

The type of machine configurations that can be centerlined to create quality goods that meet customer expectations range from temperature, speed, and pressure settings to the proper alignment of guard rails. When applied to a procedure, centerlining can substantially increase the number of sellable items, secure uniform product quality, and decrease production costs.

In a nutshell, employing a successful centerlining process can help optimize plant operations and reduce mistakes in product creation.

Learn more about how centerlining can improve everyday operations, and how to centerline a manufacturing process to yield the best output, in the following sections:

Centerlining methodology

Centerlining works by using specific machine settings per product (pressure, speed, temperature, etc.) to ensure processes are carried out the same way during each assembly line run.

Using the right centerline settings also has a side benefit: it lets operators identify problems as they happen. If workers know which process variables are triggering production delays, they can better control them to boost product quality output.

This can be achieved by creating a statistical process control chart to see which variables are causing interruptions to the assembly line and make any needed changes to the process. Creating a chart can also help workers identify procedures that are affecting the development of goods to ensure continuous improvement.

Centerlining goes hand in hand with total productive maintenance (TPM), a method which utilizes equipment, machine operators, and supporting processes to boost the quality and safety of production protocols.

How manufacturing efficiency can be improved by centerlining

Standardizing the appropriate machine settings can make everyday operations run more smoothly. For example, centerlining the requirements for each product can streamline changeovers, allowing workers to quickly reset their equipment and not lose time when switching to a new product run. This can prevent costly mistakes and reduce waste throughout the shop floor.

It also guarantees that all processes are completed in the same manner. Consistency helps ensure quality, especially when operators are setting up equipment for a production run. Failing to configure the right settings can increase the time for product changeovers and cause product deficiencies.

How to centerline a manufacturing process

Centerlining in manufacturing is a great way to troubleshoot product and procedure variations, oversee operations, and carry out statistical analysis to boost quality assurance and control.

Learn how to centerline a process by following the four steps below.

Step 1: Determine key process variables

It’s crucial to spot process variables that have the greatest effect on product quality to minimize any defects. Potential variables can include pressure, temperature, density, mass, and more.

Step 2: Identify machine settings for each variable

Then, look at which centerline settings can be applied to each process to ensure the creation of quality goods. Again, you’ll want to determine what has worked well in the past and use a statistical process control chart to set variable limits.

Important things to consider are: when the process has worked, which setting was best suited for that procedure, and how the two worked in conjunction with one another.

Step 3: Assess variable impact on production process and product

After you’ve identified the appropriate machine settings, it’s time to monitor how each variable impacts the production process and final product creation. Start by analyzing which assembly line runs yielded the highest production rate, factoring in things like equipment idle time, scrapped parts, rework, etc., to gauge what works and what needs improvement.

It’s vital that you have accurate, clear data to analyze. We recommend digitizing your centerlining process and results to correctly quantify the performance of each variable.

Step 4: Ensure centerline settings are always applied

Lastly, make sure that all operators are aware of and educated on how to best implement a centerlining process so that the right settings are applied each time. Failure to do so can result in mistakes and product deficiencies down the line. It’s best to provide all the necessary resources, steps, and training from the get-go to avoid costly errors. Digital work instructions and connected worker tools are a great way to ensure that operators are properly equipped to perform centerlining procedures.

At this stage, your manufacturing firm should have the proper reporting techniques to evaluate product quality against centerline procedures.

Interested in learning more?

Augmentir is a connected worker solution that allows industrial companies to digitize and optimize all frontline processes that are part of their TPM strategy. The complete suite of tools are built on top of Augmentir’s patented Smart AI foundation, which helps identify patterns and areas for continuous improvement.

manufacturing kpi first time right

 

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