As we mentioned in our recent blog post, How Component Traceability Saves the Day, component traceability is a game-changer for manufacturers.
Implementing a reliable component traceability system on your floor is the best way to ensure product quality, receive real-time information about the product and equipment, and ultimately be in a better position to meet regulatory requirements.
Component traceability also helps:
And the list goes on and on!
Hopefully, you are already using a component traceability solution in your business and are benefitting from it.
However, are you getting the absolute most out of it? Is it making a difference for your business?
The truth is, your entire organization should take responsibility for traceability. Management has to want to improve, you need the commitment to invest in systems, and all departments including engineering, materials, finance, and quality departments have to commit to actually using the systems.
Even then, the production management, team managers, and operators need to commit to adopting it and following through with it every day.
We’ve all seen examples of systems and software that promise a lot, but nobody actually uses, right?
Improving Component Traceability
So, how can you improve component traceability? Where do you start?
For one thing, you first need to make sure that you’re using modern, current hardware and software. Staying up to date on technology is critical.
As a whole, the manufacturing industry tends to be behind the curve when it comes to adopting modern solutions. You may even be using the same equipment or software that you were using 10, 15, or 20 years ago.
It’s also important to leverage the data that a quality MES provides. Use that data to evaluate supply chain visibility and find bottlenecks in the production process in order to make real-time optimization.
Quality data can also be used to identify the causes of scrap and waste, which we all know is a major thorn in the side of most manufacturing businesses.
This increased accountability on the shop floor can propel your business forward in ways you never saw coming.
Getting Started with Component Traceability
If you don’t already have some system of traceability in place, you could potentially be looking at a significant investment in terms of hardware, software, and training.
If you do have some form of traceability running on your shop floor, then there’s potential reuse of some of the servers, your OAS, and the database license you’re using. Even then, though, it will take a commitment to get your traceability solution running at maximum potential.