What exactly does it mean for a company to become lean? I suppose a better question is how can a company stay lean during a time in which economic turmoil is wrecking havoc on majority of the world’s industries. To stay lean a company must use less input such as man hours, materials, have a reduction of investment in equipment and utilize less warehouse or production space. When companies are able to reduce the amount of labor and spending with out sacrificing their product or charging their customers more, the benefits become obvious.  Easier said than done, right?

Some companies are deciding to utilize lean manufacturing software and are noticing an increase in the overall quality of their product because the software is helping them increase their productivity. Some software systems are aiding in the amount of waste that is produced. Let’s take JIT (Just-In-Time) software and use that as an example. This inventory software system can help to eliminate any unnecessary warehouse space that was possibly used to store finished goods or even raw materials. 

Of course the benefits of implementing a system will help a company stay consistent and will aid the overall effectiveness of the operations taking place. Because of the use of data collection and analysis, product tracking and production reporting that is available in systems that can be implemented companies have the ability to collect a higher profit.

Here is a list of some of the other software systems that may be beneficial for companies looking to become lean:

-Preventative Maintenance (PM or CMMS): Stay’s on top of machine maintenance to be sure routine tasks are being completed to help reduce equipment break downs.

-Downtime: Combined with preventative maintenance will help any manufacture know which equipment needs attention and will help companies decide whether the machine or one of its mechanisms needs replaced.

I found a few web sites that will help companies who are looking to become lean.  The lean manufacturing software portal is a great one with more ideas on how to implement lean practices and it describes how Six Sigma defect tracking can help an organization.  Additionally, take a look at the links added in throughout this post, I know you will find them beneficial.

Is your organization trying to find something new with production scheduling?  In the declining economy many manufactures are starting to use production scheduling software to save them money and time.  These systems help manufactures run more productively and efficiently.  I came across a few articles a little while ago that were about production and constraint based scheduling.  Take a look at www.production-scheduling-systems.com to find some really good articles.  Take a look at this page which will take you to a directory for production scheduling.  It also includes links to articles and vendors who specialize in this type of software.

Many manufactures are still using excel spreadsheets and other manual forms to schedule their manufacturing process.  Some companies simply are not switching to production software because they are not familiar with the systems and what they can do for them. 

In general production scheduling software is designed to help reduce and minimize the amount of time lost due to inefficiencies during production.  In addition many have the capability of generating realistic and executable production schedules.  Costs and time are minimized by assigning production to specific machines and facilities. 

Schedules can be designed for employees by directing them to best execute production activities.  These activities include production that is assigned to specific machines, the amount of labor used and any additional resources.  Additionally, this software gives companies the capability to conduct predictive "what if?" analysis to view what could happen to the system if certain changes were made to the overall schedule.

Implementing artificial intelligence into a computer system can be a difficult task for many programmers to grasp.  Of course then there are those of us who don’t understand artificial intelligence (AI) at all. In a condensed version AI is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it.  I would highly recommend doing some research before making any decisions.  This article on practical artificial intelligence is very useful in describes in detail how the AI works and the relationship it has with the human mind. 

Computers have yet to be designed to perform as specifically as the human mind.  However, thinking strategically, in many ways computer systems already exceed some of the capabilities of human thinking can not comprehend.  For example, computers have the capability to produce multiple outcomes and different scenarios within minutes or even seconds.  The artificial intelligence takes into account multiple different constraints and then searches for the best possible outcome.

AI has begun to move into the manufacturing field and combine with scheduling software.  For programmers to combine a scheduling system and AI the AI has to be written for a specific function.  Be cautious of the vendors you choose when buying artificial intelligence.  Because AI must be tailored for each company, mass producing one system will not help resolve the detailed concerns. 

So often when deciding to purchase a new item from something small like a box of cereal to a new vehicle there are multiple options to sort through and see which will be most beneficial for your needs.  These same principles apply when looking into purchasing a new software system.  Here’s some help.

There are three different types of software that I will explain – canned, customized and tailored.  First let’s start with the canned or out-of-the-box systems.  Generally there is only one option to choose from with canned systems.  These systems have a few benefits starting with implementation.  They are purchased for much less than any other type of software system and can be implemented quickly.  Unfortunately there is limited ability to change or customize the software for the client.  Additionally there are multiple extra screens which employees must work around which will cause wasted time and cause easy procedures to become complicated.

Secondly is the option of purchasing customized software.  This software is sometimes known as homemade and is built from the ground up for the client.  The company benefits greatly from these systems because they offer the exact functions required of each company for maximum efficiency.  However, these systems can take a year or longer to create and can not be easily upgraded.  I would also keep in mind these systems cost a significant amount more in terms of development and maintenance.

Last are tailored software systems which are fast track and customized.  This type of software can grow as the company grows and will save a substantial amount of time and money.  Tailored software takes between 6-8 weeks to manufacture and can grow as a company grows.  It can be easily upgraded and modified with out interrupting daily business. Additionally, training is available for IT personnel to learn how to upgrade and change the system.

Tailored systems are designed from a base module and changed to meet the specific requirements of the client.  These systems have proven to be more cost and time effective by helping out the company’s bottom line.  Tuppas Software offers over 50 different tailored software modules and I would definitely suggest taking a look at them.

If you are looking for an MES (Manufacturing Execution System) for discrete manufacturing, look no further! Tuppas Software has just what you need! They have developed agile, web based systems with a wide variety of MES modules like production performance reporting with downtime, efficiency, scrap and production scheduling.

Aside from the vast flexibility that Tuppas offers on the MES level, they also have extensive configurability in their corporate systems. They also have a lot of experience implementing CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems into their integrated software systems.

If you are a smaller manufacturing company and are concerned with cost, Tuppas offers SaaS (Software as a Service). They charge a monthly fee, which is cost effective by not having to purchasing the software outright. A few advantages to using SaaS are free and easy upgrades, shorter development and implementation phases, as well as a reduced risk in budget planning. Tuppas also allows their customers to tailor their software to better suit their business needs!