Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1508761
OCTOBER 2023 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 35 more advanced than we're finding. Not to say we're smart, but we thought they'd already fig- ured it out for us. We're finding that everyone does things dif- ferently. ere is not a standard way a man- ufacturing company operates, whether it's in equipment, process flow, or the soware they're using; we're finding that no solution is perfect. Most soware now comes with usable APIs. Instead of building custom high-end soware, we bought the API from our ERP. Instead of building our own database, we're enhanc- ing our data, and the appli- cation on top of the data. at's where we find a lot of value. As we work through our admin processes inside the ERP, we find more unsolv- able process gaps than in our manufacturing process. I don't think ERPs are really built for EMS. ere are a couple out there, and one of them did a clever job at solv- ing the ERP dilemmas for electronics manufacturing services. at's where we find a lot of gaps. We have gaps in manufacturing, but we find that they're solvable through existing MES soware plat- forms. Matties: So, what's really giving all this opti- mization added horsepower is the digital factory and benchmarking your processes. That's how to get the most out of inspection these days. Vora: Yes, workflow automation. Make the work flow through the company, rather than us having to touch all the work every time. We're headed in that direction and, eventu- ally, we can add robotic process automation (RPA). Right now, our goal is workflow auto- mation: How is the work finding its way to the next person rather than the person finding that next work? Matties: Now, when you were benchmarking processes, were there any surprises? Vora: e number one thing we learned was that when the machine was not placing parts, we weren't making money, and our facility was not functioning properly. Now, we actively look at that measure as we examine how our factory works. Our main goal is to automate that part of our operation. e high dollar equipment is where the high dollars are. While Dar- ren has been mentioning it for years, I started seeing and understanding it about a year and a half ago. I was building a logarithmic cal- culator that calculates, over time, how we should quote somebody. at's when I saw it: "If we're not plac- ing parts, we're screwed, because that's what we're charging them for. No mat- ter what, it costs us $30,000 just to open the door." Building the automated calculator to quote labor was what opened my eyes. at's when we started benchmarking, and when we realized that we knew we could make changes pretty quickly as we had already solved the major problem of inventory management: unknown shortages, material locations in the building, known good material, etc. Really good data will help us do that. In taking the data and making use of it, we find value because now we have data that tells us something. Every little improvement aer we do a dollar-cost average helps us to keep growing. Matties: Benchmarking, I would think, tightens up your process windows, so your capabilities improved. Building the automated calculator to quote labor was what opened my eyes.