Reveille Technology, Inc.

Overview

The Paperless Factory® System is an integrated manufacturing execution system (I-MES) utilized on the factory floor to execute production as opposed to planning it. It is a comprehensive, integrated set of software modules that support total dock-to-dock management and control of all factory resources and operations. The Paperless Factory® System addresses major concerns in the effective management of manufacturing operations: the direction, monitoring, and control of individual entities of work through work-in-process, from receiving through shipping and distribution; the timely delivery of component material to work-in-process; the collection and control of data relevant to all resources used in the process; and the integration of manufacturing control data with manufacturing planning, general business, and engineering data. Among the many capabilities supported by the system are the following:

The ability to direct, monitor and control work activities at processing positions in an integrated manner and in real-time data processing mode.
The ability to access real-time data for the location, quantity, and process status of individual work units in the factory.
The ability to account for all inventory in work-in-process as well as in main stores and finished goods.
The ability to "see" the material, labor, machine and tool utilization expended throughout the entire production process.
The flexibility to react quickly to changes in the manufacturing environment. For example, the ability to change schedules, routings, material, bills, and product mix in real-time mode.

Major functions include data collection, work flow monitoring and control, tracking, resource management and control (information management, material control, human resource management, tool and equipment management), configuration management, quality management, and product traceability. The Paperless Factory® System can be configured to model any manufacturing environment for on-line management and control through the resource information and rules that are defined in its knowledge base. The system supports multiple types of processes (job shop, repetitive and continuous) and product mixes in a single facility.

Benefits

The Paperless Factory® System supports the advanced manufacturing concepts and technologies of agile manufacturing, just-in-time resource management, computer integrated manufacturing, automated scanning, computer-controlled processes, storage and automated material-handling equipment. A number of benefits result from use of the system. The Paperless Factory® System:

Increases control of factory resources and processes, and optimizes use of all resources
Increases manufacturing flexibility, and decreases lead time and costs
Significantly reduces paperwork, inventories and indirect labor
Improves planning and scheduling
Minimizes the amount of data that must be entered by workers, while increasing the accuracy, consistency, and completeness of information
Provides complete traceability down to the lowest product and process level

The Paperless Factory® System operates in a manner which eliminates or greatly reduces the need for paper on the factory floor and provides a single system solution to paperless manufacturing control. Because quality, location, status, and resource utilization data are collected as part of the tracking function of the system, all data relevant to any given process for all tracked part number/revision level entities are maintained in a cohesive single system data base.

All data are available simultaneously and in real-time to multiple users. The data elements are accurate, consistent, and complete. The need for duplicate recording of data on paper and subsequent duplicate data entry for separate shop floor systems is eliminated, as is the paperwork associated with these processes, such as receiving tickets, priority tags, and bills of lading. A paperless environment directly accelerates the information flow through the manufacturing process and reduces the labor required to handle the paperwork. The element of human error in collecting and documenting information is eliminated, as are the problems associated with lost, misplaced, and destroyed papers.

Paperwork also is reduced through the interfacing of shop floor equipment directly to the Paperless Factory System on its host computer system. Where human intervention is required for certain data collection processes, CRT-based data entry, through transactions invoked automatically by the system, can eliminate the associated paper and duplicate data entry. Paperwork is further reduced through automated interfaces between the Paperless Factory System and the host-based systems such as MRP, financial and cost accounting systems, and payroll systems. In addition to the automation of much of the data entry functions for quality and status data collection, the labor required for data entry is reduced through elimination of the duplicate effort required to support separate systems. The elimination of data redundancy with its associated time inconsistency also increases the accuracy of the data.

In addition to the shop floor, significant opportunity exists in incoming receiving and receiving inspection, and in shipping and distribution areas, to improve flow time, reduce indirect labor, and minimize idle inventory. The opportunity exists through the integration of tracking and quality data collection concepts in these areas. Data collected in these areas can be linked to data collected on the floor through use of the Paperless Factory® System. For example, integration of the functions in multiple areas of operations supports such decisions as the elimination of receiving inspection, or the reduction of sample size, for parts which do not fail on the floor or for parts for which the failure rate can be identified specifically.

Use of the Paperless Factory® System results in HIGHER QUALITY. On-line data collection within the system provides for continuous monitoring of production and detailed measurement of quality improvement. Unit lot sizes, combined with immediate feedback for corrective action, result in less scrap and rework. Tracking by unique bar code identifiers decreases the occurrence of operator error. On-going data collection supports analysis for continual process improvement.

The Paperless Factory® System also contributes significantly to SHORTER LEAD TIME and INCREASED FLEXIBILITY through shorter work queues and increased throughput and order fill rates. Event-driven, on-line control facilitates faster response to new product design and engineering changes, while providing routing and product mix flexibility. Data availability and accuracy support the scheduling adjustments and precise analysis required for shorter planning cycles.

Another significant benefit resulting from use of the Paperless Factory® System is LOWER PRODUCT COST. Inventory management based on timely material replenishment results in lower on-hand inventory and increased accuracy of stock status. The elimination of staging, kitting, and order splitting decreases indirect labor and reduces expediting. Computerized data management eliminates costly paperwork. Automated routing and system process monitoring and control increase capital equipment utilization and facilitate more effective scheduling.