October 26, 2009 - GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms introduced Proficy SmartStart for Production Efficiency, a software and services solution that can demonstrate results in as little as 30 days. Proficy SmartStart helps manufacturers to identify operational inefficiencies, perform root cause analysis and manage and improve production operations in real time. It is a low-risk offering that utilizes industry best practices and enables users to explore and evaluate the full functionality of Proficy. Proficy SmartStart for Production Efficiency allows manufacturers to make more informed decisions about their manufacturing processes and quickly identify ways to drive operational improvement.
It provides visibility into factors such as equipment downtime, changeover effectiveness, waste, and line efficiency, and supports root-cause analysis by automatically linking downtime events to a specific cause in real time. In addition, it calculates KPIs and enables the creation of ad-hoc performance reports that can be shared via the web to help continuously improve production.Typical customer challenges addressed by Proficy SmartStart for Production Efficiency include:
- Need to reduce costs through better asset utilization, improved downtime, and waste elimination
- Must sustain competitive advantage and adapt to demand, while avoiding capital investment or overtime labor
- Need operational visibility for better decision-making
- Have a need for rich MES capability, but must optimize investment and rapidly prove value due to limited IT/Engineering resourcesProficy SmartStart for Production Efficiency is the first in a series of SmartStart offerings designed to help our customers achieve value quickly and with minimal risk by packaging of our full-featured software, a proprietary rapid-engagement methodology, high-impact best practices and application templates, all combined with the right delivery and domain expertise to ensure results.
SmartStart offerings deliver standard, configurable capabilities of Proficy while avoiding the cost and risk of custom coding or system development.
They capitalize on GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms’ extensive application expertise and the structured evaluation period to improve time-to-value and reduce total cost of ownership for our customers.
They also offer scalability and extensibility by establishing a foundation that enables rapid expansion to other production lines and/or additional Operations Management functionality.
“In today’s challenging economic climate, manufacturers need to reduce their capital investment, optimize asset utilization and maximize return from resources,” said Ryan Cahalane, Product Manager for GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms’ Proficy SmartStart.
“To achieve these goals, users need a proven solution that enables operations to be extremely efficient, highly flexible and cost effective.
Proficy SmartStart provides an optimal way to get started with the Proficy platform, enabling rapid results but also providing the right basis to support the full Operational Excellence journey with Proficy.”
“With SmartStart, users can fully understand and evaluate the power of Proficy with minimal upfront cost or risk of customization,” continued Cahalane.
“Throughout the evaluation, you invest only in the services that help get you started, making it an ideal way to prove out the power of Proficy to stay competitive in this economy.”
About GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a joint venture between General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and FANUC LTD of Japan, is an experienced high-performance technology company and a global provider of hardware, software, services, and expertise in automation and embedded computing.
We offer a unique foundation of agile, advanced and ultra-reliable technology that provides customers a sustainable advantage in the industries they serve, including energy, water, consumer packaged goods, government & defense, and telecommunications.
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms is a worldwide company headquartered in Charlottesville, VA and is part of GE Enterprise Solutions.