Articles and News

By Bill Nolan, Rootstock Software Many regulated manufacturers use paper-or Excel-based processes to address compliance. For discrete manufacturers who are required to have FDA CFR compliance, the Salesforce1 Platform connected an ERP system offers some distinct advantages.

AKM Manufacturing will integrate the group's four divisions--Sheet Metal Work, CNC Machining, Electrical Equipment, and Lighting--with Epicor ERP version 10.

By David J. Bush, C.P.I.M In early 2012, we began an earnest search for a replacement for our legacy ERP system. We wanted a new ERP package that could handle the needs of our electronics industry demands. We were in for a big and disappointing surprise.

With FLOWCAL, Enlink will manage all measurement data from their fractionation and processing facilities, pipelines, and truck and railcar transportation tickets.

Discrete industry manufacturers’ quest to reduce capital expenditure, shorten lead times, and improve productivity is expected to fuel investments in the global product lifecycle management (PLM) market.

Proficy will assist the city in bringing together information about their wastewater system from remote locations to provide a system-wide view of what’s really happening across its watersheds.

Laila Hirr, a long time PLM advocate and advisor, has joined the firm as a Senior Consultant and Practice Lead.

Epicor's own survey reveals several enterprise resource planning (ERP) deficiencies causing organizational drag. Half the respondents surveyed characterized the performance of their current ERP system as merely "adequate" or "basic."

By Bill Lydon, Editor Should the control room operator be responsible for making business decisions? Focusing solely on improving operator interaction may be a mistake. Your competitors may be focusing on increased automation and integration to gain a competitive business advantage.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The OPC Foundation Information Revolution 2014 Conference was held at Microsoft's Redmond Campus on August 4-7, 2014. The conference featured industry experts who both presented and learned more about OPC Unified Architecture. This article summarizes the highlights from the conference.

By Robert Harrison, COPA-DATA It takes an average of twelve years and over £200m to get a new drug from the laboratory onto the shelf. As a result, the pharmaceutical industry is well known for its prudence, especially regarding the uptake of new technologies. Here’s how appropriate technologies can help, rather than hinder, essential regulatory compliance including ISO 50001 and FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

Savigent Software provides event-driven manufacturing operations management software.

By Dennis Gilhooley, Jr., Ultra Consultants Many manufacturers have come to the conclusion that “smart” part numbering is an unwieldy approach to part numbering and data analysis. Instead, leading companies are shifting from “smart” to what is termed as “insignificant” or unique part numbers.

By Dennis Gilhooley, Jr., Ultra Consultants ERP selection is typically driven by a common set of conditions, including poor access to information, core systems that are difficult to use, and an over-reliance on standalone systems that function as islands of information. Organizations saddled with legacy solutions often don’t know where to begin when it comes to an ERP selection project.

By Bill Lydon, Editor They say, “What goes around comes around.” I think this is happening with Advanced Process Control (APC) and Model Predictive Control (MPC). There seems to be a renewed interest in APC, and the systems, while not trivial, seem to be easier to use and lower cost.

By Greg Goodwin, LNS Research If you’re currently planning on implementing a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) or other applications in the Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) space, you may think you have all the shop-floor areas and situations that still use manual, paper-based processes identified, but this may not necessarily be the case.

By T. Lee Wylie The recent news regarding a lawsuit filed by Kentwool against NetSuite demonstrates that all ERP solutions are not manufacturing ERP solutions. It also cautions ERP vendors that knowing what you don’t know is a very valuable asset.

K3 Syspro provides solutions in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS), Warehouse Management, Human Resources (HR) and e-business.

PAS-X was delivered with the entire user interface in Japanese. Werum carried out this project in cooperation with their Japanese integration partner CST Chiyoda System Technologies.

By Luigi De Bernardini, Autoware It’s important to analyze production data to understand what factors caused loss of quality, production or efficiency. However, it is much more useful to be able to recognize in real time the onset of any problem and be able to intervene and reduce the possibility of compromising the production target.