Production tracking is a key element for manufacturing companies aiming to optimize their processes and maintain a competitive advantage. But what exactly is it and why is it so important?

In this blog post we will explain the importance of this process and how Zerynth’s IoT & AI platform can provide complete visibility into the entire manufacturing process.Want to know how IoT and AI can revolutionize your manufacturing? Read the blogpost!

Production tracking: what it is and why it is important

Production tracking is a process of monitoring and recording the production flow from raw material to finished product. This system allows companies to have a complete, real-time view of what is happening on the production floor, enabling informed and timely decisions to be made.

The benefits of a production tracking and status control system are many and significant.

• Process optimization: with access to accurate, real-time data, companies can identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies and areas for improvement, enabling targeted interventions to increase productivity.
• Waste reduction: visibility into the production process allows monitoring of resource utilization, identifying excess production or unnecessary downtime, thus contributing to more efficient and sustainable management.
• Quality Improvement: By monitoring each stage of the production process, any quality problems can be quickly identified, timely action taken, and the final product guaranteed to meet the required standards.

IoT and Artificial Intelligence as key solutions

To implement an effective production tracking system, manufacturing companies can rely on several technologies including IoT and AI.

Through IoT solutions, real-time data can be collected and transmitted from every stage of the production process, providing a detailed and continuous view of operations. Integration of data through IoT enables complete visibility into processes, facilitating real-time monitoring and control.

Artificial intelligence, on the other hand, plays a crucial role in enhancing IoT capabilities. By analyzing collected data, AI can predict failures, optimize processes, and improve product quality by analyzing large volumes of data to identify patterns and anomalies that would otherwise go unnoticed.

By combining these technologies, companies can create a highly effective production progress tracking and control system that is essential for aligning with Manufacturing Industry 4.0 standards and ensuring optimal management of production processes.

What are the key KPIs for effective production tracking?

In order to have an effective production tracking system, it is essential to define and monitor the right KPIs that allow you to measure the effectiveness of production processes and identify areas for improvement.

One of the most important KPIs is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). This composite indicator measures the overall efficiency of machinery and production processes, considering three key factors:

• Availability: the actual operating time of the machinery compared with the planned time.
• Performance: the actual versus theoretical production rate.
• Quality: the percentage of conforming products in relation to the total produced.

Monitoring OEE allows companies to quickly identify inefficiencies and productivity losses, guiding targeted improvement interventions.

Another important KPI for production progress control is Cycle Time. This provides a measure of the time it takes to complete a single production cycle and can highlight delays or inefficiencies in the process. Optimizing cycle time can lead to significant productivity gains.

Another key KPI for quality control is the defect rate: monitoring this KPI makes it possible to identify recurring problems in production and implement corrective actions to improve the quality of the final product.

Finally, in an era of increasing focus on environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and environmental impact have become two increasingly important KPIs. Monitoring energy consumption during the production process can lead to significant economic savings, while monitoring Co2 emissions can help achieve a reduction in the company’s environmental impact.

Production Insights: the perfect App for production efficiency

Zerynth’s IoT & AI platform is designed to offer companies complete visibility into production processes and help in increasing production efficiency by tracking production progress in real time and enabling precise control over every stage of the production cycle, while also extracting KPIs on process and product quality.

With the Production Insights APP, companies can make their production processes more efficient, monitor product quality and track the status of production orders, receiving continuous updates on their current status and estimated time to completion. This provides valuable information to identify areas for improvement and optimization.

Figure 1. Detail of the operations section inside Operations in the Production Insight App.

Inside the Operations section of the Production Insights App, it is possible to have full visibility into processing orders at any time, extracting data needed to identify any bottlenecks in order to allocate resources effectively while greatly improving order delivery times.

With easy integration with ERP systems, ensuring automatic and error-free transfer of production orders, the Zerynth Platform improves accuracy and efficiency in order management and enables interconnection of any type of machinery, both legacy and modern.

Visibility and production tracking for Pelosi: Case Study

Pelosi, a food company specializing in carrot processing and packaging, approached Zerynth to develop a production and quality tracking system, production process efficiency and machinery interconnection for the 4.0 tax credit.

The solution provided by Zerynth involved implementing the Zerynth Industrial IoT & AI Platform on some of Pelosi’s 4.0 ready machinery to optimize the entire production process and access tax incentives.

The expected results through the Zerynth Platform are:

• Full visibility into the quality of the final product

• Obtaining tax credit 4.0

• Production efficiency

Learn more about our case studies or contact us for more information!