Shop Floor Management / SFM – Smart Factory Glossary

Shop Floor Management or SFM for short is a tool to control and optimize production processes at shop floor level in order to make production more transparent, efficient, and sustainable. Two aspects of this integrated management tool are particularly noteworthy:

 

• Close to production: Shop floor management occurs directly at the place of value creation, namely in the production hall. Managers monitor and control    processes actively and involve their employees.
• Transparency: For example, essential information like KPIs, targets, and measures is visualized via Andon boards on large monitors or display boards in the factory hall, which make this information tangible for each employee.

 

Shop floor management simply explained

The shop floor is regarded as the main place of value creation in production management. The management of this area focuses on efficient production and continuous optimization in line with the Continuous Improvement Process (CIP).

To achieve this goal, the shop floor management uses a range of lean methods and sets up appropriate processes. It also relies on digital tools and manufacturing software. Such digital tools are integrated into the IT infrastructure and production processes, to define target conditions in production and analyze the current situation. If there are deviations that fall short of the targets, measures can be initiated promptly, and suitable tools selected to improve the current situation. Whether the measures are effective can be checked using predefined KPIs. An effective, digital shop floor management supports the profitability and sustainability of manufacturing companies.

 

Digital shop floor management with software solutions by MPDV

It is crucial in the sustainable factory to provide operators and maintenance staff with important KPIs such as the OEE index. MPDV offers with the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) HYDRA X  and the Manufacturing Integration Platform (MIP) extensive solutions for digital shop floor management. The MES software helps to create transparency and increase efficiency in production and for this purpose integrates all processes and visualizes them digitally in real time. By combining lean methods and manufacturing IT, HYDRA X paves the way to the Smart Factory.

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