Leveraging Plant Communications to Slash Downtime and Speed Response Time

Manufacturers are feeling the heat to hit their production targets in an increasingly competitive global market.

To maintain their edge and maximize their profits, they’ve made operational efficiency a top priority.

Yet in some heavy industrial segments, as much as 30 to 40 percent of profits can be lost annually due to unplanned downtime. Add in the 10 million skilled manufacturing jobs that are unfilled worldwide, and it’s even tougher to ensure peak efficiency and productivity.

In today’s aggressive marketplace, there’s no room for continual delays and costly disruptions to production.

Whether they’re managing a single food processing facility or a string of multinational automotive plants, manufacturers are looking for new ways to improve performance, increase safety, optimize resources and run their operation smoothly.

How can manufacturing companies improve plant performance - especially as they are being pressed to exceed higher production targets, drive down costs and shorten lead times?

Downtime is an ever-present and expensive threat
Manufacturers know that downtime is one of the greatest impediments to plant performance. A stalled production line not only upsets workflow, it can jeopardize customer relationships.

Equipment failure – from machinery that malfunctions to assets that break down as they age – causes expensive disruptions. The longer it takes plant personnel to respond and repair equipment, the more damaging the interruption.

What’s more, systems that are not at full speed create a domino effect that can result in missed deadlines, lost revenues and disappointed customers.