By Lindsey Munson, editor, Plastics Business

For plastics processors, data evaluation is crucial to the functioning properties across the entire company, and with that, there are several prominent options in data management and monitoring systems. For this article, the focus is on enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution system (MES) software, and how, whether used as a stand-alone or integrated, their comprehensive data assists companies in driving operational efficiency, controlling cost and product quality, compliance monitoring, strategic decision-making and more. By integrating ERP and MES systems, processors capture a unified view of data and collective benchmarks across all aspects of the company, driving sound decisions for short- and long-term goals and strategic planning, as well as actionable insights.

Expert Advice Is Key
For processors to make informed decisions, minimize risks and maximize the technology’s potential, obtaining an expert’s advice in the initial stage of software implementation and/or integration is key to the success of the system(s) and company. This allows an appropriate amount of time for an expert to tailor the system(s) (e.g., system selection, integration, implementation, training) to the company’s strategic plan and goals. In addition, an expert in the field can meet a company in whichever stage it is operating in, whether conducting a new software system(s) set-up, managing and maintaining the current software systems, identifying challenges, meeting compliance or assisting with a diagnostic review.

To dive deeper into ERP and MES systems, Plastics Business partnered with three industry experts in this field who have years of collective experience and knowledge:

• Steve Bieszczat is chief marketing officer at DELMIAWorks, part of the Dassault Systèmes portfolio, located in Paso Robles, California providing manufacturers an end-to-end solution that combines ERP and MES capabilities for enabling companies to stay lean, agile, competitive and compliant.
• Nathan Clarke is head of marketing at Intouch Monitoring, LTD, with headquarters in the United Kingdom and an office in Rosemont, Illinois. The company produces real-time scheduling, production monitoring, process monitoring, reporting, analytics and/or energy monitoring systems.
• Rick Dunne is director of sales at CyFrame, a privately held company in Canada that specializes in management software solutions that are designed to help plastics processors scale up their operations.

ERP and MES Systems 101 Implementation and Integration
“Plastics processors, particularly those engaged in repetitive manufacturing, should be running the functionality embodied in both ERP and MES. Broadly speaking,” said Bieszczat, “ERP manages front office and planning operations (e.g., accounting, inventory control and scheduling). Meanwhile, MES manages shop floor operations, including workforce enablement and production monitoring, among others.” However, the functions they manage are interconnected: Inventory control cannot react to supply changes without knowing consumption on the shop floor. Similarly, if there’s a delayed job and consequently a machine is in operation, scheduling needs information from production monitoring that overlapping jobs are in the queue.

Bieszczat said, “With integrated ERP and MES systems, planning information (typically, work orders and bill of materials) is pushed down to the production floor, and production results (e.g., completed units, scrap units and time to production completion) are back-flushed up to the front office so that both areas of the company are aware of the actual production situation and react accordingly. Importantly, the integration of these digital systems reduces the knowledge gaps between problems and reactions to almost zero. Cross-department updates are immediate, avoiding manual data transfer costs and potential delays and errors. This is ‘why’ the trend toward fully integrated ERP and MES systems has been so prevalent over the past several years.”

Clarke shared, “The process of implementing or integrating an MES system with other platforms can be a daunting challenge and it is important to find flexibility in the system, experienced expertise and solutions that are cost-effective. Intouch’s MES system can adapt to various manufacturing processes and can be fully automated. It is key to fill the gap between the production floor with supply and demand but, in doing so, it is about finding the expertise to guide the company through the process.”

One of Intouch’s customers, as part of its implementation, decided to install a large-screen monitor on the production floor to display to operational staff current production runs, visibility of up- and cycle-times and more. In turn, the days of waiting until the end of shift(s) to assess operational progress now were an action of the past. Now the company could be proactive, and corrections, improvements and performance could be instantly made.

In optimizing business workflows, CyFrame encourages “… and believes in full integration,” said Dunne. “It keeps your finger on the pulse of the business – with real-time data actively shared across departments. Taking the time to carefully transfer knowledge into the ERP system during implementation results in flexible, built-in production planning providing the tools needed to optimize machine utilization and minimize downtime. This takes into consideration set-up, mold cavitation and mold efficiency by machine and even inserts. Controlling Recipes, Alternative Recipes, and Regrind, along with real-time deduction of true material used, makes for better purchasing decisions and alerts purchasing to shortages while there still is time to react. The goal is to provide a complete package that is a seamless integration with outcomes of production efficiencies, cost reductions and enhanced operations throughout the company.”

Data Collection, Verification and Maintenance
Processors should be diligent and proactive when conducting data collection, verification and maintenance of ERP and MES systems. In doing so, accurate, timely and effective data analysis will occur, creating opportunities and advantages across the entire company.

DELMIAWorks sees four primary processes for verifying and maintaining data accuracy within an ERP system: data entered should be of the proper types, data needs to be checked for reasonableness, data should be an automated entry and unique qualifiers for data must be used. To learn more about these best practices, see the sidebar on page 27.

For Intouch, Clarke said, “We don’t overcomplicate things when it comes to system data, keeping it ‘simple’ for processors and not overwhelming with an abundance of steps. It is key to monitor the cycle time of the machines, so we can tell if it’s running, how fast it’s running and how far through a job the machine is, as well as several other metrics. It’s offering real-time visibility in the production area, allowing companies to address problems and concerns immediately without sacrificing downtime. Most importantly, it improves efficiency company-wide.”

Dunne said one of the key factors in setting up a system(s) to deliver the highest value is data collection – and verification within its reporting methods. He said, “Data is pulled directly from the molders via Siemens master PLC controllers for accurate real-time machine monitoring and provides useful information, such as downtime and ‘true’ molding efficiency. This, coupled with foolproof, on-the-floor label printing, tracks finished goods and cycles raw materials by a chosen recipe in real-time – while providing accurate job-by-job cost of goods sold reporting. Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) dashboards – an important component to getting the highest value out of the system(s) – monitor machine utilization, quality and performance. The dashboards also offer insights into system rejects and production profitability, and are accessible by cell phone creating convenience and ease of use.”

Reporting Methods
There is a collection of benefits that come with ERP and MES systems when reporting methods and tools are utilized, including product quality improvements, cost reductions, the ability to meet customer demands, operational efficiencies and more.

When a plastics processor is looking at ERP and MES systems, the success of those systems is dependant on the tools built into the programs that offer back-end reporting methods. Dunne said, “CyFrame’s plastics-specific ERP system is fully integrated and has reporting tools built into the system. What’s unique about our approach is that any report created over nearly three decades of dedicated industry service is made available to all customers. This allows processors to further build user-definable reporting from directly within the system. System data further can be leveraged using intelligence tools such as Power BI or Tableau – giving companies the ability to consolidate data from systems to make decisions.

Intouch has a reporting tool built into its system, where processors can use the application programming interface (API) in the system to link back to their ERP platform or users can import and export data through the file format comma separated value (CSV). Clarke said, “Our reports can show overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) – broken down by availability, performance and quality. It is important to have reporting methods within ERP and MES systems that give full visibility of the operations efficiencies and inefficiencies, such as ‘How much time has machine XYZ been down because of XYZ reason?’ or ‘ZYX machine is operating at full capacity, saving a percentage of labor hours.’”

Within the production plan, Clarke said, “Users can see a snapshot of their full schedule across machines, enabling them to highlight any bottlenecks or spare capacity. If a machine breaks down, work can be re-distributed to other machines and the live plan will be updated for the entire organization – thanks to the cloud.” This especially is beneficial for the production planning department. Within the reporting modules through Intouch, users can view a variety of pre-set reports and access various key performance indicators, such as OEE – valuable information that keeps the operations teams informed.

Bieszczat said, “Fact-finding and reporting tools in ERP systems are important since quite a bit of data is read directly from the system or a mobile device. Fact-finding tools help to answer questions, such as ‘What is the delivery date? How much is past due?’ These tools allow singular facts to be looked up, read and communicated. On the other hand, reporting typically involves some sort of logic or intelligence applied to a large set of data. For instance, reporting tools may be used to answer: ‘What were the top 10 production items this week? What items in inventory have not been used in the past 12 months? Who are the biggest customers?’ Plastics processors may choose to use the canned reports that come native to most ERP systems, or they may use business intelligence (BI) tools to create custom reports for their specific needs. When manufacturers have facts at their fingertips and reports available for data-driven decision-making these are two of the largest value points of ERP systems.”

“Increasingly, plastics processors are replacing on-screen reports with dashboards that turn rows and columns of data into quick-to-read visual presentations of information. ‘Reports’ now are charts, graphs and speedometer dials. The visual presentation of information allows for quick identification of key data points and the ability to drill down into key items of interest. Dashboards also facilitate the delivery of information in large-scale formats for business meeting presentations and big-screen monitors on shop floors,” said Bieszczat. The arrival of dashboards and custom reports as a primary way of presenting information has come at the same time as a new generation of ERP users. These users value and understand that information is not equal and are comfortable using modern reporting tools to bring essential data to the surface and share it broadly.

Additionally, the most proactive, actionable reporting is done by “alerts,” which are triggers set in the system to actively notify users when certain business conditions occur. For instance, an alert can be set to notify the CEO that it’s the twenty-first day of the month and shipping revenue has not reached a prescribed threshold or to notify a shop floor supervisor that quality checks have not been performed at a work center since 9 a.m. “Alerts and their companion capability, workflows,” Bieszczat said, “are in many ways the highest form of ERP reporting because they are proactive, dynamic and only bring attention to situations that demand attention. Alerts and workflows allow plastics manufacturers to implement ‘management by exception,’ which is considered an effective management practice in the industry.”

Security Measures
Plastics processors should consider internal security vs. external (also known as “cyber”) security. Internal security refers to the confidentiality and control of data within the company (e.g., annual salary, which must remain confidential to a select few employees). External security is described as external access to system(s) and data for criminal reasons (e.g., cyberattacks leading to cybercrimes). “Preventing security breaches with criminal intent,” said Bieszczat, “is an entire discipline supported by specialized technologies. So, the focus is on how plastics processors can use existing systems to address internal business data security.”

Most modern ERP and MES systems have robust and easy-to-understand security set-ups. At the highest level of access – those trusted sources in the company – are the system administrator, business owners and chief executives, who often also serve as designated security administrators. Except for a few quality or traceability features, there are specific team members who have access to all data on the system. These team members typically are the staff who can assign security access levels to other employees who require access to the systems.

Security administrators have control of usernames, credentials (i.e., passwords) and the rules that govern those credentials. ERP systems provide options for a variety of password rules, such as password complexity and periods in which passwords must be changed. Bieszczat said, “A somewhat recent change in password security is the concept of concurrent users and named users. In the past, it was common for low-security level users to share licenses by using generalized credentials to save on user license fees. For multiple business and security reasons, shared passwords are much less common today, and systems are configured to require unique username and password combinations, hence the term ‘named users.’”

Most systems, including ERP and MES, delineate access by role and action. “Three action types are viewing, authorizing and changing,” said Bieszczat. “Purchasing agents can see all sales orders and inventory levels, as well as create and approve purchase orders but perhaps not authorize vendor payments. Human resources team members can see salaries and benefits, but perhaps only the chief financial officer can change their salaries. In this way, the ‘security’ functionality in these systems implements the concepts of checks and balances.” The majority of security access, Bieszczat said, “is controlled by role, since assigning access, change and approval permissions function by function and field-by-field to each employee can be painstaking and error-prone. Accounts payable clerks, inventory and purchase staff, shop floor supervisors and production teams have distinctly defined roles. Typically, a security administrator assigns an employee a security role and then tweaks that role as necessary to meet unique requirements. Most modern ERP systems support security controls down to the field level at the read, change and access levels. In the same vein, better ERP systems will keep logs of who changed what and when.”

In addition, some sub-systems have special security considerations, which often is the case in regulated environments. “For example, the FDA Title 21 CFR Part 11 requires the dual-electronic signature of potentially hazardous changes to pharmaceutical, medical device and food products. Dual-security permitted users must approve changes, and all changes must be logged and timestamped. Special security requirements also are found in defense and aerospace applications,” said Bieszczat.

“CyFrame protects the security and privacy of its databases, including firewalls and password protection,” said Dunne. “Ninety percent of the data is recorded directly by the MES Shop Floor interface, a web portal with no access to the financial system. The shop floor interface uses ‘fine-grained access controls’ that apply a high level of precision to control system permissions. The MES system uses a simple touchscreen interface, rendering the training of new production staff straightforward, even where computer literacy is lacking.”

Intouch shared that security measures for systems go far and wide. Clarke said, “… data collected from the machines is meaningless on its own. Users can utilize single sign-on (SSO), and access to the software is prohibited without a unique username and password – offering a safeguard for companies.”

Ask the Questions
For plastics molders looking to implement or refine their processes, it is key to ask these questions and discuss the topics that are associated with ERP and MES systems.

As Dunne said, “Implementations of these systems benefit from experienced engineers who have pre-mapped, analyzed and proposed specific process improvements before beginning a project. This ensures the company can meet project milestones, allocate resources and work collectively toward goals – celebrating each win before moving on to the next target goal. The name of the whole game is loading and obtaining good, quality data. The pace always can be adjusted as long as everyone keeps their sights on the endgame.” In doing so, companies effectively can assess and evaluate the capabilities of their systems – with the result of driving operational efficiency and informed decision-making.

More information: www.cyframe.com, www.delmiaworks.com, www.intouchmonitoring.com

Best Practices for Verifying and Maintaining Data Accuracy

from Steve Bieszczat, DELMIAWorks

1. Data entered into an ERP field must be of the “proper type.” Bieszczat said, “Data accuracy in an ERP system is guardrailed by data types and formats, such as numbers and alpha characters. For instance, if a field is requesting unit counts and a user enters text, it will ‘reject’ the data because counts cannot be answered with ABCs. Similarly, if a field requests units and only whole units are possible, and the user enters 10.5 units, the data will be rejected.” He shared that data checks are user-configurable, in most cases, within the system. For example, Bieszczat said, “some plastics processors only want numerical purchase order numbers, while others allow a mix of text and digits. But the fundamental premise for all companies is that data entered into a data field must be of the proper ‘type’ or the system should reject it.”
2. Data used within the ERP software is checked for “reasonableness.” For instance, many systems allow rules to be set that reject unreasonable values, so applying a value under “units received” with 1,000,000 units will cause an error message if the established parameters range from one to 10,000. Additionally, a secondary cross-reference check on price would indicate that receiving 1,000,000 units at a total price of $1,000 would result in an impossibly low unit price of $0.001 – so this data is rejected. Cross-reference checks around finance values, production values, quality measurement, inventory and shipping values have reasonable ranges that can be validated by a plastics manufacturer’s ERP system.
3. Data is recommended to be an “automated entry.” It is recommended for manufacturers to have automated data entry since ERP systems can accept bad data if the answer is both of the correct type and a reasonable magnitude. “For example, a quality assurance operator might manually enter 2.3 lbs instead of 3.2 lbs. By contrast, if the data had been ‘automatically entered’ by a digital scale, the weight value would not have been transposed,” said Bieszczat. Another example is manufacturers using bar codes in combination with human-readable text so scanning devices can read and track values associated with inventory receiving, disposition and shipping (i.e., the paperless warehouse). Electronic data interchange (EDI) often is used in purchasing, invoicing and shipping documents because the digital data exchange avoids human errors. Data needs to have “unique identifiers.” Using unique identifiers prevents the ERP system from maintaining duplicate records. For example, purchase order numbers can be duplicated, but customer identification numbers are “unique.” So, a customer number-purchase order number combination also is unique and cannot be duplicated. ERP systems use the same concept to prevent essential data from being duplicated within the system. For example, the ERP system will allow two items to have a quantity on hand of 100, but it will require the two items to have different universal product codes (UPCs).