Three ways to reduce scrap on the shop floor with an MES

More effectively manage scrap issues digitally using manufacturing automation software and save valuable time and resources.

Making scrap is expensive and it steals away time from hitting production goals. Tracing the root cause of why parts aren’t produced correctly can be time consuming and frustrating for managers and supervisors. Collecting the right production data from the shop floor is the best way to chase down the causes more efficiently. This is where a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) comes into its own.

We’ve listed three ways where an MES can help reduce scrap production by providing managers the visibility and velocity they need to find and solve the problems that lead up to wasted production.

Immediate alerts to failure rate increases

When processes start producing more scrap than acceptable it might be difficult to hear about and respond to the situation. It may take managers an entire shift or longer to find out about underperforming processes.

Using the MV2 MES, those events can be set to immediately alert supervisors and managers, or managers can watch these operations in real time. This real time alerting reduces the time it takes to discover when processes are out of conformance. This provides managers the ability to quickly address the issue before a shift or even an hour of bad parts is made.

Connecting failure rates to inventory batches

Sometimes it’s not the process that leads to scrapped parts. It turns out to be the materials used that causes bad parts. Without the ability to connect which materials were used on scrap production means managers cannot switch batches or alert suppliers for recourse. It also means wasted production time from having to work through the poor-quality stock while producing more scrap.

With a manufacturing execution system like MV2 where Inventory and Production are connected, finding these material to scrap rate connects become much easier. It’s also much easier to alert purchasing about suspect materials as well as to hold operations while another inventory batch is swapped in.

Tracing labor resources to scrap production

If the machines and the materials aren’t causal to the increased scrap production, then perhaps it might be how both items are being operated on. If certain workers have not been effectively trained on the production processes, the chances of those employees creating more scrap is elevated. Tying scrap production to specific work centers and workers might uncover a need for greater training for certain employees or shifts that would be much harder to ascertain without MV2’s shop floor data collection capabilities.

These three are just a few of the ways a manufacturing execution system like MV2 can help plant managers and manufacturing engineers tease out the root cause for higher than acceptable scrap rates on the shop floor.

Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about how an MES can help your production operations reduce scrap production.