About the Author
Plex, by Rockwell Automation, is the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, empowering the world’s manufacturers to make awesome products. Our platform gives manufacturers the ability to connect, automate, track and analyze every aspect of their business to drive transformation. The Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform includes solutions for manufacturing execution (MES), ERP, quality, supply chain planning and management, Industrial IoT and analytics to connect people, systems, machines, and supply chains, enabling them to lead with precision, efficiency and agility.
What Are We Looking At?
Driving in conditions of low visibility is never a good idea. Like a blinding snowstorm in gusty winds, millions of flakes obscure your view until you can’t see what is in front of you. First, you lose sight of the lines in the road. Then, you lose the definition of where the road even is until an unfortunate decision due to lack of visibility leads to disaster.You wouldn’t want to drive your car…
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Quality From Top to Bottom – Highlighting the New Plex “Quality Management for Dummies” eBook
Traditional manufacturing required as much art as science. Settings were done with gear ratios, levers, and calipers. But modern companies can no longer run their production that way. Fortunately, today, digital settings and automated recipes allow incredible precision for production processes.That same digital precision available to run production is now used for managing quality. For forward-…
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2023 Report Findings: Smart Manufacturing Provides Stability in Food & Beverage
Change is scary - something that’s true for individuals as well as manufacturers. In manufacturing, an industry's steady and predictable growth can allow for stable markets, plannable operational strategies, and precise control....
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Best Maid – An Automation Fair Sneak Peek
Sometimes, opportunity awaits those who reach for it. Other times, it can be part of a dynamic shift to a new way of doing business and a new way of thinking. When Best Maid needed to refine and sharpen its performance and inventory accountability to take in the growth it was experiencing, Plex was the answer....
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Process Automation in the Automotive Industry: There's a Lot More to Do
When thinking of automotive production, most people imagine fast and efficient production lines with clean floors, automated robotics, and a production process that produces new, shiny vehicles. With those images, many may assume process automation is at its peak....
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Where Did My Supplier Performance Go?
Supplier performance drives a significant portion of a manufacturing company’s success. As the starting point of a company’s raw materials and components, it’s crucial to the quality of the final output of finished goods.Because of its importance, supplier performance management is a critical part of Supply Chain Planning (SCP). And supplier performance management software is essential for…
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Where Did My Audit Data Go?
Modern manufacturing is complex. It requires proven, repeatable processes to ensure that finished goods are produced efficiently and defect-free. Regular audits to monitor and assess production processes are also critical to maintaining high quality....
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Where Did My Scrap Go?
Manufacturers can build a strong operational supply chain that transforms their company by building a robust digital foundation for manufacturing processes. It allows them to streamline production processes and improve efficiency at lower costs than competitors.While implementing software to address manufacturing inefficiency, many companies miss an unseen backdoor access that creates scrap and…
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Bring in the Cat and Lock the Door: Securing Your Manufacturing Data
On days when the temperature is just right, there's nothing like a screen door to let in the breeze and sunlight and keep out the bugs. While that image is idyllic for quiet afternoons at home, it's a nightmare for the security of a smart manufacturer whose greatest need is to secure their data.The reality is, in business, the temperature isn't always right. And while no one wants bugs in and out…
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Where Did My OEE Go?
The manufacturing industry is driven by efficiency and productivity, and the search to fulfill these goals requires KPIs that light the way for improvement. One of the key metrics used to measure the performance of manufacturing equipment is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).What is OEE?OEE is a metric that measures the effectiveness of manufacturing equipment by comparing the actual…
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