Smart Manufacturing Blog

Welcome to your source for all things smart manufacturing. Whether you’re looking for expert insights, hard data, or actionable tips for your plant floor, we’ve got you covered every week of the year.

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How to Optimize your Manufacturing Workforce

Stu Johnson October 1, 2019

It is increasingly challenging to stand up a workforce of skilled operators, but by automating error-prone tasks and operationalizing your procedures, you can mitigate the risk to production and the…

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CES 2019: Emerging Technology for Use in Manufacturing

Barrie Vince January 22, 2019

CES is the annual consumer electronics show held every January in Las Vegas. It is “the world's gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies.” This year’s event,…

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Wondering How to Select an MES Vendor? Consider the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for MES

Hemant Makhija November 15, 2018

At the end of the day, your main concern is delivering on customer demands as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible. The systems that run your business are essential to making this possible…

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Why Manufacturers Should Consider Cloud-Based MES Solutions

Plex Team April 20, 2022

Everything you do is focused on the shop floor. A manufacturing execution system (MES) provides the foundation for operations to schedule, manage, and track each step during production.

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Automotive Manufacturing Suppliers: Have You Made the Transition to IATF?

Stu Johnson October 16, 2017

I attended the Automotive Industry Action Group’s (AIAG) Annual Quality Summit in September and the topic of urgency was the required transition from the ISO/TS 16949 quality standard to the new IATF…

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Award-Winning Manufacturer, Accuride, Transforms Business with Plex

Stu Johnson May 31, 2017

Running a profitable manufacturing business is no easy task. When faced with a decision to either invest, sell, or close up shop, it gets even tougher. Recently, I had the privilege of visiting…

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Wearables on the Shop Floor: CES 2017

Plex Team January 31, 2017

Wearables and augmented reality aren’t so futuristic anymore because more manufacturers are seeing the opportunity to use these technologies to impact shop floor productivity, product quality, and…

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Quality 4.0 and the Industrial IoT

Stu Johnson September 5, 2019

Quality is one of the top concerns of most manufacturers. End customers demand quality products so OEMs demand quality performance all the way down their supply chains. There’s no tolerance for…

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Hausbeck Pickles Leverages Data-Driven Quality Management

Lori Zoellner August 6, 2019

Hausbeck Pickle Co. produces an average 400,000 pounds of pickles or peppers a day for some of the world’s largest fast food restaurants including Subway, Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Taco Bell, and…

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A and K Finishing Moves from Manual, Paper-based Quality and Inventory Processes to up Its Game

Kaitlin Rebella November 13, 2018

For every large manufacturing company that is in the midst of a digital transformation, there are hundreds of small to mid-sized manufacturers still relying on manual, paper-based processes—and it’s…

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How to Become a Preferred Manufacturing Supplier

Stu Johnson April 10, 2018

Becoming a preferred supplier is a status most manufacturers want to attain and keep. To achieve this, you need to keep a close eye on quality performance while managing all the work involved with…

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Digitize, Connect, and Comply: Manufacturers Need a Risk-Based Approach

Stu Johnson February 12, 2018

Manufacturing industry standards have undergone significant changes in recent years in an attempt to respond to quality issues in products that resulted in personal injury, and deaths. You have…

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Manufacturing Chaos to Calm: Operationalize Quality

Stu Johnson November 8, 2017

When it comes to quality management, our friends at the fictitious Edge Manufacturing are grappling with lack of visibility and control. Edge manages quality control on paper. So, it’s hard to verify…

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Mistake Proofing in Manufacturing by Eliminating Manual Processes

Stu Johnson September 11, 2017

If you are still relying on manual, paper-based processes, quality is difficult to sustain and It’s likely you don’t even know exactly how much it’s costing you. The fact is, you rely on your quality…

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Does Your EDI Reduce Errors or Increase Complexity?

Stu Johnson September 6, 2017

If you’re a supplier in the automotive supply chain, you know Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) guidelines well. You know it’s required by OEMs and Tier One suppliers and that failure to comply means…

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Taking the Risk Out of Automotive Supplier Compliance

Stu Johnson August 9, 2017

Keeping up with industry requirements and regulations is critical if you’re an automotive supplier/manufacturer. If you don’t, you won’t be competitive for automotive business where compliance to ISO…

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How to Operationalize Quality Control on the Shop Floor

Stu Johnson July 14, 2017

Ensuring that quality controls are in place is a never-ending task for operations and quality managers. And it’s especially hard to do if you’re using manual, paper-based documentation. The key is to…

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What You Don’t Know About Manufacturing Traceability Could Hurt Your Business

Ken Keller June 23, 2017

You likely use some type of traceability procedure to comply with customer and market mandates and/or for service, safety, and process improvement purposes. However, if you are relying on manual…

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Why Manufacturing Traceability Is Key to Reducing Errors

Stu Johnson June 16, 2017

Paper records are prone to errors, difficult to manage, and may be impossible to find in a timely manner, like within two hours as the FDA requires. High profile recalls have increased in recent…

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