How manufacturers are making their factories paperless

Manufacturers around the world are embarking on digital transformation strategies to make the most of the interconnectivity and smart automation technologies that underpin Industry 4.0.

For example, private 5G networks deliver new levels of speed and precision to supercharge asset tracking, system monitoring and real-time schedule and process optimization. This is achieved through location and event data and other telemetry that flow from a range of sensors and factory systems.

Meanwhile, manufacturing execution systems (MESs) are delivering on the promise of a “paperless factory” by automating and streamlining factory workflows while improving productivity.

Traditional paper-based processes, which are typically time- and resource-intensive and nonstandardized, have become unsustainable in a manufacturing ecosystem grappling with producing quality products at competitive costs and with demanding timelines.

So, manufacturers want to digitalize their manufacturing processes and operations with solutions that perform at least three essential functions: automated manufacturing execution, digital process planning and digital work instructions.

MESs assist in the automation, digitalization, visualization and reporting of shop floor processes. They can improve production control and quality, reduce waste, make employees more efficient and productive, and cut response times – especially when combined with industrial IoT solutions that enable predictive machine maintenance, quality analytics and more.

In doing so, they act as a bridge between enterprise resource planning systems, which focus on overall business operations, and plant floor systems handling the manufacturing operations.

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