Visualising the Manufacturing Execution Process

Visual Factory is an Intranet based solution for the creation, management and distribution of manufacturing documentation.

It provides the whole shop floor workforce with the information they need to perform their jobs in a visual form that can be read and understood very quickly in a rapidly changing workplace.

Visual Factory is used by leading manufacturing companies, including Caterpillar Inc., Volvo Construction Equipment, Racal Acoustics, TRW Aerospace, Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals.  It offers a host of benefits,  that can result in measurable cost savings.  

To find out more, take a look at the Visual Factory brochure and this video featuring Visual Factory in use at Racal Acoustics.  For a free demonstration, please do get in touch.

Work Instructions

- Clear visual instructions leave no room for confusion, misinterpretation or ambiguity 

- Instructions more accurately reflect the intentions of the engineer

- Instructions are easier-to-read, easier-to-use, easier-to-follow, harder to get wrong

- Reduced time to prepare and maintain works instruction - quality and clarity is improved

- Accurate, up-to-date instructions are right next to the workstation, readily accessible for reference and can even be used in a complex assembly environment

Productivity

- Cuts new employee and cross training times dramatically – assemblers can be up-to-speed almost instantly

- Prevents the knock-on effects of worker worker absence (eg bottlenecks, delays) as it is easier to assign temporary staff or to re-allocate resources

- Right-first-time assembly with fewer errors or omissions reduces re-work time

- Quicker switch-over times between product lines.

Quality

- Ensure the latest release of build information is being used for production

- Issues that aren’t usually identified until the product reaches the market are eliminated, reducing warranty costs

- Lower inspection costs, as less testing and checking is required

- Instructions and best practice can be shared between facilities in different locations and with others in the supply chain -  suppliers, sub-contractors

- Reduce end of line re-working

- Reduce warranty claims

- Record technical data during assembly