December 04, 2024
Infor’s end-to-end manufacturing automation solution, Factory Track™, streamlines manufacturing operations from the warehouse to the shop floor and back office. The system helps modernize and automate production, improve the speed and accuracy of materials inventory, and keep labor costs in control.
Factory Track enables users to configure the system to meet their needs for each functional process, drastically reducing activities that don’t add value. Instead, manufacturers can focus on digitizing warehouse operations, developing strategic plans, increasing compliance and traceability, and optimizing processes.
Gain Real-Time Visibility into Shop Floor Operations
Fully integrated with Infor SyteLine (CloudSuite Industrial), Factory Track eliminates manual tracking errors, automates time and attendance, and improves manufacturing production and efficiency. Employees can access Factory Track on the shop floor to retrieve online documents such as shop or assembly drawings. They can also digitally record the results of quality control and testing processes, providing real-time visibility to management and other team members.
The visual dispatch feature displays detailed information about each job, including the status of operations, materials, and posted transactions, simplifying dispatching workers to specific jobs. Work instructions can be viewed online from the dashboard, and workers can communicate information back to production supervisors by adding notes within the Factory Track work center.
Factory Track provides a simple and convenient touchscreen user interface, making it easy to view work center schedules and manage assembly processes from the shop floor in a paperless environment. Paperless processes help prevent the propagation of poor data integrity and human errors. Using a device such as a tablet, employees can take and upload pictures, visually documenting the work performed or any issues.
Improve Inventory Speed and Accuracy
Factory Track’s simple mobile interface benefits shop floor and warehouse workers. Handheld barcode scanners or other mobile devices automate the collection of a wide range of data, improving inventory accuracy and helping manage inventory's inbound and outbound movements. With Factory Track, manufacturers can digitally record incoming inventory, document inspection approvals, print barcode labels, process inventory inquiries and transfers, manage cross-docking processes, and improve customer order fulfillment.
The software also supports and streamlines cycle counting, in which a company counts and audits a portion of inventory every day or week instead of doing it all at the end of the year. Kanban, an inventory control system used in just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to track production and order new shipments of parts and materials, can also be electronically managed in Factory Track. Kanban systems help reduce on-hand inventory and carrying costs while tracking inventory replenishment to maintain efficient production flow.
Using Factory Track’s inventory tracking tools, workers can quickly locate where items are stored and the quantities available. In just a few steps, inventory can be moved from one location to another or issued to a job. Each movement can be tracked in real-time, and supervisors can communicate online with warehouse workers to resolve discrepancies.
Infor Factory Track also minimizes non-compliance risks by providing advanced visibility into lots and serialized items across the manufacturing value chain. This gives manufacturers more control over versions, high-tech components, and fast-changing product specifications.
Manage and Understand Labor Costs
Factory Track’s time-tracking capabilities account for every transaction and activity an employee has completed in a workday. The system provides visibility into employee clock-ins, attendance exceptions, and timesheet summaries, making it easy to take control of labor activities and automate attendance operations, including compliance with overtime rules.
Employees can clock in for multiple jobs simultaneously and/or clock into different types of work, such as setup, indirect service, project transactions, and machine run time. This enables detailed labor cost analyses, including more accurate job costing and productivity measurement. Hours collected may be processed through CloudSuite Industrial Payroll or exported to a third-party payroll solution.
Enjoy Fast, Easy Implementation
SaaS customers are connected to Factory Track capabilities out of the box. They can begin taking advantage of many of the software’s features after only a small amount of configuration. Implementing features such as labeling and time tracking requires additional time and resources. Overall, the system is flexible, scalable, and easy to implement in stages. The friendly and straightforward user interface makes it accessible to manufacturing staff without extensive training.
“Factory Track offers exceptional value to all manufacturers and distributors,” said Aaron Vedvick, Senior Consultant at Guide Technologies. “Due to the product's flexible design and scalability, companies can grow into it. Manufacturers willing to change processes, try something new, and use new functionality that has never before been available can start with the tools that make sense and establish a strategy to implement full functionality over time, and Guide Technologies is here to help.”
