About the Author
Plex Systems, Inc., a Rockwell Automation company, 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.
Why Manufacturers Must Embrace Data-Driven Operations
There was a time in manufacturing before personal computers (PCs). Data was manually tracked, and decisions were made based on experience, gut feelings, and guesswork. But the lowly PC changed all that. Suddenly, companies could store more data and utilize spreadsheets to analyze operational aspects.As much as that was a big leap in operational improvement, it still relied on an overabundance of…
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Is Your Manufacturing Operation a Haunted House?
A door opens with a creaking sound. Faint groans are heard just around the corner. And the distinct sight of a completely bandaged entity is seen shuffling down a corridor. Is it a haunted house? A scary abandoned building? Or is it your manufacturing process?While haunted houses can be a fun way to celebrate Halloween, they’re not so fun when they reflect a harsh reality within your plant. That…
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How Demand Drives Execution
In traditional manufacturing models, there needed to be more connection between the ability to meet customer demand and manufacturing execution. Subjective data-gathering on demand coupled with manual processes and manual data collection in manufacturing obscured the real demand picture....
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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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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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How Smarter Manufacturing Makes You the Envy of the Neighborhood
It’s hard enough keeping up with new products or system upgrades offered by the OEMs that built the equipment for your manufacturing operation. Staying current on software updates, new and more efficient electronics, and retrofits to add new functionality is difficult for even the most experienced managers and maintenance teams....
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