Business Decision process

Computerised Systems - Business Decision Process

Getting it right for the future


General Business Considerations
Legislative and retail requirements constantly require manufacturers to increase their management practices with respect to the management of product data. The financial pressure from retailers and the market in general drives businesses towards production optimisation through the identification of bottlenecks in the production process.

These two separate but connected drivers for simultaneous compliance and efficiency provide a strong incentive towards embracing a computerised management system. This section will seek to identify important considerations of any business before, during and after the commissioning of any such system and relate these to the functional profile of the AutoCoding system.

Functionality and Commissioning
In the case of an AutoCoding system it is clear that technical, operations, engineering and planning may all use the system for control and retrieval of management information as well as execute production instructions and retrieve the resulting audit/efficiency data. Consequently successful system integration will require involvement and buy-in from all departments.

It is a fundamental requirement that the functional scope of the chosen software solution fits well into already established operational practices. A specification of the requirements will determine what software customisation is possible and if current practices need to be modified.

This specification process will ensure that all functions understand both their scope of responsibility and also how the different functional areas 'inter-relate'. With a clear understanding of functionality and the business benefits the resulting buy-in will provide for more focused bedding-in time and less production disturbance.

Separate from the system providing a functional and operational fit, it is important to make sure that the installation process is undertaken systematically without exposing the business to unnecessary risk. Again providing off-line demonstrations of the agreed functionality provides opportunity for issues to be addressed prior to installation.

A pilot line providing a training opportunity for all operators provides further focus to a commissioning process, which is respectful of production requirements. Similarly, structured project management will further minimise impact on the production capability.

Architecture
In determining the correct solution, the stability of the system is a critical design parameter. Basically a suitable software functionality residing on an un-stable/in-adequate architecture may well be less preferable to a paper-based system where dependency on electronic components is negligible. A significant factor to be considered is the impact on the business in case of failure of any single system component. This being a software application, a network-switch, a terminal or indeed a central server.

The system architecture must be designed in a way that no single component failing, can shut the entire system down. This may mean replication of data and provision of automated 'fail-over' functionality across several platforms. This will provide for a suitable and stable performance in cases where I.e. the central server or the network is unavailable.

Furthermore the construction of the system architecture must use components of an industrial quality and build, and must recognise properly the harshness of the environment. An "office-style" IT solution may consequently provide an inadequate stability.

Support
In case of any component failure, sufficient competence must exist within the support mechanisms to restore a full system capability without the need for external support.

The support framework provided by the system supplier must as a rule not rely on a physical journey to the installation. Instead remote access provides a safe and secure capability for immediate software support. Scheduled maintenance/update visits will ensure that system performance and availability does not degrade and that staff training is adequate.

AutoCoding Systems – Enterprise System Solutions
Recognising these factors AutoCoding Systems Ltd have developed a modular software system, which when supported by good engineering practices as well as a structured deployment and support methodology ensures that:
  • The software is functionally designed to satisfy operational needs, meeting the stated objectives and requirements.
  • The business recognises the benefits of the solution and buys into the system through involvement in specifications, demonstrations and training.
  • The architecture and engineering quality is proven suitable for harsh industrial environments
  • The system architecture / application has in-built redundancy and fault tolerance
  • The system can be recovered locally
  • The system is well supported through the support framework
In this way it is recognised that the software functionality is only a part of a process designed to provide a workable, effective and supported business tool.

The system is designed to meet a number of objectives
1. Provide integrity in the creation, management and deployment of correct and auditable product/order information to the production and warehousing environments.
2. Increase efficiency by automating production set-up processes and by providing auditability of the performance of the production facility through a strong reporting engine.
3. By means of enterprise-wide business reporting, to be able to identify efficiency, performance and production bottlenecks.