In modern manufacturing, “good enough” is no longer enough. To compete and be resilient to market disruptions, organizations must leverage data analytics to gain a competitive advantage.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic reminded me of an opportunity working with a federal government agency where I was asked to train high level scientific professionals on the concepts of Cost of Quality.

Thinking big in terms of quality is the goal. Rather than the days of old where quality just meant inspection, not in real time and not easily accessible, today the concept of quality has moved beyond this concept.

Does it seem like continuous improvement initiatives keep moving to the bottom of your task list? Here’s one way to get the big picture back on your radar.

Quality is based on a series of facts and statistics collected and analyzed. To produce a quality product—and continue producing a quality product—you need data.

At the end of the day, nothing matters more than customer satisfaction. Fundamentally, this sounds quite simple; make the customer happy, and all is well. Keeping customers happy and loyal to your brand, however, is not as easy as it sounds. 

Data collection on the factory floor can be a challenge. Even the smallest enterprise can generate massive amounts of data, and collecting this data is only a first step on the path to a successful IIoT project.

Not long ago, IT integration projects were an intimidating task due to the historic number of failed projects. This is not the case today because the technology exists and when combined with proper implementation they are very successful.

Data isn’t everything. But it’s perhaps the main thing standing between you and a successful project. Continuous improvement takes effort, but more than anything, it takes solid information and analysis. In other words, wouldn’t it be more helpful to use statistical process control to find out where your process is going wrong, rather than just a hunch?

Problems cost money. The sooner a potential problem or error is anticipated and resolved, the less it will ultimately cost an organization. This includes direct costs like warranty claims and recalls, and in more serious terms, the long-term costs associated with lost business and damage to a company’s reputation.