Page 34 - MetalForming Magazine May 2022

that, for example, the process generates scrap on occasion with a particular material. Analysis of data may determine that, for instance, this scrap results from using low-quality material from a particular supplier. ERP provides for the ability to make such analyses.”
Proper routing of instructions, with the CAM sys- tem and ERP on the same page, also results in reduced rework and scrap.
“ERP is not the nesting system, nor the CAM sys- tem,” Chakraborty explains. “Proper ERP can blend with the CAM system and import CAM reports to properly advise operators. Rework on a press brake operation, for example, may result from bending material upside-down or in the wrong direction. A proper setup allows ERP to bring in proper instruc- tions from the CAM system, and provide the operator and other stakeholders with instructions in an easy- to-follow format.”
Optimize Machine and Job Scheduling
Again, a proper ERP solution oversees the three Ms—machine, manpower and material—as earlier described by Chakraborty. This makes ERP, in concert with other manufacturing-oversight software such as MES, an ideal tool to optimize machine and job scheduling.
“The ERP system knows who is operating what, what shifts they operate on, the lunch hours and break times, and so on,” Chakraborty says. “Let the nesting software, with time and materials data, inte- grate with the ERP and MES for effective machine and job scheduling.”
For its part, Lantek has its own nesting software that integrates with Lantek ERP and MES, explains Chakraborty. But assuming that the nesting and ERP/MES systems come from different vendors, the integration principle still holds.
“Combining a system that provides machine data along with data from ERP provides a platform for stakeholders to understand everything that occurs on the shop floor,” says Anupam Chakraborty, commercial director for Lantek Systems, Inc.
“A nesting system outputs data that ERP should
be able to read and map against existing inventory,”
he explains. “Based on the material availability and
the estimated job time, the ERP/MES may provide a rec- ommendation to change the job/machine routing based on estimated job time because the selected laser cutting machine is overbooked. Good ERP/MES provides this visibility. It can tell the programmer, ‘don’t program this job for laser cutting machine A, program it for machine B.’ Effective systems provide visibility into the three Ms to optimize machine and job scheduling. Visibility can occur before or after program- ming. After means going back and reprogramming, and before allows changes to be made immediately.”
Enables Shop-Floor Continuous Improvement
With data available for the three Ms in an integrated setup, fabricators have in their hands a powerful tool to
foster continuous improvement via analysis of that data. “Combining a system that provides machine data along with data from ERP provides a platform for stakeholders to understand everything that occurs on the shop floor,” Chakraborty says. “That data may show problems with mate- rial from a certain supplier, or particular problems on a laser cutting machine. Analyzing the data delivers solutions. Maybe it’s time to switch material suppliers or perform a different type of maintenance on a high-downtime piece of
equipment, or reallocate personnel.
“Good ERP/MES, and proper integration with other infor-
mation areas such as nesting software provides insight to identify bottlenecks and free them,” Chakraborty concludes. “It all starts with visibility into the three Ms.” MF
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Based on the material availability and the estimated job time, the ERP/MES may provide a recommendation to change the job/machine routing based on estimated job time because a selected machine is over- booked. Good ERP/MES provides this visibility.
“Effective systems provide visibility into the three Ms to optimize machine and job scheduling,” says Chakraborty.