What is Production Operations Management?

The approach to production operations management is an important factor in an organization’s ability to function economically. Significant effort has been, and continues to be devoted to developing techniques that optimize planning, organizing, and controlling activities to achieve more economical efficiency in manufacturing. The following are characteristics of effective production operations management:

• Production is an organized activity so every production unit has an objective.
• Production units do not operate in isolation from other organizational entities.
• Communication and feedback regarding production activities is essential to control and improve system performance and must flow in all directions throughout the organization.
• Efficient usage of resources and labor will generate favorable productivity.
• The ability to access and share relevant data provides the ability to measure productivity against objectives, make functional improvements, and improve operational efficiency.

Using Technology in Production Operations Management

Organizations that implement technology in operations management have experienced measurable improvements in efficiency and cost reductions. Automating production tasks reduces hands-on intervention, which significantly reduces errors, duplicated efforts, redundant information, and losses due to defects. In particular, an operations management software solution helps with:

Quality Control – The aim of quality control is the assurance of optimal quality in all production output. This is achieved through prompt quality inspections, identifying and preventing defects at the source, and controlling manufacturing variations during production.

Materials Management – Effective materials management requires a strategic approach with acquisition, control, and optimization of production materials. Accomplishing this objective involves using technology to simplify materials management tasks, such as inventory control, transport, workflow planning, and vendor management.

Maintenance Management – The efficient operation of equipment and machinery is critical to production. The primary objectives with equipment maintenance are optimal performance and minimal downtime at the lowest possible cost.

How MasterControl’s Manufacturing Excellence Solution Can Help You

MasterControl’s Manufacturing Excellence Solution provides a comprehensive view of all business units in your organization. It also automates and streamlines critical production operations management processes for more efficient production management and quality control. Implementing MasterControl’s Manufacturing Excellence Solution enables you to:

Improve Communication – Ensure that all stakeholders throughout the organization have access to relevant information and up-to-date data. This fosters consistency among all operational procedures and helps prevents costly oversights and delays.

Close Gaps Between Business Units – Eliminate silos and communication issues by setting up a holistic view of your operations and data from one convenient interface.

Minimize Equipment Downtime – All data is stored and easily accessible from a single repository. This enables business units to accurately coordinate production cycles with equipment maintenance schedules. Unplanned downtime requires quick decisions regarding repairs. The availability of current data on service and parts replacement history helps with making the right decisions in the event of equipment failures—especially when they occur during off hours, such as weekends or holidays.

Optimize Production Workflows – Automating processes eliminates guesswork and enables companies to be more agile with manufacturing variations and change control.

Streamline Documentation – Automatically generate accurate, customizable documentation such as batch and production records, product history records, and work-in-progress (WIP) reports.

Escalate Quality – With a holistic view of your entire production operation, you can execute more granular quality control and continuous improvement efforts with all phases of production.

Manufacturing Excellence Solution Features and Benefits

MasterControl’s Manufacturing Excellence Solution seamlessly integrates with your other resource and production planning software. You can more effectively identify and fill gaps in manufacturing execution systems (MES) and manufacturing operations management (MOM) systems. In addition to collecting and sharing data in real time, the collected data includes more in-depth metadata for creating comprehensive documentation—often required with regulated companies. Overall, your organization can benefit from more predictive analytics, more effective planning, and better decision-making.

Contact a MasterControl representative to find out about how MasterControl’s Manufacturing Excellence Solution delivers a measureable ROI.