Positive ROI Yields with Shop Floor Control Software

Companies implementing a next-generation wireless tablet-based Shop Floor Control (SFC) solution most often realize a quick payback just by considering the “minutes saved” throughout their cut & sew operations. Of course, other cost-saving benefits such as massive efficiency gains will also contribute to the full Return on Investment (ROI) picture. In part one of this series, I will focus solely on the most obvious time savings that next-generation SFC can yield in a single 8-hour shift.

Scanning QR codes vs legacy barcodes
Scanning a QR code is a much more efficient process than scanning barcodes. This can save up to 1 minute per operator/shift.

Visual communications vs alphanumeric display
Workers have the ability to look at and interact with the “content rich” display on a tablet without having to key special commands or codes; saving another 7 ½ minutes.

Paperless travelers
Large, visual displays can also display a PDF file/traveler to improve communications and reduce errors for all workers and saves 5 minutes.

Clocking in at the operator’s workstation vs waiting in the time clock queue
This saves between 4 – 6 minutes per operator.

Clocking in using QR codes vs NFC or Biometrics
This saves 10 to 15 seconds or .25 minutes per operator.

Email notifications for machine downtime
Automatic email notifications to alert mechanics to machine downtime gets problems solved faster, saving approximately 4 minutes per operator.

Email notifications for other off-standard events
Automatic email notification to supervisors for off-standard approvals saves 3 minutes per operator.

These time savings alone give each operator an additional 25.75 minutes of productive time per operator.

For a 100 operator shop, that is an additional 2,575 minutes gained each day!

As you can see, a significant part of these savings come from the use of a wireless tablet system. But that’s only part of what makes next-gen SFC so great for your business. In my next article I’ll review the efficiencies gained by implementing such a solution and leave you with a simple, easy to understand ROI model for your new shop floor control solution.