In our previous Actionable Insights blog, we discussed the Purchasing Inventory Effectiveness Action Center. Next, we will provide an overview of the Operations Production Andon Board Action Center as well as the associated key performance indicators (KPIs).
An Andon board is a visual aid that shows the changing status for a production line. These boards are used to notify management, maintenance, material handlers and others of a quality or process problem. Manufacturers who practice Lean, Just-in-Time, Repetitive, TPS or other advanced manufacturing practices use them to resolve problems quickly by speeding up the ability to communicate problems quickly and concisely.
QAD Adaptive ERP includes the Operations Production Andon Board Action Center to help companies improve operational efficiency, reduce scrap, and rework and decrease unplanned downtime.
KPIs on the Operations Production Andon Board Action Center
QAD Action Centers provide analytics to help both managers and users monitor metrics and KPIs. KPI highlights for the Operations Production Andon Board Action Center include:
Select Production Line(s)
This selector box allows users to view the Andon Board information by choosing one or more production lines. By selecting a production line, users can see the performance for all items scheduled on the line during the selected period.
Select Site(s)
By selecting specific sites of interest to them, interested stakeholders can eliminate extraneous data to improve their focus on the sites they are concerned with.
Select Period(s)
By selecting the specific time they want to view (week to date, today, yesterday or all three), users can focus on the elapsed time percentage, hours achieved percentage and the on-time performance percentage in individual charts. This enables them to spot problems or trends quickly so they can take action to resolve the issue.
Production Andon Board at a Glance
This table chart includes the period, production line, site, the on-time performance percentage, scheduled orders and received orders. Data includes hours or units scheduled and delivered, as well as absolute variance by percentage, hours and units and hours achieved.
The completeness of the visible data lets users quickly analyze status and performance by period, site, item, line, or product family. The ability to quickly see on-time performance lets the planner take fast action to prevent production shortfall if the required volumes are in jeopardy.
Since the data is presented in near-real-time, planners can make rapid adjustments to prevent downtime, shortages or excessive quality problems.
Elapsed Time Percentage – Today/Yesterday/Week to Date
This is a gauge visual used to analyze cycle time with color-coded low/medium/high ranges and a visual needle showing where the actual performance falls on the range. This enables a quick characterization of the effectiveness of the line or site over the chosen period or periods. This enables the team to take quick action to investigate and mitigate performance issues.
Hours Achievement– Today/Yesterday/Current Week (to Date)
This visual allows managers and planners to judge schedule performance based on current achievement compared to the period’s elapsed time. Like the chart above, it uses color-coded rankings to show if the site or line is on track to meet the required output. If the output is in the low zones, they can take quick action to improve performance.
On-Time Performance – Today/Yesterday/Current Week
Using the familiar red/yellow/green color coding, this visual shows the percentage of work completed on time and uses a needle to show the exact percentage of work completed on time on each of the three boards. When the site or line’s performance is not on target, operations may decide to work overtime or reroute work to alternative production lines to ensure that they meet shipping targets or other downstream goals.
The Importance of the Operations Production Andon Board Action Center
On-time performance in production is critical for meeting performance targets, keeping customers happy and preventing unplanned downtime in later production operations. Quick action not only improves on-time performance, it can point out potential problems with quality or material availability.
In other ERP systems, it can be difficult to see this information that makes it easy to react, but fast, decisive action is the key to productivity and effectiveness. Quickly taking the right steps to keep sites or lines operating as planned can eliminate costly rework and scrap, reduce overtime, and prevent or decrease the amount of unplanned downtime. All these factors affect the cost of products, so it’s critical to keep a close eye on them.
Every manufacturer needs to keep on top of its production performance, but complex manual reports can be too slow or labor-intensive to enable quick problem resolution and rapid, fact-based decisions. The Operations Production Andon Board Action Center is designed to make this task simple and easy to understand. QAD Adaptive ERP provides the underlying data about operations performance, and the Operations Production Andon Board Action Center presents the data in an easy-to-digest, highly actionable format.
Which KPIs and metrics are most important to your organization? Learn more about QAD’s predefined and highly customizable Action Centers as well as best practices for each.
