ManufIT.com

Last week I saw an example of what not to do when developing manufacturing systems.  The manufacturer hired a programmer to “upgrade” older systems that existed in FileMaker Pro and Excel spreadsheets.  A gov’met agency recommended they move from Excel to a database, so the programmer used Oracle because that is what they knew.

What I would have done:

1. Start with what the business problem is.  What is the real problem and what would be the most efficient way to solve it?  A database might not be the right solution. (Right Kevin?)

2. If because of #1 or because there is a regulatory requirement, a database is required, make it as simple to build and own as possible.  That means starting with software that most people know or that you can get anyone to upgrade in the future.

2a - My opinion is there are way more people that know Microsoft technologies (ASP, .NET, SQL Server, etc.) than do Oracle.  Also, a PHP and MySQL solution would have more worldwide resources available than an Oracle solution.

3.  Get a couple opinions before you start (especially if you do not do this every day.)  Ask some friends, technical advisors, etc. before you start to spend money. 

Unfortunately for this manufacturer they spent about 5x more money than they should have for what they got and now they have something that no one is going to want to touch.  Because they knew the developer and she was only charging them $40/hour, they thought they were getting a deal!

oh, 1a - see if there is a good Commercial-off-the-shelf solution (COTS) that works before you build it.

I am constantly reminded that with risky projects, new ventures, or unknown territory that it is smart to start small and build on successes - especially when there are technical challenges.

With MES projects, there are so many factors.  I walked into our conference room yesterday and saw our guys working on a quote for a customer.  The list of risks they were talking over filled on whole white board.

We keep getting taught this lesson, but we need to start small, get something working very solidly, and then move on from there.  This approach lessons the risk for our customers and our team.

There is no substitute for good requirements, good specifications, and a good selection process in any IT project.  Especially those projects that are complex and touch so many people and disciplines, like MES projects.

I often liken MES projects to building a house.  It isn’t enough to go to a custom builder and give them requirements like this:

• 5 bedrooms
• 4 full baths
• 3 car garage
• 5,500 square feet
• Oh, and we want this to be our dream home.

NO, NO, NO!  We all know that a builder would laugh you out of his office and say, “Come back with some architectural blueprints, some specifications, and a budget.”  Even if the builder was a Design Build firm, you would expect the clock to start then, and to pay for the design of your new home!

However, so many times I see companies trying to do the same thing with MES projects.  Requirements go something like this:

• OEE
• Tracking and Genealogy
• Reporting (including drill-down and ad-hoc reports)
• Schedule dispatch
• Label printing
• NO, NO, NO!  There is no way the customer is going to get what they want.  There is no way they are going to get an apples-to-apples comparison from different vendors.

In coming posts, I will explore how manufacturing companies can do a better job of laying out requirements.  Who knows, maybe we will even post some templates!

I read all the time that the “surveys show that ERP systems are the key to improved corporate performance.”

I have a slightly different opinion.

While I believe that standardizing, condensing, purging and streamlining can enhance business performance; I don’t think implementing an ERP system is the cause of all of these changes - and therefore improvements.  I think companies that chose to replace their legacy system with a modern ERP solution, are improving their business in many ways besides focusing on the ERP implementation.  Lets look at some other possible factors:

1. Companies that put in new ERP systems are probably already making money.  Most struggling companies don’t say “lets put in a new ERP, that is our key to turning this thing around.”

2. Companies that put in a new ERP system are improving many parts of their business and the support of a modern, consolidated solution helps in those improvements.

3.   This is just a hunch, but most people in leadership that choose to implement a new ERP system have done it before.  It happens, but I’ll bet it is rare to have the legacy leadership choose to move away from the legacy systems.  More often, there is a change in leadership, ownership, etc. that leads to these changes.

I believe modern systems can definitely have positive affects on the business.  However, I think the positive performance of these companies due to many factors.

http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2008/03/today-i-left-th.html

Referring to Kevin’s article, I was impressed a few weeks ago when I witnessed the Mac out performing a PC….

We were in a training class with Wonderware Central, our local Wonderware distributor.  The instructor was using a Mac with VMware’s fusion product running the Wonderware software.  We were all stepping through a demo, and when it came time to “publish” our work (something that required a little crunching), we all did it at the same time.

To my amazement, the Mac with the VMware software was done faster than my Sony Vaio, and a couple of my developer’s Dell laptops.

The lines are getting blurry…

http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2008/03/today-i-left-th.html