Workflows are processes that involve more than one team in the business. It can be challenging to manage workflows when all employees work on the same site. Managing them becomes even harder if you trade internationally, whether you import or export. Here are some common hurdles if you trade internationally: Different time-zones. Different currencies. Different [...]
‘What can you do …?’ is probably more associated with a bid for the presidential race! So let me assure you my aims are much more down-to earth … What can you do to improve the success of your business? What can you do put the manufacturing plant where you work on the map? I’m [...]
What is gap analysis? The gap is the difference between where you are and where you need to be. So, if you are a food manufacturer, and your BRC audit is coming up, in your gap analysis you will analyse, for each standard or requirement: Where are we? What do we need to do to [...]
What can additive manufacturing add to your business? A great conference this week, organized by IN4.0 and hosted at UCLan. As someone who doesn’t actually work in manufacturing, I was completely bowled over by the potential of additive manufacturing. I had thought that 3D printing is just used to produce semi-flimsy prototypes or moulds. I [...]
This morning I had the privilege of speaking at LC Automation. The Making it in Lancashire event was organized by the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. The morning focused on Industry 4.0, and how it applies to manufacturing. I looked at how workflow solutions can increase your ROI when you invest in IoT technology. I’m [...]
You wouldn’t think that software had anything to do with process mapping. Surely a software developer just translates the existing process from spreadsheets/emails/bits of paper to an efficient software solution? Well … not quite … as we had the privilege to discuss at a Collaboratory organized by UClan’s Transmission Project. To put it bluntly: If [...]
I recently listened to a great webinar by TraceGains, about BRC top non-conformances, and how to avoid them. The speaker gave really practical tips. He was clearly on the food manufacturers’ side to ‘get it right’, and avoid hold-ups and costs incurred by failing an audit. Here are the 3 main points I got from [...]
We have just reduced the time taken to process complex customer claims from 20 minutes per claim, to 5 minutes … That’s a lot of freed up time for workers to spend more effectively! For any manufacturing company, managing customer claims for refund can be a headache. You want to do an efficient job to [...]
It is crucial that you have robust and secure control over user access. Here are just a few reasons why: Security: So only specific people/roles can access sensitive information. Audit-trail: So you can easily and reliably demonstrate that you know exactly who has access to what, at any point in time. Auditors and regulatory bodies [...]
Whatever your opinion about GDPR, it is a reality, and we need to comply with the regulations. One way to make sure you stay on the right side of the law is by ensuring you are always audit-ready. I have been in many situations where people just plod along, perhaps doing the bare minimum. Then [...]
