Hobart Machined Products has implemented a real-time operational visibility and supplier collaboration solution from Omnitrol Networks at Hobart’s plant in Ellensburg, Wash. The Omnitrol Supplier Visibility (OSV) solution automates tracking, production status and delivery projections of work orders for such key customers as Boeing and NASA, through a secure collaborative web portal. As an automated real-time information exchange platform, OSV helps remove the overheads and inaccuracies found in tracking orders for on-time delivery.
OSV automates order and part tracking through wireless sensor technologies, and captures key performance metrics for further production analysis. One such analytics capability includes real-time order forecasting with which Hobart can proactively manage and prioritize order commitments to reduce delays and keep a 100% on-time delivery. Hobart’s customers can stay informed through an intuitive and secure web portal without requiring any manual data capture or reporting.
“We have taken the initiative to push our lean manufacturing operations into the new age of collaborative manufacturing,” says Rosemary Brewster, president and CEO of Hobart Machined Products. “With the growing challenges of managing outsourced partners, our customers require real-time visibility into order status to proactively and consistently track on-time delivery.” Hobart designs and manufactures precision parts and hardware for the military and aerospace industry, as well as the automotive, medical device, and electronics industries.
Hobart selected Omnitrol Networks’ real-time business intelligence solution because it automates shop-floor visibility while implementing collaborative processes with Hobart’s customers, allowing them to manage outside manufacturing operations as if they were a virtual extension of their own operations. Omnitrol Networks’ model for automated tracking of work orders, quality metrics and delivery status removes manual logging which inevitably becomes error-prone and difficult to synchronize with supply chain back-end systems. The OSV solution automates this processing and continuously tracks orders, staff and workflows to pinpoint bottlenecks and production challenges before they happen.
Through predictive analytics, OSV projects delivery times and completion times at each stage of the manufacturing process. Additionally, by allowing access to that information through secure web services, supplier management is transformed into exception-based collaborative partnerships.
