One of the key trends in RPA technology in 2021 is its adoption in manufacturing and internal auditing areas within organizations, extending beyond its traditional implementations in finance, accounting, or treasury.

This shift is driven by the need to eliminate manual data entry, perform statistical controls, and free operational staff from monotonous tasks.

In this article, we present a case on how RPA can assist in manufacturing processes.

Current scenario

On a production line within an organization, every 6 minutes, operators read data from a screen (a SCADA system), record it on paper in a statistical control format, and then input it into a floor control software.

This process is carried out every 6 minutes across 7 pieces of equipment on the production line, and it is estimated that 2 full-time employees per shift are dedicated to this activity.

Typical issues in manufacturing processes

• The process isn’t performed every 6 minutes; operators sometimes skip reading, recording, and inputting data. As a result, statistical control is not maintained accurately.
• The recorded data is not 100% reliable, with some capture and interpretation errors, such as, “What number did I write here? I think it’s a 5.”
• There are data entry errors when capturing a number different from what was recorded.
• Statistical control alerts are not triggered because the operator is focused on the operation and postpones the statistical control activities.

3 Alternatives to solve manufacturing process issues

1. Develop software and implement system interfaces: However, this has not been done because the IT department has not allocated personnel or infrastructure for over a year due to their workload.
2. Hire more personnel: However, increasing headcount goes against the organization’s strategic objectives and does not guarantee error elimination.
3. Utilize RPA technology: This is the most viable solution because it does not require developing interfaces between systems and eliminates the dependency on IT personnel.

How does RPA help in this process?

• A Control Room, equivalent to a supervisor, is responsible for triggering the process every 6 minutes.
• It reads the SCADA software and extracts the data. How? It can do so directly from the database, run a report, download it to Excel and extract the data, or read the data directly from a screen.
• Once the data is retrieved, it records them in a spreadsheet (MS Excel or Google Sheets).
• After recording the data, it can compare them against lower or upper limit values to trigger an alert. For example, sending an email to the appropriate people or a message through a collaboration app (MS Teams, WhatsApp, etc.) with the alert and a screenshot as evidence, or even turning on a warning light.
• It captures the data in the floor control software by clicking on each screen, selecting the line, shift, equipment, and date as required.
• Upon completing the process, and only if an anomaly is detected, it can fill out an executive summary with the relevant data and send all evidence via email to the appropriate personnel.

Benefits of RPA for the organization

• Cost Savings: Eliminates the need to develop software, create system interfaces, and minimizes the time required to obtain a solution.
• Efficiency: Allows personnel to focus on activities that add more value to the process, such as operating the production line.
• Accuracy and Precision: Ensures the control is executed every 6 minutes and data is reported without errors.
• Competitiveness: Reduces the occurrence of out-of-specification products that were previously identified at the end of the line. Now, issues can be detected during the process, and it becomes possible to visualize when the process is trending out of specifications.

RPA is a tool that provides a competitive advantage in manufacturing by optimizing cost structures during critical times.

At icorp we can help you implement RPA, if you are interested, contact us.

This article has been translated using AI and may include errors.