ITI Group

Industry 4.0 fatigue? Want to improve but not sure where to start? - Yorkshire Insider 'Ask the Expert' series

ITI Group — 05/12/2018

Blog series from 2017 as featured in the Yorkshire Insider

The last 12 months have been challenging and uncertain for many manufacturers, particularly those producing food and beverages. The devaluation of sterling, high import costs and the uncertainty of Brexit, are all adding additional external headwinds to an industry that already runs on tight margins.

The Government's Industrial Strategy stated that increasing productivity will be key in ensuring that U.K. manufacturing thrives; one of the suggested ways manufacturers can improve productivity is investing in Industry 4.0 technologies.

But, with 99% of the manufacturers in the U.K. being SMEs, how do they improve efficiency and increase productivity, without huge IT expenditure and disruption? How do they know where to invest their limited budget, and if new technologies will really deliver on what they promise? This 'Ask the Expert' series featured in the Yorkshire Insider which informed manufacturers to start small and what they can do to minimise the risk when taking the leap of faith.

Industry 4.0 - Just where do SMEs start? Fraser Thomson of Cimlogic gives an overview of why the last 12 months have been challenging for manufacturers and what industry 4.0 technologies need to be invested in.

How can small- and medium-sized businesses improve productivity with their existing assets? Steve Wilkinson of Cimlogic gives his views.

Has your current operation hit capacity or could your productivity increase with sustainable improvements? Steve Wilkinson of Cimlogic offers his advice on finding the balance between people and technology.

Connecting Manufacturers with Artificial Intelligence

ITI Group — 04/05/2021

Author: Steve Wilkinson, Chief Technical Officer, Cimlogic

Increasingly manufacturers are asking the question “What can Artificial Intelligence do for me and my business?”

– perhaps you have even asked that yourself.

Frustratingly, the answer for a long time has been along the lines of “Anything you want, just tell me what you want it to do” or “Just use our platform and you can do anything you want”.

While that’s all great, it’s nice to know that the technology exists, but it still doesn’t answer the question: what can it actually do? What business benefit can it bring?

There is a gap, a chasm in fact, that exists between leading-edge technology and actual business benefits, and bridging that gap can seem like an impossible task.

In our experience, more often than not, manufacturers and their suppliers are trying to cross that void, and failing. And when you fall to the bottom of a scary pit, it is hard to climb back out and take the leap again. But not only are people not making it across – they are not even jumping from the correct side!

Do not lead with technology!

A fundamental rule of AI – don’t start with the technology. If you are doing a project just to find out how some technology can help your business (for example: “What can AI do for me?”), you are setting yourself up to fail. Yes, you might keep a few tech-savvy engineers entertained for a few months and may even create a pretty fancy pilot project. (“Look, we have demonstrated how the relationship between temperature and viscosity affects our packaging process”). But it won’t be long before someone asks, “So what? How will this improve my productivity, or quality, or reduce my overheads?”

“Well, ermmm, it won’t, but look at our pretty charts!”

In our experience, this is why a huge number of technology-led projects fail to get past a pilot stage. They are a solution looking for a problem. A hammer searching for a nail. A nail in a haystack (you get the idea).

Start with the problem!

Think about a true business problem that you have – perhaps you have a capacity issue and your lab is a bottleneck, perhaps you don’t even know where your bottleneck is (don’t worry, lots of people don’t). Maybe, you have an issue with quality resulting in poor yield or high levels of waste and rework. Or perhaps unplanned maintenance is throttling your productivity. These are real problems. Problems looking for solutions. And once you know the one you want to solve, you can then (and only then!) ask, “How can technology help?”

At Cimlogic we follow our RAISE™ process to ensure we are searching for the right business problems, before we even think about what technology could solve them.

Once we have identified and analysed the business challenges, and have prioritised the pressing problem and the business value that solving it could bring, we start to look at how. Obviously we have a technology bias in our solutions, but we always appreciate that these puzzles will also be solved by understanding people and process.

It’s at this point we can draw on our 20+ years of experience solving of real manufacturing problems using technology, data and analytics. We have a wide set of skills and tools at our disposal from Operational Technology through MES and Operational Excellence and our most recent addition: Predictive Manufacturing.

Predictive Manufacturing is Cimlogic’s phrase for solving business problems through the use of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

“So that’s all great – but, what can AI do for me and my business?”

As I said – this isn’t the question you should be asking, but we have to break the chicken and egg cycle somehow. Thankfully, from our client discussions during our RAISE™ process, we have identified some common areas where manufacturers are seeing the benefits of predictive manufacturing and seeing real business benefits such as:

Topline growth
Cost reduction
Regulatory compliance
Productivity uplift
Investment and asset optimisation
New product introduction

These fall into the following 6 categories:

Predictive performance

Predictive operations & Process Optimisation

Predictive inventory and demand

WIP Optimisation
Predictive Replenishment

Empowered Worker

Virtual assistant
Decision support

Predictive quality

Yield Prediction & Optimisation
Weight Control
Predictive Quality

Predictive Maintenance

Predict Equipment failure
Recommend when Maintenance is required

Predictive Sustainability

Utilities Optimisation

So, in answer to the question, “What can Artificial Intelligence do for me and my business?“, there are huge opportunities for AI in manufacturing, but you need to ask a different question! What problem are you trying to solve? Cimlogic have the manufacturing industry experience and the technical expertise to guide you to the best solutions for your business

About Cimlogic

Cimlogic engage with manufacturing clients using our unique RAISE™ methodology to understand and analyse their business challenges, identify solutions to meet those needs and ensure maximum return on investment is achieved. For more information about how we can support your digital manufacturing journey, contact Cimlogic today via enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or tel +44(0)1274 599955.

10 steps to your new MES!

ITI Group — 21/06/2021

You know the benefits a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) can bring to all aspects of production, from quality to performance, maintenance, and capacity management. But how do you justify this at board level? How can you create a compelling business case for investment in MES?

MES affects the whole organisation, and any decision to implement an MES needs support from all stakeholders, from board level to process operators. Without understanding the tangible, quantifiable benefits of any new system (as well as associated timescales for ROI), it can be virtually impossible to persuade management to invest in what can be seen as an isolated IT or manufacturing project. Additionally, process owners from across the business will not support operational changes (such as those an MES might bring) if they do not see immediate, justifiable benefits. How will it make their lives easier? Why should they accept a change to the status quo?

How can I justify an MES investment and secure budget approval?

For a business leader initiating an MES project (regardless of functional responsibility), it’s important to understand that this is a company-wide implementation, which will only succeed if there is buy-in from all stakeholders. A clear understanding of what the project will achieve for the business, documented milestones, and measured ROI at key stages of implementation will go a long way to ensuring enterprise-wide acceptance and a successful project. So, what are the recommended 10 steps?

1. Where are we now? A successful project needs to start at the beginning! ie what is the company strategy, what are the medium- and long-term business goals and how do these relate to departmental operational plans. An MES needs to align to these – how will the MES support the business and departmental goals and KPIs?

2. Select key stakeholders for the ‘MES team’. Understand current business requirements and recommendations for improvement. Use analytical methodologies such as lean tools and data analysis to further investigate opportunities and challenges, and the key KPIs.

3. Build the business case! How can an MES deployment support the business goals? Use the data analysis and supporting evidence to build a compelling business case, along with financial benefits for each step of a technology roadmap. eg if company goals include reducing the cost of goods, increasing capacity and ensuring regulatory compliance, the MES team need to demonstrate how these can be achieved via an MES roll-out.

4. Set your priorities. Understanding the financial and business benefits of each step of the MES roadmap enables you to benefit from ‘quick wins’. A modular MES allows staged implementation of key functions over a period of time, ensuring ROI at each step of the technology roadmap.

5. Speak the language. Armed with an understanding of current challenges, business requirements, the results of the analysis and a clear plan as to how MES addresses the business KPIs, it’s time for the business case presentation. The MES implementation needs to be clearly linked to achieving short-term business goals and adhering to long-term strategy. Business leaders do not want a features and functions technical MES overview; they want to know how an MES implementation will help reduce costs, increase capacity, ensure regulatory compliance etc. And by when these will be achieved! Statements such as ‘20% increase in operator efficiency in 3 months, 10% reduction in raw material costs in the next 12 months’ cannot be ignored in the budget negotiations.

6. Understand the bigger picture. Your MES implementation might be one of a number of investment options under review. Be prepared to justify the benefits of MES versus other potential investments, in meeting diverse business goals and addressing future company strategy.

7. Justify your selection. Looking beyond the next 12-18 months, what will your MES cost over its lifetime? How does it compare to alternative (initially cheaper) options? Beyond the initial licence cost, a keen understanding of total cost of ownership is crucial to gaining budget approval. Hidden costs such as consultancy, training, security, change management etc all need to be considered. Understanding all cost elements and the overall total cost of MES over its lifetime are critical to making a well-informed decision for the business.

8. Engage the wider team. In conjunction with ‘selling’ the MES at board level, it’s important to gain buy-in for the system at all levels within the organisation. Remember to tailor the message according to the audience. How will MES make their lives easier? What department challenges will it address? What operational process changes might be needed and how will these be implemented with minimal disruption? From plant directors to shift operators, it’s vital to be able to demonstrate how a new implementation will improve their ability to meet individual and department goals or KPIs . Understand the ‘What’s in it for me?’ question. An MES implementation without endorsement from both board sponsors and plant level operatives will not succeed.

9. Be prepared to start small. Company directors may be hesitant at committing to investment in MES without proof of ROI. The business case and analysis activity in steps 2 to 4 should allow you to identify specific functional areas, production lines or locations which could yield ‘quick wins’ from a pilot project. In these cases, ensure you accurately record base-line scenarios, existing metrics and challenges. The MES pilot project can then be used to demonstrate measurable improvements compared to the starting position. Pilot projects can be extremely powerful in securing approval for larger MES implementations. It’s hard to argue with bottom-line figures on costs savings/productivity improvements etc, when these figures are provided from the company’s own data.

10. Publish a road map for success. Identify areas, locations, production lines etc and a timeline for implementation. The business case established in steps 3 and 4 should guide this process, with input from the MES team selected in step 2. This roadmap helps the company understand the benefits of an enterprise-wide MES roll-out, with tangible business value generated at every stage. The data from the pilot project (if applicable) can be used to support this.

Manufacturers who follow methodologies such as this are able to not only justify their MES system, but also secure ongoing engagement with the implementation at all levels of the organisation, ensuring a successful project which delivers the expected business value and ROI.

Where are you on your Smart Manufacturing journey? Read more about Cimlogic’s client-centric methodology, RAISE™, which supports manufacturers in understanding business challenges and identifying cost-effective digital manufacturing solutions which deliver maximum business benefit and ROI: https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/about-us/ensuring-success-raise

Want to know more? Contact us via enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk, tel +44(0)1274 599955. We look forward to hearing from you.

ITI Group to engage with new client, Rocal Insulating Panels on MES consulting project

ITI Group — 07/11/2024

ITI Group to engage with new client, Rocal Insulating Panels on MES consulting project

ITI Group are pleased to announce that they have recently engaged with a new client, Rocal Insulating Panels, to provide an MES consulting project at their production facility in North Lincolnshire as part of a manufacturing process improvement initiative.

The first phase of the project will see the ITI Consulting team at ITI Group deliver a discovery workshop on the final assembly process. Part of the workshop will include the development of a “To-Be” business process model to provide the functionality requirements for an MES system initially focusing on Digital Workflows and CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System).

The ITI Consulting team will utilise best practice tools, techniques, and methodologies, leveraging customer centricity, BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) Business Analytics, Lean Six Sigma, and the ITIL (The Information Technology Infrastructure Library) framework.

Rocal is a manufacturer of high-quality solid core composite doors, aluminium windows and doors, uPVC external door panels, and bespoke plastic extrusions. Due to their commitment to delivering excellent quality products, they have been exploring the adoption of digital technology to improve manufacturing processes around the areas of quality and performance management.

Rocal sought a Digital Transformation partner with in-depth manufacturing process expertise and a consultative approach to help align business needs with performance KPIs, define requirements, and develop a project specification for an MES system implementation.

Tom Stephens, Operations Manager at Rocal said: “We are very excited to be working with ITI Group to help us transform our manufacturing operations and generate more value for our customers. We chose to partner with ITI due to their collaborative approach with their customers and ability to customise solutions to their clients needs, which aligns perfectly with Rocal values.”

Nik Tankard, Director of Global Consulting at ITI Group, also added: “We’re delighted to support Rocal on their Digital Transformation roadmap, offering our industry and manufacturing process know-how. We look forward to working closely with stakeholders from across all areas of the business to help deliver impactful change that drives real and lasting value while transforming our client’s production operations.”

ITI Consulting utilises the unique RAISE™ methodology to support clients to achieve their business goals with effective, appropriate digital solutions, realising maximum business value. Visit the website to learn more: https://www.itigroup.com/solutions/iti-consulting/

How to avoid a costly product recall: Ten Top Tips

ITI Group — 05/04/2023

Over the years product recalls have cost organisations billions in lost revenue, damaged brand reputation and reduced consumer confidence. Food and beverage and consumer packaged goods manufacturers demand high volumes at low margins. As production rates increase to meet consumer demands and expectations, maintaining optimum quality is vital.

According to the Incidents and Resilience Annual Report, the FSA was notified of 2,336 food and feed safety incidents in England, Northern Ireland and Wales during 2021/22, an 18% increase when compared to the previous year. The number of alerts issued increased from 141 in 2020/21 to 150 in 2021/22 – this included 84 Allergy Alerts and 66 Product Recall Information Notices.¹

Unsafe products or products of poor quality are still reaching consumers, and manufacturers need to do everything they can to avoid them.

Over the last few years technology and processes for traceability and quality management have improved greatly, so why are there still so many product recalls? Could complex global supply chains create higher risks in food safety? Could both improved systems and tighter regulations mean issues are more easily identifiable? But, why are these issues still making it out of the factory door and onto the supermarket shelves?²

Bad news travels fast in today’s digital world, so far more people will likely see a recall notice. Product recalls have a damaging effect on brand reputation, distributors’ confidence, and worst case scenario, the potential to reduce market share and decrease profits. Ideally, manufacturers need to avoid recalls by identifying issues before products are shipped.

Ask yourself:

What is the cost of rework?
What is the cost of labour associated with quality losses or rejects?
What is the cost of losing market reputation for poor-quality products?
What is the cost of customer satisfaction?

Top ten tips to reduce the risk of a costly product recall:

1) Get to know your Marketing and PR department

Help your Marketing and PR team to understand the products you manufacture, how the process works, where problems might occur, and which distributors would be affected. This will help them to form crisis management strategies and prepare tactics for different scenarios.

2) Audit raw ingredients/components regularly

Check your supplier processes, quality standards and recall plans. Are your suppliers meeting legal requirements? Can each batch be traced? What is their biggest risk? If your suppliers have an issue with their products, will it have a major impact on your operations?

3) Ensure that all machinery has auditable records

All tools, machinery and equipment within your facility must be kept fully serviced and have auditable records. Recalls, especially in the food and beverage sector are often due to suspected or actual contamination by machine parts. You should also ensure storage and transport facilities are in full working order.

4) Ensure your processes and policies are up-to-date and being completed

Are your current processes being followed? Are all relevant staff fully trained? Carry out unannounced spot checks and ensure that staff feel competent enough within their roles to make sound quality decisions. All training, competencies, checks and controls must be recorded, to demonstrate due diligence. Sometimes, mistakes do happen, but you will need to demonstrate that you have done everything in your power to avoid them.

5) Create a culture of continuous improvement

Safety and quality should always be valued higher than increased production quotas. Sustainably increasing production whilst maintaining and improving quality should be the ultimate goal. Ensure that the ethos is communicated to all departments, not just quality.

6) Have a recall plan in place

Who do you need to contact – government authorities, suppliers, distributors? What is your plan of action? What information will you have to hand, and who needs to know it? Run through the recall plan with key personnel, PR and distributors. Having an effective recall process in place and containing the problem before it continues through the supply chain can mean escaping unnecessary costs.

7) Have adequate insurance cover

Ensure that your insurance covers everything. Recalling products is costly; your plant may have to shut down if an investigation is required, production lines will be halted, and your overheads will still need to be paid. Your customers may lose confidence and you may lose them. You may also require extra funds for a PR campaign to re-strengthen your brand and customer confidence.

8) Consider adopting digital technology to reduce the risk

Adopting digital technology such as a quality management System (QMS) ensures that recalls can be targeted quickly and efficiently, reducing the impact of the recall. Real-time quality and traceability data from across operations can prevent product recalls from happening and gives manufacturers the ability to take control if a recall should occur, enabling optimum product and safety recall responsiveness, whilst protecting the brand. Having such systems will reduce the likelihood of any issues being shipped out of the door, enabling you, and your PR team to sleep at night!

9) Quality processes need to be integrated with operations

Quality needs to be an integrated function within operations for it to yield truly beneficial results. It happens frequently; 2-3 days after a batch run, the results are in from Quality Control and the whole batch needs to be scrapped! Often shop floor operatives will capture data, not truly understand it, and pass it off to someone else. Whereas the specialised, stand-alone data analysis performed in QC will give you results and insight. Bringing QC and operations together, in-process quality checks coupled with real-time results will enable step changes in production quality results.

10) Engage & empower operations personnel

Engage and empower operators throughout the production cycle, by providing real-time feedback, or notifications of rule violations, upcoming tasks or HACCP checks and workflows if something is trending out of specification. Ensure employees know the standards required, what may happen if that standard is not reached and what action to take. Providing actionable intelligence, and giving the right information to the right people at the right time will no doubt encourage quality improvements.

The Quality Management guide offers expert insight into the common quality challenges facing food and beverage and FMCG manufacturers and what steps can be taken to improve quality processes. Download today for top tips on how to improve yield, reduce waste, and avoid costly product recalls: https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/resources/articles/quality-management-checklist/

References:

(1) https://www.food.gov.uk/board-papers/fsa-22-09-17-incidents-and-resilience-annual-report-2021-to-2022

(2) https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/signature-series/recall-the-food-industrys-biggest-threat-to-profitability/

ITI acquires Cimlogic

ITI Group — 28/06/2022

ITI, one of the UK’s largest independent systems integrators, has acquired Cimlogic, a leading digital manufacturing solutions and services provider to some of the world’s largest manufacturers.

This acquisition will enable the Group to provide a wider, end-to-end portfolio of digital solutions that advance customers’ operations and have the ability to transform the way manufacturing and national infrastructure operates in our rapidly changing world.

ITI is currently celebrating 50 years of experience providing real-time monitoring and information systems to the UK’s major operators in the energy and infrastructure sectors. These systems monitor and predict safety issues and equipment performance. Cimlogic’s solutions complement these capabilities by enabling reduced costs, regulatory compliance, increased capacity, on-time delivery, accelerated new product introduction and sustainable operations.

ITI’s simulation services, provided through Saker Solutions (part of the ITI Group), allow clients to identify where processes and resources can be optimised. Now, with the addition of Cimlogic’s digital transformation and smart factory solutions, our customers’ overall operations can be tied together, reducing waste, increasing efficiency and predictability and above all enabling a well-choreographed operation, which in turn will enable the connected supply chains of the future.

ITI will also be acquiring the manufacturing consulting capabilities to assist existing customers to expand their digital understanding and adoption. Furthermore, the acquisition will increase the company’s presence both nationally and internationally through Cimlogic’s operations in North America and Europe.

Group CEO Andrew Mills said: “This is fantastic news for both ITI and Cimlogic. Together, we can use our collective expertise to ensure our clients properly utilise their data to automate their operations, delivering return on investment and improved service to their own customers.”

Mike Hodge, CEO and major shareholder of Cimlogic, who will become ITI Group CTO, said: “Following 20 years of relentless effort and ambition to connect manufacturers with the most suitable, latest technology, we’re excited to become part of the ITI Group. Working with ITI means we can accelerate the expansion of our business and provide a wider portfolio of solutions and services to new and existing clients.”

Andrew agreed: “This collaboration will enable us to deliver an expanded and integrated service to all our customers using innovative technology, to digitally transform, inspire and enable businesses to be the global leaders of tomorrow.”

Mark Hardy, Chairman of the ITI Group, said: “I’m delighted that Mike and his team at Cimlogic have decided to join the Group. The additional capabilities and industry experience significantly enhances ITI’s scope and capability. Over half the Group’s business will now be focussed on advanced digital solutions, providing analysis, simulation and operational management capabilities that add significant business value to customers.

“The addition of Cimlogic’s unique “RAISE™” methodology to the overall portfolio will assist customers embarking upon digital transformation to navigate their requirements in a structured and cost-effective manner. At the same time our automation, control and safety systems activities continue to grow, with multiple new projects being secured for critical infrastructure customers in recent months. I’m pleased to see the business executing on its strategy and expanding rapidly despite the difficult general economic climate.”

For more information on ITI, the services they offer or how they can help you, visit www.itigroup.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

Image caption

CEO of ITI Andrew Mills (right), welcomes Cimlogic and ITI’s new CTO Mike Hodge (left) to the ITI Group

About ITI

ITI is a technology partner to UK national infrastructure. We advance safe, secure and sustainable operations through the innovative use of technology.

At the heart of ITI is a complete commitment to innovation and transformation. Our people are practical, insightful and dynamic with a personal approach.

We act responsibly, focusing on safety and security, working with integrity at all times to deliver excellence through collaboration, experience and know-how.

For more information on ITI and the services we offer, visit www.itigroup.co.uk

About Cimlogic

Cimlogic offers complete digital manufacturing solutions and services: improving efficiency and maximising productivity, whilst ensuring optimum performance and fast ROI. We connect your operations, harnessing the power of your data to enable insightful decision-making with manufacturing analytics.

The focus of our business is driving world-class manufacturing through Operational Excellence (OpEx); Operational Technology (OT); Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Predictive Manufacturing/Data Analytics, backed by comprehensive Operational Support services.

Cimlogic’s impeccable reputation for customer retention is earned through exceptional customer service, project delivery and solutions that deliver on expectations and investment. Underpinning these is our RAISE™ client-centric methodology:

For further information on this release, contact:

Stephanie Windmill

Head of Marketing

Tel: +44 (0) 7973 827360

stephanie.windmill@itigroup.co.uk

10 manufacturing KPIs to track and what they mean to your business

ITI Group — 18/05/2021

Successful businesses typically rely on key performance indicator (KPI) measurements to evaluate business performance and efficiency, and improve decision-making. Whilst some of these measurements are standard business analytics for accounting purposes (profit and loss, cash flow etc), smart manufacturers include these and other industry-specific measurements as input to data-driven decision-making. But what should you measure? Production rates? Inventory turnover? Availability? With an abundance of data available to manufacturers, it can be so easy to miss key trends, hidden in a sea of data reports. Savvy businesses understand the critical KPIs for their industry and present these in easily understood dashboard formats, allowing dynamic decision making and swift response to underlying trends.

Which manufacturing KPIs matter?

Data collection and analytics tools allow access to so much data it can be overwhelming for a manufacturing director to identify the key KPIs needed for maximum business efficiency and performance. Traditional metrics such as OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and downtime are valid but have limitations when it comes to evaluating overall manufacturing efficiency and productivity. Additional metrics are needed for monitoring overall business performance accurately.

So, which KPIs should you track?

1. On Time Delivery in Full (OTIF)

Are you delivering orders on time to your customers? A critical KPI, as customers will soon walk away if orders are not fulfilled within required timeframes. Are you achieving 100% on-time delivery of orders? If not, do you know why? Most other KPIs are redundant if you lose customers due to non-delivery of products.

2. Production Scheduling

What percentage of production is completed on time? Linked to delivery, this KPI tracks production against target levels and aims to reduce performance issues causing delays. Tracking delivery without production scheduling might not highlight potential bottlenecks in the production process which could be impacting competitiveness (or could you shorten delivery times and stand out from your competitors?).

3. Total Cycle Time

How long is the total cycle time from customer order to delivery? This represents the full time required to convert raw materials into finished goods. Additional KPIs for Machine Cycle Time and Cell Cycle Time might be included as a measure of plant performance, but the total elapsed time from incoming order to customer delivery is a key metric for measuring efficiency.

4. Throughput

How many units (on average) is a machine, cell or line producing over time? (eg xx units/minute). Can this be improved? Is there significant variance in throughput? A number of factors contribute to this KPI, including machine downtime, shortstops, raw material availability, machine calibrations, maintenance etc.

5. Capacity Utilisation

Are your machines running at 100% capacity? If not, why not? Can utilisation be improved? This KPI enables manufacturers to understand options for increasing production or implementing job scheduling.

6. Changeover Time

Changeover time for shift changes, calibration, new jobs, machine loading/unloading etc all contribute to reduced production capacity. This KPI can help identify bottlenecks and options for improvement eg job types, operator training, maintenance scheduling. When analysed regularly, this KPI can help determine which job types and parts might require process changes or additional planning to proactively reduce changeover times.

7. Yield

Yield is a measure of quality and performance and is at the heart of production efficiency and profitability. Companies should target 100% yield (ie no defective units produced). Yield measurement identifies which processes cause unwanted re-work which in turn affects throughout and total cycle time.

8. Planned Maintenance Percentage (PMP)

Maintenance managers need to have a clear understanding of scheduled/planned maintenance vs emergency breakdown callouts. What is your ideal PMP? Emergency fixes are costly (machine downtime, production line stoppages, increased cycle times) and this metric offers a tangible measure to help allocate resources for preventative maintenance, leading to improved uptime and reduced operating costs.

9. Availability

A crucial KPI for all manufacturers. Downtime costs money, whether planned or unplanned. Analysis of downtime reasons offers vital insight into where improvements can be made, identifying whether machines, operators, shift patterns or a combination of these and other factors are impacting availability.

10. OEE – Overall Equipment Effectiveness

OEE, the traditional manufacturer’s yardstick for performance, availability and quality, has its place, but is deliberately placed at number 10 in this list. OEE should not be measured in isolation, and a high OEE should not be the only measure of manufacturing excellence. (This topic is covered in more detail in our blog: How much is high OEE costing you?)

There are other KPIs which didn’t make the shortlist which you might consider, depending on your industry/ production process. Examples such as Scrap (this includes defective units as well as discarded or leftover raw material) help manufacturers identify options for cost reduction and improving product quality. Additionally, Customer Returns offer a measure of product quality and might indicate an issue with the production or quality control process if a significant percentage of products need rework. Inventory Turns is another measurement in lean manufacturing, where keeping inventories low can improve cash flow and allow speedy response to changing customer needs.

The list is not exhaustive but aims to give manufacturers some ideas as to which KPIs are relevant to the production process. World-class manufacturers measure and monitor an agreed set of KPIs and use these as input to decision making and strategy. Cimlogic work with our clients to understand the key business drivers and recommend the best solutions to deliver tangible business value – helping you define and achieve your manufacturing KPIs.

Contact Cimlogic today for an informal discussion on manufacturing KPIs and how to deliver real business value with the latest manufacturing technology solutions. Read more about our client-centric methodology RAISE™: https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/about-us/ensuring-success-raise/ or contact us via enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk, tel +44(0)1274 599955.

Cimlogic Roadshow Event at Sensor City in Liverpool

ITI Group — 12/02/2020

Attend Cimlogic's roadshow event 'Small Data, Big Wins' at Sensor City in Liverpool on Thursday 5th March 2020. Reserve your place here

This event is aimed at manufacturers who want to learn about small data in manufacturing and what smart IIoT technology devices are available to drive productivity and operational excellence.

Listen to our productivity expert, Fraser Thomson talk about collecting meaningful data to evaluate 'quick wins', whilst embracing a continuous improvement approach. You will also have the opportunity to watch Cimlogic's demonstration conveyor in action to find out what ‘quick wins’ can be gained from implementing production line technologies and measuring output in real-time.

Watch this video https://youtu.be/TDjOCk4O5W4?rel=0&t=01 to find out more about Cimlogic and our conveyor

Technology firm grows with latest operational excellence appointments to help customers continuously improve

ITI Group — 07/05/2019

Cimlogic, the experts in driving manufacturing productivity, have announced the appointments of Head of Operational Excellence and Key Account Director to help manufacturers maximise the efficiency of their production processes and systems.

Oliver Stone (certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt) and Rob Brannan have recently joined the expanding team at Cimlogic to work alongside clients in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods industries to help them reach new heights of Operational Excellence (OpEx).

Embracing the latest Industry 4.0 and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technologies enables manufacturers to have full visibility of operations and allows them to be responsive to information about raw materials, inventory, quality, waste, output and productivity. Often, the main challenge for manufacturers is what to do with large amounts of data and how to use it to gain optimum value.

Both Oliver and Rob have a wealth of experience in the manufacturing improvement industry, with a proven track record in delivering software improvement solutions and providing excellent customer service to manufacturing organisations.

Mike Hodge, CEO at Cimlogic said: “Cimlogic are delighted to welcome Oliver and Rob to the team. The pair will be providing Operational Excellence support, system engagement services and account management to our growing customer base, to ensure they are getting the most out of their systems and data.
We believe that this will give Cimlogic the opportunity to assist our customers better in driving World-Class Manufacturing by not only offering Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) software solutions, but also additional support services including Operational Excellence and Data Analytics to deliver bottom line value.”

Head of Operational Excellence, Oliver Stone, commented: “I am really looking forward to my new role at Cimlogic. I will be working closely with existing customers to enhance their OpEx Programs by identifying opportunities to make significant production improvements.”

Key Account Director, Rob Brannan, added: “Cimlogic have a range of customers from small independent manufacturers to global manufacturing organisations, so I am excited to develop close working relationships with them, by providing the best software technology solutions, whilst helping to achieve Cimlogic’s business growth plans.”

As part of an ongoing expansion plan, Cimlogic are recruiting an MES Business Analyst, Control Systems Engineer and Software Developer. For more information please visit https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/about-us/careers

Learn about Staffing, Social distancing, and Maintaining productivity with Cimlogic Limited

ITI Group — 12/05/2020

Made in Yorkshire members Cimlogic are looking to get manufacturers to talk about their concerns and issues in this current climate, through encouraging debate and knowledge sharing in an upcoming webinar session.

Speaking to Claire Healey from Cimlogic, she outlined the purpose of these sessions stating that, “The purpose of this event is to discuss the challenges that manufacturers are experiencing today and how they will emerge and evolve from this situation.”

The group is looking to build on the experience of those in the manufacturing sector, and through that are asking for questions to be submitted before the event. However, in speaking to Claire, she highlighted the three areas that they’re going to focus on;

Staffing - how are manufacturers managing with reduced staff levels and varying skill sets?
Social distancing - what new measures have been introduced on the shop floor? How is staff managing working from home?
Maintaining productivity - how to achieve production targets with less staff and uncertain supply chains.

The panel will consist of three members of Cimlogic;

Mike Hodge (CEO, Cimlogic): Mike is an advocate for world-class manufacturing through data, information, knowledge and wisdom. He places customer value and outcomes at the centre of everything we do at Cimlogic. Mike’s background as an Electrical & Electronic Engineer for CPG manufacturers set him in good stead for leading his own technology business. Mike has a real passion for connecting UK manufacturers with technology and is extremely knowledgeable about the industry.

Fraser Thomson (Business Development Director, Cimlogic): Fraser helps manufacturers improve their effectiveness through technology adoption and data solutions. He is passionate about manufacturing and the value that digital systems and data can bring to everyday decision making and believes we should all have the same access to the latest technology that we do in our home lives, in the workplace. Fraser has a technical background in Control Systems Engineering with other specialities including Digital manufacturing, IIoT, MES, OEE, QMS, WMS, SPC, Lean Six Sigma, SMED.

Rob Brannan (Key Account Director): Rob has many years’ industrial experience helping Blue Chip manufacturing clients improve their processes to drive efficiency and performance using software tools. Rob takes his clients on a continuous improvement journey, ensuring maximum ROI while developing long-term trusted partnerships. He has a keen interest in IIoT solutions and helping his clients engage with the latest technology solutions whilst promoting a culture of Operational Excellence.

Speaking ahead of the event, Mike Hodge, the CEO at Cimlogic said, “I would like to invite Made in Group members to How will manufacturers emerge and evolve from the challenges of 2020? an interactive forum discussing the challenges faced by manufacturers today, how they are adapting to the present and how to plan for 'the new normal' future. Share your experiences and ideas with other industry peers to get a clearer view and better understanding of how your manufacturing company will emerge and evolve from this”.

You can sign-up for the event, for free, by regestering for it here.

How can digital technology help reduce energy consumption?

ITI Group — 17/10/2022

Sustainability is a strategic imperative and more than just net zero! Leading manufacturers integrate sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategies into operations for maximum ROI.

Watch this on-demand discussion https://cimlogic.co/SustainableManufacturing with Fraser Thomson (Business Development Director), and Stephen Langley (Business Analyst) to understand how Digital Technology can help reduce energy consumption.

Key topics:

Global Sustainability – we all have a part to play
Defining targets and KPIs to reduce carbon footprint
Sustainable Manufacturing – top tips on where to start
Quick wins to reduce utilities consumption
Sustainability project case study & results
An introduction to Cimlogic’s Energy Management solution

If you’d like to learn more about how Cimlogic can help support you to achieve your sustainable manufacturing goals, please contact us today at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or Tel: +44(0)1274 599955.

Where are you on your Smart Factory journey?

ITI Group — 01/03/2022

Digital manufacturing strategy is on the agenda of every CIO/CEO. But, how do you know where to start? Phrases such as Digital Twins, Connected Supply Chain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are common buzzwords in manufacturing media. How is your 2022 digital transformation plan shaping up? Whilst augmented reality, and digital twins’ solutions, might seem to be the answer, they’re not the place to start. Leading manufacturers are changing the face of Production, Operations and Consumer relationships through agile manufacturing, but the strategy must be business-led (don’t start with the technology!).

Cimlogic work with companies on their digital transformation journey, reviewing current technology and developing a reference architecture for forward planning. Successful digital transformation needs visibility (and understanding) of the complete design cycle and supply chain cycle, facilitated through a connected supply chain and an integrated digital enterprise.

From ‘Good’ to ‘Smart’ – your Digital Transformation journey …

1. Create a Great Factory

To achieve a Smart Factory, you first need a ‘really good’ Factory. Understand your business KPIs and challenges, analyse these and identify appropriate solutions, designed to maximise ROI and business benefit. Solutions such as basic MES/OEE and Smart Andon can form part of step 1 on the Smart Factory journey, addressing challenges around productivity/performance, quality and compliance, and cost of goods.

2. Advanced MES and Vertical Integration

Once the smart factory foundations are in place, you can start planning the strategy to address additional challenges, including sustainability, and on-time delivery in full (OTIF). Beyond traditional OEE projects, MES solutions include quality, maintenance, inventory, and energy. The availability of consistent, high-quality data, in turn, enables data analytics and the implementation of machine learning solutions delivering innovative process improvements and real business value.

Vertical integration forms the backbone of digital manufacturing and the connected supply chain. Vertical integration between SCADA, MES, ERP and business systems allows companies to realise additional business benefits, combining application capabilities and enabling an agile manufacturing facility.

3. Manufacturing Digital Core and the Integrated Enterprise

Many manufacturers have developed internal systems in a somewhat isolated manner; whilst companies are making huge investment in technology (PLM, CRM, ERP, SCADA and MES etc), these often operate in silos, with current point to point integration preventing companies realising the full benefit of combining application capabilities. Integration of PLM and CRM systems with the traditional ‘manufacturing’ applications is integral to the manufacturing digital core, without which companies are ill-equipped to realise the benefits of a truly Integrated Enterprise.

Prioritise the manufacturing digital core as a fundamental step on your Smart Factory journey. Get the digital core right first, then layer the smart technology on top of it, otherwise you’re just implementing tech on tech (and potentially wasting investment).

4. Connected Supply Chain

10-15 years ago the Integrated Enterprise was the holy grail for manufacturers. The new guiding light is the Connected Supply Chain. Customers have a relationship with a product and manufacturers want to develop that relationship, respond to feedback, and initiate proactive innovations with regards to new products, service, and delivery. Shareholders’ expectations increase alongside developments in technology. Companies are expected to respond rapidly to unexpected issues with suppliers, external factors, and customer demand. Increased connectivity and visibility across the supply chain allows timely responses to unforeseen events as well as reduced risk, fast product turnaround and customisation according to demand.

The PRODUCT – MAKE – CONSUMER relationship is key. Closed-loop manufacturing is happening today and is driven by digital technology, with strategy ownership at CIO/CXO level.

Leading companies today are using their supply chain to gain a competitive edge. The final stage of the Digital manufacturing/Smart Factory journey is the digital transformation of supply chains, allowing companies to differentiate in key areas:

Improved speed to market and product innovation. Direct access to customers to increase sales and reorders/customisations, leading to competitive differentiation and increased revenue. Leading companies can react to ever-increasing customer choice and demand.

Reduced costs of raw materials and quality compliance. Increased visibility and connectivity, through automation and real-time data analysis, leads to reduced cost to serve and delivery charges. Raw materials are a key piece of the supply chain; supplier flexibility (connectivity and visibility) is crucial.
Improved efficiency of assets. Automated inventory management and improved connectivity reduce downtime and improve production efficiency. Manufacturers need an agile factory.

Are you ready to connect? Embrace Digital Manufacturing with Cimlogic

Cimlogic’s customer-centric RAISE™ methodology centres around understanding your business KPIs and challenges, analysing these and delivering appropriate solutions, designed to maximise ROI and business benefit. RAISE™ utilises industry best practices from BCS business analysis processes and LEAN Methods, taking a business-focused approach to manufacturing projects, understanding the key elements of People, Processes and Technology to solve business challenges and meet stated goals.

Remember, Digital Manufacturing is not just an engineering project. Whatever the starting point on the Smart Factory journey, Cimlogic works in partnership with leading manufacturers, from achieving a ‘really good factory’ to a fully integrated, connected supply chain.

Cimlogic support clients in seamlessly joining supply chain and operational practices together with digital technologies. Are you ready to answer the questions of tomorrow, today? Remember, digital is firmly on the manufacturing agenda for 2022. If it’s not on yours, why not?

Want to read more about the manufacturing digital core? Interested in how the connected supply chain supports the relationship between product, operations and the customer? Download the full article here: https://cimlogic.co/SmartFactoryArticle

Making the case for Machine Learning: the real business benefits across the manufacturing supply chain

ITI Group — 26/07/2021

Steve Wilkinson, Chief Technical Officer at Cimlogic shares some performance improvements discovered during recent client Machine Learning projects.

Example #1: Utilising Machine Learning to predict maintenance events resulting from faulty equipment for improved batch quality

Left undetected, a failure in sensing equipment can result in significant quality issues – potentially reworking or even worse, scrapping batches that have been days in the making. As OT technologies allow us to rely more and more on automation – we must be confident that sensing equipment is reporting accurate values. To use the [sanitised] translation of an old adage: ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’.

On two occasions I have been asked, “Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?” … I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.

—Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

So, as we leave PID loops in control – we need to be sure that the sensing technology, its connections and ultimately the reading it provides to the control system is reliable.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could automatically alert an operator or engineer if sensing equipment is misbehaving?

The good news is this can be done. We recently trained a machine learning model to interpret the signal coming from an existing probe. The model could identify differences in signal that represented ‘normal’ behaviour, some anomalies that we would expect to see throughout a batch. And, most importantly, it could segregate from both of these, the behaviour that indicated a fault with the probe (shown as the brown areas in the image below).

In the example above, the deployment of this early-warning system could detect the issue several days before it was picked up by the operator due to the poor quality of the batch.

What is this information telling our client and what business value could be unearthed? How will they use this timely insight to make more informed decisions about their quality processes?

Machine Learning can help transform your processes by providing real-time predictions to detect unexpected (and expected) quality events whilst empowering corrective action to achieve:

Real-time process corrections
Reduced variability rework and rejects
Giveaway and weight reject management
Predictive and optimised yield
Positive pre-release prior to quality inspections

To learn more about the benefits of Machine Learning for Predictive Quality Management please visit: https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/solutions-and-software/predictive-manufacturing

Example #2: Utilising Machine Learning to predict material replenishment activities for reduced waste and unplanned downtime

When we look at data from OEE systems, time and time again we see the reason code “Waiting for Materials”.

Ensuring the right materials are in the right place at the right time is critical in avoiding unplanned downtime in your production facility. Finite planning tools can help, and things like low-level alarms on a SCADA can alert us to upcoming shortfalls, but still we see time lost due to waiting for materials.

The problem is that due to on-the-fly changes from production plans, disruption from breakdowns and inconsistencies in material delivery, predicting when a material will need replenished is a tricky business. A low-level alarm or Kanban system can ensure you are requesting materials when they get low – but often materials will arrive too early or too late. If your material runs low, just as you are starting a batch that requires a large quantity – it may run out before the material arrives. If it goes low but is not required for the rest of the shift, you may bring product to it too early. And what happens when two go low at the same time? How do you prioritise the correct replenishment to ensure you avoid any costly delays?

In a recent study of a client’s data, we were able to model the delivery of material from a powder handling unit, allowing us to understand how it is delivered, what tolerances exist and based on the upcoming plan, at what time that material is likely to run out.

This type of model, powered by Machine Learning, gives Cimlogic’s client the predictions required to be proactive rather than reactive when they are planning their replenishment activities. Rather than waiting for a low-level alarm, they can see the order each vessel is likely to run out in, and the amount of time they have before it happens. As you can imagine, this is far more powerful than looking at the remaining level of material in each vessel – especially when working in a facility where each batch has a unique recipe.

A technique like this can save significant amounts of waste through waiting time and unnecessary movements of materials.

What is this information telling our client and what business value could be unearthed? How will they use this timely insight to make more informed decisions about their inventory processes?

Machine Learning can help transform your Inventory and Demand processes by providing real-time predictions to plan material replenishment activities whilst empowering corrective action to achieve:

WIP optimisation
Material movement optimisation
Material availability

To learn more about the benefits of Machine Learning for Predictive Inventory and Demand Management please visit: https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/solutions-and-software/predictive-manufacturing

How can smart factory capabilities support your sustainability goals in 2022 and beyond?

ITI Group — 11/01/2022

As we embark on the New Year, manufacturers will spend time reflecting on the trials and tribulations of the longest pandemic in history, and how they responded to business uncertainty such as, supply chain disruptions, labour and skills shortages, cyber security threats and climate change.

Recently, the COP26 agreement set out the global agenda on climate change for the next 10 years. Firm plans were agreed to cut CO2 emissions, reduce coal use (which is responsible for 40% of annual CO2 emissions) and help developing countries switch to clean energy.¹

These positive steps highlight the urgency for manufacturers to step up their game and make progress with their net zero targets. After all, it is estimated that manufacturing operations used somewhere in the region of 20% of UK energy consumption in 2020.² Despite uncertainty on the impact that climate change action could have on production, more manufacturers are now realising that they can achieve business goals without sacrificing the needs of the planet.

Let’s turn our attention to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG), which Cimlogic have seen as an area of growing importance amongst clients in the manufacturing sector.

So, what is ESG?

Although ESG is not exclusively focused on environmental factors, the increasing emphasis on net zero and wider social considerations is putting ESG centre stage. According to Wikipedia, ‘Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) is an evaluation of a firm’s collective conscientiousness for social and environmental factors. It is typically a score that is compiled from data collected surrounding specific metrics related to intangible assets within the enterprise. It could be considered a form of corporate social credit score. They are used for a myriad of specific purposes with the ultimate objective of measuring elements related to sustainability and societal impact of a company or business’.³

The benefits of implementing an ESG strategy

Global manufacturers are seeing the importance of ESG as part of their overall business strategy, to demonstrate sustainability in their supply chain and report on things like climate risk management.

ESG can deliver many business benefits and opportunities, including:

Competitive edge – A High ESG score suggests that business or brand reputation will be enhanced over and above a competitor, which enhances an organisation’s overall enterprise value.
Less financial risk – Organisations that are environmentally responsible and have plans to meet net zero targets are less likely to suffer from the financial implications of climate related risks.
Improved investor relations – Organisations that have an ESG agenda will be attractive to stakeholders, particularly investors who will want to ensure that the business can operate successfully and adapt to climate disruptions.
Attract and retain employees – In a declining workforce, the ability to attract and keep the right people is imperative. The environmentally conscious employees of today may choose to work for organisations that invest in sustainable production and social initiatives.
Greater consumer loyalty – Consumer expectations of organisations’ commitment to the environment continues to grow. Research suggests that consumers are more likely to purchase and pay a higher price for a product that is sustainably made.

According to Make UK research, ‘In a bid to lead in areas around ESG, two-fifths (42%) of manufacturers have set ESG targets or KPIs. A further one in five companies are considering introducing ESG targets or KPIs’.⁴ As discussed above, the rise of environmental, social, and governance factors is growing across all industries, but it will certainly advance sustainability efforts in manufacturing.

How can digital technology support your long-term sustainability goals?

Leading manufacturers looking to drive operational efficiencies, long-term growth and competitiveness are investing more in digital tools such as IIoT, robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning and edge-to-cloud. In particular, the investment in predictive manufacturing technologies is expected to grow significantly over the next 3 years. Manufacturers will benefit from the added power of data from these technologies, to provide greater insight for improvements such as increased operational efficiencies, reduced costs, CO2 waste, and resources.

As the cost of energy and materials continue to rise, manufacturers are focussing on ways to reduce their energy consumption and achieve sustainable production. Implementing factory automation and sustainable processes is key to optimising production times to minimise energy consumption, waste and reduce costs.

Cimlogic has helped a global pet food client reduce site utility consumption costs and support sustainability goals by collecting and organising utility data (within the context of products, rates, timing and other parameters), to drive lower energy consumption, uncover inefficiencies and enable real-time corrective actions.

Cimlogic’s Energy Management solution empowered the frontline workforce by providing real-time notifications for a lower cost to manufacture and reduction in waste, resulting in a significant saving of £100K electricity costs per annum.

Combining our unique RAISE™ methodology with over 20 years of technical expertise, Cimlogic can support your sustainability journey, helping you make an informed decision as to what is the right solution for your organisation, whilst ensuring maximum business value is achieved.

If you’d like to learn more about how Cimlogic can help enhance your net zero decarbonisation plans and achieve sustainable production, please contact us today at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or Tel: +44(0)1274 599955.

10 steps to your new MES

ITI Group — 21/02/2022

You know the benefits a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) can bring to all aspects of production, from quality to performance, maintenance, energy, and capacity management. But how do you justify this at board level? How can you create a compelling business case for investment in MES?

How can I justify an MES investment and secure budget approval?

8. Engage the wider team. In conjunction with ‘selling’ the MES at board level, it’s important to gain buy-in for the system at all levels within the organisation. Remember to tailor the message according to the audience. How will MES make their lives easier? What department challenges will it address? What operational process changes might be needed and how will these be implemented with minimal disruption? From plant directors to shift operators, it’s vital to be able to demonstrate how a new implementation will improve their ability to meet individual and department goals or KPIs. Understand the ‘What’s in it for me?’ question. An MES implementation without endorsement from both board sponsors and plant level operatives will not succeed.

Where are you on your Smart Factory journey? Are you unsure where to start or how to make progress? Cimlogic’s unique RAISE™ process provides a proven methodology through upfront business analysis, solution implementation, support, and ongoing LEAN continuous improvement. All designed to efficiently support manufacturers to achieve their business goals and lower the cost to serve, whilst realising maximum business value.

Click here https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/about-us/ensuring-success-raise to learn more about how RAISE™ helps Cimlogic’s manufacturing clients navigate seamlessly through the Smart Factory journey, ensuring alignment with critical business goals, whilst delivering Operational Excellence and maximum business value.

How Costly is Legacy Technology? Top Reasons to Upgrade Your SCADA System Today

ITI Group — 28/01/2025

Aleck Beverly, Business Development Manager at ITI Group, North America

Here’s the question no one wants to address about their SCADA platform: “Is your SCADA system ready to meet the challenges of modern industrial operations?” For many, this question boils down to: “How can I increase production and efficiency without major capital investment?” Achieving this requires a holistic understanding of your production processes and identifying areas where opportunities for efficiency may exist. Legacy SCADA systems will hold you back in today’s competitive, data-driven world. A competitive edge can often be achieved just as effectively by analyzing the data generated by your processes as by investing millions in new equipment, production lines, or facilities.

A modern SCADA system offers significant flexibility to collect and process data, manage operational execution, and seamlessly interface with both users and systems. With advanced integration and customization capabilities, it’s designed to address the unique challenges of today’s industrial environments. At ITI Group, we experience this every day, especially when integrating SCADA into facilities with the classic “one-of-everything” setup. Many businesses have historically invested in the best (technological or financial) solution available at the time – whether technological or financial – often bypassing operational standards to address immediate needs. As a result, a SCADA solution must have the inherent capability to work seamlessly with diverse technologies within a facility. We’re also seeing a lot of analytical tools in the market that are simply bolt-on solutions for modern SCADA systems. These tools can be hugely beneficial, offering seamless integration and cost-effective enhancements that deliver a favourable return on investment (ROI). Going back to the original question: “How do I increase production?” – this is a great place to start.

As manufacturers generate and analyze more data than ever before, connectivity and real-time intelligence are no longer optional – they’re essential. Outdated systems not only reduce operational efficiency but also expose businesses to Cyber Security risks, integration challenges, and high maintenance costs. ITI Group work with many clients in regulated industries who are often forced to invest in these technologies due to governmental pressures. The consequence of this is a missed opportunity of epic proportion. Modernizing your operational technology should not simply be a box-checking exercise when you can easily prove tangible business improvements such as increased production, reduced material consumption, improved labour utilization, and countless other metrics. Don’t forget: This technology when implemented thoughtfully is designed to cross the bounds of People, Process, and Technology (remember at the beginning we said: “A holistic understanding of your production process”).

When creating your business case, here’s some reasons why upgrading to a modern, flexible SCADA platform can help you stay competitive.

Key Reasons to Upgrade Your SCADA System

1) Reduce High Licensing Costs

Legacy SCADA systems often come with high and complex licensing costs tied to databases and operating systems. Modern SCADA platforms offer simple licensing models, reducing costs and simplifying management – giving you peace of mind and financial predictability. Often, these tools can do more than traditional SCADA, enabling the licenses to be further utilized to create point-solutions to address other operational challenges in the plant.

2) Enhance Operational Security

Outdated security technologies in legacy systems leave operations vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which can disrupt production and impact business continuity. Modern SCADA platforms are designed with robust, up-to-date security measures to safeguard your operations against ever-evolving threats.

3) Ensure Ongoing Maintenance and Support

Many legacy SCADA platforms have reached their end-of-life (EOL) and no longer receive support from their software vendors. This creates immense risks, such as limited modernization options, and challenges in transferring knowledge as expert operators retire. Upgrading ensures you have access to vendor support and a future-ready system. Many organizations delay this upgrade until they’re racing to meet regulatory deadlines. This reactive approach shifts the focus of the upgrade from achieving operational excellence to regulatory box-checking. Don’t let yourself fall into this trap and miss the opportunity to drive meaningful improvement instead.

4) Scale Your System Without Limits

Technology solutions need to be maintainable, reliable, and scalable to other facilities. Adding new functionality such as tags, screens, or PLC connectivity on a legacy system often incurs high licensing and support costs. Modern SCADA platforms eliminate these limitations with unlimited licensing models, saving both time and money while enabling scalable growth.

5) Seamlessly Integrate New Technology

Legacy systems often struggle to integrate with new production equipment and technologies, creating bottlenecks in digitisation efforts. Modern SCADA platforms enable smooth integration, enhancing compatibility and performance to keep you ahead of the curve.

Take the next step in upgrading your SCADA System

By thinking creatively and leveraging the capabilities of a modern SCADA platform, manufacturers can solve complex challenges, optimize their operations, and drive innovation.

At ITI Group, we’ve witnessed the transformative power of modern SCADA systems in action – proving to be flexible, powerful, and capable of addressing specific business needs. Leveraging the expertise of our ITI Consulting team, we help clients solve unique challenges and implement tailored solutions that deliver tangible results. Whether your goal is to optimize existing processes or embark on a Digital Transformation journey, upgrading to a modern SCADA platform offers a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solution.

From enhanced operational visibility to maximised efficiency, ITI Group helps clients to unlock the full potential of their SCADA systems.

Learn more about ITI Group’s SCADA solutions here.

5 myths of digital transformation in manufacturing

ITI Group — 17/04/2020

Author: Fraser Thomson, Business Development Director at Cimlogic

Manufacturers must adopt digital technology to meet increasing customer demands such as faster delivery times, better supply chain efficiency and to grow their market share. Technology advancements are moving faster than ever before, so how can manufacturers keep on top of their game, whilst overcoming the widespread misconceptions of digital transformation?

Watch our Vlog below, to discover the most common misconceptions of digital transformation and technology adoption in the manufacturing industry.

Myth #1 “Digital transformation means spending a lot of money”

It’s common for smaller manufacturers to feel like they cannot afford to invest in digital transformation projects, but in fact, money doesn’t always mean the greatest value and success is achieved. With the emergence of technologies such as IIoT, mobile devices, wireless connectivity and subscription pricing models, it’s now easier than ever for SME’s to implement digital technologies, without the need to commit to expensive technologies from high-price vendors.

The digital shift in manufacturing is being driven by investments in industrial and manufacturing software applications, which is set to grow from £13.4bn in 2019 to £20.7bn in 2024 - an increase of more than 50%, according to data released by ABI Research*. According to new research, MES software is likely to be the highest growth area as manufacturers strive to enhance both production line and machine performance. As software applications become more affordable and accessible the belief that spending huge amounts of money on digital transformation becomes less credible.

Myth #2 “I will have to throw everything away and build a new factory”

It’s typical for business owners to lack confidence in adopting new technologies and to think that a ‘smart factory’ is a newly built facility with all the mod cons. In fact, the term ‘smart factory’ can be described as a highly digitalised and connected environment where machinery and equipment are able to improve processes through automation. Today’s smart sensors and mobile devices make it possible to extract data from production line machinery, including that of legacy machines. Smart devices are much more affordable, making it quicker and easier to get instant shop floor data to the decision-makers. Using technologies such as these removes the need for the ‘knock it down and start again’ approach.

Myth #3 “Digital transformation is an IT Project”

As defined by whatis.com, IT/OT convergence is the ‘integration of information technology (IT) systems used for data-centric computing with operational technology (OT) systems used to monitor events, processes and devices and make adjustments in enterprise and industrial operations’. Until recently these two were unlikely to be linked and were actively discouraged in order to protect the OT devices (on the production line) and ensure their continued operation from the potential dangers on the internet-connected IT network. Today, however, things are very different as IT and OT networks are being squeezed together by demands that are impossible to ignore, such as IT security. Manufacturers must bring together OT and IT functions to realise the value that can be gained in terms of efficiencies. It is particularly important within the realms of IIoT technology adoption, as IIoT is about automating processes and using connected devices to gather, receive and send information; all heavily reliant on having a good IT network infrastructure.

Myth #4 “Robots will take over our jobs”

It is well known that automation adoption is seen as a great threat to the job market. As manufacturers adopt digital technologies and automation takes over the mundane tasks, a shift will be seen in the required skill set of staff. Digital technology systems will control more aspects of manufacturing operations, therefore the need for digital and analytical roles will grow. This collaborative relationship between people and automation is termed ‘Cobotics’ and is becoming increasingly important. According to the Annual Manufacturing Report 2020, 89% of recipients say the replacement of many shop floor jobs by automation means new recruits need to be even more highly skilled to operate our digital future. Rather than viewing technology as a threat, manufacturers must place more emphasis on staff development, ready for these future digital roles.

Myth #5 “Our workforce doesn’t have the correct skills to digitalise”

There’s a misconception that a whole new digital workforce will need to be employed, which just isn’t the case. Yes, the workforce dynamics may change as employees adapt to new technologies and processes. But in fact, you’ll be surprised to find out how digitally savvy your staff really are. Smartphones, iPads, Hive heating systems and Amazon Echo’s are probably used regularly by your staff. So, what are the main barriers to introducing digital technology on the shop floor – cost, buy-in, culture, IT infrastructure? Management must firstly promote the benefits of technology to their staff and highlight why it will make their job easier and more enjoyable. For example, ask your staff what impact it would have on their job if they could instantly see how fast their machine was running and when it is producing over target? According to the Annual Manufacturing Report, 2020 86% of recipients have in place a policy for upskilling and retaining their workforce and believe in life-long learning. This is indeed the correct attitude to have and is absolutely necessary when manufacturers are creating a digital workforce of the future.

* https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/global-spend-on-industrial-software-to-hit-20-7bn-in-2024/

Register to watch our on-demand webinars to learn more about how to improve OEE, manage Quality and adopt IIoT technologies to drive manufacturing productivity. http://bit.ly/cimlogic-webinars

Cimlogic support sector jobs and skills development as smart manufacturing continues to grow

ITI Group — 26/11/2020

In the most challenging year ever, Cimlogic have seen a considerable rise in the demand for Operational and Digital technology, resulting in remarkable progress for the company; multiple new business wins from UK manufacturers, global support contract wins, and the recruitment of new staff, including software developers and a Managing Director. Cimlogic’s recruitment drive is set to continue, with new job openings in Engineering and Operational Technology.

The rise in demand for smart technology solutions is a global trend: ‘Smart Manufacturing is estimated to be an industry worth $210 Billion USD and is growing fast’.

According to research there are numerous factors driving the growth of the market, including:

Growing adoption of Industry 4.0 / IIoT technologies
Rising importance of industrial automation in manufacturing processes
Rising emphasis on regulatory compliance
Increased supply chain complexities
Increased demand for software systems that reduce time and cost

The manufacturing sector is therefore set to become an even more vibrant, high-tech, and rewarding career of choice! But what can manufacturers do now to attract more people into the sector, to highlight the many opportunities available, whilst alleviating the increasing skills and labour shortages?

Cimlogic talk to team members about their experiences working in the sector and why people should consider the long-term benefits of an exciting future in manufacturing.

Chris MacKellar joined at Cimlogic as a Control Systems Engineer placement student in 2014. He was sponsored in his final year at University, where he studied Computer Systems Engineering. His current role is Senior Controls Engineer/Operations Team Lead. We asked Chris about his personal development journey and what skills are required in the manufacturing and engineering sector:

“Cimlogic has always supported my personal and technical development, as such I have gained technical qualifications from software providers, as well as project management qualifications. I thoroughly enjoy the culture at Cimlogic; our teams are very diverse, driven, and communicative, with plenty of social events taking place, despite COVID-19 restrictions.

I enjoy working closely with our clients, forming strong relationships, and providing valuable manufacturing solutions. Keeping on top of technology trends is important when working in this sector, as technology develops quickly and being left behind is a real risk. More importantly, the requirement for soft skills within manufacturing, engineering, IT or software development should not be underestimated. These skills can be even more valuable than any technical experience”.

Sarah Beckett joined Cimlogic as an IT Apprentice in 2018 and has recently progressed to the role of Systems Support Engineer. We asked Sarah what she enjoys most about working at Cimlogic and what it’s like developing a career in the sector:

“I started Cimlogic as an apprentice with limited knowledge, so every day I’ve been able to learn and develop my IT skills. I have gained a lot of confidence both personally and professionally, from speaking to customers, to sharing my own ideas with colleagues. From IT to Finance, Software Developers to Marketing, everyone works well together and it’s a very welcoming company to work for.

You don’t normally see many women in the industry so it’s nice to be a part of the women in STEM process and to hopefully see the shift in balance over time. Learning about all the different machinery, ingredients and the processes that go into the everyday products that we use around the house is very interesting (and complex!). Every day is a learning curve and there is never dull moment! Manufacturing is definitely a rewarding career prospect and is only getting better as more factories are becoming smart factories.”

Danny Hart started Cimlogic in 2018 as Software Developer placement student. He was sponsored in his final year at university, where he studied Computing. He has recently re-joined the company as a Software Developer. We asked Danny what it’s like working for blue-chip manufacturing clients and what advise he’d give candidates attending interviews or starting a new role in software development:

“During my time at Cimlogic, my technical skills have developed greatly. The knowledge base and support available internally allows great capacity for learning and I’m much more confident in my development abilities. Additionally, the final year sponsorship scheme was fantastic support for my early career, allowing me to focus entirely on studies during my final year of university and jump straight back into the professional world upon graduation.

The client base at Cimlogic is also second to none – working with a hugely diverse range of global manufacturers. Just this week I’ve been involved with the development of software for fruit, coffee and medicine manufacturers! It’s important to keep up to date with current technologies and methodologies used in the commercial world. Prior to interviews or starting a new role I’d advise finding out what development platform will be used as it will greatly enhance your ability to integrate with the environment and start producing quality work straight away!”

To find out more about what it’s like working at Cimlogic, and for current opportunities please visit https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/about-us/careers/

Making sustainable manufacturing work for you

ITI Group — 07/10/2021

Sustainable manufacturing means many different things to many people. As companies reinvent themselves they look upon ways of showcasing their bold moves in taking accountability for the environmental impact of their offerings. A core component of this industrial paradigm shift is the increasing use of digital technologies – the bringing together of automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, digital twins, business processes, big data and cloud computing.

In this article, we focus on two specific industries – Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences. Both of these industries are growing fast and are heavily regulated. Both of these industries also produce a large number of emissions. These are two industries that we utilise on a daily basis and their moves towards sustainability are ever visible. Looking at things from a different perspective, however, both of these industries are already well into their digitalisation journey. Just think of track and trace technologies to help identify the components that make up each and every batch of corn flakes or Covid-19 vaccine.

Outside of raw material processing and production, there is packaging and distribution to take into account. The subject of using sustainable and recyclable materials in product packaging, whilst important, is not the primary focus of this article but is still a major driving force as large multinationals continue to shoulder increasing corporate responsibility. Besides, it makes good business sense. A recent study from Nielsen showed that 66% of consumers are willing to spend more money on brands that are promoting eco-friendly and sustainable practices.

As we have already established, factory automation is key for minimising food waste whilst keeping production running as quickly and efficiently as possible. More eco-friendly packaging, using recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable materials are easily visible to the consumer and hence boost brand reputation.

This brings us to the energy used inside the factory. Manufacturers need to meet emissions targets and still fulfil consumer demands. In the previous article, we touched upon some of the well-established technologies within factory automation used today: the use of variable speed drives and motors and using alternative energy systems where possible.

The energy used is broken down into 5 key components – Water, Air Gas, Electricity, and Steam – WAGES. Optimisation of any or all of the WAGES components can lead to typical annual savings of between 5-15% the equivalent of millions of pounds for large multinational corporations. So, how do we do this? How do we successfully monitor and target our energy usage?

The first step in gaining control of your energy costs is to measure the total amount of energy that flows through your system. Let’s take a look at each component.

WATER – Water plays a critical role in just about every industry, with chilled water, process water, cleaning water and effluent water flowing freely in a production plant. We need to be able to measure water flow and pressure to determine if and where water losses are occurring. Secondly, heating or chilling water uses vast amounts of energy, but is the process efficient?

AIR – Compressed air is used throughout manufacturing operations and is typically designed to handle high demand events. However, these are for short durations, leaving the system at over capacity most of the time. Let’s not forget leaks, one of the greatest sources of energy loss in compressed air systems.

GAS – Whether for process or as fuel gas consumption has quite an impact on costs. Any processes that require high gas usage should be coordinated to meet low demand times when purchase costs are lower.

ELECTRICITY – Similar to gas usage, electricity usage is about balancing supply and demand. Electrical power quality issues such as harmonics should be addressed to prolong equipment life.

STEAM – Steam is an essential service in many parts of the food and life science industry, primarily as a source of heat for product processing or equipment decontamination. Heating water to produce steam is expensive, and any leaks or damage to equipment needs to be minimised.

Each of the WAGES components needs to be successfully measured, monitored and analysed successfully before making any decisions on making changes. There is a plentiful supply of off the shelf smart sensing and metering products available. Integration of data from these devices is straightforward and easy to set up thanks to advances in network communications and secure data transmission.

The key is the ability to capture real-time data so that corrective actions can be decisive and lead to cost savings. Cimlogic has many years of experience in setting up energy monitoring systems, from installing smart devices and other enabling technologies for data collection to software platforms for providing an easy display of data, allowing for complex decisions to be made easily.

Contact us today at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk, tel +44(0)1274 599955 or visit our energy solution page for more information about our mobile energy solution.

How can machine learning support your workforce?

ITI Group — 17/01/2022

Will smart machines replace human workers? It’s a recurring question that is especially pertinent to the world of FMCG or pharmaceutical manufacturing. The truthful answer is that they probably won’t. When it comes to routine and repetitive tasks such as applying labels to a medicine bottle, followed by a visual inspection of the same bottle to see if the label has been applied correctly, there is certainly a case in point that a machine-based solution is a more sensible option. These are simple tasks, however, that are already being replaced by intelligent machines on production lines. Throughout history we have sought to automate more, and as technology advances so too does the level of automation. Machines have evolved to the point where they are able to carry out more complex cognitive work, involving equations with multiple variables, comprehensive quality checks, and the ability to recognise speech and writing. Machines can now replicate our minds as well as our bodies. For some, this is a worrying trend, leading to a zero-sum solution where no job will be safe from intelligent automation. There is a growing fear that humans will no longer be part of manufacturing operations in the next couple of decades.

This view is commonplace and ultimately misguided. Human beings and machine learning bring very different skills and qualities to manufacturing. Machine Learning provides the ability to make decisions based on quickly crunching huge amounts of data. This is perfectly suited to the case of lower-level tasks where 24/7 operation is not impacted by breaks, shift-changes, fatigue, or sickness. Society today demands consistent, high-quality products that can only be achieved through high levels of automation of routine and simple procedures. Human beings, on the other hand, have the ability to anticipate, feel and judge changing situations, often applying a level of creativity to longer-term solutions that machine learning is unable to match.

This stand-off between authentic human intelligence and data-based artificial intelligence (AI) leads us to the real winner: augmented intelligence. A combination of AI and human intelligence, where human workers can make more informed decisions based on machine learning. The human becomes the predictive worker, using data-based outcomes to take corrective or predictive actions during the production process. AI will play the role of a virtual assistant by automatically displaying possible outcomes based on historical events that the human operator can use for decision support. Something flagged as looking anomalous in a batch will produce a list of potential problems. The human operator will ultimately choose the final outcome.

AI has no common sense and can’t perform all tasks that a human can do. It is simply a technology that can assist real decisions by helping to connect the dots that aren’t immediately obvious to the user. The predictive worker is therefore able to make an informed decision in real-time, without having to manually calculate the possible outcomes beforehand. This is true collaborative manufacturing, where machine learning and AI are tools for increasing efficiency and reducing bottom line costs.

Cimlogic is already working with a number of clients on connecting machine learning use cases with automation opportunities in factories. Whilst machine learning has endless capacity to find and detect patterns, and take a truly objective approach, it has no imagination or ways of dealing with moral dilemmas. At least not yet. That day may come, but we are still a long way off.

What are your thoughts on using Machine Learning and AI in such scenarios? Contact Cimlogic at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or tel +44(0)1274 599955 to discuss more, or if you prefer, talk to us about our data analysis study. We may just be able to unlock some hidden improvements in your supply chain.

How Information Management Will Drive Productivity Gains in 2025

ITI Group — 09/12/2024

Image above shows Nik Tankard, Head of Global Consulting.

Manufacturers are missing out on digital gains by focusing on connecting systems over making data flow freely, leading to stalled progress and underperforming tech investments. ITI Group’s Nik Tankard and Russell Herbert reveal why the secret to digital success isn’t adding more tech – it’s mastering information management.

As manufacturers continue to embrace digital technologies, many encounter unexpected roadblocks that stall progress. The digital roadmap seems simple enough – connect systems, streamline operations, boost productivity. Yet, these plans often rest on shaky foundations.

In their rush to adopt the latest digital tools, too many manufacturers overlook the need for robust information management. Connecting systems can deliver short-term wins, but if the data feeding them is fragmented, outdated or incompatible, even the most powerful technologies will fail to provide their full value.

Research shows that while 80% of companies believe their data is ready for digital transformation*, over half struggle with poor data quality and organisation issues when deploying new technologies. The result? An alarmingly high number of manufacturers are disappointed with the return on their digital investments.

A common misconception is that connecting systems means data will automatically flow seamlessly. But systems are simply channels to transfer information, not magic solutions to make data accurate or actionable. Without addressing how data is captured, managed and governed, manufacturers often find themselves moving problems around rather than solving them.

Think about it – when data from one device doesn’t match the format or standards used by another, you end up with inaccurate forecasts and inefficient workflows. Effective information management prevents these issues by ensuring data flowing between assets, IT systems and teams is up-to-date, accurate and accessible.

Modern factories generate vast amounts of sensor-based, real-time data – from production rates to equipment health. While this wealth of information has the potential to transform operations, the challenge lies in contextualising and integrating it with other operational data. Without proper contextualisation, raw data remains disjointed and difficult to act upon.

For instance, condition monitoring paired with real-time analytics can predict when a crucial machine is likely to fail, allowing for swift intervention. But integrating this information with production schedules, inventory levels and staff rotas ensures the insights lead to actionable decisions that minimise disruption. ITI Group’s expertise lies in helping clients overcome these integration challenges, ensuring information flows seamlessly and meaningfully across the organisation, regardless of data sources or systems.

The Cost of Ignoring Information Management

As manufacturers increase their digital investments in 2025, there’s a risk that many will invest in costly technologies only to see them underperform due to poor information management. Worryingly, two-thirds of companies rate themselves as below average in managing their information lifecycle, governance and compliance. This gap between perception and reality is a leading cause of why digital projects stall or flop.

This ‘readiness gap’ exists as a result of decision-makers feeling overwhelmed by the vast volume, velocity and variety of data. With the average factory generating 1TB of production data daily – the equivalent of 1,200 filing cabinets full of paper – it’s no wonder half of organisational data is over five years old and often contains redundant, obsolete, or trivial (ROT) information.

Accessibility of information is another hurdle, with many manufacturers still relying on physical documents, spreadsheets and desktop systems, leaving data scattered and outdated. These issues, left unmanaged, breed inefficiencies and errors that are only now coming to light.

Fortunately, addressing this issue doesn’t have to be complex or costly. It starts with a shift in mindset – from focusing on technology alone to prioritising a data infrastructure that enables technology to deliver genuine business benefits. At ITI Group, we specialise in helping manufacturers build this essential data foundation so every digital investment performs at its best.

Moving from Point Solutions to a Holistic Strategy

Too often, manufacturers focus on immediate needs, locking themselves into point solutions that only address today’s problems. This narrow approach limits the ability to pivot and respond to new opportunities or disruptions. By adopting a more holistic strategy, companies can align digital initiatives with their overall business goals.

A holistic approach also means understanding and making the most of the assets you already own. Most manufacturers already have powerful systems, but many aren’t leveraging their full capabilities. At ITI Group, we guide companies in making the most of what they have, often achieving rapid improvements with minimal investment – starting with data.

What You Can Do Today to Improve Information Management

1. Data Audit – Start by assessing the data you already have. Where is it stored? How clean is it? Who has access? This audit will reveal your current state and identify key areas for improvement.

2. Data Governance – Define clear protocols for data ownership, use and security. This will ensure accountability and help minimise the risk of errors or misuse down the line.

3. Data Automation – Automate data collection and cleansing to reduce inconsistencies and human error, ensuring data integrity across all your systems. Clean data going in means accurate insights coming out.

4. Data Collection – Introduce Edge data collection to streamline data automation. However, clean contextualised data is key to extracting true insights. For example, if one sensor logs energy consumption in kWh and another in BTU, the units must be standardised. Without a mechanism to manage such discrepancies, rolling up data for analysis and decision-making becomes impossible.

5. A Unified Data Strategy –Align your data strategy with your business goals rather than treating systems in isolation. This approach ensures your digital tech investments deliver maximum impact.

6. Scalable, Flexible Tools – Prioritise tools that can scale with your data needs, ensuring they can handle increased data volume and complexity without compromising performance or security.

Unlock Your Digital Potential

2025 is just around the corner, and for companies serious about digital manufacturing, information management must be a priority. Manufacturers that succeed will be the ones who focus on data readiness, not as an afterthought but as a strategic foundation.

Yes, the industry faces uncertainty. Recent changes, like those announced in the Autumn Budget, have reportedly prompted boardrooms to take a “wait-and-see” approach. But history shows that the manufacturers who thrive in adversity adapt, innovate and keep pushing forward.

No matter where you are on your digital manufacturing journey, it’s not too late to develop a plan. Investing time in upfront planning and clearly defining requirements will always be more cost-effective than fixing errors down the line.

Our message is simple: start investing in information management today. Make sure your data is clean, accessible and structured to flow seamlessly through the organisation. With a robust data infrastructure, digital investments – whether in AI, automation, MES, IoT or other tech – will deliver measurable gains in efficiency, responsiveness and competitiveness.

Make 2025 the year your manufacturing business unlocks its full potential. By starting with a focused approach and scaling quickly, you’ll be prepared to adapt to rapidly changing technology and market conditions. Aligning digital initiatives with your business goals not only addresses today’s challenges but also future-proofs your operations for whatever tomorrow brings.

For more insights, read our six essential steps to ensure your digital manufacturing strategy is a success.

ITI Group develops and integrates digital transformation solutions for Industrial Manufacturing, Energy, and Nuclear sectors, from strategically placed offices in Sheffield, Aberdeen, Saltaire, Glasgow, Alcester, Whitehaven and North America, from which to best serve our clients. We advance safe, secure and sustainable operations through the innovative use of technology.

Contact us on enquiries@itigroup.com or call 01274 599955 to learn how we can support your digital roadmap.

* Study Reveals Crucial Role of Information Management – Association for Intelligent Information Management (AIIM)

https://www.avepoint.com/ebooks/ai-and-information-management-report-2024

How can Machine Learning solve your quality challenges?

ITI Group — 18/08/2021

Steve Wilkinson, Chief Technical Officer at Cimlogic shares batch process improvements discovered during a recent client project.

The cost of quality issues in batch processes can be significant. Especially if they result in the loss of an entire batch, which could have been hours or even days in the making. Often batch processes involve multiple moving parts: quantities, temperatures, pressure, agitation, time and operator interaction.

While most manufacturers understand how each one of these can adversely affect the batch on its own, it becomes much harder to understand the likely impact on quality when each of them is changing at the same time.

It’s not unheard of to experience a batch where all individual parameters were within tolerance – but still the final outcome was not as expected. Was it down to each variable being near tolerance at the same time? A slight difference in timing of steps? It can be hard to understand from trends alone.

Using machine learning, Cimlogic are able to build models that can understand these complex relationships, learn from the outcome of historical batches, and what combination of factors result in good or bad quality.

In a recent study of a client’s data, Cimlogic were able to build a model that could identify a number of key events that were critical to the quality of the batch:

1. Missed or poorly timed step execution

By looking historically at several good batches, Cimlogic were able to train a machine learning model that could spot differences in the active batch that suggested it was going off-course. In this case the model could detect the impact of an important step that could be missed by the operator. The steps in question were performed manually and without automation or instrumentation, meaning there was no obvious way in the current SCADA to detect if the step had been performed or not.

Using Cimlogic’s machine learning model, we were able to identify (through the behaviour of the batch process variables), and measure, the likelihood that a step has been missed. As time progresses through the batch, the model becomes more ‘certain’ that the step is missed – and after a determined threshold can alert the operator. This allows them to perform the step soon enough that the batch can be saved – removing those mistakes that are expensive in both lost time, materials and opportunity.

2. Batch Success Prediction

Cimlogic created an analytical model that could detect the specific characteristics of a batch, to indicate that the batch was nearing successful completion. Due to the nature of this particular batch process, the duration of the batch was hard to predict and dependent on many variables.

By understanding the properties of a batch and its outcome historically, the model was able to provide an early indication that that batch would be successful. This alert allowed the downstream processes to begin preparation of their time-sensitive steps. The result? Reduced waste accrual through preparing the downstream process too early or too late. Too early and it must be repeated, too late and the batch must be scrapped. For Cimlogic’s client – this was a significant saving.

What’s the value of predicting?

Early indication of batch outcome can be extremely valuable – perhaps you have a downstream process that must wait for the validation of some lab results. The same process can be applied to give a ‘positive pre-release’ of batches – releasing them on a defined confidence level, allowing production to continue while lab results are validated.

Machine learning techniques such as the examples above help identify process deviations to help aid root cause analysis. By predicting if a batch is likely to fail and allowing operators and managers to take corrective action, wasted product and time can be avoided – ensuring product quality is maintained and waste is reduced.

If you’re challenged with quality issues such as high levels of waste material caused by rework and rejects and want to know how Machine Learning could help alleviate your quality concerns, email us at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or call +441274 599955

Cimlogic set for continued growth after outstanding 2018 results

ITI Group — 27/02/2019

Cimlogic, the experts in Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) solutions, are set to increase staff numbers via recruitment across all areas of the business. Having seen financial year-on-year growth of 33% in 2018 and a buoyant forecast for 2019 and beyond, Cimlogic are recruiting additional staff to cope with customer demand for Digital Operations Management solutions.

Significant business wins with leading FTSE100 and Fortune 500 manufacturers have seen Cimlogic expand internationally, working with clients around the globe.

Based in historic Salts Mill in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, Cimlogic offer complete manufacturing improvement solutions and support to improve efficiency and maximise productivity through data, utilising Industry 4.0 technologies and employing engineers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. Current vacancies include positions such as Business Analysts and Account Managers, as well as a Continuous Improvement Manager, Software Developers and Systems Engineering roles.

A systems integrator with a wide range of technology partners, Cimlogic use the ‘best of the best’ technologies to build rapid and robust solutions. Analysts, Systems Engineers, Software Developers, MES specialists and OT Engineers, governed by astute agile Project Management methodologies, provide exceptional manufacturing solutions.

Cimlogic’s success is based on their credibility of working with world class performers and upholding an impeccable reputation. The company seek to deliver continuous improvement to customers through digital innovation.

How to Build an Effective Asset Maintenance Strategy in Manufacturing

ITI Group — 21/10/2024

By Nik Tankard, Head of Global Consulting at ITI Group.

As a Business Consultant, I’m often engaged in discussions with clients about the challenges facing manufacturers, particularly within maintenance teams. High maintenance costs from unplanned downtime, equipment faults, breakdowns and lost production due to issues with quality, time or speed are common pain points. Unplanned maintenance often results in lost production, higher part costs, and longer repair times – costing significantly more than planned maintenance.

With businesses under extreme pressure to improve efficiency and do more with less, ensuring maximum equipment availability to increase production capacity and efficiency is vital! I believe maintenance, when managed correctly, offers great value to manufacturers.

In this blog, I’ll discuss the importance of building an effective asset maintenance management strategy in manufacturing, explore the different strategies available, and highlight the benefits of a well-implemented maintenance program.

Ensuring compliance with safety regulations

Regular equipment maintenance is not only important for ensuring uptime but also plays a critical role in overall workplace safety. ‘Maintenance’ covers many activities such as inspection, testing, measurement, replacement, and adjustment, and is carried out across all sectors and workplaces.

Proper maintenance significantly reduces the risks associated with workplace hazards, contributing to safer and healthier working environments. Equally, insufficient or inadequate maintenance can lead to serious, and potentially fatal, accidents or long-term health issues. According to PUWER (The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998), all work equipment must be “maintained in an efficient state, in efficient order, and in good repair.”

But is meeting the bare minimum regulatory compliance enough? Is it cost-effective, and can exceeding these requirements offer additional benefits?

Maintenance Strategies in Manufacturing

There are several maintenance strategies employed in manufacturing. The choice of strategy depends on factors such as the type of equipment, the production process, and the specific goals of the facility.

1. Reactive Maintenance: Also known as “run-to-failure” maintenance, this strategy involves repairing or replacing equipment only after it has failed. While this approach can save costs in the short term by avoiding unnecessary maintenance, it is generally not recommended for critical assets in manufacturing due to the high costs associated with unplanned downtime and potential safety risks.

2. Preventive Maintenance: Preventive maintenance is a proactive approach that involves regularly scheduled inspections, servicing, and repairs to prevent equipment failures. By adhering to a maintenance schedule based on time intervals or usage metrics, manufacturers can catch issues early and address them before they cause significant problems. This approach helps extend the lifespan of equipment and reduce the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns.

3. Predictive Maintenance: Predictive maintenance leverages data analytics, sensors, and machine learning to predict when equipment is likely to fail. By monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as vibration, temperature, and pressure in real time, predictive maintenance allows manufacturers to identify potential issues and schedule maintenance only when necessary. This strategy minimises downtime, reduces maintenance costs, and optimizes the use of resources.

4. Condition-Based Maintenance: Similar to predictive maintenance, condition-based maintenance focuses on the actual condition of the equipment rather than relying solely on time-based schedules. This approach involves continuous monitoring of equipment health using sensors and diagnostic tools. Maintenance is performed only when specific indicators show signs of deterioration, making it a more efficient and cost-effective approach.

The Benefits of Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance involves regular, proactive servicing of equipment to catch potential issues before they lead to failure. By following a consistent maintenance strategy, businesses can catch potential problems before they occur, preventing equipment failure. But with so many other competing priorities, is now the right time to invest?

Well, in my experience, implementing strategic maintenance and ensuring equipment availability will not only boost confidence but also enhance corporate reputation. While the initial costs of preventive maintenance may seem high, the long-term benefits far outweigh the costs. In the long run, preventive maintenance extends the lifespan of equipment, reduces maintenance costs, and minimises the risk of unexpected failures – making it a valuable investment.

Improving OEE within a production line by just 1% through implementing preventive maintenance can result in significant financial returns when considering factoring such as:

Equipment costs
Repair costs
Depreciation
Energy usage
Labour costs
Increased productivity
Higher yield

How do you know whether your maintenance is effective?

Does your maintenance support increased productivity?

Generally, there are a few KPI’s recognised across the industry, but the process starts with benchmarking. No matter how effective your exisiting system feels, there is always scope for improvement. By benchmarking KPIs such as MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) and MTTR (Mean Time to Respond) you can ask yourselves 3 questions:

Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
What do we need to do to get there?

By monitoring these benchmark KPIs when implementing strategic maintenance, results can be very quickly visualised and quantified, providing insight into the effectiveness of your efforts.

The Role of Technology in Asset Maintenance

Digitalisation and real-time data are becoming increasingly essential across all sectors of manufacturing. As a result, digital technology is playing an ever-growing role in maintenance processes. With advancements such as remote digital connectivity (IoT sensors), Digital Twins, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), maintenance operations are becoming significantly more efficient and adaptable to the evolving demands of modern manufacturing.

Closing Thoughts

Effective asset maintenance management is key to the success of any manufacturing operation. By implementing effective maintenance strategies and utilising modern technologies, manufacturers can reduce maintenance costs, maximise asset value, minimise downtime, improve equipment performance, and ensure safer, more efficient operations.

About Nik Tankard

Nik is a highly accomplished business consultant and digital strategist with over 15 years’ experience in manufacturing operations management, controls and automation. His main area of expertise is within the execution space of manufacturing, with a deep understanding of smart manufacturing across various domains, including warehousing and logistics, production planning, quality management systems (QMS), maintenance and production execution. Nik’s extensive knowledge of digital transformation and best practices fuels his passion for building trusted client relationships. He is dedicated to supporting clients on their journey toward achieving their business goals, while helping them realise maximum business value from their investments.

About ITI Group

ITI Group develops and integrates digital transformation solutions for Energy, Nuclear and Industrial manufacturing sectors, from strategically placed offices in Sheffield, Aberdeen, Saltaire, Glasgow, Alcester, Whitehaven and North America, from which to best serve our clients. We advance safe, secure and sustainable operations through the innovative use of technology.

For more information on ITI Group’s maintenance management solutions visit: https://www.itigroup.com/solutions/digital-operations/manufacturing-execution-systems-mes/maintenance-management/ and https://www.itigroup.com/condition-monitoring/

Alternatively, contact us on enquiries@itigroup.com or +44(0)1274 599955 and a member of our digital manufacturing team will be in touch.

Cimlogic achieves IIP Silver accreditation

ITI Group — 05/12/2018

Cimlogic is delighted to have been awarded Investors in People (IIP) Silver in October 2018, demonstrating its commitment to high performance through excellent people management.

Investors in People is the international standard for people management, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Underpinning the Standard is the Investors in People framework, reflecting the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to outperform in any industry.

Silver accreditation is only awarded to the top 5% of organisations assessed, so Cimlogic is justifiably proud of achieving this status. Mike Hodge (CEO), Paulo Nobre (Quality and Development Manager) and Hannah Scott (HR Administrator) successfully led the company through the next phase of development, after initially gaining IIP accreditation back in 2015.

Cimlogic webinar: Labour Variance in Manufacturing - Friday 6 Nov, 11am

ITI Group — 27/10/2020

Cimlogic's industry experts, Fraser Thomson (Business Development Director) and Oliver Stone (Head of Operational Excellence) will be joined by a guest client for this discussion on labour variance in manufacturing. The panellists will offer their collective experience and insight into the key labour challenges currently facing manufacturers, such as workforce shortages, skills gaps and rising labour costs.

This interactive discussion will focus on ways to increase labour efficiency in the production process and understanding how the workforce affects production costs and profitability.

These labour issues are driving manufacturers to look at new ways to monitor and control labour costs, such as automating processes and implementing digital technologies, which will be explored further in this session.

Learning Outcomes:

What is causing a rise in manufacturing labour costs?
The impact of workforce uncertainty on output & productivity
Real-time labour efficiency data to measure true labour costs
Example client stories & the benefits gained from an integrated labour solution
What digital technology tools are available to manage labour efficiency, highlight cost savings & improvement opportunities?

5 Steps to a Structured Transformation Roadmap

ITI Group — 20/10/2025

How Food and Drink Manufacturers Can Avoid a Half-Baked Tech Transformation

Too many food and drink manufacturers rush into digital projects and end up with costly disappointments. In part two of this series, ITI Group’s Oliver Stone explains how to build a roadmap that delivers quick wins, avoids common pitfalls, and creates long-term resilience.

In the previous article, I outlined how rising input costs, labour shortages and tighter regulations are eroding margins for food and drink manufacturers. Faced with these pressures, many businesses fall into tactical firefighting – addressing the problem directly in front of them, only for another to emerge. But reactive fixes rarely deliver lasting improvements. The answer is a structured transformation roadmap that reduces risk and delivers results.

Step 1 – Be Clear on Your Priorities

The first step should always be clarity. Every manufacturer has dozens of potential projects competing for attention, with hundreds of digital tools and systems on the market – from automation to predictive maintenance and AI-enabled planning. All can add value, but chasing too many at once spreads resources thin, burns capital and leaves teams disillusioned when projects stall.

The right starting point for your business depends on your biggest pressure. Ask yourself: what keeps you awake at night?

If it’s cost-driven, focus on reducing waste, boosting overall equipment efficiency (OEE) or cutting downtime.
If it’s compliance-driven, automate record-keeping, traceability and quality control to simplify reporting.
If it’s customer-driven, focus on strengthening on-time-in-full (OTIF) performance and improving communication and visibility across the supply chain.
If it’s employee-driven, reduce manual burden and modernise tools to create a more attractive workplace.

Once the true priority is clear, the right technology choices become easier. It shapes which systems you choose, how you design your data architecture, and additional training requirements. Without this clarity, it’s all too easy to invest in “shiny” toys that solve symptoms but not root causes. With it, businesses can focus resources where it counts, and build a business case grounded in real outcomes.

Step 2 – Measure What You Change

Change without metrics is just a guessing game. Without hard figures, projects risk being defunded because no one can show whether the investment paid off. Did downtime fall? Did labour productivity rise? Did customer service improve? The food industry already lives by measures such as OEE, OTIF, and labour and unit cost. Embedding these into your roadmap provides a clear baseline to track progress objectively and adjust where necessary.

We recommend frameworks such as the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model, which provides manufacturers with a standard set of performance indicators across the value chain. But whichever you choose, the principle is the same: if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it – and you certainly can’t defend it at board level.

Step 3 – Fix the Foundations

Technology transformation rarely fails because of the tech itself. More often, projects collapse under weak processes and overreliance on key individuals.

Too many manufacturers lean heavily on a handful of employees who hold critical knowledge in their heads – the planner who remembers every customer quirk, the engineer who knows which machine “needs a kick”, the supervisor who knows where stock hides. Lose them and the operation quickly struggles.

Building resilience means having clearly defined roles, documented processes, standardised methods and cross-trained teams so knowledge lives in the system, not just in people.

Processes are just as important. Automating a poor system doesn’t magically make it better – it just amplifies its flaws. Mapping out existing workflows, spotting bottlenecks and challenging existing ways of working before layering on digital tools ensures technology unlocks performance instead of magnifying inefficiency.

Step 4 – Bring Workers With You

Food factories are often people-heavy environments. Change imposed from above without engaging workers breeds resistance. The most effective programmes are co-designed with operators and supervisors – the people who live the processes every day.

That means time on the factory floor, observing how tasks are done, asking where frustrations lie, incorporating their ideas, and showing how change will make life easier. Workers who see compliance reduced from 20 minutes of paperwork to a single click quickly become advocates.

Communication is equally important. Staff need to understand what’s in it for them – i.e. less repetition, easier reporting, safer jobs, new roles to move into, and a more secure business overall. Champions and sponsors at every level are vital for keeping initiatives on track, helping address concerns and reinforce benefits.

Step 5 – Start Small, Move Fast, Think Big

Transformation succeeds when it delivers early, visible wins. “Big bang” reinventions often overrun and underdeliver. Pilots are a better, less risky approach, allowing you to prove value quickly, build belief and create the confidence to scale.

Take one of the UK’s largest bakeries. For years, pallets of flour and sugar left the warehouse only to disappear into a black hole on the factory floor. Management knew what had left the stores, but had no reliable record of what was actually being used. Ingredient records showed huge variances, with no insight into whether the gap was waste, poor quality or inaccurate measurement.

By introducing automated material tracking, the bakery gained full visibility. Compliance improved, supplier negotiations improved, and costly losses were stopped. The pilot proved value fast, making it easy to sustain momentum and secure further investment.

Another client – a leading soft drinks manufacturer – replaced paper-based performance tracking with a real-time OEE platform. Within three months, efficiency rose by 4% - equivalent to an extra 400 cases per shift.

Quick wins like these show that transformation is not only achievable but profitable. From there, manufacturers can scale with pace and confidence.

Why the Right Partner Makes the Difference

The difference between success and failure in technology projects comes down to preparation, prioritisation and execution. Get those right, and the gains can be genuinely transformative. Get them wrong and you’re left with spiralling costs and projects that never deliver.

For food and drink leaders, the next step isn’t about buying more tools – it’s about asking the right questions. Where is the biggest pressure point in your business today? How will you measure success? Are your processes and people ready for change?

Having the right partner can help you answer those questions. At ITI Group, we’re not just tech experts – we come from industry. Our consultants understand the realities of running production lines, firefighting operational problems, and managing compliance demands. We know the pitfalls because we’ve seen them firsthand, and we know how to avoid them.

Our role is to help manufacturers chart a realistic path forward. A good first step is our free-to-download Digital Readiness Assessment, a practical tool to define your priorities, highlight risks, and shape a transformation plan that makes your operation more agile, more resilient, and more competitive.

The pressures facing food and drink aren’t going away. The question isn’t whether to transform, but how. At ITI Group, we’re ready. Are you?

Webinar: Reduce product giveaway in 4 simple steps

ITI Group — 24/06/2020

Join Cimlogic's upcoming webinar: Reduce product giveaway in 4 simple steps on July 15th at 11am. Register here

For years, manufacturers have accepted product giveaway as a necessary production cost, with resulting lower profit margins. How much product are you giving away? What is this costing your business?

Join Fraser Thomson, Business Development Director and Nik Tankard, Business Analyst, as they discuss how to tackle wastage and reduce production costs.

Learn how to:

Better understand your current overfill levels
Improve the accuracy of weight recordings
Reduce waste & maximise product yield
Investigate the cost of giveaway to your organisation
Identify cost savings & opportunities for improvement

Machine Learning for Performance Management

ITI Group — 21/06/2021

Author: Steve Wilkinson, Chief Technical Officer, Cimlogic

“Manufacturing: it’s so predictable!” It’s probably not a phrase we use that often when faced with unplanned events such as breakdowns or quality issues. It’s easy to feel like Manufacturing is highly unpredictable.

When we step out of those day-to-day issues we know, of course, that predictability and consistency are exactly what we are trying to achieve. So why, after all that hard work designing a repeatable process for manufacturing and trying to eliminate the root cause of downtime and quality issues do we still feel like manufacturing is hard to predict? Well, as we strive for shorter cycle time, higher production volumes and lower costs, we challenge the steady-state that we have been trying to create. Throw the human element into that mix as well and we have a recipe for randomness.

As humans, we can make sense of the variables that might affect a process. An experienced operator can look at a production plan or a process trend and make a judgement call about the problems they are likely to experience that day. Like whether they are likely to finish on time, or be asked to do overtime. However, again as humans, we can only process a handful of variables at any one time and we base our predictions on our past experiences. As none of us can work 24/7 the predictions of one person will likely be different to that of another. When you consider other factors such as people, differing operating procedures, machine health, raw material variability, storage and movement conditions and environmental changes such as weather, the number of variables grows and human-predictability begins to drop off. This is where the reliance on gut decisions begins to increase. Gut decisions are those where we cannot easily explain the rationale. Gut decisions are still based on experience and in fact, may be the result of combining a lot of inputs and experiences subconsciously and creating a best guess. They are not the same as a lucky guess. Therefore, you will likely find in a really experienced operator, that these gut decisions are actually pretty good. Unfortunately, the experienced workers are becoming scarce and the ones we do have are far too useful to be staring at trends all day!

Now, what if we could capture that same experience 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and do it for multiple variables, at faster speeds and for longer periods of time? What if we could do it without forgetting, and without bias or preconception?

In steps machine learning

Machine learning (ML), a subset of Artificial intelligence (AI), does exactly that. It is not scary or some kind of magic. In fact, (without wanting to undermine the incredible amount of academic research in the field) it’s just some very clever maths. ML has been around as a concept since the 1950s and some of the underpinning maths hundreds of years before that. What has happened recently is that ML has become more accessible, both in terms of the compute required to ‘train’ it, and in the abstraction of that clever maths. And finally, AI and ML are making it into the manufacturing space.

ML in manufacturing does nothing that our experienced worker from before could not do, but as machine learning is performed by a machine (the clue is in the name), it can do it faster and more reliably – in a way that would not be feasible to scale with people-power alone.

So how does that help us in our strive for productivity?

Well, ML can:

Support the decisions being made when the human experience is not on hand. By learning statistically from historical data, ML models can predict an outcome or variable that is dependent on the historical data it has consumed.
Monitor your processes and spot anomalies which could be early indicators of impending issues. It can predict how likely you are to achieve the plan today, or tell you what common issues you should expect on the upcoming batch and help find their root causes.
Predict more accurately your runtimes or your changeover times – allowing you to plan more accurately and in turn reduce unexpected costs such as labour or energy costs incurred from running an extra shift.
By understanding how you ‘normally’ run a plant, it can spot missed steps or operator errors and enable action before it becomes an expensive operational issue.

It’s fair to say there are endless opportunities for machine learning in performance management, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of the improvements we are discovering in this space. To learn more about how Machine Learning can support your business goals and drive Smart Manufacturing please visit the Predictive Manufacturing page.

Capacity management in manufacturing

ITI Group — 13/04/2021

Managing capacity to maximise output, reduce costs, and meet customer demands whilst improving the integration of other key processes across the whole supply chain:

Capacity constraints will prevent manufacturers achieving more output. These might include minor bottlenecks but also lack of labour, unexpected demand fluctuations, raw materials supply etc. How well is your manufacturing plant prepared to cope with unexpected (or expected) constraints?

Demand is neither predictable nor stable for most manufacturers, and adding capacity takes time and money. Competitors vie for market share, and manufacturers are constantly seeking to reduce costs whilst meeting the challenges of shorter product life cycles.

There is no simple formula to work out how much capacity you need, currently or in the longer term, but much can be done to manage constraints to meet both demand and strategic business needs. Determining the correct capacity level for a manufacturing plant at any given time to satisfy customer demand needs experienced assessment and evaluation.

So, where should you start? When developing a capacity management plan, manufacturers need to understand the following:

How variable is customer demand? If demand were consistent, operations would be straightforward. However, this is not a typical scenario. Seasonal fluctuations are common, but what about unforeseen political and environmental challenges? Preparations for Brexit have been well underway for some time, but no one could have foreseen the implications of COVID19 on manufacturing demand (both positive and negative). With variable demand, manufacturers may need more capacity and/or inventory to cover demand spikes.
What is the ideal level of stock inventory? Manufacturers need to understand inventory holding costs and the impact of storage on product quality (many foodstuffs have a finite shelf life, for example). What are the customer expectations re delivery timescales? Are competitors able to supply from inventory in times of urgent demand?
What is the cost of increased capacity? For manufacturers to evaluate the value of increased capacity, it is crucial to understand the costs of obtaining (and maintaining) this additional capacity versus the business benefits (the ability to meet surges in demand). Can additional capacity be scaled back once demand has peaked?
What are customer expectations for your product or service? Lead times (and expectations) vary greatly by industry. Is a 24-hr turnaround vital to avoid losing business to a competitor, or are longer lead times acceptable for your product? Manufacturers need to be aware of how long a customer expects to wait between placing the order and receiving the product. Customer satisfaction can be very reliant on delivery timescales being met or exceeded.
How long does it take to add new capacity? If additional skilled staff or new equipment are required, careful planning will be needed in advance to manage increases in capacity. Alternatively, overtime or temporary staff, or reallocation of equipment may be used to manage short-term supply challenges.

Where are the typical internal bottlenecks which affect capacity?

Aside from the above external considerations which affect demand, capacity issues within manufacturing plants typically fall into three areas:

1. Reliability of machinery
Downtime can reduce the effective capacity of the entire production line. How do you measure downtime? Is your maintenance system fit for purpose to maximise uptime and productivity? Are you confident your production line is running as efficiently as possible?

2. Physical space
Do you have enough space in the factory to add a production line if needed? What alternatives are there? Are social distancing rules affecting your production targets?

3. Labour
Many manufacturers blame reduced productivity on a lack of skills in the workforce. How are you addressing this? Skills shortages are increasingly common and many companies are seeking to automate processes to allow staff to be reallocated (with appropriate training) into more valuable roles.

Do you know where your capacity constraints are?

Many companies routinely hit capacity constraints and immediately consider adding overtime for existing workers, hiring workers for a new shift, or buying a new line. But is there any guarantee this will solve the capacity challenge?

Before you invest in new machinery or additional labour, can you be certain this will solve your capacity challenge? Research suggests 8 out of 10 organisations are initially mistaken as to where their bottleneck is*. Take time to understand the true cause(s) of reduced efficiency/capacity and you might avoid unnecessary costs:

Look beyond ERP (eg is your Quality system fit for purpose?)
The most expensive machine is not necessarily the bottleneck (don’t jump to conclusions about where you think the bottleneck should be!)
Quality control/quality documentation cause significant workload issues and are often a constraint.
Understand significant changes in the recent past which may impact capacity:
- New quality legislation
- Cost-cutting initiatives.
- New technology/equipment
- Managerial changes/new processes
- Change in raw materials/components
- New competition

Are you trying to meet today’s productivity targets with yesterday’s resources/processes?

Don’t forget to TEST the bottleneck. Once the bottleneck has been addressed, how much does productivity increase? Be wary of simply moving the bottleneck elsewhere!

Capacity planning – next steps

Global disruption, both political and environmental, threatens supply chains worldwide and manufacturers need practical, flexible capacity planning strategies to adapt to constantly moving goalposts.

Many manufacturers use analytical solutions to identify (and address) root causes of capacity constraints across the whole supply chain. Indeed, hiring additional labour, outsourcing processes and/or investing in additional capacity should not be embarked upon without a full (and accurate) picture of the capacity challenges faced by manufacturers.

For manufacturers with multiple production sites and product lines, (and options to move manufacturing between sites/products), the permutations for capacity planning can be overwhelming. Companies might revert to traditional MES/ERP tools to achieve a workable solution to meet demand.

Ultimately, though, manufacturers who can answer the following questions will be able to maximise output and overcome capacity constraints whilst improving the integration of other key processes across the whole supply chain:

What is my cost per unit (labour included) and how long does it take to make a product?
How do I get more output from the same amount of labour?
I want to expand our products but don’t know if we have the capacity to do it?
Are we investing in the best areas of capacity improvement?
What is the cost of losing a customer due to poor lead-times and unfulfilled orders?
How can I collect the right data and insight to make accurate supply and demand forecasting decisions?
I want better visibility of processes such as inventory planning, production scheduling, sourcing and capacity planning to enable improved integration across the supply chain, but don't know how?

Cimlogic work with manufacturers to answer the above questions, enabling clients to manage capacity constraints to improve customer relations, maximise output and reduce costs whilst improving the integration of other key processes across the supply chain.

Book a 30-minute insight call with a Cimlogic industry expert to discuss your capacity challenges and get handy tips on how to uncover your hidden capacity potential. For more information contact Cimlogic today via enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or tel +44(0)1274 599955.

(* Marris Consulting – ‘How to identify bottlenecks in production and projects’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulXqO86OfpU)

The Impact of Product Recalls and How to Avoid Them

ITI Group — 19/01/2021

The FSA deal with around 1500 incidents every year1, therefore unsafe products, or products of poor quality are still reaching consumers, and manufacturers need to avoid it. In the Food and Beverage industry alone, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) recorded approximately 75 food recalls in the past six months, many of which were allergy alerts due to the inclusion of gluten, milk, nuts, and soya.

Over the last few years technology and processes for traceability and quality management have improved greatly, so why are there still so many product recalls? Could complex global supply chains be creating higher risks in food safety? Could both improved systems and tighter regulations have enabled more issues to be identified? Why are these issues still making it out of the factory door and onto the supermarket shelves? 2

Bad news travels fast in today’s digital world, so a recall notice will be seen by far more people than ever before. It will have a damaging effect on brand reputation, distributors’ confidence, and the potential to reduce market share and decrease profits. Ideally manufacturers need to avoid recalls by identifying issues before products are shipped.

Ask yourself:

What is the cost of rework?
What is the cost of labour associated with quality loss or rejects?
What is the cost of losing market reputation for poor quality products?
What is the cost of customer satisfaction?

Read these ten handy tips on how to reduce the risk of a product recall and how to mitigate some of the damage if one occurred:

1) Get to know your Marketing and PR department

2) Audit raw ingredients/components regularly

Check your supplier processes, quality standards and recall plans. Are your suppliers meeting legal requirements? Can each batch be traced? What is their biggest risk?

If your suppliers have an issue with their products, will it have a major impact on your operations?

3) Ensure that all machinery has auditable records

4) Ensure your processes and policies are up-to-date and being completed

5) Create a culture of continuous improvement

6) Have a recall plan in place

Who do you need to contact - government authorities, suppliers, distributors? What is your plan of action? What information will you have to hand, and who needs to know it? Run through the recall plan with key personnel, PR and distributors. Having an effective recall process in place and containing the problem before it continues through the supply chain can mean escaping extra costs.

7) Have adequate insurance cover

8) Consider adopting digital technology to reduce the risk

9) Quality processes need to be integrated with operations

Quality needs to be an integrated function within operations for it to yield truly beneficial results. It happens frequently; 2-3 days after a batch run, the results are in from Quality Control and the whole batch needs to be scrapped! Often shop floor operatives will capture data, not truly understand it, and pass it off to someone else. Whereas the specialised, stand-alone data analysis performed in QC will give you results and insight. Bringing QC and operations together, in process quality checks coupled with real-time results, will enable step changes in production quality results.

10) Engage & empower operations personnel

Engage and empower operators throughout the production cycle, by providing real-time feedback, or notifications of rule violations, upcoming tasks or HACCP checks and workflows if something is trending out of specification. Ensure employees know the standards required, what may happen if that standard is not reached and what action to take. Providing actionable intelligence, giving the right information to the right people at the right time will no doubt encourage quality improvements.

For more information on how to improve yield, reduce production waste and avoid costly recalls, please email enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or call Cimlogic +44 (0)1274 599955.

References

(1) https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts

(2) https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/signature-series/recall-the-food-industrys-biggest-threat-to-profitability/

5 Pressures Shaping UK Food and Drink

ITI Group — 20/10/2025

5 Pressures Shaping UK Food and Drink

The Productivity Ingredient UK Food and Drink Can No Longer Ignore

Rising costs, labour shortages and supply challenges are squeezing food and drink manufacturers. Technology and smarter processes are helping them boost output, cut waste and streamline compliance. In part one of a two-part series, ITI Group’s Oliver Stone shows how innovation is turning pressure into competitive advantage.

Feeding millions every day, Britain’s food and drink industry is a remarkable force, powered by skilled farmers, constant product development, and a rich mix of artisan producers and high-tech factories. As the nation’s largest manufacturing sector, it generates £148bn in turnover, £37bn in gross value add (GVA) and employs nearly 500,000 people – supporting a further four million jobs in the wider supply chain.

Internationally, the UK and food drink industry ranks among the best, but domestically it trails in investment. Over the past two decades, it has received just a quarter (27%) of the funding directed into automotive and aerospace – despite offering almost double the return. In the last five years, food and drink manufacturing delivered £7.40 for every £1 invested, compared with £3.80 in automotive and aerospace.

That gap points to a productivity prize worth between £7bn and £14bn. Encouragingly, many manufacturers are moving to claim it. Over half (54%) cite automation as a top investment priority, and three in four see clear benefits from digital solutions. Yet confidence remains low, little changed since the sharp fall following the Autumn Budget in 2024.

Given volatile global conditions, relentless cost pressures, and the impact of recent policy decisions, that caution is understandable. With the stakes so high, the next wave of investment must focus where it counts.

For food and drink manufacturers, the ultimate test is delivering “on time, in full” – orders arriving when expected, in the right quantity, and at the promised quality. Achieving this simple goal is far from straightforward because of a complex set of interrelated pressures.

1. Ingredient Availability and Cost

The supply of ingredients is rarely predictable. Seasonal variation, extreme weather events and sourcing location can cut yields, reduce quality or disrupt shipments. A wet season in Egypt can shorten strawberry shelf life drastically, while a drought in Spain may halve olive yields. For fresh produce manufacturers, daily production often depends on what actually arrives, forcing teams to adapt on the fly.

Prices can fluctuate equally sharply. Cocoa, wheat, coffee and beef have all seen marked swings in recent years, leaving manufacturers to balance profitability against customer expectations.

2. Labour Constraints

Finding and retaining the right people is a constant challenge. Manual operations need dozens of workers, while highly automated factories can run with a handful. Rising labour costs, driven by National Minimum Wage increases and higher employer National Insurance contributions, are a further squeeze on wages, overtime and training investment, directly affecting productivity and operational flexibility.

3. Rising Operational Costs

High energy, utilities and transport costs add yet more pressure. Manufacturers, packers and cold-chain operators are having to adjust schedules, storage and logistics constantly to manage bills and maintain reliability. These pressures ripple across every stage of production, impacting efficiency, margins and strategic decision-making.

4. Compliance and Legislation

Regulation now shapes not only how products are made but what can be made and how they are sold. Natasha’s Law, governing allergen labelling, forced packaging redesigns and process updates, while the upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging levy adds considerations (and costs) around material, recycling obligations and supplier management.

5. Demand Volatility and Consumer Trends

Consumer tastes shift fast, creating sudden spikes or dips in demand. Seasonal trends, retailer promotions and social media-driven fads – from strawberry and cream sandwiches to limited-edition flavours – disrupt production schedules, create bottlenecks and strain supply chains.

Taken together, these pressures can test even the most experienced teams. But they can also be a catalyst for transformation.

Turning Pressure into Advantage

Across the sector, ITI Group is helping food and drink manufacturers deploy digital tools, automation and smarter production systems to improve efficiency, reduce waste and seize new growth opportunities.

Real-time OEE drives a continuous improvement journey

For example, we helped a leading soft drinks manufacturer achieve efficiency improvements of 20% using a real-time Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) platform. Like many factories, performance was previously tracked on paper, with data often inaccurate or unavailable, time-consuming to process, and no visibility into trends or root causes.

After taking the time to fully understand their needs and goals, our experts implemented a powerful and proven solution that automatically collects machine production counters, equipment status and downtime reasons. Critical information is displayed on large overhead screens, making issues and opportunities immediately visible. Historical analysis enables the team to identify why losses are happening and take corrective action to drive continuous improvement.

Within three months, average OEE rose by 4% - equivalent to an extra 400 cases per shift – and in under three years, the drinks manufacturer achieved a near 20% improvement, helping boost throughput, quality and productivity.

Robotics reduce manual burden and cut costs

In a UK tea-packing factory, high labour costs were putting pressure on margins. ITI Group helped the business rethink how materials were supplied to the packing line. Rather than rely on a team of operators to deliver tea, bags and cotton, the factory introduced automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to pick and deliver materials on demand.

A new software system now tracks machine efficiency and material consumption, generating electronic signals to trigger AGVs exactly when and where supplies are needed. This not only improves process visibility but also significantly reduces labour content.

Over two years, the factory realised savings approaching £1m, while gaining tighter control over efficiency and output.

Simulation de-risks factory layout

A multinational chocolate manufacturer turned to ITI Group to validate its new factory design. Using advanced simulation software, ITI built a digital replica of the entire site, ensuring that the layout rules for operation, staffing levels and production capacity were all in sync with the business plan.

To make the model widely accessible, it was integrated with Excel, giving non-specialists the ability to run scenarios, experiment and provide feedback on the results for review. The platform enabled the team to test variables such as batch sizes, pallet volumes, equipment configurations, shift patterns, cleaning strategies and product mix.

It also included a complex rework system to minimise waste by reusing surplus ingredients (within shelf life). A visual representation of the production flow added further clarity and confidence in decision-making.

By testing different configurations before construction and equipment selection, the manufacturer ensured production targets would be met, resources optimised and ingredient use maximised – reducing risk and delivering a factory designed for performance from day one.

The Next Chapter for UK Food and Drink

These examples show that the sector doesn’t have to be defined by cost pressures and volatility. With the right tools, processes and guidance, food and drink manufacturers can meet rising demand, control costs and secure long-term operational stability.

Stay tuned for part two of this series, where I’ll explore how to design a strong transformation journey – assessing what solutions are right for your business, preparing effectively, and embedding the processes and behaviours that turn innovation into lasting success.

* All sector figures quoted courtesy of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF)

Cimlogic support manufacturers to reduce production costs

ITI Group — 22/06/2020

As pressure is put on manufacturers to reduce production costs, Cimlogic now offers a solution to reduce giveaway on fixed weight products, improve yield and achieve better scheduling.

Cimlogic help answer questions such as;

How much product is being given away?
How is this impacting production costs (and profit)?

UK food manufacturers typically adopt ‘overfill’ to ensure compliance with Average Weight Legislation, but the financial impacts of this can be significant. The potential savings to be achieved from eg a 1% reduction in overfill can run into £1,000,000s for large manufacturing companies.

Normally £3,000, Cimlogic’s Giveaway Analysis is offered free of charge, with terms and conditions, to FMCG manufacturers during 2020. This study examines manufacturers’ fill volumes and processes and identifies where tangible savings can be made. The analysis provides real insights for those in technical, quality or operations management roles in manufacturing:

DISCOVERY – An overview of the methodology and areas of study
COLLECTION – A collation of product fill weights using Cimlogic’s unique data collection and reporting tools
ANALYSIS – Identification of opportunities (ensuring compliance with the latest regulations) based on client data
REPORT – a valuable insight report into the client’s product(s) with achievable financial savings and recommended next steps.

CImlogic's giveaway solution uses the output from the analysis to help reduce overproduction on manufacturing lines and ensure compliance with legislation:

Collate production data for real-time analysis
Analyse trends quickly via dashboard software reports
Set weight standards and/or giveaway rate targets to be quickly informed of anomalies
Take advantage of TrakSYS™ tools for the real-time giveaway

Cimlogic exhibit at the PPMA Total Show 2019

ITI Group — 04/09/2019

Cimlogic will be exhibiting on stand D80 at the PPMA Total Show 2019 on 1-3 October at the NEC in Birmingham. The PPMA Show is the UK's leading production line event which brings together buyers and sellers of the very latest processing and packing innovations.

Cimlogic will be demonstrating a rotating production line conveyor, which collects real-time data for visual displays and is controlled by an operator interface. The unit will showcase a number of our digital solutions including OEE, Quality, SPC, Task Management, Andon and Wireless Connectivity.

Whether you're researching the latest in IIoT digital technology or wanting advice on getting the most out of your existing assets, come chat to us. If you'd like to request a meeting with one of our productivity experts, please email enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk

20 years of OEE, 20 lessons learned

ITI Group — 05/01/2021

‘A successful OEE project is more than just a software implementation’. How many companies see value from their OEE investment? Or has their OEE project stalled through lack of use or understanding?

Cimlogic have supported manufacturing clients worldwide, from single-line OEE installations to multi-site, international implementations, from Food & Beverage to CPG and Life Sciences sectors. With experience of the good, the bad (and the ugly!) of OEE, they offer their collective insight into key considerations for manufacturers considering OEE projects.

Our ’20 years of OEE, 20 lessons learned’ article is packed with advice on OEE projects, from company culture to organisational structure and leadership, system design to IoT technology. How do your finance teams use OEE data? Are you delivering value to stakeholders, from operators/supervisors, to the management board? Click here https://bit.ly/20yearsofOEE to download the article today.

Why Manufacturing Execution Systems should be first on an SME’s digital roadmap in 2026

ITI Group — 22/01/2026

Digital investment remains top of mind for manufacturers. But with limited budgets, lean teams and no tolerance for disruption, where you start matters more than what you buy. ITI Group’s Oliver Stone and Elisabeth Tellier of Astrée Software explain why the first step must be getting control of the factory floor.

Digital adoption continues to stall among small manufacturers. One in two ranks it among their top priorities for the year ahead* – the same figure as 12 months ago. That stagnation tells its own story. While intent remains high, execution is being delayed by rising costs, tighter margins, volatile demand, labour shortages, and stricter quality requirements.

For small and mid-sized companies, the difference between resilience and paralysis is decided on the factory floor. This is where value is created or lost. Every unplanned stoppage, missed target or quality defect impacts cost, delivery performance and customer confidence. Making products faster, cheaper and right first time strengthens profitability, supports scalable growth and builds operational resilience.

Yet many SMEs have the least control precisely where it matters most. Production is still routinely managed using paper, spreadsheets and after-the-fact recording. Leaders may think they understand performance, but in reality, they are managing based on assumptions.

Despite years of talk around digital transformation, nearly 70% of SMEs still lack real-time insight** into what’s happening on their production lines. The consequences of that blind spot manifest as slow responses to disruption, inconsistent output, margin erosion and decisions too late to prevent loss. Often, these losses are underestimated – even normalised – because the underlying causes are invisible.

Why Most SME Digital Programmes Fall Short

A common mistake SMEs make is starting their digital journey in the wrong place. ERP upgrades, reporting dashboards or automation projects are tempting, but without control and oversight, these initiatives stall and leadership ends up asking why “digital transformation” hasn’t translated into performance gains.

The first step of any digital journey is observation, not software. Walk the factory floor, talk to operators and observe processes to identify:

Where is time being lost?
Where is information missing, delayed or disputed?
Which processes rely on paper, keying information or informal workarounds?

From there, define a handful of clear, measurable objectives like reduce unplanned downtime, remove paper from a process, improve schedule adherence or raise OEE. These goals then guide the system choice and deployment scope – not the other way around.

Take Control the Right Way

If ERP defines what should happen, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) reveal what is happening. Think of ERP as an architectural drawing, and MES as the construction manager. MES provides continuous oversight, coordination and feedback, turning output, downtime, losses and rework into actionable data while there is still time to intervene.

This is why MES must be at the centre of digital conversations. For SMEs, it is the control layer that makes every other factory investment effective. Without it, reporting is retrospective, improvements are guesswork, and operational blind spots create vulnerabilities.

MES once had a reputation for being expensive, complex and suitable only for large, highly standardised factories with dedicated IT teams. Times have changed. Modern MES platforms are modular, cloud-based, fast to deploy and designed for phased adoption. Rather than digitise everything at once, manufacturers can start small – basic performance tracking on a single line – and scale only once value is proven.

Aquiweb – MES Built for SMEs

Aquiweb by Astrée Software is an MES built for SMEs. It captures real-time monitoring, OEE traceability, quality control, documentation, scheduling and materials management in a single, connected system. By freeing production managers from chasing data, it allows them to focus on orchestrating operations – saving two hours a day on average.

Across hundreds of deployments, manufacturers have seen efficiency gains of 15% by targeting and eliminating losses, not through new machines or added headcount, but by gaining control of existing resources.

For example, in one recent deployment, VINOVALI, a French food manufacturer, reduced unplanned downtime by 30% in six months by using automated loss tracking and OEE analysis. In another case, digital inspection forms and centralised documentation halved the time spent on quality reporting.

The common thread is not sector, size or digital maturity; it’s visibility. Once performance is measurable and real-time, decision-making changes. Losses previously assumed unavoidable are challenged, bottlenecks are addressed rather than worked around, and improvements accelerate.

The emphasis is on starting with control, proving value and expanding strategically. This is made possible by Aquiweb’s uniquely modular structure. Most SMEs begin with Aquitime for real-time production monitoring, OEE tracking and performance analysis, delivering immediate visibility and – as the examples above demonstrate – rapid return on investment.

From there, expansion is driven by business priorities:

Aquiplanner for smoother scheduling and less firefighting,
Aquidoc for digitised work instruction and paperless processes,
Aquiqual for more robust quality monitoring and compliance,
Aquimaint to shift from reactive to preventative maintenance.

Control Comes From Visibility

Across all manufacturing environments, we see a consistent pattern: performance doesn’t improve without visibility. When production data lives on slips of paper or in disconnected files, downtime is explained away, losses are ignored and quality issues surface too late. Aquiweb MES immediately changes that dynamic by creating a single, real-time view of what is happening on the shop floor.

The platform has already been deployed across hundreds of sites in France, many operating under the same pressures faced by UK businesses. Through an exclusive agreement between ITI Group and Astrée Software, Aquiweb is now available in the UK. The partnership combines Astrée’s cost-effective, scalable and proven MES with ITI’s 50 years of experience delivering manufacturing technology projects that drive real operational success.

Many SMEs assume they are too small for MES. In fact, small companies often see results faster than larger ones. Eliminating just one persistent bottleneck can have a transformative impact on performance – and for SMEs just starting their digital journeys, the opportunities for improvement are huge.

Warning signs your operation would benefit from MES include:

Production data is incomplete, delayed or unreliable.
Plans change repeatedly at the last-minute.
Reporting consumes disproportionate management time.
Decisions are made on gut feel rather than evidence.

If any of these apply, it’s time to act. Ask yourself:

How long can you keep running blind before customers notice?
What happens when margins tighten another 2-3%?
How exposed are you if a major customer audits your production control?

SMEs that move first to stabilise and expose factory performance give themselves options. They gain evidence needed to prioritise improvement, justify further investment and scale with confidence. You know your operations; ITI Group understands manufacturing technology and how to deploy it effectively. Together, we can turn visibility into control and measurable results. Connect with us to learn how Aquiweb MES can transform your factory floor. Reach out at enquiries@itigroup.com or call 01274 599955.

*Investment Monitor 2025 – Make UK

**Future of Manufacturing – Manufacturing Leadership Council

Webinar, Friday 15 May, 11am: How will manufacturers emerge and evolve in 2020?

ITI Group — 12/05/2020

Cimlogic are pleased to invite you to our live discussion forum at 11am on Friday 15 May:

'How will Manufacturers emerge and evolve from the challenges of 2020?

Hosted by CEO Mike Hodge, the panel will include industry experts Fraser Thomson and Rob Brannan from Cimlogic, and our guest Henry Anson (Managing Director at Hennik Research - publisher of The Manufacturer).

We look forward to hosting this interactive discussion forum around the challenges faced by manufacturers today, how they are adapting to the present and how to plan for 'the new normal' future. Share your experiences and ideas with industry peers for a clearer view and better understanding of how your company will emerge and evolve from this.

We need your input! We'd like to hear your thoughts and gain feedback on your experiences from the past few months. Some areas of debate amongst our clients include:

Staffing - how are you managing with reduced staff levels and varying skill sets?
Social distancing - what new measures have you introduced on the shop floor? How are you managing working from home?
Maintaining productivity - how to achieve production targets with less staff and uncertain supply chains.

Please submit your questions and any topic areas you'd like to discuss prior to the event. Sign up here to join us for this live, interactive forum.

ITI Group partners with Astrée Software to bring MES solution to UK SME manufacturers

ITI Group — 01/12/2025

MES Solution Addresses UK’s Manufacturing SME Sector

Leading international, progressive systems integrator ITI Group has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with French MES software specialist Astrée Software to bring to bear ITI Group’s enterprise manufacturing capability with leading software for the SME market. The announcement expands ITI Group’s digital transformation offering to a greater range of manufacturing businesses and represents the first international deployment for Astrée Software.

Astrée Software’s Aquiweb MES solution is designed specifically to support smaller manufacturers on their digital journey, giving them access to a fast-track solution that enables them to start fast and scale flexibly. The modular, cost-effective architecture provides manufacturing SMEs real-time production monitoring, performance optimisation and enhanced traceability which helps these businesses retain their competitive edge against larger competition.

Oliver Stone, Digital Solutions Director with ITI Group commented, “By partnering with Astrée Software, ITI Group is now able to bring years of experience in industrial scale MES implementation to a far greater number of manufacturers that form the backbone of the U.K. manufacturing sector. This collaboration reinforces our mission to deliver high-impact industrial solutions and provides a more comprehensive innovative solution set.”

With a proven track record of successful MES deployments in France across a broad range of manufacturing facilities including Arcelor Mittal, Colgate Palmolive and Merck the announcement marks the beginning of Astrée Software’s global expansion.

Elisabeth Tellier, partner Manager at Astrée Software said, “We are proud to see our MES solutions adopted by ITI Group. This partnership marks a new chapter for Astrée Software, and we are confident in the success of our international journey.”

The Astrée Software Aquiweb MES solution is designed specifically to support smaller manufacturers on their digital journey, giving them access to a fast-track solution that enables them to start fast and scale flexibly thanks to its modular, cost-effective architecture and remain competitive.

The UK’s manufacturing sector is comprised of 269,000 individual manufacturers, 250,000 (90%) of which are considered to be SME’s employing fewer than 250 people.* Aquiweb MES provides a broad range of manufacturing automation capability to these organisations and ITI Group can now draw on its heritage in global scale manufacturing implementations with powerful software. Aquiweb is fully scalable and offers out-of-the-box manufacturing solutions covering:

Production monitoring
Quality and Statistical Process Control
Display of documentation
Schedule management
Maintenance management
Management of operating procedures
Traceability and genealogy
Flow and stocks
Energy performance

Manufacturing remains a significant sector for the UK and is ranked as the world’s 11^th largest manufacturer. The sector’s impact on UK GDP was £348bn in 2024 accounting for approximately 15% of GDP.**

*House of Commons Library Research Briefing published in May 2024

**Make UK – UK Manufacturing: The Facts Report published in September 2025

For more information about the Aquiweb MES Software, visit our dedicated landing page

How to ensure optimum product quality in manufacturing

ITI Group — 29/01/2021

What's the impact of excess scrap, low yield and product mix-up on quality and production output? How efficient are your quality processes?

The role of quality management within a manufacturing environment is essential to maintain customer relations for positive brand reinforcement, whilst ensuring optimum quality and regulatory compliance.

Gain expert insight into the quality challenges faced by food and beverage and FMCG manufacturers, and learn how to:

Improve customer relations
Avoid costly product recalls
Ensure optimum quality
Maintain production output

Download the 7-step guide to effective quality management today.

Why the Cloud is not so scary after all

ITI Group — 13/04/2021

Author: Brandon Parkinson, Software Developer at Cimlogic

Cloud Computing has been around for a while now. The idea of cloud computing is incredibly simple: essentially do what you do now, physically, and in-person or on-site, remotely, and over the internet.

It seems to be increasingly common to hear that companies providing products and services are migrating their platforms and technologies to the cloud and shrinking their physical and on-site data management and storage. As with any new technology, there are going to be risks and benefits, and in this blog, I hope to explore a few of these, to ultimately reveal why the Cloud is not so scary after all.

The growing availability of Cloud platforms for wider industries

What can be done via the cloud, and what the cloud has the potential to do, is growing all the time and at such a rapid pace that, it is becoming increasingly far-reaching in terms of potential. Cloud platforms are continuously adding features and functionality, forming a practical use case for a multitude of businesses. A few years ago, it was common for cloud computing to be predominantly associated with remote and online data storage, however, with concepts such as Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS), Platform as a Service (PAAS), Software as a Service (SAAS) the opportunity to do more remotely has presented itself as an increasingly viable option.

What are the business benefits of Cloud Computing?

Reduced costs

One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing to businesses is reduced costs. Moving to cloud computing solutions may reduce the cost spent on managing and maintaining IT systems, and rather than having to purchase, setup, use, and maintain expensive systems or equipment that your business needs to function, the use of technology and equipment can be done remotely therefore the same purchasing, setup, and maintenance costs are passed onto the cloud platform instead.

Reliability & business continuity

The next benefit of cloud computing is reliability and business continuity. Keeping any business-critical systems up and running and consistently providing an expected level of service is often a business focus in terms of customer satisfaction, or in the case of providing software support and services, it may be a legal and contractual obligation. With cloud computing, having the opportunity to access data quickly, remotely, with multiple online backups data access methods available, is a strong reason to consider cloud computing as an option.

Flexible & efficient collaboration

Linking to the above point about having multiple backups and multiple ways of accessing data and services online, cloud computing offers flexible and efficient collaboration. This gives any business the ability to work more easily outside of the physical office, and to give teams the opportunity to share access to the same files and projects to further work together.

Access to data analytics for long-term improvements

Cloud solutions are becoming widely available to many industries, including manufacturing. Operational/production software in the cloud enables manufacturers to gain insight into their operational performance quickly and effectively. Having access to data analytics will therefore encourage root-cause analysis and help promote continuous improvement.

Quicker route to digital technology adoption

The emergence of subscription-based concepts such as SaaS (software as a service) enables manufacturers to adopt digital technology quickly and more cost-effectively, without the need to invest in a large capital infrastructure project with an on-premise solution. Adopting digital solutions such as cloud computing moves data into the cloud, enabling manufacturers to utilise data analytics to tackle business challenges very quickly and efficiently.

“I don’t need a hard disk in my computer if I can get to the server faster…carrying around these non-connected computers is byzantine by comparison.” – Steve Jobs, late chairman of Apple (1997)

This blog has simply scratched the surface with regards to the business benefits and potential opportunities of cloud computing adoption. There is such a wealth of information out there relating to cloud computing which businesses should explore further.

About Cimlogic

Cimlogic engage with manufacturing clients using our unique RAISE™ methodology to understand and analyse their business challenges, identify solutions to meet those needs and ensure maximum return on investment is achieved. For more information about the benefits of Cloud Computing and Digital Manufacturing to your organisation please contact Cimlogic today via enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or tel +44(0)1274 599955.

About the author

Brandon Parkinson is a Software Developer at Cimlogic. Brandon began his career at Cimlogic in June of 2019. Whilst studying at university, Brandon explored multiple platforms relating to Cloud Computing, and wrote a number of blogs related to the subject. For his third-year project at university, he developed a smart home automation solution which ran entirely on the cloud.

Gain real-time visibility of energy usage to improve efficiency, reduce costs and meet regulatory compliance

ITI Group — 17/05/2023

The UK has a statutory commitment to be Net Zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement of 2015. The government’s Net Zero Strategy sets out numerous regulatory requirements and policies that will be gradually amended over the coming years to mandate compliance amongst an increasing number of organisations. So, more businesses will have an obligation to report on and manage their carbon footprint, while moving towards Net Zero.

Here are some of the energy regulations that may affect your organisation:

Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
PAS 51215-1 Energy and Net Zero Assessment Process Specification
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
Climate Change Agreements (CCAs)
UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS)

What is the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)?

ESOS (now in Phase 3) is a mandatory energy assessment scheme in the UK. Organisations are required under ESOS to review total energy usage and energy efficiency and identify cost-effective energy savings opportunities by undertaking an energy audit.

Many organisations across the UK will be required to achieve compliance if they meet a certain entry criterion: 250+ employees, turnover of £44m+ and a balance sheet of £38m+ on 31 December 2022. The government predicts this will impact over 7,000 UK organisations.

Qualifying organisations must assess and report energy usage every 4 years, including the identification of opportunities to improve energy efficiency. Targets and plans must be set, with progress reported in future phases. If an organisation qualifies for ESOS and is fully covered by ISO 50001, they do not need to carry out an ESOS assessment but must notify the environment agency of compliance.

Recent changes to the ESOS Scheme

In phase 4 of the scheme (2023-2027), there will be a Net Zero element introduced to ESOS audits, which mandates that the energy-saving opportunity recommendations detailed in phase 3 must be acted upon.

Are you prepared for these future changes?
What additional measures, tools and capabilities will need exploring?
How will you demonstrate that energy-saving opportunities have been explored and actions put in place?

Manufacturers should consider implementing efficiency measures such as investing in improving data accuracy of energy consumption to highlight where older energy-inefficient assets could be upgraded or replaced to further reduce energy consumption without impacting productivity.

The value of data

Recent research suggests that manufacturing sustainability is being negatively impacted due to inadequate data capabilities. A lack of strategy from senior management, coupled with data silo problems and cultural issues means that many manufacturers are struggling to utilise the data needed to become more energy-efficient and sustainable. The manufacturing sector is responsible for 20% of the world’s carbon emissions, so now is the time to get the most out of your data and understand its true value!

As well as adhering to the changing regulatory landscape, organisations are seeing increased supply chain pressures on energy and carbon reporting and reduction, while not forgetting the perusal of their own Net Zero commitments. Industry use cases are proving that data is indeed a critical tool in helping manufacturers achieve these ambitions.

Manufacturers must understand and utilise advanced analytics and monitoring tools to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste, and increase productivity while gaining actionable insights to tackle sustainability head-on.

Read the top 7 benefits of implementing digital technology to support your sustainability goals:

Gain real-time visibility of energy usage to highlight ways to manage and reduce energy consumption for reduced costs.
Promote employee/stakeholder engagement to drive a culture of sustainability throughout the entire organisation.
Measure the baseline of carbon emissions to act as an indicator of energy efficiency and performance, which can be tracked over time.
Determine organisational footprint to access opportunities to reduce carbon emissions across multiple business units.
Highlight energy-inefficient assets by contextualising energy usage data with production data. When energy data is transparent, accurate, and easy to access, it can highlight significant energy uses (SEUs) for energy reduction opportunities.
Adhere to regulatory compliance to avoid non-compliance fines and damage to brand reputation, while strengthening your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) status.
Meet commercial & procurement requirements. Organisations are under pressure from their clients and suppliers to provide energy and carbon reporting to evidence their Net Zero efforts.

Ask yourself some important questions:

Do you have access to accurate energy usage and efficiency data required to be ESOS compliant?
Do you know by asset, line, or product, your largest energy-consuming machines, processes, and equipment?
How easy is it to demonstrate compliance?

To ensure regulatory compliance it is critical to adhere to the deadlines and requirements set out by the ESOS scheme. Having access to the right energy data at the right time is critical to gaining the actionable insight needed to adhere to current and future legislation.

Learn how Cimlogic’s energy solution can help your organisation achieve regulatory compliance while supporting sustainability and carbon reduction goals: https://cimlogic.co/energy

Sources:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comply-with-the-energy-savings-opportunity-scheme-esos/complying-with-the-energy-savings-opportunity-scheme-esos

https://www.nqa.com/en-gb/certification/standards/esos

https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/manufacturing-sustainability-suffering-due-to-a-lack-of-data-capabilities/

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/business/

Smart Manufacturing: How to ensure maximum ROI of your OEE project

ITI Group — 03/09/2024

Manufacturers are investing more in digital technologies than ever before, reaping benefits such as increased efficiency, reduced production losses and improved preventative maintenance.

But how many organisations see value from their digital investments? Recent studies show that many digital project investments fail to deliver the intended business benefits:

Less than 30% of digital projects meet their goals (McKinsey)
Just 10% of companies have realised a tech-enabled business model (Bains & Company)
Only 30% of digital initiatives result in sustainable change (Boston Consulting Group)

So, why will your project be any different? How will you ensure your OEE project delivers maximum ROI?

While justifying investment in digital technology to measure production performance (TEEP/OEE) may present some challenges, addressing these can lead to substantial benefits:

Strategic investment with high potential returns: Although there are initial costs, these investments often lead to significant long-term gains and improved operational efficiency.
Unified vision and benefits alignment: Aligning perceived benefits among stakeholders ensures everyone is on board, recognising the value this technology brings to the entire organisation.
Seamless integration with existing systems: With careful planning and the right expertise, integrating new technology with existing equipment and systems can be smooth and enhance overall productivity.
Enhanced data accuracy and reliability: Implementing these technologies provides an opportunity to improve data collection methods, resulting in more accurate and reliable performance metrics.
Fostering a culture of continuous improvement: Embracing digital transformation encourages a culture of innovation, helping to overcome organisational resistance and driving continuous improvement.

Technology is only half of the solution!

Other things should be considered when justifying an OEE project:

1. Select a partner with domain expertise

Engage with a digital technology partner with specialist knowledge and experience in OEE projects. They can help you identify cost savings, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement that might be overlooked internally. By addressing these inefficiencies before making large-scale investments, you can avoid unnecessary expenses and ensure that your capital is allocated effectively.

2. Ensure a consultancy-led approach to minimise risk

A consultancy-led approach to implementing OEE can help identify potential risks and challenges early on. This allows you to develop strategies to mitigate them before committing to significant investments, thereby reducing risk and enhancing the likelihood of success.

3. Benchmarking & best practice techniques

Your partner should gather benchmarking data and provide best practice tools and techniques. This helps you understand how your operations compare to others and enables you to adopt proven strategies for improvement.

4. Early system adoption & support

Training, coaching, and supporting your internal team to build internal capabilities are crucial elements of system adoption. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement and ensures long-term success.

5. Maximise ROI of your OEE project

Upfront consulting activities allow you to pinpoint the initiatives that best support the business case. This approach lowers investment costs and improves the internal rate of return, maximising the ROI of your OEE project.

About ITI Group

ITI Group specialises in supporting clients across a range of manufacturing sectors on their digital roadmap to make the most of their technology investment to achieve tangible business results.

ITI Group’s Digital Transformation Consultants provide the subject matter expertise, best practice knowledge, and change management capabilities needed to enable you to unlock the true potential of your OEE system for maximum ROI.

Improve your manufacturing operations in just 90 days with ITI Consulting’s OEE Express Programme. This streamlined project lifecycle offers 90 days of on-site support from our Digital Transformation Consultants to identify areas for improvement. Benefit from out-of-the-box production reports powered by ITI Group’s performance/OEE module. Download the brochure here.

Sustainable Manufacturing – more than just a buzzword

ITI Group — 21/09/2021

A quick perusal on the websites of any of the biggest names in Food & Beverage and Life Sciences companies and we inadvertently stumble upon the corporate commitment to sustainability. The goals are similar: the decoupling of growth from the environmental footprint, and increasing social impact. Promoting ethical behaviour is good for a brand and ultimately helps to boost sales. Business growth is great for employees and shareholders alike but should not be at the expense of the planet.

So, what about manufacturing? This is the creation of manufactured products through economically sound processes that minimise or eliminate negative environmental impacts whilst conserving energy and natural resources. Many of the practices we see today in sustainable manufacturing have evolved from lean manufacturing and efficiency improvements. Eliminating downtime, reducing scrap, improving traceability, improving quality, and increasing automation all point toward increased profitability. Reducing energy consumption (Water, Air, Gas, Electricity and Steam, or WAGES) is one of the historic drivers, with the UK government offering manufacturing organisations financial incentives for doing so. After all, it is estimated that manufacturing operations used somewhere in the region of 20% of UK energy consumption in 2020. (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1016822/UK_Energy_in_Brief_2021.pdf)

We are making great progress so far. Engineers happen to be natural problem solvers and come up with ideas every day with new ways to conserve energy, reduce waste, and eliminate pollution. All with the end goal of manufacturing products in sustainable ways. The current climate of achieving these environmental and economic goals is proving to be a challenge that the team at Cimlogic love to deal with.

Let’s take a look at some different initiatives in making manufacturing more sustainable.

Reduce waste

How do we consume just the right amount of ingredients and resources to produce high-quality finished goods? Historically we saw a focus on getting products to market in as short a time as possible and reducing production costs. What we didn’t see was consideration for the resources we were using. Excessive use of paper, metal, and packaging materials. There have always been ways of reworking waste materials, but that comes at a cost. Instead, we need to weigh up the investment in precision manufacturing equipment and processes that minimise raw material use from the outset.

Cut Down on Fossil Fuel Usage

Whilst it may seem obvious, reducing or reaching net-zero energy spend is a win-win nowadays. With half of the world’s reserves used up, and oil supplies well beyond peak, there is no reason not to reduce consumption of these precious resources. Alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and sustainable fuels are still in development and not yet an economically viable alternative. However, there are other ways to drive down energy consumption. Using predictive techniques to determine the optimal time to replace any components that may lead to poor machine performance. Using variable speed and servo drives in place of single speed or direct drive motors, generators and pumps.

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

We can’t always reduce the amount of waste material in a given process. We can however reduce the energy consumption in the transport and processing of the waste materials. Rather than fill containers with excess material, waiting for it to be taken away for reprocessing we can look at ways to compress the waste into more manageable shapes. These take up less space, are easier to transport, and use less energy overall. Taking this to the next step, companies are now investing in equipment to process waste materials on site, ready for almost immediate-use.

Embrace Digital Technology

The 4^th industrial revolution has been with us for a number of years now – the merger of Automation, IoT (the Internet of Things), Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Cloud Computing. We have touched upon this subject, albeit briefly. The ability to create digital twins and carry out endless modelling of various process improvements provides a way to accelerate manufacturing efficiency. When combined with the latest advances in robotics and autonomous vehicle technology we are able to drastically reduce human error, the need to work in harsh environments, or carry out repetitive tasks by hand.

The list is endless. Above are just a few steps that can be taken when thinking towards sustainable manufacturing. Many of them do require an upfront investment, but the majority of this can be recouped in 5-10 years when taking into account the increases in efficiency.

Sustainable manufacturing is a mindset rather than a series of steps. Here at Cimlogic we are continually looking at solutions that our clients can utilise on their journey to reaching net-zero. Our methodology involves taking a more holistic approach, clearly mapping out long term gains and creating a priority list of actionable outcomes. In the next blog we will take a look at some of the more specific challenges faced by our clients in Food & Beverage and Life Sciences, and how we have helped them on their road to sustainability.

RAISE – How will you ensure that your digital manufacturing project is a success?

ITI Group — 10/05/2022

Alex Smith, MES Business Consultant at Cimlogic, discusses the key takeaways from the ensuring Digital Transformation success blog series.

Hopefully, you might have stumbled across my series of blogs, Ensuring Success (if not, you can download the complete 5-step guide below). I must admit it wasn’t entirely without an ulterior motive. It was meant to get you thinking, to start a conversation.

How will you ensure that your digital manufacturing project is a success?

Whether it be digitalisation, smart factory, IoT, or Industry 4.0 – they’re all the same thing. I know some will definitely challenge that statement but for me, they are all names for improving operations through data. It’s not new but it’s certainly gaining pace, people want ‘one’ and therein lies the problem, what is ‘one’? Is it an OEE solution? Is it an MES platform? Electronic quality records? Advanced analytics?

And herein lies the problem, while people have been shown that digital solutions can provide operational benefits, all too often focus is placed on the technology, not the benefit. You’ve got two worlds colliding, OT & IT, and these don’t tend to play well together. You have a software application, owned by IT, that is being used by operations. Who should have the final say on what and how it’s used?

Digital technologies use the data you already have to give you a better insight into your operations, and with this insight, you can make better decisions, reduce strain on resources, increase your throughput, unlock capacity, and so on and so on. But all this is irrelevant, take a step back, what is your current biggest business challenge? What is stopping you from hitting your goals?

R – Recognise

It is critical to recognise what the ‘need’ is for a digital solution. Uncover what business challenges are causing you the greatest headaches. This is absolutely essential to any digital project, you must know what business benefit will be delivered and what value or cost-saving will be achieved. This will need input from across the business and a methodical approach to prioritise what order you address challenges in. You also need to understand how your business will change.

A – Analyse

This leads us on to the next stage before you’ve even considered a software platform or solution. You need to analyse your business, you need to have a clear understanding of how tasks and processes are done now. Once this is understood, it’s time to look to the future. How will your digital solutions change your business processes? Especially if you’re in a highly regulated industry such as pharma or food & bev, changes need to be in line with compliance. Here you look at the ‘as is’ and ‘to be’, it’s not just your business processes that will change but how your people work.

This is quite possibly the number one point of weakness for major IT projects. Not that people are the weakness, but the management of change often is. When analysing your business have you considered how a new way of working will affect your workers? Have you considered resistance to change? It’s no great secret that change can be one of the hardest situations for people to deal with. Make sure you have this as a priority and make sure those who will have their roles impacted by the change are involved from the very beginning!

With recognition of the need and analysis of your business challenges/goals and an idea of how you can move forward, you are now in a position to progress. You can prioritise which challenge to address first by looking at the ROI & IRR, or whichever metric drives CAPEX spend. With this information, you can now build your business and justification that will make adopting digital technologies a ‘no brainer’ whilst ensuring the project continues to focus on these elements and not the tech, which will ensure success.

I – Implement

With your business case built and approval from the board, it’s time to find your digital transformation partner and implement it. This should be a company that understands not just the tech but your business, with experience in solving the issues you have. Ideally, with experience specific to your industry as often problems are the same within manufacturing, so look at the solutions they’ve delivered. As your digital transformation is a journey you want a partner for the long haul, not one focused on the money and moving on to the next project once they have delivered the first stage. It’s worth considering your partner’s skill set. Can they just deliver this one solution, or can they go on the journey with you as you dig deeper into advanced data analytics, predictive manufacturing, digital twin and connected supply chain?

S – Support

Any investment in digital technologies will need supporting as this is the new way you’ll do business. Support should be based on the criticality of the system; does it give you better decision-making capabilities or is it integral to your business? It’s also important to ensure that your support partner is working in an industry-standard way, such as ITIL, and for that added peace of mind why not look for ISO20000 certification? In my blog I spoke about proactive support, this is where your support partner actively looks at ways to improve your operations, so you get more from your solution ensuring that business benefits and value are delivered.

E – Excellence

Your digital transformation journey is a continuous improvement journey, and you should strive for excellence. Your solution should evolve with you and your business, as your challenges now will be different in the future and your digital solutions should be with you for 10 or so years. While most companies have a CI function or team, their expertise is around a particular manufacturing process and often not a business function and certainly not experts in digital technologies. Look for a partner that can bring expertise to bridge these gaps – business analysis with a manufacturing background is what you need. Experienced in manufacturing challenges, a keen eye for business processes and knowledge of digital technologies will allow you to continue on your digital transformation journey and continually improve.

Ensuring success with RAISE™

Now you’ve got this far, guess you might be wondering what my point is. Well, my point is RAISE™ – Recognise. Analyse. Implement. Support. Excellence.

Cimlogic has been successfully delivering digital solutions for well over two decades. As we’ve grown rapidly, we knew we were doing things right but maybe we could do better. We’ve looked at our processes and brought them together to build a methodology that is the core of our business and at the centre of everything we do daily. RAISE™ is a collection of ideas, processes and best practices that build a structured approach to digital technologies from a business perspective; aligning the business and the technology to build a solution and deliver value.

I’ve been with Cimlogic for a little over 6 months and RAISE™ is why I joined. I’ve spoken to clients about IoT, diagnostics and industry 4.0 for the last decade and came to the same conclusion, they’re buzz words that don’t mean anything to their business. All are different to different people and it’s about understanding a client’s business that allows them to understand how digital technologies will benefit their business.

I’m not interested in talking about our MES solutions, brilliant as they are and they will deliver value, I want to talk about what challenges you’re facing today. What problems are holding you back from achieving your production targets? What problems do manual quality checks and records cause you?

Utilising RAISE™, together let’s understand what your challenges are and then we can look at how Cimlogic can help solve them.

Intrigued? Want to learn a little bit more? Download the 5-step guide to ensuring Digital Transformation success here: https://cimlogic.co/DigitalGuide

Top 10 Digital Transformation KPIs

ITI Group — 03/02/2022

There is the age-old saying ‘you can’t improve what you don’t measure’, so how do you know your Business Transformation journey is on track? Have you defined your Business Transformation KPIs? A documented list of operational KPIs forms the foundation for successful change; to visualise business performance and long-term strategies alongside elements such as process, security, sustainability, technology and people, and how these factors can affect the chosen strategies.

Firstly, we must select KPIs. Here are a few top tips from Cimlogic’s experience in Digital Transformation projects:

Take time to understand the motivations and challenges faced by your company and stakeholders; this ensures the business KPIs support your long-term aspirations and goals.
Stay clear of ‘Happy Ears’ metrics (ie those measures that make your operations and processes look good but don’t add value). Take the number of end customer interactions as an example. Whilst a significant number of consumers might buy, eat, drink your product(s), this tells you little about how successful your manufacturing process is.
Avoid analysis paralysis! Don’t measure everything that can be measured. Instead, use the business goals to choose a small number of metrics that truly help you understand how your operations perform. Otherwise, you take the risk of wasting time and effort analysing data that creates little or no insight. In the worst case, you act on irrelevant data and make the wrong decisions.
Don’t forget to benchmark while selecting your KPIs. This helps to identify trends, for example, if revenue is increasing, staying flat, or declining. Trends allow you to better understand what’s happening and to take the right actions. If a decline in revenue is a one-off occurrence, for instance, then there is probably no reason to be overly worried. But if it is a trend, then you should investigate how you can stop and reverse it.
When considering your transformation KPIs, make sure they cover all business functions – Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return and Enable. These can then be broken down into: Reliability, Responsiveness, Agility, Cost and Asset efficiency of each business function.

Unsure of relevant KPIs? Here are some examples of KPIs embedded in the Make and Deliver space:

1. Perfect Order fulfilment (OTIF)
OTIF is typically related to the Order-to-Cash process and a cornerstone of customer satisfaction. Did customers get what they ordered, and when it was promised? OTIF consists of two parts:

On-time: A typical ‘on time’ criterion is that the delivery should not be late. However, equally important is that the delivery should not be too early either.
Delivered In Full: The most common way to define ‘in full’ is that the customer receives exactly the amount they have ordered.

2. Order Fulfilment Cycle times
Order cycle time is the sum of all business function cycle times from order to delivery. The aim is to reduce, automate or standardise the processes to improve the order to pay sequence.

3. Cost Recovery
With manufacturers being forced to run smaller, more complex batches, it is important to understand the profitability of jobs and what is the minimum job size your operation can run whilst still maintaining target margins.

4. Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS)
ENPS is an internal measure that allows you to understand the current mood within the organisation and to check that the changes being made are being accepted or rejected.

5. Right First Time
RFT measurement counts how many widgets are passed without any defects out of total production quantity. The RFT KPI is displayed as a percentage.

RFT = (First time passed units *100)/Total production units

6. OEE / TEEP

Total Effective Equipment Performance (TEEP) considers maximum time to be All Available Time – that is 24 hours, 365 days a year. Therefore, TEEP = Performance x Quality x Availability (where Availability = Actual Production Time / All Time).
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) only considers scheduled time. If a machine is down due to maintenance, and it’s not scheduled for work, OEE ignores this time. OEE = Performance x Quality x Availability (where Availability = Actual Production Time / Scheduled Time)

7. SERVQUAL
(This model is also referred to as the RATER model, which stands for the five service factors it measures, namely: Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness). As is indicated by the name of this model, SERVQUAL is a measure of service quality. Essentially it is a form of structured market research that splits overall service into five areas or components:

Reliability is the firm’s ability to perform the promised service accurately and dependably
Assurance is knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence
Tangibles refer to physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel
Empathy is caring and individualised attention paid to customers
Responsiveness is the firm’s willingness to help the customer and provide prompt service

8. Carbon footprint & Utilities costs per order
As most manufacturing operations are emissions-heavy across the value chain, organisations recognise their responsibility to address the environmental and social impacts of the business.

9. Digitalised Processes
This KPI is as simple as it gets, as your transformation project is typically about digitalisation. How many digital processes are replacing manual, analogue systems?

10. Inventory as a percentage of sales orders (Inventory turns)
The number of times a business sells and replaces its stock of goods during a given period. This KPI considers the cost of goods sold, relative to its average inventory for a year or another a defined period. Inventory turnover can be compared to historical turnover ratios, planned ratios, and industry averages to assess competitiveness and intra-industry performance. Inventory turns can vary significantly by industry. For inventory as a percentage of sales, inventory is a numerator: Inv % Sales = (CostofInventory/Sales) x100.

Once KPIs have been selected, a balanced scorecard (BSC) strategic planning and management metric should be applied. Organisations use BSCs to:

Communicate what they are trying to accomplish
Align the day-to-day work that everyone is doing with strategy
Prioritise projects, products, and services
Measure and monitor progress towards strategic targets

The name “balanced scorecard” comes from the idea of looking at strategic measures in addition to traditional financial measures to get a more “balanced” view of performance. The concept of a balanced scorecard has evolved beyond the simple use of perspectives, and it is now a holistic system for managing strategy.

Cimlogic’s unique RAISE™ process provides a proven methodology through upfront business analysis, solution implementation, support, and ongoing LEAN continuous improvement. All designed to efficiently support manufacturers to achieve their business goals and lower the cost to serve, whilst realising maximum business value.

Read more about RAISE™: https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/about-us/ensuring-success-raise

Want to know more? Contact us via enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk, tel +44(0)1274 599955.

Improving efficiency and reducing costs: How ITI Group leverages trusted, long-term client partnerships to deliver results

ITI Group — 09/12/2024

By Oliver Stone, Lifecycle Service Director at ITI Group.

Oliver Stone, Lifecycle Service Director at ITI Group, shares a client success story highlighting the impact of specialised expertise and a commitment to service excellence. Learn how collaboration, along with tailored support services, can drive significant business benefits and transform operational performance.

ITI Group is proud to work with a global leader in advanced materials and speciality chemicals, to support its operational needs in productivity tracking and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). Since 2015, ITI Group has delivered over 20 implementation projects and site-specific contracts for Operational Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) solutions to this international client. This support was expanded into a global OEE service team in 2020, delivering consistent service levels across multiple sites.

Moving forward to 2024, and ITI Group is delighted to extend this partnership, with the provision of a global service team covering all TrakSYS™ OEE and MES application users and production sites.

This productive partnership has developed over the past 9 years, with ITI Group’s in-depth understanding of client requirements and technologies enabling consistent, flexible service and support, adapting to changes as needed, whilst delivering consistent performance and continuous improvement.

ITI Group worked with the client to tailor the new global MES service and support offering to meet client needs, whilst delivering numerous business benefits:

1. Reduced Costs: To support the client in reducing MES costs, ITI Group introduced several key changes:

- A restructured service model offering more cost-effective access to support services.
- Optimising costs and maintaining service quality by delivering support services from cost-effective near-shore delivery hubs.
- For added efficiency, a unified support team handle both MES and OEE services, streamlining resource management and improving response times. This combined approach allows for more flexible, targeted support without requiring a larger team.

2. Organisational Knowledge-Sharing and Continuity: ITI Group ensures that the extensive expertise developed over years of partnership is preserved, preventing any disruption to ongoing support. This continuity helps maintain the service’s high standards and allows for ongoing knowledge-sharing across the client’s global network.

3. Improved MES Reliability and Usability: ITI Group’s 15+ years as a Parsec Strategic Partner, along with a dedicated MES business unit of 50 skilled professionals—including certified Parsec engineers—ensures robust support for both OEE and MES systems. With experience across over 120 locations, 450 production lines, and service in more than 15 languages, ITI Group is well-equipped to handle the client’s MES needs at a global scale, including lifecycle management and improvements in system uptime and flexibility.

4. Proactive Service Excellence and Continuous Improvement: By analysing system trends, ITI Group has implemented various improvements, including regular upgrades and performance enhancements. This ongoing process of daily communication and detailed activity tracking aligns closely with the client’s own focus on service excellence.

5. Future-Ready Service Planning: ITI Group’s service management team has structured a second service channel to address MES incident resolution with faster response times, positioning the partnership for further scalability. MES template support commenced in July 2024, aligning with the client’s vision of a collaborative, efficient partnership that maximises productivity and enhances operational stability.

Conclusion: Through a focused approach on cost-effectiveness, service continuity, and proactive management, ITI Group has established a collaborative, value-driven partnership with the client. The integration of both MES and OEE services within a cohesive team ensures seamless operational support, helping the client continue their trajectory as an innovative leader in their industry. This partnership model exemplifies how specialised expertise and a commitment to service excellence.

Smart Manufacturing: Six steps to beat the odds and achieve your goals

ITI Group — 03/09/2024

Nik Tankard, Senior Digital Transformation Manager at ITI Group, shares six essential steps to ensure your digital manufacturing strategy is a success.

Digital technologies can dramatically improve manufacturing operations but many investments fall short.

Manufacturing businesses are investing more in digital technologies than ever, reaping benefits like increased efficiency, improved quality and reduced carbon emissions. In fact, almost three-quarters of industrial directors believe digital technology will drive operational improvements in 2024 and beyond.*

Yet, the adoption of digital technologies isn’t always straightforward. Many initiatives stumble due to lack of clarity, poor planning or inadequate execution. The statistics make for sobering reading:

Less than 30% of digital projects meet their goals (McKinsey)
Just 10% of companies have realised a tech-enabled business model (Bains & Company)
Only 30% of digital initiatives result in sustainable change (Boston Consulting Group)

Nik Tankard, Senior Digital Transformation Manager at ITI Group, has seen these challenges first hand. With nearly two decades in manufacturing, he’s led numerous continuous improvement projects and helped companies unlock value from technology.

Through these experiences, he’s observed a clear pattern: effective companies align digital technologies with their broader business goals, while those fixated solely on technology often struggle, overwhelmed by data without a clear purpose.

To help manufacturers avoid these pitfalls and achieve their business goals, Nik shares his six-step framework for a successful digital manufacturing strategy:

1. Understand

Start by aligning digital initiatives with your company’s strategic direction. Don’t risk having to remove a solution after 12 months because the business direction wasn’t understood upfront. Be visionary. Consider where you want to take your company. What can you do now versus what you want to do in the future? Conduct a gap analysis to understand where your company is and where you want it to be in the short and long term. Engage key stakeholders early to ensure alignment on objectives and expectations. A fundamental reason why digital projects fail is poor adoption. Involving end-users from the start increases the likelihood of delivering change successfully.

2. Analyse

Next, conduct a thorough analysis of your processes and workflows to determine how digital technology can add value. Remember, software is just a tool; real benefits come from improving processes. This step presents an excellent opportunity to enhance efficiency and effectiveness across your operation, even if you decide not to adopt digital technology immediately.

Use Value Stream Mapping and Lean principles to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. Additionally, use a Data Inventory Framework to assess what data is already available, how it is being used and what data you actually need.

These insights will help build a robust, compelling business case, quantifying both tangible costs (such as upfront software expenses) and intangible costs (like staff training, IT infrastructure upgrades and potential disruption to operations). Your business case should also define clear success criteria, such as generating X amount of additional revenue or improving OEE by X percent.

3. Benchmark

With a clear understanding of how digital technology can benefit your operation, you now need to decide between out-of-the-box (OOTB) and bespoke solutions. OOTB software typically offers more features and functions versus custom solutions. However, studies show that around 40% of software functionality never gets used. So, is it really beneficial to invest in a software package that can do more but never will?

OOTB solutions tend to be more stable and easier to maintain but usually require your business to adapt its process to fit the software. In contrast, custom solutions can be tailored to your company’s specific needs and workflows.

Choose a technology partner that aligns with your long-term vision, and evaluate their domain expertise. Any provider can implement a solution but only those with a deep knowledge of your industry can advise on how best to solve your specific challenges.

It’s also important to consider their maintenance and support offerings. Downtime can have severe consequences, especially with business-critical systems. Assess how timely a partner can get you back online, where their service teams are based and whether they offer remote support.

4. Plan & Execute

There are three common approaches to technology implementation, each with pros and cons.

A pilot allows you to trial the process change in a small area to minimise risk. However, this often extends the project timeline and cost.

A phased implementation allows you to start generating business value incrementally. However, it may involve additional training and costs as the technology evolves.

A big bang approach, where the new process is implemented across the entire site overnight, can be the most cost-effective, but be prepared for higher risk and potential disruption.

Once an approach is chosen, planning for the implementation is essential. The sooner the intended change becomes ‘business as usual,’ the sooner you start realising the benefits.

People are at the heart of every change. Workers will undergo their own change management process but will need to be trained and upskilled to support the implementation. Changes to the wider organisation may also be necessary, such as adjusting roles or responsibilities and policies or procedures.

5. Manage & Control

Studies show that scaling up is a bigger hurdle than getting started. Success hinges on clear governance, coordination, quality control, progress mapping and stakeholder communication. Failure to manage these aspects can lead to significant issues. Here are a couple of real-world examples I’ve encountered:

Example 1: A manufacturer scaled up their digital solution after a successful implementation at a UK site. Without effective governance, stakeholders at each new site demanded unique features, resulting in a dozen versions of the same solution – some nearly identical.

The company ended up paying for the same solution multiple times over and faced issues when it came to maintenance. A formal change advisory board has since been implemented to regain control and provide oversight.

Example 2: Another company, after boosting productivity by 15% in 18 months with a new MES solution, planned an immediate group-wide rollout. However, they had overlooked the need to standardise business KPIs and terminology. Ensuring consistent terminology and metrics across all sites is crucial before rollout, requiring stakeholder agreement on definitions and measurements.

6. Report

Tracking and reporting progress is crucial for any digital or capital investment project. Choose KPIs that reveal whether the implementation is on track and allow for ongoing evaluation. Key areas to measure include user adoption, system stability, and whether process changes are delivering the expected benefits.

Continually compare performance against the initial goals and have a way to capture feedback, ensuring any criticism is given and received constructively. Be prepared to evolve and adapt for long-term success, which takes me to an often-forgotten seventh step…

7. Repeat!

The first step was aligning digital initiatives with your company’s strategic direction. However, business directions can shift at any time. Take Covid-19 as an example, companies had to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. With so many internal and external factors, today’s problems or goals may not be the same next week. Continually reassess and realign your digital strategy to stay in sync with evolving business objectives.

No matter where you are on your digital manufacturing journey, it’s never too late to develop a strategy. Investing in upfront planning and clearly defining your requirements is far more cost-effective than fixing errors after implementation.

Start with a clear, focused approach and scale quickly can help you adapt to evolving technology and market conditions. Aligning digital initiatives with your business goals not only addresses today’s challenges but also future proofs your operations for whatever tomorrow brings.

At ITI Group, our industry-leading experts leverage over 50 years of experience to plan, prepare and deliver projects that drive real success. We turn innovative, intelligent solutions into tangible business value, and our clients keep coming back because we excel at aligning technology with their business goals. You know your operations; we understand the manufacturing industry and the technology. Together, we achieve more.

To learn more about how ITI Group can support your digital roadmap, contact us today at enquiries@itigroup.com or call +44 (0)1274 599955.

* Executive Survey 2024 – Make UK

'Small Data, Big WIns' - networking event at Cimlogic

ITI Group — 31/10/2019

Forget about implementing 'Big Data' analytics, it's all about starting off with small, incremental changes. So many manufacturing organisations are recording large amounts of performance data, but they don't know how best to use the information for production improvements. Join Cimlogic for a discussion on how to identify the 'quick wins' of IIoT. Worried about implementation costs? Available smart devices and sensors can help fast-track IIoT technology adoption, avoiding the need for disruptive and costly IT infrastructure projects.

On 26 November we would like to welcome you to Cimlogic's Breakfast Meeting & Networking Event (in conjunction with PPMA):

08:30 - 09:30 Registration, tea/coffee, breakfast & networking

09:30 - 10:00 Presentation 1 - 'Don't Drown in the Data Lake'

10:00 - 10:30 Presentation 2 - 'Exposing Your BIg Wins'

To register your interest and to book, please contact Claire Healey: claire.healey@cimlogic.co.uk or call +44 (0)1274 599955

Why Machine Learning should be part of your budget

ITI Group — 16/12/2021

Machine learning and AI have become ubiquitous terms over the last 5 years. It seems everything is driven by algorithms – from Social Media feeds to the minutia of our buying preferences. Love them or loathe them, these technologies underpin all walks of life and are here to stay with us. So, if we take machine learning and AI for granted then why aren’t they something that is de rigueur throughout manufacturing? Here at Cimlogic we have seen a seismic shift in the use of these technologies as predictive enablers in six distinctive areas:

Maintenance
Performance
Inventory & demand
Worker behaviour
Quality
Sustainability

According to a study by McKinsey, more than 50% of companies that embrace AI over the next three to five years have the potential to double their cash flow, with manufacturing emerging as the clear leader due to its heavy reliance on data. Clearly, increasing equipment uptime, improving quality control, and having less reliance on physical labour are key areas that manufacturers should be targeting. The investment costs associated with these so-called ‘intangible’ benefits should be high on the agenda versus investments in additional capital equipment and personnel. Cimlogic are already working with clients on all six of the areas mentioned above. In this article, we explore the case for doing so as a more cost-effective alternative to traditional operational investment in physical solutions.

Let’s turn the clock back a few decades to put things into context. Modern control systems – PLC, SCADA, DCS, MIS, MES, and ERP – have been in place since the 1970s. The over-riding feature prevalent throughout is the ability to collect vast amounts of data from interconnected sensors, equipment, supervisory software and planning systems – the automation pyramid. Much of this data resides in factory historians and other on-premise databases, ready for analysis. However, even today, much of the analyses take place post-event and involve much manipulation by experts of data within Microsoft Excel or SAS. Many of their findings centre around establishing relationships between disparate ‘islands of data’ and defining measures to prevent future failure events. It certainly requires skills in data manipulation that are limited to a subset of the workforce. Coming back to present day technology, we still have the same infrastructure underpinning manufacturing. What we have in addition is smarter technology, more wireless communication, cloud data storage, cloud computing, real-time analysis, real-time visualisation, and the ability to make decisions mid-process. What AI and machine learning provide is the ability to quickly find those hidden relationships between data points and tie them in with actual outcomes. Manufacturing companies are faced with ever more choice on which solution is best for them, and who to go to. The choice seems endless.

Here at Cimlogic, we have spent the last twenty years working with manufacturers on increasing productivity through the supply and installation of both hardware and software-based solutions. There are many routes to achieving operational excellence. However, experience has proved that machine learning occurs through teaching, and artificial intelligence doesn’t figure things out for itself. Certainly not when faced with the complexities of something like pharmaceutical, CPG or food production. Whilst AI is a transformational technology it is still in its infancy, and a bit like raising children, it requires the right inputs and guidance to be truly successful.

Is machine learning part of your budget? If not, then it certainly should be! Machine learning and AI are the next stage in factory automation and should be fully embraced and accounted for when planning your budget over the next 5 years.

Cimlogic can help you make an informed decision as to how and when to include machine learning or AI in your Smart Factory journey. Please contact us today at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or tel +44(0)1274 599955 for an initial discussion.

Cimlogic invite MiY members to upcoming webinar: Reduce product giveaway in 4 simple steps

ITI Group — 24/06/2020

Made in Yorkshire members are being invited by Cimlogic to join them at a virtual webinar on July the 15th as they discuss the impact of product giveaway, among other topics, on production costs.

Manufacturers of fixed weight products often adopt the overfill method to ensure compliance with the Average Weight Legislation. How much is product overfill impacting your production costs and profit? Join Fraser Thomson (Business Development Director) and Nik Tankard (Business Analyst at Cimlogic) as they discuss the impact of product giveaway on production costs and explore the 4 simple steps required to reduce giveaway.

Learn how to:

Better understand your current overfill levels
Improve the accuracy of weight recordings
Reduce waste & maximise product yield
Investigate the cost of giveaway to your organisation
Identify cost savings & opportunities for improvement

You can register for the event here.

Beyond SCADA – The Art of the Possible

ITI Group — 07/08/2023

As a Digital Manufacturing Solutions and Services provider with a collective experience of working with a variety of technology platforms, we at Cimlogic (part of the ITI Group) are in the position to select the right state-of-the-art technology to solve unique business challenges.

In a typical manufacturing environment, there are numerous moving pieces and systems. These systems span the organisation’s technological landscape, from business-level systems like ERP and logistics to real-time systems such as MES, WMS, QMS, and control devices like HMI, SCADA, DCS, and various sensors and instruments. All these systems must work in harmony.

When people think of these manufacturing information systems, they often envisage monolithic, comprehensive, and hard to implement software platforms. However, at its core, these manufacturing solutions are just a combination of a series of data-handling functions designed to collect, manage, and interoperate vast amounts of information. There’s no reason why you can’t create vertical solutions to solve your specific business problems while ensuring that it integrates seamlessly with the other business and control systems. One platform that consistently stands out is Ignition® by Inductive Automation. While many perceive Ignition® as merely a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) platform, our experience has shown that it offers much more. It can interact with almost all levels of technology in your organisation, customised to whatever makes sense for you – this is where Ignition® truly shines.

This post aims to shed light on the “art of the possible”, demonstrating the potential benefits of a modern SCADA platform integrated by the right technology partner.

Flexible to your needs

A modern SCADA system provides flexibility to collect data, manage execution and interface with users and systems, with a high level of integration and customisation. Let’s consider a few examples:

Planning and Simulation: Collecting and historicising contextualised production information is critical to plan, simulate and optimise manufacturing operations. Most manufacturing processes are governed by various complexities of planning; one area where we often see significant returns on investment is among our food and beverage customers, who frequently need to coordinate complex scheduling tasks to accommodate near real-time changes in sales demands, availability of inputs, and to minimise excess production. A modern SCADA platform can perform that role and integrate with ERP and Advanced Planning and Scheduling systems to ensure that production schedules align with business needs. More than that, they can use the critical information to enable true digital twins, simulating different scenarios and optimising operational parameters.
Workflow: Managing work orders and complementary tasks like quality checks, maintenance and cleaning enables real-time operations tracking, ensuring that materials, labour, and equipment are available when needed. A modern SCADA platform is well positioned to provide a single user interface for the operators, not only for control purposes but also to include these capabilities, simplifying the adoption and interoperability with other manufacturing systems. One of the areas where we often see these needs is with pharmaceutical clients, where work in progress is held up due to resource and regulatory constraints, and multiple parallel activities are required to be handled. Given the unique nature of pharmaceutical processes, using a build-to-suit solution ensures we’re not trying to configure a circle into a square, but rather build a square around a square to meet operational requirements.
Performance: Understanding how the operations are performing is a crucial process to enable continual improvement for enhanced productivity and quality. By collecting and analysing data from across your operations, a modern SCADA platform can provide insights into machine downtime, performance, and quality. This can be used to calculate key metrics like Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and Total Effective Equipment Performance (TEEP). This data can be used to identify areas for improvement, monitor the impact of changes and integrate with other manufacturing systems.
Sustainability: Meeting sustainability goals requires the monitoring of energy and other utilities usage, as well as emissions, in real-time, to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for reductions across all operations, ultimately leading to significant cost savings. In a manufacturing scenario it’s unlikely to get meaningful results unless you also consider contextual information, such as production counts, products manufactured, and assets used. A modern SCADA platform can provide an integrated sustainability solution that helps define incremental targets (e.g., year by year, week by week) to achieve the final goal (i.e., carbon reduction). These targets are set based on historical best practices, with the ability to track actual KPI metrics and progress against those targets. This enables alerting for exceptional conditions and helps prioritise energy-efficient operational strategies as well as adhering to regulatory requirements and ESG aspirations.
Traceability and Compliance: Enabling comprehensive manufacturing traceability; tracking products from raw materials to finished goods. This has proved to be valuable to our clients, such as food and beverages and automotive suppliers, where stringent regulations require detailed record-keeping. A typical use case is the tracking of materials consumed in the production process. Recipe management and automated data collection in a modern SCADA platform are the key foundation for extracting and managing this critical information. From raw materials sourced from typically numerous suppliers to the production/assembly line, the specific inputs to each good can be traced back to its origin to quickly identify issues.
Analytics and AI: Leveraging relevant and trusted data, ready to be consumed. As Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence become omnipresent in all sectors, data is probably the most valuable asset you can have. All the data collected and managed in a modern SCADA platform can be leveraged to integrate with cloud-based infrastructure or be the foundation for an edge or on-premise solution. Considering the topics mentioned above, this will enable use cases like predictive maintenance, quality inspection, and batch pre-release.

A unique approach to Operational Technology projects

At Cimlogic we utilise a client-centric methodology called RAISE™ that offers a robust framework that can greatly benefit a manufacturing company looking to implement a new digital technology solution. We do this upfront to help our clients achieve their operational and business goals.

Our people have expertise in controls, electrical, and software engineering to ensure a successful outcome. We understand the plant floor and full manufacturing enterprise; coupled with best practice knowledge of digital manufacturing technology (including PLC, SCADA, MES, QMS, CMMS, APS, IIoT, Simulation/Digital Twins, AI/ML) and methodologies that we can bring together to solve unique challenges with unique solutions.

Technology solutions need to be maintainable, reliable, and scalable to other facilities, so we work closely with your operations, R&D, and IT teams to ensure these goals are met. Backed by a well-established 24/7 support service offering across many industries, including nuclear, energy, and diverse industries.

To learn more about RAISE™, visit our website

Your Technology Partner for Digital Transformation

By thinking outside the box and leveraging the full potential of a modern SCADA platform, manufacturers can solve complex problems, optimise their operations, and drive innovation.

At Cimlogic, we’ve seen firsthand the transformative impact that a modern SCADA system can have on a manufacturing operation – proving to be versatile and capable of solving countless problems. We’ve helped clients leverage SCADA in ways they never thought possible, by utilising our RAISE™ processes to target specific business challenges and apply the correct tools to address them.

So, when thinking about replacing your existing SCADA platform, think of a platform that can touch almost every level of technology in your organisation, customised to solve your specific business problems. Think about the art of the possible. Whether you’re looking to optimise your existing processes or embark on a Digital Transformation journey, a modern SCADA platform such as Ignition® can offer a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solution.

If you’re interested in exploring what’s possible with Cimlogic, contact us today at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or Tel: +44(0)1274 599955.

About ITI Group

ITI Group develops and integrates digital transformation solutions for Energy, Nuclear and Industrial manufacturing sectors. Through digital technology, industrial automation and increased safety and security, ITI Group helps clients achieve tangible business value from innovative, intelligent solutions.

For over 50 years, ITI has been a trusted partner in the design, build and implementation of robust, reliable, and future-proof SCADA systems, enabling connectivity and real-time data intelligence to enhance the operations and processes that they serve.

To learn more, visit the ITI Group website

The 'New Normal'

ITI Group — 17/04/2020

Author: Mike Hodge, Chief Executive Officer at Cimlogic

China is the world’s second-largest economy and accounts for a quarter of global added value manufacturing*, so the outbreak of COVID-19 is a big event.

Encouragingly, the actions taken to minimise the impact of the infection spreading is seeing results, with new cases in China reportedly now falling. They seem to have got to grips with what they need to do in order to keep things under control.

In the meantime, however, the rest of the world is in the thick of it, adjusting to a pandemic, and inevitably business attention in the short term turns towards minimising the impact on the wellbeing of company staff and ensuring continued operations.

Cimlogic have experienced many sensible adjustments from our client base – the common theme of restricted travel for personnel, approach to hygiene and continuity plans in the event of plant or office closures.

Just like China (and hopefully in the not too distant future), businesses will look forward to returning to ‘Normal’. However, the definition of ‘Normal’ is changing as we speak, and the ‘normal’ that we are used to may never be the same again.

Globalisation has brought about many opportunities for business everywhere, but more so with the existence of really strong supply chains – this in itself has created what we know as ‘emerging markets’.

You can order a component from Amazon which arrives in the UK next day, was fulfilled in France, contains components sent from China, and has potentially moved through multiple couriers with embarrassing efficiency and at extremely low cost. If this is the case, then as a business owner, why hold that much stock if we can get what we need, when we need. What’s the point in having money tied up in inventory? So, consider what happens when the component you need is out of stock, and it will be weeks before they have any more? Because of the situation in China, production is down, and freight ships are not leaving without full loads. That component may have, until now, seemed insignificant in terms of size and cost, but it is a critical part of your product. How about Chinese car parts for example? This was a real problem for Jaguar Land Rover recently according to the Independent http://bit.ly/landrovercarparts

So in the new ‘normal’ – do events like these mean manufacturers will bring in house aspects of their supply chain – leading to more examples of backward integration?

Do manufacturers look to relieve the dependency on supply chains by choosing more locally manufactured components, turning their backs on emerging markets?
Do manufacturers consider the risk vs benefits of mega factories and hedge in the direction of a greater number of smaller factories each strategically located to serve a customer base, thereby reducing the impact of sudden events?

COVID-19, cyber attack, flooding, fire are all examples of things that can bring the whole process to a grinding halt. Is a ‘Pop-up factory’ potential risk mitigation against the next big event?

Should manufacturers consider greater outsourcing to a higher number of downstream partners? Bottling and filling plants are a great example of this as well as co-packers. Sharing volumes of the same SKU through multiple co-packers could provide benefits in these uncertain times. From an upstream point of view, do you have half your network on Amazon Web Services and half on Microsoft Azure?

It is easy to speculate and only time will tell; however, it’s fair to say that a ‘risk’ based approach to meeting and adapting to customer demand may challenge some of the traditional textbook thinking such as ‘Just in Time’, ‘Line Balancing’, ‘Runners and Repeaters’, ‘Economic Order Quantities’ – which so heavily depend on a supply chain that works.

Flexibility within manufacturing processes and infrastructure, plus greater flexibility around in-house and outsource options may prove to be the stronger beast in the long term.

* https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2018/china-next-leap-in-manufacturing.aspx

Sustainable manufacturing – it’s not just about net zero!

ITI Group — 06/09/2022

Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’ opportunity for feel-good PR and communications. Manufacturers now depend on a savvy sustainability strategy and implementation as a strategic imperative; an integral part of industrial transformation and the basis for long-term, profitable growth.

A new global agreement (the Glasgow Climate Pact) reached at the COP26 summit in Nov 2021, set out the global agenda on climate change for the next 10 years. Firm plans were agreed upon to cut CO2 emissions, reduce coal use (which is responsible for 40% of annual CO2 emissions) and help developing countries switch to clean energy.¹

These positive steps highlight the urgency for manufacturers to step up their game and make progress with their net zero targets. After all, it is estimated that manufacturing operations uses somewhere in the region of 17% of UK energy consumption.² Despite uncertainty on the impact that climate change action could have on production, more manufacturers are now realising that they can achieve business goals without sacrificing the needs of the planet.

So, where to start?

Make it real! Yes, carbon reduction and net zero are part of the agenda, but there are many other considerations for manufacturers, including utilities consumption, reducing labour turnover, capital funding, supply chain disruption etc. All these factors are part of ‘sustainable manufacturing’.

Traditional continuous improvement initiatives typically prioritise labour efficiency and productivity improvements. Shifting towards resourcing and productivity for sustainability needs additional sustainability goals and KPIs. Embedding sustainability into operations is key. Leading manufacturers integrate sustainability/ESG* into industrial transformation strategies for maximum ROI.

Manufacturers talk about three top objectives for industrial transformation and growth:

Improve operational efficiency
Meet customer requirements and expectations
Ensure business continuity

Sustainability needs to be part of the discussion for all these objectives. Sustainability is a core transformation initiative and success will depend on how well it is integrated with the overall business growth strategy. According to LNS Research³, the following are essential considerations for companies for incorporating sustainability into transformation strategies:

Business objectives
Aligning sustainability/ESG initiatives with company business objectives is paramount
Strategic initiatives
Identify sustainability priorities for investment based on business assessment processes. Ensure alignment with other transformation programmes such as Smart Factory and Workforce of the Future.
Operational Architecture
Integrate sustainability into core business operations. From operational architecture (IT, OT and IIoT), to workforce planning, to advanced analytics and data-driven decision-making. Sustainability should be a common thread throughout.
Solution Selection
Selection of appropriate digital technology solutions based on agreed business cases, with measurable ROI.
Implementation and Change Management
A critical step in any organisational change strategy. Applying documented and proven change management processes to ensure success and drive progress.

LNS Research data shows that the implementation of sustainability capabilities has led to improved operational performance across industrial organisations. Solutions such as energy management, environmental emissions management, and performance management, also yield improvements in key operations KPIs such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Capacity Management, First Pass Yield, and Uptime.

As an example, following the integration of an energy management solution at a major client, (a 90-site enterprise with previously no visibility of energy usage), Cimlogic helped gain insight into the impact of production changeovers on energy consumption, resulting in a minimum reduction of 2.5% carbon footprint per year.

How will digital technology support your long-term sustainability goals?

As the cost of energy and materials continues to rise, manufacturers are focussing on ways to reduce their energy consumption and achieve sustainable manufacturing. Implementing factory automation and sustainable processes is key to optimising production times to minimise energy consumption, waste and reduce costs.

The time to act is now!

So, what to do first? Start where you are now (that’s the easy bit!) and treat sustainability as a strategic imperative, not an add-on. Take a business transformation approach: set goals for performance improvements, and implement the appropriate technology, alongside changes to people and processes, to achieve the desired returns. Make sustainability a part of operations and engage the workforce.

Manufacturers engaging in digital transformation projects typically manage a diverse portfolio of initiatives across the enterprise. Beyond energy management and emissions reduction, a balanced approach to tactical and strategic opportunities can identify ‘quick wins’ to build momentum with sustainable manufacturing.

Avoid climate tunnel-vision. Environmental sustainability (including climate risk) is critical, but manufacturers need to evaluate and prioritise the whole spectrum of sustainability risks and opportunities relevant to the organisation and business strategy.

If you’d like to learn more about how Cimlogic can help support you to achieve your sustainable manufacturing goals, please contact us today at enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or Tel: +44(0)1274 599955.

Read the Energy Management Checklist for ten top tips on how to improve operational efficiency, reduce waste and achieve sustainable manufacturing goals: https://cimlogic.co/EnergyChecklist

¹ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56901261

² https://prod-drupal-files.storage.googleapis.com/documents/resource/public/Manufacturing-guide.pdf

³ https://members.lnsresearch.com/research-library/research-articles/research-spotlight-next-generation-sustainability-risk-opportunity-and-competitive-advantage

* ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance – measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a company or business.

How to Implement a Successful Condition Monitoring Strategy: Key Steps to Optimise Asset Reliability

ITI Group — 13/02/2025

In this blog we share expert insights and best practices for implementing an effective Condition Monitoring strategy. Learn how to optimise asset reliability, minimise unplanned downtime and drive continuous improvement across your operations.

Implementing Condition Monitoring involves continuously tracking the health and performance of equipment or machinery to detect potential issues before they cause failures. It is widely used in industries such as manufacturing, power and utilities, and warehousing.

In a marketplace saturated with Condition monitoring solutions, the implementation of an effective Condition Monitoring strategy is key to achieving success. It’s not just about buying volumes of sensors; end-users need to ensure that their selected SaaS service provider offers the necessary support to implement the right Condition Monitoring solution for their business. At ITI Group we prioritise helping clients clearly understand the value of their Condition Monitoring solution by demonstrating its ROI. This approach builds trust and ensures clients feel confident about making further investments when the SaaS agreement concludes.

Here’s a step-by-step approach to implementing a successful condition monitoring program:

1. Define Objectives and Scope

Determine the goal: Are you monitoring to prevent breakdowns, optimise performance, reduce maintenance costs, or comply with regulations?
Consider carrying out a criticality assessment.
Identify the ROI – what will be the payback and how long will it take for the return?
Decide what equipment or systems need monitoring (e.g., pumps, motors, turbines).

2. Select the Right Monitoring Techniques

There are several methods for monitoring the condition of equipment:

Vibration Monitoring: Detects imbalance, misalignment, or mechanical wear.
Temperature Monitoring: Indicates overheating or irregular temperature behaviour.
Oil Analysis: Monitors contamination and degradation of lubricants.
Ultrasound: Used for detecting leaks and electrical faults.
Acoustic Emission: Monitors structural issues or cracks in equipment.
Thermography: Uses infrared cameras to detect temperature variations in machinery.

3. Install Sensors and Data Acquisition Systems

Install appropriate sensors and the right locations (e.g., vibration, temperature, pressure, etc.) on the equipment.
Ensure that data acquisition occurs in real-time for effective monitoring.

4. Data Processing and Analysis

Use software tools to analyse data and detect trends or abnormalities.
Apply techniques like:
- Threshold-based analysis (e.g., if temperature exceeds a certain level, trigger an alert).
- Pattern recognition (using machine learning to detect patterns that indicate failure modes).
- Predictive modelling (using historical data to predict future failures or maintenance needs).

5. Set Alerts and Triggers

Set up automated alerts for the maintenance team when a parameter exceeds a predefined threshold.
Ensure alerts are timely and actionable to avoid unnecessary downtime.

6. Maintenance Decision Support

Use the insights from Condition Monitoring to optimise maintenance schedules. This can shift from reactive (fixing after failure) to proactive (fixing before failure) or predictive maintenance.
Continuously refine the predictive models to improve accuracy.

7. Integrate with Enterprise Systems

Integrate the Condition Monitoring system with the broader enterprise system (e.g., Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP) to streamline maintenance workflows.
This integration helps track inventory, manage labour, and streamline the procurement of replacement parts.

8. Training and Skill Development

Train your maintenance and operations teams to understand the data, how to interpret it, and how to take action based on the insights provided.
Invest in the continuous improvement of staff through workshops and certifications in data analysis, sensor calibration, and condition-based maintenance.

9. Continuous Improvement

Collect feedback from your team and adjust the monitoring systems, parameters, and methods as needed.
Regularly review the performance of your Condition Monitoring program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals.

By following these best practices, you can establish a strong foundation for your Condition Monitoring solution, fully leverage its capabilities, and achieve maximum return on investment. Learn more about ITI Group’s Condition Monitoring solutions.

Cimlogic Webinar - Small Data, Big Wins

ITI Group — 13/01/2020

Shop floor data can instantly reach the decision makers using technologies such as IIoT, mobile devices and cloud computing. Smart devices and wireless connectivity remove the need for large, costly infrastructure projects. This enables manufacturers to access the data to justify acting on the low hanging fruit opportunities. Small data is all about people, so it’s important that everyone involved in the improvement process buys into the technology and trusts what the data is telling them. Very little investment and time is needed to gain tangible benefits from small data.

Want to hear more real-life examples of manufacturers exposing big wins? Watch Cimlogic's on-demand Webinar ‘Small Data, Big Wins’ here https://youtu.be/EwsVfYMcWmc?rel=0&t=01

How Safe Are Your Manufacturing Operations? Essential Steps to Combat Cyber Threats

ITI Group — 20/01/2025

By James Glover, OT Cyber Lead, ITI Group

In an era where industries are rapidly adopting digital solutions to optimise operations, the importance of operational technology (OT) Cyber Security has never been greater. With the convergence of IT and OT systems, manufacturing, energy, and other industrial sectors are increasingly exposed to cyber threats that can disrupt operations, compromise sensitive data, and cause significant financial losses.

In this blog, I’ll explore the importance of building a robust security program and outline key steps to protect your manufacturing operations against the growing threat of cyber-attacks.

The growing need for OT Cyber Security

The manufacturing industry is susceptible to attacks and attempted breaches due to several reasons, including:

A rise in connected devices and organisations, with an estimated 29 billion devices expected to be connected by 2030.
Complex global supply chains, which can enable attacks to spread between organisations.
Legacy systems that often have vulnerabilities and security gaps.
Industrial IoT devices that serve as potential targets for cyber-attacks by threat actors.

Research indicates that, for the third consecutive year, the manufacturing sector remains the top target for cyber-attacks, accounting for approximately 25% of incidents. Ransomware is a significant factor, involved in 71% of these cases. Also, the frequency of cyber-attacks on the sector is reportedly rising at an alarming rate of 125% per year.

Historically, OT systems operated in isolated environments, separate from traditional IT networks. This isolated approach provided a degree of security. However, with the rise of Industry 4.0, OT systems are now interconnected with IT systems to enable advanced data analytics, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring. While this connectivity delivers significant operational benefits, it also opens the door to cyber threats that were previously unheard of in industrial environments.

The realisation of this vulnerability often comes after high-profile incidents, such as ransomware attacks or breaches targeting critical infrastructure. The consequences can be devastating, from halting production lines to causing environmental hazards or endangering lives. The risks are too great to ignore the need for robust Cyber Security measures in the OT domain.

Establishing a solid IT infrastructure

A secure and resilient IT infrastructure is the foundation of any effective OT Cyber Security strategy. This includes network segmentation, access control, regular patch management and real-time monitoring tools to detect and respond to unusual behaviour that may indicate a cyber threat. Without a solid IT infrastructure, organisations may struggle to protect their operations from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

How to strengthen OT Cyber Security

To protect against the growing threat of cyberattacks, organisations should consider the following steps:

1. Conduct a risk assessment: Identify critical assets, vulnerabilities, and potential threat vectors in both IT and OT environments.

2. Develop a comprehensive Cyber Security policy: Define procedures and best practices for mitigating risks and responding to incidents.

3. Invest in OT-specific security tools: Use solutions tailored for industrial environments, such as intrusion detection systems and endpoint protection for legacy systems.

4. Employee training and awareness: Equip teams with the knowledge to recognise and respond to Cyber Security threats.

5. Collaborate with industry partners: Share insights and strategies to stay ahead of emerging threats.

The importance of being proactive

The cost of implementing OT Cyber Security measures is insignificant in comparison to the potential impact of a cyberattack. Proactively addressing vulnerabilities not only safeguards operations but also instils confidence among stakeholders, including customers, partners, and regulators. Organisations that prioritise Cyber Security are better positioned to navigate the complexities of the digital age, turning potential threats into opportunities for innovation, resilience and improved digital maturity.

OT Cyber Security – a lifecycle approach

Industrial Cyber Security is no longer a “nice-to-have” but a critical element of modern operational strategy. By investing in solid IT infrastructure, fostering a culture of security awareness, and implementing robust Cyber Security measures, organisations can protect their operations from the evolving threat landscape. In doing so, they ensure continuity, maintain reputations, and create a solid foundation for sustained digital transformation.

Take the next step in securing your operations

At ITI Group, we collaborate with clients to assess their current position in their security journey and provide tailored support to develop a robust security program. Our approach ensures alignment with the latest standards and industry best practices.

Learn more about ITI Group’s OT Cyber Security solutions by visiting our dedicated page: https://www.itigroup.com/solutions/industrial-cyber-security/

Download our OT Cyber Security Audit brochure here: https://www.itigroup.com/resources/ot-cyber-security-pdf/

For further information on how we can support your digital roadmap with a robust security program, contact us at enquiries@itigroup.com or call 01246 437600.

The benefits of achieving real-time manufacturing visibility for increased performance and global competitiveness

ITI Group — 05/12/2022

Managing the impact of a global recession, whilst tackling ongoing supply chain disruption, labour shortages and increased energy costs are forcing manufacturing organisations to explore innovative ways to address business challenges. Leading manufacturers looking to improve operational efficiencies, secure long-term growth and remain competitive are investing more in digital technology such as MES, SCADA/HMI, Predictive Maintenance, Simulation/Digital Twins, and Edge to Cloud. Manufacturers will benefit from the added power of data from these technologies, to provide greater insight for operational improvements.    

According to the Make UK report* 74% of manufacturers surveyed viewed increasing capital investment as critical to improving productivity, particularly in processes to increase capacity, improve quality and reduce costs. As detailed in the report, ‘Manufacturers will be investing more in software, acquisitions, new facilities, net zero, and expanding internationally too as they seek to fulfil their wider growth ambitions to accelerate digitalisation, transition to net zero and tap into new global markets’.

Despite current uncertainty, manufacturers recognise that investment is essential to boosting growth, improving productivity, and remaining competitive in a global market. As we all know, the manufacturing landscape is changing rapidly, and tomorrow’s manufacturing leaders need to be ahead of the game today. Demand for new products (and reduced lead times) shows no sign of slowing, and customer relationships rely on fast, efficient, ‘on-demand’ delivery. 

World-class manufacturers measure and monitor an agreed set of KPIs and use these to evaluate business performance and as input to decision-making. Traditional metrics such as OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and downtime are valid but have limitations when it comes to evaluating overall manufacturing efficiency and productivity. Driving continuous improvement throughout the entire manufacturing process requires additional KPI metrics factoring all areas that affect productivity, resulting in increased visibility.

Read the top 7 benefits of achieving real-time manufacturing visibility for increased performance and global competitiveness.

1. Utilise real-time data for actionable improvement

Measuring OEE is a great building block for implementing Digital LEAN and performance improvement initiatives. The data presented in a performance system must be acted upon quickly, otherwise, production managers will find it difficult to uncover the root cause of problems. Shop-floor teams are encouraged to use the data to uncover reasons behind process inefficiencies to drive improvement, which creates a culture of continuous improvement, as operators become actively engaged with the system and see the value gained from it.

2. Ensure regulatory compliance & quality

Real-time visibility of quality issues such as non-conformance events or when a process is trending out of control is imperative to achieve improved yield, reduced production waste and avoiding costly product recalls. The impact of product recalls on brand reputation can be immensely damaging and the associated costs/heavy fines (not just production) can be huge. Understanding process capabilities throughout the manufacturing plant are vital to reducing the cost of poor quality, facilitating continuous improvement and carving out a sustainable competitive advantage.

3. Manage energy consumption

As the cost of energy continues to rise to unprecedented levels and energy contracts come up for renewal, business owners will be concerned about how to manage their rising energy bills and reduce energy consumption. Measuring and monitoring energy usage in real-time, not through monthly or quarterly energy bills, empowers corrective action across the board. Also, identifying improvement opportunities by integrating both energy and production data together encourages proactive energy reduction! Not forgetting the importance of achieving long-term sustainability and carbon reduction targets – another benefit of implementing digital technologies to support energy reduction goals. Cimlogic helped a client in the consumer-packaged goods sector gain insight into energy consumption for strategic decision-making. As a result, they saved approximately £200k in energy costs in just 4 months.

4. Reduce production losses

Availability losses such as planned or unplanned downtime, machine setup time, inventory turns, and changeover times all impact OEE and performance negatively. Crucial information such as the effect of non-productive tasks (e.g. sanitising and labour changeover), when a machine went down and the impact it had on the rest of production is however less accessible. Identifying inefficiencies throughout the production process is essential in providing the real-time information needed to take corrective action.

5. Optimise maintenance activities

Unscheduled maintenance results in lost production, higher part costs, and lost time for fixing problems; costing significantly more than planned maintenance. Adopting a more proactive, preventive maintenance approach to coincide with planned production downtime significantly reduces costs. Preventive maintenance needs to be controlled and managed effectively to keep equipment producing consistently high-quality product. Visibility into equipment availability and performance rates can help reduce unplanned downtime to optimise maintenance activities and gain maximum value from assets.

6. Understand labour costs

Having the right amount of people and a balance of skills on the shop floor is a huge juggling act! Too few will cause bottlenecks and result in missed production deadlines, too many will create unnecessary labour costs impacting profits. Having access to detailed labour information such as how many staff are needed on lines, required skill sets, and how long it took to complete a job will help paint a picture of your labour requirements. Likewise, understanding how efficiently the workforce is performing against output, how profitably jobs are running and realising the true cost of labour are important factors to consider when optimising workforce performance and ensuring maximum productivity.

7. Reduce cost of goods

Most manufacturers include direct materials, labour and overheads when evaluating costs. An understanding of all three is needed when trying to reduce the cost of goods, which can contribute to bottom-line KPIs in the business including increasing profit margin, ensuring business sustainability, and increasing customer satisfaction. Increased visibility through digital technology and real-time data analysis, can lead to reduced cost of goods.

Helping our clients gain real-time visibility of operations

Investing in digital technology to support increased visibility of assets enables manufacturers to address the root cause of business challenges – often a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to investing in new facilities or machinery.

Cimlogic work with clients on their digital transformation journey to understand the key business drivers and recommend the best solutions to deliver tangible business value – helping define and achieve manufacturing KPIs for increased visibility.

Discover how Cimlogic helped WaterWipes gain real-time visibility of operations to drive actionable improvements for optimised production and increased capacity. Download the case study: https://cimlogic.co/WaterWipesCaseStudy

*Source https://zenoot.com/articles/survey-shows-britains-manufacturers-are-set-to-ramp-up-investments/ https://zenoot.com/wp-content/uploads/Make-UK-Investment-Health-Report.pdf

Reducing Manufacturing waste – are you doing enough?

ITI Group — 18/01/2024

Are lean principles still the most efficient in reducing waste in manufacturing?

Well, in a sense they still are, but now with digital technologies added to the equation, leading manufacturers are taking ‘lean’ to new levels.

So, why change something that is already delivering good results? In short – don’t settle for good! Connecting lean methodologies with digital technologies can drive unimaginable success to your enterprise.

Let’s see how …

Let’s first explore what we mean by lean methodology, and what we mean by being efficient at reducing waste. Which digital technologies are worth your time and money?

LEAN METHODOLOGY

When you think about continuous improvement in the manufacturing industry, where systematic approaches are taken to identify and eliminate waste in processes, you’ve effectively defined the Lean methodology.

Lean provides a set of principles, with roots that date back to the 1930s, established by one of the leading Japanese automobile industries – Toyota Motor Corporation, with the aim of eliminating waste and attaining the best possible efficiency.

The Lean methodology includes five main principles:

Defining the value
The value is defined by the customer’s perception of the worth of our product/service, “The value is everything that the customer is willing to pay for”. Here we need to take a step back, reflect and answer the questions: “Are we delivering what the customer needs? Are we delivering the value?”, and if the answer is negative or vague, we need to dive deeper to understand what our customers really need and how can we provide value for them.
Value Stream mapping
We’ve defined the value, but how do we deliver it to the customer? Value stream mapping via visual tools helps us visualise the delivery path of value to the customer.
Value Stream mapping is a tool used by companies on their lean journey; a flow chart is used to document critical steps in the process.
Flow creation
Once the value is defined and the delivery path mapped, we need to create a ‘flow’ (one of the key concepts in the lean world). The main goal here is to ensure a seamless process from the moment the customer places the order to the final delivery of goods. By creating a flow, we identify the bottlenecks in the process that should be managed to ensure smooth delivery. In manufacturing, usually, the bottleneck is considered to be the slowest-running machine in the process of producing goods.
Pull System usage
After defining the workflow, we need to embrace the usage of the Pull System. The principle of the Pull System is to produce goods on demand, with the aim of avoiding overproduction, just in time.
Chasing perfection
“Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good.” ~ Vince Lombardi

– Wise words which predated the introduction of Lean Methodology, but are nonetheless applicable in the lean world. The main focus of this 5th principle is to keep improvement continuous, observe the processes, listen to customers’ needs, and remove waste as much as possible.

By following these five lean principles, we create a framework that helps us in establishing and maintaining an efficient and effective organisation, helping key departments within the company to recognise inefficiencies and deliver the best value to customers.

With a lean mindset, companies are maintaining competency in the market, decreasing the cost of business as usual and increasing profits.

Now you may ask yourself a question, what is the connection between Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing?

These two go hand in hand, but let’s first address the meaning of Industry 4.0.

INDUSTRY 4.0

What do we mean by Industry 4.0?

The 4th Industrial Revolution is happening at this very moment, as you are reading this article, involving smart technologies such as AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things). Machines are becoming smarter every second, more connected, improving our lives, and work, and helping us make better decisions. The 4th Industrial Revolution is using new technology to improve all aspects of our lives.

When we couple up Industry 4.0 with Lean Methodology, we are joining two powerful approaches toward process and operations optimisation.

Lean Methodology has its focus set on reducing waste and efficiency improvement, while Industry 4.0 is leveraging advanced technologies for smart systems.

These two powerful approaches can be connected in multiple ways and here are just some of them:

Process Optimization – identifying and eliminating inefficiencies in processes using sensors, data analytics, and real-time monitoring.
Making decisions based on data – using data generated through Industry 4.0 devices to make informed decisions, optimise processes, and enhance performance.
Continuous Improvement – real-time monitoring and feedback providing steady ground for quick implementation of improvements.
Smart Automation – automation being applied only where necessary to avoid waste and overcomplication of processes.
Quality Assurance/Control – Lean methodology is focused on delivering high-quality products and Industry 4.0 is providing real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance to ensure goods are delivered in accordance with or better than standard.
Customisation & Flexibility – Lean Methodology ensures, that with Industry 4.0 customisation of processes and products, efficiency remains without increasing complexity and waste.
Involvement of employees – “Clients will never love the company until employees love it first” and Lean Methodology holds in high regard employees’ input, whereas Industry 4.0 provide means for employees’ idea contribution to process improvements based on real-time data.
Optimisation of Supply Chains – Lean Methodology applies to the full supply chain and Industry 4.0 provides visibility and traceability in the supply chain.
Change Adoption – when combining the two, Lean Methodology and Industry 4.0, market shifts are approached with a great sense of agility.
Cultural Alignment – the two create a company culture that embraces innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

So, what is exactly Digital Lean?

DIGITAL LEAN

Digital Lean leverages the power of smart technologies to improve processes and maintain changes.

It merges intelligent methods of Lean reasoning towards the path of improvement of processes and production with smart technologies in the digital era.

Digital Lean brings many benefits to the play, such as faster work, less waste, improved quality, increased employee satisfaction, money and resources savings, swift solutions, flexibility in delivering change, growth, and continuous learning.

Digital Lean represents more than just a catchphrase in this new digital era. It represents a model of rationalised processes, increased quality, and strong adaptability.

Leading enterprises are now positioned to unleash not only cost savings and enhanced efficiency but also to expand in the areas of learning, company culture, and advancement.

Merging Lean Methodologies and Industry 4.0 redefines success in the age of digital manufacturing. Are you embracing the opportunities?

About ITI Consulting

ITI Consulting utilises our unique RAISE™ methodology to support clients to achieve their business goals with effective, appropriate digital solutions, realising maximum business value.

To learn more, visit ITI Consulting

Blog post by Sonja Rupar, Digital Transformation Analyst, ITI Consulting

Lights-Out Manufacturing: From Sci-Fi Fantasy to Today’s Smart Move

ITI Group — 23/06/2025

Nik Tankard, Head of Global Consulting at ITI Group, shares his straightforward, step-by-step approach to lights-out manufacturing.

For years, the idea of a lights-out factory – running 24/7 with minimal human oversight – sounded more science fiction than business strategy. But that’s no longer true. It’s accessible, scalable and already delivering real competitive advantage.

Companies that adopt advanced automation – including lights-out manufacturing – can boost productivity and throughput by up to 30%, according to McKinsey. Yet many still see lights-out as out of reach – something reserved for blue-chip giants or brand-new facilities. The reality is it’s a flexible, proven approach that delivers results, regardless of your size.

To help manufacturers separate fact from fiction and define their own path to lights-out, Nik Tankard, Head of Global Consulting at ITI Group, shares his straightforward, step-by-step approach.

What is Lights-Out Manufacturing?

At its core, lights-out refers to a manufacturing facility that operates autonomously without human intervention, enabled by industrial automation, robotics and digital systems. Other names include dark factories or autonomous production, but the idea is the same: machines handle everything from materials handling and production to inspection and even some decision-making.

Why Now?

Four converging factors make lights-out manufacturing more relevant – and more urgent – than ever:

1. Mature, proven technologies like robotics, cloud computing and vision systems

2. Ongoing labour challenges from an ageing workforce to rising employment costs and skills gaps

3. Relentless market demands for speed, quality, traceability and cost-competitiveness

4. Environmental and regulatory targets pushing for energy-efficient, low-waste and lower-emission operations

Debunking Lights-Out Myths

Several persistent myths hold manufacturers back from even considering lights-out as a strategic direction.

“It’s too expensive.”

That used to be true but today’s modular automation, cloud-based platforms and AI-as-a-service models mean businesses can implement incrementally. Costs have dropped, while ROI has improved.

“It only works for high-volume, low-mix production.”

Not anymore. Modern automation is far more flexible, with machine learning and adaptive systems capable of supporting high-mix, low-volume environments.

“Our operations are too complex.”

Complexity is exactly why technologies like digital twins and advanced analytics exist – to simplify oversight, orchestrate decisions and turn complexity into control.

The Tech Stack Behind It

Lights-out manufacturing is powered by technologies that many factories already use. If you’ve got live machine data, some automation or a connected ERP/MES system, you’re further along the journey than you might think.

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

Live machine data and remote connectivity are now the norm. SCADA and RFID networks link previously isolated machines to create a centralised site-wide – or even enterprise-wide – view. Historical data isn’t locked away anymore; it’s compared with real-time metrics to uncover trends, predict issues and improve decision-making.

Physical Automation

Repetitive, manual tasks like welding, pick-and-place and packing are now reliably handled by robots. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) transport materials where needed, while machine vision systems guide operations and catch defects before they become problems. The result is safer, faster, more consistent production.

Digital Twins

Digital replicas of machines, processes or entire plants enable real-time optimisation – from anywhere. Layer in live data and augmented reality (AR), and technicians no longer need to be on site to solve problems, they can guide interventions from a control room or other site entirely. It’s how a technician in Scotland can diagnose an issue in Cornwall without leaving their desk. Faster diagnostics. Fewer surprises. Smarter problem-solving.

MES and ERP Integration

This is where lights-out starts to scale. When your ERP, MES, SCADA and PLCs talk to each other, instructions flow seamlessly from customer order to finished product – no manual handoffs, no missed steps. Add EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) into the mix and you get responsive, data-driven supply chains that run with minimal friction across businesses and borders.

AI and Advanced Analytics

From yield optimisation and energy efficiency to predictive maintenance and inventory planning, AI is already at work on the factory floor. Manufacturers are using it to flag anomalies, adjust batch parameters on the fly and sharpen demand forecasts. More and more have realised AI is a powerful tool for reducing waste, cutting downtime and boosting performance.

Edge and Cloud Computing

Cloud-based systems provide scalable, secure, global access from anywhere, while edge computing handles local processing in real time. Together, they support decentralised teams, remote collaboration and agile decision-making – all critical to lights-out success.

The Journey to Lights-Out in Four Stages

This doesn’t happen overnight. Most manufacturers evolve through four strategic steps.

Stage 1: Connected Operations

The foundation is data visibility. That means collecting raw data from machines, cleaning it, contextualising it and making it actionable. This is where MES, historians and dashboards come into play.

Stage 2: Semi-Autonomous Cells

Think “islands of automation.” Robot palletisers, automated assembly lines or AGVs operating with some human input. This is often where manufacturers see their first big ROI.

Stage 3: Integrated Automation

Now comes orchestration. ERP feeds production plans into MES, which synchronises machines, resources and workflows. With AI optimising output in real time, the factory starts to think for itself.

Stage 4: Full Lights-Out Operations

Facilities that run 24/7 with remote monitoring and minimal human oversight. You may not need this level of autonomy today but with the right foundation, you can scale towards it on your terms.

Don’t Jump. Strategise

Unless you’re building a brand-new facility, this is an incremental journey. That’s why the most successful manufacturers take a strategic, phased approach.

Let’s be clear, lights-out doesn’t mean “people out.” It means moving people to higher-value roles like overseeing systems, interpreting data and driving continuous improvement. In our view, the future is human + machine, not human vs machine.

Start by evaluating your digital strategy. Are your investments aligned with where you want to be in five years? If not, pause. Reassess. Technology decisions made in isolation can become expensive dead ends.

Work with partners who understand the full stack – from ERP to edge – and who can align the right tech for your business goals. Choose platforms that can evolve as you do.

And most importantly, start small, but move fast. Prove the business case. Capture value early. Reinvest gains. Keep momentum.

The Payoff

The benefits are real and measurable:

Higher throughput without more headcount
Improved quality, precision and consistency
Reduced downtime, waste and energy use
Modular and adaptive operations
Lower emissions and better compliance
Greater resilience to labour and supply shocks

Examples like FANUC’s autonomous factory in Japan – where robots build robots – and Philip’s lights-out razor plant in the Netherlands show what’s possible. But you don’t need to rip and replace. If you’re gathering insights, experimenting with AI or running pilots, you’ve already started. The next step is to scale what works, connect your systems and move towards intelligent, autonomous production.

You can’t control labour shortages, rising costs or mounting competition, but you can take control of your factory’s future. Lights-out is how you build the resilience and agility to face whatever comes next.

The technology is ready. The value is proven. The pioneers are scaling. So, the real question is: what’s stopping you from starting your journey to lights-out?

Ready to take the next step?

Digitising your manufacturing processes can seem complex and disruptive – but it doesn’t have to be. ITI Group helps you define a practical, achievable roadmap to lights-out manufacturing.

With our Digital Readiness Assessment, you’ll gain upfront justification you need to drive investment in digital initiatives. Don’t delay digital – the right time is right now.

Let us guide you toward lights-out success:

Ready to take the next step?

Digitising your manufacturing processes can seem complex and disruptive – but it doesn’t have to be. ITI Group helps you define a practical, achievable roadmap to lights-out manufacturing.

With our Digital Readiness Assessment, you’ll gain upfront justification you need to drive investment in digital initiatives. Don’t delay digital – the right time is right now. Download the brochure today: https://www.itigroup.com/resources/digital-readiness-assessment-brochure/

Cimlogic awarded Gold standard certification for TrakSYS™ implementation and support

ITI Group — 03/01/2019

TrakSYS™, developed by Parsec Automation Corp, is a next-generation MES platform offering out-of-the-box functionality designed to provide the monitoring, measuring, reporting and analytics needed to run manufacturing operations more efficiently. Cimlogic, experts in driving manufacturing productivity, have been committed to the Parsec partner program for over 10 years, and are the sole UK integrator of TrakSYS™, designed and developed by Parsec.

Already a Parsec TrakSYS™ Gold Tier partner, Cimlogic have recently been awarded additional certification for outstanding TrakSYS™ solution delivery to customers. This additional certification acknowledges the company’s subject matter expertise in manufacturing operations (MES/MOM/Operations Management) as well as TrakSYS™ deployment credentials as recognised by Cimlogic’s customer satisfaction levels for completed TrakSYS™ implementations over the past 12 months.

The Parsec partner program ensures manufacturers worldwide have access to experts in the implementation and management of solutions based on TrakSYS™, its web-based manufacturing operations management software platform, and Gold Tier partners are regarded as the most experienced.

Cimlogic Expands Presence to North America to Support Increasing Global Manufacturing Client Base

ITI Group — 08/02/2021

Cimlogic, specialists in digital manufacturing solutions, are delighted to announce that they will be opening a new office in North America in March of this year.

The addition of a new location will significantly increase the availability of Cimlogic’s solutions and services across North America, serving existing and new clients in the Food and Beverage, Consumer Packaged Goods, Life Science, and innovative industries.

Cimlogic already have considerable international experience, with 400+ production system deployments across 18 countries, offering multi-language support across different time zones. This move highlights Cimlogic’s commitment to supporting their manufacturing clients on a global scale.

Richard Stone, Managing Director at Cimlogic, said of the news “2021 is going to be a very exciting year for Cimlogic as we prepare to launch our new office in North America. Cimlogic are delighted to expand our services to this market and look forward to helping more manufacturers become digital factories of the future! Cimlogic’s primary focus is to establish long-term trusted partnerships with our clients and provide maximum business value, and this expansion will enable Cimlogic to excel at this, whilst strengthening our position as experts in the field of Digital Manufacturing.”

Stay tuned as we release further information about this exciting news over the coming weeks.

To find out more please email enquiries@cimlogic.co.uk or call +44(0)1274 599955

Editors Notes - About Cimlogic

Cimlogic support blue-chip companies worldwide to maximise production capacity, improve quality and drive profit through innovative IIoT solutions. Cimlogic offer complete manufacturing improvement solutions and support to improve efficiency and maximise productivity, ensuring optimum performance and fast ROI. To learn more about Cimlogic and how we support our clients on their digital manufacturing journey please see https://www.cimlogic.co.uk/about-us/