Finito as Factory Information System (FIS)

Nowadays production is under high pressure to decrease costs and increase efficiency. Initiatives like Lean Production and 6-Sigma are aiming to implement sustainable optimization measures. Those decisions are based on data instead of intuition and experience.

Data-based management decisions seem to be obvious but in a lot of companies the decisions are influenced by feelings and instinct.

A lot of decision-makers would make their decisions based on actual data; if that information was available. Mostly the data is not available, is hard to understand or evaluate.

In production are a lot of plant data like down times, rejects, errors, quality and information in shift protocols. This data is commonly available in a various number of different systems and programs - on paper and in machines and plants (machine log book, process control system, BDE system).

Data is available in different recording systems but not always accessible or properly stored and therefore not evaluable. Moreover, the systems are from different suppliers in various forms and technologies. In some departments in-house applications are installed to have at least a glimpse of production-based data. However, a data overview and an information flow is missing.

Shift reports and shift books are available on paper at production sites but a collection, distribution and evaluation of the data is impossible. A lot of information is collected but cannot be used for evaluation or decisions.