Various types of video surveillance are improving countless aspects of our world, from security to shipping, childcare to medicine. Using a video system in manufacturing carries its own set of advantages that can improve productivity and profitability, built on the same concepts as in other applications. These are a few of the advantages that a well-designed web video system can provide for your manufacturing processes.
1- Early Detection of Production Errors
The most expensive time to discover a problem in any manufacturing process is after a run has been completed. Flawed products must be disposed of, often at considerable cost and even danger. Having to restart the production process can also delay delivery time and endanger contracts and future business with customers.
It is much more cost-effective to catch mistakes early in the process to minimize wasted time, materials, energy, and labor. Targeted video monitoring can help workers identify problems early on, reducing the cost of correcting them and getting the order back online with maximum quality.
2- Tracking Equipment Malfunctions
Mechanical equipment often shows signs of problems even as it continues to operate with no apparent issues. Because of the rapid repetition of movement, fast-paced production processes can quickly turn a malfunctioning component into a broken one.
Using a web video monitoring system allows faster detection of improper rotation, misaligned print heads, overheating components, and much more. With web-based video, footage can be shared with technicians or contractors working elsewhere to help diagnose the exact issue and make plans for repairs, minimizing downtime and reducing the risk of a larger and more disruptive breakdown.
3- Confirming Raw Material Issues
Your product is only as good as the inputs you purchase from suppliers. If they send you poor-quality materials for printing, no amount of work on your end will make the final product any better. Even a good QC program may not catch intermittent problems, causing you to ship a product that is not up to your standards. When your customers receive items that are defective at even a tiny percentage, your ability to maintain a business relationship with them is in danger. You need to do whatever you can to capture raw material problems.
This is where video monitoring can really earn its keep. By capturing so many views of the process, personnel can easily see when there are aberrations in the handling or production process that could indicate an issue with the raw materials in use. The sooner those red flags are raised, the sooner your team can stop the waste and take action to get quality materials back on the input side of the process.
Just as you wouldn’t manufacture your products by hand, you shouldn’t monitor your products and equipment with the human eye. A web video monitoring system will never blink and never look away, giving you a consistent picture – actually thousands of them – of what is going on in your manufacturing process. The result is stronger customer relationships, lower costs, and improved product quality.