Imagine an industrial facility with dozens of video cameras that continually record and store video of plant operations … for weeks, if not months. If the cameras are strategically placed, they will capture a visual record of nearly everything that happens in the facility. When […]
Over the years, we’ve asked people if they love writing standard operating procedures (SOPs). Their answer is almost always NO !!! SOPs (AKA work instructions or written procedures) are the lifeblood of standard work and continuous improvement. How can something that basic to operational excellence be […]
Security video systems are promising tools to investigate value-added business processes and operations. The technology is mature and the potential benefits are manifest. However, it requires a new skills ecosystem that most organizations currently don’t have. This article lists six key areas of needed expertise. In previous […]
Industry has embraced continuous improvement for at least a century. Arguably, it started with Frederick Taylor and evolved to Six Sigma and beyond. There were many advances, and a few fads, in between. Still, Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) is a common refrain: But that’s hampered when […]
A New World of High Resolution Cameras We see footage from convenience store security cameras … usually in a police report or plea for citizen help … and the videos are colorless, grainy and lack detail to see the action clearly. It’s hard to imagine […]
Typical manufacturing and business operations involve a huge range of independent activities. One of the key differences between the various activities is the way in which they unfold over time … their speed and timing. Sad to say, our traditional operations management tools do a […]
Factories need time machines! It would be really cool if a quality manager could go back in time and watch how (ultimately) defective units were made … their actual journey through production. It might help the maintenance engineer to watch a (later broken) machine as it started […]
As previous posts have argued, I believe that manufacturing and logistics operations are grossly under-utilizing video technology in their operations. I believe there are many easy wins if you apply standard video surveillance technology to manufacturing and logistics processes. However, as I watch the growing […]
For 20+ years I have heard objections to the use of video surveillance technology to routinely view and record factory (and warehouse) operations. Setting aside the fact that every facility routinely records security video, it is common to hear that “cameras are not allowed” or […]
A new concept in manufacturing is the prospect of “Industry 4.0”. It’s a factory where the new technologies (automation, digital communication, Internet of Things, cloud, etc) are integrated into a complete production system. The following YouTube video from Siemens makes it seem pretty real. What […]
Using Video in Business Everyone is familiar with one or two ways to make and use video, if not in business … then in their personal lives. Actually, you probably know far more ways to use video in your personal life than you do with your […]
When most manufacturing companies, indeed most companies of any type, think about “video surveillance”, they automatically think about security, theft and personnel monitoring. Then, they buy security systems and video surveillance systems to collect massive quantities of video like the following examples. Feel free to watch an entire […]
