Eng-Tips Whitepaper Library » Manufacturing

Best Practices for Managing Just-in-Time (JIT) Production

Focus Enterprise — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:03:07 +0000

Learn the 7 best practices for making Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing work in this complimentary white paper.

How can your manufacturing business get more efficient AND avoid decision failures? Focus Experts detail their top tips for the JIT manufacturing strategy in this Best Practices report. Many businesses have used this model to improve ROI with reduced inventory and the associated carrying costs.

These tips will help you:

* Avoid the “deer-in-the-headlights” syndrome
* Achieve the right organizational structure for this approach
* The importance of the right information systems

>> Download Your Complimentary Guide Now!

ERP: Uniting Manufacturing and Inventory in Lean Times

Focus Enterprise — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:42:05 +0000

Tough times call for greater efficiencies. But is ERP your best weapon to achieve leaner production and inventory?

Find the answer in the free guide from Focus Research, ERP: Uniting Manufacturing and Inventory in Lean Times. You’ll also receive our 40-page ERP Buyer’s Guide to help you select the best partner for your business, with our compliments.

Download your FREE Brief and Buyer’s Guide and feed our analysis into your recommendations

* How ERP delivers production efficiencies
* How a smart ERP system improves the entire organization
* Which ERP solutions play well with manufacturers

>> Download whitepaper

What Does a Successful Manufacturing ERP System Look Like?

Focus Enterprise — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:28:30 +0000

It’s only human to feel overwhelmed by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. They reach into every corner of your business — from Shop Floor Control to Human Resources. Take a deep breath, download your FREE copy of Essential Features of Manufacturing ERP Software and follow the advice of ERP expert Scott Priestley. As a bonus, receive the Midmarket/Enterprise ERP Solutions Comparison Guide for all the data you need to evaluate vendors.

Download your FREE Focus research and see how ERP folds into your business:

Which five key functions deserve your focus
How the ERP system functions as a whole
Where to deliver the most value from your investment

>> Download your free copy today!

Midmarket ERP Solutions Buyer’s Guide

Inside-ERP — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:26:27 +0000

Until recently, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions were considered out of the question for all but the largest companies, due to the technology’s complexity and large price tags. However, these days, midmarket companies have more choices than ever when it comes to ERP solutions. This Buyer’s Guide can help you answer the big (and small) questions so you can make an informed buying decision.

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Manufacturing Resource Planning: The Players

Focus Enterprise — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:00:54 +0000

Evaluate the Right ERP Solutions for Manufacturers with these FREE Guides

As a manufacturer assessing ERP solutions, it’s critical to consider solutions specifically built for manufacturing applications. This FREE MRP Vendor Landscape gets you started with the players to consider and industries they serve. Learn more

Bonus: We’ve also included the 2011 Focus Experts’ Guide to Enterprise Resource Planning to cover all stages of the buying process. From understanding the market and assessing your needs to choosing a vendor, this guide has you covered.

Download these FREE guides to:

Survey the top MRP products
Assess your business needs
Choose an appropriate MRP solution

>> Get Your Free Guides Now!

10 Strategies for Choosing a Midmarket ERP Solution

Inside-ERP — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:00:02 +0000

These days, midsized companies looking to implement an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system have more options than ever, as big-name vendors move in to a space previously occupied by smaller vendors. But this does not necessarily mean that going with a big-name vendor will give your business the features it needs at a price that it can afford. Before you begin researching your ERP options, take a look at 10 strategies that can help shape your decision so that you make the right call.

This white paper addresses topics such as:
- SaaS vs. on premise deployments
- Open-source options
- Choosing an ERP solution specific to your industry

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2011 Trends Report: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Focus Enterprise — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:45:53 +0000

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) automates many aspects of an organization’s operations, cascading across traditional boundaries of operations, finance, manufacturing and more. As such, changes in the ERP market can cause a ripple effect in your business.

In this guide, Focus Experts share eight of their 2011 predictions for ERP, so you can plan around changing tides and trends.

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2011 Inside-ERP MRP Comparison Guide

Inside-ERP — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:53:45 +0000

Compare the Top 13 MRP Products Side by Side

Up to date and down to details, see how the top MRP solutions stack up with this FREE guide. Take a look beyond the product types and prices for the company financials, funding and partners insights you need before you buy.

You’ll get:

* Side by Side assessment of the latest MRP solutions
* The basics on pricing, product types and environment
* Highlights on How to Buy the right solution for your business
* And much more

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Designing Drives for a Competitive Edge

Gates Corporation — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:02:47 +0000

Standard engineering practice for the equipment you design may call for a roller chain or gear drives. Replicating these solutions feels safe. On the other hand, design changes pose risk and expense. So where do you find solutions that minimize risk and cost while offering a marketable advantage? The answer lies in drive conversions already made by industrial customers who are using your equipment or machinery.

In addition to reviewing your drive design options, this white paper includes two case studies demonstrating how replacing older technologies with synchronous belt drives gave manufacturing facilities an edge in the market. Read how one bottling facility saved $330,000 per year by converting chain to Gates Poly Chain® GT® Carbon® belt drive systems. The belts don’t stretch, require no lubrication, have less wear and last longer.

Field experience is the true test of a drive system. When high maintenance or frequent replacement of drive components becomes the norm, it is time to reassess your drive design.

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Who’s Using Self-Encrypting Disk Drives?

Full cycle stochastic analysis of composite structures under buckling loads. Design & manufacturing scatter

Simulia — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:48:53 +0000

Structures in general are subject to uncertainty due to manufacturing, assembly, environment of work, loads, etc… This scatter more specifically is associated for example to tolerances of thickness, position, waviness, etc, material mechanical properties distribution, layup alignment axes. All these deviations can be taken into account with stochastic analysis to reduce the total cost of the project considering all the phases of product life (manufacturing, assembly, maintainability…) and make a global robust design.

The problem of optimization of composites structures can be addressed in spite of high number of design variables (angles, thickness, lay-up…), failure modes (buckling, strains, cohesive material…), and taking into account the previously mentioned scatter by means of iSight and Abaqus.

Analyses about the tolerances influence (material mechanical properties, thickness, waviness, layup alignment axes…) in the critical buckling results of a stiffened curved composite panel have been developed.

The tolerances whose values, in spite of complying with the aeronautical industry current design criteria, generate significant changes in the critical results are identified. On the other hand, the tolerances with very low influences in the critical failure modes are obtained, making possible therefore a cost reduction.

The use of these technologies allows finding improved structures, without an increase of manufacturing non conformities associated with highly optimized structures, and with similar analysis times.

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