Bentley benefits from production analysis software

With each Bentley vehicle handcrafted by specialist artisans to the customers specification, combined with Bentleys exacting manufacturing standards, production at Pyms Lane is painstaking, making control of the required processes highly complex. Each component and sub-assembly is checked for quality at every stage of production and Bentleys management team is constantly seeking improvements to the assembly operations by analysing its processes to enhance performance.

Continuous improvement
It was this drive for continuous improvement that led Bentley to commission Autotech, the control systems specialist based in Luton, to design a software solution that would enhance the visibility of the shop floor at Pyms Lane. Autotech, which had installed the electrical and automation control systems for the Bentley car assembly line some years earlier, designed and built FactoryMonitor, its production analysis computer software system. Although the software suite was created specifically for Bentley, FactoryMonitor has since been developed to handle a wide range of production management issues for various other clients. Using FactoryMonitor, Bentley soon found that improvements in overall quality and efficiency could be achieved by smoothing out operations in several allied sections of the production line.

Empowering management
FactoryMonitor extracts and compiles a mass of data from the shop floor, presenting it in user-friendly graphical formats in real time. The system allows management to get an instant overview of performance, with any problem areas clearly identified, yet also provides the ability to drill down into the data to scrutinise any specific area in detail. By recording and analysing data on every process at every workstation, FactoryMonitor empowers management to maximise and reward productive areas, while directing management focus and resources to those areas that need improvement.

Highly configurable
Autotechs FactoryMonitor software suite features out-of-the-box integration with shop floor manufacturing systems. The highly configurable reporting interface is suited to all discrete and batch-process labour-intensive production operations. The software provides both live and historical facility performance data, that can either be viewed via an intranet or e-mailed to key individuals. All captured detail is available on a myriad of screen options and printable reports, which can be analysed by factors such as date, time, trend, workstation and shift pattern.