Industries
Industrial Machinery & Components
By
Sep 2, 2008, 09:48

Industrial manufacturers, whether durable goods, heavy equipment and machinery, or industrial machines and components, face expanded global competition and consolidation that continues to increase challenges while reducing profit margins, forcing manufacturers to develop global operations in order to subset increased prices for oil, natural gas, steel, and copper. Meanwhile, customers are demanding lower prices, higher quality, new features, and customized services. Customer reluctance to invest in new equipment has intensified the importance of aftermarket service.  Global environmental and safety standards, along with the need for complete connectivity between locations, continue to challenge manufacturers.  As such, industrial manufacturers  must shift their focus from innovation and cost-cutting tactics, to a customer-centric view focused on customer service, loyalty and high quality products.

To respond to these increased demands and maintain market share, manufacturers must learn to run lean. By removing any inefficiencies, from the shop floor to the extended supply chain,a lean manufacturing operation has become the new differentiator. Lean companies can best leverage supplier expertise to help design manufacturability into their products at a low cost. The challenge is to do all this while maintaining,or increasing, quality.

Today, smart companies know that to remain competitive, they need to keep inventories lean, lead times short and quality high, and maintain global visibility throughout their organization. And everywhere, industrial manufacturing companies are trying to figure out how to get the most out of their IT and people investments. With the manufacturing industry experiencing significant constraints on its bottom line, technology solutions that create efficiencies, improve enterprise visibility, and maximize existing investments are necessary for survival.

Pilgrim’s solutions provide manufacturers with the ability to: 

• Improve Lean Manufacturing Practices
• Reduce Costs
• Achieve and Maintain Compliance
• Improve Quality and Visibility

1. Improve Lean Manufacturing Processes
Manufacturers are expected to continually improve productivity within the organization while reducing waste and cutting costs. Increasingly challenging consumer demands translate to the need for more complex products with faster market introductions and lower prices. Complex engineering requirements and extensive production processes with numerous components make it essential that manufacturers utilize automated solutions to reduce labor costs and ensure product safety. 
 
Pilgrim’s solutions can increase productivity and reduce waste and inefficiencies by automating and managing efficient processes, from employee training and document management, to improved supply chain visibility and connectivity. Lean manufacturers benefit from the production of quality products through collaboration with experienced suppliers, while reducing production waste and costs.  Pilgrim’s solutions integrate to reduce waste, improve productivity, and provide real-time, global insight.

2. Reduce Costs
Effective management of documents, process changes, employee training records, and complaints is time-consuming and inflates administrative overhead costs. Automating quality processes reduces the amount of time necessary to maintain comprehensive, up-to-date records. Automation also facilitates compliance with industry and regulatory standards. Reducing the risk of noncompliance results in a reduction of the related high costs of fines, recalls, litigation, and poor marketplace reception.

Pilgrim’s solutions enable organizations to automate quality and compliance management processes. Notification capabilities, enhanced search abilities, and real-time access enhance organizational insight while reducing labor. Pilgrim’s integrated components further assist manufacturers and reduce costs by quickly detecting nonconformances, identifying root causes, and streamlining corrective and preventive action implementation.

3. Achieve and Maintain Compliance
ISO 9000, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, OSHA guidelines, global trade regulations, environmental safety standards, and various other industry regulations dictate production, safety, and quality standards. Compliance requires manufacturers to assure product quality, maintain production standards, create comprehensive audit trails, protect electronic documents, effectively address complaints, and quickly identify nonconformances and implement corrective actions. Noncompliance results in loss of certifications and potential fines, litigation, and damaged reputations.

Pilgrim’s integrated quality and compliance management solutions work together to provide insight into organizational productivity and identify potential risks. Streamlined audit processes enable manufacturers to guarantee supplier component quality, as well as their end product quality. Effective auditing identifies risks and prepares manufacturers for the unannounced third-party compliance investigations. Pilgrim’s solutions have built-in electronic document controls and security. Theses solutions make it easy for manufacturers to achieve and maintain compliance.

4. Improve Product Quality and Visibility across the Product Value Chain
Quality products are essential to an organization’s success. Product recalls are often widely publicized and negatively affect profitability. Quality products are a result of adhering to production standards and regular product inspections. When production quality drops, early identification of the issue and corrective actions are imperative to reducing the risk of defective products reaching the market.

Pilgrim’s solutions improve product quality. Automated processes enable employees to spend less time filling out and filing paperwork, and more time innovating product improvements. Auditing and CAPA solutions ensure that quality standards are being consistently maintained resulting in the steady production of compliant, quality products. Manufacturers who continually produce quality products benefit from a loyal consumer base and increased profitability.

Smart Results...

Pilgrim Software provides valuable Professional Services to help ensure that your compliance program is a complete success. Pilgrim's expert staff of consultants provides everything from project management to system customization to validation, and helps you minimize your risk and maximize your return on investment.

The Integrated Compliance Platform

Pilgrim Software provides an enterprise–wide solution for managing corrective and preventive actions, complaint handling, change control management, internal and external audits, document control, SOP enforcement, engineering collaboration, employee certification and training, equipment/calibration, supplier quality management, advanced quality planning and risk management. This powerful solution enables you to manage quality and compliance across your entire business, helping you meet regulatory requirements, increase efficiency and reduce costs.