· 9 min read
How to calculate line balancing
Takt time, people per operation, operator loading and balance efficiency: the line balancing calculation for a sewing line, step by step with worked numbers.
Blog
Writing on manufacturing, productivity and digital transformation
· 7 min read
How to calculate an operator's bonus
Bonus limit, bonus minutes, quality and operation coefficients: how to work out a garment operator's bonus step by step. Worked example from a 2022 paper.
· 8 min read
How to calculate sewing line efficiency
The formula, standard minutes, lost time and the profit threshold: work out your sewing line's efficiency with your own numbers. Examples from a 2022 paper.
· 10 min read
When will textiles need a digital product passport?
No date is set yet for digital product passports on textiles. What already applies in the EU, what is still pending, and who carries the obligation.
· 9 min read
What to ask in an MES software demo
An MES demo shows the vendor on their best day. Read advice written for sellers from the buyer's side and turn the demo into a test of your own factory.
· 9 min read
Where to start with a smart factory
A smart factory isn't built with one technology. Use acatech's six-stage Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index to see where your factory stands and find the first step.
· 12 min read
Four ways to be more ambitious with AI
Anthropic's Felix Rieseberg describes four ways to get more out of AI: speed, altitude, depth and range. With examples from the factory floor.
· 3 min read
We already have SAP. Why would we need MES?
ERP knows what should happen; MES knows what happens on the shop floor. How to digitalise production while SAP, Logo or Netsis stays in place.
· 5 min read
The cost of delaying digitalisation
Putting off digitalisation looks free, but the way you work today has a price too. How to see that price and work it out with your own numbers.
· 5 min read
Factory AI is only as good as its shop-floor data
The people building AI tools tie results to the setup around the model. In a factory, that setup starts with shop-floor data.
· 5 min read
Trusting AI in the factory: access, approval, logs
Could AI take a wrong action on the shop floor? Layered security principles written for software agents, and what they mean in production.