Smartfactory, a modular, low-cost productivity monitoring system to impact SMMEs

Abstract

As a technology colony, South Africa has often had to rely on imported technologies to assist in the monitoring of production-floor statistics. This results in high costs in both procurement and support of such systems. Whilst this is the accepted norm for larger corporations, it is simply not feasible for the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) where usually a manual monitoring system is implemented. These manual systems have a number of disadvantages such as increased labour costs, a lack of objectivity and plain incorrect data entries. In aid of SMMEs, the Smartfactory system offers a low-cost modular monitoring solution capable of implementation in a step-by-step fashion with little training required in installation, maintenance and upgrades. The Smartfactory system can be used in many diverse manufacturing environments. This paper presents the background, development and implementation of the system and the experiences had with it so-far.