Engineering data management as a competitive advantage

Data management

Day by day, textile companies are gaining easier access to technologies available on the market—tools that are leveling the playing field and creating an increasingly competitive landscape.

In this regard, details make all the difference in how a company can stand out from the rest. Managing production engineering data is a tool that has proven capable of creating a massive competitive advantage. 

The complexity of the textile industry generates thousands of engineering data points, which must be collected accurately to correctly mirror the production chain. The quality and availability of this data are decisive for the success of production planning, cost analysis, product feasibility studies, and, above all, for the company's strategic decision-making. The higher the quality and availability of this data, the greater the competitive advantage. 

Security, Quality, and Availability

In most companies, this data is scattered across different levels of security, quality, and availability. It may be found:  

• In employee knowledge: It is often the employee who holds unique expertise on how an item can be produced. Their experience leads them to discover optimized production methods that are not recorded anywhere within the company. Equipment settings, process definitions, raw material quantities—in short, a universe of possibilities. This data, based on people's knowledge, is extremely volatile, as it is tied to that person's availability to the company, and their absence can cause setbacks in the production process and significant financial losses.  
• In routine notes: in notebooks, markings on control boards, or handwritten citations inside manuals. This data may contain important information such as actual machine settings, additional controls, solutions to problems, action checklists, and more. However, it is also difficult to access and search, generally restricted to a group of people who happen to know of its existence.  
• In static information technology: these are technical specifications entered into spreadsheets, computerized documents, or departmental systems. Commonly, this way of managing engineering data provides a false sense of security to the company, which may believe that because data is recorded on its computers, the information is safe. But reality reflects otherwise, as spreadsheets and documents accept anything written into them, meaning data can be altered without validation, constantly becomes outdated due to difficult maintenance, and is easily lost within computers since it is not interconnected. 
• In ERP/MRP systems: these are data registered in complex industrial systems that control all or a large part of the company's production system. Yet, most still face significant shortcomings in availability to accurately serve the entire production system, especially in diverse sectors such as controlling, cost analysis, sales, and marketing. ERP/MRP systems that serve dozens of market niches are generally restricted to maintaining basic information about product composition, the quantity required for each item, and production time, failing to account for the details held in people's expertise, handwritten notes, or spreadsheets—and these are precisely the data points that contain the relevant and specific details of each company's production process.

ERP/MRP systems and integrated business mapping

Specialized enterprise and production resource planning (ERP/MRP) systems have proven to be a solution for more efficient management of production engineering data in the textile industry. They allow for customized control and integration of all stages of the production process, from planning to final product delivery. By using these tools, companies can optimize their production, reduce costs, and increase their market competitiveness.  

Recognizing, classifying, collecting, making available, and keeping engineering data updated, integrated, and accessible are the challenges companies must overcome. Efficiency in production data management is a crucial aspect of industry success, with all its particularities. Through process engineering, it is possible to optimize the collection, storage, and maintenance of this data, ensuring a more efficient and profitable operation. 

Thank you.