Extracting Greater Value from Paperless Manufacturing · Extracting Greater Value from Paperless Manufacturing paperless operations can have a profound impact on the cost of quality

Extracting Greater Value from Paperless Manufacturing

JUNE 2016

2 Extracting Greater Value from Paperless Manufacturing

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ....................................................................................... 3 What is Paperless Manufacturing?................................................................. 4

Lowering Cost of Quality ........................................................................................... 4 Accelerating New Product Introduction ..................................................................... 5 Removing Barriers to Innovation ............................................................................... 6 Expanding Continuous Process Improvement .......................................................... 7 It's All About Time and Precision............................................................................... 7

Bring it All Together on a Global Scale .......................................................... 8 The Global Paperless Environment................................................................ 9 The Plan ...................................................................................................... 10 Follow by Example ....................................................................................... 10 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 11 About Apriso Solutions ................................................................................. 12 About Dassault Systèmes & DELMIA .......................................................... 12

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. © 2016 Apriso Corporation, a Dassault Systèmes company

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Executive Summary It is no secret that the role of paper is rapidly diminishing in our lives. The book, newspaper

and magazine industries are obvious examples, now being replaced by the tablet and e-book

industries. More accurately, the cost of working in a paper-based environment

is likely driving more of the change, quickly making paper obsolete. See Call

Out Box 1 for examples of how expensive working with paper can really be. 1

These cost pressures also impact manufacturing operations. Information-

driven, digital ecosystems now drive modern manufacturers. The reason is

simply that information can be more readily, accurately and effectively

aggregated, cleansed, distributed and used across the global enterprise when

it is digital or electronic, leading to improved decision support, customer

satisfaction and operational performance.

Paper is not the problem. Instead, it is the embodiment of ineffective

knowledge management and disbursement. Today’s global economy moves at

light speed – or at least at the speed of email, Twitter or Instagram. Those

organizations that can’t adapt quickly are prevented from participating in

today’s fast-moving and interconnected digital economy. What results is a loss

of industry leadership, market share and profitability.

Today, most companies are aware of the broader paperless evolution – the

challenge is how to effectively participate in this change without breaking the

bank. And, in identifying the best approach, solutions and strategy to effectively

balance today’s needs with tomorrow’s evolved performance requirements,

and to do so on a global scale.

This white paper addresses these concerns by reviewing five important factors

that offer the greatest benefit of going “paperless.” Discussion will explore how

to maximize these benefits on a global scale while minimizing the disruption to

current operations – offering a potential road map to justify enterprise-wide

deployment. Paperless manufacturing is now a requirement to operate on a global scale. This

white paper presents a case for why the time is now, accompanied with the selection criterion

that should be evaluated as part of this important decision process.

1 “Shocking Paper Statistics You Probably Did Not Know About and Why it’s Costing you Money” by

Jonathan Govette at ReferralMD; https://getreferralmd.com/2011/09/referral-management-tracking-software/

Working with Paper is Expensive!

• The average document is copied 9 to 11 times • The average time to retrieve and re-file a paper

document is 10 minutes • 50% of all projects are behind schedule • 60% of employee time is spent working with

documents • Each four-drawer file cabinet holds about 10,000

to 12,000 documents and takes up to 9 square feet of floor space, costing about $1,500 per year

• Every twelve filing cabinets requires an additional employee to maintain

• Each misfiled document costs $125 • Large organizations lose a document every twelve

seconds • More than 70% of today's businesses would fail

within three weeks if they suffered a catastrophic loss of paper-based records due to fire or flood

• Managers spend an average of 4 weeks a year searching for or waiting on misfiled, mislabeled, untracked or lost documents

• 15% of an organizations' revenue is spent creating, managing and distributing documents

• Filing costs average about $20.00 per document • Paper in the average business grows 22% per

year, meaning your paper usage will double in 3.3 years

• A typical employee spends 30% to 40% of their time looking for information locked in emails, documents, shared hard disks and filing cabinets

• At $30 per hour, knowledge workers waste $4,500 per year working with paper

• The average office worker makes 61 trips per week to the fax machine, copier and printer

• It costs about $25,000 to fill a four-drawer filing cabinet and over $2,100 per year to maintain it

Call Out Box 1: The high cost of paper.

https://getreferralmd.com/2011/09/referral-management-tracking-software/

https://getreferralmd.com/2011/09/referral-management-tracking-software/


What is Paperless Manufacturing? True paperless operations solely rely on automated data capture, such as from scanners or

touch screens. Information is then displayed on traditional desktop display units, industrial-

hardened screens in the plant, large wall-mounted displays or mobile devices (smart phones,

tablets, etc.). But it also entails direct connections between systems to avoid additional

handling and re-entry of data, which provides seamless continuation of the paperless

environment across corporate functions, departments and locations – and out across the

supply chain. A paperless strategy cannot be effectively implemented as an “add-on” to

existing applications or systems that were originally designed for a paper-supported

environment. You need a native-paperless infrastructure and platform.

Any move toward paperless digital operation offers a potential benefit, but the effect is severely

limited when the paperless operation is locally optimized – islands of efficiency is the best

outcome. Scanning production data into the system saves time and reduces errors (“paper on

glass”), but the benefits are limited if the worker is scanning from paper shop packets that have

to be printed, distributed and controlled. How much good is there if the scanned data is printed

out in the accounting department for edit and verification?

A paperless initiative, in order to be truly effective and beneficial, should be systematic and

comprehensive, based on a platform and infrastructure that natively support the devices and

connections needed for success. The reason why architecture is so important is based on the

need for clean, accurate data. As the expression GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) goes, your

intelligence will only be as good as the data input. Platform-based paperless solutions offer

faster response times by the simple fact that data has already been normalized and unified,

creating a common infrastructure for consistent decision support and optimized paperless

performance.

Now let’s take a look at some of the potential benefits of expanding your paperless initiatives,

which will then offer insights as to how to best justify the investment of time, effort and

resources to proceed forward with your paperless transformation.

Lowering Cost of Quality Everyone wants higher quality. The challenge is delivering quality cost effectively. The market

ultimately dictates what an acceptable level of quality is, and what isn’t. In a competitive

industry, the “minimum” level will steadily increase, so unless your quality is progressively

improving, you are actually falling behind!

Interestingly, quality is highly dependent upon accurate and timely information. Not only is pure

data important, the timely access to that data is equally critical. If a manufacturer can quickly

identify an “out-of-spec” event or shipment, considerable cost savings can be captured by

quarantining the materials for further review, discard or return to suppliers. Here is where


paperless operations can have a profound impact on the cost of quality. Automated responses,

triggered from statistically valid testing can be done without human involvement, offering a

highly effective process for quality management and execution.

A well-designed paperless system will provide the structure to meet this need. Direct

connection to plant-floor intelligent devices (SCADA and smart measurement systems)

supports the archiving, analysis and distribution of production data, parametric measurements

and other quality information for process control, process improvement studies, and for

permanent documentation in support of effective customer interactions and (hopefully)

improved future customer satisfaction.

Accelerating New Product Introduction Paperless is not just about data collection and handling. It’s also about the distribution of

information and instructions from product design or engineering to the plant floor, suppliers,

partners and others. As new product launches are planned, design, labeling, packaging and

other changes are inevitable. Those manufacturers operating on a global scale face even

greater rigor when country variants, tastes or regulations must also be taken into account.

Production schedules and priorities (work lists), work

instructions, specs, drawings, videos, and photos are best

distributed electronically, directly to the workstations where

they are needed, if this information either frequently changes,

or if version control is critical. Paper documents can get lost

and damaged. They are not as easily shared without making

additional copies (that can add to confusion) and are difficult to

synchronize with ongoing design or engineering change

activity.

Version control is one of the biggest advantages of electronic document control and

distribution. When a plant floor worker (or anyone else, for that matter) accesses a

specification, drawing or other documentation, if the delivery system is digital or paperless,

then it will be the current revision, unless there is a reason for using an older version. If the

document is printed on paper, older versions are likely to be in existence and could be

accessed inadvertently. New versions and revisions can be communicated immediately in the

electronic form, without the delays inherent in duplication and distribution of paper documents

along with the collection and disposal of obsolete versions.

In order to be completely paperless, engineering and design documents should be created and

managed electronically, and coordinated with production and scheduling without passing

through a paper stage in between. In other words, a company’s paperless infrastructure must

span the enterprise and support the entire document life cycle across all functional areas of the

company.


A manufacturer that has achieved true paperless integration between engineering design and

manufacturing execution is well positioned to handle frequent design, engineering or

operational changes that are typically part of new product introductions. In the end, this

paperless connection can help to achieve a smoother launch, as evidenced by greater

customer satisfaction, higher sales and less likely of a chance to suffer any brand “damage” or

quality issues during the launch.

Removing Barriers to Innovation Improving operational productivity has been a hallmark of nearly every manufacturer’s

operations strategy for the past century. “Make more, with less” are words that have been

embraced with vigor and attention. Embracing and nurturing the innovation process leading up

to new product introduction is as important as the goals of new product introductions such as

keeping the company’s products viable, increasing profits and ensuring market leadership.

Obviously, there are many factors that contribute to innovation, ultimately deciding which new

products will achieve greater market success. The cost of blocked innovation, however, is a

more difficult metric to understand. Here the focus is more on how to simplify the “ideation”

process that drives innovation. How easily can an idea for a new product be shared and

collaboration achieved? What systems and processes are available to help further encourage

this type of activity?

Paperless systems offer far greater ease of sharing or collaboration, which is a critical part of

most modern supply chains and manufacturing enterprise operations. Collaboration is built on

shared information and processes that support multiple user interaction. Your paperless

environment provides the data platform and access control while enabling participants to work

with the data, coordinate inputs and revisions, share marked-up documents, and maintain a

history of activities. This concept applies to collaboration between departments and functions

within the organization as well as with partners outside the company and around the world – all

potential sources for future innovation.

Some might argue that this is a “soft” benefit of embracing a truly global enterprise paperless

strategy, but it shouldn’t be simply overlooked. Nurturing an environment whereby ideas can

be easily shared, data can be easily accessed and conclusions can be easily obtained can

create a powerful culture, one that breeds creativity and quick responses to new market

opportunities and innovative new product launches. And, once again, the importance of a

platform-based approach to paperless manufacturing – including one that can support shared

collaboration across multiple functions, sites and operations – will deliver more value overtime

when compared to attempting to “piece-meal” together a collection of applications that don’t

seamlessly work together as an aggregate solution.


Expanding Continuous Process Improvement Virtually all modern manufacturing methods and continuous improvement initiatives include a

high reliance on data, while at the same time emphasizing a reduction in non-value added

activities like measuring, reporting and handling paper. This dilemma can be solved by

automated data collection and integrated systems that collect, distribute, manage and analyze

the data with as little human intervention (and paper) as possible.

Take Lean manufacturing or Just-in-Time / Just-in-Sequence programs. These approaches are

built around the elimination of non-value activities – which they define as waste. Companies

set up lines and cells for continuous production and one piece flow, reducing Work in Process

(WIP) inventory to speed up work flow. Anything that might inhibit the efficiency of processes

or that take operators’ time and attention away from the task at hand are to be avoided.

The challenge is that change is disruptive, creating a paradox. The only way continuous

process improvement yields results is with change, but any change has the potential to hurt

productivity. This challenge can create situations where process improvements fail a month

after Lean specialists or Six Sigma black belts leave, as operators fall back to their “old”

routines.

A paperless solution that is broad in scope can address this challenge through “directed”

manufacturing. If manufacturing processes are managed through a central architecture, then a

process improvement can simply be executed “behind the scenes,” with operators unaware of

the change. This approach removes an important psychological barrier to change. At the same

time, this strategy ensures continued enforcement of process improvements while expanding

the scope of what future enhancements could even be considered.

It's All About Time and Precision In some industries, electronic records are required by government regulation, corporate

policies or contractual agreements with customers, such as the Department of Defense (DoD).

In these cases, there must be clear, auditable traceability and control of those records as well

as the products being made and moved. Beyond the electronic capture of this information, its

continued handling, exchange, updating, storage, and access must be systemic, controlled

and auditable. Integrated paperless systems built on a suitable platform-based architecture will

perform best and offer a far wider scope of compliance adherence.

Traceability and provenance are a natural outgrowth of enhanced data collection and

management. And because the purpose-built paperless system is designed to include supply

chain partners, traceability can extend from farm-to-table or from the mine to the landfill – for

the full history of the product and its components and materials. Quality measurements and

production data, tied to batch / lot / serial numbers and date / time / location of production

provide a vital link in the chain of traceability. This data is critical in today’s world for food and

drugs, of course, but also in many other industries for warranty tracking, supplier and material


content documentation, quality improvement work, and product reliability and maintainability

improvement. And certainly, in support of product recalls, to ensure just the impacted products

are actually recalled – and no others, reducing the cost of compliance and quality.

In the unfortunate event of a product recall, a broad, paperless traceability solution can save

millions of dollars, if the scope of the recall can be more narrowly defined to therefore impact

fewer finished goods. One Apriso customer that is an automotive supplier had such an event,

which occurred about three months after their solution went live. The cost savings from this

single recall event paid for the entire implementation, resulting in a Return on Investment that

was achieved in just three months!

Information is truly the source of power in a recall situation, critical to limiting the extent of the

recall to only those products directly affected by the contamination, flaw of failure. And knowing

exactly where every quantity of every batch is located at any given time is the ultimate lever for

limiting impact and ensuring fast, total control of the situation. In the absence of detailed

records, additional quantities of the product must be recalled to ensure that all potentially

affected batches are included. Online integrated records tying each product to plant / date and

time of manufacture / equipment and operator, to specifications and measurements of parts

and materials (by batch / purchase order / supplier (the finer the granularity the better) and

back are the key to quick response and the best possible outcome.

Bring it All Together on a Global Scale There are many obvious benefits to embracing a paperless strategy, which have been touched

upon already in this paper. The cost savings and performance improvement from any one of

the operational benefits could justify an investment in a paperless strategy, implemented on a

plant-by-plant basis. But, that approach would be short sighted, leaving significant potential

benefits on the table, which could be captured for nominal incremental cost. See Chart 1.

Some of the ways a global strategy differs from a plant-by-plant approach includes:

Collaboration – the easier it is for workers to share ideas, alert for potential

disruptions or simply comment on best practices, the greater potential that these

actions will be embraced by more sites. The end result will be directly correlated to

how well communications occur across your entire enterprise, offering the potential to

greatly improve productivity at not only a single site or shop floor, but across every

site across the global enterprise.

Continuous Improvement – if a process improvement yields a 5% higher output rate

with fixed capital expenditures at a single site, then the potential to improve output by

5% across all operations clearly provides a strong rationale to expand that process

improvement; a global, platform-based paperless implementation capable of sharing

best practices and readily implementing process improvement across sites has the


potential to truly improve operational performance, and even the competitive

hierarchy of the market where you operate.

Traceability – is only as strong as its weakest link. If a product recall must be

implemented, Work in Process between sites may be missed with plant-based

solutions; updates may also be delayed when trying to manage paperless operations

on a site-by-site basis. Centrally managed, global solutions can implement

quarantines instantly, across all sites and operations, for significantly improved

operational excellence.

The Global Paperless Environment It should be clear by now that a truly complete and effective digital / paperless initiative has the

potential to effectively streamline business processes and operational performance. The added

benefit of “going global” with a paperless initiative offers benefits that can compound upon

each other, offering the potential to truly disrupt your business model and competitive

environment, provided the right architecture and deployment strategy is adhered to.

Best-in-Class performance dictates the selection of an appropriate platform and infrastructure

as part of a paperless strategy. This approach would be one that is inherently (natively)

paperless and facilitates cross-functional and cross-system integration within the company,

within the plants and warehouses across the enterprise, and with suppliers, customers,

contract manufacturers, and supply chain partners around the globe.

Chart 1: Above chart shows theoretical benefits of deploying a global paperless strategy, based on average costs and benefits from a 10+ site deployment.


Most companies already have major pieces of the puzzle in place – ERP, MES, CRM, PLM –

so have paperless success in isolated areas. In order to move forward, a concern might be the

perception that existing systems need replacement with great expense and disruption. In most

cases, this scenario is unlikely. If existing systems are up-to-date and include paperless digital

capabilities, they can be part of your digital infrastructure and become full participants of the

integrated pervasive information environment necessary for future manufacturing success.

The Plan Building on the existing paperless functions within your existing enterprise systems (ERP,

MES, CRM, PLM, etc.), is the first step to envision a plan; the next step is to select an

integration platform that can effectively bring all functions together. This new platform must be

paperless by design, and equipped to integrate with paperless processes in the plant,

warehouse, and supply chain including but not limited to labor data, inventory movement,

quality (specifications, test plans, measurements, data), schedules, electronic Kanban and

replenishment signals, and ability to collaborate.

The platform must be capable of handling electronic work instructions, engineering documents,

electronic manufacturing records, global trace and track, part and product genealogy, serial

number tracking (end-to-end) with as-built configuration archiving, and support for regulatory

requirements for electronic documentation and record keeping in your industry.

You’ll also want to deal with a platform supplier that offers services to help configure and

implement the system and one with the capabilities and experience to help integrate their

platform with your existing ERP, CRM and other installed systems.

The next step is to install the platform, then integrate it with existing paperless systems. Next

on the list is implementation of new paperless processes in a logical and systematic

succession. Your platform partner should be able to help you put together a plan and

schedule. Continue this expansion of paperless processes until your entire enterprise and as

many of your suppliers and customers as possible are on board.

Follow by Example These companies and many more have seen the benefits of paperless operations, realizing

that the added control, visibility, and efficiencies derive from a systematic and comprehensive

multi-site or global approach. Piecemeal paperless “islands of efficiency” offer reasonable

return-on-investment through the elimination of paper and improved data accuracy and

management at a local level. But the benefits are multiplied tenfold when paperless is built into

the company’s operational DNA. Paperless operation must be global, comprehensive, and

seamless, and that requires a natively paperless infrastructure that ties people and processes

together throughout the enterprise and the supply chain.

“The arrival of our

Apriso solution has

significantly changed

the ways of working

teams. Not only the

system, fully

computerized, ended

the use of paper

documents, but it has

also made use of

French terminology

throughout the

production process as

possible. Every effort

invested in the

development of our

Apriso solution allowed

Bombardier to reap

great rewards”

John Ciaralli Director, Information Technology at Bombardier Aerospace


Conclusion Access to timely, accurate data is now a necessary part of the infrastructure supporting the

effective implementation of manufacturing best practices, including the continuous process

improvement programs that will ensure competitive viability and performance can be

maintained today and tomorrow. Electronic records are increasingly required to operate in the

globally and digitally connected world that is now a reality. These records can offer

considerably improved performance, enhanced customer satisfaction, or might even be

contractually required by customers, or legally required in some industries.

Having all parts of the enterprise, including remote locations and connected trading partners,

draw timely, consolidated and controlled information from centralized database as needed,

when needed, insures everyone is working with only the latest and best information. And, that

there will be no issues of whose information is more current or more correct. A flexible,

responsive and efficient change control process improves a company’s ability both to compete

and to automatically comply with regulatory requirements.

This paper has presented some of the potential benefits of moving from a paper-based to an

electronic, paperless manufacturing operations management strategy, which include:

• Improved quality – By minimizing errors and maximizing the ability to identify and

introduce changes earlier in the process, you reduce manufacturing issues and raise

the overall product quality across the product lifecycle, all done for a lower cost with

less waste.

• Reduced time-to-market for new products – By eliminating time-consuming

manual tasks reduces product development cycle time while simplifying engineering

change orders and ensuring the right design is ultimately executed in the product.

• Increased innovation – By reducing the change-related administrative workload, you

provide more engineering time to develop innovative products.

• Improved performance from continuous improvement – By allowing employees to

focus on executing processes as directed, with seamless integration and access to

the latest design process, process improvement performance can be achieved.

• Automated adherence to compliance and traceability – An electronic process

provides automated tracking and linking to ensure better audit results and greater

accuracy when managing product recalls or implementing traceability requirements.

Each of these benefits is possible with implementation of a paperless strategy. The scope of

influence on performance improvement is dependent upon the approach that is taken. A

global, enterprise-wide strategy can offer benefits that far exceed the additional cost, offering a

return on investment that could literally be achieved in months after the initial sites go live.


About Apriso Solutions Since 1993, some of the world’s largest and most successful manufacturers have leveraged

Apriso software and services solutions to ease the challenges of global manufacturing

operations management. With Apriso, manufacturers can improve organizational agility so as

to adapt more quickly and effectively to change. This agility enables firms to take advantage of

new market opportunities by delivering the right product at the right time for the lowest total

cost. Manufacturers choose Apriso to help manage today’s manufacturing transformation of

thinking global while acting local.

Apriso software solutions have won numerous awards and accolades for their ability to tightly

synchronize global manufacturing operations and supply chain networks to deliver real-time

visibility, control and synchronization of business processes performed across plants and the

product supply network. Leverage an Apriso solution to establish a common set of operational

standards that can be managed holistically on a global scale while still being continuously

improved to meet your local market and customer needs.

Apriso Corporation was acquired by Dassault Systèmes in July 2013, and is now a product

portfolio within its DELMIA brand. Apriso products and solutions provide a connection between

the virtual world of digital manufacturing and the real world of manufacturing production.

About Dassault Systèmes & DELMIA Dassault Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, serves 170,000 customers across 140

countries, providing virtual universes for sustainable innovation. Dassault Systèmes’ DELMIA

brand offers products that connect the virtual and real worlds. As part of DELMIA, the Apriso

product portfolio – including its suite of manufacturing operations management applications –

helps manufacturers transform their global operations to achieve and sustain operational

excellence. Learn more at apriso.com, visit our blog at apriso.com/blog, or follow us on Twitter

at @Apriso.

www.apriso.com

http://www.apriso.com/

http://www.apriso.com/blog

https://twitter.com/apriso

Documents

Extracting Greater Value from Paperless Manufacturing · Extracting Greater Value from Paperless Manufacturing paperless operations can have a profound impact on the cost of quality