Lichtenvoorde, the Netherlands – DiMS! organizing print, the world leader in MIS/ERP systems for the printing and packaging industries, has released an extended version of DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking. Integrated with the core DiMS! system's Web-enabled end-to-end workflow, the DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking tool is an industrially robust, proactive feature, enabling efficient production via immediate, high-quality communication to and from the production floor. It communicates directly with the DiMS! server, instantaneously providing real-time feedback regarding status and required tasks to all parties connected with a particular job.

Moreover, the DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking has been praised for its user-friendly interface. Exceptionally convenient for users, it has highly efficient touch-screen ability, customized screens and is behavior-modifiable. With the addition of pop-up reminders, the customized screens allow the user the opportunity to optimize their work tremendously.

Other highlights include:

Material Tracking inventory – Data Collection using DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking includes touch-screens and hand-held (wireless) devices for scanning material and goods to improve the flow of work and material. Bar-coded documents and pallet tags are used for scanning and tracking from raw material to finished products, in single plants as well as across vertically integrated plants, warehouse locations and distribution centers.

Track & Trace functionality – The bar-coded pallet tags also enables DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking to meticulously follow all inbound and outbound material movements. Ordered, shipped and received quantities are tracked along with raw material and fabrication authorizations as part of the planning process that extends throughout the supply-chain. Complete tracking is also available for in-transit shipments from suppliers and subcontractors to manufacturing plants and across warehouse locations. Specific data from all these areas is retained for Traceability.

Automatic Time registration – In addition to monitoring run times, stop times, wait times and maintenance times for each machine, this functionality also includes overall registered hours. This equally allows an analysis to determine how much time each machine consumed overall.

Production optimization – Within DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking, distinct lights indicate the status of the speed, gross quantity, net quantity, waste quantity, to-go quantity and duration. They are visually intuitive, allowing press operators to quickly check how each machine is operating.  A red-yellow-green traffic light system is applied to warn the press operator if intervention is required.

Job tickets – The Advanced Production Tracking tool also provides continuously 100% up-to-date Job Tickets. Either displayed on-screen, or in hard copy, these Job Tickets ensure that everyone in the production workflow has real-time information anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

JDF-certified – DiMS!' state-of-the-art production tracking feature is also JDF-certified, or can use other XML transactions to interface with both conventional and digital presses as well as leading pre-press software. It can interface to all necessary production equipment. This allows the exchange of information between the production floor and the entire management system.

Broader, deeper overview of Enterprise – Machines which are in different locations, even across borders, can be monitored at any moment, from any location, providing a better, faster overview of what's going in and what's coming out.

Decreased Waste – The extensive communication between DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking and DiMS! Scheduling ensures that the system always provides the most effective planning. This ultimately results in fewer edition changes and less makeready waste. Since every workstation crew has a detailed insight into their waste percentages, a healthy competitiveness between them is often the positive outcome of the availability of this data.

Insight into Stop reasons – The DiMS! Advanced Production Tracking allows printing companies to encourage press operators to enter information on the stop reason with every machine interruption. The output of this procedure is a report that enables the Technical Department to quickly detect certain local defects in production lines and tailor their maintenance planning accordingly. This results in an overall drop in the number of machinery failures and thus an increase in production capacity.