Why manufacturers are moving to modern shop floor dashboards
It’s a familiar scenario for many manufacturers. The shop floor data collection system that served you well for years is showing its age. Operators spend more time working around the interface than actually using it. Training new operators takes longer than anyone wants it to. Your workforce speaks multiple languages, but the software only speaks one. And maintaining specialized hardware creates ongoing costs that compete with other priorities.
The cost of staying on older shop floor systems is not always obvious, but it is real. Outdated systems take longer to learn. Errors creep in when interfaces confuse rather than guide. Operators grow frustrated when the system slows them down. For small and midsize manufacturers operating on tight margins, these inefficiencies add up fast.
That’s why we developed ShopWorks. It’s a modern shop floor interface designed to address these challenges directly.
Manufacturers need quality inspections without the workarounds
Quality checks that happen away from the workstation create problems. Paper forms get lost. Data entry introduces errors. Operators switch between systems and lose time. When quality and production live in separate places, compliance becomes a scramble.
ShopWorks puts quality inspections where they belong: directly in the operator’s dashboard. The same screen where operators clock jobs, report production, and print labels is the same screen where they complete quality checks.
Here’s what this means in practice:
- Quality inspections happen at the point of production. Issues are caught and documented immediately, reducing the cost of escapes.
- Quality plans are enforced automatically. Operators cannot skip required checks, ensuring compliance with customer and regulatory requirements.
- Quality data flows directly to records. No manual data entry, no transcription errors, and no missing documentation when auditors arrive.
For manufacturers in regulated industries or those serving customers with strict quality requirements, this integration changes daily operations. Audit readiness becomes a constant state rather than a last-minute scramble.
Getting new operators up to speed
Here’s the reality for most manufacturers: finding good people is hard enough. Training them on outdated systems makes it more challenging. Every extra day spent learning the interface is a day not spent on production. Too many screens slow training and cause mistakes.
Simpler workflows change that. Customizable dashboards show operators only what they need. Intuitive icons and touch-based controls work the way people expect technology to work today. Each screen is tailored to the current task, not every task.
New operators get productive faster. Experienced operators make fewer errors. Manufacturers get the staffing flexibility they need when labor markets are tight. That is what happens when you remove friction from the shop floor.
Run on the hardware you already own
Proprietary shop floor terminals come with hidden costs. The hardware itself is expensive. Replacement parts are hard to find. And when something breaks, production waits. For mid-tier manufacturers watching every capital dollar, these constraints make modernization feel out of reach.
ShopWorks takes a different approach. It runs through any modern browser on standard tablets or laptops, giving manufacturers greater deployment flexibility while reducing total cost of ownership. The ability to run mission-critical shop floor applications on off-the-shelf hardware represents real savings.
No specialized hardware. No complex installations. The same devices your team already knows how to use can now power your shop floor operations.
Built in, not bolted on
Here’s the thing about most shop floor data collection tools: they bolt on. They sit next to your ERP but do not live inside it. Data gets entered twice. Reports run overnight. Someone reconciles the numbers in the morning. It works, but it is not seamless. API’s offer some flexibility but they also offer overhead of a systems integration staff.
We built ShopWorks differently. It is purpose-built for DELMIAWorks. When an operator clocks a job, reports production, or completes a quality check, that data flows directly into your ERP, your quality system, and your scheduling engine. Not later. Right now.
No middleware sits between systems. No nightly sync to wait for. No morning reconciliation to sort out.
When an operator completes a job, the entire organization sees it immediately. That is what real-time visibility looks like. And that is the difference between a modern shop floor solution and a digitized clipboard.
Getting started
ShopWorks runs on any modern browser, so the tablets or laptops you already have on the floor will work. Existing DELMIAWorks customers can transition at their own pace, modernizing incrementally rather than all at once.
The bottom line
Money is made on the shop floor. The people who work there deserve tools built to help them excel.
Faster training. Fewer errors. Streamlined inspections. When the shop floor dashboards work the way operators work, the results follow. That is just good manufacturing.
Ready to see ShopWorks in action? Contact us to schedule a demo.