Automatic data

The paperless office or factory is often spoken of as the place of the future, but would such on environment actually work? The author considers the role of shop floor data collection (SFDC) in automatic information flow throughout the manufacturing process. He concludes that several MRP II systems have the capability to automate transactions to a greater or lesser degree, mostly aimed at capturing inventory movements from SFDC systems. However, the scope to automate complete sets of business transactions exists in a great many areas throughout all businesses. Such automation allows manual effort to be concentrated where real decisions are needed by removing non value adding tasks