Are paper-free process plants viable?

The concept of the paper-less factory has been around for decades but has now moved closer to wide-scale realisation with the emergence of low-cost tablets and other digital mobile devices.

During this week’s PPMA 2012 exhibition at the NEC at least one company, Harford Control, majored on this approach. A presenter on its stand highlighted the benefits of removing paper from the “factory floor information management” system, including improved efficiency, accuracy and compliance at lower cost.

However, I was less sure about his claim that the £200 tablet on display was more environmentally sound than a paper pad, especially if it was dropped and needed replacing, and I did notice that Harford had not dispensed with printed brochures on its stand.

To be fair, though, digital reporting into modern MES systems does give managers finger-tip access to all relevant manufacturing data, enabling them to track their KPIs in real time. Employees, likewise, can clock in and report job status without the need for lengthy paper trails.

And yet, many manufacturers report hitting barriers when trying to transition away from paper, particularly when it comes to the cost and time involved in implementing alternative systems. It seems that paper still packs a punch in many areas of industrial activity.

At the Birmingham show, for example, equipment suppliers expressed dismay at the way some industry journals have switched to become digital-only publications.

For his part, Keith Simpson of Spiroflow explained that “print can work”: noting that most potential customers nowadays only go on-line to learn more about a new technology or a company’s capabilities after reading articles in relevant print magazines.

While manufacturers are, it seems, moving away from paper, full transition looks unlikely to happen any time soon.