Industrial Manufacturing



I choose industrial manufacturing since it's what I am the most experienced. In manufacturing, every department relays and benefits from specialized software and computers. I am starting with human resources that use computers for tasks like sending newsletters, payroll, time and attendance, training, and virtual team interviews. Time and attendance like Ultimate Kronos Group(UKG) have helped keep accurate time and attendance for payroll every week. Then you have the production department where a whole network of computers is doing multiple things like controlling equipment with programmable logic controllers(PLC), and servers showing a representation of the equipment in a human-machine interface(HMI). The laboratory where computers control most equipment like x-ray machines and chemical testing machines. All the laboratory results are stored in a database typically called Laboratory Information Management System(LIMS). With the data from the LIMS system or online elemental analyzer, the laboratory can advise the production department on changing the chemical mix. With the help of computers and other technologies, most of this work was done manually and now is automated, requiring little human intervention. Furthermore, the sales, purchasing, and finance department requires keeping a record of every sale batch, purchasing materials, payment receivables, and paying trucking companies for deliveries. All these transactions are processed in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system like SAP. Systems like SAP allow multiple sites to have the accounting, purchasing, sales, customer service, and other departments consolidated in a central location where the work can be more efficient and require less overhead. With the pandemic, solutions like UKG and SAP are even more convenient by offering cloud services and allowing most departments to work from home.