Manufacturing execution in Pakistan: three plants, one plan, less scrap

1 The problem

Three plants were planning production in spreadsheets that disagreed with the shop floor by lunchtime. Machine data was on paper. Batch traceability existed in theory for the buyer audit and not in fact. Month-end and FBR-facing numbers still needed a heroic Excel. A previous MES quote had been a single PKR figure before anyone had watched a shift.

2 Our approach

Phase one was the workflow that hurt: plan versus actual, then machine capture, then batch genealogy. Old and new ran in parallel. SoftCity’s ERP practice in Islamabad priced data migration and training as the work, not a change request. Scrap and planning time moved because supervisors could see the same board the planner saw.

3 What we built

• Finite planning the three plants share
• Machine data capture over MQTT where the line allowed it
• Batch traceability from inbound lot to outbound certificate
• Shift board a supervisor will stand in front of
• Exports finance can take to the close
• A rehearsed rollback on the first go-live

4 Technology