Kronos® Announces Kronos for Manufacturing
Offering of software and services helps manufacturers maximize productivity through operational excellence
CHELMSFORD, Mass., Jan. 30, 2007 — In the past, manufacturers were able to differentiate themselves by controlling costs and increasing productivity through the use of technology such as ERP, SCM, and CRM. Now that these technologies have become commonplace, manufacturers are looking for new ways to stay ahead of the pack. Further complicating this challenge are specific obstacles such as a shortage of skilled workers and offshore competitors. To help manufacturers maximize productivity and achieve operational excellence, Kronos® Incorporated (Nasdaq: KRON) launched Kronos for Manufacturing.
Kronos for Manufacturing is a comprehensive offering of software and services designed to improve business productivity and profitability, increase resource utilization, and ensure compliance. This comprehensive, integrated suite addresses the challenges of managing the workforce in manufacturing with applications including time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, analytics, labor tracking, and shop-floor data collection. The solution is supported by a focused team of manufacturing experts who deliver deep domain knowledge and industry best practices, which are critical to the successful implementation of continuous improvement projects such as Lean and Six Sigma.
"Capturing and understanding the critical pieces of information of labor performance can help manufacturers dial in performance of their operation," said David Caruso, principal of David Caruso & Associates. "By focusing on workforce performance optimization, Kronos for Manufacturing has established a leadership role for the next important source of performance gains for the global manufacturing industry."
Improve business profitability
Kronos for Manufacturing presents an opportunity for manufacturers to control costs and ultimately improve business profitability. The suite provides a single truth of where labor dollars and hours are spent by reconciling shop floor direct and indirect hours with payroll data. This ensures that all labor costs are assigned to the appropriate cost center. By properly allocating costs in a manner that makes sense to the entire organization, managers can more easily identify areas for improvement. This real- time information also can be used to manage production on the shop floor by providing visibility into the status of Work In Process (WIP). The ability to track and manage WIP gives managers the information they need to properly complete jobs in a timely manner. The result is on-time delivery to a satisfied customer, without the need to pay premium freight or unnecessary overtime.
Improve resource utilization
By allowing manufacturers to measure workforce and shop floor data, Kronos for Manufacturing is playing an integral role in continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma. The solution helps manage resources by giving manufacturers real-time visibility into how they are performing. By providing real-time alerts to critical process constraints such as material delays, machine downtime, and employee idle time, managers are able to quickly respond to challenges and minimize the disruption to overall productivity.
Kronos for Manufacturing also allows manufacturers to optimize productivity by ensuring they have people with the right skills at the right time. By aligning labor to the volume of demand coming from customers, manufacturers can run a leaner production environment. This is further assisted by providing information about employee skills and certifications, ensuring that a properly trained employee is working each job. This results in a more agile workforce, which allows the manufacturer to reduce labor costs while increasing productivity.
Improve compliance management
Managing risk is a complex, yet essential, process for any manufacturing organization. Kronos for Manufacturing helps organizations remain in compliance by preventing employees from working jobs they are not qualified for, and regulating the distribution of overtime based on union contracts. The automation of these calculations reduces the amount of costly human interaction required in a manual or decentralized environment, and minimizes favoritism or error. Kronos for Manufacturing also addresses the regulatory needs for health and safety, government, and corporate guidelines. By using unique tools and technology, manufacturers can be proactively alerted to potential compliance issues, mitigating risk associated with non-compliance.
In addition to the justification and strategic decision making that granular data analysis can provide, Kronos for Manufacturing also provides detailed reporting for negotiating disputed invoices. These reports can indicate milestone achievement for performance bonuses or scheduled payments. Ultimately, those hours captured throughout the project can be used to estimate the hours and wages for new projects in the future.
Leadership in manufacturing
Kronos has been providing solutions to the manufacturing industry for nearly 30 years. Leading manufacturers including Algoma Steel, Aston Martin, Camoplast inc., Cangene Corporation, Caterpillar, Elliott Company, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Racal, Ronseal, Sunseeker, and Visteon already depend on Kronos' expertise to empower them to most effectively manage their workforce.
"From working with leading manufacturers across the globe, we understood it was imperative to introduce an industry-specific solution to help them overcome the industry-specific obstacles they are facing related to the workforce," said Gregg Gordon, global practice leader for manufacturing at Kronos. "Many manufacturers are in the infancy stages of optimizing their workforce. With the adoption of Kronos for Manufacturing as a complete, end-to-end solution for managing the workforce, manufacturers will be able to achieve operational excellence."
For more information regarding Kronos solutions call (800) 225-1561.
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos Incorporated empowers organizations around the world to effectively manage their workforce. At Kronos, we are experts who are solely focused on delivering software and services that enable organizations to reduce costs, increase productivity, improve employee satisfaction, and ultimately enhance the level of service they provide. Kronos serves customers in more than 50 countries through its network of offices, subsidiaries, and distributors. Widely recognized as a market and thought leader in managing the workforce, Kronos has unrivaled reach with more than 30 million people using a Kronos solution every day. Learn more about Kronos at www.kronos.com.
