Eliminate the Hidden Factory: Boost Industrial Productivity by 2026

In an industrial landscape where efficiency is the currency, there is a silent but devastating enemy that erodes margins and slows growth: the Hidden Factory.

It is not a secret building, but the sum of all the wasted production capacity, unrecorded activities and invisible failures that limit the performance of your plant. We're talking about that 20-30% of production that evaporates.

In this article, we'll show you how to detect and quantify it accurately, and how technologies like ERP RPS Next and MES/MOM INEXION transform this "invisible factory" into an operational advantage.

What is the Hidden Factory?

The concept of hidden factory describes the mismatch between a plant's production potential and its actual performance. It manifests itself in the form of hidden losses within the plant that are often overlooked by traditional tracking systems.

The key fact: Many industrial SMEs believe they operate at 80% capacity, but audits with data capture technologies reveal that the actual overall equipment effectiveness (actual OEE) rarely exceeds 60%. The difference is your hidden factory.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE): the hidden loss thermometer

The OEE metric is based on three pillars that the hidden factory attacks directly:

1. Availability: machines stopped or in batch changeover.
2. Throughput: Below-nominal speed and, crucially, micro-stops (split-second failures that are not recorded manually, but add up to hours at the end of the month).
3. Quality: Defective products or those requiring industrial rework.

Warning! If you measure downtime manually, you are not capturing the true magnitude of your hidden factory.

How to Detect Hidden Factory in your Industrial Operation

Do you think your plant is performing at peak performance? Here are the warning signs that the hidden factory is active in your company:

• Inflated inventory: You accumulate unnecessary stock or buffers, which hide flow problems and bottlenecks.
• Failed production orders: You constantly need to resort to correction orders or last-minute adjustments.
• Low data reliability: Factory floor information does not match that reported in the management system.
• False OEE positives: You think you have 75% OEE, but deliveries are late and quality costs are high.
• Slow feedback: Plant floor feedback takes days to reach decision-making, belatedly closing the feedback loop.

The critical role of digitisation.

The only way to measure untapped plant capacity and invisible waste is through automated real-time data capture. This requires moving from spreadsheets to digitising the shop floor with specialised tools that act like an industrial microscope.

The Ultimate Solution: Closing the Hidden Factory

The hidden factory problem is solved with visibility, integration and control. At Overtel, we have designed a strategy based on Industry 4.0 in manufacturing to attack this problem at its root.

1. MES/MOM INEXION: The eye of the plant floor

To know how to detect the hidden factory in my industrial plant, you need a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM).

• Function: Automatic data capture from Industry 4.0 sensors and machinery, recording each micro-stop and actual cycle performance.
• Result: Reveals hidden OEE losses that destroy productivity and provides root cause analysis of defects.

2. RPS Next ERP System: The Perfect Schedule

The MES must be integrated with planning. Our RPS Next ERP ensures that production orders are based on actual capacity and available resources, eliminating scheduling inefficiencies that contribute to idle capacity.

• Function: Seamless ERP and MES integration for bi-directional information flow, eliminating data silos.
• Result: Accurate planning and drastic reduction of excess inventory.

5-Step Action Plan: How to Eliminate the Hidden Factory by 2026

Digitization solves the hidden factory by following a structured process that we have perfected over more than 300 projects in industrial SMEs:

1. Zero OEE Diagnostics: we audit your processes and capture initial data to determine your actual OEE and the exact size of your untapped capacity.
2. Hidden Losses Map: Strategic installation of sensors and MES systems to identify bottlenecks and areas of greatest impact of micro-stops.
3. Intervention Design: Prioritisation of actions with maximum profitability, from batch optimisation (ERP) to process standardisation (MES).
4. Implementation and Integration (MES/ERP): Deployment of MES/MOM INEXION and full integration with ERP RPS Next, putting data into intuitive dashboards.
5. Continuous Improvement and Closed Loop: Use of advanced analytics to predict failures and optimise, closing the production feedback loop and ensuring improvements are sustained over time.

Why Overtel is your Strategic Partner?

We don't just offer software; we deliver a proven methodology that combines process consulting, state-of-the-art technology and data security.

We help you measure idle capacity in manufacturing and turn it into tangible production. Our approach is a generator of visible results: improved OEE, reduced quality costs and an increase in operational agility that your competitors can't match.

Request a Free OEE Diagnostic Consulting with our experts today and discover the productive potential your plant already has.