Insights
Manufacturing
173 guides · page 2 of 4
Customer drawings and specs in manufacturing records: what must be excluded
Customer-owned drawings and licensing: what to screen out of manufacturing records, from prints and specs to linked part numbers, and what can usually remain.
Customer-owned designs in manufacturing records: how to exclude them
How to exclude customer-owned designs from a manufacturing dataset: tag parts by design owner, strip drawings and programs, and keep masked process events.
Data inventory for manufacturers: ERP, MES and QMS records
A pre-filled data inventory for manufacturing companies: ERP, MES, QMS and CMMS records, with flags for customer-owned designs and export-controlled work.
Data inventory template for a chemical or coatings manufacturer
A chemical manufacturer data inventory template for ERP, LIMS, ELN and EHS records, with an exclusion column for formulas, PSM files and customer formulas.
Data inventory template for a food co-packer
A co-packer data inventory template that marks each record type brand-owned, co-packer-owned or shared, from batch records and changeovers to sanitation logs.
Data inventory template for a packaging or label converter
Packaging converter data inventory template: list each system, record, years held, link key and customer-owned artwork flag before a migration or license.
Data inventory template for an EMS provider
An EMS data inventory template organized by build stage, from quoting and BOM scrub to SPI, AOI, test and RMA, with link keys and customer-owned flags.
Data inventory template for an injection molder
An injection molding data inventory template with typical rows for ERP, press monitoring, cavity pressure, mold maintenance and QMS records, plus link keys.
Data monetization for manufacturers: options compared
Data monetization for manufacturers compared: internal analytics, benchmarking, data products and AI licensing, with the effort, control and risk of each.
Data quality problems in manufacturing ERP: the usual suspects
ERP data quality issues in manufacturing, ranked: orphaned orders, stale routings, reused part numbers and migration gaps, and which ones matter for AI use.
Dealer quote histories at window and door makers: what they show
Window and door quoting software data shows how dealers configure, price and revise orders. See which fields matter and why quotes tied to remakes say most.
Digitizing paper travelers and job folders at a machine shop
How to digitize paper job travelers at a machine shop: scan and index by job number only where ERP history exists, and what to keep, scan or discard.
Do OEM supplier terms and conditions restrict how you use production data?
OEM supplier terms on data use can limit what you license. Find the five clause types in customer T&Cs, then apply a decision rule to each record family.
Does the EU Data Act apply to US equipment manufacturers?
The EU Data Act can reach US manufacturers with no EU office once connected products reach EU users. Who is likely in scope and what to check first.
Downtime reason codes and machine stop logs: are they valuable?
Downtime reason codes data is valuable to AI when operator-entered reasons link to maintenance follow-up. Here is why raw stop timestamps rank lowest.
Dynamics NAV and AX archives: what to keep after moving to Business Central
Dynamics NAV archive planning for controllers: what moves to Business Central, which NAV and AX history stays behind, and how to keep it readable for years.
Dynamics NAV end of support: what to do with your ERP history
Dynamics NAV end of support puts years of ledgers, production orders and posted documents at risk. A CFO's table for carrying, archiving or reusing history.
E2 Shop System data: what job shops can export and license
E2 Shop System data export for job shops: which modules hold quote-to-ship history, how to keep the links intact and why customer drawings stay out.
EMS M&A in 2026: what buyers look for in PCB assembly companies
EMS M&A in 2026: the buyer theses behind PCB assembly deals, from focused PCBA platforms to box build and test add-ons, and the records each one checks.
Engineering change order histories as AI training data
Engineering change order records show why a design changed, who approved it and what followed. What AI developers value in ECO history, and what to exclude.
Engineering change orders: what AI learns from design changes
Engineering change order data AI developers value: which ECO fields teach impact analysis and review, and which customer and controlled designs stay excluded.
Epicor on-prem sunset: what to do with your historical data
Epicor says on-prem Kinetic development ends in 2028. Compare migrating, a read-only archive and a licensing review for years of Epicor history.
Epicor Vantage, Vista and E9 databases: archive, migrate or license?
Retiring an Epicor Vantage, Vista or E9 server? Work in order: retention obligations, access needs, then a licensing review before anything is decommissioned.
ERP migration: how much history to move and what to archive
How much historical data to migrate in an ERP project, record type by record type, with a retention overlay so the archive still satisfies auditors.
Estimated vs actual hours: using job costing history to fix shop quotes
Estimated vs actual hours by operation shows where machine shop quotes drift. Get the variance formula, the ERP fields to pull and the fixes that stick.
ETQ Reliance and MasterControl records: licensing QMS data
QMS data licensing for ETQ Reliance and MasterControl users: which modules hold valuable records, how to export them, and how to protect validated systems.
EU Data Act: can customers share your machine data with competitors?
EU Data Act third party sharing for equipment makers: who can request your machine data, whether competitors can receive it, and what they cannot do with it.
Excel and Access databases on the shop floor: what to do before AI
Excel and Access databases in manufacturing hold scrap logs, setup sheets and NCRs. Use this triage to keep, consolidate, archive or exclude each one.
Exchange Server end of support: what to do with on-prem email archives
Exchange Server end of support leaves mailbox databases and PST files behind. Steps to export, retain and assess plant email before deleting mail stores.
Fabricator shop drawings: who owns them, the fabricator or the designer?
Who owns shop drawings depends on who created them, the design they derive from and your subcontract. A file-by-file table for steel and millwork fabricators.
Fiix, UpKeep, Limble or MaintainX: exporting CMMS work order history
How to export CMMS work order history from Fiix, UpKeep, Limble or MaintainX: export paths, fields to pull, common traps and what to confirm with each vendor.
Fixed camera footage of production lines: can it be licensed?
Can you license factory camera footage for AI? Often yes, with conditions: worker notice, union terms, face blurring and keeping customer parts out of frame.
Global Shop Solutions data: export options and licensing readiness
Global Shop Solutions data export routes for job shops, which ERP history matters for AI, and a scorecard to rate licensing readiness before you pull a file.
High-mix job shop data vs high-volume plant data: which is more useful?
High-mix low-volume data and high-volume plant data teach AI different things. Compare variety, outcome labels and licensing appeal before scoping a package.
Hosting robot data collection on your factory floor: what to ask first
Before a robotics team films or teleoperates on your floor, get written answers on who records, worker consent, customer parts in view, ownership and exit.
How long should manufacturers keep quality records?
Quality records retention in manufacturing is set per record type. See the drivers, the event that starts the clock, and how to keep archives readable.
How much IT effort does a manufacturing data license take?
Data licensing IT effort for manufacturers, step by step: which tasks fall on IT, who else carries the work, and what makes ERP exports heavier or lighter.
How small manufacturers should start with AI in 2026
AI for small manufacturers in 2026: a 90-day sequence from one workflow to a measured pilot, plus the data value and ownership step most guides skip.
How to export Epicor Kinetic history with BAQs for a data review
How to export Epicor Kinetic history with BAQs: metadata counts first, then one query per record family, exported by year with the linking keys kept intact.
How to inventory your data across ERP, MES, QMS and CMMS
A manufacturing data inventory template, system by system: record types, years held, linking keys, owner, export method and rights flags for each system.
Illustrative data package: a co-packer's run and changeover records
A co-packer dataset example from a fictional plant: schedule versions, allergen changeovers, run lots and hold decisions, with brand recipes kept out.
Illustrative data package: an EMS provider's BOM-to-yield records
An EMS dataset example built from fictional records: every file and link from RFQ BOM to AOI, test and yield, plus the customer designs left out.
Illustrative workflow data package: a manufacturer's quality decisions
A workflow data package example for manufacturing quality: an illustrative manifest of NCR, MRB, CAPA and supplier records, their links and what is excluded.
Infor SyteLine (CloudSuite Industrial) data licensing guide
SyteLine data export for licensing: a record map of what CloudSuite Industrial holds, export routes by deployment and the rights flags to clear first.
Infor VISUAL ERP history: preserving it before a migration
Infor VISUAL data migration checklist: what a new ERP leaves behind, how to archive closed orders, labor and costing history, and why that history has value.
IQMS / DELMIAworks data: exports, history and licensing
DELMIAworks data export for plastics molders: which IQMS modules hold valuable history, how to extract it with keys intact and what customer molds rule out.
Is your manufacturing data an asset or a liability?
Is manufacturing data an asset or a liability? Use a two-axis value and risk test to place NCRs, quotes, drawings, HR files and old backups, then act on each.
ISO 9001 internal audit findings as AI training data
Internal audit findings records from ISO 9001 programs can train and test AI when the finding-to-verification chain is intact. What to include and exclude.