In today's data-driven world, the role of data stewards is crucial, especially in the manufacturing industry where accurate and reliable data can make the difference between success and failure. But what exactly does a data steward do, and why is this role so important for forward-thinking manufacturing companies?
What are data stewards?
Data stewards are responsible for managing, monitoring and maintaining data within an organization. They ensure that data is accurate, consistent and accessible. In the manufacturing industry, this includes everything from production data (e.g. plant and machine data collection) and technical product information to order data. Data stewards play a key role in ensuring that this data is used and protected correctly.
The key tasks of data stewards
1. ensure data quality
One of the main objectives of data stewards is to ensure the quality of data. In the manufacturing industry, this is particularly important as inaccurate or inconsistent data can lead to significant problems, such as production errors or delays in production. Data stewards implement data validation and cleansing processes to ensure that data is always accurate and up-to-date. This also includes, for example, spot checks to verify that the data in the systems matches reality.
2. maintain data consistency
Data must be consistent in order to be used effectively. Data stewards develop and monitor standards and guidelines for data collection and storage. This helps to ensure that all departments within the organization adhere to the same data standards, which in turn improves collaboration and efficiency.
3. ensure data accessibility and security
Data stewards ensure that data is stored securely and yet is easily accessible to those who need it. This includes implementing security measures to protect sensitive data and managing access rights.
Conclusion
In order to achieve a successful digitalization strategy, the position of data steward is indispensable. By ensuring data quality, consistency and security, data stewards make a significant contribution to a company's efficiency, innovative strength and compliance. At a time when data can be a competitive advantage, the role of the data steward is more important than ever. Companies that are well positioned in this respect will be able to optimize their production processes, manage their supply chains efficiently and ultimately make better decisions.
