For some manufacturing companies is it considered very critical when a deadline in production is not met or a deadline in reaction time for a product. There is a software solution available to help manage these issues as they occur. Real Time can also be referred to as real time computing or reactive computing which is the study of software using real time constraints such as operational deadlines from any event to the system response. One example that I have read about is how anti lock brakes work. The real time constraint in how anti lock brakes work would be the short time in which the brakes must be released to prevent the wheel from locking. If the system does not release the brakes lock up it would be considered a system failure due to the fact it could harm persons in the vehicle.

Real time deadlines must be kept without regard to any other factors. Software provided for real time is also used for tasks such as navigation in which the computer must react to a steady flow of information with out an interruption.

There are such other software available for what we call hard time and soft time. Hard time is extremely critical in the fact that like anti lock brakes if a deadline is not met that the result is fatal. Soft time is the opposite. Soft time can tolerate lateness and its response is with a lower service quality.

Whether implementing real time, hard time or soft time software in a manufacturing warehouse, you can have the ability to receive alerts when an error occurs during a production. Some vendors are thin client and have the ability to send emails or text messages right away to appropriate parties. Researching software vendors, their advantages and disadvantages is very important when implementing real time software.