Planning Event Detection Models or Time Tracking

There are two ways of tracking production on a production unit. The main way is to track the creation of products using a discrete event called Production Events. The other way is using a time-based, or continuous, approach.

Production Event Types: Production events are the creation of discrete units of a process. Production events are created at various steps through the manufacturing process. Production events are given unique names at for a specific production unit used in the manufacturing of that product.

Production events are used to identify and quantify the material that is to be created and tracked. Plants typically track multiple types of production events and these are used to describe how the different types of things that are made in a plant are tracked. Examples of various production event types are: Batches, Lots, Reels, Rolls, Totes, Pallets, Cartons, Cases, Motors, Cars, Bricks, Bottles.

Production Event Dimensions: Dimensions are used to describe the size of Production Events and Orientation is used to describe the Orientation of Production Events. Examples of Dimensions for events are weight, width, length, or volume.

In Production Management, the "X" dimension is the most important. It is the primary measurement in engineering units of how much is being produced on a specific production unit. It drives the production reporting aspects of that production unit. The "Y" dimension is commonly used as length in multi-dimensional products such as paper and steel. The "Z" dimension is commonly used as width in multi-dimensional products such as paper and steel. The "A" dimension is commonly used as diameter in multi-dimensional products such as paper and steel. Each dimension has an Initial and Final value. The Initial dimension represents the value when the production event first was created on a unit or first reached a unit. The Final dimension represents the value when the production event left or was consumed on a unit. The difference in the Initial and Final dimensions could be the waste. Production Tracking is often closely tied in with Waste Tracking Configuration also.

Examples of multiple dimensional product are: Paper, Plastics, Films, Glass, Textiles, Metals

Product can be required to be ordered in more than one dimension. Proficy Schedule Tracking provides for the capability to control the schedule by more than 1 dimension and to display the set up patterns required for an Order. Products with multiple dimensions also have data related to those dimensions. Various types of data could be Profile Measurements, Defect Locations, and Test Results taken at multiple locations. Proficy is capable of handling all these associated data needs for events.

Dimensions can be acquired manually using AutoLog. The dimensions are then pushed into the appropriate dimension positions using calculations.

Planning Event Detection

The event trigger as well as event identification most often is driven by the control system. Planning for automatic event detection starts with auditing the available signals that can be used to determine when a batch has been started and stopped, what the product of the batch is, when each phase of the batch is active, when a product is used in the next production stage, and when a an input product is fully consumed. Phase information can be used to filter process data, and to trigger calculations related to a batch also.

Data Flow for the Life Cycle of a single Production Event

There are multiple aspects to a typical Production Event. Models are used to handle the following:

  • Collect Product Identification Information and Batch ID Information.

  • Watch One Or More Tags To Signal Start Of Batch.

  • Watch One Or More Tags To Signal Phase Changes.

  • Watch One or More Tags To Set Product Being Made.

  • Watch One Or More Tags To Signal End Of Batch.

Some production event models capture the product change event in-line with capturing the batch trigger. Other models simply capture a "serial number" of an item and trigger the creation of an event of the "serial number" tag changing. Once a production event is created, calculations based on the production event are fired.

What Type of Events can be Automated?

  • Batch and Phase Triggers

  • Batch, Lot Identification

  • Product Identification

  • Production Event Status and Disposition

  • Product Movement And Routing

  • Collection Of Process Data From Control Systems

  • Process and Batch Recipes

Examples of Automatic Events

  • Recipe Downloaded To Batch Execution System At Batch Start

  • Batch Execution System Triggers Phase And Batch End

  • Batch Data and Control System Data Summarized By Batch, Phase

  • Disposition Automatically Set By Control System Data

Guide To Preparing The Control System For Automatic Batch Detection

  1. Establish the "rule" that defines when an event has started or stopped.

  2. Establish the "rule" that defines the product code of the event.

  3. Determine the behavior of the available signals. Do they pulse or hold value? When does the product code change relative to the event start or end? How is phase indicated and when does it change.

  4. Where timing is critical, supplemental logic in the control system can be built to latch in trigger values, or control the sequencing of events firing to give event models enough chance to recognize the event and collect data around that event.

  5. Collect all signals into the historian at the appropriate resolution.

Issues With Tracking Of Discrete Production

What is the smallest discrete entity that exists?

  • That can be uniquely identified

  • Exists for a discrete period of time on a unit or has discrete boundaries

How is that entity identified?

  • Manually

  • Automatically from tags in the Historian

  • From scanning barcodes

How is size of that entity described?

  • Weight, Length, Width, Count

  • Potentially multiple dimensions…

How do these entities move through the process?

  • What are the potential paths for these events through the various units of production.

Issues with Tracking Continuous Production

  • Tracking continuous production will not allow for genealogy tracking unless you create psuedo Lots or Events to simulate for tracking against if that is necessary.

  • Typically used for Simplest of Processes to do Production Reporting and Schedule Integration.

  • Totalization or counting of manual entries or Historian data.

  • Finding or creating what signals are available such as PLC Counters and Flow signals.

Which Clients Can Manipulate Production Management Data?

  • Genealogy View Display

  • Stage the Next Product’s Production Events or Events from Input Units on to an Output or Producing Unit.

  • Change Production Event Disposition

  • Modify or View Current Event Running on an Output or Producing Unit.

  • View Production Event Details.

  • Change Disposition Status of a Production Event.

  • Production Overview Display

  • View Key Production Summary Data for each Production Unit in a Production Line

  • Schedule View Display

  • Provide overview of the status of the current Process Order being run.

  • Allow ordering and editing of Process Orders.

  • Select the currently active Process Order which production gets counted against.

  • The Schedule View can display Setup Patterns that are specific to an individual Process Order. Setup Patterns detail the dimensions a Product is to be manufactured to for a specific order.

  • The Schedule View can display Customer Orders and the Order Items for a Customer Order.

See Also

Events with Production Management