Sensor settings are where we configure the system to show the data in the right format, unit, and naming.
The basics of the sensor configuration start with naming the sensor with a name that explains what data the user is looking at. Factbird recommends following a naming convention like Factory -> Area -> Process -> measurement point.
Example: Copenhagen Factory - bottling - Line 1 - good parts
Optionally provide extra details in the sensor description.
Sensor type
Next, we need to set the sensor type to one of the following:
- Counter Accumulate (Recommended)
An accumulating counting sensor - Counter
A regular counting sensor that sends counts since last publish - Counter Speed
A speed sensor that will be converted into counts - Measurement
A direct value of measurement, e.g., temperature, pressure, speed - Manual Process
Manual input sensor to count or input downtime manually
Factbird always recommends counter accumulate when possible for data consistency and resiliency.
Data Multiplier
It is possible to scale the data signal using a data multiplier. This is useful when the sensor is counting aggregated products, and the performance management is done in individual units. E.g., the sensor is counting packs of 10 units, and we would like to see the unit count; the data multiplier can be set to 10.
If the data multiplier differentiates depending on the product, you can use batch to set the individual data multiplier per product.
Validated & Expected Speed
The validated speed is the speed that machine is specified to operate by the manufacturer to the given product. Common mistake here is to set the validated speed lower than what it is capable of, resulting in a higher performance than what is actually realized.
The expected speed is the speed of which we expect the machine to operate while manned including downtime. In other words it is the expectation to the average speed the machine will realize.
Stops Finder
To enable stop finding on a sensor the stops finder needs to be enabled in the sensor settings. The stops finder can be configured to the specific needs of each machine.
We recommend setting the minimum stop duration to 10 seconds, meaning that all stops below 10 seconds will be considered speed loss.
We recommend setting the stop registration threshold to 300 seconds (5 minutes) as a default so operators are not overloaded to begin with. As you progress and improve your operation you will be chasing smaller and smaller stops, and then you can lower this threshold.
For processes that are slow (< 1 pcs/min) subtracting the cycle time from the stop duration should be enabled to improve data precision.