General
The control recipe function in Factbird is used to digitize any controls the operators need to perform as part of their day-to-day work. Examples of such controls could be:
- Machine checks prior to starting a new batch
- Shop floor check at the start of a new shift
- Quality controls of the product every 45 min after the batch start
- Process validation every whole hour
The pending controls will then automatically pop up in the register stops view in order to compliment the operators’ user experience with the Blackbird system.
On a holistic level, the control recipe function is a step towards moving Factbird more in the MES-sphere, which is why we like to refer to the function as a mini-MES. The function is thus especially, but not exclusively, beneficial for companies that connected upstream production processes to the Factbird system.
The feature has two main concepts, a recipe, and controls. The recipe is a list of controls which has to be performed. Controls are a list of actions that are triggered by an event. An example is a Brick manufacturer wanting to check the oven's temperature before starting a batch and every half hour after starting.
Type of controls
When setting up a control recipe, for each specific task within a control, the system offers a variety of different types to choose from. The task type defines and delimits what the operator is asked to fill out. The following types are available:
-
Checkbox
Operators will have to tick off a checkbox
Example: Has Task A been performed? Is Material A available?
-
Derived
The system will automatically perform a chosen mathematical operation (average, max, min, sum) on a number of values to be filled in by the operators
Example: Average weight of 10 randomly chosen products, max length of 10 randomly chosen products
-
Number
Based on the nature of the control task, the operator can only fill in a number. A lower and upper limit can be defined. Once the inserted number lies outside of those limits, the operator will be forced to put in a comment.
Example: Weight of product, length of the product
-
Sensor
The field related to the control task will be automatically filled out with a sensor value. Note that in the end, the sensor chosen has to be assigned to the line the product is running on and that the value will be extracted at the exact trigger time of the control (and cannot be derived KPIs like total number produced within a time range etc.).
Example: Temperature of an oven, vibration of a centrifuge
-
Text
Based on the nature of the control task, the operator can only fill in letters.
Example: Visual assessment of the color of the product, which operators are currently on the shopfloor
-
Weight
Read the value of a USB connected scale and get it directly into the data field.
Set-up of control recipes
The control recipe administration is done in the batch view in Blackbird. The following video provides you with an overview on how to set up control recipes:
Below you can also find a more detailed description of the different fields to be filled out / field options to choose from when setting up the control recipes
-
Trigger Time
Defines when the operators are asked to perform the control. If you activate the “Delay when stopped” toggle, the trigger will be delayed in case the line is stopped in that very moment.
-
Label
The header of the field is to be filled out by the operator. Should give a clear understanding of the specific task
-
Help text
Provide a more detailed description of the control that has to be performed.
-
Type
See above
-
Trigger follow-up controls
If a lower and upper limit has been defined for a control, and the performed control has resulted in values outside of these limits, activating the toggle and inserting a time in minutes will result in a follow-up control (the same control) after the defined time range.
The feature is intended to ensure that once process values are outside of the delimited range, the operators will take according to actions and then have to validate with the follow-up control that the values have returned to the normal range.
Manual Triggering of a control
A control can be manually triggered from the Controls view. Navigate to the Batch tab and on the running batch click on the Controls button under links to open the Controls dialog.
To manually trigger a control-click on “Perform Process Control” and a list of all available controls for the batch can now be triggered individually by clicking on the blue play icon.