WIPtrac Overview

™

 Provides

80% of the Functionality at
20% of the Price and is
200% Easier to Configure and Maintain than all of the highend MRP ERP like solutions
     to MES / Shop Floor Control.

Manufacturing Information   Work In Process (WIP)   Lot Locator (Where is Lot?)   Lot Manufacturing History   Work Station Inventory   Work Station Yields   Work Station Scrap   Cycle Times   Cycle Time History   Predicted Shipping Dates   Engineering Data Collection

Manufacturing Control   Statistical Quality Control   Engineering Data Analysis   Process Flow/Sequence   Process Instructions   Operator Qualifications   Critical Process Times   Lot Priority Processing   Optional / Alternate / Re-Work Processing

Flexible Manufacturing   Custom Travelers / Routings   Optional Processing   Alternate Processing   Re-Work Processing   Out of Sequence Processing   Split Lots   Merge Lots   Scrap Lots   SkipSteps   Roll Back Steps

QUICK SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Traveler Capabilities


is driven by a Traveler based, factory organizational strategy. Product moves through your factory under the direction of barcoded travelers created and printed with . Flexibility is built in with alternate, optional, and forced out of sequence operations. Traveler maintenance and revisions are under the control of configuration management.



WIP Capabilities


has extensive WIP tracking and reporting features showing WIP items like moved, good out, rejects out, rework, transferred to rework and much more. The reporting system for WIP data is completely customizable allowing you to slice and dice your WIP data in unlimited ways across unlimited numbers of parts. All of it is exportable to spreadsheets.



SPC and SQC Capabilities


SPC becomes a real part of factory management as collects, analyzes, monitors, generates warnings and even shuts down LOTS, Operations or Equipment based on incoming SPC data. The paper blizzard associated with engineering data collection is over when you use to handle the information.



Scheduling Capabilities


Using a Work Calendar, and Work Content on Travelers, predicts a ship date when a lot is kitted to the line and then constantly updates the predicted date while letting you know just how much ahead or behind the lot is running. Special on-line reports give Operators a quick look at what is in their que at their workstation and from this list they can choose the hottest lots currently on the line to work on next.



Electronic Quarantine Features


There are 5 levels of hold available within for MRB or any other purpose you might wish the system to stop work.


Lot Number on Hold
Part Number on Hold
Operation on Hold
Future Hold (Put a Lot on Hold when it reaches some future step.)
Equipment on Hold and/or Down


LOT Number Hold, Operation Hold and Equipment Hold can be configured to trigger automatically if SPC data goes out of Control.



ISO 9000 Configuration Management Features


ISO 9000 compliance is supported via complete configuration management system, modeled after similar paper systems. Operations, Parts and Part Numbers, Travelers and Traveler Numbers, etc. cannot be used by until they have been released. For example, once a new traveler has been sent around and signed off, configuration management personnel with the right security level and system password will release the traveler for use by factory floor operators.



Bar Code Enabled


was designed from the ground up to be bar code driven. generates bar code labels for you on HP compatible laser printers, using any desired format, readable by a myriad of different bar code wedges and readers.

It's all here and ready to use. If we can help in anyway please give us a call.

REAL-TIME BENEFITS OF SHOP FLOOR CONTROL

Information On Your Desktop


This happens without your having to collect it or ask for it. Now you have up to date information about factory floor loading, process centers that are in trouble and product movement through the work centers. You no longer have to rely on others to provide you with the information you need to focus your companies resources effectively. You can clearly see for yourself what the picture is. Everyone shares the same information.



Information on the Desktops of Your Managers and Engineers


These are people who need the information to make hands on decisions on a minute by minute basis. They now have real-time information about the problems at their work centers. They can see reject rates, inventory levels, cycle time problems, equipment problems, ALL FROM THEIR DESK.



On-line Manufacturing Specifications and Drawings


It will bring current and up to date specifications and drawings onto the factory floor in an on-line mode for use by factory personnel. No longer need you fear auditing agencies. You will always have the most current information available on the floor.



Real-time Control of Your Factory


It will bring control to your factory, managing process flow and sequence, preventing out of specification processing, controlling employee qualification status by process, controlling equipment up/down status, thereby preventing use of out of calibration equipment. No longer will you hear, "it just happened", because overriding system controls takes a password.



Increased Throughput and Yields


Factory throughput is increased in many different ways. First, visual inventory screens help you identify the bottlenecks in your factory. If process yield issues are a problem, then SPC data is available to help with a solution. If the problem is an equipment downtime issue, then data is available to help solve that issue. If the problems are cycle time related the system holds data to help address that issue as well. If data collection is a time consuming part of your process, then bar code data entry will reduce data input time as well.



What Is It Costing You Because You Don't Have A Tool Like ?

PAYBACK AND BENEFITS

Real time data reporting makes you aware of what is happening in your factory. Now you can respond to situations as they develop rather than find out about problems after it's too late to take incisive action. You have a window down into the lowest levels of your factory, right from your desk top. With this window you can manage all elements critical to your operation. From your desk you can:


Lower Your In-line Inventory
Avoid Job Overuns
Spot Potential Bottlenecks Before They Develop
Predict When a Lot or Job Will Complete
Track Manufacturing Costs by Job, by Lot, by Operation, by Operator
Know the Current Yield of any Lot, Job or Operation
Spot Problem Areas before they produce scrap
Investigate Manufacturing Problems Without having to manually assimilate reams of data from numerous production areas
Instantly change job priorities and know they will be enforced
Change processing parameters and know it will be communicated to your operators
Much, much, more ...


All of these capabilities result in better, more timely information which leads to better, more timely decisions. This in turn leads to direct, measurable savings, allowing for a payback period that is measured in months.

STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL

Knowing where the product is in your factory, knowing when the product is going to ship and other such information is critical in helping managers make informed, competent decisions.

However, Information about your process is just as important as Production Information. Process Control is the key to a quality product, shipped on time.

When a process goes unmonitored, unmeasured and uncorrected, very large and unpredictable swings in both quality and quantity will occur.

SPC is a key element of and is integral to the way the system works. Engineering Data Collection occurs every time parts are processed through an operation in the factory. From the convenience of a computer terminal, Engineering can review up to the minute process data from factory Operations. automatically keeps track of operations and alarms when process parameters go out of specification.

Integrated WIP and SPC is one major benefit of running Manufacturing Execution Systems.

QUALITY ASSURANCE FEATURES

supports and augments quality systems presently in place in high tech. / high reliability manufacturing environments. delivers a quality system in support of ISO 9000 for plants looking to implement a quality system.


Enforces Configuration Management Systems.
Collects and Analyzes SPC data automatically.
Enforces Manufacturing Specifications.
Enforces Operator Qualification Status.
Keeps manufacturing process, procedures, drawings and technical specifications on-line at all times.
Makes quality auditing possible where it was previously a chore.
Easily Configured




Configuration Management


is built from information supplied to it by the user. knows nothing about your factory until you build up a list of manufacturing operations that are performed by your shop floor employees. This list holds information like: Charge number, Process/operation #, Revision Level, Default technical specs, Document and drawing numbers necessary for the operation.

As each operation is entered into it must go through a release cycle similar to the release cycle used for paper document systems. The significance of this is that operations can only be released by Configuration Management who has the release code for and the software will only allow for released operations to be included in routings or travelers. Like Operations, Routings or Travelers must go through a release cycle before will allow them to be used on the factory floor. This system of release authorization enforces, via software, compliance to Configuration Management principles.



SPC Data Collection and Analysis


When a process goes unmonitored, unmeasured and uncorrected, very large and unpredictable swings in quality and quantity will occur.

SPC is a key element of and is integral to the way the system works. Engineering Data Collection and Analysis occurs every time parts are processed through an operation in the factory. From the convenience of a computer terminal, Engineering can review real-time data from factory operations and dump data out to spread sheets and statistics packages.

Operations have Data Value control limits, Range Value control limits and SPEC Limits that can be used to control your factory. As data is collected it is compared against the three types of limits and depending upon which values are exceeded or violated, different actions can be triggered. The system can be configured to automatically put Operations on hold, or Lots on hold that violate the limits. uses the WESTERN ELECTRIC "RUN RULES" to determine if data is out of control. This refers to the exceeds limits as well as the 2 out of three, 4 out of 5 and 8 in a row methods of detecting unstable processes.



Manufacturing Specifications Enforcement


Specifications are enforced in the sense that the routing or traveler calls out the sequence of operations that are required to manufacture a product. Deviation from that sequence is not possible without a password that allows deviations. No matter what the operator does, maintains a COMPLETE HISTORY of the AS BUILT configuration.

Travelers have an OPTIONAL and ALTERNATE steps capability. Once past the optional or alternate step, the operator can not go back and choose the optional step without knowing the password. is FLEXIBLE in that any operation may be repeated as rework before going onto the next operation. The rework is recorded with the history of the device or lot.



On-line Documentation


Manufacturing specifications are also enforced in that technical specifications are put on screen whenever a device or lot is checked into an operation. The user has the option of printing the specifications if necessary to take back to their work station. They also have the option of reviewing any documentation associated with the operation such as supporting documents and drawings. A nice feature of is that the operator doesn't have to know these document titles intimately. They appear as documentation choices for the operator on check in.



Operator Qualification Enforcement


Operators in the factory are assigned a qualification status for different operations in the factory and will not allow operators to check into operations they are not qualified for.



Quality Auditing


supports a very powerful form of on-line data collection that is associated with the operation. When ever a device or lot is checked out of an operation will ask the operator to input inventory information like starts, rejects, reject categories and rework. This input is kept to the numeric keypad of a keyboard which is easy for operators to master. Once the inventory information is collected will ask the operator for Operational Information. It can be any information that quality, manufacturing, or engineering believes is important. It can be the batch code for a chemical used to clean, etch, cement or solder for example. It can be a list of measurements made on a device or lot of parts. This information is captured to the database and associated with the device and the operation. There is immediate real-time feedback to the operator as to whether the measurements they are entering exceed control limits. These limits are configured by users with sufficient security rights.

There are monitoring screens that can be configured by users to monitor data collected in real time from the manufacturing line. For example a process engineer responsible for etching can watch in real time the data that a factory floor operator is inputting as they go about their job. The monitor screen can be set up to warn the engineer if data exceeds configurable tolerances. Similar monitor screens can be configured to watch inventory yield data by operation and by job.



Easily Configured


This data collection is associated with an operation on check out and can be changed at anytime. There is exceptional flexibility in the ability of the system to collect data. On a day to day or hour to hour basis it is possible to change the data that is being collected at an operation. If a problem develops with an operation data can be collected for several days, to try and correlate it with other operational data from other operations and then changed or abandoned as necessary. This is all possible with out programming and is one of the most significant features of contribution to quality systems.

Integrated SPC for your factory is a major benefit of Manufacturing Execution Systems.