Factelligence is a leading American configurable MES system that is distributed locally by supervisory control and data acquisition company: Adroit Technologies. In 2005, Adroit teamed up with NASDAQ listed, CIMNET, developers of Factelligence, to produce a pioneering MES/human machine interface, based on Adroit's VIZNET technology - a revolutionary data visualisation environment based on the Microsoft .NET platform.
Factelligence is a leading American configurable MES system that is distributed locally by supervisory control and data acquisition company: Adroit Technologies. In 2005, Adroit teamed up with NASDAQ listed, CIMNET, developers of Factelligence, to produce a pioneering MES/human machine interface, based on Adroit's VIZNET technology - a revolutionary data visualisation environment based on the Microsoft .NET platform.
Factelligence is a configurable MES that can meet many of a customer's unique requirements without requiring custom code. Configurability decreases implementation time and overall cost of ownership. Factelligence was configured to meet the unique aspects of the Metalsa implementation
Some of the important factors leading to the selection of Factelligence as Metalsa's software vendor were historical MES software experience and superior product functionality.
Factelligence is currently in service collecting production data, executing work orders on the shopfloor, and providing production visibility. Data collected from the floor is transferred to Metalsa's ERP via the Factelligence Supply Chain Connector. Work Orders are downloaded from ERP into Factelligence where the information reaches the production floor.
Headquartered in Mexico, Metalsa also has three manufacturing facilities in North America. It is a tier one automotive supplier whose customers include many of the world's largest automotive companies such as General Motors, Daimler Chrysler, Nissan, and Toyota. The company provides customers with a number of value added services from design through manufacturing, and produces OEM automotive components including heavy truck side rails, light truck chassis, suspension modules, metal fuel systems, and structural die-stamped parts for passenger cars and light trucks.
The Factelligence software was implemented in the Apodaca facility near Monterrey, Mexico - a highly capable manufacturing centre that includes production of hydro forming, metal stamping, plasma cutting, robotic welding, laser cutting, forming and piercing, and painting.
The manufacturing lines at Metalsa produce a variety of models. Model changes can occur relatively frequently. Therefore, the lines must have the capability to make model changes quickly. Set up time for model changes has been reduced from approximately 20 to 25 minutes to approximately 1 to 2 minutes as a result of using Factelligence.
Factelligence provides Metalsa staff with historical data and realtime key performance indicators (KPIs) that related to their highly automated manufacturing process. These metrics are used to monitor production rate and cycle time so valuable process improvements can be effectively implemented as a result of using Factelligence.
As part of their continuous process of assessing and improving their software infrastructure - ranging from high level business systems to plant level automation software - Metalsa determined that it needed to extend its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to communicate production demand to the plant floor. They also required a system that would be capable of communicating and recording important production related metrics essential for continuous improvement.
The shopfloor system installed at Metalsa needed to be capable of integrating with a range of sophisticated control systems for the plant's production equipment. Metalsa staff realised that improved manufacturing control and visibility and continuous process improvement were essential for sustained competitive advantage. Therefore, it decided to install Factelligence MES.
Prior to using Factelligence, production rate and cycle time measurements were not recorded effectively. Therefore, the plant's efficiencies were often difficult to calculate.
The benefits Metalsa realised after installing Factelligence included improved production rates, as well as labour and machine utilisation, improved cycle time and reduced set up times. The fact that all record keeping has been removed from the shopfloor. Plus, accurate, realtime production metrics that are available to facilitate informed manufacturing management decision making.
All MES implementations have unique challenges. Some of the obstacles addressed during the MES project at Metalsa included a highly automated manufacturing environment, integration to a variety of controls system, unique product tracking requirements, and integration to an ERP system.
The project initially focused on production tracking, as well as reporting requirements. The complete system includes realtime production work order information, integration to programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and robots, highly visible displays of production information (ANDON Systems), bar code label printing and reading, pinstamp permanent printing in metal, detailed production reporting, and an ERP interface.
A bi-directional interface to the ERP system was a critical aspect of the project. The design allows production operations to be downloaded from the ERP to the MES. Actual production results are recorded in the MES per operation and uploaded to the ERP. This design enables precise production tracking on a work order basis and improves the accuracy of financial reports. Factelligence is integrated with Metalsa's business system from QAD.
Factelligence controls two large automated manufacturing lines at the Apodaca facility. The 'GMT' line manufactures axle assembles and the 'Light Duty' line manufactures chassis. Each line has approximately 15 unique manufacturing operations. The 'Light Duty' line manufactures approximately 1000 chassis per day operating on a 24/7 shift schedule. The MES communicates with the controls systems for the line's equipment and automatically starts and stops jobs. It also monitors production and records counts, rates, and cycle times automatically per operation.
The system is highly automated. Virtually no human intervention is required from the shopfloor to the MES. Work Order demand is automatically downloaded from the ERP system to the MES using Factelligence Supply Chain Connector. Jobs are started and sequenced automatically by Factelligence. The Factelligence Factory Connector interfaces to PLCs to record production automatically. Bar code labels are also generated automatically on demand and production results are routinely sent back to the ERP system.
In the highly automated environment there is limited need to provide a user interface to extract information from shopfloor operators. However, effective tools have been implemented to communicate to shopfloor operators. Factelligence is being used to display critical process information on numerous large ANDON displays. The displays communicate the current work order number and key performance indicators (KPIs) including cycle time and production count. When cycle time and production count targets are met a green light on the display is illuminated and when they are not being met a red light is illuminated.
For more information contact Charles Hudgson, Adroit Technologies, +27 (0)11 658 8100, [email protected]
| Tel: | +27 11 658 8100 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.adroit.co.za |
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