The Software Artist Limited

Production Tracking

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[Program Description] [Main Features] [Who's Currently Using it] [Interface Examples]

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Production software is sort of company specific, what follows is some information and various screen shots of different production software

This application will collect all production and reject information from the lines, as well as barcode product as needed. Product that is bar-coded clearly shows the name of the company, serial number, production line, produced date / time, bar/rack number, and position on the bar/rack. Using the barcode’s serial number you can retrieve all the information on the part as well as if there were any parts rejected from the same bar, lab tests preformed, it's state raw or replate, etc. Up to the minute production, rejects and cost of poor quality reports / graphs available form any machine on the network. Other features that can bee added; Production Planning and Schedule Attainment, Multi stage Polishing production, Scheduling and Schedule Attainment.

MAIN PROGRAM FEATURES

No Endless Payments, Purchase and it's yours

	No Annual Maintenance Fees
	No Extra Charges For Number of Users
	No Reasonable Phone Support Fees

This is not "Canned Software"

	Sections of the software can be tailored to fit your specific needs
	New Ideas / Sections can be developed

Customer Information

Customer Records

	Customer Name & Number
	Bill to / Ship to Addresses
	Purchasing, Production, Quality, General Manager Contact Information with Name, Phone Number, Cell Phone Number, Fax Number, and E-mail Address
	Multi-page Notes

Customer Part Information

Part Information Records

	Finish Type
	Length, Width, Depth, Surface Area, Finished Surface Area
	Pcs / Pack, Pack Weight, Part Weight
	Procedure Instructions (Inspection, Packing, Racking, Assembly, and Polishing)
	Pcs / Rack, Racks / Bar, and Rack Available
	Rack Storage Information (Rack ID, Rack Group, and Rack Location)
	Part Size, Weight, Finished Area
	Blueprint Reference and Location
	Specification Codes, Revision Date, and Frequency of Testing
	Specifications on Layer thicknesses, Cass, Step, MPCC, etc.
	Reference Picture, with built in JPG Compression Wizard and picture adjustment tools
	Observed Racking, Polishing, and Inspection Timings.
	"Bottleneck" Time and Description
	Buffing/Polishing Resources (Manual/Automatic)
	Recipe Number
	Part Name Change Revision History stores the old part number, discontinued date, and initials (up to 15 revisions)

Various Printouts

	Work Instructions
	Full Page Part Picture
	Part List & Information

Production Report Line Entry & Exit / Unload

The Unload station's screen always shows a graph of the top defects in the last 50 bars/racks.

Any supervisor/foreman walking by can easily see the type and quantity of the defects.

Defects can be Scanned or Hand entered

Bar coding of product for traceability

	Customer parts can be flagged to print Traceability barcodes upon unloading.
	The barcodes print your company name, date, time, shift, bar/rack number, production line, position of product on the bar/rack, and barcode (the item used to access all production information on the product)
	All production related information can be recalled with just the barcode.
	Offers 100% traceability on customer concerns or returns
	Assists the lab staff when doing physical testing on parts as the date, time, line, and possibly tanks the part went through are easily and accurately available.

Inspection and Defect (reject) Recording

Defects are broken into three major categories: Scrap, Re-workable, and Manufacturing.

Option to record fisher scope thickness information

	Each reading taken displays in half screen high letters the current reading, the Part they should be on and the P-Point they should be on, as well as the Average, High and Low Reading for the bar/rack.
	Readings under specification turn red, good readings are green

Real Time Production & Defect Viewer

Estimates Production by end of the current shift based on how the production line is currently performing. (Production Rate, Reject %, etc)

Displays all collected data about each rack and the elapsed time between racks

	Elapsed time is color coded so it's easy to spot when production delays occur.
	Always know the date, time and estimated duration of production loss

Reports can be printed from any date/time to any date/time and can optionally include:

	Details of each Bar/Rack
	Customer Totals
	Part Totals
	Accounting Period Totals (13 definable Periods in a year)
	Defect Totals
	Shift Totals
	Date Totals
	Line Totals

Produces various graphs

	Total Parts Produced by Part
	Top Ten Defects
	Defects By Selected Part, as well as FTQ, Amount Good, Scrap, and Re-workable.
	Rack Utilization
	SPC Charts of Fisher Scope Thickness readings by date/part

Document Revision Control System

Most printouts in the software you can specify your document control information

	Printouts show your company name at the top, and Revision Level, Date, Originator name, Approval name, and Form number.
	If the information is left black the form number states that it is an "Uncontrolled Document"

Other things that can be done with collected Production Information

Revenue Generated & Cost of Poor Quality Reports

	Graphs and reports on the jobs that are costing the most money to run
	COPQ Per Bar/Rack

Production Scheduling

	Seven Day Production Scheduling with up to 100 Parts per Schedule
	Can pull actual produced totals form production reports
	Calculates hrs needed to rack, inspect and polish product on the schedule to assure there is enough man hrs to properly run the schedule
	Calculates the number of Bars/Racks need per shift
	Prints weekly or daily production schedules for the plant, or by production line.

Schedule Attainment

Attaching Hoist Tracking Information to the produced product

If your PLC currently tracks the bars through the tanks and produces a log file, this information can be attached to the produced parts serial number (bar code.)

Extra Options

Backup / Restore Data

Performs a "Quick" compressed backup to the Hard disk (used daily) or optionally backup to any storage device (floppy disks, Zip Disks, Network Drive.) Complete with a backup manager, and information.

Program Changes Information

Displays program update information or additional information on enhancements on new versions installed.

Application Usage Log

	Logs Program events (Items added, modified, deleted, and in some cases printed)
	Records the date, time, username, reference number, action preformed, and Item / Description
	Upon Login / Logoff Records the Workstation ID, Location and Description of the computer being used to access the application
	Displays a graph of number of logged items per logon name
	Display a single users entries, or only log entries with a specific phrase
	This allows the production manager, or other staff to monitor options used in the application and the time it is taking users to enter reports / data
	You can purge the system log completely, or keep only the last week, last two weeks, last month, etc.

Program Version Information

Displays the current software version, Registered Company, and serial number.

Show System Information

Displays complete information on the system, database engine, and network. Performs version checking of the various custom controls that the application uses.

User Access Setup

	Allows the software administrator to setup user accounts with various access rights.
	Four Levels of security for each section View, Add, Modify, and Full (Delete.)
	Supports over 100 defined users

General Features

On menu, and screen calendar

A date can be painted one of several colors, and a note can be entered

One key programmable unit conversion on quantity fields (e.g. Pounds <>Kilograms, Gallons <>Letters Inches of Solution to Pounds, etc.)

Tested and running for over nine years in more then one industrial finishing company.

Network Compatible, fully tested under Novell NetWare, Windows For Workgroups, Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT 3.5 - 2000, and Windows XP.

Can be used on a stand-alone unit or data entry / display workstations can be placed in key locations on the plant floor / finishing line.

Cut, Copy, Paste to / from any application

The program pre-fills all date fields with the current date. All entered, or modified dates are verified to be existing calendar dates. The user can also select a date from an on screen calendar, or press various keys; "Y" Yesterday, "N" Now/Today, "T" Tomorrow, etc.

To make the task of entering data easier and training time less, a similar format is used in all sections of the program. All reports consist of a form that is filled with previous data, or is blank into which you view or enter new data, and a set of buttons. The buttons always have the same features and are 'VCR Like.' for example "|<" "<", ">", ">|" ,"ADD", "EDIT", "FIND", etc.

VARIATIONS CURRENTLY IN USE BY:

Dura-Chrome, Wallaceburg, Ontario.

Chromeshield Co., Windsor, Ontario

Chrome Craft Corp.

Highland Park, Michigan

A.W.K. Industrial Coatings, Chatham, Ontario

Walt Industries

Taylor, Michigan

EXAMPLE PICTURES OF THE APPLICATION:

Here is some pictures of the Various Production Tracking application, (you can click on any image to view a full screen version) please note that the data is factices and may appear "strange" in areas :)

Customers & Parts;