Look how easy an XL800 installation is!!!
April 2, 2009 by david.evanson
We think you’ll like this - XL800 is SUCH an easy easy installation you really can get it working in hours…and in most instances we only need 3 cables wired to the board.
It really is that easy!
Literally within hours of taking it out of the box you will:
- Be monitoring your OEE
- Be monitoring your takt time and cycle times
- Be upgrading your Andon lamps with USEFUL downtime alerts not just flashing lights
- Be monitoring your total output
- Be monitoring your 3 losses to OEE - availability, quality, and performance
And this is before you even put it on your production network and start entering targets and using the other really cool features…and we haven’t even started on what you could do with the full 22 inputs we have available.
To prove just how easy the installation is, check out this pdf link below - it will show you where to take you count sensors from and the 3 cables you need to start getting great results.
Click here for the pdf link for your XL800 installation
To clarify here’s a summary of what we can give you straight out of the box:
OEE analysis signals and inputs
XL800 and Takt Times
November 3, 2008 by david.evanson
One of the useful concepts to master in Lean Manufacturing is the concept of Takt Time.
Simply, the Takt time of a process is the maximum amount of time needed to produce a unit of a product to meet a customer demand. I like to think of the takt time of a manufacturing process as being like the “heart beat” of the line; it’s the pulse that demolishes your production plans and whacks out those units of product.
When i think of a “heart beat” a number of ideas pop into my mind - i wonder about the effect of an irregular heart beat on you or I, or perhaps a heart beat that’s too slow or too fast, or maybe a heart beat that’s been slowed down for a few days to cope with a change in the weather, or because it’s Tuesday today….no really! The great thing is that whilst this sounds like a strange thing to say about a human, we often experience it when we look at machines.
If your heart beat was erratic what would you want? I would be at my local casualty limply yet forcefully asking for an ECG pronto! Yet when we visit some factories quite often people have no idea at all that their factory heart beat, their takt times, are all over the place.
At OptimumFX we want to help you monitor the heart beat on your production line to ensure that it’s always fit and healthy. We can even help you set up alarms if the heart beat falls out of parameters to ensure that you always get the best from your machines and meet your targets.
Simply install an XL800 on your produciton line for a free trial to see a real time display of your current Takt time.
Best practice tip:
- Use your Takt time reading to set shift targets
- A great way to drive results on the plant floor is to drive production based on takt time - giving you teams the opportunity to “win” their production shifts.
Popular takt-time related KPI’s:
- Target “an automatically updated production target that increases based on takt time),
- Actual (the current production count),
- Efficiency (how far ahead of behind production is running in terms of a percentage).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takt_time
Using XL as a visual management scoreboard tool
October 28, 2008 by david.evanson
The first place where the XL800 will add value to your operation is on the factory floor.
Many sites first experience factory-floor visual management through the Andon systems typically found in the Toyota Production system. XL800 has much of the same functionality of a traditional Andon system with a whole load of additional reporting functionality and user-configuration. Imagine the impact that a large digital alphanumeric display can have when communicating on the factory floor.
Imagine a system which could:
- Tell you your current Takt Time is below Target
- Tell you when your Actual Speed is below TargetGive you really accurate OEE measures
- Tell you how you’ve lost output on the job/shift to that morning
- Be programmed to tell you when to do quality checks
- Count down for breaks or changeovers
- Display a “Congratulations” message when you beat that shift target
The XL system is so flexible, it will literally measure and record anything you want, and it can even be linked up to other devices. It’s even possible to:
- Activate a horn to sound at the end of break time.
- Activate a light system to indicate when a particular machine has gone down on a busy factory floor
- Trigger a buzzer when it’s time to do a quality check
- Activate an alarm when a speed/takt time dips below a minimum number
XL can do all this and far more.
More ideas for your XL OEE System
October 27, 2008 by david.evanson
1. When a production line reaches their goal for the Shift, display a Congratulations message or graphic.
2. When breaks or lunches move around a lot, remove them from the time schedule and instead use a manual input to set the unit to Standby (break) mode.
3. Use the relay output to sound a horn when a break starts and ends.
4. Display an hourly goal and hourly count to keep production on track.
5. In some applications, to get better data accuracy customers do not want the unit to decide if the line is running or down. Instead, they will use a relay contact that is closed if the line is running and open is the line is idle. This relay contact is wired to one of our inputs which will trigger a program to place the unit into Run or Down mode depending on the condition of the signal.
6. Use a time schedule to set the Takt time, Ideal cycle time, and Shift Goal to different values based on the production shift.
7. Display downtime as a monetary value. Money sometimes produces more of an impact than time.
8. Display the last shifts production as a motivation for the current shift.
9. Keep track of production records and display a congratulations message when it is surpassed.
10. Display a Changeover Goal time value as well as the current Changeover time to remind the operator of the requirement.
11. Change the Takt time, Ideal Cycle time, and Goal based on the number of operators on the line.
12. In plants where multiple languages are used, alternate between multiple screens of data using the different languages (English/Spanish).
13. In some applications (Printing presses) the line speed is more important to the operators than the actual count. For these applications, the Goal speed would be displayed with the actual speed changing color based upon reaching the Goal.
14. In some cases, customers use the unit as a simple display. For example, they already have a PLC on the production line which has all of the production data they are interested in. In this case, the PLC can be programmed to transmit the production data serially to the XL display.
Introducing the new XL 800 OEE monitoring system
October 23, 2008 by admin
OptimumFX are delighted to be launching the all new XL 800 system.
The XL 800 is a uniquely powerful tool that not only acts as a line based operator management system, it also houses an entire suite of analysis and reporting tools.
What the XL 800 can do:
- It can help you to:
- View over 100 KPI’s including analysis of: OEE, Availability, Efficiency, Quality, Takt Time, Cycle Time, Job performance, Shift performance, Changeover time, Downtime in specific fault modes and run rates.
- Manage your teams by setting break times and changeover times - always know how long the line has been stopped and when breaks are due to end
- Free up your management time; your manager no longer need to speed hours manually collecting and adding up manual collection sheets - with 6 button presses they can have shift reports printed in up to 5 formats, including Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
Over the coming weeks keep visiting this website to find out more about the great ways in which you can unlock the true OEE potential of your lines using XL OEE systems.
