Activity amount calculation apparatus, system including activity amount calculation apparatus, and activity amount calculation method

Abstract

To solve the problem in which it is necessary to acquire information on all facilities used for manufacturing because activity amounts of the facilities are used to calculate a GREEN HOUSE GAS (GHG) emission, however, not all facilities necessarily include an I / F, and necessary information may not be acquired.SOLUTION: An activity amount calculation apparatus includes a processor, a storage unit, and an interface that acquires information from a facility used for an operation of a process in a manufacturing line. The storage unit manages a standard operation time related to an operation time in the process. The processor acquires, using the interface from a facility that is an observation target in the manufacturing line, an actual value of a work time of the facility, and calculates, using the acquired actual value and the standard operation time of a process performed by a facility that is not the observation target in the manufacturing line, an activity amount of each facility in the manufacturing line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an activity amount calculation device, a system including an activity amount calculation device, and an activity amount calculation method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for calculating the environmental load of a product, which involves "accepting numerical data on the actual power consumption of the production line, the equipment characteristics of each piece of equipment on the production line, the rated power of each piece of equipment, and each specification item of each product (S31), determining a coefficient for each piece of equipment using the relationship between the equipment characteristics and the ratio (coefficient) of the actual power consumption to the equipment rated power (S32), and determining a correlated specification item for each piece of equipment using an equipment characteristic-correlated specification item relationship that relates the equipment characteristics to specification items that are correlated with the equipment power consumption (S32). Using the rated power and coefficient for each piece of equipment, the actual power consumption is allocated to each piece of equipment, and the power consumption for each piece of equipment is determined (S34). Using numerical data on the correlated specification items for each piece of equipment, the power consumption for each piece of equipment is allocated to each product, and the power consumption for each piece of equipment and for each product is determined (S35). The power consumption for each piece of equipment and for each product is determined for each product using the power consumption for each piece of equipment and for each product (S36)."

[0003] Patent Document 2 targets manufacturing lines with takt time variations, such as small-lot, high-mix production, and discloses a method for estimating the degree of variation and reducing the variation by devising line design, providing support to workers, or assigning highly skilled workers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-97508 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-245043 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] To achieve CARBON NEUTRAL (CN), for example, businesses with manufacturing lines are required to manage GREEN HOUSE GAS (GHG) emissions when manufacturing products. When using the activity amount of equipment to calculate GHG emissions, it is considered necessary to obtain information from all equipment used in manufacturing. However, there is a problem in that not all equipment on a manufacturing line is equipped with an I / F (interface) for providing information, and there are cases where the necessary information cannot be obtained. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, there is provided an activity amount calculation device and a system in the following aspects. The activity amount calculation device includes a processor, a storage unit, and an interface that acquires information from equipment used in work of a process in a production line. The storage unit manages standard work times related to work times in the processes. The processor acquires performance values ​​of equipment operating times from equipment that is the subject of observation in the production line using the interface. The processor then calculates the activity amount of each piece of equipment in the production line using the acquired performance values ​​and standard work times of processes performed by equipment that is not the subject of observation in the production line. There is also provided a system that includes the activity amount calculation device and a host system that manages a production site, in which the activity amount calculation device is used as a relay device between the production line and the host system.

[0007] According to the present invention, there is provided an activity amount calculation method having the following aspect. This activity amount calculation method is performed using an activity amount calculation device including a processor, a storage unit that manages standard work times related to work times in processes, and an interface that acquires information from equipment used in work in processes in a production line. The processor acquires, from equipment that is a target of observation in the production line, a performance value of the equipment's operating time using the interface, and calculates the activity amount of each piece of equipment in the production line using the acquired performance value and the standard work time of a process performed by equipment that is not a target of observation in the production line. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, even if the necessary information cannot be obtained from the equipment, it is possible to calculate the activity amount of each piece of equipment in the production line by using the managed standard work time. Note that the problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment of the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a configuration of a relay device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a power supply usage plan. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of process environment information; [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of production line configuration information; [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of production line time information. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of worker information. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of process performance information; [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of facility information. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of selection of observation equipment. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of management of standard work times. [Figure 11] 13 is an example of a formula used to calculate a cycle time. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of calculation of an activity amount of a manufacturing process. [Figure 13] 13 is an example of a formula used to calculate an amount of activity. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment is an example for explaining the present invention, and appropriate omissions and simplifications are made for clarity of explanation. The present invention can be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural. In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings. As examples of various information, the various information may be described using expressions such as "table," "list," and "queue," but the various information may be expressed using data structures other than these. For example, various information such as "XX table," "XX list," and "XX queue" may be expressed as "XX information." When describing identification information, expressions such as "identification information," "identifier," "name," "ID," and "number" are used, but these are mutually interchangeable. When there are multiple components having the same or similar functions, they may be described by using the same reference numerals with different subscripts, or when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted. In the embodiment, a process performed by executing a program may be described. Here, a computer executes the program using a processor (e.g., CPU, GPU), and performs the process defined by the program while using a storage resource (e.g., memory) and an interface device (e.g., communication port), etc. Therefore, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be the processor. Similarly, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a controller, device, system, computer, or node having a processor. The subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a calculation unit, and may include a dedicated circuit that performs a specific process. Here, the dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), etc. The program may be installed in the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable storage medium. When the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server may include a processor and a storage resource that stores the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. In addition, in the embodiment, two or more programs may be realized as one program, and one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0011] The relay device will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The relay device 200 (activity amount calculation device) is a device that relays between a site and a higher-level system, and sends acquired information, processed and generated information, etc. to the higher-level system. In this embodiment, the relay device 200 relays between one or more production lines 100 at a production site and a management system of the production site via communication. Here, various pieces of equipment used to carry out work are prepared for each process on the production line 100.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, relay device 200 includes memory 210 for storing various programs and data, processor 250 for executing programs stored in memory 210, auxiliary storage device 260 for permanently retaining programs and data, network interface 271 for providing a connection via communication with an external computer or the like, and external interface 272 for connecting various input / output devices such as a keyboard and a display (peripheral device 500 in FIG. 1).

[0013] The memory 210 stores a production line management unit 220, which is a program for realizing functions related to management of the production line 100, and an environmental load management unit 230, which stores a program for realizing functions related to management of the environmental load of the production line 100. The memory 210 also has storage areas (241 to 245) for storing data for processing by the production line management unit 220 and the environmental load management unit 230.

[0014] The production line management unit 220 is composed of the functions of, for example, a process management unit 221, a standard work time management unit 222, a cycle time management unit 223, and a takt time management unit 224. The process management unit 221 handles information on each process that constitutes the production line 100. The standard work time management unit 222 handles the standard work time for the work performed in each process. The standard work time is the standard work time for a process. The cycle time management unit 223 handles the actual work time (so-called cycle time) of the production line 100 that is made up of each process. The takt time management unit 224 handles the planned work time (so-called takt time) of the production line 100.

[0015] The environmental load management unit 230 is composed of, for example, the functions of an observation equipment management unit 231, a standard operation time correction unit 232, a work status collection unit 233, a takt time correction unit 234, an activity amount calculation unit 235, and a GHG emission calculation unit 236. The observation equipment management unit 231 manages equipment for observing the operation status, etc., in the production line 100 managed by the production line management unit 220. The standard operation time correction unit 232 corrects the standard operation time handled by the standard operation time management unit 222 of the production line management unit 220 by referring to the observation results of the equipment and past performance information, etc. The work status collection unit 233 collects information on the work status of the process by the equipment from the equipment selected as the observation target by the observation equipment management unit 231. The takt time correction unit 234 corrects the takt time handled by the takt time management unit 224 by referring to performance information such as the cycle time and the observation results of the equipment. The activity amount calculation unit 235 calculates the amount of activity, and calculates the amount of activity for each process, for example, taking into consideration information on the processes managed by the production line management unit 220, the standard work time for each process, the takt time and cycle time of the production line 100, performance information obtained by observing each piece of equipment, and the type of power source used when production was carried out. The GHG emission calculation unit 236 calculates the amount of GHG emission using the calculated amount of activity and information on the basic unit related to GHG. The GHG emission calculation unit 236 calculates the amount of GHG emission, for example, by multiplying the amount of activity by the basic unit.

[0016] The memory 210 is configured with a production plan information storage unit 241, a process information storage unit 242, an equipment configuration information storage unit 243, a performance information storage unit 244, and a basic unit information storage unit 245 for the manufacturing line 100 targeted by the relay device 200. The production plan information storage unit 241 stores plans related to production and plans for the types of power sources supplied to the production equipment. The process information storage unit 242 stores information related to each process. The equipment configuration information storage unit 243 stores information related to the equipment operating in each process. The performance information storage unit 244 stores information obtained by observing the operating equipment. The basic unit information storage unit 245 stores information related to the basic unit to be referenced when calculating GHG emissions.

[0017] Next, various types of data will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 8. First, an example of a power usage plan will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The power usage plan 610 is information on a plan of power to be used for the production line 100 targeted by the relay device 200, and is stored in the production plan information storage unit 241. The power usage plan 610 is referenced, for example, by the process management unit 221 that handles information on each process constituting the production line in the processing of the production line management unit 220. In addition, the power usage plan 610 is referenced, for example, by the activity amount calculation unit 235 in the environmental load management unit 230 that calculates the activity amount of each process.

[0018] The power usage plan 610 includes, as an example, a # field 611, a date field 612, a breaker ID 613, a power source type field 614, a start time field 615, and an end time field 616. The # field 611 indicates information that identifies the entry. The date field 612 indicates the date of the information indicated by the entry. The breaker ID 613 indicates information that identifies the power source indicated by the entry. The power source type field 614 indicates the power source type indicated by the entry. The start time field 615 indicates the time at which use of power of the power source type indicated by the entry begins at the location identified by the breaker ID. The end time field 616 indicates the time at which use of power of the power source type indicated by the entry ends at the location identified by the breaker ID.

[0019] Next, an example of the process environment information will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The process environment information 620 is stored in the process information storage unit 242 that manages information related to each process for the production line 100 targeted by the relay device 200. The process environment information 620 is referred to, for example, by the process management unit 221, the standard work time management unit 222 that manages the standard work time of each process, and the cycle time management unit 223 that manages the cycle time of the production line in the production line management unit 220. In addition, the process environment information 620 is referred to, for example, by the standard work time correction unit 232 that determines the correction of the standard work time of each process, and the activity amount calculation unit 235 in the environmental load management unit 230.

[0020] The process environment information 620 includes, for example, a # field 621, a process # field 622, a name field 623, a breaker ID 624, an observation equipment ID field 625, a standard work time field 626, and a correction threshold field 627. The # field 621 indicates information for identifying an entry. The process # field 622 indicates information for identifying a process indicated by the entry. The name field 623 indicates information that is assigned to the process indicated by the entry to make the process easier for people to understand or remember. The breaker ID 624 indicates information for identifying a power source used in the process indicated by the entry. The observation equipment ID field 625 indicates information for identifying equipment used in the process indicated by the entry. The standard work time field 626 indicates the standard work time of the process indicated by the entry. The correction threshold field 627 indicates information that is referenced to determine whether or not to correct the value of the standard work time of the process indicated by the entry when work is performed.

[0021] Next, an example of the production line configuration information will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The production line configuration information 630 is stored in the process information storage unit 242 that manages information related to each process constituting the production line 100, with respect to the production line 100 targeted by the relay device 200. The production line configuration information 630 is referenced, for example, by the process management unit 221 in the production line management unit 220. In addition, the production line configuration information 630 is referenced, for example, by the observation equipment management unit 231 in the environmental load management unit 230 that manages the equipment to be observed in the production line 100.

[0022] The production line configuration information 630 includes, for example, a # field 631 for identifying an entry, a line # field 632 for identifying the production line indicated by the entry, and a process # field 633 for identifying the process indicated by the entry.

[0023] Next, an example of the production line time information will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The production line time information 640 is stored in the performance information storage unit 244 that manages information observed in the production line 100 targeted by the relay device 200. The production line time information 640 is referred to, for example, in the production line management unit 220 by the cycle time management unit 223 that manages the cycle time, which is the actual work time required for production on the production line 100, and the takt time management unit 224 that manages the takt time, which is the planned work time required for production on the production line. In addition, the production line time information 640 is referred to, for example, in the environmental load management unit 230 by the takt time correction unit 234 that corrects the takt time, which is the planned work time required for production on the production line.

[0024] The production line time information 640 includes, for example, a # field 641, a line # field 642, a takt time field 643, a cycle time field 644, and a correction threshold field 645. The # field 641 indicates information for identifying an entry. The line # field 642 indicates information for identifying the production line indicated by the entry. The takt time field 643 indicates the value of the takt time planned for the line indicated by the entry. The cycle time field 644 indicates the value of the cycle time observed for the line indicated by the entry. The correction threshold field 645 indicates information referenced to determine whether or not to correct the value of the takt time indicated by the entry when work is completed through the line.

[0025] The value of the cycle time field 644 may be replaced with an estimated value, and the estimated value may be a value estimated using a standard operation time, for example.

[0026] Next, an example of worker information will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The worker information 650 is a record of the workers who performed work on the production line, and is stored in the production plan information storage unit 241 that manages production plans and plans for the types of power sources supplied to the production equipment. The worker information 650 is referenced, for example, in the environmental load management unit 230 by the work status collection unit 233 that collects the work status of the processes on the production line 100.

[0027] As an example, worker information 650 includes a # field 651 that identifies the entry, a worker ID field 652 that identifies the worker indicated by the entry, a date field 653 that indicates the date of the information indicated by the entry, and a process # field 654 that identifies the process indicated by the entry.

[0028] Next, an example of the process result information will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The process result information 660 is stored in the result information storage unit 244 that manages information observed in the target production line 100 by the relay device 200, regarding records of when work was performed in each process in the production line 100. The process result information 660 is referred to, for example, by the cycle time management unit 223 in the production line management unit 220. In addition, the process result information 660 is referred to, for example, by the standard work time correction unit 232, the work status collection unit 233, the takt time correction unit 234, and the activity amount calculation unit 235 in the environmental load management unit 230.

[0029] The process result information 660 includes, by way of example, a # field 661, a process # field 662, a date and time field 663, a worker ID field 664, and a working time (actual) field 665. The # field 661 indicates information for identifying an entry. The process # field 662 indicates information for identifying the process indicated by the entry. The date and time field 663 indicates the date and time of the information indicated by the entry. The worker ID field 664 indicates information for identifying the worker, etc. indicated by the entry. The working time (actual) field 665 indicates the working time when the worker, etc. indicated in the worker ID field 664 performed the process indicated by the entry on the date and time indicated in the date and time field 663.

[0030] In addition, the worker ID field 664 basically stores ID information (a six-digit number in the example of FIG. 7) that identifies the worker. However, if the ID information of the worker is unknown, N / A is stored. Also, if the work is performed automatically by equipment, not by a worker, information that identifies the equipment may be stored.

[0031] Next, an example of facility information will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Facility information 670 is stored in the facility configuration information storage unit 243 that manages information on facilities operating in each process. The facility information 670 is referenced by, for example, the observation facility management unit 231 and the work status collection unit 233 in the environmental load management unit 230.

[0032] The equipment information 670 includes, for example, a # field 671 for identifying an entry, an equipment ID field 672 for identifying equipment used in the process indicated by the entry, and a provided I / F field 673 for indicating an I / F provided by the equipment identified by the equipment ID 672 indicated by the entry and for exchanging observation data with the outside. If the equipment does not have the I / F, N / A is stored in the provided I / F field 673 corresponding to the equipment ID indicating the equipment.

[0033] Next, an example of the operation of the relay device will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 11. First, an example of a process related to the selection of an observation facility will be described with reference to Figure 9. The observation facility is a facility where the relay device performs observation and acquires observation data when calculating GHG emissions in a production line.

[0034] The observation facility selection process (P100) is executed by the observation facility management unit 231. First, the relay device 200 (more specifically, the processor 250) designates the manufacturing line to be observed, and identifies the manufacturing line 100 for which GHG emissions are to be calculated (P101).

[0035] Next, the relay device 200 designates the maximum number of pieces of equipment that can be observed equipment in the observed production line, taking into consideration the permissible processing amount, processing time, or power consumption associated with the processing that can be tolerated in the production line (P102).

[0036] Furthermore, the relay device 200 creates an equipment list that lists the equipment operating in the observed manufacturing line based on the information of the observed manufacturing line specified in P101 (P103). Note that, when creating the equipment list, the relay device 200 refers to the manufacturing line configuration information 630 in order to specify which processes the target manufacturing line is made up of. Also, the relay device 200 refers to the process environment information 620 in order to specify which equipment is operating in each of the specified processes.

[0037] Then, the relay device 200 creates an observation facility candidate list, which is a list of observation facility candidates, by extracting facilities equipped with an I / F provided for exchanging observation data with the outside from the facility list created in P103 (P104). Note that when creating the observation facility candidate list, the relay device 200 refers to the facility information 670 to identify the I / F of each facility.

[0038] Then, in order to select the observation equipment, the relay device 200 allocates processing taking into consideration the maximum number of observation target equipment that is allowable, specified in P102, and the number of observable equipment that has an I / F that can be used for observation, listed in P104 (P105, P106).

[0039] When the number of observation targets is one (i.e., when the first equipment is the observation target), the relay device 200 estimates the cycle time of the production line based on the actual value of the work time of one process to be observed and the standard work time of other processes that are not the observation target. Therefore, by selecting a process with a large deviation in work time, the accuracy of the estimation is improved. Therefore, the relay device 200 selects the process with the longest standard work time as the observation target process among the processes in which the observable equipment listed on P104 is operating, and sets the equipment that performs that process as the observation equipment (P107).

[0040] When the number of observation targets is two (i.e., when the first equipment and the second equipment are observed), the relay device 200 estimates the cycle time of the production line based on the actual values ​​of the work times of the two processes to be observed and the standard work times of other processes that are not observed. Therefore, the accuracy of the estimation is improved by maximizing the observation section (i.e., the distance between the two processes to be observed). Therefore, the relay device 200 selects the observable end processes from the processes in which the observable equipment listed on P104 is operating (i.e., selects the processes so that the distance between each process is the greatest), and sets the equipment that performs the process as the observed equipment (P108).

[0041] When the number of observation targets is three or more (i.e., when the first equipment, the second equipment, and the third equipment are included in the observation targets), the relay device 200 first selects two processes that maximize the observation section (i.e., the distance between the two processes to be observed), and sets the equipment performing the processes as the observation equipment. Then, it selects a process with a large deviation in work time that is likely to affect the estimation accuracy of the cycle time, and sets the equipment performing the process as the observation equipment (P109). By maximizing the observation section, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the cycle time estimation. At the same time, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the estimation by selecting a process with a large deviation in work time that is likely to affect the estimation accuracy of the cycle time. Therefore, the relay device 200 selects the observable end processes from the processes in which the observable equipment listed in P104 operates, and further selects the process with the longest standard work time among the processes in which the observable equipment listed in P104 operates as the process to be observed. The relay device 200 performs this selection regarding the standard operation time up to the number of observation targets.

[0042] In FIG. 9, P107 and P109 illustrate the possibility that the length of the standard operation time may have a large effect on the estimation of the cycle time, but the relay device 200 may refer to the longest actual operation time in the past performance information of each process stored in the process performance information 660, for example. It is also possible to identify processes with large deviations in operation time from a perspective other than the length of the standard operation time, and to identify processes that have a large effect on the estimation of the cycle time. Then, it is possible to select the equipment that performs the identified process as the observation target. After the above processing is performed, the observation equipment selection processing (P100) ends (P110).

[0043] Next, an example of management of standard working hours will be described with reference to Fig. 10. By managing the standard working hours, it is possible to improve the accuracy of estimating the activity amount of each process, which is necessary for calculating GHG emissions, in the manufacturing line observed by the relay device.

[0044] In the standard operation time management (P200), the standard operation time management unit 222, the standard operation time correction unit 232, etc. are executed. In the observation facility selection process P100, the relay device 200 (more specifically, the processor 250) collects, as actual operation time values, the start and end times of operations in the processes performed by the facilities from all the facilities in operation selected as observation targets in the production line in the observation facility selection process P100 (P201).

[0045] The relay device 200 adds the observed data to the process result information 660 as a new entry based on the result information of all the processes to be observed collected in P201 (P202).

[0046] The relay device 200 compares the standard operation time of each process constituting the manufacturing line to be observed, stored in the process environment information 620, with the observed operation time of each process as the result stored in the process result information 660. If the difference between the standard operation time and the result value exceeds the correction threshold value stored in the process environment information 620, the relay device 200 corrects the standard operation time stored in the process environment information 620 (P203). Note that the degree of correction can be a value specified in advance, such as a correction by 1 / 2 the threshold value.

[0047] If the number of pieces of equipment to be observed is one (P204), the standard operation time management process ends (P207). If the number of pieces of equipment to be observed is more than one (P204), the relay device 200 refers to the production line time information 640. Then, the relay device 200 compares the takt time and cycle time of the referred production line time information 640 with the takt time of the production line to be observed and the cycle time estimated from the actual value of the process to be observed and the standard operation time of the process to be not observed. As an example of a method for calculating the takt time of the production line, the sum of the standard operation times set for each process constituting the production line is set as the takt time. If the difference exceeds the correction threshold set for the production line, the takt time of the production line time information 640 is corrected (P205). The degree of correction can be a previously specified content, such as correction by 1 / 2 the threshold.

[0048] When the takt time of the production line is corrected in P205, the relay device 200 corrects the standard operation times of the non-observed processes constituting the production line in accordance with the corrected takt time (P206).

[0049] After the above processing, the standard work time management processing ends (P207). In the standard work time management (P200), for example, the cycle time for each product to be manufactured can be calculated using the formula shown in FIG. 11. The cycle time can be the time that the product to be manufactured stays on the production line ([time the product leaves the production line]-[time the product enters the production line]), and the assumed production line is a straight line with no branches. Therefore, when three or more points can be measured, the cycle time can be calculated by selecting two points on the production line that have the longest section and applying the formula when two points can be observed. In addition, for processes for which actual measurements can be obtained, the obtained actual measurements can be used to correct the standard work time of the process using a threshold value.

[0050] Next, an example of activity amount calculation will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 shows a flowchart of an activity amount calculation example for estimating the activity amount of each process required for calculating GHG emissions in a production line observed by a relay device.

[0051] In the activity amount calculation (P300), first, the relay device 200 (more specifically, the processor 250) specifies the production line to be observed in order to identify the production line to be observed (P301). Then, the date and time for calculating the activity amount of the production line to be observed is specified (P302). Next, based on the information of the production line specified in P301, the production line configuration information 630 is referenced in order to identify which processes the target production line is made up of. Also, in order to identify which equipment is operating in each of the identified processes, the process environment information 620 is referenced to create an equipment list that lists the equipment operating in the target production line (P303).

[0052] The relay device 200 refers to the list created in P303, and for the equipment operating in the production line, refers to the process performance information 660, and extracts performance information for each piece of equipment operating at the date and time specified in P302 (P304).

[0053] The relay device 200 extracts the operation time from the information on the operation results of the observed target equipment from the result of P304, and sets it as the activity amount of the equipment operating in the process (P305). On the other hand, for equipment operating in a non-observed process in the target manufacturing line, the standard operation time of the process is set as the activity amount (P306).

[0054] The relay device 200 identifies information on the breakers used by the equipment operating in each process in the process environment information 620 and the type of power source supplied to each breaker based on the power source usage plan 610, and corrects the amount of activity according to the type of power source used in each process, such as reducing the amount of activity when renewable energy is to be used as the power source (P307).

[0055] After the above processing, the activity amount calculation processing ends (P308). In the activity amount calculation (P300), the activity amount can be calculated using the calculation formula shown in FIG.

[0056] In a manufacturing line, not all equipment is necessarily equipped with an I / F (interface) for providing information, and there are cases where the information required to calculate the activity amount cannot be obtained. Here, for example, replacing all equipment at once is not easy from the perspective of production plans and investment budgets. In addition, some equipment is difficult to replace because of the high cost of adding an I / F, such as old models. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the activity amount of equipment using the cycle time, which is the time it takes to make one product through multiple processes (operating time divided by actual production volume). However, if the breakdown of the cycle time is not known, the accuracy is likely to be low.

[0057] Even in such cases, by supplementing the equipment information with the managed standard work time, it is possible to calculate the amount of activity while suppressing the deterioration of accuracy. GHG emissions can then be calculated based on this amount of activity, thereby realizing a contribution from an environmental perspective.

[0058] In addition, when estimating the activity amount of an unobservable process using standard work hours, the accuracy of the estimation is likely to be low in the case of high-mix, low-volume production, because the work hours of each process fluctuate. As a result, the accuracy of the calculated GHG emissions is likely to be low.

[0059] Even in this case, the deterioration of the estimation accuracy can be suppressed by extracting the observation target as described above. It is also possible to select the equipment to be observed from the list taking into account the status of power consumption, etc.

[0060] Also, for example, the standard work time may be managed from the following viewpoints to improve the estimation accuracy. The relay device 200 may correct the standard work time based on, for example, a production plan for manufacturing a product, a maintenance plan for equipment, a manpower plan for workers, and referenced data. Regarding the production plan, for example, when the same product is manufactured over a long period of time, the skill level of workers is expected to improve over time, so a correction may be made to shorten the standard work time as necessary. Regarding the maintenance plan, the closer the planned maintenance work date and time is, the higher the possibility of equipment malfunction is considered to be, so a correction may be made to lengthen the standard work time of the process in which the equipment is operated. Regarding the manpower plan, the skill level of the worker is expected to improve depending on the frequency with which the worker is in charge of the same process, so a correction may be made to shorten the standard work time.

[0061] Furthermore, the relay device 200 may correct the standard work time by, for example, referring to skill information of the worker. For example, the skill information can be used as a weight to shorten the standard work time of a process if the skill level of the worker in charge of the process is high, and to lengthen the standard work time of the process if the skill level of the worker in charge of the process is low.

[0062] For example, the skill information can be managed for each process, and can be data in a table format in which the skill level of the worker and the corresponding standard work time are stored. For example, the skill level of the worker in charge of the process can be updated as appropriate according to the experience of the worker. Furthermore, when the worker in charge of the process is changed, the content of the skill information can be changed accordingly.

[0063] From the above explanation, the following relay device and method are provided: That is, a relay device is provided that refers to a production plan, equipment maintenance plan, manpower plan, and power usage plan for manufacturing a product, manages the processes and standard work times constituting a production line, the equipment in operation and its specifications, and the I / F of each piece of equipment, manages the skill level expected of the worker in charge of each process and the corresponding standard work time, selects equipment from which information should be obtained in order to calculate GHG emissions, obtains information observed during the production of the product, corrects the standard work time of the process to which the equipment is related based on the information observed from the equipment, calculates the cycle time of the product on the production line, determines a breakdown of the cycle time for each process, and calculates the GHG emissions when each product is manufactured.

[0064] Also, even in high-mix low-volume production where the work time for each process varies greatly because the work content changes before the worker becomes accustomed to it, a method is provided for correcting the standard work time for each process, taking into consideration the cycle time (actual value) required to manufacture the product in the target manufacturing line, the operation time (actual value) of the equipment for the process from which information can be obtained, and the production plan for manufacturing the product, etc. The production plan may include information such as what product is to be manufactured, when it is to be manufactured, how many are to be manufactured, who is to manufacture it, and who is in charge of which process and when.

[0065] In this relay device and method, in order to calculate the GHG emissions of a production line, appropriate equipment for observing the operating status is selected to obtain information, and the standard working hours and the like used to estimate the operating status of equipment that cannot be observed can be corrected from the operating status of some of the equipment in the production line that has been observed. In addition, when calculating the activity amount, the type of power source (conventional / renewable energy) used by each piece of equipment can be taken into consideration to calculate the activity amount of the production line.

[0066] In addition, by observing, for example, the start and end points of the manufacturing line to be observed in the relay device, or near the start and end points, the accuracy of the estimation of takt time can be improved, and as a result, the accuracy of the estimation of GHG emissions can be expected to be improved. Also, for example, when three or more pieces of equipment can be observed, the accuracy of the estimation of GHG emissions can be expected to be improved by selecting equipment with a large environmental load (power consumption), equipment installed in a difficult process, or equipment installed in a process handled by workers with low proficiency as the observation target.

[0067] Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and equivalent configurations are included within the spirit of the appended claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, a part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with a configuration of another embodiment. In addition, a configuration of another embodiment may be added to a configuration of one embodiment. In addition, a part of the configuration of each embodiment may be added, deleted, or replaced with another configuration.

[0068] The various data described above may be stored in the auxiliary storage device 260, and the relay device 200 may read the data into the memory 210 and process it as necessary. Although the relay device 200 that uploads information to a higher-level system has been described as an example of the activity amount calculation device, the activity amount calculation device may be configured as a computer different from the relay device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 100: Manufacturing line 200: Relay device 210: Memory 220: Manufacturing Line Management Department 230:Environmental Load Management Department 241: Production planning information storage unit 242: Process information storage unit 243: Facility configuration information storage section 244: Performance information storage section 245: Basic unit information storage section 250: Processor 260:Auxiliary storage device 271: Network interface 272: External interface 500: Peripheral devices

Claims

1. A processor; A storage unit; An interface for acquiring information from equipment used in process operations on the manufacturing line; Equipped with The storage unit is Manage standard work hours for each process. The processor acquiring, from a piece of equipment to be observed in the manufacturing line, a performance value of the operation time of the piece of equipment using the interface; calculating an activity amount of each piece of equipment in the production line using the acquired performance value and the standard work time of a process performed by equipment that is not an observation target in the production line; An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

2. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, In a case where the activity amount is calculated by using a first equipment as an observation target among equipment that can be observed in the production line, the equipment that performs a process having the longest standard work time among the equipment that can be observed is set as the first equipment, and the performance value is obtained from the first equipment. An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

3. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, In a case where the activity amount is calculated by using a first equipment and a second equipment as observation targets among the equipment that can be observed targets in the production line, the first equipment and the second equipment are set to equipment that has the largest interval between processes among the equipment that can be observed targets, and the performance values ​​are obtained from the first equipment and the second equipment. An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

4. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, In the case where the activity amount is calculated by observing a first equipment, a second equipment, and a third equipment among the equipment that can be observed in the production line, the equipment that has the longest interval between processes among the equipment that can be observed is set as the first equipment and the second equipment, and the performance values ​​are obtained from the first equipment and the second equipment, and the equipment that performs the process that has the longest standard work time different from the two equipment is set as the third equipment, and the performance value is obtained from the third equipment. An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

5. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The storage unit is Stores past performance information for each process regarding work time, The processor, When calculating the amount of activity by using a first equipment as an observation target among equipment that can be observed in the production line, the equipment that has performed a process having the longest working time in the performance information among the equipment that can be observed is set as the first equipment, and the performance value is obtained from the first equipment. An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

6. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, When a difference between the standard work time of the process stored in the storage unit and the acquired actual result value for the process exceeds a predetermined threshold, the standard work time of the process stored in the storage unit is corrected. An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

7. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The storage unit is Manage takt time, which is a planned value, and cycle time, which is an actual value, regarding the production of products in the production line; The processor, When a difference between a takt time and a cycle time of the production line stored in the storage unit and the acquired takt time and cycle time of the production line exceeds a predetermined threshold, a standard operation time of a process performed by equipment that is not the subject of observation stored in the storage unit is corrected. An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

8. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, correcting the standard work time managed by the storage unit based on a production plan for manufacturing the product; An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

9. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, correcting the standard work time managed by the storage unit based on a maintenance plan for the equipment; An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

10. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, correcting the standard work time managed by the storage unit based on the worker manpower plan; An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

11. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, correcting the standard operation time managed by the storage unit based on a power usage plan of the production line; An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

12. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The processor, correcting the standard work time managed by the storage unit based on the skill information of the worker; An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

13. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 , The storage unit is Store information about the type of power source that the equipment uses in the process; The processor, calculating an activity amount of each piece of equipment in the production line by further using information on the type of power source stored in the storage unit; An activity amount calculation device characterized by:

14. The activity amount calculation device according to claim 1 ; A host system for managing the manufacturing site; The activity amount calculation device is A device that relays between the manufacturing line at the manufacturing site and the host system. A system characterized by:

15. An activity amount calculation method using an activity amount calculation device including a processor, a storage unit that manages standard work times related to work times in processes, and an interface that acquires information from equipment used in work in the processes in a production line, The processor acquiring, from a piece of equipment to be observed in the manufacturing line, a performance value of the operation time of the piece of equipment using the interface; calculating an activity amount of each piece of equipment in the production line using the acquired performance value and the standard work time of a process performed by equipment that is not an observation target in the production line; The activity amount calculation method according to the present invention is characterized in that

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