Management system and management method

Abstract

To flexibly provide a variety of data related to product production.SOLUTION: A management system for managing a product produced through a plurality of steps after assigning identification data thereto in a trackable manner, comprises: a plurality of control devices in which one or more devices are arranged for each of the plurality of steps and which control the steps; and a tracking database which associates and holds identification data of the product, identification data of a member used in the production of the product, and control data related to the control of the steps, wherein the plurality of control devices control the steps and register the control data regarding the control in the tracking database.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a management system and a management method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology described in JP 2011-145784 A (Patent Document 1) for managing the production and distribution of products. This publication states that "We provide a traceability management system that supports lot production, which does not put a strain on database space due to an enormous amount of information, prevents the creation of trace information and data search times from becoming long, and is capable of reducing the maintenance, management, and input costs of the system," and "When the same item is produced at the same time, the information (including trace information) obtained is associated with the identification information (production number, etc.) of each product and used for production management, and this information is managed as an intermediate object." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-145784 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional technology can trace what a product was used for along its distribution route, or trace back through the distribution route to determine which materials a product was made from. However, it does not take into account the need for a variety of information other than tracking. For example, it is not possible to check the conditions under which the product was produced. Also, if new types of data are required, such as the CO2 emissions from the production of the product, the system would need to be modified to accommodate the requested data. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to flexibly provide a variety of data related to the production of products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one representative management system of the present invention is a management system that assigns identification data to products produced through multiple processes and manages them in a traceable manner, and is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of control devices, one or more of which are placed for each of the multiple processes and control the processes, and a tracking database that associates and holds identification data for the products, identification data for parts used in the production of the products, and control data related to the control of the processes, and that the multiple control devices control the processes and register the control data for the control in the tracking database. Furthermore, one representative management method of the present invention is a management method for attaching identification data to a product produced through a plurality of processes and managing it in a traceable manner, comprising the steps of: a plurality of control devices, one or more of which are arranged for each of the plurality of processes and which control the processes, controlling the processes; and a step of the plurality of control devices registering control data relating to the control of the processes in a tracking database, wherein the plurality of control devices associate and register in the tracking database the identification data of the product, identification data of parts used in the production of the product, and the control data relating to the control of the processes. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to flexibly provide various data related to the production of products. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] System configuration diagram of the first embodiment [Diagram 3] Data example diagram (part 1) [Figure 4] Data example diagram (part 2) [Diagram 5] PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) configuration diagram [Figure 6] Data registration process flowchart [Figure 7] Data generation process flowchart DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0009] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment. The management system in Figure 1 manages a facility where products are manufactured through multiple processes. The multiple processes include a parts receiving process, a parts processing process, a parts assembly process, a pre-shipment inspection process, and a shipping process. Identification data is assigned to the manufactured products and managed so that they can be traced. In addition, if identification data is assigned to components (parts or materials), it can be read as necessary and associated with the product's identification data. If identification data is not assigned to components, there may be a process of assigning identification data to the components.

[0010] One or more PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) are provided for each of the multiple processes. The PLCs control the processes and register control data about the processes in the traceability DB 30. The traceability DB 30 corresponds to a tracking database.

[0011] The traceability DB 30 holds product identification data (product ID), identification data of materials used in the production of the product (part ID, etc.), and control data related to process control in association with each other. The traceability DB 30 manages the control data at a predetermined time granularity. The power supply device 20 is a type of resource supply device that supplies the power required for each process. If necessary, devices that supply other resources such as water and gas can be provided. The resource supply record database manages the resource supply record for each process at a predetermined time granularity. The resource supply record database may be provided separately, or the traceability DB 30 may have the function of the resource supply record database.

[0012] The predetermined time granularity of the control data and resource supply results corresponds to the product. For example, when processing product A1 in process X, the power consumed in process X from the start to the end of processing product A1 is extracted and associated with product A1. If product A2 is then processed, the power consumed in process X from the start to the end of processing product A2 is extracted and associated with product A2. Also, for example, when multiple inspections are performed on product A1 in process Y, the multiple inspection results can be integrated and associated with product A1, rather than including all of the inspection details and results in the control data. In this way, for things like power consumption that were managed at a larger granularity, data at a granularity corresponding to the product can be obtained by extraction, and for things like inspection results that were obtained at a smaller granularity, data at a granularity corresponding to the product can be obtained by integration.

[0013] The data processing device 40 is a computer that refers to the traceability DB 30 . The data processing device 40 includes a data request receiving unit 41 and a data generating unit 42. The data request receiving unit 41 receives a request for data regarding a product, and provides the requested data to the requester. If the requested data exists in the traceability DB 30 or the like, the data request receiving unit 41 can read it out from the traceability DB 30 or the like and provide it to the requester. If the requested data is a new type of data, the data request receiving unit 41 causes the data generating unit 42 to generate the data. The data generating unit 42 generates the requested data using data stored in the traceability DB 30 or the like as material, and provides the data to the requester. For example, the data processing device 40 can refer to the actual power supply history, calculate the total power consumption of each process for a product with specified identification data, and generate the CO2 emissions associated with the production of the product (the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the production of the product). Furthermore, the data processing device 40 can generate data indicating the quality of work performed by a worker in producing a product with specified identification data. The quality of work can be generated from data associated with the specified product among control data acquired from a device corresponding to the worker's work.

[0014] In this way, even if the data processing device 40 does not specify in advance what kind of data will be requested, by storing data of a granularity corresponding to the product as material, data requested on a product-by-product basis can be generated by processing the material data. In other words, since the material data is stored in advance, data that becomes necessary later can be generated by going back and creating it.

[0015] 2 is a system configuration diagram of the embodiment 1. The traceability DB 30 is connected to the PLC 10 of each process, a group of external devices, and a data processing device 40. The PLC 10 can acquire data on parts and products, data on equipment, data on human work, and data on the contents and results of control, and transmit the data to the traceability DB 30.

[0016] Data on parts and products includes product IDs, part IDs, etc. These may be obtained from a device that reads IDs, or may be obtained from production plan data, etc. The equipment data is data that identifies the equipment that is the subject of control by PL10, such as a conveyor, an entrance sensor, a processing device, and an exit sensor. Data on human work is obtained from the operating status of digital tools, input and output from touch panels, and images of workers taken with cameras. The data on the content and results of control is data on the work performed by the worker, and includes the content of the control that the PLC 10 has caused the equipment to execute and the output of sensors, etc. For example, it includes operation instructions sent to conveyors and processing equipment, and the output of entrance and exit sensors.

[0017] The group of external devices may be any devices, such as a distribution board that is a power supply device, ancillary equipment, an energy management system, or a related information database.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a specific example of data stored in the traceability DB 30. As shown in FIG. The product ID-part ID correspondence table associates process names, product IDs, and part IDs. By referencing this table, it is possible to identify which part was assembled in which process for which product.

[0019] The product ID-entry / exit sensor correspondence table associates process names, product IDs, entrance sensor ON times, and exit sensor ON times. The entrance sensor ON time indicates the time that the product entered the process. The exit sensor ON time indicates the time that the product left the process. Therefore, by referencing this table, it is possible to identify when a product has passed through a process.

[0020] The product ID-equipment correspondence table associates the process name, product ID, equipment ON time, and equipment OFF time. By referencing this table, the equipment ON time can be used to identify when the product was used on the equipment for that process.

[0021] The product ID-human work correspondence table associates the process name, product ID, human work start time, tightening torque, and human work end time. By referencing this table, it is possible to identify when a product received work in a particular process, and obtain a value that can serve as an evaluation index for the work performed.

[0022] FIG. 4 shows a specific example of data stored in the related information database. The equipment power consumption is associated with the product name and power consumption. The human activity quality definition associates an activity name, an evaluation index value, and an evaluation result. The data shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are merely examples, and any data can be held in any format. For example, the power consumption for each product and each process may be stored as an independent table in the traceability DB 30, or may be stored in the related information database. Furthermore, the power consumption for each product and each process may be included in an item of the product ID-entry / exit sensor correspondence table. Furthermore, the power consumption for each product and each process may be calculated from the power consumption for each piece of equipment. For example, when a conveyor and a processing device are used in a certain process, if the power consumption of the conveyor and the processing device is accumulated at the product granularity, the power consumption of the product in the process can be calculated by adding up the product power of the conveyor and the power consumption of the processing device.

[0023] 5 is a configuration diagram of a PLC. The PLC 10 has an equipment interface (IF) 11, a communication interface (IF) 12, a memory 13, and a processing unit 14. The processing unit 14 can execute a function as a control processing unit 16 and a function as an information processing unit 15.

[0024] The control processing unit 16 transmits operation instructions to various pieces of equipment via the equipment IF 11 and receives operation results, thereby controlling the process. The control processing unit 16 stores the operation instructions and operation results in the memory 13 as appropriate.

[0025] The information processing unit 15 communicates with the traceability DB 30 via the communication IF 12 . The information processing unit 15 and the control processing unit 16 operate independently, but share the memory 13. Therefore, the information processing unit 15 can read out the operation instructions and operation results written by the control processing unit 16 to the memory 13, and transmit them to the traceability DB 30. Furthermore, the information processing unit 15 can also process the operation instructions and operation results to a predetermined time granularity before transmitting them to the traceability DB 30.

[0026] 6 is an example of a flowchart of the data registration process. The data registration process is realized by sequentially executing the processes from the following steps S101 to S106. In step S101, the control processing unit 16 of the PLC 10 transmits an operation instruction to the conveyor to perform conveyance control, and then the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, the control processing unit 16 identifies the product ID and the parts transported by the conveyor, and then the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the control processing unit 16 controls the associated devices (entrance sensor, processing equipment, inspection equipment, exit sensor, etc.) in real time. The control processing unit 16 writes the contents and results of the real time control in the memory 13. Then, the process proceeds to step S104. In step S104, the control processing unit 16 identifies the manual work. The control processing unit 16 writes the identification result in the memory 13. After that, the process proceeds to step S105.

[0027] In step S105, the information processing unit 15 of the PLC 10 reads data relating to processes, parts, controls, and manual operations from the memory 13, and associates the data with the product ID. Then, the process proceeds to step S106. In step S106, the information processing unit 15 registers data related to the process, parts, control, and manual work associated with the product ID in the traceability DB 30 at a predetermined time granularity, and ends the process.

[0028] 7 is an example of a flowchart of the data generation process. The data generation process is realized by sequentially executing the processes from the following steps S201 to S205. In step S201, the data request receiving unit 41 of the data processing device 40 receives a request for new type of data. The data request receiving unit 41 requests the data generating unit 42 to generate data, and the process proceeds to step S202. In step S202, the data generating unit 42 determines material data that is required to generate the requested data, and then the process proceeds to step S203. In step S203, the data generating unit 42 reads out the material data from the traceability DB 30. After that, the process proceeds to step S204. In step S204, the data generating unit 42 generates the requested data from the material data, and then the process proceeds to step S205. In step S205, the data generating unit 42 outputs the generated data to the request source, and the process ends.

[0029] As described above, the disclosed system is a management system that assigns identification data to products produced through a plurality of processes and manages them in a traceable manner, and is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of control devices (PLC10), one or more of which are arranged for each of the plurality of processes and control the processes, and a tracing database (traceability DB30) that associates and holds identification data of the product, identification data of parts used in the production of the product, and control data related to the control of the processes, and that the plurality of control devices control the processes and register the control data for the control in the tracing database. With this configuration and operation, the system can flexibly provide a variety of data related to the production of products. For example, it can provide data on the situation during the production of a specified product (such as the content and results of the control that was performed). Such data can be provided without requiring any modifications to existing production facilities.

[0030] The disclosed system further includes a resource supply device (power supply unit 20) that supplies the necessary resources for each of the multiple processes, and a resource supply history database that manages the history of the supply of the resources, wherein the control device is a programmable logic controller, the tracking database manages the control data at a time granularity corresponding to the product, and the resource supply history database manages the history of the supply of the resources at a time granularity corresponding to the product. With this configuration, the system does not need to keep all of the vast amount of control data, and can store just the necessary amount of data that may be provided.

[0031] The disclosed system further includes a data processing device 40 that references the tracking database, and the data processing device accepts requests for new types of data, determines material data that are necessary to generate the requested data, reads the material data from the tracking database, and generates the requested data from the material data. With this configuration, the system can generate and provide newly requested data as needed, and providing the new data does not require modifications to existing production facilities.

[0032] The control data also includes outputs from sensors used in the process, the contents of the control executed, data on the equipment that is the subject of the control, data on the materials used in the equipment, and data on work performed by workers. In this way, the system can comprehensively manage and provide information related to the production of the equipment.

[0033] The data processing device further refers to a resource supply record database that manages the record of power supply, and generates the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the production of the product. The data processing device also generates data indicative of the quality of work performed by workers in producing the product. In this way, the system can later generate and provide data showing the CO2 emissions from the production of the product, the quality of the work, etc.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications are included. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment is described in detail to easily explain the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to the embodiment having all the described configurations. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the deletion of the configurations, and it is also possible to replace or add the configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10: PLC, 11: equipment IF, 12: communication IF, 13: memory, 14: processing unit, 15: information processing unit, 16: control processing unit, 20: power supply unit, 30: traceability DB, 40: data processing unit, 41: data request receiving unit, 42: data generating unit

Claims

1. A management system that attaches identification data to products produced through multiple processes and manages them in a traceable manner, A plurality of control devices, at least one of which is provided for each of the plurality of processes, for controlling the processes; a tracking database that holds, in association with each other, identification data of the product, identification data of materials used in the production of the product, and control data relating to control of the process; A management system characterized in that the plurality of control devices control the processes and register control data regarding the controls in the tracking database.

2. The management system according to claim 1, a resource supply device that supplies necessary resources for each of the plurality of processes; a resource supply record database for managing the record of supply of the resource; the control device is a programmable logic controller; The tracking database manages the control data at a time granularity corresponding to the product; The resource supply record database manages the resource supply record at a time granularity corresponding to the product.

3. The management system according to claim 1, a data processing device for referencing the tracking database; The data processing device includes: Accept requests for new types of data, determining the raw data necessary to generate the requested data; Retrieving said material data from said tracking database; Generate the requested data from the material data.

1. A management system comprising:

4. The management system according to claim 1, A management system characterized in that the control data includes outputs of sensors used in the process, contents of the control executed, data on the equipment that is the subject of the control, data on the parts used in the equipment, and data on work performed by workers.

5. The management system according to claim 3, The management system is characterized in that the data processing device further refers to a resource supply history database that manages the history of electricity supply, and generates the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the production of the product.

6. The management system according to claim 3, The management system is characterized in that the data processing device generates data indicating the quality of work performed by workers in the production of the product.

7. A method for managing products produced through a plurality of processes in a traceable manner by attaching identification data to the products, comprising the steps of: A step in which a plurality of control devices, one or more of which are provided for each of the plurality of processes and which control the processes, control the processes; the plurality of control devices registering control data relating to control of the process in a tracking database; The plurality of control devices register in the tracking database, in association with the identification data of the product, the identification data of the parts used in the production of the product, and the control data related to the control of the process. A management method comprising:

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