Recovery Priority Specifying Device, Recovery Priority Specifying System, Recovery Priority Specifying Method, and Program

Abstract

In the event that facilities (21 to 23) have halted, the restoration priority order identification device (1) specifies a priority order in which the halted facilities are to be restored. The restoration priority order identification device (1): acquires operation-related information, which includes facility state information indicating states and causes of the halt of the facilities (21 to 23), and process-related information; calculates buffer quantities of respective conveyance devices on the basis of the acquired information; and calculates a representative value of restoration time. The restoration priority order identification device (1): calculates allowance time for the buffer quantities to reach a predetermined upper-limit quantity on the basis of the buffer quantities and takt times of the facilities; and calculates degree-of-restoration priority evaluation values indicating recovery priorities on the basis of the representative value of restoration time and the allowance time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a recovery priority determination device, a recovery priority determination system, a recovery priority determination method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Techniques for determining the priority of equipment recovery when a trouble occurs in equipment on a production line are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a production line management device that calculates the priority of equipment recovery when troubles occur in a plurality of pieces of equipment based on the buffer number of each piece of equipment and the distance between the stopped equipment and the bottleneck equipment. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an operation analysis device that estimates the production capacity at the time of trouble resolution of each piece of equipment from production results and the trouble time of each piece of equipment, and obtains the priority of improvement by focusing on the trouble cause that gives the highest estimated production capacity.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When determining the priority of equipment recovery, the recovery time may vary depending on the cause of the stop. Since the technique of Patent Document 1 does not take into account the recovery time according to the cause of the stop, there is a problem that the recovery order cannot be appropriately specified.

[0005] In addition, when a trouble occurs, buffer clogging may occur near the equipment where the trouble has occurred. Since the technique of Patent Document 2 is an analysis method that does not take into account the number of buffers, there is a problem that the priority of improvement considering the decrease in production results due to buffer clogging near the troubled equipment is not obtained.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to enable more appropriately specifying the recovery order.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a recovery priority specifying device according to the present disclosure is a recovery priority specifying device that specifies the recovery priority of stopped equipment when a plurality of equipment that perform processing on a processing target and a transport device that connects the equipment and transports the processing target from one equipment to another equipment stop in a production line, and includes an information acquisition means, a buffer quantity calculation means, a recovery time calculation means, a margin time calculation means, an evaluation value calculation means, and a recovery priority specifying means. The information acquisition means acquires information related to operation including a stop cause that is a cause of stoppage of a plurality of equipment and equipment state information indicating the state of each equipment, and information related to the processes of the plurality of equipment. The buffer quantity calculation means obtains the buffer quantity of each transport device based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means. The recovery time calculation means obtains a representative value of the recovery time from stoppage to recovery for each stop cause of the plurality of equipment based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means. The margin time calculation means obtains a margin time indicating the time until the buffer quantity of the transport device reaches a predetermined upper limit quantity based on the buffer quantity obtained by the buffer quantity calculation means and a predetermined tact time of each equipment. The evaluation value calculation means obtains a recovery degree priority evaluation value indicating the priority of recovery based on the representative value of the recovery time obtained by the recovery time calculation means and the margin time obtained by the margin time calculation means. The recovery priority specifying means specifies the recovery priority of the stopped equipment using the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained by the evaluation value calculation means.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, since the priority of recovery is evaluated based on the representative value of the recovery time for each stop factor and the margin time taking into account the buffer quantity, and the recovery priority order of the stopped equipment is specified, it is possible to more appropriately specify the recovery order that suppresses the decrease in the production capacity of the production line.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] (Embodiment) A recovery priority specifying device according to an embodiment for carrying out the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a production system 100 including a recovery priority specifying device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] The production system 100 includes a production line composed of A equipment 21, B equipment 22, and C equipment 23 that perform predetermined processing on the input work, operation detectors 21a, 22b, and 23c respectively arranged in the A equipment 21, B equipment 22, and C equipment 23, a recovery priority specifying device 1 that specifies the priority for performing recovery work on the stopped equipment, an information management device 6 that manages the operation information and manufacturing information of each equipment, and a display device 80 that displays the recovery priority. Further, the recovery priority specifying device 1, the information management device 6, and the display device 80 are each configured by, for example, a personal computer.

[0013] The A equipment 21, B equipment 22, and C equipment 23 each include a PLC (programmable logic controller) a31, PLCb32, and PLCc33 that perform sequence control of the equipment. Further, the A equipment 21 and the B equipment 22 are connected by a transfer device 41, the B equipment 22 and the C equipment 23 are connected by a transfer device 42, and the work discharged from each equipment is carried by the transfer device and input into the next equipment. In the present embodiment, the work discharged from the A equipment 21 is carried by the transfer device 41 and processed by the B equipment 22. The work discharged from the B equipment 22 is carried by the transfer device 42 and processed by the C equipment 23. The production line of the production system 100 of the present embodiment is designed with a configuration having at least one buffer at the input stage instead of a pitch feed in which the cycle times of the respective equipments are completely synchronized.

[0014] A buffer is a holding device that enables the asynchronous and independent acceptance and retrieval of workpieces. The presence of a buffer prevents, for a certain period of time, stoppages such as waiting for discharge in the equipment before the buffer due to stoppage of the equipment after the buffer, for example.

[0015] The operation detectors 21a, 22b, and 23c detect the operating states of the corresponding Equipment A 21, Equipment B 22, and Equipment C 23, respectively. The operation detectors 21a, 22b, and 23c output operation information indicating the operating status of each equipment and production information indicating the production status of each equipment to each PLC at predetermined time intervals. The operation detectors 21a, 22b, and 23c count the number of workpieces processed by the equipment, detect the execution and stoppage of operations, and detect the causes of such stoppages. The operation detectors 21a, 22b, and 23c output production information indicating the number of workpieces processed (e.g., the number of processed workpieces) at that time at predetermined time intervals. Also, the operation detectors 21a, 22b, and 23c output operation information indicating the stop time, recovery time, abnormal occurrence time, etc. for each cause of stoppage during which the operation was stopped at that time at predetermined time intervals. Note that the operation information and production information include any type of information indicating the operating status and production status of Equipment A 21, Equipment B 22, and Equipment C 23.

[0016] The PLCs a31, b32, and c33 transmit the operation information and production information output by each equipment to the information management device 6.

[0017] In the example of FIG. 1, the production system 100 includes three pieces of equipment, but the number of equipment is arbitrary.

[0018] The restoration priority determination device 1 includes an information acquisition unit 11 that acquires operation information and manufacturing information from the information management device 6, a buffer number calculation unit 12 that calculates the number of buffers accumulated in the transfer devices 41 and 42, an average restoration time calculation unit 13 that calculates the average restoration time, a margin time calculation unit 14 that calculates a margin time indicating the time until the equipment stops due to buffer congestion, an evaluation value calculation unit 15 that calculates a restoration degree priority evaluation value indicating the priority of restoration, a priority determination unit 16 that determines the priority order, a determination unit 17 that determines whether there is a change in the stop state of the stopped equipment, a display management unit 18 that transmits correction data, and a first storage unit 19 that stores various data, tables, and calculated values necessary for determining the restoration priority order.

[0019] The first storage unit 19 stores information necessary for determining the restoration priority order. The first storage unit 19 stores a restoration time information table 191 that stores restoration times and the like, a serial number table 192 that stores the final serial number of the processed work, an equipment state table 193 that stores the state information of the equipment, a calculated value 194 calculated in the restoration priority determination device 1, tact time data 195 indicating the time required to process one work in each equipment, and upper limit buffer number data 196 indicating the upper limit number of buffers.

[0020] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the restoration time information table 191 is a table that associates the identification information of the equipment, "stop cause", "restoration time", and "abnormal occurrence time". The "stop cause" is the cause for which the equipment stopped, for example, out of parts. Note that the stop cause is not limited to out of parts, and may be a jam of the work. The stop cause may be any type of stop cause. The "restoration time" is the time from when the equipment stopped until it is restored. The "abnormal occurrence time" is the time when the abnormality occurred, in other words, the time when the stop cause occurred. The restoration time information table 191 is a table in which the current ongoing data including the accumulated past data is listed.

[0021] The sequential number table 192 is a table that associates the identification information of facilities with the "final sequential number". The "final sequential number" means the number of workpieces on which work has been performed in each facility. For example, the "final sequential number" indicates the number of processed workpieces. The number of buffers in the transfer device between two facilities is specified by the difference in the final sequential numbers of the facility in the previous process and the facility in the subsequent process of that facility. The "number of buffers" means the number of workpieces waiting in the buffer of each facility. Specifically, it is the number of workpieces accumulated and waiting to be processed in the buffer. In the present embodiment, when the final sequential number of Facility A 21 in the previous process is 5 and the final sequential number of Facility B 22 in the subsequent process is 3, the number of buffers in the transfer device 41 is 2.

[0022] The facility status table 193 is a table in which the status information for each identification information of the facility is shown in chronological order, as illustrated in FIG. 4. For example, in the case of Facility A, "MA1" is information indicating the status of the facility such as "being recovered", "stopped", "operating", etc. The status changes from "MA1" to "MA2", and then from "MA2" to "MA3" are sequentially added in chronological order. Note that when the chronological data reaches a predetermined storage number, the oldest data may be deleted in order.

[0023] The calculated value 194 is a value calculated by each functional unit of the recovery priority determination device 1. Details will be described later.

[0024] The takt time data 195 is input by the user from an operation unit (not shown) and stored in the first storage unit 19, for example. The takt time means the time required to process one workpiece in each facility. The takt time is predetermined for each facility based on the production plan.

[0025] The upper limit buffer number data 196 is input by a user from an operation unit (not shown) and stored in the first storage unit 19. The upper limit buffer number means the upper limit number of buffers in the transfer devices 41 and 42. The upper limit buffer number is determined in advance based on the transfer devices 41 and 42, the workpiece, and the like. Note that the upper limit buffer number is an example of the upper limit quantity according to the present disclosure.

[0026] Next, each functional unit of the recovery priority specifying device 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The information acquisition unit 11 acquires the operation information 66 and the manufacturing information 67 stored in the second storage unit 65 of the information management device 6. Specifically, the operation information 66 is information including stop factor information indicating the stop factor of the facility, abnormal occurrence time information indicated at the time of abnormality occurrence, stop time information indicated at the time of facility stop, recovery time information indicated at the time of facility recovery, and facility state information indicating the state of each facility. The manufacturing information 67 is information including final pass number information indicating the number of processed workpieces.

[0027] Further, the information acquisition unit 11 stores the acquired stop factor information and the abnormal occurrence time when the abnormality occurred in the recovery time information table 191. Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 11 obtains the recovery time based on the acquired stop time information and recovery time information, and adds the recovery time to the recovery time information table 191. Note that the recovery time is obtained by the difference value between the recovery time and the stop time. In addition, the information acquisition unit 11 stores the acquired final pass number in the pass number table 192. Also, the information acquisition unit 11 adds the acquired facility state information to the facility state table 193. Note that the information acquisition unit 11 is an example of the information acquisition means according to the present disclosure.

[0028] The buffer number calculation unit 12 obtains the buffer numbers of the transfer devices 41 and 42. The buffer number calculation unit 12 obtains the buffer numbers of the transfer devices 41 and 42 based on the final pass number in the pass number table 192. The obtained buffer numbers are stored in the calculation value 194 of the first storage unit 19. Note that the buffer number calculation unit 12 is an example of the buffer quantity calculation means according to the present disclosure.

[0029] The average recovery time calculation unit 13 obtains the average value of the recovery times. Based on the recovery time information table 191, the average recovery time calculation unit 13 obtains the average recovery time by dividing the sum of the recovery times for each cause of equipment stoppage by the number of stoppages for each cause of equipment stoppage. The obtained average recovery time is stored in the calculated value 194 of the first storage unit 19. Note that the average recovery time calculation unit 13 is an example of the recovery time calculation means according to the present disclosure.

[0030] The margin time calculation unit 14 obtains the margin time. In the present embodiment, the production line stops when the buffers of the transfer devices 41 and 42 become full. Specifically, the production line stops when the number of buffers of the transfer devices 41 and 42 exceeds the upper limit value. In the present embodiment, the margin time means the time until the number of buffers reaches the upper limit value. How to obtain the margin time will be described later. The obtained margin time is stored in the calculated value 194 of the first storage unit 19. Note that the margin time calculation unit 14 is an example of the margin time calculation means according to the present disclosure.

[0031] The evaluation value calculation unit 15 obtains the recovery degree priority evaluation value. The recovery degree priority evaluation value is a value indicating the priority of recovery of the stopped equipment. Specifically, the evaluation value calculation unit 15 obtains the recovery priority evaluation value based on the average recovery time and the margin time. The recovery priority evaluation value is obtained by subtracting the margin time from the average recovery time. Details will be described later. The obtained recovery priority evaluation value is stored in the calculated value 194 of the first storage unit 19. Note that the evaluation value calculation unit 15 is an example of the evaluation value calculation means according to the present disclosure.

[0032] The priority order specifying unit 16 specifies the recovery priority order of the stopped equipment based on the obtained recovery priority evaluation value. Specifically, the priority order specifying unit 16 specifies a higher priority order for the equipment with a larger recovery priority evaluation value among the stopped equipment. The priority order specifying unit 16 transmits the specified recovery priority order, together with the identification information of the equipment, the cause of stoppage, the time of abnormality occurrence, and the equipment status information, to the display device 80. Note that the priority order specifying unit 16 is an example of the recovery priority order specifying means according to the present disclosure.

[0033] The determination unit 17 determines, based on the equipment status table 193, whether the equipment status of the stopped equipment has changed to a predetermined status. The change to the predetermined status is, for example, a change to the equipment recovery status. Further, the determination unit 17 determines whether there are a plurality of stopped equipment. Note that the determination unit 17 is an example of the determination means according to the present disclosure.

[0034] The display management unit 18 sends correction data to the display device 80 in order to change the data stored in the display device 80. The display management unit 18, for example, sends correction data of the equipment that has changed from the equipment stop state to the equipment recovery state and has become the operating state to the display device 80. Note that the display management unit 18 is an example of the display management means according to the present disclosure.

[0035] The display device 80 includes a display control unit 81, a display unit 82, and a third storage unit 85. The third storage unit 85 has a recovery priority table 86. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the recovery priority table 86 is a table that associates the identification information of the equipment, "stop cause", "abnormal occurrence time", "equipment status", and "recovery priority". The display control unit 81 stores the identification information of the equipment, the stop cause, the abnormal occurrence time, the equipment status information, and the recovery priority transmitted by the priority determination unit 16 in the recovery priority table 86, and causes the display unit 82 to display the recovery priority table 86. Further, the display control unit 81 deletes or changes the corresponding data of the recovery priority table 86 according to the correction data sent by the display management unit 18 of the priority determination device 1, and causes the display unit 82 to display the updated recovery priority table 86. The display unit 82 displays the recovery priority table 86 according to the control of the display control unit 81.

[0036] The information management device 6 includes an information management unit 61, a sending unit 62, and a second storage unit 65. The second storage unit 65 has operation information 66 and manufacturing information 67. The information management unit 61 stores the operation information 66 and the manufacturing information 67 transmitted by each PLC in the second storage unit 65. The sending unit 62 sends the operation information 66 and the manufacturing information 67 stored in the second storage unit 65 to the restoration priority specifying device 1 at predetermined time intervals. Note that the information management unit 61 is an example of the information receiving means according to the present disclosure. Also, the sending unit 62 is an example of the sending means of the present disclosure. Further, the second storage unit 65 is an example of the storage means according to the present disclosure.

[0037] Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the restoration priority specifying device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Note that the hardware configuration of the information management device 6 is the same as that of the restoration priority specifying device 1, so the description thereof will be omitted. As described above, the restoration priority specifying device 1 in FIG. 6 is realized by a computer such as a personal computer or a microcontroller.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 6, the restoration priority specifying device 1 includes a control unit 51, a main storage unit 52, an external storage unit 53, an operation unit 54, a display unit 55, an input / output unit 56, and a transmission / reception unit 57. The main storage unit 52, the external storage unit 53, the operation unit 54, the display unit 55, the input / output unit 56, and the transmission / reception unit 57 are all connected to the control unit 51 via an internal bus 50.

[0039] The control unit 51 is constituted by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes the respective processes of the information acquisition unit 11, the buffer number calculation unit 12, the average restoration time calculation unit 13, the margin time calculation unit 14, the evaluation value calculation unit 15, the priority specification unit 16, the determination unit 17, and the display management unit 18 of the restoration priority specifying device 1 according to a control program 59 stored in the external storage unit 53.

[0040] The main storage unit 52 is constituted by a RAM (Random-Access Memory), loads the control program 59 stored in the external storage unit 53, and is used as a work area for the control unit 51.

[0041] The external storage unit 53 is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, a hard disk, a DVD-RAM, or a DVD-RW. The external storage unit 53 stores in advance a program for causing the control unit 51 to perform the processing of the recovery priority specifying device 1, and in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 51, supplies the data stored in this program to the control unit 51 and stores the data supplied from the control unit 51. The first storage unit 19 is configured by the external storage unit 53.

[0042] The operation unit 54 is composed of a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an interface device that connects the keyboard and the pointing device to the internal bus 50. When the user inputs information to the recovery priority specifying device 1, the input information is supplied to the control unit 51 via the operation unit 54.

[0043] The display unit 55 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display. When the user inputs information to the recovery priority specifying device 1, an operation screen is displayed.

[0044] The input / output unit 56 is configured by a serial interface or a parallel interface.

[0045] The transmission / reception unit 57 is composed of a wireless communication device connected to a network, and a serial interface or a LAN (Local Area Network) interface connected thereto. When the display management unit 18 transmits data on the recovery priority by e-mail, for example, the transmission / reception unit 57 functions as the display management unit 18.

[0046] The processing of the information acquisition unit 11, buffer number calculation unit 12, average recovery time calculation unit 13, margin time calculation unit 14, evaluation value calculation unit 15, priority determination unit 16, determination unit 17, display management unit 18, and first storage unit 19 of the recovery priority determination device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is executed by the control program 59 using resources such as the control unit 51, main memory unit 52, external memory unit 53, operation unit 54, display unit 55, input / output unit 56, and transmission / reception unit 57. Note that the hardware configuration is an example and can be arbitrarily changed and modified.

[0047] The operation of the recovery priority determination process by the recovery priority determination device 1 will be described. Facility A 21, under the control of PLC a 31, once accepts a workpiece into a buffer, takes out the workpiece from the buffer for processing, and after the processing is completed, conveys it to Facility B 22 by the conveyor device 41. Facility B 22, under the control of PLC b 32, once accepts the workpiece from Facility A 21 into a buffer, takes out the workpiece from the buffer for processing, and after the processing is completed, conveys it to Facility C 23 by the conveyor device 42. Facility C 23, under the control of PLC c 33, once accepts the workpiece from Facility B 22 into a buffer, takes out the workpiece from the buffer for processing, and after the processing is completed, conveys it to the subsequent stage.

[0048] During this period, the operation detection units 21a, 22b, and 23c monitor the operation states of Facility A 21, Facility B 22, and Facility C 23 respectively, and notify PLC a 31, PLC b 32, and PLC c 33. PLC a 31, PLC b 32, and PLC c 33 notify the operation information and manufacturing information to the information management device 6. The information management unit 61 of the information management device 6 stores the operation information and manufacturing information transmitted from PLC a 31, PLC b 32, and PLC c 33 in the second storage unit 65.

[0049] When the recovery priority determination device 1 is activated, the operation information 66 and manufacturing information 67 stored in the second storage unit 65 are sent to the recovery priority determination device 1 by the transmission unit 62 of the information management device 6. Subsequently, the recovery priority determination device 1 starts the recovery priority determination process illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0050] First, the information acquisition unit 11 of the restoration priority determination device 1 acquires the operation information 66 and the manufacturing information 67 from the information management device 6, obtains the restoration time at the time of past stops, and adds it to the restoration time information table 191 in the first storage unit 19 (step S101). Specifically, the equipment identification information, the stop cause, and the time of abnormality occurrence included in the acquired operation information 66 are stored in the restoration time information table 191 of the first storage unit 19. The information acquisition unit 11 obtains the restoration time based on the stop time information indicated at the time of equipment stop and the restoration time information indicated at the time of equipment restoration among the acquired operation information 66. Note that the restoration time is the difference value between the restoration time and the stop time. The information acquisition unit 11 adds the obtained restoration time to the restoration time information table 191. Step S101 is an example of the information acquisition step according to the present disclosure.

[0051] Based on the acquired manufacturing information 67, the information acquisition unit 11 writes the current serial number into the serial number table 192. Further, based on the acquired operation information 66, the information acquisition unit 11 adds the equipment state to the equipment state table 193 in the first storage unit 19.

[0052] For each past stop of each piece of equipment, the average restoration time calculation unit 13 obtains the average restoration time for each stop cause based on the restoration time information table 191 (step S102). For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the number of stops of equipment A due to the stop cause S1 is 2 times. The average restoration time is obtained by adding the two restoration times TA1 and TA2 and dividing the sum by 2. Also, when the number of stops for each stop cause of each piece of equipment is 1 time, the restoration time of that one stop corresponds to the average restoration time. Note that the average restoration time is stored in the calculated value 194 of the first storage unit 19. In the example shown in FIG. 9, although the number of restoration time data was small, the average restoration time calculation unit 13 obtains the average restoration time based on the number of accumulated restoration time data in the restoration time information table 191.

[0053] Based on the equipment status table 193, the determination unit 17 determines whether there are multiple pieces of equipment that are stopped at the latest time (step S103). If it is determined that there is no or only one piece of equipment that is stopped (step S103: No), the process returns to step S101, and the information management device 6 waits for the information to be sent next time.

[0054] On the other hand, if it is determined that there are multiple pieces of equipment that are stopped (step S103: Yes), the process proceeds to step S104. In step S104, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires the operation information 66 and the manufacturing information 67 from the information management device 6 and adds them to each table in the first storage unit 19.

[0055] The buffer number calculation unit 12 obtains the buffer numbers of the transfer devices 41 and 42 (step S105). Based on the serial number table 192, the buffer number calculation unit 12 obtains the difference value between the final serial number of the equipment in the previous process and the final serial number of the equipment in the next process as the buffer number. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the buffer number of the transfer device 41 is the numerical value obtained by subtracting the final serial number NB of the B equipment in the next process from the final serial number NA of the A equipment in the previous process. The buffer number of the transfer device 42 is obtained in the same manner. The obtained buffer numbers are stored in the calculated value 194 of the first storage unit 19.

[0056] The margin time calculation unit 14 obtains the margin time based on the buffer numbers obtained by the buffer number calculation unit 12, the upper limit buffer number data 196, and the tact time data 195 (step S106). In the present embodiment, when the workpiece is jammed, in other words, when the buffer numbers of the transfer devices 41 and 42 reach the upper limit value and the next workpiece cannot be transferred to the transfer devices 41 and 42 and is jammed, the production line stops. As described above, the margin time means the time until the buffer number reaches the upper limit value.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 10, the method of obtaining the margin time will be described. For the sake of convenience, five facilities from Facility 1 to Facility 5 will be described as an example. The workpieces are conveyed in order from Facility 1 to Facility 5. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the number of buffers of the transfer device 12H between Facility 1 and Facility 2 is 4. Also, the number of buffers of the transfer device 34H between Facility 3 and Facility 4 is 2. Note that the upper limit of the number of buffers of the transfer devices 12H and 34H is both 6. The tact times of Facility 1 and Facility 3 are both 10 seconds. Facilities 2 and 4 are both stopped. The margin time of Facility 2 is a multiplication value of 20 seconds obtained by multiplying the subtraction value of 2 obtained by subtracting the number of buffers 4 from the upper limit number 6 of the number of buffers of the transfer device 12H by the tact time 10 seconds of Facility 1, which is the previous process of Facility 2. The obtained multiplication value of 20 seconds means the time until the number of buffers of the transfer device 12H reaches the upper limit number. Similarly, the margin time of Facility 4 is obtained as 40 seconds as illustrated in FIG. 10.

[0058] The evaluation value calculation unit 15 obtains the restoration degree priority evaluation value (step S107). As described above, the restoration degree priority evaluation value is a value indicating the priority of restoration. In the present embodiment, the restoration degree priority evaluation value is obtained by subtracting the margin time from the average restoration time. The evaluation value calculation unit 15 obtains the restoration degree priority evaluation value by subtracting the margin time of each facility from the average restoration time for each stop factor of each facility. Note that the average restoration time obtained by the average restoration time calculation unit 13 and the margin time obtained by the margin time calculation unit 14 are stored in the calculation value 194 of the first storage unit 19. Step S107 is an example of the evaluation value calculation step according to the present disclosure.

[0059] The priority order specifying unit 16 specifies the restoration priority order based on the obtained restoration degree priority evaluation value (step S108). Specifically, the priority order specifying unit 16 specifies the upper priority orders in order from the facility with the larger restoration degree priority evaluation value among the stopped facilities. A facility with a larger restoration degree priority evaluation value corresponds to a facility that requires restoration preferentially because the difference between the average restoration time and the margin time is large, the restoration time is long, and the margin time is short. Step S108 is an example of the restoration priority order specifying step according to the present disclosure.

[0060] The priority determination unit 16 transmits the determined recovery priority together with the identification information of the facility, the cause of the stop, the time of occurrence of the abnormality, and the latest facility status information to the display device 80 (step S109).

[0061] After step S109, the process returns to step S101.

[0062] Next, an example of the operation of the display process by the display device 80 will be described with reference to FIG. 11. The operation illustrated in FIG. 11 is executed when the display device 80 acquires the information transmitted by the process of step S109.

[0063] The display control unit 81 sorts the acquired information in order from the highest recovery priority (step S201). Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the display control unit 81 rearranges the data in order from the data with a recovery priority of 1. According to the control of the display control unit 81, the display unit 82 displays the rearranged recovery priority table 86 (step S202).

[0064] Next, an example of the operation of the corrected data transmission process by the recovery priority determination device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. The operation illustrated in FIG. 12 starts the corrected data transmission process illustrated in FIG. 12 when the recovery priority determination device 1 is activated and the operation information 66 is transmitted from the information management device 6 to the recovery priority determination device 1.

[0065] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires the operation information 66 and adds the latest facility status included in the acquired operation information 66 to the facility status table 193 in the first storage unit 19 (step S301). The determination unit 17 determines whether there has been a change in the status of the stopped facility based on the facility status table 193 (step S302). Specifically, the determination unit 17 determines whether there is a facility whose status has changed from the stopped state based on the facility statuses at the latest time and the time immediately before the latest time in the facility status table 193 illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0066] When it is determined that there is no change in the state of the stopped equipment (step S302: No), the modified data sending process ends.

[0067] When it is determined that there is a change in the state of the stopped equipment (step S302: Yes), the display management unit 18 sends the target modified data to the display device 80 (step S303). Specifically, the display management unit 18 sends, to the display device 80, the equipment state of the equipment that has changed during recovery, for example, from the state of the stopped equipment.

[0068] The display control unit 81 updates the recovery priority table 86 in the third storage unit 85 based on the equipment state sent by the display management unit 18. Specifically, the display control unit 81 changes the equipment state in the recovery priority table 86 that was "stopped" to "recovering". Also, the display control unit 81 deletes the data of the equipment whose equipment state has switched to "operating" among the equipment in the recovery priority table 86.

[0069] The production system 100 according to the embodiment has been described above. According to the production system 100, the average recovery time can be obtained for each stop cause of a plurality of pieces of equipment. Also, a margin time indicating the time until the number of buffers in the transfer device reaches a predetermined upper limit can be obtained. Further, since the recovery priority of the stopped equipment is specified using the average recovery time for each stop cause and the margin time taking into account the number of buffers, a more appropriate recovery order for suppressing a decrease in the production capacity of the production line can be specified.

[0070] (Modification example) In the embodiment, the predetermined process was processing, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The predetermined process may be not limited to processing, but may be a physical or chemical process applied to the object, measurement of the object, inspection of the object, evaluation of the object, or the like.

[0071] Similarly, in the embodiment, the processing targets of Facilities A 21 to C 23 are workpieces, but they may also be materials, raw materials, etc. In this case, instead of the serial numbers and the number of buffers, numerical values indicating quantities such as weight or volume may be used. In the present disclosure, quantity is an expression including numbers and amounts.

[0072] In the embodiment, the information management device 6 was configured as a device separate from the recovery priority determination device 1, but it may be provided in the recovery priority determination device 1.

[0073] In the embodiment, the display device 80 was configured as a device separate from the recovery priority determination device 1, but it may be provided in the recovery priority determination device 1.

[0074] In the embodiment, the average value of the recovery time was obtained, but any other arbitrary type of representative value may be used as long as the effects of the present embodiment are achieved. For example, it may be the median or the mode of the recovery time.

[0075] Although the preferred embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope described in the claims.

[0076] Note that the present disclosure can be implemented in various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Also, the above-described embodiments are for explaining the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims rather than the embodiments. And various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the meaning equivalent to the present disclosure are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0077] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-078195, filed on May 11, 2022. The entire specification, claims, and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-078195 are incorporated herein by reference.

[0078] Hereinafter, aspects of the present disclosure will be summarized as appendices.

[0079] (Appendix 1) A recovery priority determination device that determines the recovery priority of stopped facilities when a plurality of facilities for processing a processing target and a transport device that connects the facilities and transports the processing target from one facility to another stop, comprising: Information acquisition means for acquiring information related to operation including a stop factor that is a cause of stop for each facility and facility state information indicating the state of each facility, and information related to the processes of the plurality of facilities; Buffer quantity calculation means for obtaining the buffer quantity of each transport device based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means; Recovery time calculation means for obtaining a representative value of the recovery time from stop to recovery for each stop factor of the plurality of facilities based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means; Margin time calculation means for obtaining a margin time indicating the time until the buffer quantity of the transport device reaches a predetermined upper limit quantity based on the buffer quantity obtained by the buffer quantity calculation means and the predetermined tact time of each facility; Evaluation value calculation means for obtaining a recovery degree priority evaluation value indicating the recovery priority based on the representative value of the recovery time obtained by the recovery time calculation means and the margin time obtained by the margin time calculation means; Recovery priority determination means for determining the recovery priority of the stopped facilities using the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained by the evaluation value calculation means; A recovery priority determination device comprising the above. (Appendix 2) The evaluation value calculation means obtains a subtraction value obtained by subtracting the margin time from the representative value of the recovery time as the recovery degree priority evaluation value, The recovery priority determination means determines the recovery priority to be higher for the stopped facilities that show a larger value of the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained by the evaluation value calculation means, in the recovery priority determination device according to Appendix 1. (Appendix 3) The information regarding the process includes the final serial number corresponding to the number of processing targets on which the process is performed in the plurality of facilities. The buffer quantity calculation means obtains the buffer quantity of each transfer device by obtaining the difference value of the final serial numbers between the previous process on the upstream side and the subsequent process on the downstream side of the transfer device. The restoration priority identification device according to Appendix 1 or Appendix 2. (Appendix 4) The information regarding the operation includes stop time information and restoration time information for each stop cause of the plurality of facilities. The restoration time calculation means obtains the restoration time by obtaining the difference between the restoration time and the stop time, adds the obtained restoration times for each stop cause of each facility, and divides the added restoration times by the number of times the addition is performed to obtain the average value of the restoration times for each stop cause of each facility as a representative value. The restoration priority identification device according to any one of Appendices 1 to 3. (Appendix 5) The margin time calculation means obtains the margin time of the stopped facility by multiplying the subtraction value obtained by subtracting the buffer quantity in the upstream transfer device from the upper limit number in the upstream transfer device among the transfer devices connected to the stopped facility by the tact time of the facility in the previous process of the stopped facility. The restoration priority identification device according to any one of Appendices 1 to 4. (Appendix 6) The restoration priority identification means transmits the restoration priority to a display device that displays the restoration priority together with information including the facility state information and the stop cause. Determination means for determining whether there is a change in the facility state of the stopped facility based on the operation information acquired by the information acquisition means. When it is determined that there is a change in the facility state of the stopped facility, display management means for transmitting the updated information to the display device. The restoration priority identification device according to any one of Appendices 1 to 5. (Appendix 7) A recovery priority specifying device according to any one of Appendices 1 to 6, and an information management device, The information management device, An information receiving means for receiving the information regarding the operation and the information regarding the process, A storage means for storing the received information, A sending means for sending the received information to the recovery priority specifying device, A recovery priority specifying system. (Appendix 8) Performing a process on a processing target A production line comprising a plurality of facilities and a transfer device that connects the facilities and transfers a processing target from one facility to another facility Production line each of the plurality When the equipment stops, a recovery priority specifying method for specifying the recovery priority of the stopped equipment, the Equipment each Of is a cause of stoppage Stopping factor and a facility that indicates the state of each facility An information acquisition step of acquiring the information regarding the operation including the state information and of the plurality of facilities The information regarding the process, a buffer quantity calculation step of obtaining the buffer quantity of each transfer device based on the information acquired in the information acquisition step; a recovery time calculation step of obtaining a representative value of the recovery time from stoppage to recovery for each cause of stoppage of the plurality of facilities based on the information acquired in the information acquisition step; a margin time calculation step of obtaining a margin time indicating the time until the buffer quantity of the transfer device reaches a predetermined upper limit quantity based on the buffer quantity obtained in the buffer quantity calculation step and a predetermined tact time of each facility; based on the representative value of the recovery time obtained in the recovery time calculation step and the margin time obtained in the margin time calculation step, An evaluation value calculation step of obtaining a recovery degree priority evaluation value indicating the recovery priority, A recovery priority specifying step of specifying the recovery priority of the stopped equipment using the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained by the evaluation value calculation step, A recovery priority specifying method comprising: (Appendix 9) a program for specifying the priority order of recovery of stopped facilities when the plurality of facilities of a production line comprising a plurality of facilities for processing a processing target and a transfer device that connects the facilities and transfers the processing target from one facility to another facility stop, On a computer, the Equipment each Of is a cause of stoppage Stopping factor and indicating the state of each facility An information acquisition step of acquiring the information regarding the operation including the equipment state information and of the plurality of facilities The information regarding the process, a buffer quantity calculation step of obtaining the buffer quantity of each transfer device based on the information acquired in the information acquisition step, a recovery time calculation step of obtaining a representative value of the recovery time from stoppage to recovery for each cause of stoppage of the plurality of facilities based on the information acquired in the information acquisition step, a margin time calculation step of obtaining a margin time indicating the time until the buffer quantity of the transfer device reaches a predetermined upper limit quantity based on the buffer quantity obtained in the buffer quantity calculation step and a predetermined tact time of each facility, the representative value of the recovery time obtained in the recovery time calculation step and the margin time obtained in the margin time calculation step An evaluation value calculation step of obtaining a restoration degree priority evaluation value indicating the priority of restoration based on [specific conditions]; A restoration priority order specifying step of specifying the restoration priority order of the stopped equipment using the restoration degree priority evaluation value obtained by the evaluation value calculation step; A program for executing [the above steps].

Explanation of Signs

[0080] 1 Restoration priority order specifying device, 6 Information management device, 11 Information acquisition unit, 12 Buffer number calculation unit, 13 Average restoration time calculation unit, 14 Margin time calculation unit, 15 Evaluation value calculation unit, 16 Priority order specifying unit, 17 Judgment unit, 18 Display management unit, 19 First storage unit, 21 Equipment A, 22 Equipment B, 23 Equipment C, 31 PLCa, 32 PLCb, 33 PLCc, 41, 42 Conveying device, 50 Internal bus, 51 Control unit, 52 Main storage unit, 53 External storage unit, 54 Operation unit, 55 Display unit, 56 Input / output unit, 57 Transmission / reception unit, 59 Control program, 61 Information management unit, 62 Sending unit, 65 Second storage unit, 66 Operation information, 67 Manufacturing information, 80 Display device, 81 Display control unit, 82 Display unit, 85 Third storage unit, 86 Restoration priority order table, 100 Production system, 191 Restoration time information table, 192 Serial number table, 193 Equipment status table, 194 Calculated value, 195 Takt time data, 196 Upper limit buffer number data.

Claims

1. A recovery priority specifying device that specifies the recovery priority order of stopped facilities when a plurality of facilities that perform processing on a processing target and a transport device that connects between the facilities and transports the processing target from one facility to another facility in a production line stop, comprising: information acquisition means for acquiring information related to operation including a stop factor that is a cause of stop for each facility and facility state information indicating the state of each facility, and information related to processes of the plurality of facilities; buffer quantity calculation means for obtaining the buffer quantity of each transport device based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means; recovery time calculation means for obtaining a representative value of the recovery time from stop to recovery for each stop factor of the plurality of facilities based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means; margin time calculation means for obtaining a margin time indicating the time until the buffer quantity of the transport device reaches a predetermined upper limit quantity based on the buffer quantity obtained by the buffer quantity calculation means and a predetermined tact time of each facility; evaluation value calculation means for obtaining a recovery degree priority evaluation value indicating the priority of recovery based on the representative value of the recovery time obtained by the recovery time calculation means and the margin time obtained by the margin time calculation means; recovery priority specifying means for specifying the recovery priority order of the stopped facilities using the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained by the evaluation value calculation means; A recovery priority specifying device comprising the above.

2. The evaluation value calculation means obtains a subtraction value obtained by subtracting the margin time from the representative value of the recovery time as the recovery degree priority evaluation value, The recovery priority specifying means specifies the recovery priority order higher for the stopped facility that shows a larger value of the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained by the evaluation value calculation means. The recovery priority specifying device according to Claim 1.

3. The information related to the process includes the final passing quantity corresponding to the quantity of the processing target on which the process has been performed in the plurality of facilities, The buffer quantity calculation means obtains the buffer quantity of each transport device by obtaining the difference between the final passing quantities of the previous process on the upstream side and the subsequent process on the downstream side of the transport device. The recovery priority specifying device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2.

4. The information related to the operation includes stop time information and recovery time information for each stop factor of the plurality of facilities. ​ The restoration time calculation means obtains the restoration time by obtaining the difference between the restoration time and the stop time, adds the obtained restoration time for each stop cause of each facility, and divides the added restoration time by the number of times the restoration time is added, thereby obtaining, as a representative value, the average value of the restoration times for each stop cause of each facility. The restoration priority specifying device according to claim 3.

5. The margin time calculation means obtains the margin time of the stopped facility by multiplying the subtraction value obtained by subtracting the buffer quantity in the upstream transfer device from the upper limit quantity in the upstream transfer device among the transfer devices connected to the stopped facility by the tact time of the facility in the previous process of the stopped facility. The restoration priority specifying device according to claim 4.

6. The restoration priority specifying means transmits the restoration priority to a display device that displays the restoration priority, together with information including the facility state information and the stop cause. Determination means for determining whether there is a change in the facility state of the stopped facility based on the information related to the operation acquired by the information acquisition means. Further comprising display management means for transmitting updated information to the display device when it is determined that there is a change in the facility state of the stopped facility. The restoration priority specifying device according to claim 5.

7. Comprising the restoration priority specifying device according to claim 1 and an information management device. The information management device is Information reception means for receiving the information related to the operation and the information related to the process. Storage means for storing the received information. Transmission means for transmitting the received information to the restoration priority specifying device. Restoration priority specifying system.

8. A restoration priority specifying method for specifying the restoration priority of stopped facilities when a plurality of facilities that perform processing on a processing target and transfer devices that connect between the facilities and transfer the processing target from one facility to another facility stop, comprising: An information acquisition step of acquiring information related to the operation including the stop cause, which is the cause of the stop for each facility, and the facility state information indicating the state of each facility, and information related to the processes of the plurality of facilities. A buffer quantity calculation step of obtaining the buffer quantity of each transfer device based on the information acquired in the information acquisition step. Based on the information obtained in the information acquisition step, a recovery time calculation step for obtaining a representative value of the recovery time from the stop to the recovery for each of the stop factors of the plurality of facilities; A margin time calculation step for obtaining a margin time indicating the time until the buffer quantity of the transfer device reaches a predetermined upper limit quantity based on the buffer quantity obtained in the buffer quantity calculation step and the predetermined tact time of each facility; An evaluation value calculation step for obtaining a recovery degree priority evaluation value indicating the priority of recovery based on the representative value of the recovery time obtained in the recovery time calculation step and the margin time obtained in the margin time calculation step; A recovery priority order specifying step for specifying the recovery priority order of the stopped facilities using the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained in the evaluation value calculation step; A recovery priority order specifying method comprising the above.

9. A program for specifying the recovery priority order of a plurality of facilities that have stopped in a production line including a plurality of facilities that perform processing on a processing target and a transfer device that connects the facilities and transfers the processing target from one facility to another facility, when: Causing a computer to: An information acquisition step of acquiring information related to operation including a stop factor that is a stop factor for each facility and facility state information indicating the state of each facility, and information related to the processes of the plurality of facilities; A buffer quantity calculation step of obtaining the buffer quantity of each transfer device based on the information obtained in the information acquisition step; A recovery time calculation step of obtaining a representative value of the recovery time from the stop to the recovery for each of the stop factors of the plurality of facilities based on the information obtained in the information acquisition step; A margin time calculation step of obtaining a margin time indicating the time until the buffer quantity of the transfer device reaches a predetermined upper limit quantity based on the buffer quantity obtained in the buffer quantity calculation step and the predetermined tact time of each facility; An evaluation value calculation step of obtaining a recovery degree priority evaluation value indicating the priority of recovery based on the representative value of the recovery time obtained in the recovery time calculation step and the margin time obtained in the margin time calculation step; A recovery priority order specifying step of specifying the recovery priority order of the stopped facilities using the recovery degree priority evaluation value obtained in the evaluation value calculation step; A program for causing the above to be executed.

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