Management system and management method

Abstract

Provided is a management system that attaches identification data to a product produced through a plurality of steps and manages the product in a trackable manner. The management system comprises: a plurality of control devices that are disposed in one or more of each of the plurality of steps and perform control of the steps; and a tracking database that associates and holds identification data of the product, identification data of a member used for production of the product, and control data related to control of the steps. The plurality of control devices perform control of the steps and register control data regarding the control in the tracking database. The management system can flexibly provide various data related to product production.

Description

Management system and management method

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

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology for managing the production and distribution of products, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-145784 (Patent Document 1). This publication states, "We provide a traceability management system that supports lot production, which prevents database space from being overwhelmed by an enormous amount of information, prevents the creation of trace information and data search times from becoming too long, and is capable of reducing system maintenance, management, and input costs," 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 also managed as an intermediate object."

[0003] JP 2011-145784 A

[0004] Conventional technologies can trace what a product was used for along its distribution route, or trace back the distribution route to determine which components a product was made from. However, they do not take into account the need for diverse information other than tracking. For example, they cannot confirm the conditions at the time of production. Furthermore, if a new type of data is requested, such as the CO2 emissions from the production of the product, the system must be modified to accommodate the requested data. Therefore, the present invention aims to flexibly provide diverse data related to product production.

[0005] 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, comprising a plurality of control devices, one or more of which are arranged for each of the multiple processes and control the processes, and a tracking database that stores identification data for the product, identification data for materials used in producing the product, and control data related to the control of the processes in association with each other, wherein the plurality of control devices control the processes and register the control data related to the control in the tracking database. Also, one representative management method of the present invention is a management method that assigns identification data to products produced through multiple processes and manages them in a traceable manner, comprising the steps of: a plurality of control devices, one or more of which are arranged for each of the multiple processes and control the processes, controlling the processes; and a step of the plurality of control devices registering the control data related to the control of the processes in the tracking database, wherein the plurality of control devices associate and register the identification data for the product, the identification data for materials used in producing the product, and the control data related to the control of the processes in the tracking database.

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

[0007] Explanatory diagram of the first embodiment System configuration diagram of the first embodiment Explanatory diagram of data example (part 1) Explanatory diagram of data example (part 2) Configuration diagram of PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) Flowchart of data registration process Flowchart of data generation process

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

[0009] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a first embodiment. The management system in FIG. 1 manages a facility that produces products 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 produced products and managed in a traceable manner. Furthermore, if identification data is assigned to components (parts or materials), it can be read as appropriate 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 a plurality of processes. The PLCs control the processes and register control data relating to the control in the traceability DB 30. The traceability DB 30 corresponds to a tracking database.

[0011] The traceability DB 30 associates and stores product identification data (product ID), identification data (part ID, etc.) of components used in the production of the product, and control data related to process control. 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 or gas can be installed. 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 installed 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 a 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 subsequently processed, the power consumed in process X from the start to the end of processing product A2 is extracted and associated with product A2. Furthermore, for example, when multiple inspections are performed on product A1 in process Y, the results of the multiple inspections 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, data on power consumption and the like that was previously managed at a larger granularity can be extracted to obtain data at a granularity corresponding to the product, and data on inspection results and the like that was previously obtained at a smaller granularity can be integrated to obtain data at a granularity corresponding to the product.

[0013] The data processing device 40 is a computer that references 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 requests for product data and provides the requested data to the requestor. If the requested data is data stored in the traceability DB 30 or the like, the data request receiving unit 41 can read the data from the traceability DB 30 and provide it to the requestor. If the requested data is a new type of data, the data request receiving unit 41 causes the data generating unit 42 to generate 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 it to the requestor. For example, the data processing device 40 can reference the actual power supply data, calculate the total power consumption of each process for a product with specified identification data, and generate CO2 emissions (the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the production of the product) associated with the production of the product. The data processing device 40 can also generate data indicating the quality of work performed by workers in the production of the product with specified identification data. The quality of the work can be generated from the control data acquired from the equipment corresponding to the work of the worker and associated with the specified product.

[0014] In this way, by storing data of granularity corresponding to the product as material, data required on a product-by-product basis can be generated by processing the material data, without the need to specify in advance what kind of data will be requested by the data processing device 40. In other words, because 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 Example 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 manual work, and data on the content and results of control, and transmit the data to the traceability DB 30.

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

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

[0018] 3 shows a specific example of data stored in the traceability DB 30. 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 to which product in which process.

[0019] The product ID-entrance / 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 the product entered the process. The exit sensor ON time indicates the time the product left the process. Therefore, by referencing this table, it is possible to identify when a product went 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-manual work correspondence table associates the process name, product ID, manual work start time, tightening torque, and manual 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] Figure 4 shows a specific example of data stored in the related information database. Equipment power consumption corresponds to product names and power consumption. Human work quality definitions correspond to work names, evaluation index values, and evaluation results. The data shown in Figures 3 and 4 are merely examples, and any data can be stored in any format. For example, power consumption for each product and each process can be stored as an independent table in the traceability database 30 or in the related information database. Furthermore, power consumption for each product and each process can be included in the product ID-entrance / exit sensor correspondence table. Furthermore, power consumption for each product and each process can be calculated from the power consumption for each piece of equipment. For example, if a process uses a conveyor and a processing device, the power consumption of the conveyor and the processing device can be accumulated at the product level. The power consumption for that product in that process can be calculated by adding up the product power consumption of the conveyor and the power consumption of the processing device.

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

[0024] The control processing unit 16 controls the process by transmitting operation instructions to various pieces of equipment and receiving operation results via the equipment IF 11. 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 in the memory 13 by the control processing unit 16 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] FIG. 6 is an example flowchart of the data registration process. The data registration process is realized by sequentially executing the processes from step S101 to step S106. Step S101: The control processing unit 16 of the PLC 10 sends an operation instruction to the conveyor to control the conveyance. Then, the process proceeds to step S102. Step S102: The control processing unit 16 identifies the product ID and parts transported by the conveyor. Then, the process proceeds to step S103. Step S103: The control processing unit 16 performs real-time control of related equipment (entrance sensors, processing equipment, inspection equipment, exit sensors, etc.). The control processing unit 16 writes the content and results of the real-time control to the memory 13. Then, the process proceeds to step S104. Step S104: The control processing unit 16 identifies manual work. The control processing unit 16 writes the identification result to the memory 13. Then, the process proceeds to step S105.

[0027] In step S105, the information processing unit 15 of the PLC 10 reads data related 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 the data related to processes, parts, controls, and manual operations associated with the product ID in the traceability DB 30 at a predetermined time granularity, and the process ends.

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

[0029] As described above, the disclosed system is a management system that assigns identification data to products produced through multiple processes and manages them in a traceable manner. The system includes multiple control devices (PLCs 10), one or more of which are arranged for each of the multiple processes and control the processes, and a traceability database (traceability DB 30) that associates and stores the product identification data, the identification data of components used in the production of the products, and control data related to the control of the processes. The multiple control devices control the processes and register the control data related to the control in the traceability database. With this configuration and operation, the system can flexibly provide a variety of data related to product production. 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 performed). This data can be provided without requiring any modifications to existing production equipment.

[0030] The disclosed system further includes a resource supply device (power supply device 20) that supplies the necessary resources for each of the plurality of processes, and a resource supply history database that manages the history of resource supply, 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 resource supply 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 accumulate only the necessary and sufficient data that may be provided.

[0031] The disclosed system further includes a data processing device 40 that references the tracking database. The data processing device receives a request for new data types, determines the material data needed to generate the requested data, reads the material data from the tracking database, and generates the requested data from the material data. This configuration allows the system to appropriately generate and provide newly requested data. Furthermore, providing new data does not require modifications to existing production facilities.

[0032] The control data includes the output of sensors used in the process, the details of the control executed, data on the equipment to be controlled, data on the materials used in the equipment, and data on the work performed by workers. In this way, the system can comprehensively manage and provide information related to the production of equipment.

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

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. 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 including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, not only can the configurations be deleted, but also replacements and additions of configurations are possible.

[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 device, 30: Traceability DB, 40: Data processing device, 41: Data request receiving unit, 42: Data generating unit

Claims

1. A management system that assigns identification data to products produced through multiple processes and manages them in a traceable manner, comprising: a plurality of control devices, one or more of which are arranged for each of the multiple processes and which control the processes; and a tracing 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, wherein the plurality of control devices control the processes and register the control data for the control in the tracing database.

2. A management system as described in claim 1, further comprising a resource supply device which supplies the necessary resources for each of the plurality of processes, and a resource supply record database which manages the record 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 record database manages the record of the supply of the resources at a time granularity corresponding to the product.

3. A management system as described in claim 1, further comprising a data processing device that references the tracking database, wherein the data processing device receives a request for a new type of data, determines material data that is necessary to generate the requested data, reads the material data from the tracking database, and generates the requested data from the material data.

4. A management system as described in claim 1, characterized in that the control data includes the output of 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.

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

6. A management system according to claim 3, wherein said data processing device generates data indicative of the quality of work performed by workers in the production of said product.

7. 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 step of a plurality of control devices, one or more of which are arranged for each of the plurality of processes and which control the process, controlling the process; and a step of the plurality of control devices registering control data relating to the control of the process in a tracing database, wherein the plurality of control devices associate the identification data of the product, the identification data of materials used in the production of the product, and the control data relating to the control of the process and register them in the tracing database.

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