MES Line Visualization for Real-Time Work Order Tracking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current manufacturing execution systems (MES) face challenges in effectively displaying real-time, instantaneous information about a single manufacturing line, which is crucial for optimizing equipment utilization and production processes, as they often present plant-level information that includes performance characteristics of multiple lines and work orders, making it difficult to track the status of specific manufacturing lines efficiently.

Innovation Solution

A method for configuring a manufacturing execution system to display information about a process control system by defining a line and assigning entities to it, allowing for the presentation of display objects that represent the physical processing line, including entity and work order status information, and performance metrics, enabling users to visualize and manage production processes effectively.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If plant-level information is displayed to show overall production status, then comprehensive production overview is achieved, but it becomes difficult to track the status of specific manufacturing lines efficiently

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation detailVSAvoidline tracking efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments plant-level information into line-specific information and entity-level information. The line management feature divides the display into hierarchical levels: plant level, manufacturing line level, and entity level. This segmentation allows users to view comprehensive plant-level data while easily drilling down to specific line details without information overload, resolving the contradiction between comprehensive overview and specific line tracking efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If real-time information about multiple lines is displayed simultaneously, then overall production monitoring is improved, but the complexity of managing and visualizing multiple work orders and equipment performance increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduction monitoring efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces a hierarchical dimension to information display, organizing data from plant level down to line level and entity level. This dimensional organization allows real-time monitoring of multiple lines without increasing visual complexity, as users can navigate through hierarchical levels rather than displaying all information simultaneously at one level.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the monitoring function into discrete manageable units (lines and entities) that can be individually configured and displayed. Each line can be customized with specific entities and parameters, allowing complex multi-line monitoring to be broken down into simpler, reusable line-level templates that reduce overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Measurement precision

If detailed entity and work order status information is presented for each line, then equipment utilization optimization is enabled, but the visualization complexity and data processing load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestatus information accuracyVSAvoidvisualization complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by allowing each manufacturing line to have customized information display based on its specific entities and work orders. Each line can show only the relevant entities and parameters needed for that specific line's optimization, rather than displaying all possible data uniformly across all lines. This reduces visualization complexity while maintaining precise status information for each line's specific needs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4220319A1Line management in manufacturing execution system
Publication Date: 2023.08.02 AVEVA SOFTWARE LLC
  • EP4220319A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4220319A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4220319A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Information about a process control system having a physical processing line is presented on a display of a computer system includes presenting display objects on the display. The display objects are associated with the physical line of the process control system.