The ANDON system from MES Automation is one of the best technological solutions for factories, since through a display of lights or light signals on a board it indicates the working conditions on the production floor.
Specifically, this visual information system is very useful for lean manufacturing, as it is responsible for recording and analyzing production figures and also the magnitude of the problems, which can be viewed by all personnel who perform management functions. operation and support.
Would you like to know, specifically, how a solution with this feature can help your company? If your answer is “yes”, pay attention to these 6 aspects that you can improve thanks to the ANDON system.
1. Fault identification
By not having quality technological support, those responsible for some factories do not identify, in real time, where machine failures and delays in production processes occur.
Luckily, this will stop happening if you implement an ANDON system. One of its potentialities is that it detects at which point in the production line these problems appear and, in addition, documents them.
Then, by activating an event in the machine, it allows you to specifically indicate where the problem is located.
2. Reaction times
Although it is important to avoid problems in factories at all costs, it is also necessary to be aware that they can arise. Thus, it is important to prepare and be alert to provide a timely and efficient response.
This is another reason to implement the MES Automation ANDON system! This solution allows you to identify the times invested in addressing unexpected events that occur in production, indicating the place where they were generated and who is the service department and the user who is attending to the event.
In addition, it allows escalating alert (help) calls to different departments to help solve the problem and has the potential to generate lean manufacturing solutions , allowing the production line to be optimized by identifying where the problems are, in order to find actions that minimize or eliminate the event.
3. Standardization
Another benefit of MES Automation's ANDON system is that it helps standardize event handling. Because you can configure the state sequences for downtime events, all events are handled with a standardized workflow. This allows team members to establish quality standards that can be replicated across all factory workstations.
Other functions that help create standards and achieve significant improvement are stoppage classification; Once the process restores its normal operation, the ANDON system allows you to select reasons for stoppages from a tree of categories previously established for the entire factory.
In conclusion, the standardization of actions associated with the functions of the ANDON system will translate into available time that people will have to achieve continuous and sustainable improvements in the processes.
4. Performance measurement
This is another of the key aspects in a factory that you can improve through the implementation of the ANDON system; a solution that records actions and events in a centralized database, in real time.
This way you will have the most precise elements and information to analyze the performance of production in processes, manufacturing cells or machines.
To facilitate access to information and monitoring, the ANDON system allows the events generated to be categorized and classified according to the Global Effectiveness of Productive Equipment (OEE) methodology. This indicator helps to measure the effectiveness of industrial activity constantly and, in addition, has become a key element within the culture of continuous improvement and, in general, lean manufacturing.
This means that thanks to the MES Automation ANDON system you will not only be able to count on quick responses when events arise, but you will also have the possibility of making in-depth evaluations, which translate into decisions and the design of efficient action plans and that lead to the optimization of the processes.
5. Understanding the problems and monitoring
It is important that you have a technological solution that allows supervisory levels to understand where problems are occurring, in real time.
Precisely, this is another of the capabilities of the MES Automation ANDON system. This system measures, reports and analyzes the performance of equipment in real time and uses visual and auditory signals to indicate alerts and help higher levels understand the behavior of the process in terms of root cause, type of failure and frequency. of the problems.
In addition, the ANDON system enables supervisors to visualize events through graphs, trends and reports about the main reasons for poor performance, helping to carry out Kaizen-type analysis.
These features are what make this ANDON solution one of the best communication tools (in real time) for factories.
6. Technological architecture
Currently, factories that hope to achieve a privileged position and be competitive need to have a solid technological architecture. Without a doubt, modernization has ceased to be a luxury and has become a necessity for the industrial sector.
By implementing the ANDON system from MES Automation you will be able to take the important step of modernizing your production processes, since it has the potential to exchange information with devices, other solutions and existing databases in the plants. This dynamic will translate into an intelligent and integrated production floor, where manual and/or automated processes can converge on a common platform.
That's it! If you've followed us this far, you now know the main improvements that the MES Automation ANDON system will bring to your factory.
In addition, this technological solution is backed by a team of experts who will provide you with support, advice and everything you need to optimize productive activity.
In fact, another of the qualities of this system is that it is built on an efficient client-server structure that will allow you to have access to timely support and attention, especially in cases of contingency.
Remember that the effective management of a factory is based on the reduction of problems and the preparation to respond effectively when they arise, as well as the in-depth analysis of failures and their causes.
Fortunately, all of this will be provided to you by MES Automation's ANDON system!
Did you find this information helpful? If you'd like to learn more about the MES Automation ANDON system and how it can meet the specific needs of your factory, contact a MES Automation consultant now.
Originally published on July 9, 2019, updated on August 22, 2023
5 benefits of an ANDON system for productive processes
