intraFACTORY® - Kratzer Automation

intraFACTORY ® TraceabiliTy
Even when operating to the highest quality standards it is not always
possible to avoid manufacturing defects entirely. When they
are detected, they have frequently arisen in upstream stages of
the manufacturing process and have already spread “like a virus”
through all downstream production levels and to shipped products.
Uncertainty about the possible extent of a manufacturing
defect explains why so many products are affected in the event
of callbacks.
The solution
When complaints are raised, however, it is possible to pinpoint
the affected products if production keeps full documentation of
components and consumables as well as of every processing
step. In these cases, this data can be used to trace sources of
defects, identify defects clearly and assess their impact.
Traceability is a central function of the intraFACTORY manufacturing
execution system. Its fast stepClient process interfaces ensure
that all production data can be collected without delay even
at extremely high rates.
The prerequisite for complete traceability is the ability to identify
all parts and materials at any time using firmly installed or mobile
scanners (barcode, RFID, microchips).
Tracking and tracing on batch level
To narrow down tracing effort, components and materials that
cannot be identified directly (for instance firms, bulk material)
have to be separated in their batches. intraFACTORY extends the
master data for components into self-interpreting trace numbers
with details of the batch, expiration date, inspection results and
quantity in the batch (see the example at the bottom right).
It is essential to trace material on batch level because manufacturers‘
codings may be mixed in the batches. And with post-setup
activities, too, batches may mix, giving rise to uncertainties that
the intraFACTORY Material Manager allows for by transitionally
posting both the old and the new batch.
Greater process reliability
In addition to pinpointing the impact of manufacturing defects,
the traceability facility provides you with maximum transparency
about corporate processes, the potential to improve them and
the ability to increase process reliability by reducing the risk of
manufacturing defects.
Expansion to full-scale MES functionality
intraFACTORY Traceability is a module of the intraFACTORY Shop
Floor Edition. By using other standard modules – such as Material
manager, Process locking (Advanced Process Control APC),
Order tracking with online reporting amd Repair Manager – you
can establish a custom manufacturing execution system (MES,)
step by step, that extends as far as goods-in and shipping.
DEFECT
bacKWarD TracKiNG FOrWarD TracKiNG
Find defect
causing process
Remove
defect
Block effected
batches
Find source
of defect
Block affected
components
Inform affected
customers
Targeted
remedy
The „W“ questions of tracking and tracing
Forward tracking entails finding the potential impact of defects
on products that have already been completed, whereas
backward tracking makes a distinction between product and
process traceability.
Product traceability
What component has been fitted
into which product
under which batch number and when,
as part of which order lot,
using what material,
and for which customer ?
Process traceability
How was the product made,
on which line
and in which production step,
under what conditions,
using what resources,
by which employees
and what were the results ?