Orbit Technology Corporation has added an andon (pronounced ahn-dohn) feature to Virtual Factory, allowing factory supervisors to more easily monitor factory status.
Orbit Technology Corporation has added an andon (pronounced ahn-dohn) feature to Virtual Factory, allowing factory supervisors to more easily monitor factory status. Virtual Factory, the 'monitoring and control' software solution from Orbit Technology Corporation, has added an andon feature to its long list of product features. Andon became popular in the late 1980's in Japan and elsewhere as a component of the just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing philosophy.

Traditional andon systems consist of a panel of lights, each of which are connected to machines and devices located on the factory floor.

Whenever the state of a machine or device changes (e.g., in operation, not in operation, jammed, etc.), the andon panel gives managers an immediate, visual update regarding the change.

Unlike traditional andon systems using light bulbs hard-wired to machines, Virtual Factory's andon feature works through any computer video monitor.

The display is user-configurable, including the number, size, and color of andon lights, as well as device names to be monitored.

Most important, the user can add new physical devices at any time and determine the circumstances under which the device should alert managers via the andon display.

All of these configurations are carried out within the Virtual Factory environment, so hardwiring alterations are usually not necessary.

About Virtual Factory - Virtual Factory gives users the power to monitor and control any machine or device in their factory from any place with an Internet connection.

It treats each real-world machine, device, and worker in the facility as a virtual object that can be viewed or controlled using an ergonomic user interface.

Data constantly flows between Virtual Factory and machines/devices/ workers in the factory in real time.

The software can poll the current status of machines, PLCs, RTUs, HVAC systems, and workers every few seconds and then keep track of data about their activities in a data log for future reference.

The data can also be used to instantly trigger actions by other devices.

Alerts can be sent to managers via telephone, e-mail, or pager about problem situations.

The software can automatically carry out video monitoring and recording tasks and can accommodate Ethernet or USB-based cameras with built-in buffering capabilities.

Virtual Factory can interface with any number of external software modules, including scheduling and nesting programs.

It can be configured to interface with any digital or analog input/output device.

Sample Applications * Program Virtual Factory to automatically call your cell phone to alert you that a machine scheduled to run until 3:30 a.m.

actually stopped at 1:14 a.m.

* Check in on remotely located workers via video link or digital monitoring device to be sure they are following proper safety procedures.

* Run a report based on log data that lists all start/stop times for a particular machine over a two-week period in order to determine optimal usage patterns.

* Set up Virtual Factory to automatically track and monitor the status of each stage of a laser cutting process for sheet metal - from nesting to scheduling to cutting - to ensure on-schedule operation.

* Have Virtual Factory send an alert to the cell phone of security personnel whenever someone is detected entering your facility without the proper RFID-equipped badge.

* Program Virtual Factory to e-mail the shop floor manager with an MPEG or AVI file containing video footage of the machine immediately before and after an unscheduled stoppage occurred.