The road to the paperless factory is still a long one in many places – a mix of Excel spreadsheets to be filled in by hand and Word documents is still common practice. And this applies to many production companies – regardless of industry and size. In addition, machine operators themselves have to ensure that inspection intervals are adhered to and make “okay/not okay” decisions. Apart from the use of resources and the time required, there is therefore a constant potential for errors in data collection – from compliance with the inspection intervals to precise logging and reporting.
From January 2019, FASTEC will provide an attractive answer to the aforementioned complex issue: FASTEC 4 PRO 3.3.7. Paperless, precise and highly configurable are the key attributes of the newly developed Digital Order Documentation module. The special feature of this development also stands for the attractive added value: Following a holistic and consistent approach, the new module already offers significantly more functions in its first version than many common SPC tools. “While SPC is primarily concerned with the manual recording of variable and attributive characteristics, our module offers a range of other functions so that completely different use cases can be mapped, such as the digitization of setup checklists,” says Managing Director Christian Reusch.
Various characteristics defined in an inspection plan can be checked at intervals defined by the user. In addition, process and quality checks are to be partially automated in future and carried out without machine operators. This is possible, for example, when checking the LOT codes using a stationary scanner.
The range of possible inspection point generation leaves nothing to be desired: Automated triggers for the digital control of, for example, time, operation, quantity and state ensure consistent quality and bring even more transparency to production. In combination with the creation of individual inspection plans to define step sequences, variable, attributive and comparative characteristics, as well as extensive options for text/number input, FASTEC 4 PRO 3.3.7 noticeably and profitably shortens the path to the paperless factory.
“The digitized and automated order documentation not only reduces errors, it also saves time so that the machine operator can concentrate on his actual work. At the same time, reducing the use of paper also has a positive impact on our environment,” Reusch concludes.
