66

MACHINE MONITORING A N D CONTROL WITHOUT MAP

K.J.

Thomas,

HOVER G H O U P .

I. Keith

U.K.

BACKGROUND

Rover Cars have r e c e n t l y i n s t a l l e d ( 1 9 8 9 ) ,

new m a n u f a c t u r i n g f a c i l i t i e s f o r a n a l u m i n i u m
e n g i n e , g e a r b o x , a n d a new c a r m o d e l , t h e
R o v e r 200. F o r t h e E n g i n e a n d G e a r b o x t h i s
i n v o l v e d t h e p u r c h a s e o f some 4 0 0 m a c h i n e s a t
a c a p i t a l cost o f 100M.
T h e f a c i l i t i e s had t o b e d e s i g n e d f o r :igh l e v e l s o f e f f i c i e n c y ;
.. MHHigh
levels of quality:
inimal I n v e n t o r y ;
. Cost
effectiveness L
a

W h i l e p r o c e s s e n g i n e e r s were w o r k i n g o n w h i c h
t y p e s o f machines and equipment t h e y
r e q u i r e d , t h e p e o p l e who were t o f i n a l l y r u n
t h e f a c i l i t i e s were i n v o l v e d i n d i s c u s s i o n s
o n how b e s t t o o p e r a t e , g i v e n t h e a b o v e
criteria.
O u r a s s o c i a t i o n s w i t h Honda h a v e t a u g h t u s
how i m p o r t a n t p e o p l e a r e i n a c h i e v i n g t h e
above d e s i g n criteria. Automation can g i v e
a l l these elements, but, tends to provide
over complicated s o l u t i o n s .
Much p r o g r e s s h a d b e e n made w i t h i n t h e
Company w i t h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f SPC a n a l y s i s
f o r q u a l i t y c o n t r o l a n d 'KANBAN' t y p e
material control.
The main b e n e f i t s from t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s have
been t h e involvement of t h e shop f l o o r i n t h e
d e c i s i o n m a k i n g p r o c e s s , a n d so g a i n i n g a
g r e a t e r f e e l i n g of belonging.
A d e c i s i o n was t a k e n t o r e o r g a n i s e t h e

M a n u f a c t u r i n g Management i n t o s m a l l
b u s i n e s s e s . A Manager would b e a p p o i n t e d t o
be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e t o t a l r e q u i r e m e n t s of
a n area. H e w o u l d n o t o n l y b e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r
meeting p r o d u c t i o n t a r g e t s , b u t also t h e
q u a l i t y o f t h e p r o d u c t , t h e a c h i e v e m e n t of
t h e required (as ordered) build schedule, t h e
e f f i c i e n c y of h i s machines and equipment, t h e
c o n t r o l o f costs, t h e t r a i n i n g a n d
d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h o s e w o r k i n g f o r him. I t was
r e c o g n i s e d t h a t h e w o u l d n e e d a new s e t o f
' t o o l s ' t o c o p e w i t h t h i s new r o l e .

-SHOP

FLOOR INTEGRATION

'COMPUTER'

CONTROLLERS

One o f t h e i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t s i n f a c i l i t y
e f f i c i e n c i e s is t h e s k i l l l e v e l of
maintenance p e r s o n n e l which depends on
t r a i n i n g and r e g u l a r p r a c t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e .

T h i s would e n a b l e u s to h a v e j u s t o n e
c o n t r o l l e r t y p e f o r t h e new E n g i n e
F a c i l i t i e s , and e q u a l l y o n e
but a different
o n e , f o r t h e G e a r b o x a n d Body W e l d i n g P l a n t
a n d P a i n t a n d Car A s s e m b l y . I t w o u l d a l s o
a l l o w a ' s i m p l e ' s o l u t i o n to any i n t e g r a t i o n .

T h e r e a l i t y was t h a t t h i s r e s t r i c t e d o u r
p r o c e s s e n g i n e e r s 'commercial' a n d t e c h n i c a l
d e c i s i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y a r o u n d t h e more
c o m p l i c a t e d p r o c e s s e s r e q u i r i n g CNC a n d
s p e c i a l multi-axis control. This decision to
w a i v e r o u r c o n t r o l l e r s t a n d a r d s on c e r t a i n
m a c h i n e s p r e s e n t e d u s w i t h new p r o b l e m s . Most
of t h e s e ' s p e c i a l ' machines p o s s e s s e d a
communication
f a c i l i t y of
sort, so
i n t e g r a t i o n would s t i l l b e p o s s i b l e , b u t n o t
so s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d .

-TO
--

OBTAIN H I G H EFFICIENCIES

Keeping t h e c a p i t a l equipment w e have

purchased working r e l i a b l y and c o n s i s t e n t l y ,
i s t h e o n l y way t o r e p a y t h e i n v e s t m e n t
q u i c k l y . With t h e machine c o n t r o l l e r b e i n g
c a p a b l e of having a d d i t i o n a l f e a t u r e s added
by pure s o f t w a r e programming, w e c a n u s e its
i n t e l l i g e n c e to provide v a l u a b l e information.
E a c h m a c h i n e c o n t r o l l e r is ' p r o g r a m m e d ' t o
a c h i e v e t h e r e q u i r e d p r o c e s s and t h e n i n
a d d i t i o n have t h e f o l l o w i n g f e a t u r e s added t o
g i v e i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e machine's
performance: -

.. CS ot amt purse:h ewnos ir vk ei n gF,a uflat uDl ti ,a gnnoo smt iactse:r i a l e t c . ;

.. Time
P r o d u c t i o n Counts:
working or F a u l t e d Cycle t i m e t o
produce t h e l a s t component:

W i t h t h e new p r o j e c t , a d e s i g n w a s r e q u i r e d
f o r t h e d e g r e e o f ' i n t e g r a t i o n ' o f t h e s e new
f a c i l i t i e s w i t h t h a t o f e x i s t i n g arjd p l a n n e d
c o m p u t e r b a s e d s y s t e m s . F o r many y e a r s a l l
f a c i l i t i e s b e i n g p u r c h a s e d were c o n t r o l l e d b y
computers, u s u a l l y c a l l e d Programmable
C o n t r o l l e r s , CNC o r Robot C o n t r o l l e r s , b u t i n
g e n e r a l t h e y a r e a c o m p u t e r o f some s o r t .
TYPES OF
--

h a s l o n g b e e n a p o l i c y o f t h e company t o
s i n g l e s o u r c e t h e s u p p l i e r of t h e c o n t r o l s
equipment i n o r d e r t o minimise t h e t r a i n i n g
required, but e q u a l l y t o reduce s p a r e s
holdings.
However, i t would b e t o o u r
c o m m e r c i a l a n d f u t u r e a d v a n t a g e NOT t o r e l y
on o n e s u p p l i e r f o r t h e whole L o n g b r i d g e
s i t e , l e t a l o n e t h e w h o l e Company. T h e
i n d i v i d u a l s i t e s are b i g enough t o l e a v e
m a i n t e n a n c e p e r s o n n e l more o r l e s s i n t h e
same a r e a , t h e r e f o r e f o r e a c h o f t h e new
f a c i l i t i e s we t o o k a s t r a t e g i c d e c i s i o n on
which c o n t r o l system s u p p l i e r we wished t o
use.

It

T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n c a n t h e n be u s e d t o p r o v i d e
f a s t r e s p o n s e t o f a u l t c o n d i t i o n s , and
g e n e r a t e a measure of t h e e f f i c i e n c y of t h e
facility

Most o f t h e f a c i l i t i e s a r e a r r a n g e d i n a
s e q u e n t i a l manner, e a c h machine b e i n g f e d
f r o m t h e o n e b e f o r e i t and t h e n f e e d i n g o n t o
t h e n e x t machine. I n between e a c h machine,
m a t e r i a l is h e l d t o p r o v i d e a b u f f e r between
t h e machines i n o r d e r t o allow t h e
i n e f f i c i e n c i e s of e a c h t o n o t i n t e r f e r e . T h e
s i z e of t h e s e b u f f e r s h a s been s i m u l a t e d from
t h e e x p e c t e d tool c h a n g e p a t t e r n s and
r e l i a b i l i t y of e a c h o f t h e m a c h i n e s . The

67

majority of
Facilities
Hence t h e y
programmed

t h e s e M a t e r i a l Handling

are a l s o ' c o m p u t e r ' c o n t r o l l e d .

too c a n h a v e a d d i t i o n a l f e a t u r e s
i n t o them, e.g.

tatus;
... SCNumber
omprehensive F a u l t D i a g n o s t i c s ;
. Time w oarnkdi n gt y poer of af ucl ot me dp oCnye cnlt es bt iemi neg

held;

The m a j o r i t y of f a c i l i t i e s run u n a t t e n d e d ,
normally r e q u i r i n g a t t e n t i o n o n l y f o r tool
c h a n g e s , SPC m e a s u r e m e n t o r b r e a k d o w n s .
I n order to provide a rapid response t o f a u l t
c o n d i t i o n s a s e r i e s of o v e r h e a d f a u l t
d i s p l a y s are provided. These d i s p l a y s c a n b e
viewed from a l l gangways around t h e
manufacturing l i n e , and w i l l scroll through
a l l f a u l t s which are r e q u i r i n g immediate
a t t e n t i o n . T h i s f a c i l i t y is u s u a l l y p r o v i d e d
b y p r e s e n t i n g 3 t o 5 d i g i t n u m b e r s , b u t more
r e c e n t l y t e x t d i s p l a y s have been adopted. The
l o c a l p e r s o n n e l soon l e a r n t h e t r u e meaning
o f t h e s e f a u l t codes a n d l e a r n t o r e a c t
q u i c k l y t o s o l v e them.
The i n f o r m a t i o n on p r o d u c t i o n c o u n t s and
machine e f f i c i e n c y would be o b t a i n e d l o c a l l y
a t t h e machine. I t is r e a s o n a b l y o b v i o u s t h a t
t h e r e i s much u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n r e s i d e n t i n
t h e s e m a c h i n e s w h i c h c a n be p u t t o good
managerial use.
T h e r o u t i n e m a i n t e n a n c e of t h e m a c h i n e i s
a l s o i m p o r t a n t b u t sometimes n e g l e c t e d . To
h e l p p r e v e n t t h i s t h e machine c o n t r o l l e r c a n
be p r o g r a m m e d t o h o l d c o u n t s o f h o u r s r u n a n d
number o f ' c o m p o n e n t s m a d e ' v a l u e s , w h i c h c a n
a u t o trigger a message t o i n d i c a t e t o
m a i n t e n a n c e t h a t t h e m a c h i n e is now d u e O K
maintenance. Confirmation t h a t t h e s e r v i c e
h a s b e e n c a r r i e d o u t i s i n d i c a t e d when t h e
m a c h i n e t i m e r OK c o u n t e r h a s b e e n r e s e t t o
its s e r v i c e i n t e r v a l value. T h i s r e s e t t i n g is
done a t t h e machine c o n t r o l panel.
So a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n h e l d w i t h i n t h e
c o n t r o l l e r was a d d e d : -

. MComponent
aintenance s e r v i c e
counts.

i n t e r v a l s i n Hours

Or

The u s e o f a c o m p u t e r i s e d p l a n n e d m a i n t e n a n c e
s y s t e m now a l l o w s u s t o i n t e g r a t e t h e m a c h i n e
messages, f o r b o t h f a u l t s a n d p l a n n e d
maintenance t r i g g e r s , t o automatically
p r o d u c e t h e n e c e s s a r y work o r d e r a n d p l a n n e d
work l o a d . T h i s p l a n n e d m a i n t e n a n c e s y s t e m
also has t h e important f e a t u r e of recording
t h e a c t u a l f a i l u r e and a l s o t h e a c t i o n t a k e n
t o remedy t h i s . A P a r e t o a n a l y s i s o f t h e
f a u l t s , and t h e c a u s e s t h e r e f o r e a l l o w s
s e n s i b l e management d e c i s i o n s t o b e t a k e n
o v e r s e r v i c e i n t e r v a l s and design
improvements.
T h i s s y s t e m was d e v e l o p e d o n t h e F a c t o r y
Information System, a s d i s c u s s e d i n another
p a p e r . (1)

Some o f t h e g a u g e s a r e c o m p u t e r s b e c a u s e t h e
c a l c u l a t i o n s f o r t h e c h a r t s a r e too
c o m p l i c a t e d f o r m a n u a l means. D e s p i t e t h i s we
a v o i d e d t h e d e s i r e t o i n t e g r a t e a l l o u r SPC
d a t a i n t o o n e l a r g e Q u a l i t y machine. I t is
n o t u s e f u l t o r e c o r d large volumes of d a t a
w h i c h i n r e a l i t y is t e l l i n g you y o u r p r o c e s s
i s u n d e r c o n t r o l . So i t i s l e f t t o t h e
o p e r a t o r s t o r e p o r t when t h e y n o t i c e p r o b l e m s
and r e q u i r e h e l p . These r e p o r t s are logged
b u t they do not r e q u i r e information d i r e c t
from t h e gauges OK p r o c e s s .
The l i f e of c u t t i n g tools and o t h e r
c o n s u m a b l e items n e e d s s t r i c t c o n t r o l t o k e e p
t h e q u a l i t y of t h e p r o c e s s a t t h e n e c e s s a r y
h i g h l e v e l s . The m a j o r i t y of t h e machines u s e
a s i m p l e component c o u n t t o d i c t a t e t h e
c h a n g e o f a t o o l , some h a v e o t h e r more
s o p h i s t i c a t e d d e v i c e s , b u t t h e r e s u l t is
s t i l l t h e same. When a t o o l is n e a r i n g t h e
e n d of i t s l i f e , a w a r n i n g i s g i v e n by t h e
m a c h i n e t o o l , a n d when t h e t o o l l i f e e x p i r e s ,
t h e machine s t o p s . Both t h e s e c o u n t s are done
b y t h e m a c h i n e ' s c o n t r o l l e r . When t h e t o o l
c h a n g e is c o m p l e t e , t h e t o o l l i f e c o u n t i s
reset t o its o r i g i n a l v a l u e s v i a t h e machine
c o n t r o l p a n e l ( a s is t h e m a i n t e n a n c e s e r v i c e
i n t e r v a l ) and t h e machine is r e s t a r t e d .
So w e h a v e a f e a t u r e t o a d d t o t h e

f u n c t i o n a l i t y of t h e controller:-

. Tool

L i f e by c o m p o n e n t c o u n t , f o r s e v e r a l
tool types.

M I N I M A L INVENTORY

T h i s h a s many o t h e r n a m e s , b u t t h e term u s e d
w i t h i n R o v e r is M I C , f o r M i n i m a l I n v e n t o r y
C o n t r o l . T h e c o n c e p t is s i m p l e : t o h o l d o n l y
t h a t i n v e n t o r y w h i c h is t o b e c o n s u m e d w i t h i n
2-4 h o u r s . Any more is w a s t e f u l ; a n y l e s s
i n v o l v e s s u p p l i e r s i n too f r e q u e n t j o u r n e y s .
The planned p r o d u c t i o n r a t e f o r t h e Engine
and Gearbox f a c i l i t i e s is 4 8 p e r h o u r on a
1 5 , 7 . 5 h o u r s h i f t s p e r week. F o r t h e
v e h i c l e s i t i s 60 p e r h o u r o n a 78 h o u r s
p r o d u c t i o n p e r week.
T h e m e t h o d of b u i l d is a s c h e d u l e g e n e r a t e d
f r o m a sales o r d e r bank f o r t h e v e h i c l e s
t h e m s e l v e s . FOK t h e e n g i n e a n d g e a r b o x t h i s
i s b r o k e n down i n t o a d a i l y r e q u i r e m e n t w h i c h
i s s u b s e q u e n t l y b r o k e n i n t o b a t c h e s of s i z e
24. T h i s w a s t h e s m a l l e s t economic b a t c h s i z e
w e c o u l d r u n down t o a n d was i n i t i a l l y p r o v e d
from s i m u l a t i o n .
The Engine and Gearbox Build from t h i s
s c h e d u l e and t h e n a l l t h e o t h e r components
a r e p u l l e d t o t h e assembly t r a c k by
' e l e c t r o n i c ' KANBAN. A ' s i m p l e ' o u t l i n e i s
shown o n F i g u r e 1.

T h e p o l i c y is t o b u i l d q u a l i t y i n t o t h e
process, and t o check t h e p r o c e s s through t h e
t e c h n i q u e s o f SPC.

The assembly f a c i l i t i e s f o r t h e Engine and

G e a r b o x are c o n t r o l l e d b y t h e u s e o f
r e a d / w r i t e t r a n s p o n d e r s or t a g s on each
assembly p a l l e t . The a c t u a l d e r i v a t i v e is
w r i t t e n onto t h e t a g a t t h e start of t h e
l i n e , and t h e n t h e ' t a g ' i n s t r u c t s e a c h
assembly s t a t i o n whether a u t o m a t i c OK manual,
on t h e d e r i v a t i v e o f e n g i n e o r gearbox t o be
a s sembled.

SPC h a s p r o v e d s u c c e s s f u l b e c a u s e i t h a s
i n v o l v e d t h e o p e r a t o r i n c h e c k i n g h i s own
m a c h i n e s . H e h a s b e e n t r a i n e d t o p l o t h i s own
c h a r t s , a n d t a k e a p p r o p r i a t e a c t i o n when t h e
p r o c e s s is going o u t of c o n t r o l .

The a c c u r a c y of t h i s b u i l d s c h e d u l e is
prime importance. I n o r d e r to minimise
m a n u a l e r r o r s t h i s s c h e d u l e is s e n t t o
assembly l i n e c o n t r o l l e r d i r e c t l y from
b u i l d c o n t r o l computers.

H I G H LEVELS OF QUALITY

of
any
the
the

68

E q u a l l y , f o r t h e car p r o d u c t i o n a s i m i l a r
s e q u e n c e of b u i l d is g e n e r a t e d a n d t h i s a l s o
n e e d s t o be s e n t d i r e c t l y t o t h e Body F r a m i n g
c o n t r o l l e r t o i n s t r u c t its s t a t i o n s on t h e
body t y p e to b u i l d .
M i n i m a l I n v e n t o r y c a n n o t be a c h i e v e d w i t h
i n e f f i c i e n t f a c i l i t i e s and poor q u a l i t y
p a r t s , so t h i s e l e m e n t is v e r y much t i e d u p
with the previous t w o objectives.
COST EFFECTIVENESS
--_---_
I t s o o n becomes c l e a r t h a t t h e r e i s a need
f o r t h e I n t e g r a t i o n of t h e s e shop f l o o r
' c o m p u t e r s ' w i t h t h a t o f OUT B u i l d c o n t r o l ,
a n d Management I n f o r m a t i o n c o m p u t e r s . W e h a v e
a l s o some ' d a t a ' t o manage i n t h e f o r m o f t h e
tool l i f e v a l u e s and maintenance s e r v i c e
i n t e r v a l s and t h e r e s e t t i n g of t h e p r o d u c t i o n
c o u n t s a n d e f f i c i e n c y timers a f t e r e n d o f
s h i f t r e p o r t s have been g e n e r a t e d .

The amount o f d a t a t h o u g h i s n o t a l l t h a t
g r e a t . The m a c h i n e a n d f a c i l i t i e s a r e
r e p o r t i n g o n e x c e p t i o n , and t h e d a t a t h e y a r e
receiving, other than production schedules,
i s o n l y when t h e p r o c e s s is c h a n g e d f o r a new
a d d i t i o n a l c o m p o n e n t . Even t h e b u i l d s c h e d u l e
d a t a c a n be l i m i t e d t o a f e w a l p h a - n u m e r i c
c h a r a c t e r s p e r v e h i c l e a n d p e r b a t c h o f 24.
T h e CNC a n d ROBOT p r o g r a m m e s w i l l n o t c h a n g e
u n l e s s new d e r i v a t i v e s a r e i n t r o d u c e d , a n d
t h i s d o e s n o t O C C U K f r e q u e n t l y , maybe twice a
y e a r . T h e c o n s e q u e n c e b e i n g t h a t n o DNC l i n k
is r e q u i r e d , t h e p a r t programmes are managed
l o c a l l y , and t r a n s f e r r e d manually ( a l t h o u g h
p o r t a b l e computers a r e used to d o t h i s r a t h e r
than paper t a p e ) .
The need f o r a f a c t o r y w i d e h i g h s p e e d
m a n u f a c t u r i n g n e t w o r k was n o t a p p a r e n t .
S i m p l e 9.6k b a u d t e r m i n a l l i n e s w o u l d b e
s u f f i c i e n t . With o v e r 70% of t h e machines
b e i n g c o n t r o l l e d by Programmable C o n t r o l l e r s ,
a n d ALL t h e d i f f e r e n t m a c h i n i n g l i n e s h a v i n g
o n l y one t y p e , t h e communications t o and from
them c o u l d be b a s e d on t h e Programmable
C o n t r o l l e r s u p p l i e r s own p r o p r i e t a r y LAN's.
T h i s meant t h e method o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n t o t h e
shop f l o o r machines could be 'standardised'
i n e a c h area t h u s r e d u c i n g t h e i n t e g r a t i o n
costs.
These p r o p r i e t a r y L A N ' s f o r Programmable
C o n t r o l l e r s t e n d t o b e e x c e e d i n g l y cost
e f f e c t i v e , i e t h e y come f r e e w i t h t h e
c o n t r o l l e r or o n l y cost a few h u n d r e d pounds
t o add.
T h e o n l y h a r d w a r e c o s t is i n t h e
w i r i n g t o c o n n e c t them t o g e t h e r .
A m a j o r e x c e p t i o n to t h i s is t h e c o n n e c t i o n
o f t h e CNC a n d s p e c i a l c o n t r o l l e r s . A s

p r e v i o u s l y m e n t i o n e d most o f t h e s e h a v e a
s e r i a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n p o r t , a n d t h e s e were
connected i n t o t h e PK0gKm"ble C o n t r o l l e r
used t o d r i v e t h e overhead f a u l t d i s p l a y s .
Any m a c h i n e w h i c h d i d n o t h a v e t h i s f a c i l i t y
was d e s i g n e d w i t h a s i m p l e p a r a l l e l i n t e r f a c e
from which w e c o u l d m u l t i p l e x e d t h e d a t a to
t h e Same P r o g r a m m a b l e C o n t r o l l e r . T h i s
p r o v i d e d a means o f a c c e s s t o t h e f a u l t c o d e s
a n d w h a t e v e r management d a t a t h a t c o u l d b e
generated.
Actual c o s t s , to s a y t h e l e a s t , vary widely.
M a i n l y d e p e n d i n g on t h e m a c h i n e / f a c i l i t y
s u p p l i e r and t h e a c t u a l c o n t r o l l e r t h e y used.
The v a s t m a j o r i t y r e c o g n i s e t h e need f o r
comprehensive f a u l t d i s p l a y s , b u t few

u n d e r s t o o d why t h e o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n n e e d e d
t o be g e n e r a t e d w i t h i n t h e machine
controller.
To e n a b l e s u b s e q u e n t i n t e g r a t i o n o f a l l t h e s e
m a c h i n e s and t o h e l p w i t h c o m m i s s i o n i n g , a
' s t a n d a r d ' was i s s u e d t o a l l v e n d o r s b e f o r e
o r d e r p l a c e m e n t . T h i s g a v e them e x a c t
i n s t r u c t i o n s o n w h e r e to h o l d t h e d a t a . T h e
quoted c o s t s f o r t h e s e a d d i t i o n s v a r i e d from
n o t h i n g ( ! ) t o some 7 , 0 0 0 p e r m a c h i n e

As a g u i d e l i n e I h a v e b r o k e n t h e c o s t s i n t o
p e r c e n t a g e s i n F i g u r e 2.
The g e n e r a l e s t i m a t e is t h a t w e s p e n t some 1%
of t h e c a p i t a l cost of t h e m a c h i n e s on
providing the information, connecting the
m a c h i n e s t o a 'master c o n t r o l l e r ' a n d d r i v i n g
t h e f a u l t code d i s p l a y s .
A f u r t h e r 0.25% o f m a c h i n e cost was s p e n t o n

t h e s u b s e q u e n t management i n f o r m a t i o n , b o t h
hardware, communications and s o f t w a r e . I t
m u s t b e e m p h a s i s e d t h o u g h t h a t t h i s c o s t was
p r o b a b l y r e d u c e d b e c a u s e t h e r e is a s t r o n g
basic infrastructure existing already within
t h e Company.

MACHINE

MONITORING

SYSTEM

I t had a l w a y s b e e n e n v i s a g e d t h a t w e would
p r o v i d e some f o r m o f c o m p u t e r d i s p l a y a n d
r e p o r t i n g s y s t e m f o r t h e l o c a l management.
T h i s b e i n g based on t h e d e s i r e n o t t o l e t a l l
the useful information held i n t h e f a c i l i t i e s
evaporate.

T h e major b e n e f i t f r o m t h e s y s t e m w o u l d n o t
be i n t h e day to day information, b u t i n t h e
a b i l i t y t o a n a l y s e t h e h i s t o r i c d a t a , and
t h u s p r i o r i t i e s a c t i o n f o r improvements.
T h e r e a r e many s u c h ' p a r a m a t i s e a b l e ' p a c k a g e s
about. These have p r o t o c o l d r i v e r s f o r each
of t h e p o p u l a r c o n t r o l l e r s and t h e n u s e a
common ' t a g g i n g ' s y s t e m t o a l l o w r e g i s t e r
values w i t h i n t h e c o n t r o l l e r s to be w r i t t e n
t o or r e a d f r o m , so c r e a t i n g a r e a l t i m e d a t a
b a s e . From t h i s d a t a b a s e o t h e r i n t e r f a c e
d e v i c e s can be a t t a c h e d , such as a g r a p h i c
IBM PC, p r i n t e r O K VDU.
W e o r i g i n a l l y p l a n n e d t o u s e a s i n g l e IBM PC

b a s e d s y s t e m , b u t , when t h e F a c t o r y
I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m w a s b e i n g t e s t e d , i t was
r e a l i s e d t h a t t h i s ' m a c h i n e ' i n f o r m a t i o n was
complementing t h e ' p e o p l e ' i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e
FIS system. T h e r e f o r e a change of d i r e c t i o n
was s o u g h t , t o i d e n t i f y s u i t a b l e s o f t w a r e
w h i c h w o u l d r u n i n t h e D i g i t a l VAX
environment.
The c o s t i n g w a s f o u n d t o be a l m o s t i d e n t i c a l ,
a l t h o u g h a h i g h e r s t a r t u p cost.
Hence t h e h i e r a r c h y t h a t is d i s p l a y e d on
Figure 3.
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION PROTOCOL (MAP)
I t would a p p e a r t h a t R o v e r w a s a v o i d i n g t h e
u s e of a p r o t o c o l w h i c h i s a t t e m p t i n g t o
become a n i n d u s t r i a l s t a n d a r d . I t m u s t b e
remembered t h a t a t t h e s t a r t o f t h i s p r o j e c t ,
MAP i n t e r f a c e h a r d w a r e was e x t r e m e l y
e x p e n s i v e , when c o n s i d e r i n g t h e v o l u m e o f
i n t e r f a c e s w e r e q u i r e d ( o v e r 4 0 0 ) ; i t was t o o
g r e a t a n e x p e n s e f o r t h e p u r p o s e w e would
h a v e made o f i t .

69

C o s t s h a v e r e d u c e d , a l i t t l e , b u t t h e r e is
s t i l l a l o n g way t o g o b e f o r e m a c h i n e v e n d o r s
c a n o f f e r u s , n o t o n l y a MAP c o m m u n i c a t i o n
i n t e r f a c e c a r d , b u t f a r more i m p o r t a n t l y , t h e
required a p p l i c a t i o n software within each
controller.
I t would b e hoped t h a t m a c h i n e v e n d o r s w i l l
see t h a t i n v e s t m e n t i n t h i s s o f t w a r e can b e
b e n e f i c i a l t o them a s t h e y would n o t h a v e t o
write a s p e c i a l package f o r Rover
r e q u i r e m e n t s , and a n o t h e r f o r o t h e r
c u s t o m e r s , b u t would b e a b l e t o o f f e r one
p a c k a g e w i t h p r o b a b l y more ' f e a t u r e s ' t h a n w e
would h a v e u s e d f o r t h i s p r o j e c t , b u t a t a
c o s t which w a s comparable.

I t should a l s o be noted t h a t ' i n t e g r a t i o n ' t o

t h e machine c o n t r o l l e r d o e s n o t g u a r a n t e e a
c o m p l e t e i n t e g r a t i o n of a l l t h e d a t a w i t h i n
t h e d o m a i n of t h e m a c h i n e .

F i sre

4 i l l u s t r a t e s a t y p i c a l machine
c o n t r o l a r c h i t e c t u r e . T h e r e a r e many
' i n t e l l i g e n t ' computer c o n t r o l l e d d e v i c e s on
e a c h m a c h i n e . A l l t h e d a t a t h a t s e t s up t h e s e
d e v i c e s s h o u l d b e managed f r o m t h e m a c h i n e
controller, but interfaces t o these devices
a r e e v e n more o b t u s e t h a n d e s c r i b e d so f a r .
The c o n t r o l and f a u l t i n f o r m a t i o n i s passed
through p a r a l l e l w i r i n g , and t h e s e i n t e r f a c e s
have n o t been d e s i g n e d f o r any o t h e r purpose.
I t i s hoped t h a t w i t h t h e a d v e n t of B i t B u s s ,
F i e l d BUSS t y p e s t a n d a r d s , t h e s e a r e a s o f
i n t e g r a t i o n c a n e q u a l l y b e a d d r e s s e d . They
a r e a t p r e s e n t p r o d u c i n g a p r o l i f e r a t i o n of
IBM t y p e p o r t a b l e P C ' s , w i t h v a r y i n g s u i t s o f
s o f t w a r e , i n o r d e r t o programme a n d manage
them.
CONCLUSIONS
On t h i s p r o j e c t i t c a n b e s a i d t h a t w e h a v e a

'cost e f f e c t i v e ' s o l u t i o n which g i v e s u s a

secure foundation to integrate t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n t h e l o c a l management need t o
manage t h e i r ' b u s i n e s s ' i n a h i g h q u a l i t y a n d
e f f i c i e n t manner.
The u s e of w e l l p r o v e n t e c h n o l o g y i n a l l
c a s e s , made t h e h a r d w a r e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n
i n t e g r a t i o n r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e . What d i d p r o v e
time consuming w a s t h e d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h t h e
machine and f a c i l i t y v e n d o r s o v e r t h e
application software within t h e i r
c o n t r o l l e r s . The a c t u a l ' i n t e g r a t i o n ' o f t h e
d i f f e r e n t c o n t r o l l e r s to a Mini-computer
s y s t e m was NOT a d i f f i c u l t t a s k .
I t c o u l d be p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e w i d e r
a c c e p t a n c e o f 'MAP' w o u l d h a v e made t h e
machine a p p l i c a t i o n s o f t w a r e easier, b u t
t e c h n i c a l l y i t is s t i l l a much more e x p e n s i v e
s o l u t i o n when d e a l i n g i n l o w d a t a f l o w
integration projects.

REFERENCES
-1. S t e e l e . G . D . .
and Matthews. I.A.
Factory 1nformatioGSystem.for
P r o d u c t z n Management

1990,

5%
Electrical
Hardware,
Wiring,Mators

25%

Machine
Mechanical

Fluid Services
MACHINE
SOFTWARE

Fixtures
TOTAL M A C H I N E
(Typically fl50-750Kl
F i g u r e 2 % C o s t b r e a k d o w n of a t y p i c a l m a c h i n e

70

SEQUENCE
Paint

Car Assembly

I
SEQUENCE

SEQUE~CED

I---"

Engine Assembly

Engine and
Gearbox nate

'LIGHT PEN TO
BAR CODE ON EIIPTY
PALLET

GENERATE
KANBAN
INSTRUCTION
FOR NEXT
DELIVERY

Figure 1 Simple overview of 'KANBAN' call or material

Machine
Monitoring

Build
Control

Information

Network
88 080

Modem

Serial Line

Local
Machine
Controllers

r-ly

L
Foul
o c a tl

Display

Wirinq

,
y

fhiq
CNC/Special
Machines

mate rial

Machine

ti an d l i ng

Figure 3 Overview of hierarchy

Proprietary l o c a l area network

Machine
Controller
PARALLEL WIRING
Interface
to
Material

Operator
Control
Display

Tool

Axis
and
spindle

wear
Monitoring

SCREEN
DISPLAY
DEPINITIONS

S E T UP

PARAMCTERS

Drives
SET UP
PARAMETERS

* (P

Figure 4

SOFTWARE DEPINABLE ATTRIBUTES

R O G R A ~ ~ ~