Production data acquisition with complete SAP Integration
MembrainSFC BDE in SAP
Implementing PDA solutions and integrating physical components in practice is extremely complex and cost intensive as generic SAP interfaces usually do not exist. MembrainPDA combines the benefits of conventionally opposing approaches. Data storage all takes place in the main SAP system and is combined with the award-winning solution for mobile and fixed data acquisition on the shop floor. The machine operator level has an extremely stable, high-performance solution that guarantees maximum availability even during SAP system failures or maintenance windows – and all this with real-time availability of all data in the SAP system without a conventional subsystem.
The market leading standard software from Membrain has a SAP-certified interface and guarantees the real-time availability of all data on the shop floor – mobile and fixed. This guarantees the greatest possible level of transparency to the required depth on the machine and on superordinate levels (MES or ERP). The MembrainSFC PDA production data acquisition module delivers professional information on quality, speed and utilization, as well as failures and malfunctions. It enables cost calculations for individual orders, allows a constant overview of available time resources and enables the intermediate calculation of an order at any time broken down to the level of individual items on the bill of materials. On the machine level, MembrainSFC MDA (machine data acquisition) optimises the production processes and makes them more efficient. MDA automatically records machine situations, process data and batch sizes, and makes data available for individual analyses.
The PDA and MDA solutions from Membrain stand out in terms of their fast, cost effective implementation and online and offline capability.
MembrainSFC PDA delivers professional information on quality, speed, utilisation, times, the number of employees deployed and failures and malfunctions.
Functionalities
- manual notifications
- employee sign on/off
- process start/end
- acknowledgement of quantities and outputs
- automatic notifications
- fault detection
- development of orders
- machine status
- work orders/volume production
- parallel production
- alternative workstations
- multilingual, multi-client capable
- online/offline capability
- web-based analyses
MembrainSFC PDA enables cost calculations for individual orders, allows a constant overview of available time resources and enables the intermediate calculation of an order at any time broken down to the level of individual items on the bill of materials. All necessary data can be entered by scanning the order documents or barcode on the work pieces, simply leaving the employee to confirm the individual inputs in the operator guidance system.
The current progress of the order can be displayed at any time on the screen in real time. The consistent acquisition of order data ensures the greatest possible level of production transparency. Financial controlling receives up-to-date, precise key information on the progress of the order, the actual costs and quantities produced. A post calculation and target/actual comparison are therefore always possible with MembrainSFC PDA.
Introducing a PDA is usually a very complex task. What is needed are tools for implementing the necessary steps of the production process in a pragmatic manner. Implementing such an action as a large-scale project has a high potential for error.
Membrain has developed a standard solution for PDA that resolves this issue in various back end systems (e.g. SAP/R3 or Microsoft Dynamics) and with a wide range of (PLC) machine control systems (Beckhoff, Simatic, Vipa, OPC, etc.) with modern IT infrastructure. The control mechanisms are connected to the machines and to the MES or ERP system by well-established standard software which automatically makes the data available. These are transferred to the display devices, terminals, industrial PCs or even mobile terminals for the PDA via the network. The solution is also easy to implement and quick to extend.
The data to be integrated are initially defined during the implementation of the PDA. When defining these data relevant for the operating data, there is no need to consider any IT restrictions, as it is possible to incorporate all IT modules. The ideal PDA scenario is therefore easy to define. The data can also originate from a wide range of sources. The PDA system can be expanded and adapted at any time, so that there is never any need to make a final decision when defining the data.
Then the decision is made whether the data should only be made available locally or also on the server. The data can be made visually available to the machine operator or simply saved as a piece of data in the PDA for subsequent analyses at the same time. The open interfaces in all directions also allow any action to be triggered via/in the PDA system. For example, a Simatic control mechanism can trigger an entry in SAP R/3 or be used to start or stop a completely different machine.
A range of ready-made front ends are available for MembrainSFC PDA. However, experience shows that PDA front ends have to be very flexible and easy to adapt, as in 99% of the cases, the PDA has to be adjusted to meet customer requirements. The specific demands placed on PDA often only come to light during implementation, which also often speaks in favour of a very open production data acquisition concept.