RU2746444C1 - Method for reducing product failure - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: equipment failure prediction.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to methods for administrative, commercial, financial, management, supervisory or predictive purposes. The technical result is achieved by means of a method for reducing product failures, comprising the stages at which: at each stage of the product manufacturing using the data collection system the following are monitored - at least the equipment used for the manufacture of each product at each stage of production, the raw materials used at each stage of production, and the professional performing each stage of production, thus obtaining production information; determining the type of reason for the failure of the product by selecting at least one type of reason from at least one of a human factor, a physical reason, a systemic reason using a dedicated computer service; determining failure hypotheses within each particular type of failure cause based on at least production information, operating information, and installation information for each product using at least one of a computer service and expert judgment; test hypotheses of failure and make changes to at least one process from the manufacturing process, the installation process, the product operation process based on the hypothesis testing.

EFFECT: technical result consists in increasing the efficiency of correcting the process of production and operation of products, reducing product failures during production and operation.

7 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The technical field to which the invention relates.

The invention relates to methods for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervisory or predictive purposes, in particular, to the management of resources, workflows, people or projects, to the organization, planning, scheduling or allocation of time, human or machine resources.

State of the art.

Known is an automated control system for the product assembly process, control and information support of the process (patent RU2536428, 20.12.2014). The invention described in the patent relates to computer technology and is intended to control the assembly process of multicomponent products. The technical result is the expansion of functionality due to the implementation of the verification of compliance with the specified sequence of connection of the identified components. An automated control system for the product assembly process, control and information support of the process, including an automated workstation containing a controller, the first and second inputs-outputs of which are connected, respectively, to the basic data memory unit and the RFID-tag reader, and the first and second outputs are connected, respectively, to the display and a sound signaling device, the system contains a working platform, a working platform occupancy sensor, an RFID-tag programmer configured to function as a label printer, and a bus for connecting to a local network, while the controller additionally contains a buffer register of the specified accessory code generated by its software and hardware, a buffer register of label data, a counter of the number of the next performed assembly operation and a timer, as well as a memory block for the current data of the assembly process.

However, this solution does not implement the functionality to reduce the failures of manufactured products, only control of assembly operations is implemented.

A solution is known that describes quality management and intelligent manufacturing using labels and smart tags in event-based production (US20060149407A1, 06.07.2006). The known solution discloses the provision of quality management and smart manufacturing using labels and smart tags in event-based product manufacturing. Some of the disclosed embodiments include a system, method, and computer-readable medium for storing data associated with a material during a process. Also disclosed is a method for collecting, storing and presenting information about machine performance, waste and delays based on events in a production system, a method for collecting and storing material history, a method for automating tracking of the positions of components used in processing and correlating component parts with production problems, an improved control system inventory and a method of tracking and recording the actions of specific operators of the process performed by the machine. The embodiments are operable in an intelligent manufacturing system including a process for converting raw materials into a product; a process control system including one or more sensors capable of generating an alarm in response to an event that results in one waste, machine delay, or product degradation; a data logger associated with the process control system to obtain event parameters associated with the event; a database on the server for recording event parameters received by the datalogger; and a reporting system associated with the database for reporting performance parameters relative to a process obtained at least in part from the event parameters.

However, this solution does not implement the functionality to reduce failures of manufactured products, only performance control is implemented.

It is known that the solution chosen as a prototype describes an automated system for tracking, monitoring and managing the life cycle of products (RU91641, 02/20/2010), containing a basic analytical computer server center, a set of interconnected communication lines of local servers connected to the control base and control of the stages of the life cycle of each type of product, which contains automated means of centralized management and control of the volume and parameters of products created, passed through all stages of the life cycle and delivered to the final point, and attached to the documents accompanying the product, accompanying radio frequency coded tags, while the radio frequency tag is made with the possibility of supplementing it with code information regarding the manufacturer and products, as well as entering an electronic signature, and automated means of centralized management and control of the volume and parameters of the created , passed through all stages of the life cycle and delivered to the final point of the product are interconnected with a set of automated access tools, as well as with the basic computer analytical server-center or together with the mentioned control base introduced into it.

However, this solution does not implement the functionality to reduce failures of manufactured products, only authenticity control at all stages of production and sales of products is implemented.

Disclosure of the invention.

In one aspect of the invention, a computer system is disclosed for reducing product failures, comprising:

- a data collection system made with the ability at each stage of the production of a product to track at least the equipment used for the manufacture of each product at each stage of production, the raw materials used at each stage of production, the executor performing each stage of production, thus obtaining production information;

- a database made with the ability to write production information to the database;

- a data collection system capable of receiving information about the installation of each product, receiving information about the operation of each product, receiving information about the failure of a product;

- a computer service configured to determine the type of reason for the failure of the product by selecting at least one type of reason from at least one of a human factor, a physical reason, a systemic reason;

- a computer service configured to determine failure hypotheses within each specific type of failure reason based at least on production information, operation information and installation information for each;

- a computer service capable of facilitating testing a hypothesis of failure and making changes to at least one process from the manufacturing process, the installation process, the product operation process based on the hypothesis testing.

In another aspect of the invention, a method is disclosed for reducing product failures, comprising the steps of:

- at each stage of the production of a product, using a data collection system, at least the equipment used to manufacture each product at each stage of production, the raw materials used at each stage of production, the executor performing each stage of production are monitored, thus obtaining production information;

- write production information to the database;

- receive information about the installation of each product using a data collection system;

- receive information about the operation of each product using a data collection system;

- receive information about the failure of the product using the data collection system;

- determine the type of cause of failure of the product, choosing at least one type of cause from at least one of the human factor, physical cause, systemic cause using a dedicated computer service;

- determining the hypothesis of failure within each specific type of failure cause, based on at least production information, information about the operation and information about the installation of each product using at least one of the computer service and expert judgment;

- test hypotheses of failure and make changes to at least one process from the manufacturing process, the installation process, the product operation process based on the hypothesis testing.

In additional aspects, it is disclosed that tracking at least the equipment used to make each product at each stage of production, the raw materials used at each stage of production, the executor performing each stage of production using radio frequency tags, NFC tags or graphic codes; determine the hypotheses of failure within each specific type of failure cause for a variety of failures, identify the most common specific hypotheses, make changes to at least one of the production process, installation process, product operation process based on certain most common hypotheses; the changes represent at least one of the correction of the production technology, the change in technological maps, the change in the operating modes of the equipment, the training of personnel, the change of raw material suppliers, the correction of the installation instructions, the recommendations for the operation; a computer service offers a list of hypotheses based on production information; a computer service offers a list of hypotheses based on the type of reason for the failure, if the human factor was determined as the type, then the computer service issues a list of all relevant performers who participated in the production of the failed product, if a physical reason was identified as the type, then the computer service issues a list of all relevant technological operations and parameters of these operations associated with the production of a failed product, if a system reason has been identified as a type, then the computer service issues a list of relevant operating conditions for the failed product; to test hypotheses, the computer service compares at least one of production information, installation information, information about the operation of a failed product and at least one of production information, information about installation, information about the operation of at least one non-failed product used under similar conditions, and based on comparison, displays the differences in this information for the two products.

The main tasks solved by the claimed invention are the control of each stage of the production of the product, the control of the installation and operation of the product, the analysis of all incidents related to the failure of the product and the change in at least one of the production, installation or operation of the product.

The essence of the invention lies in the fact that from the first stage of production of the product it is marked with a label, at the beginning and at the end of each stage of production, the label is read and data on the operations performed, the performers involved, the equipment used and / or materials are stored. Then, data is collected on the installation of the product (installation conditions, qualifications of the contractor, the actions performed) and on the operating conditions of the product. In the event of a product failure, they analyze the possible causes of the incident at the stage of manufacturing, installation, operation and make changes to the production, storage, installation or operation of the product in order to avoid an incident.

The technical result achieved by the solution consists in increasing the efficiency of correcting the production process, installing and operating products, reducing product failures during production, installation and operation.

Brief description of the drawings.

1 shows a diagram of a system for reducing product failures.

2 shows a diagram for identifying corrective actions.

Implementation of the invention.

The invention is implemented on a production line, in which, in one of the variants, some final product is made from raw materials. Raw materials go through several stages of production; at each stage, their own tools (equipment) are used; stages can be carried out automatically, in an automated way, manually; each stage of production is regulated by the operations performed on it. In solutions known from the prior art, control is carried out only at the final stage and at a small number of key stages, usually this control is exclusively quality control. In the invention, the developers are proposed to carry out additional time control at all stages of production. The proposed solution is not limited in terms of the amount of stored information; at each stage, information on the parameters of production and products can be stored: overall dimensions of products, temperature, ambient humidity, etc.

To carry out such control, each product is provided with a label from the very beginning of the production cycle, which is used to identify the product and simplify control. Radio frequency (RFID, NFC) tags and / or graphic codes are used to identify and trace products and raw materials.

In a simplified form, the implementation of the control method is as follows:

1. At the beginning of the production process, a label is placed on each product (if necessary, a product element).

2. At the first stage, all the operations prescribed by the technical regulations at this stage are performed on each product (or element of the product), the time of at least part of the operations is controlled by scanning the tags with an appropriate control tool, for example, a QR-tag scanner or an RFID-tag scanner and marking completion of the operation, record the equipment used, the working conditions, the time spent, the contractor, the raw materials / components used, and then enter this information into the database.

3. If necessary, the quality of the performed operation for products (product elements) is controlled by using a scanner to identify the product (product element) and then entering the quality control information into the database.

4. Repeat steps 2, 3 for each stage of the product (product element) production.

5. Send the finished labeled product (product element) to the storage location.

6. Release a batch of products to the buyer

7. Receive information from the buyer about at least one of the storage conditions and time, product installation (qualifications of the contractor, operations performed, environmental conditions), product operating conditions (temperature, pressure, composition of the environment, etc.)

8. Receive information about the failure of the product.

9. Determine the cause of failure

10. Make changes to at least one of the production, storage, installation, operation of the product to reduce the likelihood of failure.

To implement the invention, a computer system is used that contains at least an ERP system (resource planning system), an MES system (production process control system), a SCADA system (dispatch control and data collection system) of the manufacturer for production accounting, SCADA system the buyer and which stores the collected information in a computer database.

The proposed computer system contains tag scanners, tags themselves, a computer with a database, communication networks between the computer and scanners. The computer system can be implemented on the basis of mobile devices, including mobile communication devices. Within the framework of this solution, a computer means a means that implements the functionality of such a computing device as a computer, this means can take the form of a laptop, terminal, smartphone, etc.

Tags can be RFID tags, QR codes, or any other suitable type.

Scanners are selected based on the type of tag so as to be able to read tag information. Preferably, the scanner is a mobile device, alternatively a mobile phone.

The communication network can be implemented on any communication protocol, at least one or more of: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, IR, cellular communication, wired communication, etc.

A computer with a database stores information about all operations to be carried out with the product, and also stores all relevant information about all manufactured and manufactured products, at least information about the time of operations on the product, information about quality control, information about the equipment used, information about the contractors involved.

The product can consist of one element, which goes through a series of technological operations to obtain finished products from raw materials, and can also consist of many elements, each of which goes through its own technological operations, and the finished product is then, if necessary, assembled from the elements.

The computer system on the buyer's side contains databases that enter data on the storage, installation and operation of the purchased products. The manufacturer gains access to this data and, in the event of an incident related to the product failure, analyzes the production data, product usage data by the buyer and makes corrections to reduce the incidence of possible failure during the product's operation period.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS.

The start of production is the receipt of an application for the manufacture of products. The application contains at least the name of the product and the number of copies of the product. If there is no production technology in the automated control system yet, then the corresponding request is sent to the technologist to generate technological maps for this product.

After the formation of technological maps, it is possible to make a forecast for the production time of products, based on at least several factors from: the timing of the changeover of production, the availability of the necessary materials in the warehouse, the delivery time of materials, the production time from the information of technological maps, the availability of free time for personnel and equipment when simultaneous production of other products, terms of repair and maintenance of equipment.

Since the declared solution fixes all the conditions for the manufacture of products, then, knowing about the incident that happened, analyzing its causes, it is possible to determine what changes to make in the production process, or in the process of storage, installation or operation of the product.

Each manufactured unit of production and each container of raw materials are marked with a label. The factory unique tag number is tied to a unique product number. With the help of this tag or graphic code, when read by a device equipped with an antenna for reading RF tags (mobile device or free-standing antenna) or a graphic code scanner, products and raw materials are identified at the production stage. Production parameters (lead time, operator's name, weight, length, etc.), data from the Quality Control Department (technical control department) and equipment operating modes (equipment operating time, temperature, torque, pressure, etc.) are tied to the factory unique tag number and are written to the database (DB).

According to this principle, production information is collected from all production stages and control stages, where the controlled parameters and parameters of visual measuring control (VIM) are measured (wall thickness, interference, thread profile, thread length, foreign inclusions, delamination, visual defects, etc.) ).

Based on the collected information, the system has the ability to generate a quality certificate for each unit of production.

By reading the unique number of the radio frequency tag or graphic code, you can find out at what production stage the product is located and find out its entire history:

Staff. The history of who performed the production stage or control stage and their qualifications, completed training at the time of production of this product;

What raw materials are these products made from? Supplier, arrival date, incoming inspection date, expiration date, incoming inspection results, who carried out the incoming inspection and on what laboratory equipment. It is necessary to read the graphic code or RFID tag;

Measuring instruments (SI). What measuring instruments were used to control the parameters and information on the next verification / calibration of the measuring instruments at the time of using the measuring instruments in the manufacture of products;

Information on equipment. Operating modes, stage execution time, technological parameters of equipment operation (temperature, torque, pressure, etc.);

Environmental parameters at production sites (from temperature, humidity and illumination sensors);

Production parameters and quality control parameters.

Product Operation and Corrective Action

On the basis of product data collected during production, the developers have created a service for the customer of the product.

The customer is provided with access to a computer service with an information system (IS) through a web page and a mobile application using a subscription. In the personal account of the customer's IP, products that have left the territory of the manufacturer automatically appear, and, at the request of the customer, the information is transferred to his accounting system (customer database). A computer service can be implemented on the basis of a PC, server, laptop, telephone, etc.

During operation, the customer enters into the IS at least part of the following information about the products used:

Installation start date;

Information about the installation contractor. Contact information of the installation contractor, copies of documents confirming qualifications;

Object name, copies of design documentation;

A list of instructions on labor protection, copies of magazines on the conduct of appropriate briefings to all employees of the installation organization involved in the performance of work;

The location of the assembled products (geolocation, site, unit, span, etc.). The required list of parameters for collecting location information is set by the customer individually for each type of product;

Photo of the assembled product;

Information about the necessary parameters to be removed during the installation work;

The list is set individually for each type of product;

Information about auxiliary equipment used during installation, with the possibility of attaching photographs and drawings of assemblies;

Installation checklist, set individually for each type of product;

Test checklist, set individually for each type of product;

The act of readiness of the object for testing (developed by the manufacturer of the products individually according to the customer's form);

Act, checklist for testing (developed by the manufacturer of the products individually according to the customer's form);

Act, report of work performed (developed by the manufacturer of the products individually according to the customer's form).

Complaints

In the event of a product failure, the customer scans the product label, opens the corresponding service page of the information system, into which the quality certificate and installation information have already been entered.

Further, the customer enters the following information into the information system:

Information about the incident (date, who discovered it, place of possible detection, possible causes, photo of the place of the incident, comments);

Information about the persons who took part in the elimination of the incident. Contact information about the head and installation contractor, copies of documents confirming qualifications;

Information on measures to eliminate the incident;

Investigation of the incident

Figure 1 shows a diagram of a system for reducing product failures. Figure 1 shows a production site, where personnel, according to flow charts, carry out the production of products from raw materials and using the equipment available in production. Further, the manufactured products are sent to the customer's warehouse for further installation and operation. The customer records information about the installation process, operating conditions, operating time, product location. In the event of a failure (failure) of a product, information about the type of failure, product identifier, information about who and how carried out the installation, under what conditions the operation was carried out and other relevant information are recorded in the database.

Investigation of the reasons for the refusal is understood to mean putting forward and testing hypotheses about the reasons for the refusal. For example, improper handling of the product at a particular stage of production, or the use of inappropriate raw materials, or something else can be assumed as the reason. To simplify the investigation process, the type of failure reason is first determined: human factor, physical reason, systemic reason. Further, within each type of cause, a set of hypotheses is determined. Hypotheses are checked, unconfirmed ones are eliminated, only confirmed or unverifiable hypotheses remain, according to which a change in the production, installation or operation process is carried out.

The determination is carried out by an expert group (commission) to investigate the reasons for the failure; to simplify the process, a computer system is used that offers to select the type of failure from a pre-formed type, select hypotheses from options created on the basis of at least technological maps, which is disclosed in more detail below.

Figure 2 shows a diagram for identifying corrective actions when an incident is detected.

To investigate an incident, the IS provides a module that prescribes to classify an incident into three groups of incident causes:

- human factor (incorrect actions of personnel during installation and operation),

- systemic reason (physical wear, incorrect operating modes, the impact of other mechanisms on products during operation, etc.),

- physical reason (product defect).

Further, the system in an automatic or automated form determines actions to eliminate such incidents:

With the human factor, actions are proposed for additional training of personnel, and the manufacturer of the products receives information with a proposal for correcting the documentation on installation and operation, etc.

For a systemic reason - the customer is offered actions to change the maintenance and replacement regulations, proposals for changing the design documentation, etc.

For a physical reason - the manufacturer of the product receives information about the occurrence of a "warranty case", and also receives information about the modes of operation and operation.

When analyzing the causes of failure of each unit of production, hypotheses of the most probable cause of failure are put forward, as incidents and hypotheses are set, the system finds their intersections and thus a set of the most probable hypotheses of the causes of the incident is formed.

Some hypotheses can be tested immediately after the incident, some remain the method of elimination, which is displayed in Fig. 2.

With each subsequent incident, the IS generates clues of causes based on past hypotheses.

Ultimately, there are factors that did not find options for refutation and remain as the main factors about the cause of the incident.

For example, in the course of testing hypotheses, it may turn out that all failed products were made from a specific batch of raw materials, or most of the failed products were manufactured at a certain stage by a specific contractor, or all the failed products were made on the same equipment, or all failed products products are made in one day.

Thus, collecting information about incidents, compiling an array of hypotheses, testing them, collecting statistics on hypotheses allows you to determine the cause of the incident and improve the quality of production, installation, and operation of the product.

Hypothesis testing is simplified due to production control at each stage, for each product information is recorded about raw materials, performers, equipment involved in each stage of production. It is easy to identify how one copy of a failed product differs from other copies of non-failed products and, on the basis of such a comparison, identify the presumptive reason: the contractor at some stage of production, another batch of raw materials, other used equipment, etc. Such analysis can be carried out by a computer system.

Corrective action by the product manufacturer

The manufacturer of the products receives information about the incidents that have occurred on-line from the IS provided to the customer.

Based on the data on incidents from customers, the product manufacturer receives information from the IS, and has the ability to timely adjust the production technology (change of technical sheets, change of equipment operation modes, additional training of personnel, change of raw material suppliers, change of permit cards, etc.) and correction of internal documents of manufacturers (TU, instructions, recommendations for use, etc.).

The embodiments are not limited to the embodiments described herein, to a person skilled in the art based on the information set forth in the description and knowledge of the prior art, other embodiments of the invention will become apparent without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Elements mentioned in the singular do not exclude the plurality of elements, unless otherwise specified.

The functional connection of elements should be understood as a connection that ensures the correct interaction of these elements with each other and the implementation of one or another functionality of the elements. Specific examples of functional communication can be communication with the ability to exchange information, communication with the ability to transmit electric current, communication with the ability to transmit mechanical motion, communication with the ability to transmit light, sound, electromagnetic or mechanical vibrations, etc. The specific type of functional relationship is determined by the nature of the interaction of these elements, and, unless otherwise indicated, is provided by widely known means using principles widely known in the art.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or steps to achieve the described method. The steps and / or steps of the method can be substituted for each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, if a specific order of steps or actions is not defined, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may vary without departing from the scope of the claims.

The application does not indicate specific software and hardware for the implementation of blocks in the drawings, but a person skilled in the art should understand that the essence of the invention is not limited to a specific software or hardware implementation, and therefore any software and hardware known in the art can be used to implement the invention. prior art. So hardware can be implemented in one or more specialized integrated circuits, digital signal processors, digital signal processing devices, programmable logic devices, user-programmable gate arrays, processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic modules made with the ability perform the functions described in this document, a computer, or a combination of the above.

Although not specifically mentioned, it is obvious that when it comes to storing data, programs, and the like, the presence of a computer-readable storage medium is implied, examples of computer-readable storage media include read only memory, random access memory, register, cache memory , semiconductor storage devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media and optical media such as CD-ROMs and digital versatile disks (DVDs), and any other storage media known in the art.

While exemplary embodiments have been described in detail and shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the broader invention, and that the invention should not be limited to the specific arrangements and structures shown and described. as various other modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The features mentioned in various dependent claims, as well as the implementations disclosed in various parts of the description, can be combined with the achievement of beneficial effects, even if the possibility of such a combination is not explicitly disclosed.

Claims (15)

1. A method for reducing product failures, comprising stages at which: - at each stage of the production of a product, using a data collection system, at least the equipment used to manufacture each product at each stage of production, the raw materials used at each stage of production, the executor performing each stage of production are monitored, thus obtaining production information; - write production information to the database; - receive information about the installation of each product using a data collection system; - receive information about the operation of each product using a data collection system; - receive information about the failure of the product using the data collection system; - determine the type of cause of failure of the product, choosing at least one type of cause from at least one of the human factor, physical cause, systemic cause using a dedicated computer service; - determining the hypothesis of failure within each specific type of failure cause based on at least production information, information about the operation and information about the installation of each product using at least one of the computer service and expert judgment; - test hypotheses of failure and make changes to at least one process from the manufacturing process, the installation process, the product operation process based on the hypothesis testing. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least the equipment used to make each product at each stage of production, the raw materials used at each stage of production, the performer performing each stage of production, are monitored using radio frequency tags, NFC tags or graphic codes. 3. The method according to claim 1, in which the hypotheses of failure are determined within each specific type of failure cause for a plurality of failure cases, the most common specific hypotheses are identified, changes are made to at least one of the production process, the installation process , the process of using the product on the basis of certain most common hypotheses. 4. The method according to claim 1, in which the changes represent at least one of the correction of production technology, changes in technological maps, changes in operating modes of equipment, training of personnel, change of suppliers of raw materials, adjustment of installation instructions, recommendations for use. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer service proposes a list of hypotheses based on production information. 6. The method according to claim 1, in which the computer service offers a list of hypotheses based on the type of the reason for the failure, if the human factor was determined as the type, then the computer service issues a list of all relevant performers who participated in the production of the failed product, if a physical reason was determined as a type, then the computer service issues a list of all relevant technological operations and parameters of these operations associated with the production of a failed product, if a system reason was identified as a type, then the computer service issues a list of relevant operating conditions for the failed product products. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein, to test hypotheses, the computer service compares at least one of production information, installation information, operation information of a failed product, and at least one of production information, installation information, information about operation of at least one intact product, used in similar conditions, and based on comparison, displays the differences in this information for the two products.

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