Honeywell’s new version of factory reporting software enhances equipment effectiveness tracking.
Line Efficiency Tracking Software Version 3.4 adjusts ideal rate as equipment configuration changes.
Honeywell has launched a new version of its line efficiency tracking software (LETS), the flexible and scalable factory reporting software solution that automates the process of collecting data from production machinery and processes. LETS Version 3.4 allows customers to more accurately track overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in applications where production rate is dictated by machine configuration.
New algorithms
The latest version of LETS calculates OEE by applying an ideal rate for each part/machine combination. In previous versions, the ideal rate for all jobs run on a machine was the maximum machine speed. This new calculation method delivers greater accuracy of OEE metrics in piece part processes where design of the part limits the speed of the job. LETS 3.4 also adjusts the ideal rate by applying a factor based on configuration of the machine. For example, in applications in which more than one part is made per machine cycle, LETS automatically multiplies maximum machine speed by that number of parts. In processes in which multiple machine cycles are required to make a part, machine speed is divided by that number of cycles.
“Through job changes, varying production rates and changing lot sizes, LETS Version 3.4 makes what should be an extremely difficult tracking process simple,” said Mark Hatch, product line director, Honeywell Wintriss. “As a result, discrete manufacturers can finally get an accurate account of their overall efficiency.”
The new software can precisely weight the OEE percentages for jobs of varying lot sizes by keeping both a running total of the actual parts produced by the machine over the series of jobs and the number of parts that could have been produced according to ideal rates and multipliers. This capability enables an accurately summarised performance over time regardless of the number or length of the jobs running on the machine.
New functionality
LETS Version 3.4 also includes a realtime performance dashboard, a new feature that graphically compares the performance of current jobs and processes with user selectable benchmarks. The dashboard allows users to quickly identify any processes that require immediate corrective action.
As with previous versions, 3.4 is factory-configured to communicate directly over Ethernet with the Wintriss SmartPAC 1, SmartPAC 2, LETS Machine Interface and LETS Basic Interface. In addition, its OPC Server features a wide range of available plug-in device drivers and components for the industrial market. Production information is automatically logged in a Microsoft SQL database that can easily feed critical parameters to enterprise resource planning or manufacturing execution systems software. Powerful reporting capability allows customers to schedule automatic generation of a variety of production and OEE reports to be used by plant personnel for improved decision making.
The browser-based LETS Factory Viewer enables customers to see the status of all machines in a plant in realtime, including the current status of each machine, the parts count, current tool, and estimated time until job completion. Through simple mouse clicks, users can bring up detailed job, downtime, and job history information for a selected machine including an event log that displays events and errors.
For more information contact Debbie Rae, Honeywell Southern Africa, +27 (0)11 695 8000, hsa@honeywell.com, www.honeywell.co.za
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