Mitsubishi launches new devices to visualise production sites

Mitsubishi Electric Automation says it is making it easy for small- to medium-sized factories to realise the benefits of an Andon system, with the introduction of iQ Monozukuri Andon.

The simple, cost-effective Andon package allows visualisation of production sites using Mitsubishi Electric’s GOT2000 graphic operation terminal and a web browser.

iQ Monozukuri Andon offers pre-engineered project data and software to quickly and easily implement and operate an Andon system, claims the firm.

“Because Andon systems usually require extensive time and effort to implement, they’re not usually available to small- and medium-sized manufacturers,” said Lee Cheung, product marketing engineer at Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc.

“The new iQ Monozukuri Andon solution fills a need among small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies to visualise information from the production floor and share the information with factory workers, production managers, and maintenance personnel without the cost and time normally associated with implementing an Andon system.”

iQ Monozukuri Andon allows factory personnel and management to: solve issues of process management and information distribution in the production site; improve productivity by sharing information between workers; visualise production from a remote location; display production plans and bulletin boards without Andon technical knowledge.

By using the iQ Monozukuri Andon system, all stakeholders within the factory can visualise the production status. It allows production managers to monitor the production status remotely and adjust the production plan accordingly. They can also set up announcements for changeovers.

When a problem occurs on the factory floor, factory workers can notify supervisors and maintenance staff without stepping away from the production line. Using a connected mobile device, supervisors and maintenance personnel can visualise the problem remotely and quickly determine how to respond.

iQ Monozukuri Andon is expected to be especially useful in electrical and electronics industries because of their short production cycles and frequent changeovers.

“We also anticipate iQ Monozukuri Andon will be beneficial to small- to medium-sized automotive parts manufacturers because of their need to visualise uptime status, production status and information on equipment and alarms,” said Cheung.