AutoCoding
Complete and secure packaging line management
The AutoCoding system offers an upgrade from the Code Deployment system, Upgrade benefit summary:
1. Integrates to ERP and Planning applications
2. Includes other production line devices like check-weighers and metal detectors
3. Resides on a fault tolerant infrastructure where no single component failure can stop the entire system
4. Full audit log of line events
5. More advanced technical management with material and process concession management, advanced promotions
management and Dynamic production monitoring.
The AutoCoding architecture is a distributed architecture with data residing on a central auditable database, which in turn can be maintained via the customer business systems (planning / ERP link or alternatively an inbound EDI order handler).
Central functions like quality, technical, engineering and planning can from separate department interfaces change and manage the central database. These changes could be: Add/change/delete: products, orders, production lines, request and approve concessions, audit/QA data, analyse performance, efficiency and waste.
The central database is replicated to each production line terminal. This means that in case of network or server unavailability, production can still continue under the control of the AutoCoding system. In an offline scenario each terminal will still collect audit data and once network/server services have been restored this audit log will be uploaded to the central audit database ensuring a secure and unbroken audit trail.
Production Line Control
Each individual production line is controlled via a touch screen terminal. Any device on the production line is connected through an RS232 interface to the line terminal. The AutoCoding line terminal can control not only coding and print & apply devices, but also:- Check-weighers
- Metal detectors
- Barcode scanners
- Print-on-product camera readers
- OCR vision systems
- Colour sensors
The scope of AutoCoding is to remove operator intervention from any line device and move it to the line terminal instead. The existing interfaces on the devices will subsequently be reduced to maintenance and engineering interfaces. This functionality means that line set-up times will be reduced leading to higher efficiency and throughput.
Centralised and Distributed Design Methodologies
When considering fault tolerance and the importance of maintaining system performance even in case of failure of central systems the focus is normally on where data is stored and from where it can be retrieved. Fundamentally two different models exist. A centralised model where all information is stored centrally and the distributed model where all central data is replicated to other platforms.The weakness of a centralised model is that the entire system performance depends on the availability through the network on a single server application. The AutoCoding architecture is a distributed system where the central data is replicated not only onto an optional secondary slave server but primarily onto the line terminals themselves.
This means that no single platform, application or network component failing can bring the system down. In terms of maintaining the computerised capability and an unbroken audit and traceability log this provides the most stable performance of any model.