Imagine one of the machine operators in your plant has an accident due to issues warned against in the safety instructions provided to the crew. How to prove to your insurance company that he has disregarded or failed to read them?

What It Is Good for

This is where the new Safety Instructions functionality at the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal and Multi Machine Terminal comes into play:

• It forces crew members who haven't signed in at a machine for a certain period of time to take note of important information (e.g. reminders to wear safety clothes, hints on things to keep in mind or changes in the workflow etc).
• It allows you to prove that a crew member has acknowledged important information so you aren't liable for damages incurred through non-observance.

How It Works

• If a crew member who hasn’t signed in at a machine for the specified number of days signs in at the Machine Terminal a dialog prompts him to read the safety instructions for this machine.
• This dialog appears if the safety instructions file has been modified, too. Everybody who signs in at the machine for the first time after the modification is prompted to read the changed safety instructions.
• At the same time the feature demands confirmation by a superior that the person in question has done so, thus guaranteeing that users really view relevant information and don't just skip the dialog.
• The Safety Instructions feature is best used in conjunction with the PC-Topp.NET Messaging functionality. It can alert the supervisor by email or text message in real time that a crew member has to read the safety instructions, thereby automatically creating written evidence of the procedure.
• Moreover, when the supervisor comes to the workstation of the person in question to give his confirmation he can print out two copies of the safety instructions, have the person in question sign both, and file one copy in the crew member's personal record.

If the new feature is used as outlined above, your personnel is kept up-to-date on important information, and at the same time the fact that staff members have received this information is fully documented to protect you against unjustified claims.

How to Switch It On

To activate this feature you have to:

• Upload a safety instructions file to the PC-Topp server via the Machine Settings page (Machine Terminal tab),
• Define how much time has to pass after the last sign-in of a crew member for the safety instructions to be displayed (in the DataSet Parameters, Machine Terminal tab).

The PC-Topp.NET Messaging app adds the iPhone to the list of options for receiving alert messages from PC-Topp.NET. You can get the app at the Apple App Store

The PC-Topp.NET Messaging system alerts supervisors and managers to production incidents or system events via e-mail or SMS text message. With the PC-Topp.NET Messaging app you can now get those alerts on your iPhone, too.

The app lets you receive information on production events or system incidents on your iPhone in real time. It can alert you to events like downtimes, overruns and quality checks, send status messages or report critical user actions.

You can let the system warn you e.g. if a machine has a breakdown longer than 30 min or you can receive notifications if a quality check has expired, or failed.

A wide range of message triggers is already implemented in the PC-Topp.NET Messaging system (some for free while others require a license) and can be further extended on short notice.

Get the PC-Topp.NET Messaging App at the Apple App Store

The freshly created Events & Actions module is a versatile tool for triggering messages on all kinds of unexpected events or situations needing close control. It is highly customizable and can make information on all sorts of events available via a wide variety of media and devices inside as well as outside PC‑Topp, thereby extending PC-Topp’s informational power beyond the system itself.

From downtime alert e-mails to a supervisor and Twitter threads on quality checks to status messages to Management members’ SmartPhones, everybody in charge can receive real time alerts in his preferred technological environment. This ensures that relevant information is noticed in time.

Monitor All Actions and Events

You can closely cover all sorts of user actions and goings-on in production or in the system itself, whether it is unexpected events in production, situations you want to keep an eye on, or system problems. A wide range of message triggers is already implemented and can be further extended on short notice.

The following types of events are currently available, some for free, while others require an additional license. (For a full list of all supported events and more information on event pricing please read PC-Topp.NET Events & Actions)

• Unexpected or Undesirable Production Events, e.g.
  • Downtimes
  • Excessively long production times or shifts
  • Over- or underrun orders
• Production Events Indicating or Potentially Causing Irregularities, e.g.
  • Use of the “Undo” functionality at the Machine Terminal
  • Manual runs
  • Pending confirmation of the next order
  • Pending or failed quality checks, failed quality checks that nevertheless got backup approval etc.
  • Production material not prepared
• Production Situations or Events Where Extra Attention Is Advisable, e.g.
  • Special or problematic orders (with production control code, internal complaints, …)
  • Password protected actions
• System Related Events and Problems, e.g.
  • System failures (backup failed, terminals off, …)
  • Program Memory full
  • Archiving required

You will find more detailed information on event types and pricing on the following page: PC-Topp.NET Events & Actions

Send Alerts to All Types of Recipients and Media 

Messages can be used very flexibly in a variety of ways to inform certain people or to trigger predefined actions. They can be targeted not only to individual recipients or predefined groups of users or staff members, but also to PC-Topp terminals or even to external services or media.

Or they can trigger actions like setting off devices like alarm lights etc. Currently the following recipient types and target media are supported:

• E-Mail
  You can send messages to
  • Individual e-mail addresses or recipient groups, including all persons signed in at certain machines or machine groups (machine tables)
  • Personnel Numbers
  • PC-Topp Users
  The system allows easily configuring individual messages as well as creating and using your own HTML e-mail templates.
• New (Jan 20, 2011): iPhone Message
  The PC-Topp.NET iPhone app lets you receive information on production events or system incidents on your iPhone in real time. You can get in the Apple App Store.
• SMS Text Messages
  You can also send messages to a mobile number in SMS format (provided you have an e-mail / SMS server). This greatly helps keeping the persons in charge up to date on the current situation in the plant as the recipient isn’t bound to a workstation to stay informed.
• PC-Topp.NET Message
  You can send messages to all PC-Topp.NET users in general or to selected PC-Topp.NET users only.
• Publish in Twitter or in an RSS Feed
  Twittering messages or publishing them in an RSS feed is an interesting way of distributing information beyond the limits of the system to make it available to many people without having to target them individually.
• Log File Entry
  Another possibility is to have a log file entry written as soon as an event is triggered, thereby creating a history of events.
• FTP Upload
  You can also trigger a file upload to a server via FTP with an event.
• Set Off Alarm Device
  It is even possible to make an event message trigger a visual alarm by setting off a police light, e.g. to alert personnel present on the shop floor to downtimes etc.

On demand, new events can be easily and rapidly implemented at little additional cost to meet each customer’s individual needs.

If you are interested in using Events & Actions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

PC-Topp has been equipped with the ability to trigger all kinds of actions relating to providing production information and dealing with production incidents, from interfacing with external information devices to forced machine stops.

For example, PC-Topp now supports external display devices for production information like large scale display panels for permanently up-to-date production data as well as warning lights (e.g. for downtime alerts on the shop floor). This opens a wide range of potentially interesting uses.

Update April 7, 2011:

• As of now, this feature is available exclusively as a part of the new PC-Topp.NET Event Messaging System.
• Now up to three devices (e.g. police lights mounted in different positions on the shop floor) can be switched on and off simultaneously if an event occurs. (Using this feature of course requires adequate hardware, i.e. a USB Switch3.)