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 overview can show more quality checks at a time because the quality checks are listed in a timeline, additionally organized by check type (rather than just by chronological order as before).
• Whether upcoming, pending, or already performed, all quality checks remain in view (whereas in the vertical layout you see mostly the pending and upcoming ones).
• The status of the quality checks is instantly visible thanks to their color codes which are similar to the PC-Topp order status colors:
  • Yellow – Upcoming quality checks
  • Blue – Due / imminent quality checks
  • Gray – Performed quality checks
  • Red – Expired quality checks
  Additionally, failed quality checks are marked in red, passed quality checks in green:
  

You can switch the quality checks to the new view in the Machine Terminal tab of the DataSet Parameters page:

In the past, if you wanted to execute a password protected action at the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal you had to re-enter your password for each following restricted action as well which could be quite bothersome.

This policy has been changed to make consecutive restricted actions easier: After a user has authenticated himself for a password protected action his user rights remain extended for one minute so he doesn’t have to enter his credentials again for the next restricted action.

So far, article comments, special instructions etc. used to be immediately visible at the PC‑Topp.NET Machine Terminal only up to a certain length.

In order to make all comments attached to an order readable at a glance, a Comments sub tab has been added to the Machine Terminal Orders tab. There you now find a structured list of all special instructions, article comments, customer complaints, and extra customer information entries for the current order.

And what’s more, the order comments sent via OTDATA (which were missing until now) are displayed in this new tab as well.

The Quality Check Shift Report which used to be available only in the Statistics section of PC‑Topp.NET is now accessible at the Machine Terminal, too. It is displayed in a new sub-tab of the Shift Report tab.

Thus the machine operator can now view information on the results of all quality checks during the current shift right at the machine.

Articles consisting of several parts like e.g. boxes with removable top are produced in several order parts. For better coordination all parts of an order are now displayed in an overview in the General tab at the Machine Terminal as well as in the Order Summary. To make sure the appropriate amount of items is produced for every order part you can now see the number of items produced or scheduled so far for all order parts.

If several orders for the same article run consecutively on a machine there is no set-up time between those orders (as the set-up needs to be done only for the first of those orders). This leads to incorrect goods counts because if the machine runs at full speed while processing those similar orders it is as good as impossible to manually push the Order Change button at the PC‑Topp.NET Machine Terminal at the right moment between orders to properly close them.

Therefore a new option has been implemented in the Machine Terminal section of the PC‑Topp.NET Dataset Parameters which lets you allow the system to do automatic order changes under the following conditions:

• The order has the same spec number as the following one.
• The machine is last in the order's machine sequence.
• The order’s good quantity equals its ordered quantity.

With this feature you can make sure that the number of products for such orders is always correct.

In case you need to modify the quantities of any in such a batch of similar orders you find them in the Orders to Close list in the Palletisation tab.

For more precise scheduling it is now possible to enter the expected end of current downtimes at the Machine Terminal and Multi Machine Terminal. This automatically corrects the calculation of the end of the current as well as the following orders. As scheduling will adapt accordingly this will make sure that the displayed situation is as accurate as possible.

Following a prompt from a customer, we have created an alternate path to attach special instructions to each production step of an order.

In addition to the comments fields available in the order and in the order data transfer, you can now attach a Production Control Code to each operation (machine) of an order. That code then makes a predefined text message appear in the order, on the Job Card, in conversion machine planning and of course at the Machine Terminal.

Examples of such predefined messages would be “FOUR COLOR PRINT” or “RE-WORK AFTER CUSTOMER COMPLAINT” and similar messages for situations that occur again and again.

The instruction messages and associated Production Control Codes can be pre-defined in a corresponding table found in Settings where it is also possible to print a summary of all Production Control Codes and their meaning.

Order specific quality checks at the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal are a powerful instrument for making sure that your products conform to the given quality standards. They are highly configurable and can be adapted exactly to your needs. A quality check’s execution is defined by its content (e.g. ink viscosity, bar code, caliper,…) as well as by the following factors:

• Interval of execution Quality checks are executed periodically; the intervals between the quality checks can be defined very flexibly, e.g. every 15 minutes, every third run, after every order etc.
  • New: Quality Check at Shift Start
    Forces the user to execute the quality check by blocking every other action until the check is done.
• Conditions of execution
  Quality checks can be restricted by specific conditions. Currently, PC‑Topp.NET supports the following conditions four of which have been newly added:
  • New: Customer Name
    Applies to orders for the specified customer.
    (Please note that even slight spelling differences like e.g. Universal Plant vs. UNIVERSAL PLANT can cause errors.)
  • New: Customer Number
    Applies to orders for the specified customer number.
  • Extra Customer Info
    Applies to orders by customers marked for the Extra Customer Info functionality.
  • First Run
    Applies to orders resp. articles that run for the first time.
  • New: Next Machine
    Applies if the next machine of this order is the given one.
  • Last Machine
    Applies if the current machine is the last before Shipping in the current order’s machine routing, i.e. for finished goods orders.
  • Die Cut
    Applies to orders that are die cut on the current machine.
  • New: Scores
    Applies if the order has either corrugator or conversion scores.
  • Print
    Applies to orders that are printed on the current machine.
  • Preprint
    Applies to orders that are produced with preprinted liner.
  • Customer Complaint
    Applies to orders for which a customer complaint has been entered.
  • Article Number
    Applies to orders with the specified article number.
  • Rework
    Applies to orders returned by the customer that have to be rerun.
  • Number of Printing Colors
    You can define a number of printing colors and an operator (EQUAL, NOT EQUAL, LARGER THAN, LESS THAN).
    Applies if the number of printing colors in the current order equals the predefined number of colors and if the predefined operator applies.
  • Color and Print Unit
    You can define a color and the position of the color resp. print unit in the printing sequence.
    Applies if the predefined print unit contains the predefined color, e.g. if color no. 3 is black.

The Products section of our homepage provides more in-depth information on the PC-Topp.NET quality checks

If you would like us to implement specific quality checks for you please contact us: Our Contact Page

So far you could exchange or remove a machine in an order’s machine sequence in PC-Topp even when this order was already scheduled on the machine in question.

Modifying the machine that an order is currently running on in this order’s machine routing leads to unexpected effects at the Machine Terminal in question. Therefore as of now you can only change a machine in an order’s machine routing if the order does not currently run on this machine.

This means that the machine routing of orders which are displayed on a blue background in the PC-Topp order lists (= scheduled in the past on the machine in question) can’t be modified or deleted any longer.

If an unspecified downtime with a certain duration (no mini downtime) has been recorded at the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal the system prompts the user to enter a downtime cause by showing the downtime start and end on the Downtime button in the lower right corner of the terminal interface. So far the operator was reminded of missing downtime causes only for the last recorded downtime. (The causes for all earlier downtimes in the shift had to be entered via the Shift tab.)

As of now, PC-Topp.NET asks the user to assign reasons to all unspecified downtimes during the current shift, i.e. starting from the last downtime, all downtimes without cause are presented. When the operator has entered a cause for the downtime currently displayed in the button the next downtime in the queue is shown.

You can now adapt the columns displayed in the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal, the Multi-Machine Terminal, and the Machine View to your individual needs and preferences.

• Machine Terminal
  The machine schedule at the Machine Terminal allows you to insert as many columns as you like in which you can display any desired content, be it order fields, personalized fields or even information provided by external data sources. You can arrange the columns in your preferred sequence and width; the number of possible columns is only restricted by the screen size. Besides, you can also modify the font size and type of the "Due", "Order" and "Available" columns to make them more easily readable.
• Machine View
  The new display options apply to the Machine View, too. The Machine View lets you create your own individual information board by inserting any number of columns (i.e. as many columns as the page width allows) in the machine schedules. And you can personalize those columns in the same way as at the Machine Terminal.
• Multi-Machine Terminal
  Here only the width of all columns can be customized.

If you are interested in using this option please contact us so we can make the necessary changes:
http://www.pctopp.com/en/about_us/contact.mspx

In the Next Orders section of the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal toolbox a new button prompts the machine operator to confirm any schedule changes done outside of the Machine Terminal.

 

The End Shift dialog for closing a shift at the Machine Terminal or the Multi-Machine Terminal now contains a new checkbox saying "All Personnel Will Leave". This new feature permits signing out all staff signed in at this machine during the current shift at once.

This has some advantages:

• The machine operator who often does the signing out for the whole crew needn’t sign out every single crew member individually.
• The sign out times for all personnel at this machine during the current shift are unified and they are identical to the shift end time. So you can make both shift end and personnel sign out happen at a specific point of time, e.g. 17:00, instead of having everybody sign out between e.g. 16:57 and 16:59 and then closing the shift at 17:00.

The feature has to be activated via a special data set parameter. When available it is switched off by default so if you want to use it you have to switch it on by clicking the checkbox.

The Personnel tab of the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal has been equipped with the password-protected possibility to sign in as an engineer (provided the user is marked as engineer in the Personnel Numbers page).

With this new functionality, an engineer can leave comments on the problems he has attended to that will be displayed in the shift report. Besides he can make sure that the time spent fixing a problem will be registered as such.

The dialog for entering comments on articles available in the General Tab of the Machine Terminal has been enhanced to allow entering more than just article comments. It now offers the following options:

• Article Comment
  As before, comments are saved for the article in question and will be displayed at each run of this article.
• New: Production Comment
  Comments are saved in the statistics for this order and will be displayed in the shift report.
• New: Internal Complaints
  Internal complaint comments are saved in the statistics along with their complaint cause and will be displayed in the Internal Complaints report. (This comment type only is available if there is at least one internal complaint defined in the Downtime Causes page.)

In the future another machine specific Post It-like comment type is planned to be implemented.

So far the PC-Topp Machine Terminal has warned the operator with a message in the toolbox if the ordered quantity of the current order is exceeded.

Additionally the Machine Terminal now also displays an alert in the toolbox if according to the machine counter more has been produced than fed into the machine (i.e. if  for the current order the produced quantity is larger than the quantity available from the previous machine).

The new PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal succeeds the PC-Topp Machine Terminal that still ran with legacy PC-Topp components in the background.

The PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal is entirely free of any classical PC-Topp Windows programs. It has been designed to provide the full functionality of the old PC-Topp Machine Terminal plus many extra features.

• Palletisation Module Integrated into the Machine Terminal
  • Allows printing pallet labels with the correct quantity of products per pallet right at the machine.
  • The quantity on each pallet can be entered / modified individually; likewise pallet labels can be printed for each individual pallet.
  • PC-Topp.NET assigns SSCC numbers to all pallets und stores pallet information for use by a warehouse system.
• Fast Order Finishing
  • Smoother production flow thanks to the possibility to finish an order with one click instead of entering all its production data. The next order can be started immediately.
  • Orders finished with this one-click option are collected in a list to be closed for good when the machine operator has time to spare. He can then modify quantities, times and waste if necessary.
  • If the correct quantity on the last pallet is entered palletisation is updated right away and a correct label is printed for this pallet.
• More Precise Machine Schedule Due to Entry of Waste and Stock Quantities During Run
  • Entering waste quantities and quantities added from or transferred to stock during production allows correct calculation of order end times. The following orders’ start times are adapted so the machine schedule is closer to reality.
• New Counter Software Helps Keep Production Data Up to Date Even Without Server Connection
  • Thanks to a locally installed counter module production machine speed and downtimes are recorded even when the Machine Terminal web page is closed or the PC-Topp server is offline. (Order changes can’t be recorded without server connection, though.)
  • As soon as the communication with the server is re-established downtimes are recorded subsequently and statistics and performance graphs are updated.
• Innovative Quality Checks
  • In contrast to the predefined and limited classical quality checks the new quality checks can be defined in any desired number.
  • They are fully customizable and can be defined to exactly meet your needs.
• Extensive Shift Information Available at the Machine
  • For the current as well as for any past shift performance figures, key shift and performance data and the shift report are accessible in the Shift tab of the Machine Terminal.
  • Downtimes can be modified, order comments can be entered.
• Display of Article Comments, Flop Ten Alerts, Internal Complaints at the Machine
  • The General tab lets you enter article related comments that will be displayed at the Machine Terminal whenever an order with the same article number is run.
  • Likewise, the Machine Terminal displays information on Flop Ten customers and internal complaints in the General tab so the machine operator immediately sees them.
• Improved Staff Time Registration
  • The functionality for signing in / out at the machine has been brushed up and shows an overview of the personnel who have signed in at the machine during the current shift along with their times of presence.
• Send Messages to Any PC-Topp User or Machine Terminal
  • The Machine Terminal allows sending messages to any PC Topp user or other Machine Terminal. Incoming messages are shown in the toolbox so the operator can’t overlook them.
• Use the PC-Topp.NET Machine Terminal with a Touch-Screen
  • If the Machine Terminal is run on a touch sensitive screen all interaction can be done with a tap of a fingertip which makes using the Machine Terminal much easier and more direct.
  • All page elements are extra large for good readability and usability.

The left-hand side information panel of the PC-Topp Machine Terminal now keeps the next three upcoming orders permanently in view.

The quality check functionality in the PC-Topp Machine Terminal now demands approval for failed quality checks and requests a machine stop in case of conflicting quality checks.

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.)

The functionality for staff time registration (signing in and out at a machine, changing machines) that used to be accessible only via the classical Machine Terminal has now been added to the PC-Topp Machine Terminal as well.

A double click on the Comments & Instructions field of the General tab in the PC-Topp Machine Terminal now displays comments and instructions associated with an order in full length (used to be cut off).

The following improvements have been made in the PC-Topp Machine Terminal: 

• The Shift Report tab now shows performance data for shift and current order.
• Downtime reasons and times can be modified in the PC-Topp Machine Terminal as well (so far only possible in the classical Machine Terminal).
• A flashing red icon in the tab navigation informs on order comments for conversion and pending quality checks.

A new button in the General tab of the PC-Topp Machine Terminal allows entering machine specific article comments that are displayed not only at the Machine Terminal but also in Conversion Machine Scheduling.

PC-Topp.NET prints pallet labels in real time at the machine: Ideally, the person at palletisation will find just one label in the printer when he needs it, the label for the pallet he is just finishing. This is ensured by printing the label when the pallet is half full (or alternatively at the beginning or at the end of the pallet).

This gets desynchronized by waste during production: The counter shows the pallet as half full, but in fact that quantity is not reached yet. Small differences are not a problem, but when the waste goes near the quantity on a pallet the user will find two labels in the printer, the right label and – on top of it - the label for the next pallet. Of course, this can lead to errors.

Therefore, we created buttons to enter waste during production to re-synchronize the label printing in such a case. And while we were at it, we added a few more buttons, to make the solution complete.

Set-Up Waste

Sheets used during set-up are usually waste, and the terminal can be configured to count set-up waste automatically (the number can be corrected manually during or after set-up). Set-up waste is entered in sheets (and not in finished goods, e.g. on a die-cutter).

Production Waste

Waste occurring after set-up is entered as the number of faulty products taken out before palletisation.

Waste Before the Machine

Sheets sorted out before feeding them into the machine have no influence on label printing synchronisation. But if a high quantity must be sorted out, then PC-Topp's estimated ending time should be adjusted. To do so, enter the waste before the machine using the corresponding button (quantity is entered in sheets).

Sheets From / to Stock

Like waste occurring before the machine, sheets added from stock (or excess quantities not converted but moved to stock instead) can change production time quite dramatically. Therefore, we added a button that lets you change the quantity that will go through the machine by entering the number of sheets going to (or coming from) stock.

This information is not stored at this time. We have future plans to keep quantities moved into stock in memory so that the terminal can later suggest what quantities (and from which production orders) could be added from stock for a given article.

Products Moved to Stock

A final button added at the end of the machine lets the crew reduce the quantity going to Shipping or to the next machine. This is useful if e.g. printing is done for a big overrun coming from the corrugator, but because the customer accepts only exact quantities, only a smaller number must go to the die-cutter.

The reduced quantity gives the order a correct duration on the next machine and thus allows more precise planning.

The entries are not stored, however: Again, we have future plans to create a memory of quantities of an article (or semi-finished goods) moved into stock, so that they can later be identified and retrieved.

The PC-Topp Machine Terminal has been enhanced to meet customer needs for printing pallet labels with the correct quantity of products per pallet right at the machine and for assigning a unique identification number to pallets for use with a warehouse system.

The Palletisation tab in the Machine Terminal (to be found under the Order tab) can handle internal pallets as well as pallets intended for the customer and serves the following purposes.

Flexible Pallet Label Printing at the Machine

The Palletisation tab lets you print out pallet labels at the machine. Labels can be printed in the following ways:

• Label by label – the label is sent to the printer when the pallet is half full so that it is always ready when the crew needs it
• All labels at once at the start of each order,
• Individually when required (e.g. when a label is damaged or wrong)

The label for the last pallet is only printed when the order is finished and the quantity on the last pallet is clear. The system also makes it easy to e.g. move a small quantity on the last pallet onto the last full pallet (or the last two full pallets), and to reprint the labels for those pallets with the corrected quantity.

Assigning Unique IDs to All Pallets

Whereas in the past PC-Topp.NET only printed pallet labels without retaining the information on the pallets, the system now creates a data base entry for every pallet it processes. PC-Topp.NET assigns a unique identifier to each pallet by generating an SSCC number, an ID capable of identifying any single unit (pallet) produced by any company worldwide.

The pallets information is kept in PC-Topp’s database ‘forever’ and may be useful e.g. in tracing where the problem on a pallet sent back by the customer comes from, a particular operator or a bad paper reel.

The main use of that database is, however, to inform an external warehouse system of the pallets it will be receiving, and to give it the exact quantities and other pallet data. The system ensures that the warehouse system (or ERP) receives a record for each pallet that will enter the warehouse, and that no pallet will be published that eventually does not arrive there.

Manage Every Pallet Individually

Not only the quantity for the last pallet can be different from the rest of the pallets, there may be other differences as well: There may be several ‘small’ pallets, or a part of the order is put on pallets of a different size or type (because the order is palletized alternatingly on tall and low pallets, or because there were not enough pallets of the right type in stock).

In short, any detail of each single pallet will reflect reality exactly, and the label will contain the right quantity and other information for each and every pallet.

The graphical user interface shows the pallets in an easy to understand and intuitive way, making it easy for any machine operator to make the required entries or to re-print a label.

In autumn 2006 the PC-Topp 2000 Machine Terminal Intranet page has been substituted by the much improved PC-Topp Machine Terminal.

The old Machine Terminal page was an important step toward PC-Topp's becoming a full Intranet and Internet solution. Yet its interface was too limited. It didn't offer enough space for all relevant information. Besides, the data was displayed in small fonts that are hard to read from even a little distance. And it offered only a small part of the functions the classical program provides.

The new Machine Terminal has been thoroughly revised. Among the most obvious enhancements is its optimisation for use with a touch-screen. You can now optionally operate the Machine Terminal with a finger tip (provided the machine is equipped with a touch-screen). And all information is displayed in large fonts for better readability.

The classical Machine Terminal still runs alongside the PC Topp Machine Terminal but many of its functions are now available on the PC Topp Machine Terminal page, too. Besides, some new functions have been added. To accommodate all those features the interface is now structured by tabs that bundle the Terminal's functions.

1. General:
   The General tab is displayed by default when the Machine Terminal is started. Here you find an overview of the most important data on the machine itself, its production status, and the current order, illustrated by a graphical schema of the machine that shows the production process along with the relevant figures. In the future, waste entry right at the machine will be possible here, too.
2. Order:
   The Order tab is divided into sub-tabs. "Data", the primary sub-tab, shows the summary of the current order. The further tabs offer access to PDF files of stereo, forme, and article (if available) that open directly within the page.
3. Schedule:
   Here you find the machine schedule, now vastly larger than in the old Machine Terminal page, and easily readable. A click or finger tap on the links of any order opens the "Order" tab and displays the sub-tab you viewed last.
4. Personnel:
   In the near future this tab will provide the Come / Leave functionality of the classical Machine Terminal. Personnel can log onto and out of a machine here or change to a different machine within the Web page instead of having to switch to the classical Machine Terminal.
5. Messages:
   PC-Topp.NET's messaging module has been embedded in the Machine Terminal so you can send messages to any PC-Topp.NET user and to any other Machine Terminal right from the Terminal page. Messages to the Machine Terminal are displayed as pop-ups in the toolbox so they can't be overlooked.
6. Quality Check:
   Another new feature available at the new Machine Terminal page are the Quality Checks. In spite of its name the functionality isn't connected to the quality checks in the classical Machine Terminal. Even though it basically does the same it is much more powerful. Whereas the classical quality checks are confined to a fixed set of possible quality checks the new functionality lets you run self-defined quality checks that you can adapt exactly to your needs. You can precisely define conditions when these new quality checks should be performed. And if there is a customer complaint for an article or if a customer is marked as Service customer or Flop Ten customer the system triggers a quality check-like message to make sure you notice.