This document was created as part of the pilot program for Activities. The documentation below is subject to change, and some features may appear different than they are pictured below.
This article contains the following:
Why Activities?
Activities is a new architecture for MachineMetrics created to more closely match what is happening on the factory floor and in other systems used in the manufacturing industry.
For example, before Activities, there was no easy way to connect multiple Job runs to a single chunk of work. Additionally, there was no pause/resume control for Jobs, which does not match what is actually happening.
Activities allows the data to more closely match what is really happening within your factory. Within this article, we will look at what Activities really are and how his new architecture impacts and makes changes across the product.
What is Activities?
Each Activity is a distinct block of time that adds additional context to what happened. The new architecture allows an Activity to continue from start to finish (i.e a Job). With this, there are changes peppered throughout the application where the Activities model has had an impact.
Pre-Requisites to Activities, Release 1
- Not using Setup Stages
- Not using Auto Job Dispatch
What is different with Activities?
If your company is running Activities, you will see the impact throughout the application and Operator Dashboard. Let's talk about some of the conceptual changes, and then we will go through how these changes will appear in the application.
Activity Types
There will be two initial Activity types: Production and Setup.
Previously, Setup was considered downtime, but with Activities, Setup will be its own unique Activity which means a few things:
- Setup will no longer appear in the Downtime Report
- Setup will no longer be included in Weekly Summary Reports
- Downtime can be categorized during Setup
Pause/Resume Jobs
With Activities, you can now pause and resume Jobs. There are two ways to pause jobs:
1) Pause from the Operator Dashboard during Setup
2) Pause by a Scheduled Workflow during Setup or Production
Learn more below:
Where will you see these changes in the product?
Operator Dashboard
These changes will also appear on the Current Shift Dashboard where you will be able to see which Machines have paused Jobs.
Current Shift Dashboard
On the Current Shift Dashboard, you will now be able to see the Paused Jobs on different Machines.
The Report Builder
The Production Report Builder is now called the Report Builder with the switch to Activities.
The Setup and Production reports will no longer be available in the main navigation and can only be built using the Report Builder to obtain that data.
Building the Production Report using the Report Builder
Workflows
Within Workflows, you notice the New Trigger for a Scheduled time as well as new Actions for Pause/Resume as well as Enter Activity Type. To learn more about how Workflows Actions and Trigger work visit our Knowledge Base Article below:
Guide to Creating Automation Using Workflows
Using the Pause/Resume Action from the Workflows interface will Pause the Jobs on the Machines you select. The Operators will be able to restart the Job at the Machine using the Operator Dashboard. To learn more about this experience, visit this PDF guide to Activities in the Operator Dashboard.
An example of how these workflows could be used:
Using Workflows, you can automatically pause Jobs on all Machines for the weekend with this configuration
Scheduled trigger to Pause Jobs on All Machines on Friday at 5:00PM
Scheduled trigger to Resume Jobs on All Machines on Monday at 6:00AM
Machine Timeline
The Machine Timeline will now show Setup and Production Activities separate from active and idle time. This more closely matches what is really happening on the factory floor- when a Machine is in Setup, it can still be executing and active and also making parts. The Timeline now shows this as seen below:
Downtime Report
Because Setup is no longer considered downtime, Setup will no longer be listed in the Downtime Report as part of the Pareto chart or the Downtime Events list. Additionally, the "only Scheduled Periods" will not be available in the filtering menu.
Weekly Summary Reports
Because Setup is no longer considered Downtime within the Activities model, Setup will no longer be included on the Downtime Weekly Summary Report.
With Setup being its own unique Activity now, the Downtime totals will be less than before Activities as noted below.
Job Runs
Job Runs can include multiple Activity types. Using the Job Runs interface, you can edit past Job Runs or start a Job Run that can begin at the time you create it. To learn more about the new Job Runs interface, see below:
Have Questions?
Reach out to Support@machinemetrics.com.
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