Andon Terminal

This article is a guide for app configuration that includes a functional breakdown of steps and ideas for connecting to other apps.

The Andon Terminal app is a part of Tulip’s composable MES Production Management app suite. You can use it individually or in combination with other applications.

The Andon Terminal app enables end-users to report downtime events to the station supervisor and create alerts.

Usage and Value Creation

This terminal operates on a basic on/off basis. Despite its simplicity, it offers the quickest path to understanding and acting upon downtime. The singular focus of this app is downtime reduction, but, rather than simply tracking machine downtime, it provides a more holistic solution. By empowering operators to contextualize the ongoing issues in their daily jobs, it enhances productivity and efficiency on the factory floor.

Tulip Tables in the app

All the applications in the Composable MES app suite use common tables.

The application utilizes the Work Order, Stations, Station Activity History, and Actions tables. It uses the Work Order table to select a work order, changes its status to In Progress, and then to Completed. The application uses the Action table to store actions which are generated by the andon and alert events.

In addition to these, the Station Activity History and Stations tables are used for performance visibility. They automatically record the length of production events and the statuses of stations.

(Operational Artifact) Work Orders

• ID: Work Order unique identifier
• Operator: Operator who completed the work order
• Parent Order ID: Reference to a parent work order (for example, if a work order needs to be split into more work orders)
• Material Definition ID: The part number of the work order
• Status: CREATED, RELEASED, KITTED, IN PROGRESS, COMPLETED, CONSUMED, DELIVERED
• Location: This is the physical place where the Work Order exists. It could be a station ID, a location ID, or any arbitrary indication of a location
• QTY Required: Quantity of parts that need to be produced
• QTY Complete: Actual quantity produced
• QTY Scrap: The number of units that were scrapped associated with this work order
• Due Date: The date when the WO is due
• Start Date: Actual start date timestamp for the WO
• Complete Date: The actual complete date/time of the Work Order.
• Customer ID: The identity of the company or entity the current production demand is being fulfilled for.

(Log) Station Activity History

• ID: Unique identifier of the historical activity record
• Station ID: ID of the station related to the historical record.
• Status: Status of the station at the time the record was created (RUNNING, DOWN, IDLE, etc)
• Start Date/Time
• End Date/Time
• Duration: Duration of the record
• Material Definition ID: Material produced during the activity.
• Target Quantity: Quantity of material expected to be produced for the duration of the record (based on target or planned cycle time).
• Actual Quantity: Quantity of material produced for the duration of the record.
• Defects: Quantity of defective material captured for the duration of the record.
• Downtime reason: Downtime collected during the historical record.
• Comments: Field tracking the user's note or comment.
• Work Order ID
• Unit ID

(Physical Artifact) Stations

• ID: Unique identifier of the historical activity record
• Status: Running, Down, Idle, Paused, etc.
• Status Color: Color of the current station status
• Status Detail: This can be used to track extra status details, like the reason for downtime
• Process Cell: The process cell of which the station is part
• Operator: The operator currently working at the station
• Work Order ID: The work order currently in progress at the station
• Material Definition ID: The part of the work order in progress

(Operational Artifact) Actions

• ID: Unique identifier of the historical activity record
• Material Definition ID: Material produced during the activity.
• Title: Short description to identify the nature of the action
• Location: Physical place that this action is in reference to or must be acted upon
• Severity
• Status: Current status of the action. 'New', 'In progress', 'Closed'
• Work Order ID: If applicable, the Work Order Id the action ius related to
• Unit ID: If applicable, the ID of the related material unit
• Comments: Free text to capture comments and notes related to this action, further description of the action or notes
• Photo: If applicable, related image
• Reported by: Who created the issue, useful for following up on detail by the action owner.
• Owner: Who is responsible for closing the action
• Type: Categorization of actions for filtering or analysis
• Actions Taken: If closed, what actions were taken
• Due date: When should the action be completed

Configuration and customization

In-app help

As with all applications in the Composable MES app suite, the Andon Terminal app includes in-app help as well. These are short descriptions of the Required setup steps and App builder tips to support further customization. After downloading the app make sure to read these instructions and then delete them before running the application.

Tables that provide data input

To utilize the application, you need to populate certain tables. Specifically, the Work Orders and the Stations tables should be populated. There are several ways to populate the tables. You can manually input the data in the Tulip Table, import a CSV file to the table, automate the process. In case of the Work Order table you can use another Tulip app such as the Order Manager application from the Composable MES app suite.

Other configuration needs

• At the Select Order step, consider adding table filters (e.g., Status, Location, Due Date). These filters help users focus on work orders that require their attention. Ensure the filters align with the order statuses used throughout your process.
• At the Create Andon and Create Alert steps Change the predefined reasons in the Single select widget's selection option to fit your operations.

App structure

On the Select Order step, the user has to select a work order to be able to start the production.

On the Main step the user can view the selected order information, the station status. The user can also either create an andon event or alert events. The key distinction between the two events is that users can log multiple alerts while the station is still running, with no effect on the station status.
An Andon report will directly impact the station status. Essentially, when a user reports an Andon, they are creating a downtime event, along with an associated action item.

An Andon event can only be resolved in this application by clicking the Resolve Andon Event button on the Andon step. The user can continue production within this app only if the Andon event has been resolved. Without resolution of the event, users cannot navigate back to the main step.

Multiple alerts can be generated in this application. Alerts in this context may be similar to issue reports. These can represent any type of issue that doesn't immediately affect the station status, but has the potential to do so in the future.

After creating an alert, the app will navigate back to the Main step. If there are open actions, the Open Action button in the header will turn yellow.

On the Open Alert Event step, the user can resolve open alerts by selecting one and then clicking the Resolve Alert button.



Extended App Connections

Examples for connecting apps to work with each other.

Andon Management

The Andon Terminal application logs andon and alert events into the Station Activity History and the Actions tables. The Andon Management application provides a display of the production that reflects current station statuses, and it allows the user to view Andon and alert events.

For andon events, users can assign an assignee and send them a notification. In case of alert events, users can also set an assignee, notify them, and resolve the alert events that were created by the Andon Terminal.

Operations Management Dashboard

The Andon Terminal application logs station activity into the Station Activity History Table. The Operations Management Dashboard leverages this log in the analytics.

Performance Visibility Dashboard

The Andon Terminal application logs station activity into the Station Activity History Table. The Operations Management Dashboard leverages this log in the analytics.

Quality Inspection Template

The work order that are updated by the Andon Terminal application can be inspected by the Quality Inspection application. This application offers multiple options for inspection processes and gives feedback and inspection results back the the assembly station.

Order Management

The work orders created by the Order Management application can be updated by the Andon Terminal application where the order is fulfilled. The logged units in the Andon Terminal application can later be viewed by the Order Management app.
When setting up these applications make sure that you use the same set of station and order statuses, and adjust table filters respectively.

Further Reading

• Composable MES
• Common Data Model
• Quality Management App Suite
• Inventory Management App Suite
• Production Management App Suite