Product category:
Inspection and testing (non-metrology)
News Release from: Quality Gauging Systems | Subject: Inspect visual inspection system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 20 July 2007
Collect visual/functional defect
inspection data
A simple, touch screen data collection interface allows operators to quickly and easily record and report defect information and feed it in real time to production personnel.
The Inspect visual inspection system from ASI DataMyte, said Quality Gauging Systems (QGS), sets a new standard for attribute (visual/functional defect) data collection The latest version of Inspect enables users to create electronic checklists and stores and reports checklist status and results for easy reporting and analysis
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 23 Jul 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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The intention is to control final product quality in real time, reducing in-line and warranty repair costs and lowering the overall quality cost.
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QGS said that a company needs Inspect if it is experiencing the following.
* Spending a lot of time and money in tracking product defects in production, or searching for inspection records in piles of paperwork.
* If a company is unable, through lack of information, to accurately and timely communicate product defect issues to suppliers in a compelling manner.
* If defective products are increasing rework and warranty costs and hurting your company's reputation for quality products because there is no timely feedback of production-related issues.
** Simple and easy to use - the Data Collect application is the primary Inspect user interface.
Each station is completely configurable to present the user with all of the information necessary to inspect a product and record defects and repairs.
Product specific information is presented for each unit under inspection.
Typically the user is aided by actual views of the product to be inspected, and the exact location, type and severity of defects can be entered with the touch of a finger or click of a mouse button.
The defect is entered directly on the view and identified for later analysis and, if necessary, repair.
Actual photographs of defects and repairs can also be entered from a digital camera and stored with the inspection record, and the system can be configured to provide instant feedback, via e-mail, pager or cell phone to responsible parties.
The view of a typical Data Collect screen, highlights some of the data collection features of Inspect as follows.
* Flags - the flags show the nature and location of each defect (red) and if the defect has been repaired (green).
* Icons - the camera icon indicates that there is a digital photo associated with the particular defect.
* Indicators - the defect indicators are numbered for easy identification if the user elects to hide the flags because they obscure the part view.
* part highlights - areas on a part can be highlighted if an area of concern is significant, and the system can be configured to allow quick entry of multiple defects of the same type.
* Zoom and pan - users have the ability to zoom and pan views where necessary to accurately enter defect information.
** Electronic checklists - manufacturers that use paper checklists to insure that certain required product checks have been made during inspections can automate the checklist process by using the new electronic checklist functionality in Inspect.
Inspect checklists support a variety of question types - 'yes/no', 'accept/reject' and 'multiple choice'.
They can also be configured to call for the entry of variable data (e g, fluid level or torque reading) or product-related identifiers (eg, serial or part numbers).
A screen display can show examples of how questions are grouped by categories.
Each category of questions is assigned to part types so that only questions that pertain to the particular part being inspected at a designated workstation appear on the checklist.
It can also show the icons that indicate the status of each question or the questions in a category - 'not answered', 'answered', 'correct answer', 'wrong answer'.
By applying validation criteria to answers makes Inspect checklists 'intelligent', as follows.
* Validation criteria can be as simple as, for example, requiring a certain number of characters in an answer.
* They can be more complex, such as requiring that a numerical answer be within a certain specification range or by using lookup tables to determine whether a particular component should be installed in a particular unit.
* They can be synchronized with the standard Data Collect functionality, so that when the answer to a question indicates that a unit is defective, the appropriate defect will be entered in Data Collect and become a part of the unit record.
Checklists are maintained as part of each unit history and can be called up at any time to check the status of answers for a particular unit.
A report is also available that summarizes checklist results.
** Web-based reporting - the Inspect system comes with over 70 reports that analyse and display system information and can be accessed through a standard internet browser.
Each report has numerous filters that enable the user to select the specific data to be analysed and reported.
Inspect reports can analyze data at many levels and address the interests of many levels of management.
Most reports give the user the ability to drill down to the very lowest levels of information when required.
For example, a user viewing the 'Top Ten Report' of defects can single out a particular defect on a particular production unit included in the summary information, as well as view information at all intermediate levels of the query.
Many Inspect reports support the export of underlying data to Excel, and the Inspect database is fully ODBC and OLE DB compliant.
Users are able to access Inspect data with any application that can connect to and query such databases.
**Integration with other systems and applications - the Inspect system will integrate with ERP and MRP, factory automation and test systems.
Using its standard communication and XML communication services, Inspect can pull information, such as unit build data, part and supplier information, from financial management systems and similar sources.
The system is also an OPC server and client, which enables it to send data to, and accept, react to and store data from a variety of sources, including PLCs and electronic controls and test stations.
** Event notification - the Inspect system has the following ways of notifiying on evnts.
* Inspect can instantly inform interested parties of the current state of quality on and off site through a variety of electronic media and displays, including e-mail, cell phones and PDAs.
* Inspect can process and display current information on electronic display boards and instantly alarm personnel of any number of configurable events, enabling users to elevate awareness of and remedy problems quickly, before they create significant and costly production issues.
** Quality costs - the Inspect system can collect cost data from financial reporting systems and track material, labor and repair costs, supplier quality, replacement parts and repair time as part of the inspection process.
This functionality enables users to truly understand the cost of quality in their operations.
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