The omniscient coordinator

Weckenmann develops a control solution for automated production with WAvision

A central computer, which takes over the process and production planning and controls the factory, is required to automate manufacturing processes. For the production of precast concrete parts, Weckenmann has developed a control tool in WAvision that uses all the available data in the company and unifies management, production and reporting into a single system.

The newly developed WAvision production control system from Weckenmann emerged from the interdisciplinary collaboration between software developers and designer engineers. The results of customer surveys have also been incorporated in the development. With this software solution, various systems for controlling automated precast concrete part production can be linked, so that there are no interface problems triggered by different partial solutions. On the contrary: WAvision becomes the central interface of all the company's existing data. It “translates” CAD data and makes it available to the individual processing stations, it optimises the data, material and work flow, takes over the storage bin management, reporting and fault analysis and monitors servicing and maintenance. This makes WAvision the omniscient coordinator between the order, machine and production.

The WAvision control system is composed of modules that can be selected as a package or separately and used as needed. The individual modules cover the following areas:

The ProductionManager is the central system for the management and control of the production plant. With it, the data provided by CAD is verified, visualised and processed for production.

ProductionControl is used to control the production control systems, for example, by the ERP system. If needed, open communication interfaces integrate suppliers or external prefabricators. Pallet loading and production process can be viewed at a glance. In addition, the working documents necessary for production, such as loading sheets or labels, are printed automatically.

The WebInfo module is the information centre of WAvision. Here all data relating to the production plant – i.e. status, picking list and much more – can be conveniently accessed with all popular web browsers.

The ProductionOptimizer in turn enables production control in response to potential bottlenecks. That is, the system employs intelligent synchronisation, for example, when elaborate products requiring significantly more labour input or time are produced. This is often the case on circulation systems that manufacture various types of precast concrete parts. In production scheduling, pallet loading and production sequence must be specified in a way that eliminate disruptions in production. The more complex the system or the more inline or offline processing stations there are, the more difficult it is to achieve optimal production planning by conventional means. No problem for the ProductionOptimizer. The master computer performs a virtual simulation of the production process of the circulation system with the preparatory production units. This is based on the respective work plan and processing times determined for the different types of products at each pallet station. The Optimizer plans this into the operational flow in a way that no delays occur in the overall process.

Other module options are WebFlow with which the pallet circulation and the factory can be visualised. This module runs on any standard browser, as well as iOS and Android. Customised work reports can be created with the Reports software element when the standard reports are not sufficient. The report designer can access all database tables of the WAvision system. The StorageMaster enables efficient storage bin management, while the data for this is collected using barcodes and RFID.

With the WAvision control technology, Weckenmann now offers everything from a single source: from consulting and planning around production over equipping it with sophisticated plants and machinery to the optimal control of the individual automated production steps.