This wireless network is a WIN-win for production managers

The background to the product concept is home grown. Production engineers at WERMA’s own factory in Southern Germany were looking for ways to monitor machine efficiency and improve communications between manufacturing areas and service providers such as stores and maintenance.

They quickly realised that their own manufactured products – signal towers – already provided the most basic of efficiency monitoring parameters and by coupling these status lights to a wireless network, they could transfer information and calls for action around the facility virtually instantaneously.

As a result of this, a new product called WIN (Wireless Information Network) was developed to provide a simple, low-cost machine monitoring system based on andon lights. The in-house team subsequently developed a software application for WIN implementations that greatly simplifies the monitoring process and which is compatible with all major operating systems.

Essentially, a green light signifies that a machine is working and or available for work, whereas an amber light may mean that the machine is available but has reached the end of a cycle. A red light, however, would normally signify a serious error and disruption of production.

Different light colours can used as 'calls to action' to notify the appropriate department that intervention is necessary.  All of these status light changes are transmitted wirelessly to PCs where monitoring - aided by easy-to-follow visual displays - can be carried out to reduce the incidence of productivity losses and thus improve overall plant or machine utilisation efficiency.

No interference worries
Occasionally users may be concerned about the possibility of interference between the WIN wireless system and other wireless networks employed on site. The WERMA system uses the harmonised EU approved standard EN 300220 low frequency 868MHz band and can thus be used safely without any fear of interference, either with or from, other systems.

And it's easy to install
Users may be further reassured by the fact that a WIN system is very easy to install. Being a wireless based system, there is no need for any hard-wiring, trunking or additional works to the infrastructure in order to accommodate and operate the system.

Moreover, it can be retrofitted to existing WERMA KS71/70 signal towers or can simply be cabled up in parallel to an existing beacon or signal tower using the same output signals used to fire the existing signal tower installation.

Green light – I’m making money!
The very simplicity of the system will suit both the the small operator and the more complex multi-machine operator. Customers who have implemented WIN range from the single or small workshop machine operator, machine shops with up to 100+ machines in operation to vast retail warehouses where over 200 units have been installed in just one facility.

As one shrewd operator remarked to WERMA soon after the system had been installed at his facility: “I like to see a landscape of green lights out on the shopfloor – that way I have the feeling that we are making money.  Too many amber and red lights do not give me a good feeling.”

Out of sight, out of mind?
Another innovation from WERMA is KombiSIGN reflect, a system that provides the status of a machine that is out of view of an operator. The system 'reflects' the status of the machine to a signal tower within the operator's line-of-sight, enabling machine monitoring over greater distances within a manufacturing site, without the operator having to leave his or her position.

With KombiSIGN reflect, even machines that were not previously network-enabled can be remotely monitored. The system is available for the WERMA KombiSIGN 70 and 71 signal tower ranges, and is supplied as a kit comprising two wireless elements that transmit and receive the data in a slave/transmitter-master/receiver mode. The elements are synchronised and can be put to use without further configuration.

A signal tower located on the remote machine is fitted with the KombiSIGN reflect slave/transmitter, while a second identical signal tower is fitted with the KombiSIGN reflect master/receiver and placed within line-of-sight. The status of the first tower is transmitted to the second tower, where it is reflected one-to-one.

The system uses the 868 MHz (EU) or 915 MHz (North America) frequency band and has a transmission range of up to 300m (unobstructed line of sight). The range that is achieved indoors may be less, depending on the characteristics of the building.