Systemy śledzenia produkcji / kontroli przepływu - uniwersalne rozwiązania wobec dedykowanych aplikacji

Requirements for quality and the full traceability of products supplied in some industries, such as eg. the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry as well as automotive industry, result that the implementation of production flow control systems (FCS) becomes a very important element in the functioning of enterprises. Production flow control systems are used generally for recording production data at different stages of industrial processes (in this respect, they fulfill the function of traceability systems), but also provide blocking of incorrectly processed identifiable components during the earlier stages of the production. The information provided by traceability can be the basis for the functioning of integrated information systems. Production flow control systems ensure the recording of important information from the point of view of customer that allows the capture of defective products, analysis of the causes of these defects, and defense against potential complaint or even a significant reduction in the number of complaints. Applied are dedicated or universal solutions, adaptable to a variety of configuration lines / production cells. Dedicated solutions (for a specific production line) are basically always developed from scratch, taking into account the specificity of the product flow. Then the structure of the data in the PLC has to be adjusted, as well as the structure of the database and the database queries. Dedicated systems have the advantage that their action is fast, whereas the drawback is a longer start-up time and modification / expansion of functionality. On the other hand, universal solutions allow to configure the number of workstations and their type (controlled by a PLC or PC), their network addresses, as well as the types of products allowed there without changing the software. The advantage of universal solutions is that additional production workstations can be added very fast to the system, while the disadvantage may be longer lasting query the database and exchange information with the PLC. The concept of an universal system must be well thought and considered have to be different configuration cases of the material flow. Poorly thought-out concept takes revenge on the creator by the necessity of profound changes in the structure of the data and the application code. The purpose of this article is to present the advantages and disadvantages of dedicated and universal TCS / FCS systems.