Production data acquisition (PDA for short) is a central component of today’s production processes. During each individual process step, as-built data of the processes and conditions of machines and systems are recorded, analyzed, evaluated and stored. Production data acquisition (PDA) is an essential component of the factory of today and tomorrow and, in addition to the corresponding transparency in your current production, offers potential (insights) for optimizing your production processes, increasing the quality of the manufactured products and reducing rejects.
Production data acquisition is the recording and collection of as-built data of processes and conditions in manufacturing companies. Individual work steps and information are documented and visualized in software within a PDA system. This serves as a consolidation of unstructured process data, machine and production data in order to structure and sort them uniformly.
In production data acquisition, there are various methods that can be broken down into organizational and technical production data acquisition.
Organizational production data
Technical production data
In times of digitalization and Industry 4.0, production data acquisition offers many advantages for your production. For example, detailed evaluation of the data in a PDA software gives you an overview of the actual production status and efficiency, enabling you to achieve your goals faster. In addition, PDA provides AI-based real-time quality scores for each manufactured component in a discrete manufacturing environment, and end-to-end digital capture enables tight quality control cycles. In addition, once the reliable data has been evaluated, you can aim to simplify complex processes or derive appropriate optimizations in production operations.
When it comes to production data acquisition, the question of where to use it is central. Where is it worthwhile to use PDA? The PDA system works, for example, with terminals, mobile devices or PCs to directly collect the data from the shop floor or from the machines. In addition to the collection of structured process data, the collection of unstructured sensor data takes place.
This allows information on production steps or process and machine data to be recorded and forwarded to the corresponding systems. There, it can then be processed and evaluated with the help of PDA software. The greater the amount of information available, the easier it is to achieve optimum machine utilization and order control. This not only increases the quality of the production processes, but also simplifies the employees’ work.
We at Leadec, one of the leading service specialists for the manufacturing industry, firmly believe that the key to success for your factory lies in the insights gained from the combined unstructured process data and structured quality and machine data. We have been able to demonstrate the success several times in Leadec’s own factories, e.g., JIS (just in sequence) manufacturing for major OEMs, as well as in the implementation of holistic PDA systems for our customers.
With the unique combination of our experience in production IT, process planning and plant design, and process domain expertise in manufacturing, Leadec can deliver not only the PDA system, but turnkey sustainable success in optimizing your factory. True to the motto: “We don’t need data, we need decisions."
Based on the PDA system, real-time AI-based scores can be generated for each manufactured component. This makes the narrowing of quality control cycles possible, enabling potential savings in manufacturing and drastically minimizing the risk of quality problems in downstream production steps and value creation stages.
Further potentials result from predictive maintenance, dedicated handling of potential NOK components as well as the effectiveness of digitally guided rework.
End-to-end service provision (E2E) in the area of machine maintenance, overhaul and servicing based on a seamless digital architecture with Leadec.os round off the overall portfolio.
For a German automotive manufacturer, Leadec developed an optimization of the cylinder block plasma line in 2020. Within half a year, the customer produced a total of 5269 parts that did not meet the specified quality standard. This equals a material value of the blocked stock of about 600 thousand to one million euros. These losses are caused primarily by the phenomenon of the rule of ten. The rule states that the cost of an undetected defect increases by a factor of ten from one production stage to the next. So, the earlier a defect is discovered, the more cost-effective it is for the organization.
After implementing the system developed by Leadec, the company was able to recover 20% (120–200 thousand euros) of material value of the blocked stock.
This was possible primarily through tighter quality control cycles, which enable potential savings in production and minimize the risk of quality problems in downstream production steps and value-added stages. Based on the data collected by the Leadec system, direct decisions can be derived automatically and/or manually, such as predictive maintenance, NOK handling of components or guided rework.
Contact Leadec Automation & Engineering to make an appointment.
In the meeting, we will record your needs and requirements and, based on this, work with you to create a concept, also in stages, for establishing a holistic, end-to-end digital system for your factory. Leadec experts from the fields of production IT, factory planning and optimization, and process experts will be sitting around the table.
Through end-to-end processes (E2E), PDA provides a fully digital solution from shop floor data to digital invoicing.
Contact us – we will be happy to help you determine the added value of your production.
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The test and inspection software from Leadec is based solely on the goal of quality assurance. We develop customer-specific test systems precisely tailored to you and your needs. Regardless of whether it involves real-time integration tests or qualification, service life and endurance tests.
When it comes to the condition monitoring of your processes, Leadec is exactly the right partner! With our online monitoring and the subsequent automated diagnosis, we find weak points before they can cause problems.
Digitization is advancing – and with it Industry 4.0 (Smart Factory). Do not leave anything to chance and prepare yourself for intelligent and self-regulating production with Leadec.
