How TRACKMATE™ Works

Barcode Technology And Labels

Barcode technology speeds TRACKMATE’s data entry process and insures the accuracy of the information collected.  A repositionable paper label containing a barcode representation of a lite’s unique license plate makes it possible to maintain the identity of each piece of glass as it flows through your plant.  Although other printed information appears on each label, it is supplied to accommodate the manual handling performed by plant workers.

Critical to the operation of the tracking system, barcodes are printed using laser or thermal transfer technology so they are of sufficient size and clarity for reliable machine reading.

Automated Remake System

The Remake Module provides a simple and efficient way to report and recut rejected lites.  With its use, turnaround time for make-ups goes from hours or days to only minutes.

Following the entry of information from any TRACKMATE™ workstation, Production Scheduling immediately knows that a piece must be recut.  Since all of the information about the piece is already in the database, there is no need to loop up and enter any information manually.  A direct interface to OPTIMATE™ is available so that remakes can be easily incorporated into optimization runs.  Optionally, the remake can be tagged for hand cutting.  No matter how they’re cut, the possibility of double producing lites that are rejected is totally eliminated.

Several on-screen inquiries and printed reports are available.  Their information helps identify production problems and provides real-time information on the status of customer orders. They include:

Unsolved Inquiry

What rejects need to be recut.

Daily Reject Inquiry/Report

Detailed information of what was rejected, where and for what reasons.

Summary Reject Inquiry/Report

A summary over time of how much glass was rejected at each workcenter and why.

Historical Reject Inquiry/Report

Makes trend analysis possible by providing daily recaps of remake requirements over a specified date range.

How Remakes Are Entered

Barcode Templates

Barcode templates placed at each TRACKMATE workstation contain codes to interface with TRACKMATE without the use of a computer keyboard.  This greatly simplifies and expedites the data collection process.  Workers that may be uncomfortable with typing are much more at ease when using bar code scanners to operate a computer.

Interactive Workstations

Entry of rejected information is aided by the use of an interactive screen at each workstation.  The user starts by scanning one of the reject status codes on the workcenter’s template.  TRACKMATE verifies the entry by displaying the corresponding reject reason on the monitor.  Next, the user scans the barcode label for the lite being rejected.  This action will enter the license plate, resulting in the order and item number being displayed on the screen.  Number barcodes on the templates are used to enter the quantity rejected.  A quantity of one (1) is assumed if this entry is skipped.  For workcenters following the insulating process, the user specifies whether the reject is a unit or a single lite.  When all the information is complete, the user scans the barcode labeled “PROCESS”.  The screen then resets and is ready for the next entry.

Unresolved Rejects and Connection to OPTIMATE™ 

Unresolved Reject Inquiry allows a user at any TRACKMATE™ workstation to view unresolved rejects not yet scheduled for recutting. The first screen provides summary information by glass thickness and color, with the option to view details, listing each order-item within the glass thickness and color classification.  This information can determine the most appropriate time to process recuts and the need for special attention at a particular workcenter, if a large quantity of rejects occurs. 

Exact details about each item within a thickness and color classification are available on a secondary screen accessed by pressing (scanning) F3.

Rejects are resolved by either passing them to the hand cutting operation or including them in a new cutlist.  Cutlists can be processed by OPTIMATE™ allowing remakes to be optimized, cut and relabeled either as an isolated group or combined with normal orders.

Remake Inquiries and Reports

TRACKMATE™ provides two styles of remake reporting:  the Daily Reject Inquiry/Report and the Summary Reject Inquiry Report.

Detailed Daily Reject Inquiry/Report lists all reject transactions for a particular day.  It includes a time stamp, providing insight into time-of-day problems due to operator fatigue or mechanical wear.  Additionally, this audit trail can be used to validate TRACKMATE’s reporting accuracy.  The report can be displayed on-screen from a networked workstation or  also be output to a printer.

Summary Reject Report lists rejects for a range of dates.  This report helps identify problem areas within the material flow, helping to focus attention on the cause of production losses, thus increasing first-time completeness and overall profitability.

Graphically representing the Summary Reject information makes it possible to more quickly identify the major contributors to plant wide waste.  Pie charts are available by Reject Reason as well as by Workcenter depicting Square Footage and Lite count statistics.

Historical Reject Report makes trend analysis possible by providing visibility of remake activity over a specified date range.

Displaying this data pictorially provides additional insight into trends or problem days which makes it easier to identify problem areas.

Order Tracking

TRACKMATE's Order Tracking Module is used to determine the status of orders in a production facility.  Order status information is continuously updated as lites are processed and rejected at each workcenter.

Entering Completed Lites At A Workcenter

The same computer screen is used to process completed lites as is used to enter rejects.  The license plate barcode for each lite is scanned to register its completion at the workcenter.  A quantity can be entered to record completion of multiple lites for the same order when their order quantity is large enough that they are placed onto skids instead of conventional racks.  The transaction is completed by scanning the “PROCESS” barcode on the workstation template. 

The OOPS Feature

TRACKMATE™ includes an “Oops” feature that allows the operator to correct data entry mistakes.  To correct an entry already processed, within a specifiable time limit, the operator simply enters the same information and scans “OOPS” instead of “PROCESS” on the barcode template.  The Oops transaction will cancel the erroneous transaction in the system.  This feature works with reject entries as well as normal completion transactions.

Track A Rack

RACKMATE™ users can take advantage of a time saving feature for recording item completion.  Instead of scanning ALL the lites processed, completion information is entered “By Exception”.  This feature is possible because RACKMATE™ already knows the planned contents of all Racks.  Therefore simply by indicating the lites that were not processed TRACKMATE™ can automatically generate completion transactions for you.

Order Status Inquiry

One of the rewards of real-time tracking is the ability to immediately respond to questions regarding the status of an order.  What traditionally required hours to find or had to wait until manually maintained reports were turned in at the end of the shift with TRACKMATE™ takes only seconds.  With this information comes the power to expedite orders more quickly, with fewer errors, keeping them on time and complete.

The screen lists the order number, customer, ship via, and due date and then provides a breakdown of the order. The screen is blocked into columns for the various workcenters involved in the production of that order. Each row on the screen corresponds to a single line item for the order. Since an order can contain up to 999 items and can involve any number of workcenters, the display can be shifted to allow viewing of all information.

From the Status Inquiry Screen the operator can request additional detail on any line item.

TRACKMATE™ benefits lead to short-term paybacks.

Increased Productivity

Labor and time savings with a real-time Computer Integrated Manufacturing system are substantial.  In the plant, countless hours are saved as a result of much faster data transcription and the elimination of errors.  In the customer service area, the time spent on back and forth telephone calls and searching for information is greatly reduced.  And internal communications between customer service, manufacturing and sales are streamlined because people have the necessary information at their fingertips at all times.

Reduced Inventory Costs

TRACKMATE’s tight control virtually eliminates lost order items and limits recutting to rejected pieces.  This allows reduced stock levels and lower investments in inventory.

Increased Sales

In the highly competitive environment of glass fabrication and window manufacturing, improved customer services leads directly to increased sales.  For many of your customers the only difference between your company and your competition is the service you provide.  Increasing on-time deliveries and the ability to instantly know the status of an order will help to give a competitive advantage.

Along with these profit-producing benefits, TRACKMATE™ will give entire operations a face-lift through tighter control and better organization.  Your people will gain confidence and feel better as they become more productive and don’t have to deal with inflexible, error-prone methods.