Machine by machine, station by station

    Line installation software for scopes measured in stations, not in square metres.

    A production line is a chain of stations, conveyors, robots and controls that only produces value when every link is proven. Deskely tracks installation, hook-up, functional testing and SAT per station, so the line is accepted as a line rather than as a pile of machines.

    Unit
    Station and cell
    Sequence
    Install, hook-up, function, SAT
    Constraint
    Line only runs whole
    Output
    SAT and rate qualification
    LINE 3 — 24 STATIONSLINE RECORD SET · REV BST-03ST-06ST-09ST-12ST-15L3-ST11-ROBI/O TRUNK — 4 300 POINTSSAT PER STATION, THEN PER LINETAG REGISTERL3-ST11-ROBRobot, station 11Records signedL3-ST11-CNVTransfer conveyorIn testL3-ST11-SFT2Light curtainPreservationL3-PNL-03Control panel 3Punch open310 assetsunder one system hierarchy

    The problem

    Ninety per cent of a line produces exactly nothing.

    Every station has to be installed, hooked up, subjected to I/O checkout and functionally tested before the line can run a cycle-time proving run end to end. One unfinished cell — a conveyor not aligned, a robot cell not validated — holds the whole chain.

    When status lives in a supervisor's head and a shared spreadsheet, the constraint is discovered during the first dry run rather than three weeks earlier.

    Deskely reports readiness per station against the same record set, so the critical cell is visible while there is still time to resource it.

    ONE STATION HOLDS THE WHOLE CHAINLine of 12 stationsNinety per cent installed still produces nothing end to end010203040506070809101112Cell 07 — robot hook-up open6 of 12stations installed, hooked up and tested0cars, parts or units produced todayReadiness reported per station, not per supervisor's memoryDeskely surfaces the critical cell while there is still time to resource it.

    Setting up the register

    Stations, robots, conveyors and controls are tagged assets, not line items.

    The line is modelled as stations and cells, each holding its mechanical assemblies, drives, robots, safety devices, sensors and control panels.

    Layouts, equipment lists and I/O schedules are parsed into the register, so the I/O checkout list and the installation list are the same list.

    Progress rolls up from device to station to line without anyone rebuilding a summary.

    1 · SOURCE DOCUMENTSLine layout rev B24 stationsEquipment list310 assetsI/O schedule4 300 pointsSafety device schedule96 devicesPARSE + MATCHtag · description · drawing ref2 · ONE TAG REGISTERL3-ST11-ROBRobot, station 11STATION 11L3-ST11-CNVTransfer conveyorSTATION 11L3-ST11-SFT2Light curtainSAFETYL3-PNL-03Control panel 3CONTROLSTWO DOCUMENTS DISAGREELine layout rev BLight curtainEquipment listAbbreviated descriptionEngineer picks the sourcedecision loggedWeeks of transcription become a draft an engineer reviews.

    Execution

    Hook-up, I/O checkout and dry run each leave a signed record behind.

    Technicians work on the floor with a tablet: mechanical installation, alignment, utility hook-up, I/O point checks, safety circuit validation and dry-run results captured where the work happens.

    Photos and values are mandatory where they matter, which stops a station being marked complete on optimism.

    Punch raised during the dry run is categorised immediately as blocking or non-blocking for SAT.

    INSTALL — HOOK-UP — FUNCTION — SATStation 07 of 12Mechanical install and alignmentSigned offUtility and control hook-upSigned offI/O checkout point by pointIn progressDry run and functional testAwaiting predecessorSite acceptance testAwaiting predecessor2 of 5steps cleared for station 070stations SAT'd out of sequenceSAT is signed against a defined set, not negotiated in a room.

    Site acceptance

    SAT is signed against a defined set, not negotiated in a room.

    The site acceptance certificate lists exactly which records permitted it — I/O checkout, safety circuit validation, robot cell validation and the cycle-time proving run result — and which punch items were carried, with owners and dates against every one.

    That is what turns final payment and rate qualification into a documented event rather than a dispute between the supplier and the plant.

    Carried items stay live in the same register through ramp-up until they are closed.

    Line 3 — acceptance ladderStation records roll up to line acceptanceINSTInstallation completeIssued 03 MayStation install records24 / 24Alignment recordsin toleranceSATSite acceptance testBlocked — station 11I/O checkout4 118 / 4 300Safety validation22 / 24 stationsRQRate qualificationBlocked — SAT openSAT issuednot issuedBlocking punch4 open

    Cycle time and changeover

    SAT proves the line can run once. Rate qualification proves it can run at rate, on every changeover.

    Passing a single dry-run cycle is a very different claim from holding target cycle time across a shift, and a different claim again from surviving a product changeover without the cycle time collapsing. Buyers and plant managers who have been burned before know to ask for all three separately, and they ask for the changeover trial results by product variant, not as an average.

    Deskely records the cycle-time proving run as its own test against the line, with the measured cycle time, the target, and the variant under test held on the record. Where the line runs multiple SKUs or vehicle variants, each changeover trial is its own record against the station and tooling involved, so a supplier cannot claim rate qualification on the strength of the one variant that ran cleanest.

    That distinction is what protects the plant during final payment negotiation with the integrator: the site acceptance certificate proves the line was built and functions; the rate qualification record proves it will actually hit the number the business case was written against.

    I/O CHECKOUT LIST, GENERATED NOT TYPEDStation 07, robot cell RC-07I/O POINTS — STATION 07DI-142Safety gate interlockDO-118Robot enable relayAI-206Weld current feedbackDI-149Part-present sensorCheckout list generated from the schedule — the installation list and the test list are one list.DRY RUN AND SAFETY VALIDATIONMechanical alignment and utility hook-up signedI/O checkout 3 of 4 points closedSafety circuit validation recorded with evidenceDry-run punch categorised as blocking or not3 of 4I/O points closed, station 071point holding SAT for this stationSAT is blocked while a single mandatory I/O point remains open.

    What the ramp-to-rate review reads

    The records that prove a line runs at its designed rate, not just that it runs.

    Installing a production line into an existing building is judged on throughput and changeover performance against the business case, not on whether equipment powers up. The dossier ties rate verification and OEE ramp data to each station so a stalled ramp-up can be traced to the station causing it.

    RECORDS PRODUCED6 typesStation-by-station FAT protocol…At the vendor's works, before shipment…Line rate verification test recordDuring line commissioning, before the…OEE ramp verification recordContinuously through the ramp-up period…Safety circuit and light-curtain…Before first powered operation of the…Changeover and format-part…During commissioning, for each format…Line acceptance and…At handover from project to productionDOSSIERIndexed persubsystem and tagExport readyEach record lands in the same structure, so the dossier assembles itself.

    Station-by-station FAT protocol and acceptance record

    Each machine met its rate and quality specification before leaving the vendor's works

    At the vendor's works, before shipment to site

    Line rate verification test record

    The installed line achieves its designed units-per-hour rate under production conditions

    During line commissioning, before the ramp-up phase

    OEE ramp verification record

    Availability, performance and quality track the ramp-up curve the business case assumed

    Continuously through the ramp-up period after line start-up

    Safety circuit and light-curtain validation record

    Guarding interlocks and light curtains stop the line within the required response time

    Before first powered operation of the line

    Changeover and format-part validation record

    The line reaches target rate within the changeover time budget for each product variant run on it

    During commissioning, for each format the line is designed to run

    Line acceptance and handover-to-production record

    The line has met its rate, quality and safety criteria and is released to normal production ownership

    At handover from project to production

    How it runs

    From first anchor bolt to a qualified rate.

    Line installation is repetitive and time-boxed, which is exactly the shape of scope that benefits from templated records.

    1. 01

      Model the line

      Stations, cells, conveyors, robots and control panels tagged as assets in one register.

    2. 02

      Template per equipment type

      One record set for each robot, drive, station and panel type, instantiated across the line.

    3. 03

      Capture installation and hook-up

      Mechanical install, alignment and utility connection signed on tablet at the station.

    4. 04

      Run I/O checkout

      Point-by-point I/O verification against the schedule, with results held on the device tag.

    5. 05

      Dry run and function test

      Functional and safety testing recorded per station, punch raised and categorised on the spot.

    6. 06

      Issue SAT

      Site acceptance per station and per line from signed records, with carried punch owned and visible.

    FAQ

    Questions about Production line installation scopes.

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