PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES
A VIRTUAL FILING SYSTEM
COPA
DIGITALIZATION OF THE PAPER CHECKLIST
Perhaps one of the few pre-digital hangovers
is the handwritten paper checklist. It’s a sight
seen in many industries, an employee with
clipboard and pen, checking off each step
with a well-known ‘x’ or tick. Manufacturing
is no exception. Here, Alan Binning, Regional
Sales Manager for industrial automation
software expert, COPA-DATA UK examines a
digital alternative to manufacturing check-
lists, the Smart Checklist.
Checklists are an important part of any
business. These repeatable set of steps,
performed in a sequential manner, enables
people and systems to achieve a unified goal.
This could be validating a product through
visual inspection or carrying out scheduled
maintenance. Regardless of what the
checklist is for, using paper makes it a time-
consuming process that is prone to errors,
with high risks of data loss.
ERROR AVOIDANCE
The Smart Checklist method replaces
illegible piles of paperwork. Taking the
traditional checklist into the digital realm
results in fewer errors, increased efficiency
and better flexibility for employees carrying
out these repeatable checks. No longer can
paperwork go missing or fields be incorrectly
filled out, but instead every event is stored
securely with the user that is logged, in a
digital format.
Considering there is often a complex set
of conditions, options and loops in every
workflow, visualising this on a static piece of
paper can be difficult. To make things easier,
the Smart Checklist communicates the
required workflow clearly, omitting certain
actions from vision if previous checks deem
them unnecessary.
For example, in a simplified example of
inspecting a product, the user may be asked
to use a colour detection device when
validating an automotive part. If the colour
is not to standards, the next step may be to
wipe with a cloth and then repeat the colour
analysis. At this point, the part may need to
be sent back to the relevant department for
correction. Once corrected, the part can be
returned to the original checker to continue
the next workflow stages. Obviously, this
wouldn’t be as easy to keep track of with
physical paperwork.
A digital checklist makes communicating
these steps straightforward. The user only
needs to see the options that are necessary
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for that particular application, rather than
all possible outcomes. Similarly, the user
must complete each step without skipping
any — something easily missed on a physical
list. Additionally, every Checklist can be
started and ended with a signature, meaning
without a valid username and password, a
Checklist cannot be started or completed.
This brings about huge benefits in security
and traceability.
Wiring diagrams, documents or 3D models
can all be appended to the checklist if
required, to reduce processing time. Using
this digital format, users wont need to reach
for additional guides or images. Instead, they
can have everything they need in the palm
of their hand.
COMPLIANCE
Another advantage of the digital checklist is
its simplification of compliance. Using this
method, the user is guided through the list in
accordance with pre-defined standards. For
example, the ISA-88 standards. This makes it
possible to prove CE conformity of a machine
with the Smart Checklist.
The Smart Checklist offers further benefits
when used on mobile devices. Subsequent
data processing can flexibly take place on
different workstations in different countries,
coordinating multiple users carrying out the
same workflow.
All data displayed can be set to the users
preferred language and in the relevant
country-specific units of measurements.
This makes the technology an ideal aid
for cooperating between sites in different
countries.
It also helps that the Batch Control module,
on which the Smart Checklist is based upon,
is fully integrated with zenon. This means
all modules, functionality and variables that
can be used seamlessly with Batch Control
are therefore also available for the Smart
Checklist.
The common sight of clipboards and pens
during checking procedures may soon be
a thing of the past due to the digitalisation
of workflows and checklists. Almost every
industry is digitalising its processes and
manufacturing must do the same. It’s time
businesses put an end to data errors and
illegible piles of paperwork by making the
move to the Smart Checklist.
If you would like to learn more about
AB Dynamics and its products, please
visit www.copadata.com