Q›TAR Machine Monitoring is typically used for keeping track of one or more of the following:

• On/Off Status & Reason
• Product being processed
• Quantities processed
• Machine Running Time (per period and to date)
• Temperature, Pressure, Weight, etc.
• Vibration, etc., within standards
• Product Quality
• Quantity of Rejected and Reason

These items can then also be used by Q›TAR Job Tracking option, described elsewhere. The degree to which this can be automated depends on the type and form of information which the target machine can produce and pass to the Q›TAR system. Examples of this information include: electronic signals which indicate the on/off status; item production count; temperature or pressure specific; or a serial communications message (usually in ASCII form).

If necessary, we can provide the necessary equipment to determine some of this information, such as the on/off status of electrical equipment or an item count, even if such a facility is not available as part of the machinery.

And finally, manual capture/entry of details is always possible (e.g. the reason for a machine stoppage). Typical method for this include:

1. Passing a bar-coded badge through a badge reader slot;
2. Using a bar-code wand or laser scanner to read the correct code from a wall chart;
3. Automatic or manual laser scanning of bar-codes attached to the product or job itself;
4. Key entry of quantities or reason codes, or even free text comments, where appropriate;
5. "Press Buttons" may be used to indicate the product being processed (where the number of products is limited), or perhaps to indicate the reason for a machine stoppage;
6. Multiple bar-code read-heads (without keypads) may be used for straightforward card entry, where the read-head used would indicate the machine or work-centre in use;
7. Simple (and relatively inexpensive) keypads (without bar-code read-heads) may be used when the entries to be made can be by short and sample codes.