The Solution Family Team insisted on a key design goal of simplifying the integration process. Upon delivery of a Quick Start Platform the customer is literally minutes away from Production Management with Solution Manager. This design goal's implementation became know as the "3 Steps to Management". The outline for the three steps can be seen in the following diagram.
At the conclusion of the Wiring, Machine and Part Characterization, and schedule selection, the Solution Manager and models have all necessary information to begin full production monitoring.
The Quick Start Platform includes labels for the open channels available for connecting the Current Sensor. Open channels are labeled on screw terminals from 0-7. Cable Glands and 1/2" Conduit Connections are available to integrate with your existing infrastructure. A 20' 110V Power Cable is provided to allow for direct connection to a nearby outlet.
The Solution Manager has wizards for adding both Machines and Parts to the Quick Start Platform. The Wizards guide the user through entering the minimal information to define the part or machine. The following set of wizards walk the user through identifying the Quick Start Platform and Machine Name for the New Machine, identifying the I/O Channels used in the Wiring Step 1 and finally running an auto-characterization of the Zero power level for the machine.
Next, to creating new Parts, the following set of wizards walks the user through identifying the Machine, Naming the Part and entering the Production Goal per hour for that part. The Final Wizard walks the user through an auto-characterization of the part by having the user cut a single part allowing the Solution Family monitor and create a pattern of the part power profile.
Solution Manager includes a Facility Schedule Editor. The schedule editor is a simple graphical tool that allows the user to define days of the week, number of shifts and breaks (lunch and breaks). The resulting schedules can them be downloaded to all or selected Quick Start Platforms.