Andon light systems can assist with disruptions to packing and despatching lines

Disruptions to productivity can be reduced significantly by deploying andon light systems on packing and despatching lines.

The andon light systems indicate the status of a workstation and are commonly used in some of the UK’s largest online retail operations. In a simple traffic-light configuration the green light may indicate the workstation is operative, an amber light that supervision is required to attend to a developing concern, such as shortage of packing material, a red light can be deployed to indicate a serious disruption to the work flow.

WERMA’s andon light systems can be enhanced with a simple low-cost wireless monitoring package called WIN. A wireless transmitter unit is fitted to the andon light set and transmits the status light change when it occurs to a receiver unit attached to a client pc or directly into the IT network infrastructure. Multiple users in key positions can then view the status of the workstations and react to disruptions to productivity. Remote key users can be notified by screen alerts and WIN can generate emails to be sent automatically to nominated addresses thus ensuring that the right people are notified promptly to issues the moment they occur.

Changes in the status of the andon lights are stored on the WERMA software and can be reviewed by any client operating WIN on his local PC. Runtime and productivity screens give accurate and impartial historical views on the productivity of workstations and management reports can be generated and exported to e.g. excel with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Improved transparency of the operation, identifying issues promptly as they occur and monitoring response time to fixing the issues are just some of the benefits the system offers.

A typical starter pack, including hardware and all software costs, works out as little as £350 per workstation, and the system, being wireless is simply to install or retrofit to existing andon light systems.