Lean manufacturing is a production management philosophy aimed at eliminating waste and improving production efficiency and quality. It has become an important approach for the manufacturing industry to pursue excellence. In today's digital and intelligent era, how to scientifically and effectively enable smart factories to achieve lean manufacturing in digital construction is a challenge and opportunity faced by many enterprises.

In October 2023, the Zhejiang Junfeng x ALSI Smart Manufacturing Andon Project was officially launched. Zhejiang Junfeng deployed the ALSI Andon system in three workshops: injection molding, blow molding, and packaging. Andon and equipment status large screens were installed in each workshop. Utilizing the small, fast, lightweight, and precise Andon system, they are running on the new "smart" manufacturing path for production data.

The ALSI Smart Manufacturing Andon System features "small, fast, lightweight, precise" plus digital lean characteristics, making it a low-threshold, low-risk digital transformation solution. In the Zhejiang Junfeng project, all implementation work was completed in just 2 days, and the equipment was plug-and-play without any modification. Zero learning cost, easy to use immediately, and it helped Zhejiang Junfeng complete the smart factory transformation at multiple levels, entering the "fast lane" of digital construction.

The Andon system can capture equipment status data and obtain equipment efficiency in real time. Many smart factory managers cannot clearly know how many hours per day each device is working or whether there are idle devices in the workshop. Manually calculating line/equipment OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is labor-intensive and limited in accuracy and timeliness. At the hardware level, SS series button units are installed to record equipment downtime, operation, and mold change statuses, as well as the duration and switching time of each status. At the software level, data is transmitted in real time, automatically calculating equipment OEE and presenting it visually, allowing managers to accurately understand the utilization rate of each device and providing data support for increasing production capacity.

The SS series button unit is equipped with a "First Article Inspection" button, enabling traceability and tracking of product quality. Many manufacturing companies face this confusion: during first article inspection, operators cannot find quality personnel immediately, and there is a lack of systematic recording, making full traceability and controllability of product quality dependent on digital means. The SS series button unit developed by ALSI solves this problem. After the operator completes production of the first article, they can call quality personnel through the button, and the quality personnel receive the order on their wristband. While improving inspection efficiency, the entire process is fully recorded and traceable, and monitoring of first article inspection is achieved through inspection count statistics, effectively ensuring product quality.

Some factory inspection work lacks information-based monitoring and recording, making it impossible to achieve full-chain tracking and control of inspections or ensure effective implementation. However, by equipping inspection personnel with wristbands, inspection tasks can be notified on a scheduled basis.

Wristband notifications assign responsibility to specific individuals, allowing direct notification when product quality or equipment abnormalities occur, efficiently resolving issues and reducing unnecessary production stoppages. By setting "Equipment Anomaly" and "Quality Anomaly" buttons on the SS series button unit, once an anomaly occurs, the operator can identify the type of anomaly and initiate a call through the button. The workshop supervisor receives the order on their wristband, enabling immediate detection and rapid notification of anomalies, effectively reducing abnormal downtime.

Setting up equipment status and anomaly Andon large screens in the workshop enables visual and transparent management. The Andon board allows quick location of anomalies and real-time progress tracking, while the equipment status large screen clearly displays the real-time status of production lines and equipment, giving the entire workshop a clear overview and real-time monitoring. This solves problems such as many equipment in the workshop, large area, difficulty in detecting issues, inability to accurately locate them, and inability to effectively perceive the real-time production status of each line. Based on statistical data, targeted multi-dimensional visual analysis and continuous optimization of business management for each module can be achieved, ensuring data is "used well, used actively, and used effectively" to improve workshop production capacity.

ALSI's Andon system has been successfully applied in multiple industries, such as automotive, electronics, machinery, chemical, energy, and medical. It provides customers with efficient, low-cost, intensive, and diversified consulting and operation and maintenance services, earning widespread recognition and praise from customers. ALSI's Andon system is an effective tool for smart factories to achieve lean manufacturing and a powerful enabler for enterprises' digital and intelligent transformation and upgrading.