areas of application
andon-board – ensure
transparency in your production .
many different data sources
Choose the right data sources and systems for your individual use case.
understandable visualization
Visualize important information on KPIs, shift work, and target achievement at a glance.
low costs
Save time and money thanks to shorter response times to machine failures.
information in real time
Receive error messages in real time and respond immediately to process disruptions.
scalable and flexible
Customize your dashboard to your needs at any time or add and connect other Peakboard Boxes.
easy and user-friendly
Create your custom digital andon-board – no programming skills required.
systematical process optimization
never lose sight of
process disruptions.
When your andon-board is visible to all employees, they can see in a flash whether their targets are being met. In the event of process deviations or malfunctions, workers can intervene immediately, look for the causes of the error message, and address them without delay. Process owners can intervene independently and take control of the situation – all while avoiding major downtimes. Digital andon-boards don’t just visualize error messages, they also illuminate production progress, capacity utilization, and inventory management for everyone on the shop floor in a way that is clear and easy to understand.
With a digital andon-board by Peakboard, you can visualize your machine data and put it in the spotlight. In the process, you can decide for yourself whether all the information should be displayed on one screen or if the dashboards should alternate at your pre-determined intervals. Through interactive buttons, you also have the opportunity to rewrite process changes manually or automatically in your source system. This saves time and ensures that your data is always up-to-date. Both on the monitor and in your database.
Everything you need to know about andon-boards:
The andon system first became popular in Japan, where it originally formed part of the Toyota production system and was introduced as a lean management measure. The word “andon” in Japanese originally meant something like “lantern,” but it was later adopted as the term for the small lights on machines. Today, the andon-system or andon-board is a visual inspection measure that allows information about the operating status of production lines or individual machines to be displayed in a way that is understandable and immediately recognizable to everyone.
The andon-cord is an actual cord that the production workers can pull when there is a problem that needs to be reported, e.g., a machine failure. The team or plant management can see that there is a problem and which team member or machine is affected thanks to the connected andon-board.
The andon-light, andon-lamp, or signal lamp are all terms used to describe a traffic-light-style lamp that is used to visually communicate errors or downtimes in the production hall. Green means “normal operation,” yellow means “help or assistance is needed,” and red means “production stop or malfunction.”
The andon-board forms the heart of an andon-system. It is a display board that shows the production status of a given production line. As with the andon-light, the status is also shown here using a traffic light color scheme, which makes it easier to monitor production and automatically displays malfunctions.
Plant and machine operators on the shop floor can use andon boards to learn not just about important KPIs at a glance, but also such information as the shift schedule and progress towards achievement of the goal. Comparisons of target/actual results or the overall process are shown to managers so that they can reschedule their branch employees in good time. Management can use an additional dashboard to get both general and detailed information about process optimizations.
Basically, andon boards are always used as information boards to display process-relevant key performance indicators (KPI). They are usually used to visualize information like cycle times, target and actual quantities, or company-specific OEE KPIs.
Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a metric commonly used to measure process performance, and it is therefore a feature that is commonly found on andon boards.
With an andon-board, information can be communicated visually so that every employee can see directly whether a process is running as planned or whether there are disruptions. By providing visual warnings on the shop floor, andon-boards create transparency for all production employees. They therefore increase efficiency by reducing downtimes and allowing workers to respond quickly to faults
disturbances and targets always in view
because only informed employees
can make informed decisions.
“With Peakboard, all of the employees have a constant overview of where there are missing completes, detected faults, maintenance or repairs in progress, or where a new production lot can be started in order to reduce downtimes.”
Benjamin Wagner, Equipment Engineering – Bosch Lithography Plant
spotlight on for andon-lights
andon visual management.
Build your own simple and scalable andon-system consisting of a digital andon-board and andon-light with Peakboard – even if your aging production facilities may not initially support it.
With Peakboard Edge, information can be input and output directly via external devices. Input information that is entered via switches, for example, is forwarded directly to the Peakboard Enterprise Box via Peakboard Edge and processed there. Output information is sent from Peakboard Box to Peakboard Edge displayed via signal lights or sound boxes, for example.
In the event of a machine malfunction, the error message is reported not just on the dashboard itself, but also via a clearly visible light that signals a problem and prompts workers to take action. This means that in the event of a problem, employees do not have to hunt down the responsible contact person, which significantly reduces response times. And since your data is also available digitally with Peakboard, you can then use it for the long-term evaluation of your production processes!
get started!
the Peakboard Designer.
download and test the software.
Thanks to our free visualization software, Peakboard Designer, you can immediately start bringing your projects to life. A wide selection of interfaces to many different data sources and possible functions help you create your visualization.
the right templates for you
andon-board examples.
Here you’ll find some of our templates for your individual andon-board that you can download directly and for free. Whether you want to get an overview of one individual production line or several, we have the right template for you.