Declarations are entered on the HMI (Data Unit or machine's terminal) during production and serve multiple purposes:

  • To identify and categorize stops.
  • To start, change or end a production order.

  • To start or stop the rejection of production (scrap).


Declaration are created managed in the Declarations module: in the top right corner, click Setting and then under System settings, select Declarations.

The declaration properties include how they are displayed in the Plant view (see Machine cards) and Event board modules (see Event board) in the section MONITORING, and on the Data Unit.



Creating declarations

To create a declaration, click the Create new button .



Fields marked with *  are required.


Description *Describes the use of the declaration.
Abbreviation *5-character identifier to be shown on the machine card in Plant view.
Machine typesSelect a machine type if a declaration can only be used by a particular machine type.
If no machine is selected, the declaration can be used for all machine types.
Start code *The internal ID number of the declaration. It is used for the following purposes:

  • To determine the order in which declarations are listed on the Data Unit.

  • When the HMI only allows numeric input for entering declarations, typically on machines directly connected to Connect without a Data Unit.

Start actionSpecifies the type of action triggered by the Start code.
There are three use cases:

1) Stop declaration
Select None (default) for declarations to declare machine stops.

2) Production order control
You can trigger order transitions using:
  • Order start: Starts the next production order in the queue.
  • Order change: Ends the current production order and starts the next one.
  • Order end: Ends the current production order.

3) Planned scrap in plastics production
Is used to declare a period of reject (planned scrap) production. Select Reject production start, and also define a Stop code, and for Stop action, select Reject production end must be selected.

TIP: Assign subsequent numeric values (e.g. 101 and 102) to the Start code and Stop code to ensure the buttons appear next to each other on the Data Unit. Example:
 
Stop code (*)A stop code is required:
  • In case of a Start action of the type Reject production start.
  • For carpet machines.

A stop code can also be used for declarations with a Start action of the type Production order control. Example: start action = order end, stop action = order start.

Stop actionSee Start code, third use case.
Color

Defines the background color of the machine card's header when a declaration was entered, and the color of the declaration button on the Data Unit. Helps to quickly identify the kind of declaration. 

PatternDefines the line pattern to be shown on the machine card's header and helps to quickly identify the kind of declaration.
PreviewShows how the machine card's header looks like with the selected Color and Pattern.


After saving a declaration, it will appear in the list.

Click Save in the list view to send the declaration codes to the Data Units.


Grouping declarations

The Declarations module includes main groups that serve specific purposes, such as HMI selection, reporting or OEE classification. Within each category, you can create declaration groups to organize declarations more effectively. A declaration can belong to each of these categories, but can only be part of one group per category.


When a category contains groups, the down arrow button is shown.



Declaration categories

Three categories are predefined, but they are initially empty.


CategoryPurpose of groups in this category
HMIHelp make the declaration process on the Data Unit more structured and user-friendly. On the Declaration screen of the Data Unit, they appear as sub-tables, allowing operators to first select a sub-table before choosing a specific declaration.

Data Unit example:


Using groups in the HMI category is optional: you can also choose to create declarations without assigning them to any group. They then will appear on the Data Unit without sub-tables.

As soon as one group exists in the HMI category, then only the declarations that are part of this category will be shown on the Data Unit.


NOTE:  Declaration sub-tables are only shown on Data Units, not on machine HMI.


ReportingAllow grouped analysis in reports. In addition to analyzing declarations in detail, you can also view them aggregated by group. This improves reporting clarity and allows for high-level overviews.
OEE

Are used to determine whether a declaration should impact the OEE availability metric. Three types are used:

  1. Down time loss: These are unplanned interruptions that do reduce OEE availability.

  2. Non working time loss: Are used to log non-productive time without affecting OEE (e.g. weekends without activity).

  3. Planned time loss: Are related to scheduling (e.g. maintenance, no order available). These are usually planned and don’t impact OEE.

Proper type selection is crucial for accurate OEE calculations. Misclassified stops may lead to incorrect availability figures.


Creating groups

To create a group, select a category and click the Create new button  .



Fields:

Group nameFor the HMI category: name of the group that will appear on the Data Unit
For the Reporting category: name of the group that is available in reports.
The Group name of the OEE category is not used anywhere.
AbbreviationLimited to 5 characters.
OEE typeIs only shown for groups in the OEE category.
Select the appropriate type as described above.


Assigning declarations to groups

To assign a declaration to a group, drag it by its handle  to the group.


To remove a declaration from a group, click the  button.