TRACEABILITY
After controlling the printing quality of a document and the integrity of its variable data, it is possible to implement its traceability. This consists in recording in a database the status of all the verifications carried out on each document, the date and time of these verifications, the machines and operators involved. This makes it possible to manage all the decisions that must be taken in real time: sorting, bundling, ejecting, ink-marking of faults, packaging operations, repairs by operators, inkjet printing, printing of package labels/pallets, etc. At the end of the job, the database archives all this history, ensures that all documents have been correctly processed, or provides the list of rejected documents
ENVELOPES
The total supervision of an inserting/wrapping machine by cameras makes it possible to guarantee the content of each envelope (input identification, sheet sequence, accumulation, multi-channel matching, selective feeding, folding) and to guarantee the completeness of the files to be produced (legibility of addresses, ejection of errors and duplicates, automatic reprinting of missing products).
GLOBAL SUPERVISION
The SAFE (Supervision of Automated document Factory & Editing) software is dedicated to the global supervision of production flows at a single or multi-site printer. The aim is to ensure that the entire production process is controlled and optimized, in order to bring efficiency, productivity and safety to the highest levels.
Independent of all machine manufacturers, the SAFE solution is the only one on the market that makes it possible to unify in the same supervision all the machines of a heterogeneous park. This allows site Managers to have real-time visibility on work performance, improve productivity through production automation, reduce lead times, improve production quality, reduce waste and raw material consumption.
SAFE enables real-time control of a document’s journey throughout its production cycle, ensures that all production has been properly printed and shipped, provides reprint lists, production reports and statistics (files, machines, operators, etc.), allow searches in the events log.
SCHEDULING
SAFE describes the production resources and capabilities of customer sites.
Printers (sheet/continuous, monochrome/color, 1up/2up, simplex/duplex, paper formats, speed, etc), finishing (folding, cutting, formats, cadence, etc.), inserting (sheet/continuous input, 1up/2up, number of tracks, selective feeding stations, envelope formats, cadence, etc.). operators (areas of expertise), schedules (day, night, weekend, special schedules), timeframes for preventive maintenance, etc. The SAFE scheduling algorithm takes into account the files to be produced (outstanding or forecast), shipping dates and times "at the latest", available resources, production speeds, format change optimizations, to calculate a production schedule, shift by shift, machine by machine. This schedule is posted on each workstation and updated every 15 minutes to guide operators in their actions.
Production sites generally combine a multitude of specific processes and exceptions, but their modeling and automation by SAFE allows a considerable productivity gain and anticipates possible delays through the automatic generation of alerts.
PACKAGING
A production process always ends with the packaging of the processed products, whether manual or semi-automatic.
For example, envelopes are placed in trays and postal containers, plastic cards in boxes and crates, labels in rolls or bundles, cartons in pallets, etc. All packaging operations are monitored by SAFE by means of hand scanners, and are always accompanied by the printing of tracking labels. The complete traceability of these actions, including loading into the transport truck, makes it possible to know at all times the position of each document as well as its date and time of shipment.
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In the case of print service providers, packaging also concerns the manual processing of products which must follow special procedures, the processing of out-of-format products, files of very small quantities and not machinable, etc.
MANAGEMENT TOOLS
Thanks to its knowledge of the companies production processes, SAFE can provide monitoring and reporting tools to production managers, maintenance managers and especially customer account managers. Indeed, SAFE allows the establishment of a consultation portal for clients.
SAFE also offers complementary management tools such as stock management of raw materials, storage and monitoring of printed products waiting to be wrapped, management of maintenance operations on machines, a CRM management of the customer relationship, assistance in the management of human resources, etc.