A clear overview, everything in one spot and on time
Modular visualisations provide employees with practical information during production
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orkers monitor large screens at our production facilities virtually on a daily basis. They follow the instructions listed on them for assistance in individual production sections, and they can also view multilingual versions. In addition, they receive information from the system about the state of production in the section, the availability of individual parts etc. The operators have a constant overview with all the production flow information in one place.
Sophisticated system
Everything is taken care of by the modular visualisation system, the so-called mVIS, which was set up in 2018 as a joint project by Petr Hofman from FIB/6 – Shopfloor IT, Jan Kočí PK/1 – Component Production Management System and the Technical University of Liberec. In the area of Production and Logistics, the system has gradually replaced paper instructions and procedures at individual assembly lines. Employees have all the information together in one spot, and the error rate has also dropped. Therefore, the visualisation units show entire production processes, including details, sequence of individual steps and line strokes or give the operator a visual indication of the operation’s result, such as tightening. Using this tool, the employees can display instructions in a text or image format, call a foreman to help at a specific place or switch to other software apps in the form of a team board, maintenance information, internal communication etc. (see Modularity).
Where it started
It all began during the deployment of a new control system in the production of axles, where there was a demand to visualise production processes in a simple way by using various data sources. The system has been designed as a modular and universally usable one right from the start. Thanks to this, the units are being extended to other sections as well. One of the main advantages of this system is its uniformity – the environment and logic are the same on all modules, so employees do not have to learn various systems; everything looks and works the same, simple, intuitive way. “The system is modular, which means that it can be freely extended and adapted. It uses standard company logic, i.e. a three-tier architecture, micro services or PSB (production service bus, a system integration and open communication collection point – ed.) communication. The benefit is that units can be managed rapidly, including their registration and maintenance of displayed content. You can connect to the units and work on them remotely, and they can be restarted remotely. We can simulate various functionalities without having to connect to a real line, or compare the behaviour between the theoretical model and real operation. We are now preparing a new online media streaming function to stream important meetings to selected devices”, is how Vladimír Türkon from FIB/6 – Shopfloor IT describes the system. Štěpán Vorlíček
Touch screens
The mVIS system units form screens of several sizes. Eight-inch screens will soon be deployed in Hall M13 and replace the operation of summoning the foremen. The most common are 24-inch screens with an IP65 protection, which are located at production lines. These units can identify users using an MFA card or EKS chip. (If the person in question does not have sufficient privileges, they cannot continue and have to call a foreman to authorise them.) The largest 55-inch units are used by GK/2 Internal Communications to convey production trends and important company messages in the individual halls. All units are managed centrally, and each one automatically downloads tasks from the server.
Modularity
The Maintenance teams benefit from hardware modularity, thus saving valuable time. If an error occurs, the service technician simply plugs in the replacement unit and enters its position in the line for the unit to download all its tasks from the network within a few minutes. Everything continues, and the outage becomes virtually imperceptible. Internal Communication makes use of software modularity to inform employees, for example, during a break on identical screens about important and current coronavirus-related measures, benefits or grants etc.
Technical background
The 8- and 24-inch units are based on the Raspberry Pi 3 and 4, which are small single-board computers with a circuit board the size of a payment card and run on the Raspbian operating system. The large 55-inch drives work with Windows.
Dynamic and responsive tool
The user interfaces of the app for administration, visualisation and own tasks are always designed as one-page Web applications. They are also responsive and use the React JavaScript library, which Facebook created to develop its own pages. As far as the recent period is concerned, this is the world’s most dynamically developing responsive application model.
28
information screens in Kvasiny and Mladá Boleslav are currently used by the Internal Communications team
101
Total number of units
The Bell Tolls for Paperwork
We save our forests, set aside our stamps and also digitise in areas such as approvals of various structures
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his also applies to the approval process for the planned structure of employee tariff classes in direct production. These are not tariff classes as such – it’s their structure that is approved every month. Everything has been done on paper so far, and the structure has been created based on approved operation standards. Just to give you an idea: It used to be an Excel spreadsheet with walls of text, various data and totals. These documents were printed, and then their approval started: stamps, signatures, handover between departments in person or via internal mail. The documents of one production facility amounted to approximately 90 sheets of paper, 180 stamps and 10 different signatures each month. Can you imagine how much time and effort has been wasted on printing, copying, scanning, distributing and archiving? Not to mention the cost of printer ink and paper.
But that is changing. As part of the SVP (ŠKODA Verbesserungsprozess), a project has been created to minimise red tape and paper waste. The whole approval process has undergone a thorough analysis to simplify and clarify everything and identify duplicate activities and outdated and unnecessary steps. Above all, everything now runs only electronically. The implementation was fast and cost-free, eliminating printing and copying, which is kind to nature, as well as the time and nerves of everyone involved – no more stamping, signing, running around, handing over, recollecting and archiving. Štěpán Vorlíček
Do you know that…
… the digitisation of the approval process has had a positive effect, especially on the teams of PSI – Industrial Engineering, PFx and the direct production facilities of all Czech plants? It has streamlined work in the SP/1 department and for our HR Business Partners and immediate supervisors in Production.
Logging into ŠKODA Space
Basic tips and instructions on how to access the portal from your home and your private phone
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new Employee Portal has been available since January. But the coronavirus pandemic has shown that many of you still don’t know how to log into ŠKODA Space from home. That’s why we’re bringing you basic information on how to obtain your password, whom to contact if you are in doubt and how to access current internal information on the portal.
How to start
ŠKODA Space is accessed
via www.skodaspace.cz
To log in at basic level, you need to know your login details: username (DZC) + portal LDAP password. Your DZC can be found in your payslip. The LDAP password is used, for example, to log into interactive kiosks.
If you have both access credentials, continue logging into the Employee Portal. If you don’t know the password, you need to restore it.
If you want to get to the second level of security and view, for example, ePayment and other applications, use SMS authentication, PKI card, RSA token or OTP to log in.
What if I don’t know my LDAP password?
I use a company e-mail address or have my private e-mail registered with HR
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Open the ŠKODA Space login screen.
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Select the “I forgot my password” box.
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You will receive a password recovery link with instructions in your inbox.
I don’t have a company
e-mail address and haven’t registered a private one anywhere
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You need to get a security code first.
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Present yourself at the gate and ask for your LDAP password to be reset.
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A Service Desk operator will set a new password for you and notify you by phone.
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You must change your password after logging in for the first time.
If you work in operations without access to company PC and want to take full advantage of the functions of ŠKODA Space, it is worth registering your contact details with HR (You can also register your e-mail address at the accounting office). This will get you access from your home computer or mobile phone and at the same time to the second level of security. You’ll recieve notifications and SMS will to the registered contacts and you will easily display your payment, change password or other sensitive data.
How do I get the permanent option to change my LDAP password at any time?
You have to provide the HR with both a private e-mail (You can also register your e-mail address at the accounting office) for sending a password and a phone number if you need the two-factor login option, eg to display an electronic payroll.
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You have access to @SMART Applications.
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Enter @SMART Applications > My HR Data > Contact Details. Click on the red Edit box in the top right.
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In the Access to Secured Applications section, fill in the e-mail and phone box highlighted in red.
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You don’t have access to @SMART Applications.
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Contact the HR department – they will help you to enter contact details.
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This step will be done by an HR officer.
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You will receive a new LDAP password by e-mail and a text message on your phone for verification.
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If none of the options worked for you, contact your line manager to set your password through the UMS form.
Do you know that…
… the password is valid for one year and as such must consist of 12 characters and contain numbers and a capital letter?