System for assisting in management of packaging plant

A system for assisting in management of a packaging plant, according to which such information as on packaging cost, machine characteristics and surface packaging method is transformed into database, whereby the packaging cost calculation, production capacity calculation, line arrangement method, packaging method, and packaging arrangement investigation method are translated into numeral equations or software. With this system, highly accurate investigation results can be output in a short time period, thereby assisting in making an optimum management decision.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to a system for assisting in the management 
of a packaging plant to investigate the arrangement of the production line 
of the plant where parts are packaged on circuit boards. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A conventional example of a procedure for making a management decision in 
such packaging plant will now be described with reference to FIG. 13. 
One of the major elements in making a management decision in a packaging 
plant is the packaging cost. A trial calculation of this packaging cost is 
made, as shown in FIG. 13, by multiplying the uniformly rated standard 
packaging cost, which covers a series ranging from standard quadrangular 
chips easy to package to QFD and connectors of peculiar shape difficult to 
package, by the number of parts to be packaged. 
An investigation of the capacity for production of packaging boards in a 
certain packaging line is made by dividing the product of the standard 
packaging cycle and the total number of parts to be packaged, by the 
machine standard packaging capacity. This standard packaging cycle is set 
uniformly for all dissimilar types of parts to be packaged. The machine 
standard packaging capacity uniformly specifies the packaging capacity, 
which naturally may vary according to parts to be packaged and machine 
productivity with respect to the degree of difficulty in packaging. 
An investigation of a line arrangement is made solely by a rule of thumb 
worked out by the managerial class employees working at a job site in a 
plant, on the basis of production information about the arrangement and 
number of parts and necessary production capacity concerning boards to be 
produced and machine characteristic information about the machine 
parts-associated capacity and the machine standard packaging capacity. 
An investigation of the arrangement of packaging boards is made pursuant to 
the conventional method. Specifically, if conventional products adopt the 
insertion method, this method is employed as such, and if they adopt the 
surface packaging method, this method is employed as such. Thus, under the 
present situation, the determination of a packaging method employed has 
not been based on general assessment of all elements involved in 
production, such as the parts cost, packaging cost, control cost, and 
quality. 
Therefore, the arrangement in said conventional example has been confronted 
with a problem that the accuracy of calculation is poor in that all parts 
are calculated on the basis of the same standard packaging cost. 
Further, since all parts are calculated using the same standard packaging 
cycle, there is a problem that the accuracy of calculation is poor. 
Further, since the line arrangement is investigated by the instinct and 
experience of managerial class employees working at a job site, there is a 
problem that the resulting line arrangement is not necessarily optimum. 
Further, since all elements involved in production are not subjected to 
general assessment, there is a problem that the selected method is not 
necessarily optimum, nor are the produced boards. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the invention is to provide a system for assisting in the 
management of a packaging plant, which solves the above problems and 
enables an investigation to be made to provide an accurate total packaging 
cost, an accurate production capacity, an optimum line arrangement by 
selection of an optimum machine, and an optimum packaging board. 
To achieve this object, a system for assisting in the management of a 
packaging plant according to the present invention comprises; 
a packaging cost database having stored therein packaging cost data for 
individual types of parts to be packaged on a board, and 
a packaging cost investigation algorithm for calculating the cost of 
packaging on said boards to be produced, on the basis of the arrangement 
and number of parts concerning boards to be produced and on the basis of 
packaging cost data derived from said packaging cost database. 
According to this arrangement, an investigation to provide an accurate 
total packaging cost can be made by multiplying an appropriate packaging 
cost for each type of parts, by the total number of parts of that type. 
Further, a system for assisting in the management of a packaging plant 
according to the present invention comprises; 
a machine characteristic database having stored therein machine 
characteristic information about the parts-associated capacity and 
standard packaging capacity of each available packaging machine, and 
a production capacity investigating algorithm for investigating the 
production capacity by multiplying the packaging cycle for each type of 
parts by the number of parts to be packaged and dividing the resulting 
product by the appropriate machine packaging capacity taking into 
consideration the machine characteristics derived from said machine 
characteristic database. 
According to this arrangement, an investigation to provide a production 
capacity with high accuracy can be made by multiplying the appropriate 
packaging cost for each type of parts by the number of parts to be 
packaged and dividing the resulting product by the appropriate machine 
packaging capacity with the characteristics of the machine taken into 
account. 
Further, a system for assisting in the management of a packaging plant 
according to the present invention comprises; 
a machine characteristic database having stored therein machine 
characteristic information about the parts-associated capacity and 
standard packaging capacity of each installed packaging machine, and 
a line arrangement investigating algorithm for making an investigation to 
provide an optimum line arrangement by selecting an optimum machine on the 
basis of production information about the arrangement and number of parts 
and the required capacity of production concerning boards to be produced 
and machine characteristic information derived from said machine 
characteristic database. 
According to this arrangement, an investigation to provide an optimum line 
arrangement can be made by selecting an optimum machine on the basis of 
production information about the arrangement and number of parts and the 
required capacity of production concerning boards to be produced and 
machine information about the machine parts-associated capacity and the 
machine standard packaging capacity. 
Further, a system for assisting in the management of a packaging plant 
according to the present invention comprises; 
a packaging method database having stored therein assessment values 
concerning items to be investigated, such as the parts cost, packaging 
cost, control cost and quality during the production with respect to each 
of a plurality of packaging methods, and 
a packaging board arrangement investigating algorithm for making an 
investigation to provide a method which satisfies a required commodity 
specification and which results in the calculated assessment value being 
maximum, by calculating an overall assessment value involved in the 
production of the commodity of required specification for each packaging 
method, on the basis of said packaging method database. 
According to this arrangement, an investigation can be made to provide an 
optimum packaging board after all elements involved in production have 
been assessed. 
Further, a system for assisting in the management of a packaging plant 
according to the present invention comprises a plurality of combinations, 
including a combination of said packaging cost database and said packaging 
cost investigating algorithm, a combination of said machine characteristic 
database and said production capacity investigating algorithm, a 
combination of said machine characteristic database and said line 
arrangement investigating algorithm, and a combination of said packaging 
method database and said packaging board arrangement investigating 
algorithm. 
Thus, according to the present invention, investigations can be assisted to 
provide an overall packaging cost of high accuracy, a production capacity 
of high accuracy, an optimum line arrangement obtained by selecting an 
optimum machine, and an optimum packaging board arrangement. 
Therefore, according to the invention, data on the packaging cost, 
production capacity, optimum line arrangement and optimum board 
arrangement can be outputted with high accuracy in a short time with 
respect to subjects, such as the deployment and operation of the packaging 
plant, and the planning of new commodities; therefore, a management 
decision as to optimum plant deployment, optimum plant operation, and the 
planning of optimum new commodities can be realized, thus bringing about a 
merit that the management loss is minimized.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 shows the arrangement of a system for assisting in the management of 
a packaging plant according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
This packaging plant management assisting system shown in FIG. 1 is 
composed of a computer A, which comprises a packaging cost database 1, a 
machine characteristic database 2, a packaging method database 3, a 
packaging cost investigating algorithm 4, a production capacity 
investigating algorithm 5, a line arrangement investigating algorithm 6, 
and a packaging board arrangement investigating algorithm 7. 
The computer A is fed with packaging plant deployment information Ia, 
packaging plant operating information Ib, and new commodity planning 
information Ic. When fed with these information items Ia-Ic, the computer 
A delivers, on the basis of these information items, Ia-Ic, data on a 
packaging cost Oa, a production capacity Ob, an optimum line arrangement 
Oc, and an optimum board arrangement Od, which enable production to be 
economically effected in the case where one's own packaging facilities are 
used. 
Particularly, there are problems of how to deploy the packaging plant with 
respect to a future production plan and what place which is optimum for 
production is to be selected to cope with variations in the foreign 
exchange rate and personnel expenditures. 
Another problem is how to examine and improve the packaging plant at all 
times so as to ensure optimum operation from the standpoints of 
productivity, quality, lead time, and inventory. 
Another problem is that in planning a new commodity, it is necessary to 
make a trial calculation of costs, and a decision on a packaging method 
and board arrangement, and secure a necessary production capacity for the 
scheduling of the new commodity. 
The packaging cost database 1 has stored therein packaging cost data for 
individual types of parts exemplified in FIG. 2. Particularly, it is 
composed of a parts cost database 1a having stored therein data on the 
costs of individual parts, an installation cost database 1b having stored 
therein data on the time rate cost, maintenance and spare parts costs and 
rejection rates for individual packaging machines, a personnel expenditure 
database 1c having stored therein such items as personnel expenditures and 
energy costs according to different countries, and a foreign exchange rate 
database 1d. 
The packaging cost investigating algorithm 4 calculates the packaging cost 
of boards to be produced, on the basis of the arrangement and number of 
parts concerning boards to be produced and packaging cost data derived 
from the packaging cost database 1. Particularly, as shown in FIG. 3, a 
comparison is made between the insertion packaging method and the mount 
packaging method as to the parts cost and installation cost, followed by a 
comparison between domestic production and overseas production as to 
personnel expenditures and overall packaging cost. 
The machine characteristic database 2 shown in FIG. 1 stores machine 
characteristic information about the parts-associated capacity and the 
standard packaging capacity of each installed packaging machine. 
Particularly, as shown in FIG. 4, the machine characteristic database 2 is 
stored with data on the cycle time required for the packaging of 
electronic parts for each packaging machine. 
The production capacity investigating algorithm 5 shown in FIG. 1 
investigates the production capacity by multiplying the packaging cycle 
for each type of parts by the number of parts to be packaged and dividing 
the resulting product by the appropriate machine packaging capacity taking 
into consideration the machine characteristics derived from the machine 
characteristic database 2. Particularly, the production capacity 
investigating algorithm 5, as exemplified in FIG. 6, investigates the 
production capacities of the existing line, the model 1 line and the model 
2 line concerning boards in question. 
Packaging on an intended board can be effected by cooperation of the 
machine characteristic database 2 exemplified in FIG. 4, the board parts 
arrangement table 8 exemplified in FIG. 5 and the line arrangement 
investigating algorithm 6 shown in FIG. 8. At that time, an investigation 
can be made so as to provide an optimum arrangement Oc in which the 
packaging cycle and investment are minimum. 
FIG. 7 shows the concept of the production capacity investigating algorithm 
5 and the line arrangement investigating algorithm 6. The computer A is 
furnished with data on the packaging board arrangement 9 and production 
conditions 10. The computer A computes the production capacity Ob for each 
line arrangement through the aforesaid processing. 
Further, the computer A uses the packaging method database 3 exemplified in 
FIG. 9 and the packaging board arrangement investigating algorithm 7 shown 
in FIG. 10 so as to select the most rational packaging method which 
satisfies a required commodity specification, and makes an investigation 
to provide an optimum board so as to deliver data on the optimum board 
arrangement Od. Particularly, the packaging method database 3 stores 
assessment values of items to be investigated in connection with 
production, such as parts cost, packaging cost, control cost and quality, 
for each packaging method. The packaging board arrangement investigating 
algorithm 7 selects a packaging method which satisfies the required 
commodity specification, on the basis of the packaging method database 3, 
board parts arrangement table 8, required commodity specification 11, and 
item weight table 12, calculates the assessment value of each packaging 
method on the basis of the item weight table 12, selects a method whose 
assessment value is the greatest and determines the arrangement for 
packaging on boards. 
FIG. 11 shows an example of a display screen in the case where a trial 
calculation of packaging costs is made concerning the surface packaging 
machine, insertion packaging machine and semiconductor packaging machine. 
FIG. 12 shows by way of example a concept presentation of an inside and 
outside production simulation to determine the amount to be produced 
inside and the amount to be produced with an order placed outside. 
In the embodiment described above, the packaging plant management assisting 
system comprises a packaging cost database 1, a packaging cost 
investigation algorithm 4, a machine characteristic database 2, a 
production capacity investigating algorithm 5, a line arrangement 
investigating algorithm 6, a packaging method database 3, and a packaging 
board arrangement investigating algorithm 7; thus, as described above, it 
is possible to make an investigation to provide an accurate overall 
packaging cost, accurate production capacity, an optimum line arrangement, 
and an optimum board arrangement. Even if the packaging plant management 
assisting system of the invention does not meet all of these structural 
requirements, however, a rapid investigation can be made to provide a more 
accurate efficient production plan than in the prior art through a 
combination of a single database and a single investigating algorithm, 
such as a combination of the packaging cost database and the packaging 
cost investigating algorithm, a combination of the machine characteristic 
database and the production capacity investigating algorithm, a 
combination of machine characteristic database and the line arrangement 
investigating algorithm, or a combination of the packaging method database 
and the packaging board arrangement investigating algorithm, or through a 
combination of a plurality of databases and a plurality of investigating 
algorithms.