Abstract:
A metal fabrication resource performance monitoring method, includes accessing data representative of a parameter sampled during a metal fabrication operation of a metal fabrication resource, the resource being selectable by a user from a listing of individual and groups of resources. Via at least one computer processor, the accessed parameter is processed to determine an analyzed system parameter, and a user viewable dashboard page is populated with graphical indicia representative of the analyzed system parameter, and transmitted the user viewable dashboard page to a user.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/842,845, entitled “WELDING SYSTEM PARAMETER COMPARISON SYSTEM AND METHOD,” filed Jul. 3, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to metal fabrication including heating systems, cutting systems, welding systems and support equipment for heating, cutting, and welding operations. In particular, the invention relates to techniques for determining and presenting parameters from acquired data from such systems. 
         [0003]    A wide range of welding systems have been developed, along with ancillary and support equipment for various fabrication, repair, and other applications. For example, welding systems are ubiquitous throughout industry for assembling parts, structures and sub-structures, frames, and many components. These systems may be manual, automated or semi-automated. A modern manufacturing and fabrication entity may use a large number of metal fabrication systems, and these may be grouped by location, task, job, and so forth. Smaller operations may use metal fabrication systems from time to time, but these are often nevertheless critical to their operations. For some entities and individuals, metal fabrication systems may be stationary or mobile, such as mounted on carts, trucks, and repair vehicles. In all of these scenarios it is increasingly useful to set performance criteria, monitor performance, analyze performance, and, wherein possible, report performance to the operator and/or to management teams and engineers. Such analysis allows for planning of resources, determinations of prices and profitability, scheduling of resources, enterprise-wide accountability, among many other uses. 
         [0004]    Systems designed to gather, store, analyze and report welding system performance have not, however, reached a point where they are easily and effectively utilized. In some entities limited tracking of welds, weld quality, and system and operator performance may be available. However, these do not typically allow for any significant degree of analysis, tracking or comparison. Improvements are needed in such tools. More specifically, improvements would be useful that allow for data to be gathered at one or multiple locations and from one or multiple systems, analysis performed, and reports generated and presented at the same or other locations. Other improvements might include the ability to retrospectively review performance, and to see performance compared to goals and similar systems across groups and entities. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
       [0005]    The present disclosure sets forth systems and methods designed to respond to such needs. In accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure, a metal fabrication resource performance monitoring method, includes accessing data representative of a parameter sampled during a metal fabrication operation of a metal fabrication resource, the resource being selectable by a user from a listing of individual and groups of resources. Via at least one computer processor, the accessed parameter is processed to determine an analyzed system parameter, and a user viewable dashboard page is populated with graphical indicia representative of the analyzed system parameter, and transmitted the user viewable dashboard page to a user. 
         [0006]    Also disclosed is a metal fabrication resource performance monitoring system, including a communications component that in operation accesses data representative of a parameter sampled during a metal fabrication operation of a metal fabrication resource, the resource being selectable by a user from a listing of individual and groups of resources. At least one computer processor processes the accessed parameter to determine an analyzed system parameter, and populates a user viewable dashboard page with graphical indicia representative of the analyzed system parameter. A transmission component transits the user viewable dashboard page to a user. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatical representation of exemplary monitoring system for gathering information, storing information, analyzing the information, and presenting analysis results in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, here applied to a large manufacturing and fabrication entity; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatical view of an application of the system for a single or mobile welding system with which the techniques may be applied; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatical representation of an exemplary cloud-based implementation of the system; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a diagrammatical view of an exemplary welding system of the type that might be monitored and analyzed in accordance with the techniques; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a diagrammatical representation of certain functional components of the monitoring and analysis system; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an exemplary web page view for reporting of a goals and performance of welding systems via the system; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is another exemplary web page view illustrating an interface for setting such goals; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a further exemplary web page view of a goal setting interface; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is an exemplary web page view of an interface for tracing parameters of a particular weld or system; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is an exemplary web page view listing historical welds that may be analyzed and presented; 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is an exemplary web page view of historical traces available via the system; 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is an exemplary web page view of a status interface allowing for selection of systems and groups of systems for comparison; 
           [0020]      FIG. 13  is an exemplary web page view of a comparison of systems and groups of systems selected via the interface of  FIG. 12 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 14  is an exemplary web page view of a dashboard page of analyzed system parameters determined by the system; 
           [0022]      FIG. 15  is an exemplary web page view of a report page of a comparison of determined analyzed system parameters to goal analyzed system parameters; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 16  is an exemplary web page view of a report page of a comparison between shifts of determined analyzed system parameters over a time period. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    As illustrated generally in  FIG. 1 , a monitoring system  10  allows for monitoring and analysis of one or multiple metal fabrication systems and support equipment. In this view, multiple welding systems  12  and  14  may be interacted with, as may be support equipment  16 . The welding systems and support equipment may be physically and/or analytically grouped as indicated generally by reference numeral  18 . Such grouping may allow for enhanced data gathering, data analysis, comparison, and so forth. As described in greater detail below, even where groupings are not physical (i.e., the systems are not physically located near one another), highly flexible groupings may be formed at any time through use of the present techniques. In the illustrated embodiment, the equipment is further grouped in a department or location as indicated by reference numeral  20 . Other departments and locations may be similarly associated as indicated by reference numeral  22 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in sophisticated manufacturing and fabrication entities, different locations, facilities, factories, plants, and so forth may be situated in various parts of the same country, or internationally. The present techniques allow for collection of system data from all such systems regardless of their location. Moreover, the groupings into such departments, locations and other equipment sets are highly flexible, regardless of the actual location of the equipment. 
         [0025]    In general, as represented in  FIG. 1 , the system includes a monitoring/analysis system  24  that communicates with the monitoring welding systems and support equipment, and that can collect information from these when desired. A number of different scenarios may be envisaged for accessing and collecting the information. For example, certain welding systems and support equipment will be provided with sensors, control circuitry, feedback circuits, and so forth that allow for collection of welding parameter data. Some details of such systems are described below. Where system parameters such as arc on time are analyzed, for example, data may be collected in each system reflecting when welding arcs are established and times during which welding arcs are maintained. Currents and voltages will commonly be sensed and data representative of these will be stored. For support equipment, such as grinders, lights, positioners, fixtures, and so forth, different parameters may be monitored, such as currents, switch closures, and so forth. 
         [0026]    As noted, many systems will be capable of collecting such data and storing the data within the system itself. In other scenarios, local networks, computer systems, servers, shared memory, and so forth will be provided that can centralize at least at some extent the data collected. Such networks and support components are not illustrated in  FIG. 1  for clarity. The monitoring/analysis system  24 , then, may collect this information directly from the systems or from any support component that themselves collect and store the data. The data will typically be tagged with such identifying information as system designations, system types, time and date, part and weld specification, where applicable, operator and/or shift identifications, and so forth. Many such parameters may be monitored on a regular basis and maintained in the system. The monitoring/analysis system  24  may itself store such information, or may make use of extraneous memory. 
         [0027]    As described more fully below, the system allows for grouping of the information, analysis of the information, and presentation of the information via one or more operator interfaces  26 . In many cases the operator interface may comprise a conventional computer workstation, a handheld device, a tablet computer, or any other suitable interface. It is presently contemplated that a number of different device platforms may be accommodated, and web pages containing useful interfaces, analysis, reports, and the like will be presented in a general purpose interface, such as a browser. It is contemplated that, although different device platforms may use different data transmission and display standards, the system is generally platform-agnostic, allowing reports and summaries of monitored and analyzed data to be requested and presented on any of a variety of devices, such as desktop workstations, laptop computers, tablet computers, hand-held devices and telephones, and so forth. The system may include verification and authentication features, such as by prompting for user names, passwords, and so forth. 
         [0028]    The system may be designed for a wide range of welding system types, scenarios, applications, and numbers. While  FIG. 1  illustrates a scenario that might occur in a large manufacturing or fabrication facility or entity, the system may equally well applied to much smaller applications, and even to individual welders. As shown in  FIG. 2 , for example, even welders that operate independently and in mobile settings may be accommodated. The application illustrated of  FIG. 2  is an engine-driven generator/welder  28  provided in a truck or work vehicle. In these scenarios, it is contemplated that data may be collected by one of several mechanisms. The welder itself may be capable of transmitting the data wirelessly via its own communications circuitry, or may communicate data via a device connected to the welding system, such as communications circuits within the vehicle, a smart phone, a tablet or laptop computers, and so forth. The system could also be tethered to a data collection point when it arrives at a specified location. In the illustration of  FIG. 2  a removable memory device  30 , such as a flash drive may be provided that can collect the information from the system and move the information into a monitoring/analysis system  32 . In smaller applications of this type, the system may be particularly designed for reduced data sets, and analysis that would be more useful to the welding operators and entities involved. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art, then, that the system can be scaled and adapted to any one of a wide range of use cases. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary implementation, for example, which is cloud-based. This implementation is presently contemplated for many scenarios in which data collection, storage, and analysis are performed remotely, such as on a subscription or paid service basis. Here the monitored welding system and support equipment  34  communicate directly and indirectly with one or more cloud data storage and services entities  36 . The entities may take any desired form, and significant enhancements in such services are occurring and will continue to occur in coming years. It is contemplated, for example, that a third party provider may contract with a fabricating or manufacturing entity to collect information from the systems, store the information off-site, and perform processing on the information that allows for the analysis and reporting described below. The operator interfaces  26  may be similar to those discussed above, but would typically be addressed to (“hit”) a website for the cloud-based service. Following authentication, then, web pages may be served that allow for the desired monitoring, analysis and presentation. The cloud-based services would therefore include components such as communications devices, memory devices, servers, data processing and analysis hardware and software, and so forth. 
         [0030]    As noted above, many different types and configurations of welding systems may be accommodated by the present techniques. Those skilled in the welding arts will readily appreciate that certain such systems have become standards throughout industry. These include, for example, systems commonly referred to as gas metal arc welding (GMAW), gas tungsten gas arc welding (GTAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), submerged arc welding (SAW), laser, and stud welding systems to mention only a few. All such systems rely on application of energy to workpieces and electrodes to at least partially melt and fuse metals. The systems may be used with or without filler metal, but most systems common in industry do use some form of filler metal which is either machine or hand fed. Moreover, certain systems may be used with other materials than metals, and these systems, too, are intended to be serviced where appropriate by the present techniques. 
         [0031]    By way of example only,  FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary welding system  12 , in this case a MIG welding system. The system includes a power supply that receives incoming power, such as from a generator or the power grid and converts the incoming power to weld power. Power conversion circuitry  38  allows for such conversion, and will typically include power electronic devices that are controlled to provide altering current (AC), direct current, pulsed or other waveforms as defined by welding processes and procedures. The power conversion circuitry will typically be controlled by control and processing circuitry  40 . Such circuitry will be supported by memory (not separately shown) that stores welding process definitions, operator-set parameters, and so forth. In a typical system, such parameters may be set via an operator interface  42 . The systems will include some type of data or network interface as indicated at reference numeral  44 . In many such systems this circuitry will be included in the power supply, although it could be located in a separate device. The system allows for performing welding operations, collecting both control and actual data (e.g., feedback of voltages, currents, wire feed speeds, etc.). Where desired, certain of this data may be stored in a removable memory  46 . In many systems, however, the information will be stored in the same memory devices that support the control and processing circuitry  40 . 
         [0032]    In the case of a MIG system, a separate wire feeder  48  may be provided. The components of the wire feeder are illustrated here in dashed lines because some systems may optionally use wire feeders. The illustrated system, again, intended only to be exemplary. Such wire feeders, where utilized typically include a spool of welding wire electrode wire  50  and a drive mechanism  52  that contacts and drives the wire under the control of a drive control circuitry  54 . The drive control circuitry may be set to provide a desired wire feed speed in a conventional manner. In a typical MIG system a gas valve  56  will allow for control of the flow of the shield and gas. Setting on the wire feeder may be made via an operator interface  58 . The welding wire, gas, and power is provided by a weld cable as indicated diagrammatically at reference numeral  60 , and a return cable (sometimes referred to as a ground cable)  62 . The return cable is commonly coupled to a workpiece via a clamp and the power, wire, and gas supplied via the weld cable to a welding torch  64 . 
         [0033]    Here again, it should be noted that the system of  FIG. 4  is exemplary only, the present techniques allow for monitoring and analysis of performance of these types of cutting, heating, and welding systems, as well as others. Indeed, the same monitoring analysis system may collect data from different types, makes, sizes, and versions of metal fabrication systems. The data collected and analyzed may relate to different processes and weld procedures on the same or different systems. Moreover, as discussed above, data may be collected from support equipment used in, around or with the metal fabrication systems. 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  illustrates certain functional components that may typically be found in the monitoring/analysis system. In the notation used in  FIG. 5 , these components will be located in a cloud-based service entity, although similar components may be included in any one of the implementations of the system. The components may include, for example, data collection components  68  that receive data from systems and entities. The data collection components may “pull” the data by prompting data exchange with the systems, or may work on a “push” basis where data is provided to the data collection components by the systems without prompting (e.g., at the initiation of the welding system, network device, or management system to which the equipment is connected). The data collection may occur at any desired frequency, or at points in time that are not cyclic. For example, data may be collected on an occasional basis as welding operations are performed, or data may be provided periodically, such as on a shift basis, a daily basis, a weekly basis, or simple as desired by a welding operator or facilities management team. The systems will also include memory  70  that store raw and/or processed data collected from the systems. Analysis/reporting components  72  allow for processing of the raw data, and associating the resulting analysis with systems, entities, groups, welding operators, and so forth. Examples of the analysis and reporting component operations are provided in greater detail below. Finally, communications components  74  allow for populating reports and interface pages with the results of the analysis. A wide range of such pages may be provided as indicated by reference numeral  76  in  FIG. 5 , some of which are described in detail below. The communications components  74  may thus include various servers, modems, Internet interfaces, web page definitions, and the like. 
         [0035]    As noted above, the present techniques allow for a wide range of data to be collected from welding systems and support equipment for setup, configuration, storage, analysis, tracking, monitoring, comparison and so forth. In the presently contemplated embodiments this information is summarized in a series of interface pages that may be configured as web pages that can be provided to and viewed on a general purpose browser. In practice, however, any suitable interface may be used. The use of general purpose browsers and similar interfaces, however, allows for the data to be served to any range of device platforms and different types of devices, including stationary workstations, enterprise systems, but also mobile and handheld devices as mentioned above.  FIGS. 6-13  illustrate exemplary interface pages that may be provided for a range of uses. 
         [0036]    Referring first to  FIG. 6 , a goal report page  78  is illustrated. This page allows for the display of one or more welding system and support equipment designations as well as performance analysis based upon goals set for the systems. In the page illustrated in  FIG. 6 , a number of welding systems and support equipment are identified as indicated at reference numeral  80 . These may be associated in groups as indicated by reference numeral  82 . In practice, the data underlying all of the analyses discussed in the present disclosure are associated with individual systems. These may be freely associated with one another, then, by the interface tools. In the illustrated example, a location or department  84  has been created with several groups designated within the location. Each of these groups, then, may include one or more welding systems and any other equipment as shown in the figure. The present embodiment allows for free association of these systems so that useful analysis of individual systems, groups of systems, locations, and so forth may be performed. The systems and support equipment may be in a single physical proximity, but this need not be the case. Groups may be created for example, based on system type, work schedules, production and products, and so forth. In systems where operators provide personal identification information, this information may be tracked in addition to or instead of system information. 
         [0037]    In the illustrated embodiment status indicators are illustrated for conveying the current operational status of the monitored systems and equipment. These indicators, as designated by reference numeral  86 , may indicate, for example, active systems, idle systems, disconnected systems, errors, notifications, and so forth. Where system status can be monitored on a real-time or near real-time basis, such indicators may provide useful feedback to management personnel on the current status of the equipment. The particular information illustrated in  FIG. 6  is obtained, in the present implementation, by selecting (e.g., clicking on) a goals tab  88 . The information presented may be associated in useful time slots or durations, such as successive weeks of use as indicated by reference numeral  90 . Any suitable time period may utilized, such as hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, shift-based designations, and so forth. 
         [0038]    The page  78  also presents the results of analysis of each of a range of performance criteria based upon goals set for the system or systems selected. In the illustrated example a welding system has been selected as indicated by the check mark in the equipment tree on the left, and performance on the basis of several criteria is presented in bar chart form. In this example, a number of monitored criteria are indicated, such as arc on time, deposition, arc starts, spatter, and grinding time. A goal has been set for the particular system as discussed below, and the performance of the system as compared to this goal is indicated by the bars for each monitored parameter. It should be noted that certain of the parameters may be positive in convention while others may be negative. That is, by way of example, for arc on times, representing the portion of the working time in which a welding arc is established and maintained, a percentage of goal exceeding the set standard may be beneficial or desirable. For other parameters, such as spatter, exceeding a goal may actually be detrimental to work quality. As discussed below, the present implementation allows for designation of whether the analysis and presentation may consider these conventionally positive or conventionally negative. The resulting presentations  94  allow for readily visualizing the actual performance as compared to the pre-established goals. 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary goal editing page  96 . Certain fields may be provided that allow for setting of standard or commonly used goals, or specific goals for specific purposes. For example, a name of the goal may be designated in a field  98 . The other information pertaining to this name may be stored for use in analyzing the same or different systems. As indicated by reference numeral  100 , the illustrated page allows for setting a standard for the goal, such as arc on time. Other standards and parameters may be specified so long as data may be collected that either directly or indirectly indicates the desired standard (i.e., allows for establishment of a value for comparison and presentation). A convention for the goal may be set as indicated at reference numeral  102 . That is, as discussed above, certain goals it may be desired or beneficial that the established goal define a maximum value targeted, while other goals may establish a minimum value targeted. A target  104  may then be established, such as on a numerical percentage basis, an objective (e.g., unit) basis, relative basis, or any other useful basis. Further fields, such as a shift field  106  may be provided. Still further, in some implementations it may be useful to begin goal or standard setting with an exemplary weld known to have been done and possess characteristics that are acceptable. Goals may then be set with this as a standard, or with one or more parameters set based on this weld (e.g., +/−20%). 
         [0040]      FIG. 8  illustrates a goal setting page  108  that may take established goals set by pages such as that illustrated in  FIG. 7  and apply them to specific equipment. In the page  108  of  FIG. 8 , a welding system designated “bottom welder” has been selected as indicated by the check mark to the left. The system identification  110  appears in the page. A menu of goals or standards is then displayed as indicated by reference numeral  112 . In this example, selections include placing no goal on the equipment, inheriting certain goals set for a particular location (or other logical grouping), selecting a predefined goal (such as a goal established by a page such as thus shown in  FIG. 7 ), and establishing a custom goal for the equipment. 
         [0041]    The present techniques also allow for storing and analyzing certain performance parameters of systems in tracking or trace views. These views can be extremely informative in terms of specific welds, performance over certain periods of time, performance by particular operators, performance on particular jobs or parts, and so forth. An exemplary weld trace page  114  is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . As indicated on this page, a range of equipment may be selected as indicated on the left of the page, with one particular system being currently selected as indicated by reference numeral  116 . Once selected, in this implementation a range of data relating to this particular system is displayed as indicated by reference numeral  118 . This information may be drawn from the system or from archived data for the system, such as within an organization, within a cloud resource, and so forth. Certain statistical data may be aggregated and displayed as indicated at reference numeral  120 . 
         [0042]    The weld trace page also includes a graphical presentation of traces of certain monitor parameters that may be of particular interest. The weld trace section  122 , in this example, shows several parameters  124  graphed as a function of time along a horizontal access  126 . In this particular example, the parameters include wire feed speed, current, and volts. The weld for which the cases are illustrated in the example had duration of approximately 8 seconds. During this time the monitored parameters changed, and data reflective of these parameters was sampled and stored. The individual traces  128  for each parameter are then generated and presented to the user. Further, in this example by a “mouse over” or other input the system may display the particular value for one or more parameters at a specific point in time as indicated by reference numeral  130 . 
         [0043]    The trace pages may be populated, as may any of the pages discussed in the present disclosure, in advance or upon demand by a user. This being the case, the trace pages for any number of systems, and specific welds may be stored for later analysis and presentation. A history page  132  may thus be compiled, such as illustrated in  FIG. 10 . In the history page illustrated, a list of welds performed on a selected system  116  (or combination of selected systems) is presented as indicated by reference numeral  134 . These welds may be identified by times, system, duration, weld parameters, and so forth. Moreover, such lists may be compiled for specific operators, specific products and articles of manufacture, and so forth. In the illustrated embodiment, a particular weld has been selected by the user as indicated at reference numeral  136 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 11  illustrates an historical trace page  138  that may be displayed following selection of the particular weld  136 . In this view, an identification of the system, along with the time and date, are provided as indicated by reference numeral  140 . Here again, monitored parameters are identified as indicated by reference numeral  124 , and a time axis  126  is provided along which traces  128  are displayed. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the ability to store and compile such analyses may be significantly useful in evaluating system performance, operator performance, performance on particular parts, performance of departments and facilities, and so forth. 
         [0045]    Still further, the present techniques allow for comparisons between equipment on a wide range of bases. Indeed, systems may be compared, and presentations resulting from the comparison may be provided any suitable parameter that may form the basis for such comparisons. An exemplary comparison selection page  142  is illustrated in  FIG. 12 . As shown in this page, multiple systems  80  are again grouped into groups  82  for a facilities or locations  84 . Status indicators  86  may be provided for the individual systems or groups. The status page illustrated in  FIG. 12  may then serve as the basis for selecting systems for comparison as illustrated in  FIG. 13 . Here, the same systems and groups are available for selection and comparison. The comparison page  144  displays these systems and allows users to click or select individual systems, groups, or any sub-group that is created at will. That is, while an entire group of systems may be selected, the user may select individual systems or individual groups as indicated by reference numeral  146 . A comparison section  148  is provided in which a time base for a comparison may be selected, such as on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or any other range. Once selected, then, desired parameters are compared for the individual systems, with the systems being identified as indicated at reference numeral  152 , and the comparisons being made and in this case graphically displayed as indicated by reference numeral  154 . In the illustrated example, for example, system on time has been selected as a basis for the comparison. Data for each individual system reflective of the respective on time of the system has been analyzed and presented in a percentage basis by a horizontal bar. Other comparisons may be made directly between the systems, such as to indicate that one system has outperformed another on the basis of the selected parameter. More than one parameter could be selected in certain embodiments, and these may be based on raw, processed or calculated values. 
         [0046]    The monitoring/analysis system  24  processes acquired data from one or more groups  18  of welding systems  12  and support equipment  16 . As discussed above, the acquired data includes, but is not limited to, currents, voltages, systems activation time, arc starts, arc duration, wire feed rate, switch closures, and so forth. The monitoring/analysis system  24  presents this acquired data to the operator via the operator interface  26 . The acquired data may be compared to goals stored in the memory  70 . In addition to processing and presenting the acquired data and stored goals via the operator interface  26 , presently contemplated embodiments of the monitoring/analysis system  24  analyze the acquired data and present analyzed system parameters, such as arc on time percentage (e.g., arc on %) and deposition (e.g., deposition quantity, deposition rate). The analyzed system parameters produced by the monitoring/analysis system  24  are calculated values that facilitate comparisons between welding systems  12  or groups  82  of welding systems  12 , comparisons between operators and shifts, and/or comparisons between departments/locations  20 . In some embodiments, the monitoring/analysis system  24  may automatically present one or more analyzed system parameters on a page  76  (e.g., start-up screen or “dashboard”) without user instructions to do so, thereby enabling an operator to evaluate performance upon viewing the page  76  without additional inputs to the operator interface  26 . Automatic determination of the analyzed system parameters eliminates a step by the user to perform calculations separately, such as with a calculator, mentally, or by hand. Accordingly, the user may evaluate the performance more quickly than if the analyzed system parameters were not automatically determined and presented. 
         [0047]    The analyzed system parameters may include arc on time percentage (e.g., arc on %) and deposition. The arc on % for one or more welding systems  12  during a time period (e.g., day, shift, week, month) may be determined from Equation (1): 
         [0000]      Arc On%= T   arc on   /T   work   Equation (1)
 
         [0000]    where T work  is the cumulative working time that the one or more welding systems  12  are powered on (e.g., ready to supply an arc to a torch) during the time period, and T arc on  is the cumulative time that the one or more welding systems  12  have an active arc during the time period. The arc on % value may be useful as a metric to evaluate and compare welding experience of a first group of one or more welding operators to a second group of one or more welding operators. For example, the arc on % for an experienced welder performing a first weld with a first welding system  12  may be greater than the arc on % for a less experienced welder for the first weld with the first welding system  12 . In some embodiments, the arc on % value may be used to evaluate and compare the welding proficiency of one or more welding operators using one or more welding systems  12  during a first time period to the same one or more operators using the same one or more welding systems  12  during a second time period. The arc on % value may also be useful as a metric to evaluate and compare the efficiency and/or productivity of the first group to a second group, or the first group to itself between a first time period and a second time period. For example, a drop in arc on % from a first time period to the second time period may indicate the occurrence of an event (e.g., increased complexity, welder distraction, welding error) during the time period for a system administrator or manager to investigate. The monitoring/analysis system  24  may present on a user viewable page  76  comparisons of arc on % value between the first group and the second group and/or comparisons of arc on % value between a first group during a first time period and the first group during a second time period. In some embodiments, the arc on % value may be useful as a metric to evaluate multiple welding systems  12  by comparing the arc on % between a first group of welding systems  12  and a second group of welding systems  12  where both are utilized by the same operators. 
         [0048]    The deposition for a welding system  12  during a time period may be determined from Equation (2): 
         [0000]      Deposition(quantity)=WFS* d*T   arc on   Equation (2)
 
         [0000]    where WFS is the wire feed speed (e.g., inches per minute), d is the wire density (e.g., pounds per inch), and T arc on  is the cumulative time (e.g., minutes) that the welding system  12  has an active arc during the time period. The WFS, wire density, and/or wire diameter may be entered by a user. In some embodiments, the welding system  12  determines the WFS based on weld parameters (e.g., current, voltage, materials). Additionally or in the alternative, some embodiments of the welding system  12  may determine the wire diameter. The WFS and d may vary based at least in part on the characteristics (e.g., materials, width, wire diameter) of the weld. The monitoring/analysis system  24  may determine the deposition value as the total amount (e.g., weight) of wire deposited during a time period or a rate of deposition per minute or per hour during T work . The deposition rate may be determined by dividing the deposition quantity from Equation (2) by the cumulative working time that the welding system  12  is powered on (T work ). 
         [0049]      FIG. 14  illustrates an embodiment of a dashboard page  200  presenting the arc on % and deposition as analyzed system parameters. The dashboard page  200  may be a page  76  presented to the user upon initiating a session with the monitoring/analysis system  24  via the operator interface  26 . In some embodiments, an operator may configure the dashboard page  200  to present the analyzed system parameters for one or more welding systems  80  utilized by one or more operators (e.g., shifts). For example, the dashboard page  200  of  FIG. 14  presents the analyzed system parameters of arc on time percentage and deposition for two selected welding systems  80  utilized over several shifts in a time period  210 . The operator may configure the dashboard page  200  to present analyzed system parameters in various graphs, tables, lists, and so forth arranged at various customizable locations about the dashboard page  200 . The analyzed system parameters may be presented for comparison and evaluation of one or more welding systems  80  over one or more time periods  210 . More complete descriptions of such arrangements of analyzed system parameters about the dashboard page  200  is provided, for example, in U.S. application no. 2009/0313549, entitled Configurable Welding Interface for Automated Welding Applications, filed by Casner et al. on Jun. 16, 2008. 
         [0050]    An arc on percentage graph  202  and/or an arc on percentage table  204  present the arc on % for a first welding system  206  and a second welding system  208  for multiple shifts during the time period  210 , which may be a particular day, week, month, etc. A deposition graph  212  and/or a deposition table  214  present the deposition for the first welding system  206  and the second welding system  208  for multiple shifts during the time period  210 . In some embodiments, the dashboard page  200  may present various combinations of the arc on percentage graph  202 , the arc on percentage table  204 , the deposition graph  212 , the deposition table  214 , and other representations of analyzed system parameters. The operator may configure the arrangement and composition of the dashboard page  200  via the configuration tab  216 . 
         [0051]    The arc on percentage graph  202  presents graphical representations  218  for the arc on % for each selected shift (e.g., shift A, shift B, shift C) utilizing the first welding system  206  and the second welding system  208  during the time period  210  or time range. The arc on percentage graph  202  may also present a value for the total arc on % for the time period  210  over the selected shifts. The arc on percentage graph  202  enables a viewer of the dashboard page  200  to readily compare the arc on % values for each respective shift and respective machine to identify issues for further review. The arc on percentage table  204  presents numerical values  220  for the arc on time percentage for each selected shift utilizing at least the first and second welding systems  206 ,  208  during the time period  210 . In some embodiments, the arc on percentage table  204  presents acquired data  222  utilized to generate the analyzed system parameter  220 . The arc on time percentage  220  and acquired data  222  presented together may provide the user viewing the dashboard page  200  a more complete review of a status of the first and second welding systems  206 ,  208  during the time period  210  than either the arc on time percentage  220  or the acquired data  222  alone. For example, the dashboard page  200  illustrates an embodiment in which the arc on % value for shift A utilizing the first welding system  206  is less than the arc on % value for shifts B and C. Upon noticing the difference, the viewer may investigate a cause by reviewing the acquired data  222 , one or more reports (e.g., via a reports tab  224 ), and/or a list of events (e.g., via events page  226 ). 
         [0052]    The deposition graph  212  may present a quantity of a welding wire deposited and/or a deposition rate for the selected first and second welding machines  206 ,  208  during the time period  210 . The deposition graph  212  of the deposition rate for the first and second welding systems  206 ,  208  may have similar shapes. For example, the deposition graph  212  may have approximately the same shape as the arc on % graph  202  where the wire diameter and the density per unit length of the wire for each welding machine scale the deposition graph  212  relative to the arc on % graph  202 . As shown in the deposition table  214 , the first welding system  206  may deposit a greater quantity (e.g., approximately 50%) of welding wire during the time period  210  than the second welding system  208  despite that the first and the second welding systems  206 ,  208  have substantially the same arc on % values over the time period  210 . The scale difference in the deposition graph  212  may be based at least in part on a difference in the wire diameter and density per unit length of the welding wire (e.g., welding wire diameter of first welding system  206  is greater than welding wire diameter of second welding system  208 ) and/or a difference in the WFS between the welding systems (e.g., WFS of the first welding system  206  is greater than the WFS of the second welding system  208 ). The deposition table  214  presents the deposition quantity  228  (e.g., lb) and deposition rate  230  (e.g., lbs/hr) for each shift of the first and the second welding system  206 ,  208  during the time period  210 . The deposition table  214  may present the total deposition quantity  228  for the time period  210  from the shifts, and/or may present the average deposition rate for each welding system over the time period  210 . 
         [0053]      FIG. 15  illustrates a reports page  240  that may facilitate comparing goals of analyzed system parameters stored in memory for one or more selected systems to determined analyzed system parameters of the one or more selected systems over one or more time periods. The various individual systems or groups  146  of welding systems  242  are available for selection and comparison. The reports page  240  displays these systems and allows users to click or select individual systems, groups, or any sub-group that is created at will. That is, while an entire group  146  of systems may be selected, the user may select individual systems or individual groups as indicated by reference numeral  244 . A reports section  246  is provided in which a range of time periods  210  for a comparison may be selected, such as on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis, or any other range. Once the systems  242  and a time period  210  are selected, then, determined analyzed system parameters (e.g., arc on %, deposition) are compared to stored goals for the analyzed system parameters for the selected individual systems or individual groups  244 . 
         [0054]    In the illustrated example, arc on % has been selected as a basis for the comparison. The determined arc on % data for the selected system  244  is presented for each time period in a percentage basis by a vertical bar  248  adjacent to the goal arc on % value presented by a vertical bar  250 . As may be appreciated, the goal arc on % value may be different for each time period. In some embodiments, the goal arc on % value is presented as a line across the reports section  246 , and the line may illustrate a goal arc on % value for multiple time periods. In the reports page  240  shown in  FIG. 15 , the determined arc on % values meet or exceed the goal arc on % values for the dates 07/30-08/1/2013 and 08/03/2013 (e.g., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday), and the determined arc on % values fall short of the goal arc on % values for the dates 07/29/2013 and 08/02/2013 (e.g., Monday and Friday).  FIG. 15  illustrates an example for which the selected systems  244  were utilized approximately in accordance with the stored goals for the dates 07/29/2013 to 08/01/2013, the determined arc on % for the date 08/02/2013 fell short of the goal arc on %, and the selected system  244  was utilized on the date 8/03/2013 for which no goal arc on % was stored in memory or the goal arc on % was 0%. From the report page  240 , the user may observe that arc on % for the selected system  244  peaked in the middle (e.g., 07/31/2013) of the week, arc on % on 08/02/2013 (e.g., Friday) sharply decreased, or the selected system  244  was utilized on 08/03/2013 (e.g., Saturday), or any combination thereof. These observations may enable a user to adjust arc on % goals for the selected system  244  in view of productivity trends and/or to work with the operators of the selected welding system  244  to improve arc on % on Fridays and/or any given time for which productivity is decreased relative to other time periods. In some embodiments, the monitoring/analysis system  24  may analyze historic trends of analyzed system parameters relative to goals and generate projected trends for the analyzed system parameters for future time periods. The projected trends may be stored as goals for the future time periods. In some embodiments, the projected trends may be based at least in part on expected productivity improvements that affect the analyzed system parameters. For example, projected trends may account for greater productivity improvements after supplemental training. As another example, projected trends may be used to set arc on % goals for a shift that increase to a desired threshold, where the threshold is based at least in part on shift experience and/or shift training time. 
         [0055]    In some embodiments, the user may compare the determined arc on % for one or more welding systems  242  to stored goals over various time ranges  252 . The time ranges may include, but are not limited to hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or any custom range. Through comparison of the determined analyzed system parameters to stored goals over various time ranges  252 , the user may identify trends that may be useful for setting analyzed system parameter goals. After identifying trends (e.g., relative increase in arc on % to peak during middle of week and/or middle of shift, relative decrease in arc on % on Friday and/or end of shift), the user may adjust individual goals for one or more time periods to encourage increased performance for each time period. For example, the arc on % goal for Wednesdays or the middle of a shift may be set higher than the arc on % goal for Fridays or the end of a shift. 
         [0056]    The user may compare determined analyzed system parameters for one or more groups of operators (e.g., shifts) utilizing selected systems or groups  244  of welding systems  242  over a time period  210 .  FIG. 16  illustrates an embodiment of a report page  240  that compares the arc on % for the selected group  244 , and the selected group  244  includes multiple subgroups  254  of welding systems  242  that may be utilized during multiple shifts  256  (e.g., shift A, shift B, shift C). As may be appreciated, some welding systems  242  may be utilized by multiple shifts and/or by multiple operators. The report page  240  presents the arc on % analyzed system parameter for each of the shifts  256  as bars  258  over the selected time period  210  for comparison to one another. Additionally, or in the alternative, a report page  240  may present the deposition quantity, deposition rate, or other analyzed system parameter for multiple shifts or operators over the selected time period  210 . The user may select a customized set of the groups  244  and the subgroups  254  of welding systems  242  for comparison of respective analyzed system parameters over the time period  210 . In some embodiments, the user may select operators and/or shifts for comparison via a shift control  260 . In some embodiments, the report page  240  may present acquired data from the time period  210  in addition to analyzed system parameters. Accordingly, the reports page may present analyzed system parameters for multiple types of comparisons. 
         [0057]    In conclusion, the monitoring analysis circuitry may process the acquired data to determine the analyzed system parameters (e.g., arc on %, deposition, etc.) that are presented to a user. These analyzed system parameters may be presented on an initial page (e.g., dashboard) viewed by the user, thereby facilitating easy and rapid review of the relative status of one or more welding systems. The analyzed system parameters may be used for comparisons between welding systems, between welding operators, between a first group of welding systems to a second group of welding systems, between a first group of welding operators and a second group of welding operators, and so forth. The comparisons (e.g., graphical representations) may provide the user with more information than the acquired data alone. In some embodiments, the monitoring/analysis circuitry may facilitate visual comparisons of analyzed system parameters (e.g., arc on %, deposition) for a first group of one or more welding systems to itself as utilized by the same or different groups (e.g., shifts). The comparisons may be over a predefined time range (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly, monthly) or over a user defined time range. For example, the monitoring/analysis circuitry may present a comparison of the arc on % for a first welding system used by shift A over a week to the arc on % for the first welding system used by shift B over the same week or a different week. In some embodiments, the monitoring/analysis circuitry may facilitate visual comparisons of analyzed system parameters (e.g., arc on %, deposition, etc.) for the first group of one or more welding systems to a second group of welding systems utilized by the same or different groups (e.g., shifts). The comparisons may be over a predefined time range or over a user defined time range. For example, the monitoring/analysis circuitry may present a comparison of the deposition for a first welding system used by shift A on a date to the deposition for a second welding system used by shift A or shift B on the same or different date. As discussed above, the analyzed system parameters are determined by the monitoring/analysis circuitry at least in part from acquired data, while the analyzed system parameters are not directly acquired from the one or more welding systems. 
         [0058]    While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.