Lighting indication presents some of the larger challenges in today’s production environments. Accurate monitoring of varied processes are key in developing an efficient and successful process environment. A combination of lighting indicators and user interfaces provide important and immediate feedback to the operator’s and others in process control field. This feedback can either be effective and improve production or if implemented incorrectly can confuse and create additional issues which are detrimental to quality control.

The most important challenges to conquer in lighting indication are the following:

• Visibility – Though it seems simple and obvious, the most important consideration in lighting indication design is visibility. Using the right type of indicators for your environment and installing the lighting where it can be easily viewed and analyzed by operators and maintenance personnel is essential.
  • Stack and Tower Lights – Standard machine condition such as ‘power on’ (green), ‘maintenance needed’ (blue), ‘caution’ (yellow) and ‘stop/alarm’ (red) are some of the varied indicators most commonly used with stack and tower lights. Implementation of these devices allows clear communication of machine status to any personnel entering the production environment. The ability to quickly analyze the machine conditions can minimize or even eliminate downtime.
  • Panel Indicators – Process data, environmental conditions, switch indicators, sensor status and a number of other messages displayed on the operator panel can streamline system processes. Where paper manuals and signs can be misplaced or damaged  and thus not available when needed, a row of panel indicators or several rows can be easily mastered by the operator through repetition creating a more efficient employee and process.
• Process Communication
  • Varied indicator types and signaling – Using a row or row of indicators on your panel of various shapes, sizes and colors is an effective way of communicating process status, alarms and accomplishing accurate control monitoring. Implementing lighting indicators as sensor emulators showing a variety of conditions is possibly the most effective way to increase efficiency and gain more process control.
  • Operator Training – The key to achieving a more streamlined process through implementation of lighting indicators is operator training. Using various indictor types and signaling such as flashes or a series of lights to indicate a certain condition is only as effective as the understanding of the operator. Initial training and quick notification of process changes is mandatory if production is to be increased.
  • Consistency across process types – Consistency of your lighting indicators will eliminate confusion and increase effectiveness by allowing one operator to easily move between production steps and still maintain an accurate understanding of the lighting communication. It is not often possible to have all lighting indicators communicate the same message but providing consistency across each process type should be taken into consideration. Creating an environment that permits cross training in a minimum amount of time and with a minimum amount of change in the meaning of the machine indicators allows flexibility and highly productive employees.

VCC offers a wide variety of lighting indicators for all your environmental and process needs. Check out our catalog or contact our dedicated professionals to assist you in streamlining your lighting indication process and creating the most efficient production environment possible.

Automated production processes are implemented in almost every factory environment operating today. Good LED indication practices should alert, inform and guide the operator. With the ever-growing number of automated processes and machines, keeping consistent signaling can become quite a challenge but must be implemented for the following reasons:

• The first generation of automation workers is retiring and work forces are shrinking. Those leaving the workforce are taking with them important knowledge of machine operation and in their place is a less experienced team.
• With the reduced process knowledge, having as much consistency in your signaling as possible will help lower the learning curve and result in better performance with predictable volumes of quality product.
• Lost and misplaced hard copy documentation during a crisis can result in increased downtime as the operator may be unaware there is a problem or unsure how to resolve it. With consistent signaling the operator will come to recognize warning signs that can be addressed before the process is halted.
• Standard signaling for common alarms allows the operator to quickly deduce the cause of a machine failure and either fixes the failure or calls maintenance with a clearer diagnosis of the problem.

When engineering your production floor layout, taking into account the basic signals that can be grouped and displayed in a consistent manner is essential for optimizing efficiency and quality. For alarm signaling the recently released ISA/ANSI 18.02 Alarm Management for the Process Industries provides excellent guidelines for indicating and prioritizing alarms. Having indicators on machinery or in stack lights for warnings or caution conditions should be standard as well. Addressing an upcoming error will be simpler and less expensive than the downtime once failure is realized. Implementing standards for your automated indicators and processes will improve your production floor in the following ways:

• Operators will learn your system quicker and be better able to respond when unexpected actions occur.
• There will be a greater tuning of your processes that will allow more consistent forecasting of product.
• You will achieve better diagnostic and more reliable data from your workers as they will better understand the systems.

VCC recognizes the importance of quality and reliable signaling and has an extensive line of LED indication products to help you achieve your production goals. Speak to our specialist today about your indication needs for the future or in re-evaluating your current equipment operations. Contact us for more information.