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Industry 4.0 · Manufacturing software

LOCKTIME: process control and quality for chemical processing lines.

LOCKTIME is REL Inc.’s integrated process control and quality management system. It takes paperless, scanner-guided control to manual non-destructive testing and surface finishing lines, and its sibling, LOCKTIME Coho, brings predictive motion control to fully automated dip lines. We designed LOCKTIME’s human-machine interface, across the tablet and the line-side TV.

Client
REL Inc.
Products
LOCKTIME · LOCKTIME Coho
Our role
HMI design · Tablet & TV
Industry
Chemical processing · NDT · Surface finishing
Platforms
iPad · HMI · PC · Web
Watch the demo All demos
An operator holds an iPad running LOCKTIME beside a chemical processing line, with coloured process steps and operation, configuration and reporting controls.
90%
fewer errors than the manual process it replaced
Seconds
to add a completely new recipe, versus hours on legacy controls
Millions
of control plans weighed every time a carrier enters an automated line
Every
input to the line logged, for full part-by-part traceability

The problem

Egg timers, paper sheets and full PPE.

On manual chemical processing lines, operators in full protective gear were setting individual egg timers and writing step times onto paper process sheets. Quality records depended on handwriting, and a missed step was only found after the fact.

Automated lines had the opposite problem: legacy controls ran fixed sequences, took hours to add a new recipe, and needed external software to see any data at all.

LOCKTIME had to do four things on the factory floor:

01

Guide, hands-free

Tell operators what to do next, and when, without them taking off their gloves.

02

Record everything

Log every step, part and operator action automatically, with no paperwork.

03

Catch mistakes live

Flag a process infraction the moment it happens, not in the audit.

04

Change in seconds

Let engineers add and update recipes from the UI, without new software.

LOCKTIME · Manual lines

Scan in, scan out. The system keeps time.

Operators check parts in and out of every process step with a handheld scanner, just like the one at the grocery store, and get audio and visual guidance along the way.

Diagram of a manual processing line: a line-side computer, a handheld scanner reading barcodes on each tank, an industrial stack light, and an operation screen above the line.
  1. 1
    Line-side computer

    Starts a batch of parts into the line. Recipe creation, line status and quality data live here, and can be reached remotely. Individual logins control access and record who did what.

  2. 2
    Wireless scanner

    Holstered on the operator. As a part moves between steps, they scan the barcode on the tank or quality check station.

  3. 3
    Stack light

    Quick audio and visual feedback that reads at a glance, even in PPE.

    Red · action requiredYellow · action soonGreen · no action needed

  4. 4
    Operation screen

    Shows the line status, the parts in the line, time left on each process, and what comes next.

An operator in an apron scans a barcode above a processing tank with a handheld scanner.

LOCKTIME will

  • Define and store treatment recipes
  • Guide operators, replacing individual timers and process sheets
  • Give immediate feedback when a process step is broken
  • Document which parts completed which processes, and for how long
  • Store, query, export and print part quality data
  • Give engineering tools for preventive maintenance and predictive chemical change-outs
  • Define and store process, equipment and chemistry quality checks

LOCKTIME Coho · Automated lines

The secret sauce is the algorithm.

LOCKTIME Coho is a modular, PC and PLC-based control system for automated dip lines and FPI lines. Every time a carrier is added to the line, it considers millions of potential control plans and picks the one that best meets the recipe’s constraints, continuously optimising throughput.

It’s built data first: every input to the line is logged, and the same interface runs on a traditional HMI, a PC or an iPad, so the line can be run or jogged wirelessly.

The name comes from the Coho salmon, a local favourite on the shores of Lake Superior where the team is based.

A hand holding an iPad running LOCKTIME Coho over a processing line, showing tank status in colour and operation, configuration and reporting controls.

Motion control

Live optimisation of motion planning for automated hoists, with random loading and shuttle and tank cover control.

Dynamic recipes

Recipes adjust automatically to tank conditions, and can be updated on the fly.

Quality documentation

Parts accepted or rejected automatically per recipe, with sensor data and process time stored for each one.

Line state memory

Seamless restart after a power outage or emergency stop, with no collisions or controls locking up.

Wireless access

Pull quality reports, view throughput and sensor dashboards, and update recipes from anywhere on the floor.

Advanced maintenance

Real-time and historical trends, custom sensor alerts, and a visual tool that pinpoints problem devices.

Two charts: automated hoist utilisation rate over about nine hours, and line throughput analysis showing racks entered, in process and exited.
Engineering design tools: hoist utilisation and line throughput analysis.

LOCKTIME Coho vs. legacy control

What changes on the line.

CapabilityLOCKTIME CohoLegacy control
Run multiple recipes at onceYesLimited
Optimised motion controlYesNo
Add a recipe through the HMIYesParameters only
Time to add a completely new recipeSecondsHours
Time to update the UI1 dayMore than 1 day
Line throughputContinuous optimisationStandard
Data loggingBuilt inExternal software
Data trendingIn the UIExternal software
Predictive throughput and motion controlYesNo
Automatic quality managementYesPossible
Start/stop robustnessSystem memorySensor-based
Predictive maintenanceData trending visibilityExternal software
LOCKTIME Coho server
  • Linux PC datacenter
  • Runs the algorithm
  • Motion and safety control
PLC
  • Drives and sensors
  • Safety devices
  • Redundant safety controls
Line sensors & actuators
  • Transporter sensors and drives
  • Safety devices
  • Temperature, flow and more

Human-machine interface

The HMI: two screens, one line.

We designed LOCKTIME’s human-machine interface: how operators and engineers see, control and respond to the line. It runs on two screens: a tablet HMI mounted at the line or carried by engineers, and a large TV above the tanks that the whole floor can read from a distance, even in full PPE.

Tablet HMI Set up, control and report

Tablet dashboard listing tasks coloured red, yellow and green, with tank temperature and timer readings on the right. Adding Process Now screen with a grid of numbered tanks and a recipe selection dropdown. Recipe editor showing ten numbered tanks with a step being inserted between them. Add a New Station form above a list of current stations with type, system and actions. Generate Reports screen with filters and a list of production reports.

Line-side TV HMI Readable from across the floor

TV screen: three tank timers along the top and a New line loading initiated progress track below. TV screen: Station Scanned 1 panel listing acidic, 195°C, after 2 minutes, 3 days ago, rinsed adequately and dried completely. TV screen: a Wrong Station Scanned warning with a line map showing the correct and incorrect tanks. TV screen: a red timer reading -000:30 and the overdue tank highlighted on the line map. TV screen: two New Station Scanned By cards for John Doe and Sebastian Fox, each with a countdown.

From design to the line Our screens, running at REL customers

Our recipe editor design: a process laid out as numbered tanks connected by arrows.
Our design · Tablet HMIThe recipe editor, laying out each process as numbered tanks.
A wall-mounted iPad running LOCKTIME, showing the active FPI process as ten numbered steps from Penetrant to Inspection.
Live · Wall-mounted iPad HMIThe active FPI process, from Penetrant to Inspection.
Our TV design: tank timers along the top and the process drawn as numbered station cards joined by arrows, each with a progress bar and part count.
Our design · Line-side TVThe process as numbered station cards, with timers across the top and part counts on each step.
A line-side TV running LOCKTIME: tank timers along the top, Penetrant and Penetrant Drain steps, and a Penetrant panel showing processed time and Processed adequately.
Live · Line-side TVThe same numbered cards and timers on the floor, tracking Penetrant to Penetrant Drain.

HMI design principles

Built for gloves, not a desk.

Feedback you can’t miss

Audio and a three-colour stack light carry the most urgent information, so operators in full PPE never have to stop and read a screen.

One scan per step

A barcode on every tank and check point turns each action into a single scan, and every scan becomes a timestamped quality record.

The same UI everywhere

Line-side HMI, office PC, iPad or a big screen above the line: one interface, so operators, engineers and managers share the same picture.

Access by role

Individual and barcode logins with custom permissions, so the right people can change recipes and everyone’s actions are recorded.

Rollout

From crate to first part.

Setup is designed so the customer’s own team can run the system on day one: they build it alongside REL during installation.

  1. Before shippingPlan stations, barcodes and power with the customer
  2. InstallControl box, stack light, scanner and iPad on site
  3. LabelPlaques and barcodes on stations and maintenance points
  4. Configure & trainStations, parts, recipes, processes, users and reports
  5. Go liveMock run, then a real part and its report

Live demos

See LOCKTIME in action.

Demo 01 Demo 02 Demo 03
An automated chemical processing line with transporter rails running the length of a workshop. Close-up of an in-tank sensor with a red digital readout.

Building for the shop floor?

Let’s design software that works in gloves.

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