2024 Upgrades and enhancements
Major Enhancements
- Lean, Kaizen, SMED support and Processing Improvements
- Automation Modeling including Machine Learning, Sensitivity Analysis and Conveyor Belts
- Data Storage and Sharing Solution – to Minimize use of PC and Network Resources
- Enhanced Video Compression, Concatenation and Rotation to Reduce File Storage
- On-Demand Training and AI Chatbot to Answer Usage Questions
- Lean, Kaizen, SMED support and Processing Improvements
Timer Pro now includes new features that will dramatically speed the realization of process improvements throughout your company. These enhancements will allow you to focus on improving the process rather than processing the improvements.
During lean, kaizen, SMED and other continuous improvement events, clients highlighted difficulty in reviewing and documenting saving opportunities. This is of particular concern with longer cycle work with lots of activities. The request was for a greatly simplified method to support these key continuous improvement initiatives. Our solution is as follows:
a. The ability to instantly create a Yamazumi wall chart for review with teams of operators to identify improvement opportunities. Excel-based output was not readable when charts were large, long descriptions were truncated and navigation on screen was difficult. Sending the data directly to a bitmap addresses all these issues. Estimated time savings 95%.
b. Previously Timer Pro required every improvement idea to be created by editing one by one the activities identified for action. This was time consuming and cumbersome. A new “Improvements” option added to the Balance, Home ribbon exports the entire balance to Excel into a customized template. This template allows users to play back video content by activity, enter estimated times and document their ideas. The edited content can then be easily imported back into the source balance file from which it came. All the edits made in Excel are placed in the required Timer Pro fields automatically. The estimated time saving versus the previous method is 80%+.
c: Approving or rejecting improvement suggestions previously also required every suggestion to be processed one by one. Again, this was also very time consuming and cumbersome. A new “Approve/Reject Savings” option is added to the Balance, Home ribbon under Filter option in the “Savings and Filter” group. This brings up an “Improvement Management” screen that allows you to review and, in bulk, rapidly approve or reject batches of suggestions. The estimated time saving for this approach versus the previous method is 90%+.
- Automation Modeling including Machine Learning, Sensitivity Analysis and Conveyor Belts
Added machine learning capabilities to support rapid user application and guide user actions to minimize user errors. The program recognizes the workflow pattern you define in the first cycle and then starts recommending – and checking for that pattern – as you add additional cycles to your model.
Sensitivity allows you to set modeling parameters that will automatically be run for a whole series of values. You can view and examine the sensitivity of results to changes in selected values. This is ideal for identifying critical values that may undermine the automation scenarios you are investigating before expenditures are made.
Conveyor belt handling allows you to build models that reflect the constraint put on a model when the belt introduces a controlling step. All other resources in the model may have to wait for that step to be completed.
- Data Storage and Sharing Solution – to Minimize use of PC and Network Resources
Numerous clients have asked about how to optimize the storage of Timer Pro data and specifically the related video storage due to the size of even compressed video files and the demand that storage puts on local PCs and network resources.
We recommend the use of a companywide TPSite (or any name you decide) site created by your IT team in SharePoint. Inside that created site they will create a folder called “Timer Pro”. That “Timer Pro” folder on SharePoint is shared with all users. It will then appear in the users “OneDrive” folder on their PC.
The company should enforce a uniform folder structure under the companywide Timer Pro folder. The structure should be similar to that outlined below which you can adapt to your specific situation.
\Timer Pro\ Country\Plant\Department\Line\ Part or Process
For example:
\Timer Pro\US\Plant 5\Line 3\Process ABC
In this example ALL content related to Process ABC i.e. source videos, video time studies, time study reports, balance file, work instruction, digitized content, Yamazumi charts etc, MUST be placed in that folder.
The local user will create their Timer Pro structure on their PC. They will use the OneDrive property of “Always keep on this device” to work on the process on their local PC. Then use the “Free up space” property to sync their work with THE SAME STRUCTURE back into SharePoint and free up the space on their local PC.
In this way all content from all sites and users can be stored in one companywide location for easy updating and sharing. At the same time space on local PCs and Network drives can be kept to a minimum.
- Enhanced Video Compression, Concatenation and Rotation to Reduce File Storage
Updated video compression routines to better handle H.265 and HEVC file types based on new GoPro model updates. There is no interface differences to the end user:
Having compressed your video files, you may be able to put up to 10 compressed video into the same file size occupied by the original videos.
Added utility to allow users to rotate videos. Timer Pro is not a video editor but many clients using recorded videos that, when loaded to Timer Pro, would come up with the video orientation incorrect. This was especially an issue when videos were taken on a smartphone. The number of requests prompted us to use FFMPEG to offer the rotation capability direct in Timer Pro. The option can be found in Video Timer Pro in the Toolbox ribbon, in the Timer Pro Utilities option. Please note that rotating video does require the video to be encoded again so it can take time.
5. On-Demand Training and AI Chatbot to Answer Usage Questions
Client surveys indicated that offering training sessions at fixed times every week was not optimum to get end users to attend. We have implemented On-Demand user training accessible through a portal on our website at:
https://www.acsco.com/training
This training is available online 24/7 and is accessible to all clients and those with evaluation copies of Timer Pro. Each training session is accompanied by detailed notes.
The video can be reviewed online or downloaded. There is also a downloadable
transcript of each session. If the user cannot complete the session in one sitting, they can flag the session as “In Process” and enter the point in the video they had reached when they paused. Upon return to the training portal, they will be taken directly to that point in the video to continue their training from where they left off.
There are over 500 videos in our training video library covering every feature of Timer Pro. A concern was noted that due to the number of videos finding videos for a specific feature was time consuming. A transcription of every video in the library was generated and fed into an AI chatbot now integrated into our website www.acsco.com. As a result, all visitors to the website are able to ask questions, quickly locate videos for specific features and learn more about the use of Timer Pro.
Other Updates Included the Current Version
- Changes to file storage locations to comply with directives from Microsoft and Google
- Add manual times to video time studies
- New labor report to handle setup times
- Fine video adjustment performance improvements
- Additional support files to speed data presentation in Web Services
- Share balance files among users with Timer Pro Web Services
- Integration with AI Time Study vendors offerings to give their packages access to Timer Pro capabilities
Please use the AI Chatbot on our website to find additional details on these new features and all other functionalities.
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