Case study of equipment debugging by production engineer

As a production engineer, you have to take care of mass production equipment. Particularly when equipment problems occur, the production engineer has a heavy responsibility to take care of them. Even if it is only a small sensor signal input error, if the equipment is improperly programmed, the equipment will be in a state of "silence" and will not operate no matter what you do.

Whenever these unexpected problems occur, we have to look at the internal program to find the cause. Blaming the equipment designer, we debug the program.

Originally, if you are a production engineer, you should be ready to deal with these problems at any time. You have to understand the electrical wiring and programs about the equipment and be prepared to operate. It is also important to pay attention to equipment specifications and make sure that software such as PLCs are standardized throughout the line.

However, there are some special equipment in rare cases. The basic specifications of these equipment are different from other equipment and are designed with special PLCs and programs. For example, in the case of equipment developed by an equipment manufacturing company with its own original know-how.

When it comes to this kind of equipment, even experienced engineers cannot debug the equipment at first. When something goes wrong and you have to debug it, it's a bit of a headache.
In this article, I will introduce you to a software program that can be used temporarily in such cases.

Introduction of remote control software that you should use when you can't debug equipment

The software is called Teamviewer （https://www.teamviewer.com/ja/）, and this software can be installed for free. This software allows you to share your computer screen with someone far away online. For example, if I connect my computer to the equipment and display the internal programs of the equipment, the distant programmer can check the internal signals of the equipment through my computer screen.

Also, if you give them permission, a distant programmer can operate your computer online. So, if you feel that you can't debug the equipment, you can use these methods temporarily.
We live in a convenient world. In the past, you'd have to do inefficient debugging with just a phone (without a screen) or send a programmer on business trip

Cautions for the use of remote control software

This is free software, but you will have to install external software. It may not be easy to install depending on company policy. You also need to keep your eyes on the screen at all times to prevent others from accessing information in your company.
*You can hand over control of your computer to the other party, but you can still operate it directly with your mouse.
If there is any suspicious activity, it is possible to block the operation or terminate the access immediately.

Cautions for remote debugging

One last thing to remember.
This method is very useful, but it is only a temporary solution. If you are a production engineer, you should essentially be ready to deal with all equipment issues.

You can rely on these methods temporarily, but you shouldn't rely on them. If you are an engineer, you must be able to handle technical problems by yourself, or you will lose your value as an engineer.
You should learn how to operate and debug programs that you couldn't handle this time, and aim to be able to handle them next time without remote control.


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