AI in Manufacturing Is Not the Robot Revolution You Imagine

What is Connected Manufacturing?

Think of connected manufacturing like a sophisticated brain. Each machine, process, and person has a unique and vital role within that brain. But for the entire system to truly thrive, they must all work in perfect harmony. This demands an advanced, seamless flow of information, ensuring every part of your operation is in sync.

With VKS 7.0, we're taking that transformation to a whole new level, offering you 6 intelligent and innovative ways to connect to your manufacturing environments.

• Update 1: New IO Connect
• Update 2: Auto-Guidebook Creation via the API
• Update 3: Training Page Gets a New Look
• Update 4: Updated Postpone Functionality in Forms
• Update 5: Pin Attachments to All Steps
• Update 6: Updated Conditional Jump Interface

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, we also have some exciting updates from the tail end of VKS 6.9.5, including:

• Update 1: Location-based Access Control (LbAC)
• Update 2: Embedded Variables
• Update 3: New Fullscreen Toggle
• Update 4: New Shapes & Borders for Picture Annotations

With both VKS 7.0 and 6.9.5, we’re bringing incredible advancements, pushing connected manufacturing further, and solidifying VKS as the best work instruction software available to help your factory's "brain" operate at its peak.

The Power of VKS 7.0

VKS 7.0 Update #1: New IO Connect

Our first update of VKS 7.0, a major advancement for connected manufacturing, is our new IO Connect solution. It’s a powerful new VKS add-on that's changing how manufacturers interact with their equipment and production environments.

With IO Connect, you can intelligently link your digital work instructions with any connected machines, devices, sensors, and PLCs on your shop floor, creating seamless workflows and effortless data exchange.

Imagine being able to interact and monitor your entire manufacturing process directly from your VKS digital work instructions. IO Connect makes this a reality through pre-programmed connections that let your instructions directly control and observe the physical devices your workers use every day.

What Devices and Equipment can IO Connect Integrate With?

Our new IO Connect solution interacts directly with a wide array of physical devices on the shop floor, including:

• PLCs
• Pick-to-light systems
• Vision systems
• IoT sensors
• Cobots
• Industrial machines
• Andon lights
• And much more!

Let’s explore a few use cases to discover how IO Connect can work within the manufacturing setting.

Use Case #1: Pick to Light System

A pick-to-light system uses lights to show workers exactly which parts to grab. When you connect VKS and IO Connect to these systems, your team gets a powerful advantage.

Here's how the Pick to Light System and VKS work:

1. VKS illuminates the correct bin, indicating the required part for picking.
2. The operator retrieves the part from the illuminated bin.
3. Integrated sensors within the pick-to-light system detect the part pickup.
4. VKS validates the correct part retrieval, confirmed by the light flashing green.
5. VKS automatically advances the operator to the subsequent step in the work instructions.

This smart integration helps workers follow the right steps, ensures they always pick the correct parts, and tracks material use. This integration with sensors and lights facilitates more automated, accurate, and consistent assembly procedures.

Use Case #2: Vision Inspection System

IO Connect allows you to link your VKS digital work instructions directly to visual inspection cameras. This makes it easy to automatically start and monitor quality checks, helping you improve inspection speed, reliability, and traceability.

Here's how this vision system and VKS work:

When a worker puts an assembled part in front of the camera, VKS automatically activates the camera and starts the inspection procedure.

During the check, VKS handles the results:

• Pass or Fail: VKS confirms with the vision system if the part passes. If it does, VKS moves to the next step. If it fails, VKS immediately informs the operator.
• Record Keeping: VKS automatically saves the inspection result (pass/fail) and any associated serial numbers, enhancing quality control practices and keeping detailed eDHRs.

This powerful connection works for vision systems, CMMs (Coordinate Measuring Machine), and other inspection devices, providing you with reliable quality information across the board.

VKS 7.0 Update #2: Automatic Guidebook Creation via the API

In your journey toward truly connected manufacturing, aligning your data is paramount.

For our second update, imagine a world where every product change seamlessly triggers an update in your work instructions. With our latest VKS advancement, that's precisely what you get. New product lines, revisions, and changes in your ERP can now trigger VKS to auto-create, clone, update, and publish guidebooks with the correct product and revision numbers.

This powerful new feature can be leveraged with 6 core methods.

• Create: When a new product number is added to the ERP or other connected systems, VKS can auto-create a draft guidebook and/or folder. For a draft guidebook, the newly generated ID is immediately returned and linked to the routing information in the ERP.
• Update: When revision numbers and routing details are updated in the ERP, VKS can then automatically update any guidebook properties and/or update a folder.
• Clone: For similar products, VKS can automatically clone an existing guidebook or version to then modify its guidebook properties.
• Publish: A created, cloned, or updated guidebook can remain in a draft state or be automatically published via an API call.
• List: Returns a JSON-formatted list of objects of the specified type (guidebooks, guidebook versions, guidebook categories, or folders).
• Get Details: Returns detailed information about a specific object (guidebook, version, category, or folder).

Think about manufacturers producing thousands of products that are updated and improved frequently. This solution allows them to reduce authoring time, ensure guidebook revisions always match engineering revisions, and quickly generate new variations from core templates.

The Benefits of Automatic Guidebook Creation via the API

• Increased Accuracy: Planners and authors can be confident that guidebooks are always correctly associated with routing numbers.
• Error Prevention: Reduce the potential for human error in documentation and linking.
• On-Demand Drafts: Ensure that needed draft guidebooks are created promptly, eliminating delays.
• Greater Documentation Control: Eliminate the creation of redundant guidebooks and maintain an organized and clean system.
• Streamline Authoring: Experience a substantial reduction in the time required by your authors.
• Consistent Data Integrity: Achieve seamless data collection across all your guidebooks, templates, and routing information.

Let’s explore how companies can use this new update in three real-world scenarios.

Auto-Creation Use Case #1: Shell

At a manufacturing company named Widgets & Co., production planners need to ensure that every routing number in their workflow has a corresponding VKS Guidebook. Previously, this was a multi-step, manual process. A planner would enter the routing, create a guidebook, and then manually add the guidebook ID to the routing information.

While this method works, Widgets & Co. can now streamline and error-proof this process using the Auto-Guidebook Creation feature in VKS.

Now, when a routing number is added to a work order in their ERP system, two key actions happen automatically:

Automatic Guidebook Creation: An API call is triggered, instantly creating a first draft of the guidebook in VKS. Instant Association: The newly generated guidebook's ID is immediately returned and automatically linked to the routing number.

This automation ensures that Widgets & Co. now has the correct guidebook linked to the right routing number, eliminating manual intervention and significantly improving routing/guidebook accuracy.

Auto-Creation Use Case #2: Clone Template

To commemorate well-known car enthusiast Jeremy Clackson’s 65th birthday in April, Widgets & Co. has just received a special request for a limited edition Jaguar hood ornament that features Clackson's face on the iconic Jaguar Leaper.

Their product numbers are as follows:

• Jaguar Leaper: JHO-2025
• Clarkson Leaper: JHO-2025_65

When the production planner at Widgets & Co. creates this new product number, they would need to copy or create a new workflow. However, we can now simplify and improve the process of creating instructions for new products.

Solution with VKS 7.0:

• The new product number (JHO-2025_65) is entered into the ERP.
• Widgets & Co.'s system automatically triggers an API call to VKS, requesting the cloning of guidebooks associated with the JHO-2025 workflow for the new JHO-2025_65 workflow.

VKS then returns the new, cloned guidebook numbers in its confirmation, ensuring the production planners and authors automatically have the required workflows and routing information.

Auto-Creation Use Case #3: Revision

Widgets & Co. customer, Gizmo Inc., recently updated their product, generating a new revision number for Widgets & Co.. However, the product changes do not affect how the process is conducted, meaning that Widgets & Co.’s guidebooks can remain unchanged. In this case, Widgets & Co. will need to update the revision numbers in all the applicable guidebooks.

To resolve this, Widgets & Co. implemented a solution: they began generating guidebook revisions directly through the VKS API, integrated with their ERP system. Now, whenever a new revision number is entered into the ERP, an associated guidebook draft is automatically created with identical, error-free information.

Here is an example of what the information would look like:

• Name: Harmonica Assembly
• Location: Canada
• Folder: Assembly
• Author: API BOB
• ERP reference number: HRMNC-1423333333389-124871413413414
• Product number: HRMNC-2312333340O453-a12cf4w-Werk
• Product revision code: HRMNC-0O0O0O0O0O-3-FRODO-09-1
• Product internal revision code: HRMNC-1423333333389-3

Thanks to this automation, no mistakes were reported in the guidebook properties, making life much easier for the team.

VKS 7.0 Update #3: Training Page Gets a New Look

VKS 7.0 also introduces a newly updated and modernized training page. But don’t worry, the same functionality you’ve been using is still available; it's just receiving an updated look.

This new layout allows users to better see and leverage the training page while also preparing for the upcoming training enhancements of VKS 7.1.

VKS 7.0 Update #4: Updated Postpone Functionality in Forms

We've just rolled out an exciting update that gives authors greater control over when their postponed forms need to be completed. This enhancement is all about providing more flexibility for operators in their day-to-day work sessions.

Previously, a postponed form created a hard stop: the operator couldn't exit their work session until that form was completed.

Now, authors have a choice, giving operators more breathing room:

• Required by the end of the work session (Default): This maintains the existing behavior—the form must be completed before the operator can exit the current session.
• Required by the end of the operation (New): This brand-new option is a game-changer. It allows operators to exit and restore their work session later. The postponed form only needs to be completed when the operation is officially closed.

This update also introduces two significant enhancements to the underlying behavior of postponed forms, making them more resilient and user-friendly:

• Forms Memory: This update ensures that forms retain their postponed status even after an operator has closed and restored a session. Forms will retain their postponed status even after a session is closed and reopened, ensuring the operator can still complete it later, as the author intended.
• Partial Data Is Safely Saved: Say goodbye to re-entering data! Operators can now partially fill out a form, postpone it, and save the text and numerical data they've already entered. When the form is opened again, the previously entered text and numbers will be right there, making multi-stage form completion seamless.

VKS 7.0 Update #5: Pin Attachments to All Steps

In VKS 7.0, we have updated how users can access attachments within VKS Guidebooks.

Previously, authors were limited to attaching supporting documents (such as PDFs or drawings) to a single, specific step in the guidebook. This meant workers could only open these attachments once they had navigated to that particular step.

This new enhancement allows authors to pin attachments to all steps within the guidebook. This provides workers with continuous access to supporting documents and drawings throughout the entire guided procedure.

VKS 7.0 Update #6: Updated Conditional Jump Interface

Our final update in VKS 7.0 introduces a redesigned interface for the Conditional Jump feature. Now the buttons display the path the user will take when answering yes or no.

This feature allows VKS authors to prompt workers to answer an in-process question. Based on the user's answer, VKS will automatically jump to the appropriate step in the guidebook.

VKS Lite users can leverage this feature to integrate flexible and dynamic processes within their guidebooks. VKS Pro and Enterprise users can also leverage this feature alongside smart forms and the rule engine for greater flexibility and control.

VKS 6.9.5's Game-Changing Updates

While VKS 7.0 brings incredible connected manufacturing enhancements, we also released a few other updates early to ensure you could get early access. Because of this, we decided to get them to you sooner in VKS 6.9.5.

VKS 6.9.5 Update #1: Location-based Access Control

Location-based Access Control (LbAC) is a powerful new feature that lets your organization manage who can access what, based on their physical location. When LbAC is active for a specific location, all the resources assigned to that location become exclusive to the users designated for it. This means only those users (and others with special authorization) can view or interact with those specific resources.

This new capability is incredibly useful for manufacturers with multiple plants or facilities. You can ensure that each site only sees and accesses the information relevant to its operations, protecting sensitive data related to specific contracts and/or customer requirements.

LbAC can be applied to a wide range of resources, including:

• Guidebooks
• Location filters
• Reports
• Groups
• KPIs
• Guidebook sets
• Guidebook categories
• Work orders
• And more!

Overall Benefits of LbAC

Implementing Location-Based Access Control (LbAC) offers significant advantages for manufacturing organizations:

• Enhanced Security: Critical intellectual property and sensitive data are protected by limiting access to authorized personnel in designated locations.
• Reduced Errors and Rework: By ensuring workers only have access to the exact instructions relevant to their current location, accessing the incorrect procedures is effectively eliminated.
• Streamlined Operations: Users see only what they need to see, reducing clutter and improving efficiency.
• Simplified Auditing: It's easier to track who accessed what resources from where, which is critical for compliance and incident investigation.

VKS 6.9.5 Update #2: Embedded Variables

In connected manufacturing, precise information flow is everything. Imagine your work instructions not just guiding your workers, but intelligently adapting to real-time data from your other vital systems. This is where variables and their new advancement come into play within VKS 6.9.5.

First, what are variables in VKS?

VKS variables enable you to dynamically store and retrieve values directly from your other critical systems, like an ERP or MES. Based on the custom key, VKS automatically pulls the required parameters (product serial numbers, measurements, quantities, and more) from your external system. Variables in VKS help ensure your instructions and data retrieval methods are always up-to-date with the latest production information.

Variables can be used within:

• Guidebook data
• Default values in smart forms
• As values within the rule engine
• In mathematical expressions in smart forms

So, what are embedded variables?

Embedded variables are a new feature that lets you automatically "embed" a variable and all its parameters into a new guidebook from a template guidebook. This gives you two distinct areas of automation and optimization:

• New Guidebooks, Same Variables: When cloning a template guidebook, the new guidebook can have all the same variables automatically embedded into it.
• Mass-Updating Variables: When updating the variable in the template guidebook, all associated guidebooks will be updated automatically.

Embedded Variables Use Case: Data Consistency and Accuracy

Let’s say your company, Widgets & Co, produces thousands of custom products, often with similar core processes. You have a master guidebook template for a product line, and every time you create a new variation of that product, you clone the master template. This gives you a head start when creating new but similar processes.

In the past, while pictures and smart forms would have been created automatically, the variables would have needed to be entered manually for each guidebook.

But now, updating variables can be performed automatically. In this case, you can define variables in a master guidebook template. When you create a new guidebook using the template, these variables are automatically populated with the correct custom keys, eliminating the need to manually enter new variables. This drastically speeds up your authoring times and increases data accuracy.

Similarly, this works when updating guidebooks. When you need to update the variable in multiple guidebooks, simply update the variable in the template. All associated guidebooks will be updated automatically, ensuring every variable follows the same critical parameters.

VKS 6.9.5 Update #3: New Fullscreen Toggle

Sometimes, a small update can bring significant advantages, and this release is no exception. We've equipped the viewer mode with a new toggle button to provide workers with a more streamlined and efficient workflow.

Now, within the viewer mode, operators can use the above-featured button to seamlessly toggle between two distinct viewing modes:

• Distraction-Free Mode: This mode maximizes the viewing area to help operators concentrate on the task at hand.
• Thumbnails & Info Panel Mode: With a single click, operators can quickly bring back the thumbnails and the information panel. This provides immediate access to critical annotations, guidebook elements, and other essential data.

This new feature empowers operators to effortlessly transition between a highly focused environment and one that provides quick access to supporting information. The result is a faster, easier, and more productive way to manage your viewing experience, ensuring you can work without distraction while still having crucial data readily available.

VKS 6.9.5 Update #4: New Shapes & Borders for Picture Annotations

Our final update for VKS 6.9.5 introduces significant enhancements to our Picture-in-Picture annotation capability, giving authors greater control over the visual presentation of their guidebooks.

When adding a Picture-in-Picture annotation, authors will have the flexibility to adjust two key stylistic factors to better suit the specific purpose and visuals of their work instructions:

• Picture Shape: Authors can easily cycle between circular and rectangular shapes for their PIP annotations. This allows for more dynamic layouts and the ability to visually distinguish between different types of information.
• Picture Border Styles: A new selection of various border styles is now available. This provides authors with enhanced control over the visual emphasis of their annotations and enables clearer differentiation between various pieces of critical information within a single step.

This new feature empowers authors to create more visually engaging and informative guidebooks. By offering greater control over the shape and border of Picture-in-Picture annotations, authors can improve readability, highlight crucial details more effectively, and ultimately enhance the clarity and impact of their work instructions.

Connected Manufacturing: It's How Business Is Done

The future of connected manufacturing is no longer a distant concept; it's here and it's essential. Just as a brain's complex network allows for seamless thought and action, an interconnected factory thrives on the advanced, harmonious flow of information between every machine, process, and person. At VKS, we are committed to providing you with a work instruction solution that keeps your factory operating at its most intelligent, connected, and productive peak.

With the groundbreaking advancements in VKS 7.0 and the powerful early-released updates in VKS 6.9.5, we're providing the advanced and connected infrastructure for your factory's next evolution.