Glossary · HMI, SCADA and operations
Feedback system (operations)
Also known as: Production feedback system, Checkback system
German: Rückmeldesystem
In manufacturing operations, a feedback system is the set of signals and software that report the actual state or result of commands and production steps back to the ordering level, for example checkback signals from devices to the controller or production confirmations from the line to the MES or ERP system.
- HMI and SCADA
In one sentence
A feedback system reports actual states and production results back to the ordering level, from device checkbacks to order confirmations.
Example
When an order is finished, the line controller reports quantity, scrap and runtime to the MES, which confirms the order to the ERP system.
How it applies
- Engineering: At device level, checkback signals (for example contactor auxiliary contacts or valve end-position switches) let the controller confirm that a command was executed; a missing checkback triggers a fault. At operations level, confirmations transfer quantities, times and quality data upward.
- Operation: Reliable feedback is the basis for order tracking, OEE figures and traceability. Manual confirmations are error-prone and should be minimized.
- Documentation: Describe which signals confirm which commands, the monitoring times and the fault messages produced when feedback is missing. Interface descriptions to MES and ERP should define each confirmed data item.
Feedback system vs. feedback signal
A Feedback signal is one signal reporting a state. A feedback system is the overall arrangement of such signals and data flows. In control theory, feedback means the measured value fed back into a loop, a different sense of the word.