The industrial landscape is undergoing a data revolution. Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices are generating vast amounts of real-time data from factory operations. While this data holds immense potential for optimizing efficiency and contribute to strategic decision-making, harnessing its power can be a an undeniably complex type of challenge.
The Data Integration Dilemma
Manufacturing companies and suppliers of supply chain planning software, like MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) and MOM (Manufacturing Operations Management) platforms, face a significant obstacle: integrating real-time data from factory floor operations with enterprise systems. This integration complexity comes from a confluence of factors.
• Diversity of data sources: Factories utilize a wide range of equipment and technologies, each generating data in different formats.
• Data complexity: Data goes beyond simple numbers; it can be Boolean, analog, text, images, and more.
• Custom integrations: Many factories have unique HMI/SCADA (Human-Machine Interface/Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, further complicating data flow.
Traditionally, MES/MOM suppliers like sedApta, a European leader serving food, paper, and other industries, approached each project with custom integrations. This method, although useful, was time-consuming, expensive, and risky. To overcome these barriers, sedApta tested a new approach.
A Unified Data and Visualization Solution
sedApta’s new solution is the creation of a unified data and visualization platform – a common data acquisition system (DAS) that acts as a bridge between factory floor equipment and MES/MOM tools.
This intermediate layer serves for several key functions:
• Data aggregation: Collects data from all sources, regardless of format.
• Preprocessing: Adds context and meaning to the raw data.
• Single interface: Provides a unified and user-friendly access point.
The ideal DAS should be a standalone platform, seamlessly connecting plant floor assets with supervisory or cloud-based MES/MOM systems. This ensures reliable, objective data delivery, enabling production optimization and informed decision-making.
Choosing the Right Platform
After a careful analysis, sedApta has identified Emerson’s Movicon.NExT HMI/SCADA and data connectivity software as the core solution of their DAS. This platform offered several key benefits:
• Universal data support: Handles various data types, custom formats and communication protocols including OPC UA
• Scripting capabilities: Enables advanced data handling and code reuse.
• Scalable architecture: Manages complex projects by breaking them into modular units.
• Development tools: Accelerates project development with pre-built components.
• Extensibility: Supports plug-ins and custom development for specific needs.
This feature-rich platform empowered sedApta to tailor the DAS to their specific requirements. The DAS system consists of three main elements:
1. Configurator: Rapidly assigns user privileges, defines equipment hierarchies, and configures data types.
2. Diagnostics: Provides real-time and historical data insights for troubleshooting and analysis.
3. Service: Manages data control, processing, and transfer between systems.
These elements work together as a unified interface, granting users access to critical information anytime, anywhere .
The “Floor to Cloud” Connection
The DAS serves as a bridge between plant-level production systems and higher-level sedApta MES/MOM solutions (on-site or cloud-based). This consistent approach ensures reliable and accurate data communication, supporting the strategic planning capabilities of the MES/MOM software.
For instance, a typical machine might have numerous downtime alarms. The DAS captures these alarms, consolidating them into a single “downtime” signal for the MES. This minimizes data redundancy and simplifies communication. Users can then delve deeper into specific downtime events at the DAS or machine level.
The benefits.
The DAS offers several advantages for sedApta and its customers:
• Reduced complexity: Machine integration complexity is reduced by 30-40% on average, reaching 70% for some customers.
• Faster project completion: Custom integration efforts take 3-4 days with the DAS, compared to 5-6 days previously.
• Improved productivity: Real-time, error-free data connections empower optimized production planning and decision-making.
Looking Ahead: The Power of Data
The ever-growing volume of data from IIoT devices presents both challenges and opportunities. Access to practical tools like the DAS will be a key differentiator for manufacturers striving for operational excellence. As Giorgio Cuttica, CEO of sedApta Group, states: “With the partnership between Emerson and sedApta, we can now offer to our customers a complete MOM solution, covering IOT, SCADA, MES, Scheduling and Maintenance, fully integrated and empowered to enable Industry 5.0”.”
A DAS platform like this bridges the gap between factory floor raw data and the planning and decision-making capabilities of MES/MOM systems resulting in simplified integration, reduced projects costs and data-driven decisions for production optimization, and allows manufactures to gain a competitive edge in the Industry 4.0 landscape.
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