INSIGHTS INTERNATIONAL George Walker, Novotek U.K.
Redefining the boundaries of industrial automation Production challenges do not wait on IT developments and automation technology advances enable data access and use from almost anywhere.
M
odern automation systems go devices and create queries to access and transform beyond the confines of the physi- data into actionable information for operations. cal machines on the factory floor. Drag-and-drop design allows for simple placement According to Deloitte Insights, and configuration of visualization components on smart factories can operate with- the display, then dragging the query or data source in the factory and connect to a global network of onto the component quickly enables the data similar production systems, connections. and even to the digital supply Using connected systems network. allows information sharing One, seamless MES Though factories may be with frontline workers, prodistributed rather than cenviding them with knowlestablishes a digital tralized, modern industrial edge of what is happening. operations software provides Responsive design allows foundation for continuous a centralized environment to application building to make rapidly build industrial appliinformation readily available improvement. cations. This can support on PC displays, tablets, and engineers, managers and staff mobile phones – allowing throughout an industrial business to improve plant access to information and insights into operations operations and act upon information inde- from anywhere anytime. A single, seamless MES for pendent of factory location. process, discrete and mixed manufacturing enviTeams at all levels of an organization can ronments establishes a digital foundation for conmake better decisions based on real-time tinuous improvement. KEYWORDS: industrial and historical plant-wide application data, automation, data including historian software, manufacturing New normal: Automation management execution systems (MESs) and third-party for social distancing Modern industrial The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the data. Users can monitor, control, enter data operations software provides a centralized environment and perform analyses. Historian software is need for solutions that support social distancing, to rapidly build industrial often embedded or used in conjunction with remote operations and supply chain issues have applications. standard distributed control systems (DCSs) completely upended plants and factories. Better industrial automation This requires deploying MES, human-machine and programmable logic controllers (PLCs), with on real-time and past to provide enhanced data capture, validation, interface/supervisory control and data acquisiplant-wide application data can improve decisions. tion (HMI/SCADA), historian and analytics solucompression and aggregation capabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic With historian software, users may ana- tions capable of visualizing operations, analyzing has accelerated the need for lyze data in context from industrial oper- data and optimizing production and providing the automation and improved ations software. Industrial operations information in real time to the appropriate personsocial distancing. software delivers aggregation and visualiza- nel regardless of their location so they can respond ONLINE tion of automation data across plant-wide without any detriment to performance. Automation Read more stories operations. This provides a visualization has truly extended beyond the factory floor, and the from Control Engineering toolkit with simple connectors to common data can improve operations at every level. ce international partners at data types, to blend and present information www.controleng.com/ in a way that allows for the different needs George Walker is managing director of Novotek U.K. international. and Ireland. This article originally appeared on Conof team members to see it. CONSIDER THIS Role-based permissions may be granted trol Engineering Europe’s website. Edited by Chris How can industrial at the page level. Plant operators may define Vavra, associate editor, Control Engineering, CFE automation improve your data sources and entities for connected Media and Technology, cvavra@cfemedia.com. operations?
‘
’
M More INSIGHTS
10
•
November 2020
control engineering
www.controleng.com
