Unlocking the hidden factory

What is the essential factor that differentiates companies succeeding in today’s Internet e-conomy? Response to customer demand. Both consumer and business-to-business markets now have a far greater choice of suppliers, so manufacturers with the flexibility and agility to respond will thrive in e-business. The threat is that customers are given greater freedom than ever before to search the world for alternative sources. e-commerce exposes even small local manufacturers to multi-national competition: the web has set free a lot of buying power that was once relatively safe and captive. However, the opportunity of the web is even greater, and manufacturers that harness its power are making huge gains in efficiency. Indeed, a key measure that many companies are now focusing on is Operating Equipment Efficiency (OEE), the ratio of actual output from a piece of machinery compared with its theoretical maximum. There’s a ‘hidden factory’ in most manufacturing enterprises that can be brought into operation by increasing equipment performance and reducing downtime, hence improving OEE. Although OEE scores average around 40%, in many firms it can be as low as 20–30%. But a world-class figure is 90% or above. Moving OEE from 20% to 80% effectively quadruples capacity, improving flexibility and responsiveness, without building three new factories. But achieving these improvements requires the factory floor – where the value is added – to be integrated with the top floor where management decisions are made. With increasing globalisation, managers anywhere in the world need access to accurate, real time production data to make reliable decisions, and it’s here that the web scores. There’s no shortage of plant-level data: modern intelligent devices often have built-in communications capability. Modern industrial automation hardware, powered by advanced control software and inter-connected by open networks like DeviceNet, ControlNet and EtherNet IP, provides a wealth of manufacturing process information. Equally, in the boardroom, many have invested heavily in sophisticated enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain planning (SCP) systems. But until now, there’s been little useful information flow between these and the factory automation systems. Senior managers have had to base strategic decisions on production data that’s incomplete, out of date or just plain wrong. ERP systems have become our financial backbones, and have certainly improved efficiency when it comes to closing financial accounts and tracking human resources. However, they’ve been less successful at offering top to bottom scheduling for operations and integrating with the plant systems. Due to these limitations, most companies have either not made the investment, or have under-invested, in the connection of the factory floor to the ERP system. Techniques to web-enable plant data are an increasingly important part of the solution. Traditionally, plant engineers searched for ‘best-of-breed’ components and software for certain control applications in the plant – and then worked to link the systems. In the era of the Internet, however, automated control systems must work seamlessly with commercial IT, including Microsoft operating systems and Ethernet networks. This enables them not only to integrate shop floor operations, but also to make plant information available transparently throughout the enterprise. An integrated plant architecture must address the firm’s needs for multiple control disciplines, seamless communications and information flow throughout factory operations. This extends usability globally. Any authorised person can access information entered into the system, wherever they are. Maintenance engineers, production managers and board directors can view exactly the same real time data as the machine operator on the plant floor. Rockwell Automation knows As a Microsoft Development Partner for industrial applications, Rockwell Automation is in an ideal position to develop software that integrates seamlessly with industry standard Ethernet networks and web browsers. And Rockwell Software’s comprehensive Manufacturing BusinessWare software suite includes key components such as RSSql and RSBizware, historians that facilitate enterprise level reporting and web-enabling of production information. RSSql is a powerful data collection and integration tool that bridges the gap between the control system and the business application database by enabling bi-directional transactions of process and production data with almost any standard relational database, such as Oracle or SQL Server. RSBizware Historian provides the pre-designed data models and analysis tools that enable production data to be collected and analysed. These MES tools link seamlessly with plant level human machine interface (HMI) software such as RSView32, Rockwell Software’s HMI tool for monitoring and controlling automation systems. And like RSSql and RSBizware Historian, RSView is Windows 2000 compliant and takes advantage of Microsoft technologies including Component Object Model (COM) to provide the building blocks of a web-enabled plant level network. ‘Live’ production reports can then be made available to any authorised user on a company’s intranet, providing information on quality, quantity, alarms, running and stoppage times and efficiency. This is vital if the web is to be used to remotely view the current status of machines and so diagnose problems. Instead of having to be on site to diagnose faults, managers and engineers can dial into the company intranet from any remote location and access plant data, just as if they were looking at an HMI system on the factory floor itself. Web-enabling the data means that these remote personnel do not need special software or communications facilities to see the plant level data – any PC equipped with a standard web browser and an Internet connection will suffice. Web pages can be easily configured to present the data in straightforward graphical or report formats as required by the individual viewer. And an integrated structure allows regular transfers of batch data to an ERP system, which can also be located anywhere in the enterprise via the web. Data can be packaged and sent at regular intervals, such as at the end of a shift or every day, to keep the management supplied with up to date statistical information. This can then be analysed by the ERP system to compare the performance of similar machines in different locations, identify and resolve quality control issues and monitor machinery availability and productivity. e-Manufacturing solutions, using integrated networks able to share data across an enterprise, are the future for manufacturers wanting to take advantage of e-business opportunities that lie ahead. And making plant level data available via the web offers the opportunity to exploit this technology to the full, improving machinery availability while reducing maintenance costs, and enabling better decisions to be made using up to date, accurate information.