It is already 2005 and time for a reality check before we hurtle headlong into potential technology brick walls - it is not like it has not happened before and before it happens again, we should learn from the sobering lessons of the past. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of this new century is the increasing spirit of cooperation that seems to be emerging between solution vendors of various disciplines.
What software solution should you not have bought 10 years ago?
Well, now is your chance not to buy it all over again. While everyone can make mistakes, the tragedy comes from repeating them. But nobody makes mistakes knowingly - especially with all the visibility this entails in any organisation. So mistakes are generally just that - mistakes.
The 1990s was the era of ERP where billions were spent on improving the business control and intelligence of enterprises. Then, when these same enterprises saw that they needed to create wealth before they could control it, the emphasis changed to improving industrial automation systems, manufacturing execution systems (MES), advanced planning and scheduling systems and many more. While traditional industrial automation solution vendors moved 'North' to develop more of the realtime aspects of MES applications, traditional ERP vendors moved 'South' to incorporate other MES aspects.
While this may seem to be confusing for any prospective solution buyer, it has, on the contrary, eliminated an entire level of potential 'mistakes' by forcing prospects to take a back step and to focus on what the company needs to achieve its business objectives rather than on some artificial segmentation of capabilities - something that analysts are very good at with their various models.
An industrial engineer in 1990 wanting to improve a plant's production capacity and process control capabilities, would probably have been on the lookout for a scada system that would meet the plant's exacting and clear-cut specifications. Fifteen years later, things have changed quite a bit.
Today, companies are changing at such a pace to stay competitive that it is not practical to specify how many tags the scada system should be able to handle. The pressure for improved efficiency will require highly effective process diagnostic procedures that will not only indicate the root source of problems but suggest remedial action as well. Then there is the problem of asset optimisation and maintenance while OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) forms an integral part of the mandate for improved efficiency.
And all this is only the start of the problems.
Since production or manufacturing is only a part of a company that is trying desperately to become unified, any solution that is chosen had better blend in with MES, ERP and other requirements.
So, what would have been a clear-cut purchase specification of 1990 has changed into a much longer and not-so-clear-cut specification for 2005. In fact, just to be safe, this specification is not likely to specify limits on anything. One of the specifications one should consider including is that any proposed solution must be capable of keeping up with unspecified changes during the implementation and deployment period of the solution. This may frighten away some system integrators but those who remain would know that this is the nature of reality.
There can only be one
Remember a time, long, long ago (last year) when each plant did its own thing? -Even if they were all on the same site. This led to a variety of incompatible PLCs, scada systems, historians, software and the list goes on. Today, the manufacturing, mining and production industries in general see production as one function - irrespective of its geographical distribution. Whether a company has only one plant or five plants distributed nationally or 25 plants distributed internationally, it is still regarded as a single 'virtual' production facility. An approach that provides far better control over efficiency and the ability to satisfy customer needs profitably wherever they arise (the single, global customer). With today's technology (such as Wonderware's ArchestrA industrial framework), a distributed production facility can now become a single virtual entity where its component plants cooperate in realtime rather than as disjointed units through e-mail.
Remarkably, all those disparate PLCs, scada systems, etc, do not have to be replaced to make all this work. So, for once, any 'mistakes' that may have been made in the past - such as choosing an HMI different to that used in the plant next door - are automatically eliminated by having the company's assets all work in concert. And it is all done with a mechanism that caters for the realities of yesterday and today while providing the functionality needed for tomorrow's unified businesses.
Single virtual plant
The single virtual plant concept has led to another approach - the single computing platform. Once again, irrespective of their geographical distribution, servers can be treated as a single entity with central administration capabilities from anywhere on an extended network that now allows for the rebalancing of computing loads through simple click-and-drag functionality in realtime and live. Needless to say, hot standby has been redefined in the process.
But perhaps most important of all is the ability to define templates for control devices, for plant intelligence, and for MES - and these will reduce engineering costs by 35-50%. These templates allow for the definition of attributes for diagnosis and other purposes and enable the development, maintenance and deployment of standards throughout any number of distributed plants while they operate live. Scada has changed.
Unified management systems
The management of distributed plants as a single entity is leading to a more unified approach to inventory management, logistics as well as customer relationship management and so the unification process continues. ERP, MES and automation solution vendors have to work in marketplaces where disparities are no longer being tolerated by informed prospects and customers. That is really the reason for the increased level of cooperation between the three groups - and it means that it is not only the customers who will benefit.
For more information contact Mike le Plastrier, Futuristix, 011 723 9900, mike@futuristix.co.za, www.futuristix.co.za
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