Reviewer details
Name: Rouan Brummer
Position: Electrical Project engineer, Manufacturing Planning
Company: Volkswagen South Africa
Phone: +27 (0)41 994 4768
E-mail: [email protected]
SI details
Name: Vinesh Maharaj
Position/designation: General manager
Company: Cube Technologies
Phone: +27 (0)31 764 6081
E-mail: [email protected]
Product details
Product name and version: WinCC V6.2 SP2, SIMATIC IT Historian V6.4, SIMATIC IT OEE V2.0
Vendor: Siemens
Phone: +27 (0)11 652 2000
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.Siemens.co.za
Application details
Industry: Automotive
Location: Uitenhage, Eastern Cape
Application: Manufacturing
Server OS: Windows Server 2003
Client OS: Windows XP SP2
Application statistics
Tag count: Over 40 000
Front ends: 10 remote standalone PLCs plus Web-Nav with 10 concurrent licences
Clients: 9 46” scada displays
Development nodes: One engineering station
Servers: One pair redundant WinCC Servers (incl. SQL DB)
End-user responses
General
Q: Briefly describe the application including information on any pre-existing system?
The system goals were to increase assembly line availability, improve processes through breakdown analysis, reduce costs and improve manufacturing efficiency. It incorporates OEE calculation, long term process improvement analysis, automatic breakdowns data collection, Top 10 breakdown and Top 10 station analysis to accomplish these goals.
Licensing, maintenance and support
Q: What licences have been purchased for this application?
* Redundant WinCC Server V6.2 SP2, 65 653 Power Tags.
* WinCC Archive for WinCC V6.2 SP2.
* User Archive for WinCC V6.2 SP2.
* WinCC Runtime V6.2 SP2, 128 Power tags.
* WinCC Web Navigator V6.2 SP2.
* WinCC Industrial Data Bridge V6.2 SP2.
* WinCC Alarm control Centre with SMS functionality.
* SIMATIC IT Historian V6.4.
* SIMATIC IT OEE V2.0.
Q: What upgrade agreements are in place on this application?
Software Maintenance Agreement with service level agreement (SLA).
Q: How is the after-sales support handled on this application?
Remote VPN connection.
System architecture
Q: Is the scada system integrated onto an intranet or the Internet? If so, what level of remote monitoring and control is configured?
Yes, clients allow remote monitoring without configuration and control.
Q: Do you run the scada in conjunction with any third-party application software (other than MES)?
Yes, the scada interfaces to the VWSA FIS production planning software.
Management reporting and integration
Q: Does the application include data archiving/historian capabilities with an historical data reporting system?
A Simatic IT Historian which collects, calculates, compares, analyses, and stores plant and process information. The Simatic IT Report Manager gathers and aggregates data from the historian to provide meaningful reports.
Q: Is the system integrated with an MES/ERP or other management reporting or control system (eg, Baan, SAP, SYSPRO, …)?
The scada is integrated with MES and report management systems. The Simatic IT MES system was integrated using OPC and COM. The client interfaces for the MES uses .NET technology for operator interfaces. The Simatic IT Reporting System was integrated using COM and SQL interfaces.
Q: Who performed this management system integration and was any additional software development needed to accomplish this?
Cube Technologies managed the scada/PLC and MES portions. Additional development was done by Cube Technologies.
Q: Has any asset management functionality been configured in the application (for software assets, control system assets or for plant assets)?
No.
Q: Has any GIS (geographic information systems) functionality been configured in the application?
No.
Conclusion
Q: In the procurement decision making process was the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) considered?
TCO was not considered. It was a group standard to implement such a scada/MIS system.
Q: What was the predominant feature (or features) that made you decide to purchase this scada product for this application?
The product’s flexibility to produce custom reports.
Q: What single feature most impresses you about the product now that it is in operation?
Reporting systems are web-based, so that anyone on the plant’s management level can access plant production information via the intranet.
Q: What impresses you most about the architecture?
Easy integration and fast reporting system.
SI responses
Project details
Q: Approximately how many man-hours did the scada configuration take?
2970 man hours.
Q: What human factors were taken into consideration in the HMI design process?
Scada screens are displayed on 46” monitors located 5 m above the assembly line. Visibility and clarity of information is required to be accessible from anywhere along the production line. Scada screens are rotated automatically to provide maximum information to the production line personnel.
Q: For the graphics development process did you use standard library images, or did you have to draw images from scratch?
Both.
Q: How would you describe the library of graphic images?
Comprehensive.
Q: Did you use any ‘special’ images (eg, photographs, 3D images, specialised dashboards, etc.)?
Touch screen dashboards are distributed along the production floor to enter downtime reasons and other information.
Q: Did you use any video or multimedia technology used in the application?
No.
Q: What alarm management standards or best practices were adopted in configuring the scada system?
WinCC Alarm Control Centre with SMS functionality was implemented using priority escalation methodology.
Q: What structured processes were followed to determine expected performance under full load, and during abnormal failure conditions?
None.
Q: What are the key physical communication layers and communication protocols employed in the system?
Ethernet, Profibus DP and Industrial Ethernet over fibre-optic and copper networks.
Q: What levels of redundancy are incorporated in this scada application?
Redundant WinCC servers (including SQL DB) and redundant Ethernet cabling in a ring topology for WinCC clients.
Q: What specific custom code or scada scripts were written for this project?
VB Scripts were written to interface the existing VW FIS system.
Security and data protection
Q: How have authentication, authorisation and role management been configured?
Microsoft security and authorisation management is used.
Q: Does the design make provision for a DMZ and firewall segregation of process (scada) network and business networks?
The scada system is separated from the intranet using the Simatic Scalance Security module and Cisco routers/firewalls.
Q: What intrusion detection has been incorporated on the plant network(s) on which this scada system exists?
None.
Q: What configuration back-up and data archive backup methodologies have been adopted?
Configuration backups are made after every significant change. Weekly data backups are made.
Q: Did you use any integrated or third party configuration control system for the scada configuration during the engineering of this application?
No.
SI conclusion
Q: How would you rate the ease of use of the historical reporting system?
Very user-friendly.
Q: What impresses you the most about the engineering/configuration aspects of the product now that it is in operation?
Completely flexible with very little or no limitation.
Q: What impresses you most about the architecture?
The architecture is completely scalable from a standalone application to a multiclient/server application with full redundancy on software. Redundancy on the Ethernet is layer provided by a ring structure which is a great cost saving. There is a wide range of drivers available for third party interfaces and upgrades are possible 'on the run'.
Vendor responses
Product
Q: Vendor comments on product/modules?
WinCC V6.2 is the VW Global Standard for scada projects. Newer versions are available. Simatic IT V6.4 is an integrated MES solution, utilising all the Level 3 ISO 95 functions.
Operating systems/VMWare
Licensing, maintenance and support model
Q: What sort of licensing agreement options are offered?
Software Update Services (SUS) – Annual Agreement – provides for software licence upgrade and hotline support services.
Q: Are licences sold outright or subject to periodic (eg, annual) renewal?
Licence is a once-off purchase for a particular version. The SUS agreement provides upgrade on an annual basis.
Q: What upgrade agreements are offered?
SUS covers both patches and version upgrades.
Q: What after-sales offerings iro support and maintenance are available, and which technologies are used to deliver them?
A wide range of after-sale services are offered including remote monitoring and update services and on-site support.
Technology incorporated
*Used for data transfer to ERP and client interfaces (web pages).
Management reporting and integration
Q: What native historical data reporting options are available?
Simatic Report Manager, which is tightly integrated in Simatic IT Production Modeller to generate automatic reports during PO execution.
Q: What product specific interface does the product have iro well-known MES packages?
Simatic IT DIS provide standard interface to third party applications. In addition certified Idoc are used as standard integration mechanism with SAP.
Security and data protection
Q: What authentication, authorisation and role management models are available?
Uses the services offered by the OS. In this case Windows Security.
Unique selling proposition (USP)
Q: List the top five feature/benefit pairs that contribute to this product’s USP.
* TIA (totally integrated automation) allows seamless integration of all Siemens products.
* Auto generation of alarms, tags and screens.
* Automatically integrated hardware diagnostics, including PLC, I/O, etc.
* Scalability of WinCC Scada and Simatic IT MES products.
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