The idea that manufacturing and production enterprises make use of only a small fraction of the data it has accumulated apparently become common knowledge. ABB cites this as the driver for a new software platform called ABB Ability Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite.
ABB says it “operates as a digital data convergence point where streams of information from diverse sources across the plant and enterprise are put into context through a unified analytics model. Application of artificial intelligence on this data produces meaningful insights for prediction and optimization that improve business performance.”
“We believe that the place to start a data analytics journey in the process, energy and hybrid industries is by building on the existing digital technology – the automation that controls the production processes,” said Peter Terwiesch, President of ABB Industrial Automation. “We see a huge opportunity for our customers to use their data from operations better, by combining it with engineering and information technology data for multi-dimensional decision making. This new approach will help our customers make literally billions of better decisions.”
ABB Ability Genix is composed of a data analytics platform and applications, supplemented by ABB services, that help customers decide which assets, processes and risk profiles can be improved, and assists customers in designing and applying those analytics. Featuring a library of applications, customers can subscribe to a variety of analytics on demand, as business needs dictate, speeding up the traditional process of requesting and scheduling support from suppliers.
Get used to seeing these IT architecture phrases—supports a variety of deployments including cloud, hybrid and on-premise. Microsoft has also done a good job working with manufacturing as ABB also leverages Microsoft Azure for integrated cloud connectivity and services.
“The ABB Ability Genix Suite brings unique value by unlocking the combined power of diverse data, domain knowledge, technology and AI,” said Rajesh Ramachandran, Chief Digital Officer for ABB Industrial Automation. “ABB Ability Genix helps asset-intensive producers with complex processes to make timely and accurate decisions through deep analytics and optimization across the plant and enterprise.
“We have designed this modular and flexible suite so that customers at different stages in their digitalization journey can adopt ABB Ability Genix to accelerate business outcomes while protecting existing investments.”
A key component of ABB Ability Genix is the ABB Ability Edgenius Operations Data Manager that connects, collects, and analyzes operational technology data at the point of production. ABB Ability Edgenius uses data generated by operational technology such as DCS and devices to produce analytics that improve production processes and asset utilization. ABB Ability Edgenius can be deployed on its own or integrated with ABB Ability Genix so that operational data is combined with other data for strategic business analytics.
“There is great value in data generated by automation that controls real-time production,” said Bernhard Eschermann, Chief Technology Officer for ABB Industrial Automation. “With ABB Ability Edgenius, we can pull data from these real-time control systems and make it available to predict issues and prescribe actions that help us use assets better and fine-tune production processes.”