by Gary Mintchell | Mar 16, 2016 | Automation, Operations Management
Mike Boudreaux, director of performance and reliability monitoring for Emerson Process Management, has published an important article in Plant Services magazine discussing some limitations of the Purdue Model incorporating the Industrial Internet of Things. There are many more applications (safety, environmental, energy, reliability) that can be solved outside the control system. They just are not described within the current model.
Interestingly, about the same time I saw a blog post at Emerson Process Experts quoting Emerson Process Chief Strategic Officer Peter Zornio discussing the same topic.
I’ve been thinking about this for years. Mike’s article (which I recommend you read–now) brought the thoughts into focus.
Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture Model
The Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture Model has guided manufacturing enterprises and their suppliers for 25 years. The model is usually represented by a pyramid shape. I’ve used a diagram from Wikipedia that just uses circles and arrows.
This model describes various “levels” of applications and controls in a manufacturing enterprise. It describes components from the physical levels of the plant (Level 0) through control equipment and strategies (Level 2).
Level 3 describes the manufacturing control level. These are applications that “control” operations. This level once was labelled Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). The trade association for this level–MESA International–now labels this “Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions” to maintain the MES part but describe an increased role for applications at this level. The ISA95 Standard for Enterprise Control labels this level as Manufacturing Operations Management. It is quite common now to hear the phrase Operations Management referring to the various applications that inhabit this level. This is also the domain of Manufacturing IT professionals.
Level 4 is the domain of Enterprise Business Planning, or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. It’s the domain of corporate IT.
Hierarchical Data Flow
The Purdue Model also describes a data flow model. That may or may not have been the idea, but it does. The assumption of the model that sensors and other data-serving field devices are connected to the control system. The control system serves the dual purpose of controlling processes or machines as well as serving massaged data to the operations management level of applications. In turn, level 3 applications feed information to the enterprise business system level.
Alternative Data Flow
What Mike is describing, and I’ve tried sketching at various times, is a parallel diagram that shows data flow outside the control system. He rightly observes that the Industrial Internet of Things greatly expands the Purdue Model.
So I went to the white board. Here’s a sketch of some things I’ve been thinking about. What do you think? Steal it if you want. Or incorporate it into your own ideas. I’m not an analyst that gets six-figure contracts to think up this stuff. If you want to hire me to help you expand your business around the ideas, well that would be good.
I have some basic assumptions at this time:
- Data is not hierarchical
- Data has many sources and many clients
- Eventually we can expect smart systems automatically moving data and initiating applications
Perhaps 25 years ago we could consider a hierarchical data structure. Today we have moved to a federated data structure. There are data repositories all over the enterprise. We just need a standardized method of publish/subscribe so that the app that needs data can find it–and trust it.
Now some have written that technology means the end of Level 3. Of course it doesn’t. Enterprises still need all that work done. What it does mean the end of is silos of data behind unbreachable walls. It also means that there are many opportunities for new apps and connections. Once we blow away the static nature of the model, the way to innovation is cleared.
OpenO&M Model
Perhaps the future will get closer to a model that I’m writing a series of white papers to describe. Growing from the OpenO&M Initiative, the Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem model looks interesting. I’ve just about finished an executive summary white paper that I’ll link to my Webpage. The longer description white paper is in process. More on that later. And look for an article in Uptime magazine.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 7, 2015 | Asset Performance Management, Automation, Events, Interoperability, Manufacturing IT, News, Operations Management, Process Control, Software, Technology
Ulrich Spiesshofer, ABB CEO
I was not able to attend ABB’s Automation and Power World this year. Too many places to go at the same time.
However, someone I trust, Mehul Shah of LNS Research, was there and wrote his observations on the LNS blog.
Mehul focuses on software and linked it to the Internet of Things. “The conference also featured a prime focus on the Internet of Things (IoT), as a panel was presented on stage, containing key event sponsor Microsoft, ABB, and an ABB customer. The trio provided insight and examples into how the IoT trend is impacting the industry.”
Highlighting ABB’s solution in the IoT space, Spiesshofer discussed the following key areas of focus
• Robotics
• Intelligent devices
• Control systems
• Advanced communication infrastructure
• Enterprise software
• Analytics solutions
“A notable fact that was highlighted at conference was that—to my surprise—more than 50% of what ABB’s currently offers is software related. ABB had made a few major acquisition over the last decade to build its software offering. The most impactful was the acquisition of Ventyx for $1 billion in 2010. This gave ABB a major boost in asset, operations, energy, and workforce management solutions in some of the asset intensive industries. ABB has also made some other acquisitions such as Insert Key Solutions and Mincom to build its Enterprise Asset Management software offerings. It seems clear the company understands the importance of its software business to remain competitive, and has also developed a separate Enterprise Software group that houses some of these acquisitions.”
Interesting that the investments were in software applications. Several years ago a CEO told me that software was important to his company—and that there was software in most of the company’s hardware products. That was correct—but my point was software business, not technology. ABB seems to have kept emphasis on software business even while Spiesshofer has been divesting some of the acquisitions made under previous CEO Joe Hogan.
Shah’s Takeaways
• It was impressive to see the effort that ABB has invested to bring its acquisitions under one brand.
• ABB has taken a first step in building a technology roadmap by bringing some of the software offerings together as part of the Enterprise Software group. LNS sees this as a big step in the right direction strategically, and should prove of great benefit to current ABB customers as well as prospects.
• However, ABB currently has important software products that remain outside of its Enterprise Software group and it remains to be seen if these solutions will receive the required attention, especially when considering the breadth of ABB’s portfolio. Two examples of this are the company’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) offering, and the aforementioned Decathlon for Data Centers.
• ABB has a full-fledged MES offering with some good customers currently leveraging this MES across discrete, process, and batch industries.
• ABB might have some ground to cover in MES compared to some of its closest competitors in this space. Companies like GE, Siemens, Schneider Electric and Rockwell Automation have been heavily focused on the software business with many announcing reorganizations to increase resources allocated to software over the past several years and.
• Another area we would like to hear from ABB is around their offerings in IoT. While there were number of products that were categorized as IoT solution, ABB will need a holistic offering and vision around how their industrial clients can leverage these solutions to drive value.
• To answer the question, yes—ABB can compete effectively in the software business. But there is still some grounds to cover. ABB has had a lot of critical parts of the software business for quite a while and has been slower than many of its competitors in pulling it all together.
Gary’s Take
I agree with Mehul for the most part. I knew ABB had an MES offering, and I’ve interviewed Marc Leroux many times over the years. But it always seemed a little under the covers. The same with the Ventyx acquisition. It was easy to forget about it as it didn’t seem to get the promotion it deserved.
ABB is such a diverse conglomerate that sometimes it’s hard to know what it focuses on. I always followed the automation—primarily process automation. Several years ago, I think at Hannover but maybe SPS in Nuremberg, ABB executives explained the factory automation offering and the added emphasis the company was placing on it. But there are so many things and so few promotional dollars.
Also a few years ago, ABB decided to add its Power users to its Automation user group conference—hence Automation and Power World. However, the first two of those featured much more power and much less automation. It looks as if the company is striking a balance at the conference. But the Power division is still a laggard in performance.
ABB is a strong company, but it has much work to do in order to reach peak performance.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 29, 2015 | Data Management, Manufacturing IT, News, Operations Management, Software
This press release from a company new to me came from a PR person whom I have known for years. So, I trust him to not feed me much BS (as some try to do). This is from an MES developer called Critical Manufacturing whose product is cmNavigo.
The software sounded interesting, but some words were used in the release that raised my “meter” level. The phrase, “the most modern, comprehensive and unified MES system available for complex manufacturing operations”, just laid there inviting questions. So, I asked. Here is the answer by way of introducing this company and its latest product.
I asked about “most,” “modern,” “comprehensive,” and “unified.” Each of those words are important, but beg for explanation. Here is the response. “Key to the argument is the fact that their system is designed for complex processes used in manufacture of high technology products such as semiconductors, electronics and medical devices. cmNavigo is modern in that it is built on the latest Microsoft platform; it is comprehensive in that it integrates more than 30 MES functions; and it is unified in that all of this functionality is native to cmNavigo, not relying on third parties. They know of no other MES vendor designing for this market that can make all three of those claims.”
That is fair.
By the way, there is a webcast with Julie Fraser moderating February 19th webinar. Register here.
Press release
Critical Manufacturing, a supplier of integrated manufacturing execution systems (MES) to empower operations of the global high-technology manufacturing industry, introduces cmNavigo 4.0, the industry’s first comprehensive MES software with embedded finite scheduling. By tightly unifying scheduling into critical MES functions in a modern, Microsoft-based operations management system, cmNavigo 4.0 software improves on-time delivery, shortens total cycle time, and makes better use of plant resources.
“As margins in global high-technology manufacturing shrink, many manufacturers are finding that their legacy MES systems don’t have the flexibility and functionality to meet the demands of today’s volatile markets. The new scheduling, quality control, warehouse management, and shift handoff capabilities we are announcing today reflect our commitment to provide the most modern and unified MES solution available,” said Francisco Almada-Lobo, CEO, Critical Manufacturing. “This new functionality will help manufacturers improve cost control, better manage inventory, and boost productivity of advanced, discrete production operations.”
New Scheduling Functionality Optimizes Production to Meet Customer Demand
cmNavigo 4.0 scheduling models plant floor resources and defines the role of each in fulfilling a mix of orders in an optimal near-term time frame, driven by customer demand. Schedules can be weighted around multiple production criteria and key performance indicators, such as minimizing delivery delays, maximizing machine loads, and reducing cycle times.
Built on Microsoft application development layers, the new scheduling application integrates with more than 30 extensible MES applications. These provide visibility and traceability, operational efficiency, quality management, factory integration, operations intelligence, and factory management. The modern architecture empowers operations managers to configure and extend models and define workflows without the need for programming.
Integrating scheduling and other MES functionality so tightly avoids duplication of master data, allows real-time updates across different areas of the plant floor, and eliminates the need to maintain separate interfaces. Other new cmNavigo integrated applications announced today deliver the following capabilities:
- Lot-based sampling enables automated calendar or time-based sampling of production.
- Document management provides visualization, control, and approval of shop-floor, operations-related documents.
- Warehouse management synchronizes exchange of information and material between the warehouse and the plant floor.
- Durables-tracking simplifies tracking of durable components such as boards, fixtures, tooling and masks, supporting recipe management, maintenance, exception handling, and data collection.
- A shift logbook enhances both performance and safety by regulating exchange of critical information between shifts.
The new scheduling, sampling, factory management, tracking and logbook features of the software combine to address a wide range of MES needs in semiconductor manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, and medical device manufacturing and other manufacturing industries that might have both high mix and high volume lines. cmNavigo 4.0 software is available now for implementation throughout the world.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 5, 2014 | Data Management, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
Schneider Electric has released Wonderware SmartGlance 2014 R2 mobile reporting manufacturing software. The updated version includes a host of new features including support for wearable technologies, a modern user interface for any browser, self-serve registration, support for multiple time zones for a global user base and full import and export capabilities for even faster deployment.
“Plant personnel are now mobile so they require immediate access to real-time operations information via their smart phone, tablet or whatever mobile device they carry,” said Saadi Kermani, Wonderware SmartGlance product manager, Schneider Electric. “Wonderware SmartGlance 2014 R2 software delivers highly relevant information coming from industrial data sources to targeted plant workers in the form of personalized charts, reports and alerts. It provides them with the flexibility they need to view and instantly collaborate around real-time plant data on any device so they can make rapid, effective decisions.”
With a small install footprint and no additional hardware requirements, the Wonderware SmartGlance implementation process is fast and simple. MyAlerts, the software’s newest mobile app feature, proactively notifies users of process events so they can stay current with real-time information based on configurable thresholds for tag reports. The software can be used with smart watches to alert mobile and remote field workers, plant supervisors and managers of critical production and process information in a real-time, hands-free manner.
By leveraging the combined power of mobility and Schneider Electric’s cloud-hosted managed services, the software empowers mobile and remote users with the right information at the right time, without disruption or distraction, so they can quickly assign resources and resolve issues. It also features an open interface to connect and push data to mobile devices from virtually any data source, including historians, manufacturing execution systems, enterprise manufacturing intelligence systems or any real-time system of record. It also provides connectors for accessing data from any SQL database and any OPC-HDA-compatible system for better access to third-party data sources and systems. This most recent version also extends connectivity to key Schneider Electric software products, including its Viejo Citect SCADA offering, InStep PRiSM predictive asset analytics software and the InStep eDNA historian.
You might also check out my podcast interview with Kermani.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 1, 2014 | Automation, News, Operations Management, Software
Rockwell Automation product managers took me through a number of new software initiatives at Automation Fair November 19. Here is a description of the enhancements to its Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software.
“Modern manufacturing requires modern MES. Manufacturers today have operations spanning time zones and continents; employees that need to collaborate as they travel between plants or work remotely; and complex and varied enterprise-, plant- and cloud-based information systems that must interface continuously.” To address all these needs, Rockwell Automation updated its FactoryTalk ProductionCentre manufacturing execution system (MES) software to improve application performance and scalability, speed deployment, and support mobile and cloud infrastructures.
“Manufacturers continue to investigate how to better leverage new technologies, like the cloud, to cut costs,” said Kevin Chao, senior director for Rockwell Software product marketing and engineering, Rockwell Automation. “With our latest iteration of the FactoryTalk ProductionCentre system, we’ve aligned to Java EE 7 and HTML5 standards. The application is now even easier to use and lets customers explore mobile and cloud-based solutions at reduced risk and infrastructure costs. Additional upgrades to the notification service and work flow structure improve process enforcement and reduce re-work.”
Technology Update: The latest iteration of the MES software has been refreshed to the latest Java Enterprise Edition 7 (EE7) standards. FactoryTalk ProductionCentre R10 software improves application performance and flexibility on the Web, and speeds time to value by reducing development and deployment effort, all while maintaining adherence to open standards.
Mobile and Cloud Support: New HTML5 zero-footprint, true, thin-client user interfaces (UIs) eliminate the need for virtual terminals, like Citrix, or terminal servers. Users can run the application in a Web browser, easily integrate it into an HMI terminal, and implement it across multiple networks without the need for local installation. This reduces IT capital costs and maintenance burdens. Additionally, the thin client UIs can be easily extended to mobile devices. Mobile applications leverage the existing FactoryTalk Security mechanisms built into FactoryTalk software freeing IT from supporting multiple configuration platforms.
I/O server: The new I/O server supports clustering and load balancing. Several FactoryTalk ProductionCentre I/O servers can be assigned a single IP address, so more servers can be added as the data load grows without impacting the application. Should an I/O server fail, a built-in failover capability will automatically switch data collection to another server in the cluster, helping to ensure high availability. The I/O server also provides store and forward services for controlled, real-time data exchange with remote or cloud-based databases.
Notification and Work Flow Flexibility: The FactoryTalk ProductionCentre R10 notification service now drives alerts based on work flow. Notifications are triggered by system-based events, such as an order start or out-of-spec quality event, letting operations know it is time to perform critical tasks, before, during or after production. Notifications can be tied to a specific work area, machine, equipment type or plant, and are sent to key stakeholders on a workstation or HMI via email or text, among other options.
