Gain insight by tracking Process Parameters

Some processes are highly complex and difficult to comprehend. There may be many process parameters affecting the process, for example temperatures (zones), flow rates, pressures, speeds, cooling processes, moisture and environmental factors.

In these situations the company's best process experts can struggle to understand what is going on and how one parameter can affect another. So when trying to make improvements, perhaps to increase yield or throughput, process engineers need to experiment with recipe settings and track results. When things go wrong they need access to historical data to see what was happening.

Once answer to this is to capture all the key process variables in real-time. These signals are often available at the PLC, but not so easily available for those running the process, like operatives.

The Process Parameter module of Shopfloor-Online MES is a built in historian. It can connect to any PLC data via OPC. It is simple to configure and data is stored directly in the database. It has can collect data from multiple PLCs, from different manufacturers, all through the OPC interface.

With Shopfloor-Online, the Process Parameter module can:

• Collect data from hundreds of parameters in real time
• Very easily add new parameters
• Track continuous parameters like temperatures, pressure on a sampled basis
• Track items on an event basis, when the data changes - for example: machines stopping/starting, alarm events
• Graph parameters and present data in real-time on dash boards
• Run historical reports
• Provide deeper analysis, for example show one parameter, when another was in a specific range
• Look at process parameters only when the process is running

Shopfloor-Online MES is a web-based, server-based architecture, no software is installed locally. It is enterprise wide solution that means everyone, everywhere, can easily access the information, from Operators on the line to Process Experts in Engineering, even when the real experts are not based at the same facility!

Revealing the benefits

The key benefits of this are:

• Increasing the visibility of key process parameters to help those responsible for managing the process to keep it under control and performing well
• A valuable resource for investigating the root cause when problems have occurred
• A tool for understanding process interactions and discovering more about the process
• A means to engage process expert, even when not located at the same facility

The biggest testament to the Process Parameter module is that within a few weeks on installing it, most customers rapidly expand the number of parameters being collected to collect more!

Wider benefits

Shopfloor-Online MES is completely integrated with all the other factory data that is within its scope, e.g. production order, product being made, materials and material batches being consumed, production quantities etc. This extra information is extremely valuable for diagnostic and traceability purposes, as well as providing greater insight from an analytical perspective.