Tony Goodman Systems Consulting Ltd.
Tony Goodman


Business/Process System
The Client had a requirement to update an obsolete SCADA (visualisation) system. At the same time, the retirement of the person who had undertaken production scheduling exposed the fact that there was a considerable degree of knowledge in that one person's head and that there was a need to have a formal scheduling system to replace his knowledge and protect the company form future staff changes.
 

Process Automation has been widespread in industry for over 40 years and has seen the technology grow from simple PLCs (Programmable Controllers) with pushbuttons and lamps to complete site integrated systems deployed in layers and linked to the Business ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems with MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems). This is known as the ISA-95 model.

Typical MES are usually either custom-built or are expensive license-based products and exist to do higher level management and control then ultimately link with the ERP which typically have evolved from accounting software.

 

What is new and only recently being installed is the modern range of business software from SAP and Microsoft that projects down onto the shop floor at reasonable cost. Functionality that was previously only available via SCADA or MES systems and custom coded linking into ERP is now available directly.

There is no need for a costly and complex additional MES system! 

So what are the advantages of this approach?
- All "IT" type functions in one package, usually managed by the IT department
- One data system for recipes, inventory and data collection/reporting
- Native combination of business and process/engineering data
- Lower cost, less diverse systems
- Specific Engineering Systems are much simpler, restricted to control and display 

But perhaps the most significant benefit is that the deployment of such systems requires the Process to be designed and integrated as a Business System. Whilst businesses "know" what they do, creating a combined Business/Process system requires the data-flow to be mapped which implies a DESIGN of all aspects in a formalised manner.

For the Client this approach gave the opportunity to consider the complete range of "Data-orientated" activities on their site. The existing systems were a mix of fully automatic, semi-automatic and completely manual. Despite the existence of the automated systems, ALL data was recorded by hand on paper forms or Excel sheets and where necessary manipulated into reports manually. This was a vast undertaking, the product of which was a room-full of files that were only ever accessed for annual BRC audits - essentially wasted data.
 

The solution was to audit the entire data system and then produce a master document listing all data, how produced and how used. This was then mapped into an Automation Road Map showing how ALL data is either produced by the Automation systems or entered manually into these systems. A central data resource (often SQL) then communicates with ERP.

In order to plan the transition a Road Map was defined:
- The Company's entire Process in terms of its data movements
- Removes duplication of recipes in Process, Laboratory, Inventory management and Planning
- Ensures there is only ONE instance of Batch Data which is linked to a unique Batch ID whatever the data source
- Scheduling, Inventory and Reporting access plant visualisation and controllers directly - there is no passing of bits of paper from one system to another
- Everyone in the Business collaborates around one set of formalised documentation