Sequencia, SAP partner on plant-centric agility

Staff -- Control Engineering, 2/1/1999

Walldorf, Germany—To increases process manufacturing agility, Sequencia Corp. (Phoenix, Ariz.) and SAP AG recently demonstrated a solution that provides a transparent, bi-directional path for production orders between SAP and plant floor-control systems. The solution was demonstrated at SAP's recent Industry Forum for Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals in Mainz, Germany.

The solution also automatically updates SAP with production data after the production order is executed. This "productized" approach requires no end-user programming, and eliminates the need for multiple systems to contain configuration data. Benefits include reduced lifecycle costs and higher plant throughput.

SAP R/3 system was integrated with Sequencia's EnterpriseBatch Production Manager software to perform the recipe transformation down to Honeywell's TotalPlant Batch software and electronic batch record data transformation back up to R/3. TotalPlant Batch is Honeywell's OEM version of Sequencia's OpenBatch, and is part of the Honeywell TotalPlant Solution (TPS) system. Additionally, the integration showcased a prototype SAP module called "Process Operator Cockpit," which serves as a single window for the operator into both the R/3 transaction environment and the real-time plant execution environment.

SAP and Sequencia's new solution allows process operators to interact more easily with multiple systems. Operators that previously dealt with three screens or systems—SAP, MES, and the plant floor—can now use a single user interface to submit transactions to SAP, interact with the recipe procedure, and control individual plant floor devices.

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