Control system suite for pharmaceutical manufacturers

New zenon 7 family from Copa-Data provides “ergonomic” workflows from sensor to ERP.

March 14, 2012

Copa-Data introduces a comprehensive portfolio of software products for integrated, ergonomic automation solutions. The new zenon product family, consisting of four tailor-made products, covers the complete range of automation from sensor to ERP. For industry-specific projects in the pharmaceutical industry, users are now additionally offered a zenon Pharma Edition.

The company says zenon 7 is the result of a new, strategic direction to a more differentiated, more clearly structured product offering. With zenon 7, the platform is growing into a product family composed of individual, fully-integrated software products, including zenon Analyzer, zenon Supervisor, zenon Operator, and zenon Logic. Copa-Data CEO, Thomas Punzenberger explains, "The objective of this product split is to respond better to the different needs of various target groups within the automation industry. Our product offering is becoming more clearly structured for users so we can offer the exact package that is required and tailor it to individual needs. Customers can choose the functionalities which are needed for their particular project from the product family and optimize these for their specific embedded or SCADA platform.”

Copa-Data says it has designed complete reusability and continuity through the entire zenon product family allow for efficient engineering, easy handling, and a marked saving of time and cost. zenon Analyzer is a platform-independent, dynamic production reporting tool handles and presents data from the process to the ERP and enables informative reports, extensive KPI calculations, and statistical analyses. Engineers and operators requiring comprehensive visualization and operating large, complex equipment are offered a suitable solution with the independent SCADA system zenon Supervisor. zenon Operator, the new embedded HMI system was specifically developed for simple and ergonomic machine operation and the control of smaller equipment. zenon Logic, the integrated PLC system with IEC 61131-3 programming environment, completes the zenon product family.

Zenon 7 has been equipped with more than 200 new functionalities, including:

• ISA S88-compatible module batch control
• Launch of the zenon Pharma Edition with features designed specifically for the pharmaceutical industry
• Enhanced network security – encrypted network communication
• New module report viewer for organized data preparation and full graphical reporting at the HMI
• Improvement of the module Recipe Group Manager (RGM) and Extended Trend Module (ETM)
• Ergonomic improvement of the language table and the cross-reference list
• DirectX11 support and new graphical possibilities
• Performance optimization in the zenon Runtime
• A variety of new templates and wizards for more efficient work processes, and
• New and enhanced zenon drivers, including Allen-Bradley offering offline import, OPC UA driver with certification support and user authentication, B&R driver with block reading of arrays and structures, and Mitsubishi driver for the Q series.

Ergonomics in this context goes beyond mere physical arrangements. To Copa-Data, ergonomics at the workstation normally refers to ideal working conditions and includes all equipment which a person is provided with in order to achieve an optimal work outcome. "With zenon 7 our aim is to also bring ergonomics to industrial production processes and workflows," says Punzenberger. Thus, he contends that zenon can simply be integrated into existing infrastructures and easily communicates with systems from other manufacturers via a variety of native drivers, communication protocols, and interfaces. Processes can then be better coordinated with each other and operations networked together. Customizable templates and freely definable wizards in zenon allow for easy, rapidly deployed projects, enable straightforward adaptations, and support engineers when considering company-specific requirements. Predefined objects, symbols, and templates can also be reused easily in zenon, such as complete process screens and their layout. This has a huge impact on project development time and gives users freedom to work on other tasks. With the customization of diverse filter settings, display screens, or palettes, zenon users can create their own personal user interface. This leads to a better overview and familiarity, allows for intuitive working and reduces error rates. Furthermore, zenon 7 offers comprehensive support with Multitouch gestures enabling user-friendly, secure and ergonomic work conditions in the industrial operating environment.

www.copadata.com

Edited by Peter Welander, pwelander@cfemedia.com