SPS Show: Siemens puts a new face on interfaces

Integrated Automation Portal uses engineering software to allow rapid development and commissioning of automation systems.

By Bob Vavra, Content Manager, CFE Media

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Siemens put a new face on industrial automation interfaces at the SPS Show in Nuremburg, Germany.

The Siemens Totally Integrated Automation Portal uses engineering software to allow rapid development and commissioning of automation systems. Siemens officials at the packed press conference at Nuremburg Messe said the TIA Portal allows deployment of systems much quicker, which will lead to lower development costs. It also stands as the company’s new standard for all future software engineering packages for configuring, programming and commissioning automation and drives products in the Totally Integrated Automation portfolio from Siemens.

“We started with TIA in 1995 to define joint software tools, joint interfaces and to make sure we have data consistency across these interfaces,” said Anton Huber, CEO of Siemens Industry Automation. “A couple of years ago, we started to think of next step we needed to take to help customers deal with their workflow. What we did was to sit with customers and discuss their requirements to find ways to engineer a cost-effective way to optimize workflows.”

According to the Siemens press release, “the TIA Portal framework provides advanced shared services across all the configuration interfaces ensuring uniform navigation for the user and consistent system behavior. For example, all devices and networks in any automation system can now be configured within one shared device and network editor.”

“What is benefit to customer?” Huber said. “With workflow supported engineering, engineering effort goes down dramatically today, and with systems in the future, they can save 25% in hardware and software. Workflow-oriented engineering systems can realize up to 45% cost savings in engineering costs.”

At the same press conference Drive Technology CEO Klaus Helmrich talked about the influence Siemens has had on worldwide drives standards, and the potential of energy savings with industry-wide adoption of drive technology improvements.

“In Germany, industry consumes 47% of the total energy used, and 70% is in motors and drives,” Helmrich said. “In our installed base in Germany, that’s 38 billion kWh, and 24 million tons of CO2.”

“It is not enough to confront our customers that there are components that can help them. It is helping them understand the solution,” he said. “Working together with our customer, we can optimize their energy use. When talk about 35 million installed motors in Germany, this is a field on which we could focus. This does include a lot of savings potential on the operations side. This taps great savings potential for an organization.”

Helmrich pointed to savings of $240,000 at a Kraft Foods plant in Germany, a project that will deliver ROI in less than three years. “People are looking at energy efficiency and optimization. Leading companies are emphasizing this.  Clearly our customers are focusing much more on energy efficiency,” Helmrich said. “We are promoting the integration between drive technology and control technology level.”