The Modern-day Manufacturing Dilemma
Bridging the plant floor to enterprise gap requires more than open file transfer capabilities, what’s needed is software that can accommodate the custom data structures and concepts specific to the manufacturing environment.
Get your FREE download of the next generation in manufacturing intelligence solutions. For existing users of ActiveFactory 8.5 and earlier, DataWorks Systems is giving away free download copies of its new Incuity HDA historical data access system—the entry-level system in the Incuity EMI family of enterprise manufacturing intelligence products. Incuity HDA connects to any of several popular plant historian databases and exposes the full value of the historical data through standard Internet browsers, Microsoft Office applications, and its own data analysis tools.In addition to providing a single rich client toolset for use with all major process historians, Incuity HDA provides services to integrate and manage that data according to user-defined needs, and offers presentation services that empower people with more useful and practical production information.It also provides an upgrade path to Incuity EMI, DataWorks’ expanded version now in beta testing. When Incuity HDA users migrate to a full EMI server, they can connect to multiple data sources—including real-time control systems, enterprise business systems, and databases of all types—in addition to plant historians. They also can analyze and act on that data using standard business intelligence methods and tools they may already have installed.If you’re an existing ActiveFactory user who’s a current Wonderware Comprehensive Support customer, DataWorks will not only honor the balance of your current CS contract but will add another 12 months to it at no extra cost. If you’re not a current CS customer, you can purchase a 12-month DataWorks Comprehensive Support program at 50% off the normal price.
Most manufacturers have already implemented the automation systems they need to enhance production. Future productivity gains won’t be achieved via further automation, but by making better use of the information gathered from those systems—and from providing workers at every level in the company with new insight into the manufacturing process to help them make better decisions in real time, from the plant floor production line to the enterprise level.
While a lot of people claim to help users access and deploy data for empowering knowledge workers with “actionable” information, they don’t extend well into the manufacturing environment. Manufacturing intelligence solutions require more than just standard capabilities because the manufacturing world has unique challenges.
For example, the time series data that describes plant and equipment behavior is very different from the transactional data found in traditional business systems. It requires specialized handling, transformation, and loading techniques, as well as specialized visualization and reporting tools.
And while control and supervisory systems are implemented in a bottom-up manner, these are the polar opposite of the top-down approach found in business systems like ERP. The resulting gap in the middle makes it difficult to correlate plant data with business decisions. Specialized adaptors and connectors are often required to extract data from control systems.
The bottom line is that any data model suitable for manufacturing needs to reflect the equipment, product/material, and people hierarchies found in the manufacturing environment, and must be adaptable to accommodate custom data structures and concepts.
The Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence Answer Incuity EMI is a new generation of enterprise manufacturing intelligence solution that integrates silos of data across the manufacturing enterprise, empowering decision makers with timely, clear and context-rich information.
It coexists easily with existing control systems and business applications, exposing the full value of the data locked in these systems by presenting a coherent picture of the manufacturing business through familiar browser and Microsoft Office tools.
Its zero-install client software, self-configuring capabilities, and pre-configured reports provide immediate insight into the manufacturing process to drive better decisions, directly impacting business performance.
It provides the foundation for a range of manufacturing analytics including:
Real-time executive dashboards
Automated production reporting
Key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring and alerting
Downtime analysis and reporting
Process verification
Process optimization
Try Incuity today. Simply click on this link: www.incuity.com/
From now through November 30, 2005, existing ActiveFactory 8.5, and earlier, customers can download a fully functioning copy of Incuity HDA that allows you to access data from Wonderware’s IndustrialSQL Server. Other versions available for purchase let you connect to other popular historians, such as OSIsoft’s PI System, General Electric’s Proficy Historian, Rockwell Software’s RSBizware Historian, and any other OPC HDA-compatible historian.
