Know thyself is still critical—even in the digital age. Digitalization and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) allow faster, smarter decisions and lots of other benefits. However, users must be certain of what they want to do, so they can prioritize which data to seek and what solutions to install from among the endless varieties available.
An Australian winemaker was reminded of this essential truth when it recently added a fourth high-speed production line to its bottling and packaging facility. The company's 10-year-old manufacturing execution system (MES) was becoming a challenge due to limited insight, control and collaboration, as well as no upgrade path, so it undertook an 18-month project to integrate ControlLogix controllers and updated MES solutions from Rockwell Automaton.
"The challenge was to integrate its MES with ControlLogix to boost inventory accuracy and reduce downtime, and we were able to increase inventory accuracy to almost 100%," said Geoff Nunan, principal consultant for digital transformation at Nukon, a CSIA-certified system integrator in Melbourne, during his presentation at Rockwell Automation TechED in Orlando, Fla..
"In this case, digital transformation was about improving quality, inventory and downtime, which the company needed because it has to deal with a lot of competition on price."
"Once you've gone digital, you can enable automated flows of data, and then route instructions to production lines for execution," explained Nunan. "Once you're automated, you can separate what's happening from what needs to be there. And, when you can visualize and get context for what's happening on a line, then you can perform remote services, and analyze big data for predictive maintenance and other purposes."
"The challenge was to integrate the plant’s MES with ControlLogix to boost inventory accuracy and reduce downtime, and we were able to increase inventory accuracy to almost 100%." Nukon’s Geoff Nunan on a successful control system modernization and MES implementation at an Australian winemaker.
Nunan reported that our Australian winemaker’s paper-to-digital journey and metamorphosis began with a model for digitalization that included the bulk liquids coming into the plant, tank levels, bottling equipment, in-line systems, scheduling and data collection to make sure its output was accurate and within specifications. "With about 600 SKUs, these production lines have many short runs, and must balance a lot of inventory, such as what they're making now versus what they'll be making next week," said Numan. "To automate these processes, the operators needed a live view of their inventory and products. Previously, production schedule changes were updated in SAP software, and instructions were given to the planners and then to the plant supervisors."
To develop and design its new MES and ControlLogix solution, Nunan added that the winemaker also assembled a team who aided its six staffers handling project management, solutions architecture, configuration and test, and training and support in Australia. This CPG MES application consists of Rockwell Automation's FactoryTalk ProductionCentre software with added CPG modules, which can perform flying changeovers that start working on subsequent changeovers before prior ones are finished.
Khris Kammer, program manager at Rockwell Automation, added that FactoryTalk Production Centre is a scalable MES solution that can serve at each of the controller/gateway, edge, production and performance levels of an automation architecture. This enables its scalable analytics capabilities for machines and devices, which increased production in Rockwell Software applications by improving optimization, data orchestration and presentation, machine performance and device health. He reported that FactoryTalk Analytics for Machines and FactoryTalk Analytics for Devices will be released in June.
"They monitor the health of Rockwell Automation devices, improve mean time to repair (MTTR), and notify us about device anomalies," said Kammer. "They also give us simple, immediate, corrective actions we can take, and provide system-level health and diagnostics to help solve hard-to-discover issues."
After its fourth production line went live with its new MES and ControlLogix control systems in March 2016, Nunan added the winemaker began looking at cutting over its three existing lines to the new system. He reported that the team is able to cutover on a Saturday, and be ready for production on Sunday. "The steps after that will include further work on quality, and more operator engagement," added Nunan.
