Each year, manufacturers lose nearly $20 billion -- or almost 5% of total production in North America -- due to unscheduled downtime. Despite the recent boom in data collection systems, this loss suggests that manufacturers still don''t know what is causing line problems and equipment failure.
Over the last four to five years, manufacturers have begun investing heavily in sophisticated technology solutions such as HMI (human machine interface) and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) packages, which are supposed to help them better visualize and control the manufacturing process. These systems promise improvements in productivity, and are being treated like the "silver bullet" solution to productivity and quality problems. Data collection has been touted as one of the key features of these systems. However, many complex systems commonly used today, like InTouch®, RSView®, and iFIX™, are designed to simply act as an operator interface to your control system. As a result, they have limited data collection and storage capabilities, preventing managers from recalling information about past events. These and other inadequacies prevent plants from turning data into intelligence -- and this is what translates into real productivity improvements.
Intelligence-Driven Decision Making
Part of the reason why manufacturers inadvertently invest in systems without factory intelligence capabilities is due to how data collection is being defined -- or, rather, not being defined. Data collection has become a broad term that serves as a catchall, covering everything from logging machine temperatures and pressures by hand to sophisticated systems that display and record real-time data from hundreds of datapoints. However, most control systems touting data collection capabilities still have some inherent flaws -- the foremost being the fact that data is stored in multiple, disparate factory and enterprise systems. As a result, getting the right data in the right context to the right people at the right time to provide support for better decision-making has been difficult. And true factory intelligence remains out of reach.
According to industry analysts, there''s an emerging class of manufacturing software designed to provide quick access to key information: Factory Intelligence Software. Factory intelligence software replaces and/or completes existing systems with a broad set of data connectors to link to both legacy and new applications in the plant. These applications include everything from HMI systems, data historians, enterprise asset management systems, MES, and PLCs to I/O modules, existing process control systems, or any combination of these.
Factory intelligence software monitors and tracks critical process information without discriminating the source, meaning that it accepts data from any type of system or piece of equipment -- old or new. Even if the machinery doesn''t have an interface, the necessary hardware can be installed easily along with the software.
All critical machine functions including motor current, motor speed, faults, temperature, speed, and pressure can be continuously monitored with factory intelligence software. Other factors can also be monitored, such as plant air and/or hydraulic pressure, electrical, and water usage. Ideal parameters are set by the user into the system so when a change occurs outside of a set parameter, an alarm triggers and is logged and stored by date and time for future analysis.
Manufacturing employees at all levels have access to the information they need to make faster, smarter on-the-job decisions. Plant and maintenance managers are also armed with key information to make smart purchasing decisions or process changes to improve quality. For example, managers would know what precise action to take if they knew that a large percentage of parts being produced by a particular machine under certain conditions were coming back defective from the field.
To be truly effective, a data collection system must have the features that empower managers to turn information gathered from production equipment into factory intelligence. This is the missing element, now available with factory intelligence software. The system must collect information from all critical machines -- both new and legacy equipment. It must collect and record data continuously. It must be easy for plant and maintenance managers and personnel to use. Most importantly, it must have long-term storage capacity. Factory intelligence software offers all of these advantages plus it''s affordable for small and mid-sized plants.
Record All Critical Machines
One of the biggest challenges to any data collection effort is capturing all critical data from all equipment. Unfortunately, a lot of the process information typically collected from legacy systems and discrete systems like electronic scales is lost because manufacturers have no way of accessing it. No matter how sophisticated the data collection system, if plant managers can''t "listen in" to ALL the plant equipment, they are receiving an incomplete and perhaps inadequate picture of what is taking place within the operation.
Most small to mid-sized factories have legacy equipment (here defined as having no PLC). Legacy equipment was expensive when purchased, is still reliable, functions at or above satisfactory levels, and is paid off. However, many operations personnel, as well as consultants, don''t realize that it is possible to collect data from legacy equipment. Not only is it feasible, it is also vital if plant managers are to take full advantage of factory intelligence.
Continuous Collection
Data collection is also incomplete if it is not performed continuously. Continuous monitoring means you don''t miss a single event. Being able to access this data is especially crucial when equipment failure leads to unscheduled downtime. Despite preventative maintenance measures, equipment breakdowns do happen. They may stem from mechanical, electronic, software application, operating system, or even human error. When failures occur, factory intelligence software allows personnel to locate the exact operating parameters and machine conditions present at the time of the failure, as well as minutes or even hours prior to the event. What went wrong is immediately evident, preventing maintenance staff from wasting precious production time on a wild goose chase trying to determine the problem.
Continuous monitoring of equipment operating conditions such as speed, temperature, and pressure can also help managers anticipate machinery failure before it occurs. Employees are armed with a complete, nonstop view of operating conditions, enabling them to analyze and prevent failure. Maintenance personnel can then take corrective actions before a shutdown occurs.
Most operators assume that sophisticated HMI and SCADA systems continuously monitor all data points. But many of these systems are not designed for continuous monitoring, and there may be gaps as long as 30-45 seconds between obtaining data from a given point. It may not seem like much of an interruption, but a lot can happen during those intervals. For example, using factory intelligence software, Tarkett Flooring (Vails Gate, NY) detected multiple, one-second speed variations that had been causing major product defects. Tarkett''s HMI/SCADA system, however, missed these variations.
Easy to Display and Interpret
Data historian systems are another type of data collection system, but they can only interface with a SCADA, HMI, and/or PLC-based system. They are also extremely complicated because they are designed for system engineering applications rather than factory floor applications. In essence, a data historian system may be intuitive to system engineers but akin to reading a foreign language for many others. In fact, plant managers often find it cumbersome to extract and archive data with these types of systems. Factory intelligence software, on the other hand, was designed to provide the information needed on the floor in an easy-to-use format.
When Chris Kasmer, operations manager at LTL Color Compounders (Morrisville, PA), wanted to check trend data for one of his five new or five legacy extrusion lines, he had to physically go out onto the plant floor and displace the machine operators at each line control console to review and retrieve data from the HMI console. Plus, Kasmer had to work with information in a noisy environment that was not conducive to data analysis and planning.
Using factory intelligence software, Kasmer now monitors production line trend data in real-time from a single screen at his desk (pictured, above) for the entire operation, or by individual lines. From the same screen, he can also pull up historical factory intelligence information and access trending data, then organize and view it according to his needs.
The factory intelligence system is also available via the Internet, allowing Kasmer to monitor operations from anywhere in the world. During plant emergencies, such as unanticipated shutdowns that occur when Kasmer is offsite, he can check the production line status and offer possible solutions remotely, instead of having to make a trip to the plant.
Long-Term Storage Capacity
Historical equipment data is vital and can serve many purposes, but its value is limited if it cannot be retained permanently. As mentioned earlier, most data collection systems are only designed to act as an operator interface to your control system and to monitor data in real-time, which means they have limited data storage capabilities. They don''t store the historical data needed to troubleshoot faults, machine failures, and process issues. In the event of a line failure, information about past events cannot be retrieved.
Factory intelligence software ensures that plant managers can access critical operating data that is weeks, months, or even years old. It allows them to monitor product quality, machine faults, utility usage, and even environmental factors that affect production. That means managers can compare process parameters, such as raw material usage, heat, and pressure, against past production runs to help improve product quality and efficiency. They can even pinpoint the process parameters that caused a defect to appear in a customer''s shipment several months prior.
For LTL Color Compounders, maintaining the specific parameters of its production equipment is critical in order to maintain product quality control and ensure customer satisfaction. "Many of our customers have products with extremely narrow tolerances for color deviation," said Chris Kasmer, operations manager at LTL. "That''s why we need to record equipment operations parameters for each batch run of product. This is important production information for color replication when customers reorder." (Factory intelligence software also provides key information on the plant floor, in plant "language," making it practical for employees on all levels, as shown here.)
Priced Right
In this era of lean manufacturing, many sophisticated data collection systems are priced beyond reach for small and mid-size plants. The costs of large-scale custom configuration can reach upwards of $500,000. Plus, once installed, these systems often require the expertise of an on-site systems engineer to configure and operate -- not practical for small and mid-sized plants.
Factory intelligence software is a cost-effective alternative for these plants (with 200-5,000 data points to monitor). It works out of the box, connecting into an existing PLC or non-PLC-based system, and doesn''t require mind-numbing hours of configuration. In addition to saving on configuration costs, factory intelligence software requires very little training -- it is designed to be easy to use for plant operators who may not be comfortable working with complex computer systems.
The buzz about factory intelligence software -- arguably a more complete data collection solution -- is spreading. John Simmons of Bethlehem Rolling Technology is convinced of its value to manufacturers. He said, "I have been a tech or supervisor for over 15 years, and this is the first system that has truly helped reduce downtime. It reduces troubleshooting time. It enables the techs to see what is actually going on with the machine, and automatically provides comparisons to when the machine was performing at its optimum level. I would compare this to the invention of the digital multimeter. It should revolutionize the way some maintenance departments are run."