Manufacturers are increasingly investing in Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to automate tasks, maintain high quality, and gain real-time insights into their operations. A Digital Work Order Progress Tracking system is designed to address these needs by offering a comprehensive, automated WIP manufacturing solution for tracking production workflows, ensuring consistency, and improving operational efficiency. Read More
This article was originally published on AutomationWorld.com on July 15, 2024.
Life science companies must adhere to the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in manufacturing and storage of the product within their manufacturing facility. For example, GMP compliance is required for a bioreactor process and for any product storage in a freezer room. GMP ensures that each step of the manufacturing process is conducted under controlled conditions, with appropriate documentation, data records and quality checks at each stage. Read More
In the ever-evolving landscape of industrial control systems (ICS), the Purdue Model has long been a standard for architecting these systems. However, as technology advances and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) rises in significance, the Unified Namespace (UNS) architecture has become increasingly prominent. Read More
As many manufacturers look to remain Industry 4.0 competitive, they turn toward automation and IoT technologies to enhance efficiency. As part of this initiative manufacturers need to build organizational capabilities particularly in the areas of human capital to support and maintain these systems.
To do so, manufacturers must develop effective training for factory automation and enterprise systems. However, when it comes to training there is no such thing as a one-size fits all. Every manufacturing plant operates with unique processes and challenges and off-the-shelf industrial automation training often falls short of meeting these specific requirements. Read More
This article was originally published on AutomationWorld.com on January 8, 2024.
Everyone loves spaghetti! Who doesn’t remember their grandmother cooking spaghetti, the aroma filling the house, the anticipation of a delicious, hearty meal? It’s a universal comfort food, often bringing back fond memories of family gatherings and cozy dinners. However, while spaghetti on your dinner plate is a delightful experience, ‘spaghetti code’ in the context of PLC programming is far less appetizing. Read More
Imagine a scenario where a devastating flood engulfs all the Industrial Control System (ICS) equipment that powers your machinery and orchestrates your processes. PLCs, drives, HMI/SCADA systems, recipes, MES configurations, historical data—all lost to the flood. As the waters recede, a daunting question emerges: How long will it take to recover your manufacturing operations, if recovery is even possible? This somber picture underscores the vital significance of having a service like OT SafetyNet that not only provides an OT asset inventory and discovery tool, but also a disaster recovery strategy, making the difference between a momentary setback and an insurmountable halt. Read More
This article was originally published on AutomationWorld.com on March 27, 2023.
Key aspects of equipment integration into the manufacturing process are often overlooked. These machine-to-enterprise integration methodologies and tips will help you create a viable digital integration strategy.
Manufacturers must have real-time access to information from their processes. Such information can assist users throughout the organization in analyzing, troubleshooting, and suggesting enhancements to improve operations. Following are three frequently overlooked integration aspects that, when implemented, will ensure you have access to the information you need: Read More
In Lean manufacturing, the Andon system was created to notify operators of any issues on the production line as a means to promptly identify and tackle any production issues. Traditionally, an Andon was made up of a cord, which the operator pulls to indicate the occurrence of a problem, and an Andon light, which draws attention to the issue. Today, Andon systems are available in various forms, each progressively more advanced in terms of technology: Read More
As a Rockwell Automation systems integrator, we recently attended the much-anticipated Rockwell Automation on the Move 2022 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. The last Rockwell Automation on the Move event at Worcester was on July 1-2, 2015, which is about seven years ago!
The locally sponsored event is a fantastic venue for any industrial automation or OT professional not only providing a great networking opportunity with customers, OEMs, vendors, and other systems integrators, but also providing the latest cutting-edge information regarding products, services, and solutions from Rockwell Automation. Read More
The growing use of PLCs (programmable logic controllers), PACs (programmable automation controllers), and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems in manufacturing has facilitated the practice of standardized software to help plants get up and running with new processes faster and to maximize operational performance. Standardized software is a unit of code that has been developed, tested, documented, logged and controlled. If the code does not meet that criterion, it is not considered a standard. Read More