You can read the first part of this case study here.
AkzoNobel Birmingham previously had
several operator terminals in different locations across the plant floor, each
of them running Wonderware locally. Someone would have to physically visit each
location to carry out changes or maintenance. But now, with th
e introduction of ACP Thin Manager XLi, this can be done from a central location, reducing maintenance and energy costs, by replacing their operator terminals with ‘thin clients’.
When it comes to testing a new recipe,
AkzoNobel can now do this centrally as testing and deploying a new node can be
done efficiently from one location. Centralisation also has health and
safety benefits. If an accident occurred on the shop floor, access to terminals
would be difficult and dangerous, but now a terminal can be easily ‘shadowed’
and controlled, from a secure office location.
This technology also has ‘instant
failover’ functionality, providing further protection against downtime. If the
Primary Terminal Server was to fail, ACP Thin Manager would bring the Secondary Terminal Server into play instantly.
Brian comments, “One of the greatest benefits of Thin Manager is the
reassurance of knowing that there is no chance of downtime affecting production
or having a detrimental effect on our supply chain and customer relationships.”
Wonderware Historian, a real-time database for historical information, is in place to
collect full resolution plant data, regardless of data volume, ensuring that
decision makers have all the information they need to improve productivity.
Data
can be retrieved promptly so that personnel can quickly gain access to the
information they need to make speedy decisions and act on potential issues
before they become problems.
Historian Client is an associated
trending, analysis and reporting tool providing rich data analysis and reporting
capabilities that maximise the value of data stored by Historian. It has the capability to publish
real-time and historical plant information which can be used to quickly
troubleshoot problems, study potential process inefficiencies and eliminate the
time-consuming process of locating the data. Historian and Historian Client are
particularly useful in this setting in identifying the source of any hold ups
in production. “These information solutions give us a
clear insight into our manufacturing process. This makes it easier for us to
get it right the first time – something that is essential to the satisfaction
of our customers,” comments Brian Lee.
AkzoNobel has the comfort of support
across all of its products. On the rare
occasions it is needed, technical support is just a phone call away, helping
the factory maximise the value of its SolutionsPT products. It minimise any
risk to operations, and make the most of its capabilities.
Brian adds, “Any type of change
associated with a system upgrade can be an anxious time, but SolutionsPT gave
us peace of mind during the whole process. It understands what we need to
deliver to our customers, and how our IT systems can help us achieve that. “Also, they will log on remotely to check the
system and pick up on a problem, before it becomes an issue which is a great to
know, particularly when we are sending out hundreds of tonnes of product each
week”.
Brian Lee has worked at the plant for
over 30 years. He recalls: “Over the last three decades I’ve seen many changes
to the industry, and to the way we work here at the Birmingham plant. We’ve
gradually added to our portfolio of industrial IT solutions from SolutionsPT and
we now rely on its software, hardware and technical support throughout the
factory.”“By making our processes more
streamlined, we have become a more efficient site, allowing us to provide an
even better service to our customer,” concludes Brian.
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