Industrial production systems are becoming more and more complex and it is becoming increasingly difficult for maintainers and plant managers to maintain the full control of production. Find out how to reduce the risk of failure and establish excellent quality and safety standards with the top five challenges to consider in the manufacturing industry.
Plant management in industrial automation
Managing the entire production process of an industrial plant in an always safe manner is the basis of maximum productivity and economic success. But there are many things that can get in the way, especially when it comes to fully or partially automated systems.
1. Overcome raw material shortages and supply bottlenecks
The latest political and economic crises, combined with rising production costs, have led to a lack of raw materials, a scarcity of production resources and bottlenecks in the supply chain. The reduction in runs and batches leads to the need to re-equip the machines more frequently than in the past. These circumstances are accelerating the trend towards one increasingly personalized production, up to batches of a single unit.
More flexible system retrofitting
If you want to minimize downtime e maximize profitability of production, machine changeovers must be simple and smooth. This requires a plant management system capable of save and reload the status of a system in just a few clicks. AUVESY-MDT octoplant it is an optimized solution that allows you to document and re-set up an entire system at the push of a button, regardless of the manufacturer. This guarantees maximum agility and flexibility.
2. Track growing complexity
Industrial facilities, regardless of industry, have never had so many field devices and sensors, SCADA systems, PLCs and robots.
Countless IoT components also mean an exponentially growing volume of data. The relentless march of automation and digitalization in smart factory systems can pose a major challenge for data management, especially when devices are combined from different manufacturers and systems. This is due to the heterogeneity of automation and bus systems, as well as the variety of different software applications that must be mutually compatible.
Total transparency, regardless of device status
Thanks to ease of data analysis, AUVESY-MDT ensures optimal data consistency across all automation ecosystems and facilitates data management. We support the widest range of supported devices from all established manufacturers in the industry. Use our database to find out how broad this compatibility is.
3. Avoid extended downtime
Failures are the greatest threat to productivity, because a non-functioning system costs a lot of money from the moment it fails. Manufacturing companies therefore do everything possible to avoid downtime or, if it occurs, to reduce it as much as possible. The disaster recovery with just one click it can only be achieved with clear system management and automatic backups.
Can you quickly identify the right system configuration and see what changes were made when and by whom? If so, maintenance personnel can restore production plants or individual machines very quickly and specifically if an untoward event occurs.
Safely restore a system to its most recent operating state
AUVESY-MDT octoplant allows you to restore a system to its most recent operating state. Additionally, it uses diff analysis to detect any firmware updates installed in the background. Furthermore, it produces documentation that allows errors to be recorded and analyzed subsequently.
4. Detect IT security vulnerabilities and prevent cyber attacks
Operational technology (OT) is an increasingly popular target for cyberattacks. Attackers focus on industrial facilities and disrupt production processes, using tricks such as ransomware.
An inventory of devices as part of a comprehensive security strategy helps identify vulnerabilities and close security gaps. There targeted protection from threats, it detects risks within the system and raises an alarm in the event of unwanted interventions and changes from the outside.
Stop malware
octoplant can prevent damage independently comparing the status of firmware and driver versions with manufacturer databases. The software also detects patches and updates that are applied unintentionally and may contain malicious code.
5. Audit and compliance
The documentation duties and compliance requirements that must be met are numerous and often not easy to satisfy. In the case of an audit, complete documentation is required. In some industries, you need to be able to demonstrate when changes have been made and address liability issues. Furthermore, all the different international certifications must be taken into account.
Process engineering manufacturing, such as that involving chemicals, pharmaceuticals or food products, can also be particularly challenging, as can critical infrastructure. In both cases, the Data transparency and tamper-proof records are key. This type of recording is also suitable for recording purposes internal monitoring and to optimize the production of a plant.
Support for audit trail processes for quality assurance
octoplant allows companies to meet all regulatory and compliance requirements and to be ready for the next audit. The solution AUVESY-MDT in fact it supports i audit trail processes for quality assurance and meets the testing obligations required by control authorities and customers.