When GIMA Spa, a pioneering company among system manufacturers in the “Packaging Valley” region of Bologna in Italy, was asked by WRIGLEY, a world leader in confectionery manufacture, to provide a standardised supervisory system that would provide OEE data across all its different client product lines, the company turned to Progea’s Movicon 11 SCADA for a solution.
The challenge required designing an auto-configurable system that was capable of connecting to machines independently of their type and configuration. This meant that a modular and flexible software platform was required: one that was capable of managing an all-in-one standard project, and designed to connect to any product line machine, irrespective of type or number employed, to obtain the necessary information on production status and provide analysis on productivity efficiency.
The Movicon Scada/HMI platform was chosen as the ideal solution for achieving the stated system objectives, and of reaching the pre-planned production goals quickly and safely. Although working on a limited budget, GIMA Spa not only satisfied their confectionery client’s needs using the Movicon platform, but is now able to provide the standardised ‘added value’ system that the company engineered to other clients, including those from completely different market sectors.
“Zero” Maintenance Supervision
The production line supervision and analysis system based on Movicon has been designed to interface to a number of machine variables, not exceeding ten in number. The machines can be fitted either with a Siemens or Elau control units, both offering immediate project auto-configuring to machine production requirements, without requiring additional input or modification.
OEE and Downtime Statistical Analysis
The system’s task is to connect to the machines and highlight working statuses; display alarms – defined as ‘blockers’, and store all significant data, construed as alarms and production data.
This data is collected and displayed on the appropriate graphical summary screen pages, providing a clear overall picture of ongoing production situations in real-time, to enable managers to control the production process far more efficiently.
The main Movicon supervisor page informs users about production status, by representing the production line machine images graphically and by supplying data on: Batch number IDs; Product Settings; Product type; Batch name assigned by customer; Set quantity of units; Quantity of units produced; Unit percentage Produced; Production line working time of current batch; Production line speed; and the Time allotted for operatives working the current shift.
A screen page is provided for each machine in the system and these pages, when ‘clicked’, show all details and information relating to that production station. Complementing these pages, production line graphics appear automatically in conjunction with the number of machines enabled and operating in the production line at any particular time. A proprietary designed page has also been provided to manage production line batches and work shifts: the machines having been programmed to begin working only when assigned to a production batch. This is complemented by a production batch data import/export function to MsExcel formats facility.
The main objective is to record all data in database archives (Ms SQL Server 2000 was chosen from the various formats provided by Movicon) for performing statistical analysis that allow the end user, and builder, to obtain historical information in order to evaluate critical areas and intervene appropriately to improve production, reduce machine downtimes and increase the overall productivity index.
The supervisor performs statistical analysis on recorded data by managing:
- Alarm statistics (frequencies, durations) displayable both in table and graph format.
- Statistical graphics of on line productivity (includes a pie chart based on 100% time=shift; a general product line pie chart; and one for each machine, together with machine MTBF, MTTR, MDT indices)
- Tables for displaying production counters for selected time range.
- Tables for displaying alarm list history
This data is managed in reports, where data on production, alarms and work settings can be displayed in table or graphical formats (Pie charts or histograms). This data is selectable using filters to retrieve data by Time period, Batch number, or Production batch.
The data displayed in tables can be exported in Excel files using the command provided. In the section dedicated to reporting, the system calculates and displays performance efficiency indices according to the OEE standard. At the end of each shift, the system will automatically create an Excel file containing production line information and send it to the predefined recipients by email (this function can be enabled/disabled as desired). The flexibility of the system means that the “Target” OEE value can be customised, without modifying the project, to get coefficient calculations for each specific production requirement. All information or settings are subject to security management, as are user ‘Log-ons’.
Thanks to the statistical information provided by the system, the end user and builder are able to obtain all the information required to analyse production effectively. This process involves comparing real data with theoretical data to obtain crucial information to remove production bottlenecks and improve overall productivity. In addition, the machine downtime analysis function allows fast intervention, identification and analysis of the most frequent downtime causes, enabling the end user to optimise preventative maintenance to avoid the costs of lost production.
Remote Analysis via the Web
All statistical information gathered from the Movicon OEE system is available to authorised remote users: production line maintenance personnel, maintenance technicians or GIMA design engineers. Thanks to the Movicon Web Client, the supervisory system is accessible with any browser connecting remotely (internet, intranet). Web client users, assigned with authorised access passwords, can view any information they require in real-time, or the results of statistical analysis, by accessing from any point with a normal browser or mobile device (i.e. Smartphone).
The Movicon solution provided by GIMA not only meets all client requirements, but offers the added benefit of an unrestricted licence that allows users to purchase only what they need. This optimises the costs of the Movicon licence in relation to the size and number of plant production lines controlled.
“This latest flagship project for Movicon highlights, once again, the processing power of the system at a price that enables projects to be brought-in consistently under budget,” said Paul Hurst MD of P4A, the Movicon distributor in the UK. “Historically, SCADA systems have been more expensive in the UK than anywhere else; and with restricted licences, development costs and yearly system integrator fees, costs are getting out of hand. We are changing this situation with Movicon 11,” by offering all the functionality, scaleability, connectivity – and more – of existing SCADA systems, but at a price 30% to 50% less”
