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IT on the Production Floor For those not familiar with the Honeywell MAS software, it was an excellent true client/server SCADA system developed by Honeywell on the Unix operating system. Honeywell MAS runs on proprietary computer hardware designed around 1990 and is no longer available. Part of the challenge to Program4 Engineering was to maintain the same Operator Interface look, feel, and control functionality using the new RSView Windows software. We did the original development with the Honeywell Unix based graphics over ten (10) years ago. The objective was to upgrade the technology with no Operator retraining. Program4 Engineering met the challenge with Rockwell RsViewSE. Rockwell Automation worked directly with us to design an architecture that is best suited to the current needs of the process. Fully connected within the plant Ethernet network, the system incorporates multiple rack mount servers with redundant backups for each line. Each server communicates to multiple Honeywell PLC’s, multiple SCADA “clients” and a Recipe Management and Reporting database server running under Microsoft SQL Server. A key component in this design is the Rockwell FactoryTalk Server which tracks users and computers in a similar fashion to Windows 2003 Server. Rockwell has recently re-branded it's line of RSView SCADA/HMIs to reflect the sucess of this integration. These products are now known as the FactoryTalk Services Platform. This is an enterprise level solution sharing responsibilities, data and machine control across servers eliminating “islands of automation”. We found this installation indicative of the new level of IT expertise required by Automation Engineering software developers for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Information Management and Reporting. RsViewSE is a stable and robust real time Human Machine Interface/ SCADA system - machine control with visualization software. When this application is layered over Rockwell’s Allen-Bradley PLC’s, the advantages multiply quickly. When a computer failure occurs, plant IT administrators traditionally have followed the following software installation sequence: reload the operating system, then install the application programs in the correct sequence of installation disks, perform a checklist of sophisticated application configurations, add their application files and finally return to production. RSViewSE steps this sequence up to a best practices routine that includes benchmark imaging at multiple stages of the complex interweaving of the Server OS, application pieces, communication drivers and patching. Program4 Engineering recommends imaging successful configurations at a known revision level. By capturing the entire running disk image to another media, one can blow back the installation in it’s entirety in the event of a catastrophic loss. If your demands include validation, this recommendation is a “must have”. Program4 Engineering coupled this extensive FactoryTalk View SE installation with our internally developed Working with a large food manufacturing company whose prototyping line for moulded products was not aging gracefully, Program4 provided a comprehensive upgrade in steps over several months. Program4 Engineering developed a Control System Design and a Software Requirements Document for Client approval in the first phase of this project. The work was done in three phases – Wiring Upgrade, GE Fanuc'siFix Upgrade, and then Servo Motor Upgrades all over a three month period. The following services were provided by Program4 Engineering: 1. Project Management, scheduling, coordination of contractors, and on-site supervision. 2. All engineering design, programming, and documentation. All materials specified and purchased. 3. Scheduling, coordination and supervision of electrical and mechanical contractors. This Flexible Moulding Line project consisted of upgrades to the production line in three major areas: 1. Wiring Upgrade 2. Fix32 to iFix Migration 3. Servo Upgrade Part of the challenge in this project was to improve the speed, accuracy and reliability of equipment that had been installed in around 1989 with the manufacturer of that equipment going out of business a few years later. Program4 provided precise positioning and movement of moulds at the Depositors, and control of the Depositor cylinders for efficient production and accurate results. Previously, these movements were achieved by hydraulic valves. These hydraulic systems had several drawbacks, including problems with leakage of hydraulic fluid and failure of the servo amplifier boards, which are no longer manufactured and are therefore very expensive to replace. In concert with this upgrade, the existing Allen Bradley PLC-5 controllers were replaced with an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix processor. ControlLogix is A-B’s most powerful controller platform. This provides higher operating speeds, multiple networking options, and integrated multi-axis servo control reducing the overall cost and allow for future requirements. The Operator Interface System was revised and upgraded for improved operation. The GEFanuc Automation iFix Upgrade not only replaced the current FIX32 version 6.15 with its more-capable descendant, the iFix version 3.5, but upgraded all of the computer hardware and operating systems on the line. A new MS Windows 2003 RAID Server with redundant hard drives (RAID array) replaced the existing server. New Operator touchscreen computers replaced the existing units. Network hardware was upgraded to 100 MB Ethernet capability. Set up and configuration for new product runs now takes hours rather than days. If your company has an old Intellution FIX 32 SCADA system, let Program4 Engineering give you a proposal to convert to GEFanuc iFix. Our experience and knowledge of both FIX32 and iFix, along with our proprietary conversion methods make this a cost effective upgrade. Combining this with a new Microsoft XP Pro PC will provide your facility a valuable asset for future production. Working with a refiner of specialty chemicals, Program4 translated an exacting manual refining process with rigorous QC parameters into an automated operation with full Plantlogic SM process data reporting. Within a short time, this system enabled the operators to produce consistent enhanced product quality not possible within the large variables of manual control. The goal of this project was to automate each step of the process primarily for data collection and repeatability of manufacture. By providing SPC charts and batch reports the Quality Control Departemnt was able to provide verification to their customer to show that they exceeded their customer’s benchmarks for quality and consistency. The key to this solution was a database server running Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and SQLServer. The database was used for Recipe Management and Plant Process Information data storage. MS Internet Explorer is the interface to the PlantlogicSM Recipe Management software. A transaction manager was written to provide direct communication between the PLC and the database via an OPC Server. As this process and equipment were already in production, this project provided the necessary infrastructure in the form of Process Instrumentation, Control Hardware, a Graphic Human Machine Interface and a Process Database Server to allow process control and data collection. One on the client’s requirements was the flexibility to expand the process and range of materials refined using the same process equipment co-piloted by reporting validation. We can do that, and did. For process control, an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix Programmable Controller was installed with remote modules located near strategic instrumentation and equipment. Existing Honeywell UDC3000’s were retained and retrofitted with Modbus communication cards and minimal functionality was replaced by the additional PLC. Modifications were done to accommodate the new instrumentation for data collection. Vessels generating manually collected volume amounts were mounted on scales to transmit actual weight measurements with communication via RS-485 network. A series of Woods variable speed drives were incorporated as well with data logging back to a database server. Program4 managed the equipment purchasing, mechanical modifications and sub-contractors for field installation of these changes. In the year after this system went into production, sales increased 4 times over the previous year. Our client has a pleased client.
Program4 has designed and installed an in-house PlantLogicSM production information portal for a global Pharmaceutical Manufacturer. Tied together through one central web server and database and using wide screen LCD display nodes distributed through-out the plant, the company can display current production schedules, targets by shift, current standing by product lot number and other select production data. The system includes a selection of configurable rotating pages for current weather, sports and headlines from a local web feed, HR notices and company announcements, training videos and other select content administered by the HR/QC team. This feature, as all features are, is administered by select authorized users from the secure web server. All interfaces are familiar to users of on line forms. The displays are in five different production areas and tie the product teams together with real time information. The three primary types of information are: Cycle Time Details Data is shown in a tabular numerical table for all of the products running currently. User is able to select what Batches are to be shown on the Production Displays. Production Start Schedule Data is shown in a tabular numerical table for all of the products currently scheduled. User is able to select what three (3) orders are to be displayed on the Production Area Displays. User is able to select which line will be shown on the Production Display and the “dwell time” for each display message set. Espre de Corps Message User is able to type in and configure a custom message to be placed in rotation or viewed in the slot for normal Cycle Time and Production Messages. This is stored in the local database and available via a “pick list” for display at the users discretion. Each display has the capability to show an independent message or none at all. Example: “ON COURSE FOR TODAY”. The Data Collection System and the LCD Displays communicate via the existing corporate network. Program4 Engineering interfaced the system to an existing MES System which collects detailed information about Cycle Time and Production Schedule in an Oracle Database. In addition to driving production schedules across shifts in a competitive environment, management has real-time information to use in meeting deliverables across product lines. The client reports this an extremely successful asset. And, as a bonus, no one is surprised by the occasional snow for the drive home.
In the spring of 2006, Program4 Engineering provided Automation Engineering services to an area manufacturer for the production of a cleaner-burning catalyst and filter system to reduce pollutants from diesel vehicles. Acting as the coordinating control and information software engineers, Program4 brought two new lines in production. The line includes servo controlled conveyors, weighing stations, ovens, an ASRS system and both GE Fanuc and Motoman robots. The lines were placed into production ahead of schedule. Our project managers worked with the manufacturer’s engineering group to coordinate the installation, support subcontractors, equipment vendors and various integration contributors. Working with the client, the project included; full cycle design, development of the production line control functional specifications, software development and testing prior to startup. The system used Rockwell Ethernet I/P as the link between equipment modules. Multiple Rockwell ControlLogix PLCs were used. Wonderware Intouch was the Human Machine Interface (HMI) of choice and used in a multinode configuration. The system was configured to use any one of the multiple Wonderware HMI’s to communicate to the PLC’s upon failure of the master node. Scope of work included HMI (SCADA) development & programming, database design & development, testing, site-prep, installation & startup. This complex systems used multiple Ethernet networks for I/O, PLC to PLC, and Data communication. The line incorporated full recipe management, multiple PLCs, OEM self contained units, pre-programmed robotic controllers and part tracking. Visual systems enable in-process testing to track individual parts in each lot to verify process parameters and isolate non-performing pieces for re-work. Fully integrated line motion options include a controlled stop and Emergency stop capabilities. Full light curtains insure operator safety during these fast paced production lot runs. Database parameters tracked by visual tagging provide the usual QC range of data lot tracking, customer specific recipe information and as well as enabling pass/fail information on individual components at multiple critical points in the process. One unique technical aspect of this project was the quantity and speed of data transfer directly between the PLC and the Database. For a Whitepaper on this subject, go to our Resource Center and see the paper on Linking Real-time Control to Enterprise Data.
Program4 Engineering installed one of it’s own PlantLogicsm Plant Process Information Portals on an MS Win Server running SQLServer™ to perform real-time production scheduling, tracking and reporting in a fast track large lot confectionary house. This secure browser based intranet site displays ASP pages calling production, labor, and check weigh information from the real-time production database, and access to live HMI screens from the plant floor. This confectionary plant runs a very large number of individual products on a seasonal basis. The home page of production information is organized by work-order number which pulls information on product name & size, output in cases, efficiency, labor over or under runs, QC numbers and the date. Live data entry is enabled by the implementation of web forms for work-orders, scheduling of work orders and shift summary/QC information. Clear Links and consistent navigation tabs allow movement through a familiar-to-TV user’s grid-guide for production scheduling by the week. Completed work order production reports by product use bar graph outputs to easily display daily output amounts for all three shifts over the run of the product. This information is also available in a browser page as a live MS Excel spreadsheet for manipulations, including exports. Reports were developed for product QC weight checking and statistical analysis, again using a live MS Office graph plotted with actual device-output item weights gathered over 3 shift days: benchmarks are color coded for deviations. Information on all process graphic screens is also displayed in tabular form. The HMI System already in use at this plant was Rockwell Software’s RSView, whose software line contains a live web view application used in this reporting system to allow real-time viewing and navigation of the operating screens on the production floor.
For a manufacturer of ingredients for the confectionery industry, Program4 Engineering tailored and installed a PlantLogic production information and data collection web-based reporting system. It enables this supplier to confectionary manufacturers to generate quality and production Certificates of Compliance for their customers. When a truck is loaded, a report is generated which provides a record of quantity, preparation and testing by batches of product. The plants’ existing networked RsView HMI applications were modified to collect data from 3 production floor PLCs. Program4 installed an industrial PlantLogicsm Server running MSSQL Server. The secure intranet site shows users production and quality assurance data. Web forms were developed for manual data entry of manufacturing and lab information. Together they comprise a Quality Control Customer Certificate of Compliance/Assurance report on specific batches of product. An additional software module allows data from the enterprise’s MS Access scheduling database to be used by the PlantLogic Server.
This DADD resulted in options and recommendations for process upgrades. We began the work on site with a field survey of existing Instrumentation and PLC I/O. We uploaded the existing PLC software and generated a complete I/O list in MS Excel format and provided this as a deliverable to the client. We reviewed the existing PLC Ladder Logic to gain an understanding of the software functionality for conversion to WW InBatch. We created overview drawings of equipment interconnections and product flow in the process line required for control visualizations.
In this Project, Program4 reworked a large confectionary plant wrapping line to handle the increased need for production speed and flexibility of case size. The client had specified and ordered an extensive 5 lane wrapping system and done the preliminary in-house spec. & mechanical design work to insure the fit and integration with their existing product lines. Program4 was contracted to provide engineering services to run the job from pre-demolition preparation, through demolition & removal, verifying equipment placement and integration from 3 sources [client plant architectural & mechanical layouts, Wrapper OEM and the Wrapper control system OEM company drawings and documents]. Program4 prepared drawings for new and modified mechanical, electrical and controls systems. Program4 provided a bid specification document and supervised the electrical subcontractors our client selected to do the work. We worked directly with plant maintenance staff and provided the existing plant PLC and HMI modifications to integrate all changes into the remaining unaltered packing line, through startup to full production, and finally to delivering as-built documentation. This project was completed over 6 months working with the client’s project engineer and allowed this company to allocate that same engineer to multiple projects running concurrently and stay on track, on budget and on time. Full production ramped up right on schedule. Program4 Engineering provides Electrical, Mechanical and Automation Engineering Project Management Services to clients for the Management & Supervision of large scale equipment renovation/replacement/upgrade for manufacturing plants.
Program4 Engineering worked with a contract food manufacturer to design a Flexible Liquid and Dry Ingredient mixing system line to be freshly installed in factory space to produce a low-carbohydrate energy bar. Program4 designed the equipment layout, system process, created Process and Instrument Diagrams, specified the instrumentation and provided the control electronics including the dedicated HMI Touchscreens for the process. For the Kitchen area, we created interactive process visualization screen systems & programmed two operator stations and the SCADA with GE Fanuc iFix™ (HMI, or Human Machine Interface software on SCADA PC’s) and programmed & installed Programmable Logic Controller [PLC] hardware and software to operate the process. Using GEFanuc Automation’s iFix and a Rockwell PLC, Program4 installed it's Flexible Batching System. The software engineered by Program4 not only enables the Process Engineer or Operator to set up and run any INGREDIENT in any order but also enables the operator to set up and run any OPERATION in any order. A major innovation for this process was the software engineering to incorporate an S-88 style iFix Recipe Handler. An Operator friendly iFix Screen was developed as the “front end” for recipe selection. The recipe included not only the selection of ingredient quantities, but also the order or “phase sequence” of ingredient addition. This permits the customer to use the kitchen batching system to make any number of different bar products in the future. A batching report system was included in the original design . Our experience and time tested working methodologies enabled this extremely fast tracked product to go from licensing to store shelves in record time. For more technical information on our Flexible Batching System, see our Solutions article.
A manufacturer of Auto-emissions equipment replaced 8 air-cure dryers on a select production line with 4 new Stabilizer Ovens similar to those already in production elsewhere in the plant. To insure maintainability and minimum training time, the existing protocols for both code and user interface screen system were carried through the switchover across different families of PLCs. The HMI was Wonderware. Each new oven replaced 2 air cure dryers: a total of 4 PLC 5/40s control 4 lanes on the line, with each PLC controlling 2 air cure dryers. Program4 Engineering removed the existing air cure dryer code from each PLC 5/40 and integrated the new code for the ovens into the existing PLCs. Since the new ovens span 2 lanes, the new ovens are controlled from the Lane 1 and Lane 3 PLC’s with Ethernet Messaging used for interlocks to Lanes 2 and 4. New Wonderware screens were added to each lane’s application, including real-time and historical trending. Startup was completed on schedule and within budget.
Program4 Engineering upgraded an existing moulding line in a venerable confectionary plant from a legacy servo controller and PLC too tough to maintain because of programming techniques, aging drives and panel display stations. The upgrade was to AB ControlLogix, 1394 Drive system servos and a Rockwell Software RsView Touchscreen SCADA system with dual local monitors. We also installed Rockwell’s RsWeb. We reverse engineered the existing PLC Program and servo control to establish a Sequence of Operation for the Moulding Line and provided a Control System Design and a Software Requirements Document. The design was approved and we completed the reverse engineering of the existing Servo Drive System. The specifications for speed, accuracy and resolution of movement were determined before replacement. We documented the existing control system power wiring and hardwired Start/Stop Circuitry. We provided and supervised the electrical contractor who wired the system. This integration and upgrade so enhanced the line performance the project was expanded while Program4 was still on site to include the additions of two new dedicated supply tanks to keep the new pace. Line Production Efficiency went from a former 60% average to a 90% average with the Program4 Engineering design.
This project transformed an older semi-auto/manually assisted control system for a dual-mixer batching system at a large bakery plant to be fully automatic. The process consists of metering wet & dry ingredients independently into two separate mixers through configurable recipe handling, and provides step and hand-add confirmation, tabular and process illustration batch monitoring, and running totals for client selected parameters. This batching system tallies batches run, weights, stepped elapsed times, pre-set and actual ingrediation and more. All of our systems use classic “track & kill” device level control & alarming handling. Each mixer can be configured independently for flexibility. They can be run in either full automatic or drop to semi-auto mode when conditions or maintenance routines warrant. The level one control is by an AB programmable controller (SLC-5/04) feeding the level two SCADA PC running the Wonderware Intouch HMI through touchscreen operation. A control enclosure was built to replace the manual control station and house all the new control electronics with the operator touchscreen mounted in the front. The existing weigh scales were retrofitted with remote I/O adapter boards for communication with the PLC. The client now has first time dependability and consistency in preparing this base ingredient for the ovens.
Program4 Engineering, Inc. was contracted by a Fortune 500 Food Processor to develop control system software for their new production line. Each segment of the production line consists of batching as well as continuous-processes, delivering three product streams to a common forming operation. Our design & program control responsibility starts with multiple Batching operations, including the drawing of raw ingredients from use tanks, continues through secondary processes such as cooking and mixing (with additional ingredient addition), and ends with the simultaneous delivery of the three product components to the final forming lines. Also included is a unit-based CIP system with 16 circuits on each line that allows cleaning of selected areas of equipment while other areas still hold good product. The contracted work started with writing a detailed Functional Specification that outlined the control sequence for each module or sub-system. Once system functionality was defined, all PLC programming and Intellution iFix® development was performed by Program4, working from the Client's P&ID diagrams, tabular I/O lists, and the Functional Specification. Process control is handled by five Allen-Bradley PLC 5/80Es connected by Ethernet to a robust SCADA server. Other smart devices (e.g. variable frequency drives, weigh feeders) and several OEM-supplied Allen-Bradley SLC PLCs on specialized mixers are linked to the PLCs via either Ethernet or DeviceNet. The iFix SCADA / HMI system allows operators comprehensive yet simple control and monitoring of their production line. The HMI screens show product flow with color coding and flow animation, and provide the operator with complete process control including: manual device control, device and equipment status, alarm annunciation and handling, recipe selection, full CIP circuit controls, start-up and shut down sequence selection and status, PID faceplates, and batch control. Navigation links on the process piping diagrams allow the Operators to "walk the line" by following process flow from source to destination and back again. Extensive production start-up assistance was provided at the plant by the same Program4 engineers who did the actual design and programming. Production was smoothly and successfully started on schedule, thereby allowing the client to get their new product to market as promised.
Program4 provided a System Developer assigned to work with the client's project team at the client's site to design certain aspects of automation lines in a new manufacturing facility. While the initial task of this team was to develop and write design specifications for such items as data presentation and entry terminals, it soon became clear that focus was needed in defining not only the needed equipment, but also to quantify and qualify the data that needed to be collected from the process itself, the design of the relational database that would hold it, and the needs of the plant floor operators and supervisors to access this data. In order to be able to define the data required, it was necessary to gain a good understanding of the complex manufacturing process. To this end, our developer worked closely with the client's design team and the overseas vendors that were providing largely turn-key production modules, and with the process experts within the client's own R&D departments. Program4's Developer scribed these meetings, taking the effort to insure that the points recorded were both clear and agreed to by both parties across languages. In the new economy light-speed atmosphere of the project, these scribed white-board notes, printed and distributed to all relevant parties, were the record set of the technical and business matters discussed. Program4's Developer traveled with the client to Japan to discuss system interface requirements with the vendor. Throughout the project, our developer maintained key documents such as the master Process Flow Diagram and the Process Data Dictionary. This Data Dictionary became the basis for the data required from the equipment vendors, and for the design of the Process Database by the Plant's newly hired IT staff. The data collection and process-monitoring requirement for each manufacturing module were successfully defined. Specifications were developed for individual iFix data display/entry stations for functions such as On-Line Inspection and Salvage Analyst Stations. Program4 was involved in the selection, specification, and design of both the hardware and functionality of these workstations.
A beverage manufacturer required control-engineering services for Water Purification at their facility. Program4 integrated an AB PLC to an Osmonics® Ultra-Filtration Process and the existing data highway network. Rockwell Automation RSView® HMI screens were designed to integrate with the existing plant wide SCADA system. Using process illustrations we show the source through destination paths and all the process instrumentation tied into the system used for processing and filling a range of pre-production Water tanks. Incorporated are screens to display the concentration, pH, and flow rates of the Chlorine Injection system, the status of multiple Filtration units, and the flow rates of the individual Water Systems. Four distinct water system usages are recorded and attained through a reporting interface (also built by Program4 Engineering). Two additional electrical power usage monitors have been added to the existing system and report out as well. Operators now may monitor this system without losing production time walking across this large plant to eyeball analog devices.
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Recipe Management system incorporating our own 
