Knowledge Center: Plant Intelligence

Fueled by the adoption of industry standards and advances in technology, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is being embraced by the process industries along with the use of control systems on the shop floor to automate manufacturing processes. Despite usage of such systems there is an element of disconnect between these systems involving the optimization of production processes, paperless recordkeeping and real-time tracking on the shop floor. These unmet needs are addressed through Collaborative Manufacturing Management (CMM) which is a set of solutions known as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). Key Industry drivers which instigate Collaborative Manufacturing Management requirement is summarized in adjacent figure.

As per ARC definition, Collaborative Manufacturing Management (CMM) represents the state-of-the-art methodology for designing and implementing a production environment. Collaborative manufacturing builds upon a collaborative infrastructure and real-time strategic business management tools, together with critical applications, production systems and enterprise information to maximize the overall effectiveness of the value network by increasing responsiveness, flexibility and profitability.

Collaborative Manufacturing allows multiple groups to act together as they set plans and policies, agree on actions and execute operations. Collaborative Manufacturing can boost responsiveness, agility and customer-centricity. It also fosters the most cost-effective methods to design, source, make, deliver and service standard, mass-customized or to-order products. It has following critical aspects:

- Visibility to identify internal and external opportunities- Agility to translate these into profitable business and operating decisions -Efficiency and safety to execute new process targets- Continuous improvement to improve competitiveness

A Manufacturing Execution System consists of the tools and applications used to manage production and daily operations within a process facility. An MES often integrates with ERP and other automation and business systems, and makes use of common functions such as data management, visualization and production reporting. The major functional areas within MES include:

- Production Planning - To create feasible and optimized operating plans, equipment assignment plans and recipes; determine how to handle production orders; and assess the current capabilities of the manufacturing facility. - Production Execution - To execute production plans safely, reliably and efficiently, including links to the automation and control systems. - Operations Management - To determine safe operating limits, monitor process conditions, communicate operating plans, report on shift activities, and manage operating tasks and procedures. - Production Management - To measure actual production, reconcile production for internal and fiscal reporting, apply quality information to production assessment and report actual production performance.

 

MES benefits can be summarized as follows:- Drive Consistent Production

• Improve consistency of operations using operations management to set targets and monitor deviations • Maintain consistent procedures and best practices using Procedural Operations - Improve Efficiency, Reduce Offspec Production

• Improve product quality and yield • Faster, more consistent transitions – reduce time and material • Reduce utility costs

- Detect Production Problems Early • Early Event Detection technology to detect production problems before they cause upsets

- Support Continuous Improvement • Compare expected performance to actual to identify opportunities for further improvements

- Balance plant performance against safety and profitability

Improve Manufacturing Performance Abnormal Situation Management Consortium

- Formed to look at cost of lost production- Chemicals, refining and other process industry customers - Honeywell a founding member - 80% of the problems related to people and equipment - Applying what is learned into products

Enhance Decision Making

- Align Production with Downstream Demand

• Improve forecast accuracy

- Improve Production Planning and Scheduling• Optimize production planning and raw material use • Improve ability to manage impacts on the supply chain and production schedules

- Improve Visibility of Overall Supply Chain • Improve decision making by providing visibility to the interaction between forecast, inventory, orders and production schedules

- Measure Performance• Measure and present Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to the organization to align production and business objectives • Monitor KPI’s and analyze results to identify areas of additional improvements

Increase Asset Effectiveness

- Assure Asset Availability• Improving plant uptime to improve production capacity and production reliability

- Extend Asset Life • Reduce the ongoing cost of maintenance in plants• Improve basic control by ensuring performance of critical loops

- Improve Production Reliability • Detect asset problems early and mitigate the impact of these

- Reduce Costs• Minimize the impact of incidents on production and assets • Reduce maintenance costs

MES Methodology: Functional Areas

MES includes the functions to plan, execute and manage production within a single manufacturing facility. These functions typically are concerned with running the facility safely and efficiently, starting with production orders and ending with products ready for shipment, taking into account the unique aspects of the manufacturing facility. This category includes Production Planning, Production Execution, Operations Management and Production Management.

Production Planning functions are used to create feasible and optimized weekly and daily operating plans, equipment assignment plans and recipes, considering available material, capacity, and production resources and tools. The functions determine the optimal way to handle production orders and assess the current capabilities of the manufacturing facility. Production Planning is focused on a manufacturing facility, assuming production orders are provided by supply chain modules. Business objectives include increasing revenue by maximizing utilization and yields, increasing profitability by optimizing production plans and improving customer service by ensuring rapid order fulfillment.

Production Execution functions are used to execute production plans safely, reliably and efficiently. This area is the link to automation and control systems. Business objectives include improving revenue and margins by operating to limits, maximizing unit stability and reliability and minimizing transition losses.

Operations Management integrated with Advanced Alarm Management functions support console and field operators and the operating department. These functions define safe and appropriate operating limits for process variables, ensure that process conditions are within limits, follow-up on root causes when not within limits, communicate current and planned conditions from shift to shift and communicate with management. Business objectives include maximizing reliability and unit stability, operating closely to plan, reducing costs by identifying inefficiencies, process problems and equipment problems.

Production Management functions measure actual production, taking into account rates, properties, and genealogy. These functions determine reconciled production figures, for internal and fiscal reporting, determine allocations, steward energy use and other production costs. Business objectives include improving customer satisfaction by ensuring on-spec product shipments, complying with contractual and fiscal production reporting requirements and stewarding production costs.

The Management and Support category includes decision support, data mining and analysis tools, which are generally used after the fact to analyze what happened and how to improve. This area also includes assuring product quality, documenting quality compliance for audits, regulatory compliance and reporting. Functional areas include Production Reporting and Analysis, Quality Management, and Compliance Management (not shown in the figure).

Production Reporting and Analysis functions provide accurate and timely information about profitability, reliability and other performance metrics. These functions support what-if analyses and troubleshooting using manufacturing analytics including SPC and OEE analyses. Business objectives include providing management with information about the current state of manufacturing facilities and providing information for analysis and decisions.

Quality Management functions assure product quality, including managing the processes for defining, measuring and reporting product quality. These functions enable continuous process improvements, manage audits (inspections or close examinations) meant to ensure that products and business processes meet specified criteria and include managing laboratory activities. Business Objectives include improving product quality, reducing errors and reducing the cost of quality and conformance.

Compliance Management functions assure compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements. These functions deal with product safety, hazardous materials, occupational health and safety, carbon emissions, environmental reporting and other reporting required by government agencies. Business objectives include complying with regulatory requirements and preventing potential environmental, health, and safety incidents.

MES Methodology: Mechanism Software in the process industries can provide benefits in a number of different ways or mechanisms. The Plan/ Perform/ Perfect cycle of continuous improvement provides a convenient scaffolding to organize these mechanisms.

Plan

- Organize objectives, work to be done and resources, such as determining how to satisfy a production order. - Find a better or more efficient way to operate - Simulate or model the process to help with design and to enable humans to practice and improve their ability to act in certain situations

Perform

- Support or enable a work process such as providing instructions, accepting orders and shipping products - Handle transactions such as processing orders - Act or react in some standard way, faster, more consistently, or in more situations than people can act, such as controlling the process. - Measure, detect, store and manage information organized in some way to enable later analysis, reporting or other use.- Report in a structured way

Perfect

- Highlight some aspects of the process, such as a performance metric or an alarm state, thereby bringing it to the attention of a person who can make decisions. - Analyze and investigate information to determine ways to improve, such as determining the root cause of problems.

MES Methodology: Path forward

MES is a growing technology in the process industries due to the enormous benefits that can potentially be gained from effective deployment. Because different types of manufacturing operations have different needs and requirements, it is necessary to focus on what aspects of MES will provide the most value to the business. To maximize value, one of the first steps is to perform a study to identify the opportunities and benefits that could be realized through MES. This will identify the business needs and opportunities for improvement together with the benefits to the organization. Then a cost and benefit analysis will establish a path forward.

Selecting Benefit Areas The first step is to determine which benefit areas are of interest. Any investigation will normally have some initial idea of which benefit areas are most attractive. For instance, a plant may decide to focus on reliability improvements or supply chain integration. KPIs should be selected for each benefit area. The KPIs should be specific, measurable, achievable, result-oriented and time-bound. The next step is to determine which functional areas will help obtain the desired benefits. Each benefit area is associated with specific KPIs and will have a specific benefit calculation or estimate. Next, assess the state of existing work processes and supporting software in each functional area. Do appropriate work processes exist for each area? Are the existing work processes and software tools sufficient to capture some or most of the benefits? Finally, review the previously selected metrics. The result of this activity is to produce a list of benefit areas and metrics that can be used to measure status, progress, functional areas and work processes that, if improved, should result in improvements to KPIs.

Estimating Potential Benefits Once benefit areas, KPIs and functional areas have been selected, the next step is to estimate potential benefits. Potential benefits can be estimated in several ways: by using benchmarks, by comparisons with a similar plant, by analyzing variability and by experience.

Other Required Investments It is important to remember that an MES may highlight ways to improve, but actually earning benefits for better operation will often require other investments, such as maintenance, debottlenecking projects, advanced control, additional metering and so on.

Allocating Benefits to Multiple Functions Often there are multiple functional areas that contribute to a single benefit area. If multiple functional areas are employed, then the benefits provided by each area should be allocated in some way. A reasonable guideline is to allocate a somewhat larger share of benefits to functional areas that have been under-utilized in the past and which have an active mechanism.

Post-Project AuditingOnce an MES has been installed and is operational, determining whether the estimated benefits are actually achieved can be as difficult as estimating the benefits in the first place. One approach is to make top down calculations based on changes to the primary KPIs. Calculate the primary KPIs both before and after the MES becomes operational. Look for sustained changes.

Honeywell MES Solutions

Honeywell understands business requirements and the benefits that can be realized through the use of MES in a production environment. Honeywell’s MES solutions effectively manage all steps of the production lifecycle, from specifying materials to shipping the product.

Honeywell’s MES offerings include Business FLEX, OptiVision and POMSnet. Business FLEX applications help industrial facilities sync production schedules with business objectives while reducing operating costs. Designed for pharmaceutical manufacturing, POMSnet enforces good manufacturing practices, provides a complete history for regulatory compliance, and controls and tracks all aspects of production. OptiVision software manages the complete order-to-cash cycle for pulp and paper companies.

Business FLEX is a suite of applications that enable process plants to efficiently execute corporate objectives. These applications unify supply chain planning with production automation by converting business objectives into specific execution targets and returning validated production results. Business FLEX applications provide the data and best practices to make optimal decisions and increase visibility to information in production facilities and across the supply chain. These applications guide, initiate, respond to and report onsite activities as they occur, while communicating feedback to planning and enterprise systems. The collaborative features in Business FLEX increase planning, forecasting, scheduling and production accuracy to better support supply chain operations and business strategies. This provides real-time coordination, visibility, agility, efficiency and continuous improvement across the enterprise, along with a closer working relationship with suppliers and customers. Proven Business FLEX benefits include increased visibility that enables better decision making and faster execution, improved collaboration across the organization and supply chain, reduced energy, production and inventory costs, and enhanced customer service with faster, more consistent order fulfillment.

POMSnet is a web-based system that improves manufacturing performance by ensuring that products are manufactured the right way, at the right time, every time. POMSnet controls and tracks all aspects of production. POMSnet users can achieve improved cycle times, reduced cost of compliance and greater manufacturing responsiveness. POMSnet is easily deployed online and the web architecture allows for centralized maintenance, thus reducing the cost of ownership. Standard web services provide integration between POMSnet, ERP and other systems. POMSnet manages the collaborative development and deployment of complete specifications to plan, source, make and deliver products from concept to manufacturing. It supports all stages of the product lifecycle, from development to enterprise standardization and multi-site manufacturing. POMSnet can manage material, recipes, inventory, equipment maintenance, quality and electronic record keeping.

Honeywell’s OptiVision Business Logic software is a comprehensive solution for profitably managing the complete order-to-cash cycle of a pulp and paper company. It focuses on primary business concerns, like being able to make the best decisions to minimize costs, being agile enough to respond to customer demands profitably and earning customer loyalty by consistently meeting commitments. OptiVision optimizes sell price, fixed costs and variable costs by optimizing manpower requirements, allocating fixed assets, managing working capital and prioritizing capital spending. OptiVision provides planning and execution at the corporate level and full manufacturing execution at the mill level.

Summary

- Solutions improve plant profitability by enabling staff to work more effectively and make better decisions - The potential financial returns are extremely high (millions) - Solution suites are available to offer a complete solution to a plant problem - Honeywell MES supports collaborative manufacturing across the supply chain - Customer’s can rely on Honeywell’s solid experience

 

 

For more information Please visit Honeywell website at www.honeywell.com/ps/sea