Plant Historian has been standing for more availability and transparency for your industrial plants for more than 20 years. The modular MES software suite is used internationally in various countries in Europe, Asia and South America.

Best practice is the key to continuous development and improvement of the current version. Plant Historian 5 is also available as a web application, offers a REST API and a time series database for efficient processing of large amounts of data. For sampling rates of less than 500 ms, we provide a powerful alternative to the OPC interface with MQTT.

The Highlights in detail:

• Desktop and web-enabled multi-project and multi-user solution
• Integrated REST interface for flexible and individual data evaluation with BI tools (Power BI, GRAFANA etc.)
• MQTT interface (sampling rate less than 500 ms)
• Workflow engine for process automation and automatic data forwarding, e.g. for OEE and shift book entries
• Time series databases for efficient processing of large amounts of data

Our MES solutions offer single sign-on as well as new design elements and improved usability

Increase in production efficiency as a result of digital data collection and process automation

In many areas of the manufacturing industry, the collection and documentation of production and quality data are based on standards and norms. These include, for example, defect and control charts, glass lists or audit records. Frequently, they are the basis for production-relevant decisions. This means that the release of a batch in production by the plant management can be dependent on certain quality data or characteristics. Very often, the collection and documentation of these relevant data is still done manually.

The problem of manual data recording

However, data and information collected by manual means is often incomplete, subject to errors and must also be entered into third-party systems. Research is very time-consuming and cross-departmental communication is usually difficult and consumes a lot of resources.

The solution of iMes Solutions GmbH

iMes Solutions' Digital Shift Book solution provides a paperless way to automatically enter relevant data into digital data entry masks. Subsequently, the data from various sources can be processed and provided in the form of reports (e.g. daily/weekly/monthly reports). All shop floor areas such as personnel, warehouse, machines, maintenance, raw materials, production and quality management are covered.

The benefits of workflow automation

The workflow engine integrated in the Shift Book provides a fast and flexible automation of workflow processes. Information relevant to production or plant safety is forwarded ad hoc to predefined recipient groups. Response time is reduced and information is reliably forwarded to the responsible persons.

In addition, complex if-then scenarios can be modelled on the basis of the recorded data across several interfaces or applications, e.g. machine controls, process control  and third-party systems (ERP, MES, LVS, CRM). This represents an enormous support for decision-making in the design of more efficient production processes..

Examples

The use of the digital shift book is a profitable investment in the production process in a wide variety of industries.

• Production in the pharmaceutical industry
  For the purpose of quality documentation and audits in the production of pharmaceutical products, the times at which, for example, certain temperatures or defined points in the step chain are reached are required at batch level. This documentation is fully automated by digital reading and recording of the times directly at the production line..
  
  
• Quality management in the food industry
  Food is subject to particularly strict rules during production. For example, metal detectors are used to detect any metallic contamination in the product, which on the one hand provides evidence for audits and on the other hand guarantees a safe food product.
  The automated creation of a shift book entry based on an external trigger, e.g. a variable in a machine control system, automatically records and reports incidents such as metal detector findings. Thus, the possibility of immediate action is ensured.
  
  
• Traceability in quality management
  The answer to the question "What was produced when and how?" is given automatically in the digital shift book. All production-relevant parameters, e.g. density, volume or moisture of the individual raw materials of the product to be manufactured are documented. The data is automatically recorded in the shift book and is available for evaluations and reports at any time.

Conclusion:

iMes Solutions' Digital Shift Book solution is a multi-functional tool in the production of various industries. The digital data collection guarantees a complete and largely error-free, standard-compliant and audit-optimized type of data collection and documentation for quality assurance in the company. Furthermore, the use of if-then scenarios offers possibilities for a more efficient design of production processes.

Traceability and transparency in the production process

>> Facts
For more than 30 years, the company, based in the Upper Bavarian region, has been committed to the production and distribution of organic food. Particular attention is paid to sustainability, including social and economic aspects..

>> Initial situation
In partially automated production, many processes are still recorded and documented manually. For each end product, important parameters such as weight, moisture, volume, etc. are recorded manually. Errors are inevitable in this process.

Research and data preparation for internal and external audits are usually very time-consuming. Traceability is also difficult in the event of quality problems.

>> Target
A central software solution is to be provided for the automated storage and evaluation of data, e.g. from Siemens WinCC or metal detectors. This should simplify plant management and make it more transparent. In the future, the collected production data will be available ad hoc for reporting and audits. Above all, quality management is to be supported and relieved in the area of audit preparation.

>> Project targets & requirements in detail:

• Central software solution for quality and process data storage
• Guidance of plant operators by intuitive and user-friendly software
• Process automation: workflows depending on specific events, e.g. metal detector results
• Complete batch traceability
• Relevant information, e.g. for audits, should be available ad hoc
• Automated reporting, e.g. daily and weekly reports for production and quality management
• Alarm and event recording: All events in the production line should be documented and made evaluable.

>> Technical challenges
Complete integration into the Siemens WinCC world
Creation of complex workflows for process automation: e.g. metal detector events are documented automatically and are available for ad hoc audits
Centralized and automated reporting: consolidation of production-relevant information provided by different sources

>> Decision for the iMes Solutions GmbH

• The user friendly and intuitive web solution from iMes Solutions GmbH meets all the company's requirements.
• The Plant Historian shift book software is coupled with the OPC server and, for example, automatically creates an ACTUAL/TARGET comparison of the product used during each weighing process and identifies any difference.
• The shift book solution is fully integrated into the Siemens WinCC world. A button opens the dialog in the browser window and the input fields are automatically filled in advance.
• The shift book solution is also available as an add-on in the Siemens Industry Mall.

>> Conclusion
The shift book software solution provided by the iMes Solutions GmbH is characterized by its complete integration into the Siemens WinCC world. It supports paperless working in all areas of production and quality management. This reduces the time required for recording, reporting and research, increases process quality and reliability and reduces costs. As a special advantage for its platform-independent use, the software solution can be used equally in the Windwos, Android and iOS world.

An example from practical experience
iScan PVK (product shipping labeling) as part of the iScan product family is used internationally for product and shipping labeling at one of the world's largest manufacturers of styrenic plastics.

The globally positioned manufacturer of styrenic plastics with around 3,600 employees produces plastics for everyday products in various industries, for example automotive, electronics, construction, household, leisure, packaging, medical and health.

The iScan PVK module is currently used at three locations in North America and at one location in Asia. iScan is also used at various locations in Europe in different configurations. At the German sites, both the iScan PDM (production data management) and the iScan WMS (warehouse management) modules are being used.

Initial situation & target
In the past, the North American sites used label printing software that was outdated and in some cases no longer supported. The existing solution was to be replaced by modern digital software.

All sites should be provided, installed and trained exclusively via "remote".

Time and cost savings due to "remote" commissioning
Both the installation of iScan PVK and the commissioning and user training were realized "remotely".

In the future, maintenance work can also be carried out at any time from a single location - resulting in enormous time and cost savings overall.

More than a connection between shopfloor and topfloor - a global success story
The solution is characterized by easy handling, high transparency of goods movements, product & batch traceability and a direct SAP® connection.

The major benefit for the customer results from the standardized SAP® interface at all sites and the processes that are mapped via this interface. The standard enables the company to equip further sites with iScan.

The iScan "Core Features" in an overview:

• Transfer of master data from the ERP system
• Guidance of the plant operator through the entire production process
• Recording of all production steps
• Automatic value transfer, target lists, tolerance checks
• Recipe calculation/management
• Feedback of produced goods/quantities (good goods, goods not conforming to type, rejects) and consumptions
• Complete recording of goods movements
• Grouping according to storage locations, material and batches
• Access to / transfer of data from the ERP system
• Tool for permanent and key date inventory

Customer testimonial from Business Process Manager Production & Quality Management
"iScan has a long history and perhaps a never-ending story as it continues to grow and become a global success," says the Business Process Manager Production & Quality Management, with a big smile on his face.

"I think the sentence that really hits the mark is: "iMes not only talks about solutions, but also delivers them"[...].
"With iScan, we have delivered a customized solution that can be deployed internationally, that meets individual requirements, and that leads to an overall harmonization of our internal processes. No matter when or where we have brought iMes and our company together, it has always been a great success."

Project highlights

• Global solution for product and shipment labeling
• Simple and secure SAP® connection
• Standardized in-house infrastructure and business processes
• Complete installation, commissioning and key user/application training "remotely"