The Future of Automation: From Field Device Through Modularization to Data Mining...

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DÜPERTHAL Sicherheitstechnik GmbH & Co. KG

TURCK GmbH

Elementar Analysensysteme GmbH

NAMUR e. V. c/o Bayer AG NAMUR-Geschäftsstelle

The Namur-MTP is an important approach. “A prototype of such a Module Type Package (MTP) was presented at this year’s Namur Annual General Meeting. Seven manufacturers (Yokogawa, ABB, Wago, Phoenix Contact, Siemens, Emerson, Pepperl+Fuchs as well as Hima and Festo), illustrated how modules of different manufacturers can work on a common HMI.

All the participants of the podium discussion were positively surprised by the fast development, which is mainly because Namur and the ZVEI have been working in close collaboration in this field from the very beginning. Although it will take some time for the Namur MTP to be ready for the market, it is an important piece of the puzzle on the way to quicker modular production. In future, module experts will discuss it with questions on status-based process control/process management and subjects ranging from diagnosis to maintenance.

Virtual Support for Maintenance Jobs

For a long time, operators have been asking the question as to how they can use the knowledge of the technicians and engineers better and they can make this information available to other sites. This is particularly decisive for widely dispersed companies, e.g., the BASF which has more than 350 production sites all over the world.

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“How do I assimilate the expertise that has been collected in the factories of the world since more than 150 years? A colleague in Nanjing does not know that perhaps a colleague in Ludwigshafen has been working on the same problem for 10 years”; this is a daily routine situation, stated Dr. Joachim Thiel, BASF. A reliability center introduced some time back will answer this question.

The platform offers online support by combining expert knowledge in status monitoring of machines with modern methods of data analysis. Anomalies can be detected prematurely this way and unexpected machine failures can be avoided. “We collect the data of plants from all sites and put it on a dashboard in order to collect and display the data there”, continues Thiel.

Namur Sets Out to Overcome Limits in Process Automation

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In connection with improved systems of data analysis, locally available expert knowledge can be taken to far away sites. Initially there were challenges like whether one will get the information transferred at the corresponding speed and what the quality of the information is. Finally, the data may not lead to a wrong interpretation. Naturally, the data models must also be coordinated with the problems and last but not the least: “We shall never be able to avoid the human component; eventually it boils down to filtering and evaluating the multiplicity of data in an intelligent way”, says Thiel. The acceptance of the virtual helper in the factories is very high. If only big machines like compressors were accepted in the first step, critical valves or complex process analyzers among other things must be considered in future.

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