Integration of enterprise and plant floor

Careful specification and documentation of system components, attention to detail during implementation and testing phases are key factors for smooth integration and reliable operation for decades without a single flaw.

The client

A leading German chemical industry.

Costly and inefficient operation

Upstream enterprise systems generate reports containing the production schedule, which are then translated by human operators into commands on a number of control panels on the plant floor. Human operators cannot easily optimize allocation of resources in order to obtain the maximum efficiency on the plant floor.

Integration of enterprise data with plant floor operations

The production schedule coming from upstream enterprise systems should ideally be translated into instructions to programmable logical controllers on the plant floor, so that resources can be allocated and managed efficiently by an entirely automated system, responding to events coming from the plant floor, reallocating resources and sending commands back to the plant floor in response to events received.

Enabling a solution

Mathminds implemented an integration layer which downloads the production schedule from upstream enterprise systems, collects data available in a SCADA synoptic panel, performs the logic necessary for efficient allocation of resources and finally integrates to programmable logic controllers via a custom communication protocol.

Conclusion

• Efficiency on plant floor operations was achieved;
• Human resources are free to perform more important tasks;
• Integration was smooth and without any surprises;
• System in operation for decades without a single flaw.