Data Historians
Data Historians come in many shapes and sizes these days - the traditional big players in the industry still sell high-powered (and priced) systems with custom connectors to all the main systems. These are great products, but are not necessarily suitable for every plant or pocket - not everyone needs to feed data to 100 engineers or multiple higher level business systems.
Newer, lightweight historians are available that leverage more modern, vendor neutral protocols to deliver a lot of the functionality for a fraction of the cost. Many of the big players invested lots of R&D to overcome storage constraints that just don't exist any more; the same increase in available storage means that relational databases such as Microsoft SQL Sever and Oracle can be considered for some applications, with the right collection software. There are some functionality gaps, but these can often be filled with careful design of client tools (smart spreadsheets or web pages).
Here at Newbegin we have experience in selecting the right product for your business, and just as importantly, helping your organisation make the transition to a "data driven" environment. Here are some case studies of our work, if you'd like to understand how we could help you more, don't hesitate to contact us!
The problem:
The client had some issues with batch repeatability, which were difficult to track because their Data Historian software was not capable of identifying the start of batches automatically, and did not have the tools to compare batch profiles based on this start time. Other plant requirements meant that each batch could contain differing amounts of raw materials, so a simple "ideal batch" profile was not sophisticated enough.
Our solution:
We created a spreadsheet to allow batch data from the DCS and laboratory (LIMS) system to be viewed in the same tool, rebased to batch start times that were calculated online. From the amount of substrate charged to each batch, and knowledge of the "ideal" batch profile, we were able to plot a curve of expected product concentration with time for each batch.
This was then extended into a real-time web graphic, allowing the whole team to share a consistent view of the progress of each batch against an "ideal" profile as results came in from the lab, enabling much earlier intervention if a batch was not proceeding as planned.
The outcome:
Batch yields and consistency improved, interventions could be made earlier to correct poorly performing batches.
The problem:
The client's operations team were running blind when it came to understanding the "short term control" of the unit - wrong operational decisions were being made because the team did not have access to an overview of key operational, business and logistics data.
Our solution:
We created a set of real-time web dashboards on the client's intranet, integrating operational data from their process historian with real time orders from their ERP (Microsoft Dynamics Ax) and a bespoke Traffic Managment system (based on a relational database).
The outcome:
Situational awareness throughout the business (in the Commercial as well as the Operations team) was improved, staff now had a common level of situational awareness that facilitated the right decisions.
Newer, lightweight historians are available that leverage more modern, vendor neutral protocols to deliver a lot of the functionality for a fraction of the cost. Many of the big players invested lots of R&D to overcome storage constraints that just don't exist any more; the same increase in available storage means that relational databases such as Microsoft SQL Sever and Oracle can be considered for some applications, with the right collection software. There are some functionality gaps, but these can often be filled with careful design of client tools (smart spreadsheets or web pages).
Here at Newbegin we have experience in selecting the right product for your business, and just as importantly, helping your organisation make the transition to a "data driven" environment. Here are some case studies of our work, if you'd like to understand how we could help you more, don't hesitate to contact us!
The problem:
The client had some issues with batch repeatability, which were difficult to track because their Data Historian software was not capable of identifying the start of batches automatically, and did not have the tools to compare batch profiles based on this start time. Other plant requirements meant that each batch could contain differing amounts of raw materials, so a simple "ideal batch" profile was not sophisticated enough.
Our solution:
We created a spreadsheet to allow batch data from the DCS and laboratory (LIMS) system to be viewed in the same tool, rebased to batch start times that were calculated online. From the amount of substrate charged to each batch, and knowledge of the "ideal" batch profile, we were able to plot a curve of expected product concentration with time for each batch.
This was then extended into a real-time web graphic, allowing the whole team to share a consistent view of the progress of each batch against an "ideal" profile as results came in from the lab, enabling much earlier intervention if a batch was not proceeding as planned.
The outcome:
Batch yields and consistency improved, interventions could be made earlier to correct poorly performing batches.
The problem:
The client's operations team were running blind when it came to understanding the "short term control" of the unit - wrong operational decisions were being made because the team did not have access to an overview of key operational, business and logistics data.
Our solution:
We created a set of real-time web dashboards on the client's intranet, integrating operational data from their process historian with real time orders from their ERP (Microsoft Dynamics Ax) and a bespoke Traffic Managment system (based on a relational database).
The outcome:
Situational awareness throughout the business (in the Commercial as well as the Operations team) was improved, staff now had a common level of situational awareness that facilitated the right decisions.