dataPARC’s Operational Intelligence Solution Designed to Speed Return on Investment

Summary

Software solutions for operational intelligence aggregate a corporation's manufacturing- or operations-related data from many sources for contextualization, analytics and analysis, and visualization.  According to recent ARC Advisory Group research, operational intelligence is the fastest-growing segment in the production management software space.

The software provides operational intelligence to people, processes, and applications to support actionable decisions in real time.  The software can help improve performance at the plant level and throughout the manufacturing enterprise and supply chain.  With the emergence of Industrie 4.0 and the Industrial IoT, the volume and speed of data have increased dramatically, driving the need for better operations intelligence. Companies must make better decisions to reduce manufacturing costs to compete globally.

As ARC learned in a recent briefing, dataPARC’s software is designed to enable operational intelligence with easy-to-use features designed to connect disparate data sources, accelerate data-driven decisions, and deliver a fast return on investment.

dataPARC and Operational Intelligence

Recently, dataPARC briefed ARC about the company’s solution and user benefits.  dataPARC provides integrated operations intelligence and historian software.  The company focuses on data connectivity, real-time plant performance, and visualization and analytics to support empowered decision making.  The company’s products, PARCview, PARCserver Historian, and PARCpde, offer visualization, storage, and analytics capabilities plus connectivity.  

What Makes dataPARC Different?

When developing the software, the company focused on how it can empower plant personnel and support their decision-making process with easy-to-use software tools.   

Operational Intelligence and Decision Support

The software models the data to support better operational intelligence. dataPARC’s operational intelligence and analytics functionalities appear to be well developed and intuitive to use.  The solution includes both traditional analytics as well as more advanced predictive analytics for problem solving. 

Batch analysis capabilities enable multiple batches to be aligned and compared against real-time data.  Additionally, the solution enables users to search for batch ID or product information.  The software can compare batches by time based on percent completion.  Individual historical and run-time batch phases can also be aligned and compared in real time using a phase-based comparison mode.   These features are more important today as companies move from large batches to smaller, but more complex batches to meet current product customization requirements (including “batches of one”).

Connectivity and Data Management

A data engine, PARCpde, can aggregate and roll up data for any user-defined period and trend-optimized values.  The solution can combine multiple sites and multiple data sources to a single view without having to duplicate the data.

However, when needed, the optional dataPARC historian can access data from a variety of sources (including other historians) using APIs, third-party software development kits (SDKs), or customizable SQL relational databases.  PARCserver can acquire high-frequency data from hundreds of data systems and sources such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, MES, /PLC, batch software, database, IT assets, and others.

Business and Operations Intelligence

Companies use dataPARC software to gain perspectives and intelligence from both structured and unstructured operational and business data.  The digital dashboards are designed to be easily configurable and highly informative.  PARCgraphics designer tools include a library of over 5,000 process graphic objects and integrates to MES, LIMS, ERP, data historians, and other sources.

Data Connectivity

Based on an ARC survey, the number two driver for operations intelligence is to integrate information and eliminate data silos.  dataPARC’s solution has built-in connectors for both manufacturing and operations data to simplify integration.

As ARC learned, dataPARC software enabled a large chemical processor to drive down its variable costs (energy, raw materials, chemicals, etc.) by creating a single version of the truth from multiple data sources (historians, lab systems, analytics tools, etc.).      The software helped that company reduce variable costs by $3.5 million/year, immediately be notified of any abnormal behavior or conditions, and drill down to troubleshoot issues.  The software drove a cultural change in the organization, enabling operators and management to collaborate better through data-driven decisions.

dataPARC’ s real-time ERP interface bridges the gap between the administrative and process worlds.  The software can display data sourced in the business systems for direct access to cost, quality control, and inventory data to support better business decisions. 

Digital Transformation

The software also supports digital transformation through its ability to access data in the cloud, in the plant, or at the device level. 

Process Visibility Dashboards Improve the Bottom Line

According to the same ARC survey reference earlier, the number one driver for using operations intelligence software is to improve process visibility.  Digital dashboards, metrics, and easily viewable KPIs allow decision makers to clearly see what’s happening at a glance to improve the bottom line.  All companies could benefit from better visualization.  By replacing multiple spreadsheets with digital dashboards, industrial organizations could potential save thousands (or even millions) of dollars a day.

dataPARC’s digital dashboards allow managers to track important metrics and KPIs and assess how close they are to target.  These tools enable users to measure and improve operations.  Without operations intelligence, users are unable to understand how their decisions affect the process.

By measuring metrics and KPIs such as production output, yields, material costs, quality, and downtime, employees at all levels and in all roles can make better decisions to improve production efficiencies and business performance. 

Data Performance

The PARCpde Performance Data Engine creates a data archive for faster and easier data analysis. The archive enables users of the PARCview trend to seamlessly zoom out and compare trends in real time.  Trend users can also use the smart mouse to drill down to highlight and compare specific time periods on the fly. dataPARC can access data from any historian efficiently for data retrieval.

Operational Benefits

In addition to improving process visibility and efficiency, the software can help improve operational excellence.  Operational costs can also be reduced through better asset management, reduced downtime, improved safety information, and the ability to access operating costs throughout the value chain.

In addition to reducing production costs and downtime, the software is designed to help industrial organizations:

• Improve product quality and simplify regulatory compliance
• Identify, analyze, and solve problems
• Easily integrate and connect to the different data sources
• Improve reliability
• Integrate quickly with plant systems for better visibility
• Drive collaboration with data visibility
• Empower decisions to improve efficiencies

• Improve the bottom line

Conclusion

By empowering employees, accelerating the decision-making process, reducing costs, and improving performance, investments in operational intelligence can help industrial organizations realize quick ROI.  In addition to the silos that still exist in many organizations, most companies today still rely on spreadsheets for part of their operations.  Operational intelligence software supports data integration, manufacturing agility, and helps enterprises connect previously separated operational and business silos. 

A more collaborative and visual operational intelligence environment can help these same enterprises identify problems, determine improvements, and drive actions. Through better collaboration and information intelligence, manufacturers can improve processes, reduce downtime, and increase production performance.

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Keywords: Operational Intelligence, Decision Support Systems, Analytics, Visibility, ROI, dataPARC, ARC Advisory Group.