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Schneider Electric Launches Prometheus to Configure Multiple Types and Brands of Control System Components
Schneider Electric announced Prometheus, a configuration tool used for defining, programming and documenting multiple components in an industrial control system, from the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to the I/O. Prometheus introduces a high-level open programming environment that helps to automate complex configuration tasks and enable the configuration of control components of multiple types or brands.
By removing some of the complexity and burden of updating multiple applications, Prometheus helps to drive greater agility across automation control systems, ensuring plants run more efficient and up-to-date processes. Prometheus can configure each of these components, beyond the capabilities of existing controllers and SCADA / HMI software for multiple typea and brands..
For the standards team, Prometheus templates help ensure that standards are achievable and deliver value. Code development independent of the target platform, optional functionality and intelligent plug and socket connections deliver more agile templates, ensuring greater reuse of code. Integrated version management means standards can evolve as requirements change.
A multi user framework provides engineering disciplines with visibility into the project, ensuring earlier identification of issues and more timely decision-making. Workflows are more flexible because each control asset is built as a modular component; work can start at the top with the process definition or at the bottom with the I/O, helping to eliminate loose ends; Prometheus highlights the incomplete work. And with low fidelity simulation built in, testing and validation is easier.
For the operations team, Prometheus delivers transparency with an online view of executing logic, and control with simulation to override faults to keep the process running; helping to eliminate jumping wires in the cabinet or forcing values in the controller. And with real time process monitoring during change deployment, it is possible to implement process improvement, and safely deploy to the controller, without disruption.
Platform independent and agile code libraries, with intelligent plug and socket assembly, help to ensure projects are delivered faster, enabling Systems Integrators to deliver more value to their customers. Reduced dependence on code authors helps improve resource mobility and customer response.
With vendor neutrality, OEMs have access to a broader customer base and embedded control. Prometheus code can even be compiled to GCC for execution on Linux, OS9, OSX or Windows.
Prometheus is now Generally Available, as of January 2017.
Schneider Electric Expands Cloud Platform with Wonderware Online InStudio
Schneider Electric also introduced Wonderware Online InStudio, an Infrastructure-as-a-Service offering that helps software engineers, Systems Integrators and end users to provision, develop, test and maintain their HMI and SCADA applications. Wonderware Online InStudio is part of the evolution of Wonderware Online cloud platform. This collection of industrial data aggregation, storage and visualization functionalities is now called Wonderware Online InSight, built on Microsoft Azure.
Wonderware Online InStudio is a cloud subscription service that lets Systems Integrators overlay a next-generation infrastructure that is available and scalable. This offering supports improved collaboration during the development process across geographies and roles. Potential benefits include improved customer experiences, better optimized delivery of software engineering services, enhanced application designs, faster user adoption and potential to lower project costs. InStudio provides a multifaceted environment used for development, testing, version management, and training.
With Wonderware Online InStudio, software engineers can:
- Help to decrease time to provision development, testing, and training environments
- Create virtual machines faster; start instantly with pre-loaded VM images
- Help to reduce hardware costs; set automated shutdowns to minimize costs
- Shorten quote times while helping improving accuracy
- Creating environments for proof-of-concepts, change management, testing and version upgrading
InStudio joins Wonderware Online InSight, as the latest addition to its portfolio of Wonderware Online cloud-first, mobile-first technologies specifically designed to help improve operational efficiency.
Research suggests that cloud-based Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and other offerings have the potential to deploy less energy and natural resources, such as through the reduction of hardware requirements for software development testing. This environmental benefit, coupled with greater collaboration and efficiency, can reduce a company's overall carbon footprint.
Wonderware Online InStudio will be Generally Available in November, 2016.
Schneider Electric Extends Scope of Wonderware Recipe Manager Plus
Schneider Electric announced an extended scope of capabilities for Wonderware Recipe Manager Plus. This new version has an improved web user interface with stronger governance functionality, including configurable role-based security, automatic item versioning, approvals, electronic signatures and an electronic change and execution history.
Life Sciences manufacturers are challenged to go paperless while adhering to regulatory compliance requirements, such as FDA 21 CFR Part 11 or GMP (Eudralex volume 4 Annex 11). Wonderware Recipe Manager Plus helps to streamline this process with configurable Done By / Check By signature requirements and comment enforcement for recipe management and execution actions. Its role-based security system has been enhanced to include new permissions for signing actions; reporting templates provide access to new electronic change and execution history records.
Wonderware Recipe Manager Plus is an automation-system agnostic recipe management and execution application, so it works within various automation system environments. As such, it can be implemented as an overlay solution without "rip-and-replace" of existing equipment, offering a faster time-to-value. Two recipe management options are offered:
1. Formula Management – provides set up parameter management that is typically used to produce a specific product variation by downloading the product formula parameter values to the production equipment control system
2. Recipe Management – adds procedure management to formula management functionality, and provides recipe execution management on automated production equipment; recipe procedure execution is managed by exchanging commands and status information with the equipment control system(s)
OPC UA integration with Wonderware System Platform is offered to integrate with many production equipment control systems. Connectors are also available for Vijeo Citect.
Schneider Electric Launches Serialization Suite for the Life Sciences Industry
Schneider Electric announced availability of the Serialization Suite for the Life Sciences industry. Implementing this Serialization Suite helps with the integration to the automation layer regardless of vendor, a common data repository and a model-driven framework. These attributes contribute to a "single source of the truth" with more consistent data, better unified reporting and analysis and standardized best practices to help enforce collaboration, compliance and data consistency across multi-site implementations.
Serialization compliance can be a daunting task for the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Industry when operating with disparate systems, interoperability and a lack of accurate visibility into all production processes and the extended supply chain. Several countries have set new regulations for traceability of prescription drug and biologic products, adding further complexity to this process. In order to facilitate these requirements, a serialization process should be put in place to enable materials to be tracked and traced electronically when passing through the supply chain.
The Schneider Electric Serialization Suite helps to ensure Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences companies can:
- Better identify and stop the distribution of counterfeit drugs
- Contain and track the source of contaminated drugs back to the source
- Handle product recalls more efficiently and effectively
Included in the offering is Schneider Electric's Customer FIRST Software Maintenance and Support Program. This program enables access to the latest software upgrades, technical assistance and self-help tools to help improve operational effectiveness.
Keywords: Low Fidelity Simulation, Industrial Control, Asset Performance, Infrastructure-as-a-Service, GS1 Standards for Serialization, Serialization Compliance, ARC Advisory Group.