Process management platforms streamline work processes and boost communication during shift handovers.
As the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has evolved over the past 20 years, the focus has been on interconnecting sensors and devices with industrial applications.
This allows for a high degree of automation and the ability to use cloud computing and artificial intelligence in the next-generation of process control. Thus, the shift to the IIoT has effectively expanded computer technology beyond the confines of IT to the shop floor and beyond.
However, this first wave of the IIoT has largely ignored the human element, an important factor in the execution of any industrial process, regardless of the degree of automation employed. Production teams can become more efficient due to the ability of IIoT networks to capture, exchange and analyze data instantly. But without access to IIoT infrastructure, these gains will be difficult to realize.
The next wave of IIoT must promote collaboration between people and machines, particularly for personnel directly involved in production, to best exploit its ability to respond quickly to changes in the operating condition of an industrial process.
The upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic underlines the need for seamless integration between human intelligence and machine data collected through legacy systems and IIoT. Production team members who need to work remotely need access via the public internet to assist on-site colleagues in solving process upsets.
For 24/7 production, each shift team relies on this information for rapid response to adverse operating conditions, making remote work more difficult if the access is not available for the night or weekend shifts. Therefore, as IIoT becomes more pervasive in production processes, this access will need to be open for everyone within a shift operation, not just technical specialists.
A real-time view of plant operations
Plant process management (PPM) is a system that gives manufacturers the ability to manage, monitor and optimize plant operations around work activities and production assets. A fully implemented PPM system provides a real-time view of work procedures and tasks, including recording and status of any incidents or outliers to normal plant operation.
With many plants running continuous operations on regular shift changes, it is imperative that the current shift is made aware of any issues that may have arisen during the previous shift. This means there is a critical need for communication at shift changes to alleviate any missed details at the handover. A lack of quality communication can have a direct impact on the ongoing safety of the workforce, as well as on plant efficiency and production quality.
The requirements met by PPM apply to any type of plant, regardless of the amount of IoT instrumentation, machine learning (ML) or predictive maintenance in place. Knowledge can be ingested and analyzed from any human contact point in a process.
As the pandemic has demonstrated, consistent capture of team-to-team communication has shifted to a “must-have” capability. Irregular work patterns are the new normal for individuals due to isolation and social distancing measures, which have put added pressure on safe operations.
The next wave of IIoT must promote collaboration between people and machines, particularly for personnel directly involved in production, to best exploit its ability to respond quickly to changes in the operating condition of an industrial process.
When looking at shift management challenges, 36 per cent of IT respondents identified the inability to consume or share captured data is the greatest challenge they face in terms of shift management. On the OT side, 34 per cent of respondents stated that the inability to reconcile shift data with machine logs is their greatest challenge in terms of shift management.
The top-ranked priorities cited by IT/OT respondents for a PPM investment included capturing and sharing best practices for worker safety, broader collaboration and communication among production teams and managers, and gaining a platform to record real-time incidents for reporting and corrective action.
Source: https://www.automationmag.com/