Ignition SCADA & OEE for AriensCo

AriensCo has a state-of-the-art landscaping equipment production facility built on top of industry-leading machinery and manufacturing principles.

Their OEE process data collection and rework/scrap tracking process gave them very granular visibility into their process, but was time consuming and cumbersome to use. Plus, they wanted the capability of looking at real-time data.

AriensCo worked with Corso Systems to improve and automate their OEE data collection process from pen and paper to automated real-time results using Ignition Perspective and the Sepasoft OEE Module.

SCADA & OEE Solution

• Horner XL7 PLCs for equipment control

• Inductive Automation’s Ignition platform, including:

  • Perspective for mobile device visualization

  • Built-in Process Historian for data collection and trending

  • Sepasoft MES Modules for OEE functionality

  • Alarm notifications for critical process alarms

• Custom “job-packet” workflow integration to allow Sepasoft’s OEE and Production Scheduling Modules to meet AriensCo’s process workflow needs

• Automated Scrap and Rework Tracking

• ERP Integration for production scheduling and bill of material management

• Discover Gallery Finalist at the Ignition Community Conference in 2021

PLC and SCADA Implementation Summary

AriensCo worked with Corso Systems to automate data collection and create a real-time OEE engine for analysis from the plant level all the way down to each individual work center. Within the scope of work, there were several major areas of focus: device connectivity, PLC interaction, ERP integration, data processing, and visualization. Corso Systems was tasked with assisting the AriensCo crew on troubleshooting connectivity to their Horner XL7 PLCs used by operators to track their productivity on the line. This involved working with their in-house designers to integrate with the PLC hardware and programming standards to parse out the data required by the Sepasoft OEE Module. Corso Systems ensured that all of the parts counters, operator scans, scrap counters, manual adjustments, and timestamps coming from the PLCs were high-quality data points using Ignition to validate all of the data.

ERP integration greatly streamlined the overall process for generating the data required by the OEE Module. A manufacturing order is scanned, the MO number is sent back to the ERP system, and the ERP system returns all of the required information for those parts. All the information regarding the engineering studies performed is stored in the ERP and it keeps everything centralized.

The ERP connection also serves as an endpoint to handle associating the operators’ RFID badges with their employee identification numbers. Now, every operation is not only tracked to the work center but also to the individual with a simple badge swipe when an employee logs into a workstation. Upon process completion, the part counts are passed back up to the ERP to update inventory, aiding the scheduling and planning side of the operation in real-time.

Once all the information coming in had the proper designations coming up from the PLC and going out to the ERP, the Corso Systems team was able to incorporate everything into the Sepasoft Production Model to perform the analysis and calculate real-time OEE for general and granular aspects of the plant.

One of the most important pieces of the project was to visualize everything in a clear, understandable format that high-level executives and on-the-floor operators all understood at a glance. Corso Systems was able to create a navigation system that allowed the user to glide through the different scopes of the plant and also adjust the metrics that they were viewing (performance, availability, downtime, quality, OEE).

Metric selections can be adjusted allowing flexibility when comparing work centers to each other and looking at the different metrics for each work center. Mix in the navigational strategy with custom screens and a custom dashboard widget configurable by any user that can be saved to their profile, and Corso Systems was able to create an efficient, high-power visualization scheme for the AriensCo team.

Result

The result of the project was taking a company from tracking their process using pen and paper, to having an on-the-fly, real-time understanding of what is happening on the plant floor. With the ability to see high-level overviews and drill into each line, work center, and individual employee performance, management can take action to effect change for the good of the company at a much higher rate. Throughout the process, there were moments of reflection for both the AriensCo and Corso Systems teams to adjust procedures and grow as companies and individuals.

This project is further detailed in the Ignition Community Conference 2021 Discover Gallery