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HMI Evolved - Data that was once untapped or lost in complexity can be brought to life through modern HMI software integrated with IT and OT systems
6
June
2016
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Are you playing Pong while the competition plays Halo 5? The human-machine interface (HMI) system has evolved from push-button controls to the primary platform for operational decision-making. Just as today’s best video games offer up dramatic, new capabilities, today’s HMI provides more effective graphics, contextualised alerts and intuitively placed information that helps operators to make quick, in-process decisions.
Expectations for HMI software are progressing as OEMs and users want to take advantage of new technologies. Migrating to more advanced HMI software can help unlock new benefits by reducing design and commissioning time and boosting uptime and productivity. The drivers behind these benefits are improved visualisation and ease, more detailed and accurate alarm information, and anytime, anywhere access to information.
Behind the Screen
Every day, control systems collect a swarm of unused operational data that could potentially help in plant-wide decision-making processes. Companies that are electing to converge their IT and operations technology (OT) now are uncovering once-ignored data from controllers and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.
Thanks to the confluence of IT and OT solutions, the HMI can take on producer and consumer roles in the system-wide data flow. In short, not only does it display all of the real-time information needed to control a system, but by accessing data from other sources, operators can visualise and contextualise a broader set of information. This results in making decisions and solving problems closer to where and when data is created.
Reduce Design Time
The idea of HMI system migration can seem daunting, but modern HMI software alleviates this with simplified design and commissioning processes.
By offering a common development tool, multiple users involved in a deployment can create machine- and site-level HMI applications in a single, scalable design environment. Developers, for instance, can create reusable objects that achieve consistency, and managing entire object libraries to improve the overall productivity of the design process. Plus, the entire machine-level applications or their individual components can be imported into supervisory-level applications.
For running systems, edits to applications are straightforward during commissioning. When changes are made, the system will update without costly redeployment or recompile cycles.
Advanced HMI software also integrates with the control system instead of existing as a separate entity. The HMI can reference tags and alarms directly in the controller instead of using abstracted intermediate databases. This direct connection means reduced error rates in design and increased accuracy in state-tracking and time stamps.
Bring Data to Light
You’ve integrated IT and OT systems. You’ve reduced design time. Now, an abundance of data is available at your fingertips. This quantity of information might seem overwhelming and in itself doesn’t monitor or control production. It requires presentation in a clear, concise and consistent view that enhances the operational role of a modern HMI solution.
Fancy graphics make a contribution, but what users really need is a way to visualise complex information in an intuitive display. By using industry standards for operator awareness, an HMI can present even that swarm of data on a physical screen without confusion. For example, Web-browser-style navigation buttons empower operators to quickly respond to problems or select specific screens from a list.
By supporting multiple platforms and form factors, the view from an operator terminal at one plant can be consistent with a PC-based system at another. Organisations with multiple plants can actually improve the efficiency of their workforce by supporting consistent, visualisation standards across their enterprise.
Alarmingly Detailed Information
As the primary view into a production system, quickly alerting users to a current or potential issue is a critical task for any HMI system. An especially relevant component of a modern visualisation system is a comprehensive alarming system.
Modern HMIs simplify alarming functions and tightly integrate them with the controller. That means it’s a new world where controllers hold alarm configurations and state conditions, displaying state changes and alarm triggers on the HMI without constantly polling for information. It’s a world in which alarms require no additional configuration in the HMI. If a network outage occurs, alarms are buffered in the controller and show on the display in the right order with accurate time stamps.
On the Go? So is the HMI
Modern HMI also provides greater flexibility in where and how information is available. Smartphones and tablets have put almost unlimited information in the palm of the user’s hand. Blending advanced HMI software with mobile devices lets an organisation extend the reach of its system.
Modern HMI systems with responsive displays mean that operators, maintenance, quality, plant managers or other key users have instant access to their operations anywhere – from the plant floor, to the couch at home, to seat 24B on an airplane.
Robust Information Sharing
Data that was once untapped or lost in complexity can be brought to life through modern HMI software integrated with IT and OT systems. An HMI’s value doesn’t end at the operator interface. Rather, it can and should extend into your information architecture for easier and more robust information-sharing and decision-making.
When an HMI can directly integrate with plant-floor systems, users gain access to real-time information from a controller along with information stored on the plant floor. This data can be delivered as actionable information via the HMI software to help plant personnel better analyse production, optimise equipment performance, improve fault detection, track product quality and more.
Accessing and visualising valuable data has never been easier. A modern HMI isn’t just fancy graphics. It can be the catalyst to push your production forward.
For more information, please contact:
Rockwell Automation Ltd
UK Marketing Communications Specialist
Pitfield
Kiln Farm
Milton Keynes
K11 3DR
Tel: 0870 242 5004
Fax: 01908 839696
Email: SRatcli@ra.rockwell.com
Web: www.rockwellautomation.co.uk |
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