64 /156
The concept driving a vertical automation architecture was that real-time production data and
the actionable information that it would generate would move beyond the supervisory and
MES layers to the enterprise business levels of a
manufacturer. Moving this production information to enterprise business levels would involve
interfacing with SCM, CRM, EAM, and ERP applications, and provide a connection between these
business and operational systems. However, the
promise of moving real-time production data
to business application levels, and the enterprise business systems that it would enable and
enhance has not been fully realized.
Some of the reasons behind this are more about
shifting of priorities around production operations data to enterprise business integration
AMNYTT #2
2015
and interface. Manufacturers continue to see
the value of using real-time production data
to measure, monitor, and analyze production
processes, and, moreover, continue to optimize
the production process. However, rather than
rely solely on a vertical architecture based on
automation systems, manufacturers also must
consider a horizontal architecture based on the
product lifecycle of design, build, and operations.
It is more the case of these vertical and horizontal axes intersecting at key points in the product,
process, and production lifecycle, and providing
actionable information that will lead to improving and optimizing the overall production lifecycle process. Additionally, this also represents
the merging of the virtually simulated environment with physical production systems truly
enabling the concept of the digital factory.