METHOD FOR MONITORING AN AUTOMATION SYSTEM

Abstract

The invention resides in a method for maintaining a measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3) in an automated plant (A), wherein capability information (CI) of persons (P1, P2 P3) are registered and stored in a service platform (SP), wherein the capability information (CI) includes information concerning objects brought along by the person (P1, P2, P3), health of the person (P1, P2, P3) and/or safety equipment worn by the person (P1, P2, P3), comprising: noting a case of service or maintenance of the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3); creating a service or maintenance order (SO), which includes objects required for caring for the case of service or maintenance, health requirements and/or requirements regarding safety equipment; calculating a degree of suitability of persons (P1, P2, P3) stored in the service platform (SP) upon noting a case of service or maintenance for the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3), wherein the degree of suitability provides a measure of agreement of capability information (CI) for persons (P1, P2, P3) stored in the database with the required objects, the requirements for health and/or the requirements as regards safety equipment contained in the service or maintenance plan; and delivering the service or maintenance order (SO) to at least one of the persons (P1, P2, P3) stored in the service platform (SP), who has for the noted case of service or diagnosis a degree of suitability, which is equal to or greater than a predetermined degree of suitability.

Claims

1. Method for maintaining a measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3) in an automated plant (A), wherein there exist at the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3) at least one plant component (AK, AK′), especially a container and/or a pipeline, in which a process medium is located at least at times, at least one field device (FD, FD′), which is embodied for registering and/or influencing process variables of the process medium, and at least one communication means (KM), which is embodied for transferring to a control station (CS) of the plant (A) the process variables registered by the field device (FD, FD′) and/or diagnostic information produced by the field device (FD, FD′), comprising: registering capability information (CI) of a person (P1, P2, P3) located in the plant (A) or entering into the plant (A), wherein the capability information (CI) includes information concerning objects brought along by the person (P1, P2, P3), health of the person (P1, P2, P3) and/or safety equipment worn by the person (P1, P2, P3); sending to and storing the registered capability information (CI) of the person (P1, P2, P3) in a service platform (SP), especially a cloud based service platform; noting a case of service or maintenance of the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3); creating a service or maintenance order (SO), which includes objects required for caring for the case of service or maintenance, health requirements and/or requirements regarding safety equipment; calculating a degree of suitability of persons (P1, P2, P3) stored in the service platform (SP) upon noting a case of service or maintenance for the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3), wherein the degree of suitability provides a measure of agreement of capability information (CI) for persons (P1, P2, P3) stored in the database with the required objects, the requirements for health and/or the requirements as regards safety equipment contained in the service or maintenance plan; and delivering the service or maintenance order (SO) to at least one of the stored persons (P1, P2, P3) in the service platform (SP), who has for the noted case of service or diagnosis a degree of suitability, which is equal to or greater than a predetermined degree of suitability.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein after the noting of the case of service or maintenance, the current locations of those persons (P1, P2, P3), who have a predetermined degree of suitability for the noted case of service or diagnosis, are registered and wherein the service or maintenance order (SO) is delivered only to those persons (P1, P2, P3), who are located within a predetermined distance from the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3).

3. Method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locations are registered by means of a service unit or mobile end device carried by the person (P1, P2, P3).

4. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein, upon successful removal of the service instance, a certification thereof is delivered to the database by the person (P1, P2, P3), who did the work.

5. Method as claimed in claim 4, wherein, in the case of no certification after a defined time interval after delivery of the service or maintenance order (SO), a repetition of the method steps of the calculating of the degree of suitability and the delivering of the service or maintenance order (SO), or a repetition of the method step of the delivering of the service or maintenance order (SO) is performed.

6. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the registering of information for the objects brought along by the person (P1, P2, P3) and/or safety equipment worn by the person (P1, P2, P3) includes an identification of the objects, or the safety equipment, wherein the identification includes a read-out of identification data from the objects by means of a radio connection, especially RFID, an optical identification of the objects, especially by image recognition by means of a camera (KA), or read-out of a code on the objects, especially a QR-code.

7. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the safety equipment has sensors and wherein it is checked at regular intervals by means of the sensors whether the safety equipment is still being worn by the person (P1, P2, P3).

8. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein information concerning health includes at least one of the following vital parameters of the person (P1, P2, P3): blood pressure the person (P1, P2, P3); heart rate of the person (P1, P2, P3); body temperature of the person (P1, P2, P3); and breathing rate of the person (P1, P2, P3).

9. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein information concerning health is registered by a fitness armband worn by the person (P1, P2, P3) and/or by a mobile end device brought along by the person (P1, P2, P3) and delivered to the service platform (SP).

10. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein qualification certifications acquired by the persons (P1, P2, P3) are supplementally stored in the service platform (SP), and the qualification certifications enter into the calculating of the degree of suitability.

11. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein a case of maintenance of the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3) relates to plant components (AK, AK′), the field device (FD, FD′) and/or the communication means (KM) of the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3).

12. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein a case of service or maintenance of the field device (FD, FD′) is determined in the form of a diagnostic message (DIAG) delivered from the field device (FD, FD′), wherein the diagnostic message (DIAG) from the field device (FD, FD′) is delivered to the service platform (SP) via an edge device (EDGE), wherein the diagnostic message (DIAG) from the field device (FD, ED′) is delivered indirectly via a control station (CS) to the service platform (SP), or wherein the diagnostic message (DIAG) of the field device (FD, FD′) is delivered directly, especially via an Internet connection, from the field device (FD, FD′) to the service platform (SP).

13. Method as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, wherein, upon occurrence of a case of service or maintenance of the measuring location (ML1, ML2, ML3), a plurality of service or maintenance orders (SO) are created, for which separate degrees of suitability are ascertained and which are delivered to different persons (P1, P2, P3), wherein the individual service or maintenance orders (SO) have relative to one another different required objects, health requirements and/or requirements regarding safety equipment required for caring for the case of service or maintenance.

Description

[0041] The invention will now be explained in greater detail based on the appended drawing, the sole FIGURE of which shows as follows:

[0042] FIG. 1 an example of an embodiment of the method of the invention.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the method of the invention. Shown in the drawing are parts of an automated plant A. In particular, the plant has three measuring locations ML1, ML2, ML3. These involve, in each case, a tank AK and a pipeline AK leading away from the tank. For measuring fill level of the tank, in each case, a field device FD, for example, a fill level measuring device operating by means of radar, is mounted on the tank. Provided, in each case, for measuring flow velocity in the pipeline is a field device FD′, for example, a flowmeter operating according to the Coriolis principle. Each of the field devices FD, FD′ of the measuring locations ML1, ML2, ML3 is placed by means of a communication means KM, for example, a fieldbus of automation technology, in communicative connection with the control station CS of the plant A, in order to transfer the measured process variables of their measuring locations ML1, ML2, ML3 to the control station CS.

[0044] The method of the invention is illustrated based on a malfunction of field device FD′:

[0045] Field device FD′ detects a defect of one of its mechanical components, which is responsible for the oscillation excitation and creates a high priority diagnostic message DIAG. This case of maintenance is reported in the form of the diagnostic message DIAG to the control station CS of the plant A. The control station CS forwards the diagnostic message DIAG automatically to a service platform SP, which is located in a cloud. Alternatively, the field device FD′ can be embodied, especially, when it is a modern field device ED′ with an IoT interface, to transfer the diagnostic message DIAG on its own via the Internet to the service platform SP. In an additional alternative, the communication means KM is connected with an edge device EDGE. Such is in communicative connection with the service platform SP and forwards the diagnostic message DIAG to the service platform.

[0046] The service platform SP registers the diagnostic message DIAG, which has arrived, and compares it with a history located in the service platform SP. The history includes past diagnostic messages from field devices, especially from field devices throughout the plant, and includes objects and, in given cases, safety equipment, which a service technician requires, in order to be able to care for the case of maintenance. Alternatively, the objects and, in given cases, the required safety equipment are defined manually in the control station CS upon arrival of the diagnostic message DIAG and transferred together with the diagnostic message DIAG to the service platform SP. The service platform then creates a service or maintenance order SO, which comprises at least the diagnostic message DIAG, the affected field device ED′ and the needed objects and safety equipment.

[0047] The service platform SP contains a list of all persons P1, P2, P3 currently located in the plant A. The list includes capability information CI of all persons P1, P2, P3 in the list. The capability information comprises information concerning all objects, which the particular person P1, P2, P3 brings along, as well as concerning all components of safety equipment, which the particular person P1, P2, P3 is wearing. The objects and the safety equipment of a person P1, P2, P3 are especially registered upon entry of a person P1, P2, P3 into the plant A and noted in the service platform SP. The registering occurs, for example, by means of a video camera KA, which detects the objects/safety equipment optically and/or by means of an RFID-reader RE.

[0048] The service platform SP compares the objects and components of safety equipment required for caring for the case of maintenance with the capability information CI stored in the list and calculates a degree of suitability for each of the persons P1, P2, P3. The degree of suitability represents a measure of agreement of the capability information CI of the persons P1, P2, P3 stored in the database with the required objects and the requirements as regards safety equipment contained in the service or maintenance plan SO.

[0049] If the degree of suitability for a person P1, P2, P3 is greater than a predetermined value of a degree of suitability, then this person P1, P2, P3 is, in principle, suitable to perform the maintenance. In this example, this selects persons P1 and P3.

[0050] Then, the current locational information of the persons P1, P3 is retrieved. Person P1 is located within a predetermined distance from the measuring location ML1 and, consequently, receives the service or maintenance order on a mobile end device carried by person P1. Person P1 is now obliged to go to the measuring location ML1 without delay and to perform the maintenance. After finishing the maintenance, the person P1 certifies the performed maintenance, whereby such is marked “finished” in the service platform.

[0051] Besides the capability information CI, “objects” and “protective equipment”, also the health of the person P1, P2, P3 can play a role in the evaluation of the degree of suitability. Especially, when measuring locations ML1, ML2, ML3 are difficult to reach, this information concerning health of the person P1, P2, P3 plays a role in the calculating of the degree of suitability.

[0052] The information concerning health comprises at least one of the following vital parameters of the person P1, P2, P3: [0053] blood pressure of the person P1, P2, P3; [0054] heart rate of the person P1, P2, P3; [0055] body temperature of the person P1, P2, P3; and [0056] breathing rate of the person P1, P2, P3.

[0057] It can be provided that information concerning health is registered by a fitness armband worn by the person P1, P2, P3 and/or by a mobile end device carried by the person P1, P2, P3. Upon registration, the information is transferred to the service platform. For this, the fitness armband, or the mobile end device, in given cases, both, are connected with the service platform SP via the Internet.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

[0058] A plant [0059] AK, AK′ plant components [0060] CI capability information [0061] DIAG diagnostic message [0062] EDGE edge device [0063] FD, FD′ field devices [0064] KA camera [0065] KM communication means [0066] CS control station [0067] ML1, ML2, ML3 measuring locations [0068] P1, P2, P3 persons [0069] RE RFID-reader [0070] SO service or maintenance order [0071] SP service platform