SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AND/OR ANALYZING AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS BY MEANS OF AN OFF-SITE PROCESSING UNIT AND A REVISION MODULE FOR THE SYSTEM OPERATOR

Abstract

A system for controlling and/or analyzing an industrial process having an on-site automation unit of a system operator, wherein the on-site automation unit performs a first process variable calculation and influences the industrial process. An off-site processing unit of a service operator different from the system operator is provided, wherein the off-site processing unit has an application and carries out a second process variable calculation and influences the industrial process directly or indirectly via the second process variable calculation. Local data is received by the off-site processing unit from the on-site automation unit via a data link. The off-site processing unit stores the local data in a primary storage. A revision module belonging to the off-site processing unit is provided wherein the revision module logs access to the primary storage by the application.

Claims

1. A system for controlling and/or analyzing an industrial process, comprising: an on-site automation unit of a system operator, said on-site automation unit configured to execute a first process variable calculation and to influence the industrial process; an off-site processing unit of a service operator different from the system operator, said off-site processing unit including an application and configured to carry out a second process variable calculation and to influence the industrial process directly or indirectly via the second process variable calculation; a data link via which the off-site processing unit receives local data from the on-site automation unit; and a primary storage configured to store the local data; said off-site processing unit including a revision module configured to log access to the primary storage by the application.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the off-site processing unit includes a secondary storage configured to execute the application, said revision module being configured to log access to the secondary storage.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the revision module includes a log file configured to log the access to the primary storage using parameters user, data category, and duplicate.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the revision module includes a log file configured to log the access to the secondary storage using parameters user, data category, and duplicate.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the off-site processing unit is configured to provide access to the revision module and/or the log file from outside the on-site automation unit.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the off-site processing unit is configured to provide access to the revision module and/or the log file from outside the on-site automation unit.

7. An off-site processing unit of a service operator for controlling and/or analyzing an industrial process of a system operator, said off-site processing unit configured to execute a process variable calculation for the industrial process and to receive local data from an on-site automation unit via a data link, said off-site processing unit comprising: an application; a primary storage configured to store the local data; and a revision module configured to log access by the application to the primary storage.

8. The off-site processing unit of claim 7, wherein the off-site processing unit includes a secondary storage for executing the application, said revision module configured to log access to the secondary storage.

9. The off-site processing unit of claim 7, wherein the revision module includes a log file configured to log the accesses to the primary storage using parameters user, data category, and duplicate.

10. The off-site processing unit of claim 8, wherein the revision module includes a log file configured to log the accesses to the secondary storage using parameters user, data category, and duplicate.

11. The off-site processing unit of claim 7, wherein the revision module is configured to log the local data of the on-site automation unit.

12. The off-site processing unit of claim 9, wherein the revision module includes a log file for each system operator.

13. The off-site processing unit of claim 10, wherein the revision module includes a log file for each system operator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0026] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent upon reading the following description of currently preferred exemplified embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a system for distributed process control of an industrial plant having an off-site processing unit;

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a mode of operation of a revision module within an off-site processing unit; and

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a possible extract from a log file for the system operator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Throughout all the figures, same or corresponding elements may generally be indicated by same reference numerals. These depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way. It should also be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments may be illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.

[0031] Turning now to the drawing, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown a system, generally designated by reference numeral 100, for controlling an industrial process 1 which can be any production process in the manufacturing sector. The industrial process can be a process which takes place within one location, or else across a plurality of locations. The industrial process 1 is open- and closed-loop controlled via decentralized on-site automation units 2. These are equipped with one or more processors (not shown) which execute software encoded instructions in conjunction with the necessary buffer stores. The instructions relate to all the process control algorithms for open- and closed-loop control of the industrial process and to data communication between the units. For open- and closed-loop control of the process, the on-site automation unit 2 has a number of operative connections 3 to sensors and actuators not shown in greater detail in FIG. 1. Via this connection, the input device 17 reads in the local data which is thereafter available in a primary storage area of the on-site automation unit. Control commands from the output device 18 to the process's actuators (not shown in greater detail in FIG. 1) are implemented via the operative connections 4. Two on-site automation units 2 are shown by way of example, although in practice a plurality of on-site automation units are used for open-loop and closed-loop control and monitoring of the process. The on-site automation units 2 are connected via a data link 20 to the monitoring system 5 responsible for controlling and monitoring of the industrial process 1. The monitoring system 5 (SCADA) provides a data link 21 to the manufacturing execution system 6 which in turn provides a data link 22 to an enterprise resource planning system 7. The manufacturing execution system 6 and the enterprise resource planning system 7 can also communicate with the monitoring system 5 via the data link 20. The on-site automation units 2 execute process control algorithms 8 on the basis of the local data generated via operative connection 3. These are process-effective monitoring analyses and control functions which generally include simpler and less complex analysis and control tasks. The result of this process control algorithm is held available as a first process variable calculation 19 in the on-site automation unit 2 for further use and, unless required, is overwritten in a subsequent cycle. However, the first process variable calculation 19 is likewise influenced by calculations within the higher-level systems 5, 6, 7. Thus, for example, planning requirements based on customer orders or material deliveries from the MES and ERP system mean that particular production processes are to be carried out in a slower, more energy-optimized or quicker manner. The SCADA can, for example, likewise influence an upstream production process (e.g. filling) because of malfunctions elsewhere in the production process (e.g. in the packaging department).

[0032] In this configuration, the system 100 is operational and able to fulfill its open-loop control, closed-loop control and monitoring tasks.

[0033] The system 100 is extended to include an off-site processing unit 9. The latter is equipped with one or more processors not shown here which execute the software-encoded instructions in conjunction with the temporary stores. The instructions relate to all the process control algorithms for open-loop control, closed-loop control and analytics of the process and to data communication between the units. The off-site processing unit 9 is connected to the on-site automation units via a data link 15 and the gateway 10. The data link 15 is preferably implemented via the Internet in either a cabled or wireless manner. The gateway 10 can be a data collector unit which receives from the automation and units 2, 5, 6, 7, via the data link 23, all the local data required in the off-site processing unit 9 for the above mentioned process control algorithms for the open-loop control, closed-loop control and analytics of the industrial process 1 that are executed there. The data link 23 shown is to be understood in terms of function; physically, it can be a separate network, or the data collector unit 10 is connected to an existing network within the system 100, e.g. 20, 21. The off-site processing unit 9 executes process control algorithms 13 on the basis of input process variables 12 which are provided by the gateway 10 and which are based essentially on the data generated via the operative connection 3, and outputs results 14 of these calculations. The input process variables 12 can also be based on the historical data available in the on-site automation unit 2. Alternatively or additionally, the input process variables 12 can be based on historical data available in the off-site processing unit 9 itself. By way of example, FIG. 1 shows an MPC control structure as a process control algorithm 13. However, more comprehensive data analytics can also be the object of the above mentioned algorithm and the results 14 are results of such analytical functions. The results 14 are transmitted to the on-site automation units 2, 5, 6, 7. The communications path via the gateway 10 can be used for this purpose, or alternatively a separate communications path (not shown here) is used. When the results 14 are to affect the industrial process 1 directly, the checking device 16 decides within the on-site automation unit 2 whether the results 14 become process-effective via the output device 18. Alternatively, however, results 14 can also be those of data analytics of a condition monitoring system, for example, and only be transmitted to the on-site automation units 6,7. In this case, such results of analytical functions can also be made available to the ERP or MES, e.g. when it is a matter of the analytical function determining the failure of a component in the context of condition monitoring. It is also conceivable that results are only stored and retained within the off-site processing unit 9 and made available for further evaluations.

[0034] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the mode of operation of the revision module 24 within the off-site processing unit 9. The local data of the on-site automation units 2, 5, 6, 7 is transferred over the data link 15 via the gateway 10 of the respective system operator SO_A, SO_B (system operator A, system operator B) by means of agents. The data of the system operators is stored in the primary storage 26 in the off-site processing unit 9. The primary storage is not to be understood physically as a single storage. Rather it can comprise a number of different storage media such as, for example, databases 27, file systems 28, in-memory databases 29, archives 30, etc. The primary storage 26 canwhen, as in this exemplary embodiment, the off-site processing unit is connected to data sources of a plurality of system operators. By way of example, FIG. 2 shows the storage of the data in a database and in a file system in a mixed multi-tenant model. Alternatively, the data can also be stored in a perfect multi-tenant model, i.e. having a separate database and/or file system for the data of the respective system operator. The applications 31, 32, 33, 34 read-access and possibly also write-access the primary storage data. The read and write accesses of the applications to the primary storage data are indicated by the arrow 35. The cloud-based applications 31 to 34 access the primary storage data in order to further process it, analyze it or display it via user interfaces. The applications 31, 32, 33, 34 can be applications of the service operator or of another service partner or even of the system operator itself. For example, the application 31 can be a condition monitoring application 31 which reads data relating to the status of machines from primary storage, then processes it in a temporary store for a fast Fourier transform and subjects the intermediate results to further analysis for preventive maintenance suggestions. A sales forecast application 32 reads historical data from the primary storage and copies it to a Hadoop store for further big data analytics. A backup application 33 makes rolling storage dumps from the primary storage to the secondary storage. An ERP application 34 accesses the primary storage data in order, for example, to calculate particular KPI (key performance indicators) for production. The common feature of all the applications is that they use the secondary storage 37 to store copies of the primary storage data or intermediate results there. The secondary storage 37 is likewise not to be understood physically as a single storage. It can also comprise a number of different storage media or mechanisms such as, for example, a Hadoop store 38, temporary storage areas 39 or backup file systems 40, etc. The applications 31-34 have read and/or write access, indicated by the arrow 36.

[0035] The revision module 24 logsillustrated by the arrow 41all the accesses of an application to the primary storage 26. The revision module 24 also logs, as indicated by the arrow 42, all the accesses of an application to the secondary storage 37. The module 24 generates a log file 25 in which details regarding the access and the way in which the data is used are recorded. Different log files 25 are provided for the different system operators (SO). By way of example, FIG. 2 shows the log files 25 for the system operator A (SO_A) and B (SO_B).

[0036] FIG. 3 shows an example of a possible extract from a log file 25 for the system operator A. The time at which an item of data 43 is accessed is noted. Noted in another entry is the user/user group 44 by which the access was made. This can be e.g. the service operator, a partner of the service operator or the system operator itself. There is also an entry recording the application by which the user has accessed the data. The data is assigned data categories 45 under which it is recorded in the log file. By way of example, the categories here are machine configuration data, vibration data, human resource data. For each entry in the log file, the data volume 46 of the processed data is additionally recorded. Information as to whether duplicates have been made and, when so, the store/storage area in which they are located, is provided by the entry 47.

[0037] While the invention has been illustrated and described in connection with currently preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and practical application to thereby enable a person skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

[0038] What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims and includes equivalents of the elements recited therein: