(1888PressRelease)
June 06, 2008 - Automation.com has a special portal for Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC.) Manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler profiled how OPC drives overall equipment effectiveness; to read more the Automation.com OPC portal can be found at http://www.automation.com/sitepages/pid2774.php.
Support for OPC came about as a request from several leading manufacturers in recent years, including Pollak-APD. Pollak-APD designs, engineers, tests and manufactures world-class work-enabling devices for the transportation industry based on efficient electro-mechanical actuation technologies. About five years ago, Pollak started automating data collection after noticing a secretary hand-keying thousands of data points into a spreadsheet. Pollak-ADP is a Six Sigma/Lean shop and has put a lot of emphasis on OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency). They have one particular product with a sub-four-second cycle time. This equates to about 17 parts per minute, 22 hours per day, six days a week. By analyzing downtime with GainSeeker, they were able to boost OEE from 65% to 75%, representing more than a $130K increase in throughput. This has enabled them to keep with up with increased product demand without increasing production capacity (no capital investment) or staffing.
With this concept in mind, Hertzler Systems added new functionality to GainSeeker SPC (statistical process control), specifically support for OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control). “OPC is the standard computer protocol for communicating with machinery and process controllers,” noted Byron Shetler, Chief Technology Officer for Hertzler. “Supporting OPC creates great new opportunities for collecting data from production equipment in real time, performing statistical analysis on the data and then feeding information back to operators, engineers or to the equipment itself.”
Following this initial efficiency effort the company began to evaluate software that enabled them to talk directly to PLCs (“Programmable Logic Controllers”, process controllers common in factory automation.) Meanwhile, Dave Cappucci, Director of Total Quality Management at Pollak-APD, was searching for shopfloor software for tracking product quality. He had used Hertzler’s GainSeeker SPC at a prior professional position and knew it was a powerful and reliable system for product data. When he made his decision to purchase GainSeeker, Cappucci was aware of Foley’s desire to capture process data from PLCs. Together they reasoned that they could find or write a middleware product to move process data from OPC to Hertzler’s database, thus realizing Foleys’ vision of truly integrated SPC on the factory floor.
Hertzler Systems (www.hertzler.com) provides seamless, accurate data acquisition solutions that drive business transformation. The company provides the leading real-time data acquisition and analytics software, the GainSeeker Suite. This powerful and flexible system is best used by lean and progressive companies. Gainseeker Suite allows companies to connect with devices and other information systems, collecting data and alarming key personnel when problems arise; this technology allows organizations to analyze data for root cause problems, converting data into knowledge.
Hertzler Systems Inc.
www.hertzler.com
Adrienne DePew
Communications Manager
info ( @ ) hertzler dot com
800.958.2709
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