Consider a simple beverage line with five machines (see “beverage plant” animation). It may have over 1 million associated data values. Most companies don’t have the available resources to manage all this information, nor is it where they should be spending their time. Smart objects streamline data preparation, i.e. one model feeds many applications. One customer estimated it would have taken a developer one month to do what smart objects enabled in only 6 hours – a 96% improvement.
In addition, this more direct method results in better data integrity and determinism. We can compare what the same product does at different stages with unheard of accuracy and integrity. And, with the ability to assign attributes to the data such as OEE, energy or mass flow, we get information that is automatically aggregated and categorized. From there, it’s reported on in a way that is meaningful for both human and machine decision making and optimization.
In the end, smart objects don’t change the data. But it greatly simplifies how you capture, view and present it, and over time, how you optimize operations as a result of it. Let us know how smart objects could fit into your information strategy.