• Critical information on manufacturing solutions
• Case studies in Food & Beverage, Mining
• EcoStruxure drives IIoT

The Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) will hold its annual conference and exhibition on 16-17 November 2107 in Gauteng. Amongst its silver sponsors is Schneider Electric South Africa, which will be exhibiting the latest in Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM), in keeping with this year’s theme ‘Big MOM, Big Data, Big Results…Manufacturing Solutions for the Digital Revolution’.

Quintin McCutcheon, Software Business Lead for Southern Africa at Schneider Electric South Africa, and a MESA committee member, states, “As manufacturers move to the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), how they use existing or new MOM systems is a critical architectural decision that needs to be addressed early on. Finding key initial projects connecting the plant to the IIoT platform will provide useful insights for future continuation of digital transformation.

“This conference and exhibition will introduce these revolutionary concepts, as the 4th Industrial Revolution digs deeper into every aspect of plat and machinery through IIoT.

The true power and applicable value of IIoT emerges when it is connected with five major technology transformations, which are accelerating our capacity to converge operational technology (TO) and IT systems: Mobility, Cloud, Sensing, Analytics and Cyber Security.

“For Schneider, this will be a platform to introduce our EcoStruxure architecture and interoperable technology platform, focused on plant & machinery, which will bring together energy, automation and software. It provides enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability and connectivity. In turn, this advancement opens up the digital world to users across key end markets, enabling them to be competitive in today’s IIoT economy.

“Food and beverage manufacturers are embracing new strategies to digitise operations, simplify production processes and be ‘smarter’ about manufacturing process execution. Increasing access to information and applying predictive analytics strategies can yield actionable intelligence that improves performance.

In May this year, Almarai, the world’s largest dairy company, added real-time intelligence to over 100 packaging lines to increase performance, efficiency and agility, using Schneider Electric’s Manufacturing Execution System, which delivers end-to-end workflow management to improve operational excellence.

“In October, Schneider Electric announced globally that it had added enhancements to its MOM solution for the mining industry to help optimise the mining supply chain, drive efficiency and maximise utilisation of all operating assets, resulting in better profitability. It will enable digital transformation across mining operations; introduce real-time production accounting and inventory management; and improve decision support, planning and reporting capabilities.

“Challenged by volatile commodity prices, rising energy costs and increased global competition, mining operations must shift focus to proactively review internal processes, identify new process improvement opportunities and leverage new technologies to drive operational excellence across the entire mining value chain.

“The EcoStruxure platform is tailored to end markets in which Schneider Electric has decades of deep domain expertise, across three levels of innovation: connected products; edge control; and apps, analytics and services help drive full IIoT integration.

“All the information generated by devices is collected in some form of cloud-based application, which can be hosted on-premises for time sensitive decisions or off-premise for non-time sensitive decisions. Machine learning, data analytics and artificial intelligence may be applied to the data that has been collected to support in optimisation of the business; however most IIoT applications have not yet been implemented to this extent.

“We look forward to developing exciting opportunities at this conference, which will drive the efficiency of the manufacturing industry in Southern Africa,” concludes McCutcheon.