Special Report: IQMS integrates monitoring for plant-wide management

IQMS, Paso robles, calif., developed its RealTime process monitoring package five years ago and offers the system on the same platform and equipment used for its RealTime production monitoring system that it has provided since 1993, says Glenn Nowak, VP of sales. "Our process monitoring solution filled a gap in our product offerings related to shop floor technology. The system is able to pull process data off of a machine, then feeds that data directly into the production monitoring and plant-wide ERP management system.  Process monitoring strengthens the link from production to other aspects of the manufacturing facility."

In 2013, IQMS developed its own programmable logic controller (PLC) as a low-cost option for collecting process and production data from a machine controller. The process monitoring interface unit 88 (PMIU 88) PLC is designed specifically to interface with its manufacturing ERP and MES software system and monitors or controls process variables. A wide range of sensor types are used by the PLC to communicate to IQMS' RealTime monitoring system for correlation and analysis.

The PMIU 88, to be exhibited at NPE, ties directly to a machine (configured with thermocouples, transducers or other sensor types) or peripheral devices to receive and relay data instantaneously to IQMS' ERP software. "The PLC can hook into a cooling tower, paint line, chiller or thermoformer and extract data associated with that specific equipment," says Nowak. Updated charting and graphing tools allow users to process and analyze the multiple data sets coming from different sources onto a single chart, and then evaluate the data for correlations, says Nowak. The business intelligence tools create more informative, user-friendly and interactive graphs and charts, which also simplifies report generation.

The PMIU 88 features eight digital inputs and eight digital outputs and 10 analog input/outputs. Built-in RS232 and RS485 connections and support of Modbus protocols make the PLC easy to integrate into mixed-brand PLC environments and networks.

WORKSTATION UPGRADE

IQMS strengthened its offerings that tie production monitoring data from the shop floor to its ERP systems by upgrading its RTStation touch-screen work station with a larger screen size and updated features. The RTStation 10.1 supplants the first model, introduced three years ago, which had a 7-inch screen. 

The new unit, with a 10.1-inch display, receives up-to-the-minute production data and provides a color-coded representation of machine performance for the operators. The RTStation is powered by the Android 4.0 operating system. The RTStation was developed as a low-cost replacement for a tablet that mounts onto a machine. "It does everything associated with production monitoring," says Nowak. The new unit will be shown at NPE.

In addition to monitoring processing parameters such as part counts and cycle speed, production details such as machine downtime, job setup information and logging of rejects are also tallied. IQMS added a time clock feature that allows the workstation to be used as a task time clock, where employees log in and out at the machine, then labor data is reported to the ERP system. 

Product traceability is enhanced by enabling lot number changes to a product directly at the RTStation on the shop floor. A serialized label printing feature allows shop floor personnel to send labels to the printer directly from the RTStation, ensuring the correct product label is printed. 

FACTORY-TO-FACTORY FLOOR CONNECTIVITY

An enhancement to IQMS' MES system that ties into its real-time machine monitoring vastly enhances the organization of materials in the warehouse. The warehouse management program (WMP), part of the EnterpriseIQ MES, can now instruct warehouse staff as to the optimal location for materials in the warehouse, based on when the materials will be used. Materials associated with a project will automatically be grouped together, while resins scheduled for processing can be directed to a staging area. "The WMS not only determines what is to be picked but decides the order of pickup, ranking each component by relevancy or priority," says Nowak. The software is installed in hand-held scanners with logic built into it, and activates as material is unloaded and scanned.

Mikell Knights, senior correspondent

[email protected]

Contact:

IQMS, 

805-227-1122, www.iqms.com