GE Fanuc Automation Inc. took the wraps off a new version of its integrated MES and manufacturing intelligence application yesterday, emphasizing new capabilities that help manufacturers comply with rising regulatory pressures while providing the tools that can increase operational efficiency.
Proficy Plant Applications 4.3 adds approximately 200 updates to its predecessor, version 4.2. Those upgrades span configuration tools, analysis, reporting, and applications to enhance maintenance tasks. Also included are 50 pre-defined reports that can cut down on the amount of input needed to configure production tasks.
While the upgrades amount to a "bunch of little features" said John Leppiaho, GE Fanuc's senior product manager for Proficy Plant Applications, they were driven by customer input, he said in an interview.
Enhanced compliance assistance may be the feature that proves to be most popular in the new release. Discrete and process manufacturers alike are grappling with everything from environmental regulations to FDA mandates that require them to maintain secure, audited operations. In response, GE Fanuc designed new features of the software around specific regulatory requirements, such as the TREAD Act, for example, which mandates that automakers record and monitor data that comes in from warranty reports, repair shops, and dealers.
Additional Plant Applications enhancements come in the form of pre-designed wizards that walk the user through the defined business logic, providing a better view of how things are executed on the plant floor.
"It gets complicated on the plant floor with a bunch of signals that determine downtime or waste," explained Leppiaho. "We are adding options and new configuration tools...making what is happening on the floor more intuitive."
Proficy is GE Fanuc's umbrella term for all of its individual products -- like Plant Applications -- that also include SCADA, HMI, and visualization. Soon, these separate applications will be folded into a unified Proficy platform that can be managed with common tools and provide the same look and feel, according to Leppiaho, who offered no details on when that big announcement will take place. He did say, however, that this week's 4.3 release is a significant step-change for the Plant Applications software. It enables deeper visibility across process, discrete, and hybrid industries, he said.
The new version of Plant Applications is designed to help users deploy production management systems faster and tackle business challenges that include asset utilization, product quality and speed to market, according to the company.
In a report released this week and conducted in conjunction with industry analyst firm Industry Directions, MESA International found that manufacturing execution systems were more prevalent among manufacturers that led their industries. Among "business movers," as the report dubbed such leaders, 33% were running an MES in their operations, while only 25% of companies outside of that group had an MES.
"Companies using MES and plant dashboards are more likely than others to have improved significantly against both business and operations metrics," the report read, "illustrating how these plant systems can support sound, speedy, and efficient metrics systems."