Invensys Systems Inc.'s Wonderware business unit today unveiled its second generation of integration software said to help manufacturers better align business and plant floor processes.
Called Enterprise Integration Application 2.0, the software extends the capabilities of the initial release unveiled in October 2004 by adding more mapping configurations, new pre-built integration templates, and support for industry standards that are said to ease the business and plant-floor process integration across multiple sites.
The application is built on top of Wonderware's ArchestrA software architecture, which enables connectivity to any I/O device or plant floor application. On the business side, it sits on top of Microsoft Corp.'s BizTalk 2004 applications integration server (although Wonderware is in the process of adopting the forthcoming BizTalk 2006, which, according to product literature, includes nine new enterprise application adapters).
For its part, Enterprise Integration Application 2.0 extends Wonderware's library of pre-built integration templates, adds event-handling features, and supports World Batch Forum's B2MML (Business to Manufacturing Markup Language) and ISA-95 standards. But perhaps the most significant capability in the latest version, company officials said, is the software's new production dispatch client (PDC).
"[PDC] allows customers not to have to depend on having the ERP system available to run the production," said Claus Abildgren, Wonderware's program manager for production and performance management software solutions.
If, for example, the ERP system is taken offline for IT upgrades, production can be disrupted, Abildgren noted. PDC allows the independent release of production orders -- functioning like a local back-up system -- that allow work to continue and to be synchronized with the ERP system when it comes back on-line, he explained.
"You have the flexibility to continue producing and [to] make decisions locally on the plant even if you are not connected to the business system," Abildgren said in an interview with Managing Automation. "It's important that you don't lose the context of the planning and scheduling."
With the release of 2.0, Wonderware also launched a strategic initiative to reduce the complexity and risks associated with large-scale deployments by coupling its consulting services with system integrators around the globe. The effort, called ArchestrA-certified system integrators, trains third parties on the application's standardized templates, which map plant data with business systems.
"It's not just making the first [integration effort] work, but re-using it from site to site over time. That"s what our customers are saying is the biggest thing -- maintaining," Abildgren said.
Robert Peters, president of ASECO Integrated Systems Ltd., a system integration company with ArchestrA-certified status, noted in a statement that Wonderware's Enterprise Integration Application takes a lot of the risk out of custom development, "while maintaining the flexibility to meet specific requirements."
Eliminating complexity comes from having a standardized interface. For instance, in the past a company using Wonderware's InBatch production management software and InTrack MES product would have to use different integration tools, each defining what the production order meant as well as how it was translated to the ERP system.
Using the Enterprise Integration Application, that data can be mapped between the two products, including the definition of all business rules and logic.
Tying it all together are dashboards with real-time key performance indicators (KPIs) -- meeting customer demand for tighter integration. Currently, there are more than 20 customers using version 1.0 of Wonderware's Enterprise Integration Application, most of which -- if not all -- are migrating to the latest version, Abildgren said. Another upgrade is expected later this year, he added.