Dry Vitamin Premix

A world class leader in the manufacturing and supply of dry vitamin premix required a higher capacity and efficiency in a new production facility that was being planned.

The company’s previous facility was a paper-based system, which meant that all FDA tracking logs were captured on sheets of paper.  The company needed a paperless system, with everything being tracked in an orderly fashion using a database.  Database entries needed to be kept simplistic, barcode scanners would replace keyboard data entry jobs of the floor operation logs.  The new automation was to conform to the ISA S88 Batch Control standard.  Automatic guided vehicles (AGV) would further modernize the system.

Meeting all the tracking requirements of the FDA entailed tracking which operators handled which containers, which vendor supplied the liners used in the containers, and which vendors supplied the actual ingredients.  Since not all ingredients come from the same lot, ingredient potencies would vary.  As such, a method was required to potency adjust recipes to meet the end-customer's needs.

This manufacturer chose IPACT to perform the automation and tracking.

To best meet the overall system requirements of the project, a three tier architecture was designed using a Digital Alpha computer system with OpenVMS as the database server, and a high-speed Intel-based server station running WindowsNT as an I/O server.  The Alpha was entirely responsible for handling all database information through an Oracle Database system.  The I/O server would contain software relevant to tracking/processing/ and maintaining the production process.

Simulation and testing of this site was a crucial requirement.  A custom HMI/SCADA application was used to simulate the inputs to the PLC’s.  This provided IPACT with the means to simulate the production environment in-house.

IPACT started with the production model provided by the MES package chosen for this application by the customer.  This provided a sound starting point for production model tracking.  The MES package is a custom-designed group of database tables used to track a manufacturing process.  However, the MES database was insufficient to meet the full needs of the customer.  Notably, the need for tracking containers and pallets within individual locations was not met. IPACT supplemented the MES package capability by using custom designed Oracle database tables.

To provide to programmers an interface similar to InTrack, IPACT developed an OLE automation library of functions, known as the IMES OLE dll.  This library allows for any OLE aware application to extend its programming language to incorporate the enhancements made by IPACT in an easy to use manner.  Currently, the IMES OLE library contains over 80 function calls, many dealing with custom data tracking between IPACT custom tables and the MES package's database.  Additionally, programming functions were also added to enhance other packages, such as the HMI package.  Together, the MES system coupled with the IME OLE library provided the means to support the customer's database requirements.

An HMI package was chosen by the manufacturer as the basic front end to all of the floor operations and interfacing to the PLCs.  Additionally, this package used the same OLE functions as the MES system to initiate the sequence of events necessary for vitamin production.  The HMI package, however, required a number of additional tools to enhance the entire production process.

Due to the difficulty in interfacing an HMI with database tables, IPACT chose to use Microsoft Access as a front-end utility  in creating an HMI for data input and report generation.  Access provided a number of tools that easily allowed quick, functional forms and reports linked to the Oracle database.  Data linking was provided through an ODBC driver provided by Oracle.  The Access forms provided a means for supervisors to populate the database with all the essentials the project would require: market segments, customer classes, customers, suppliers, control parameters, detergents, clean-in-place recipes, packaging materials, units, unit conversions, ingredient data, production trains, control recipes, machine parameters, system parameters, etc.  Once all the data was entered into the system, additional forms would be used to generate orders for customers.  Floor operators would have the ability to print reports from HMI terminals and view run-time data from a special run-time version of Access.

In addition to getting feedback from their HMIs, floor operators would have the ability to enter comments using the HMIs.  Barcode scanners would be used to facilitate the processing / confirmation of container’s receipts from one area to another.

The entire process ran on a myriad of systems and software, ranging from touch-panel based PC workstations running Windows NT, to two NT server stations and one OpenVMS node.  Software usage ranged from standard applications (e.g. Access), to custom code written in Visual C++, Visual Basic, and DEC C (OpenVMS).  The floor operations were monitored through the touch-panel HMI stations, with all transaction control and communication handled through the NT server station.  Additionally, the barcode scanners ran custom software on the server station to provide I/O to all scanners in the building through a radio/RS422 link.  Additional processes ran on the server to handle batch automation, messaging, and communication.  The OpenVMS node would also be running special programs to handle data archiving and table "triggers".  Triggers on the VMS node would communicate information to the WindowsNT nodes for further processing.  This entire communications model revolved around a number of different methodologies, with IPACT bridging between protocols.  IPACT provided a method of translating WindowsNT pipe messages into DDE aware tags to facilitate communication with the HMI application.  IPACT also implemented WindowsNT RPC calls to communicate with the AGV software and to other WindowsNT components, such as scale communications.  Additionally, IPACT had RPC communications to the OpenVMS server to provide a communication link between OpenVMS programs and WindowsNT code.  Scale communications were served via RPC calls on WindowsNT to a custom application that ran a telnet service to a networked terminal server, on which multiple scales were connected through an RS232 interface.

A custom scheduler was developed in Visual C++ to schedule operations in the facility based on machine usage.  A special Visual Basic application was also used to display the schedule in a graphical, easy to read format.  The scheduler  used the calendar and manufacturing model from the MES database.

During the initial setup of the project, an automated distribution system was developed to provide all nodes with the means to "download" from the server the latest versions of all running software and configuration files upon boot.  This allowed for the modification of code on a separate workstation, with the final copy then placed on the server into a production directory.  Upon a workstation (or server) reboot, necessary files would be copied to the local hard drive and then be ready for execution.

The pcAnywhere package was also used as a tool for IPACT engineers to remotely diagnose problems and upload changes from IPACT’s Valparaiso, IN facility.  With pcAnywhere, an engineer at IPACT could dial into a client workstation at the plant and view actual screens on the workstation.  Files could be uploaded to implement new changes in software, and operators could "watch" as IPACT performed over-the-phone training.

Integrated Process Automation & Control Technologies