Paper Technology International 2024 - Journal - Page 104
PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Figure 2: Screenshot MES CAT Dashboard.
Automated data capture
If energy data is to be exploited in real time, the MES must
support automated data capture from energy-consuming devices,
for example via an OPC router or by means of bidirectional data
exchange with other IT systems. An all-in-one system for energy
data capture proves its strengths when it comes to logging data
from energy-consuming devices of different ages and 昀椀tted with
different technology. All the various data can be transferred to the
MES and thus included in the analyses and optimisations. The next
stage involves linking in additional systems and databases. Most
energy data management systems are very well suited for displaying
historical information about consumption across the enterprise. An
important question is: How can the energy data now be used to help
ongoing production?
Integrating IRES data
This is where Intelligent Resource Ef昀椀ciency Solution data,
or IRES comes in, with Intense AG’s system integrating energy data
to the MES. IRES is a system for logging and managing energy
data and processing it together with relevant parameters in close
to real time. To do this, data from different systems is combined.
Data from orders and machine data from the MES is integrated
with virtual pro昀椀les for machines and energy-intensive processes,
all stored in the IRES evaluation platform. These pro昀椀les are
developed speci昀椀cally for each enterprise. So, for example, IRES
can interact with T.CON’s software to de昀椀ne reference orders based
on energy-ef昀椀cient orders for producing a particular type of paper
or 昀椀lm. When production is underway for new orders, the current
energy consumption is compared with the reference orders stored
in IRES. It is then possible to calculate what the consumption pro昀椀le
will look like, based on historical consumption data and the planned
production volume.
Live load monitoring
The data model can also be enriched with further
information, such as the weight of raw materials used or the
weight of the manufactured products. Using this information, the
company can generate normalised energy performance data, for
instance ‘kW/h electricity consumption per kg of 昀椀nished product’ or
‘cubic meters of steam per meter of 昀椀nished product’. This energy
performance data is essential for ISO 50001-compliant reporting.
However, it is often challenging to generate without built-in system
support.
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Monitoring and alarms
At the same time, the
enterprises bene昀椀t from a monitoring
and alarm system: measurements from
current energy usage and visualizations
displayed on the shop 昀氀oor can be used
for comparisons against targets and
progress monitoring of the company’s
energy-saving projects. The system
doesn’t have to stop at displaying
information about time- and machinespeci昀椀c energy consumption; it can also
provide order-speci昀椀c and materialspeci昀椀c information. When the system
is enriched with this kind of detail,
virtual pro昀椀les and reference orders
are used for comparing current energy
consumption with normalized historical usage data. Visualization
could be for example by means of a red/amber/green display. It’s
also possible use the same principles to visualize consumption
of other resources, such as water or gas, on dashboards in the
production environment. The dashboards can be displayed on
various devices – mobile devices, workstations, big screens, etc.,
including in the vicinity of the relevant machines and systems.
Green light
The IEA has calculated that investments in this kind of
system pay off rapidly: The energy ef昀椀ciency measures implemented
since the turn of the century saved some US $680 billion in the
year 2022 alone – about 15 percent of all energy costs in that year.
Globally, industry improved its energy ef昀椀ciency in 2022 by two
percent over the preceding year. However, that is not enough to
ensure green manufacturing in the long term. To achieve the goal of
net zero emissions by 2050, the IEA has determined that ef昀椀ciency
improvements of around four percent per year are needed. Tools like
the red/amber/green visualization can help industry reach this goal
while still remaining pro昀椀table.
MES: Bene昀椀ts beyond energy management
We learned that Manufacturing Executions Systems can
contribute to keeping an eye on energy data. But there is much
more to it. A huge bene昀椀t for paper producers is that an MES makes
it possible to manage, monitor and control production in real time. As
a production control system or manufacturing management system,
it serves as a link between the planning and production levels and
thus establishes the connection to the ERP system as well as to the
machines and plants. This creates transparency. Each production
step can be related to a value-added step - it becomes clear where
production is pro昀椀table and where money is being wasted.
You gain new insights into the cost structure and can
calculate material costs more accurately. Another positive side
effect using a sophisticated MES: By integrating CO2 data from
material master data and recognized databases, you strengthen
transparency along your supply chain. Going green with more
precise cost communication & presentation of your ecological
footprint bring along a big bene昀椀t. Especially in consideration of
decarbonization targets for the future in the EU and elsewhere,
this is an unavoidable must. However, the introduction of MES is
a project that involves time, resources and costs. It is therefore
particularly important that the introduction is carried out ef昀椀ciently
and successfully:
