The fast and simple exchange of information and data is an important building block with regard to the ever advancing digitization. However, there is often no clear link between product and documentation, or manufacturer data is named and structured differently. This results in a high search effort as well as manual effort, e.g., during maintenance or installation work—and therefore increased costs.
As part of the Digital Data Chain (DDC) consortium, Pepperl+Fuchs is working together with companies from the process automation sector to develop standards and platforms that enable both the automatic identification of objects and the efficient exchange of information.
For this purpose, the consortium relies on standards such as:
- Automatic identification of physical objects (DIN SPEC 91406),
- Digital manufacturer information (VDI 2770)
Simple Identification through Auto ID in the Nameplate
Automatic object identification through Auto ID
As a founding member, Pepperl+Fuchs already developed a standard for the automatic identification of objects together with partners and companies from the process automation industry—the DIN SPEC 91406. This DIN specification is currently being further developed into IEC 61406 in an international project and is thus gaining international significance.
The instance level identifier standardized in DIN SPEC 91406, e.g., a unique identifier for each individual serial number, makes it possible to link manufacturer information, such as maintenance and servicing plans, to the product instances. In this way, by using suitable systems, the individual components in a plant can be identified quickly and easily using mobile devices. The required information can be accessed at any time and from any location—at all process levels and throughout the entire life cycle of the product. This not only saves companies time and money, but also makes an important contribution to environmental protection. Digital data representation saves enormous amounts of paper and therefore avoids their costly production, processing and storage.
From Manual to Modular Digital Documentation
VDI Guideline 2770 “Digital Manufacturer Information” is a process automation guideline that illustrates how descriptive and instructional manufacturer documentation can be exchanged in a digital and standardized manner. In order to achieve as much cross-company neutrality as possible across the entire value chain, the guideline specifies the properties, structure, scope, content, and data format of the documentation. In this way, a type of “life cycle file” is created for each product with all the information from manufacturing to commissioning. Employees can then, e.g., access and share the data and information via cloud-based information exchange platforms. This should help to reduce search efforts in large plants and make processes more efficient.
Highlights
- Automatic identification of objects through Auto ID
- Reduced search effort and manual effort due to standardized information display
- Digital information display presentation contributes to environmental protection by saving enormous amounts of paper
- Information can be accessed and shared across all levels and distances
