These problems are particularly difficult because the installed technology base in plant IT is woefully out of date. The industry has gone through a period where significant technology investments were made in business (ERP) systems, and the plant floor was left behind. Manufacturers often have hundreds of special purpose applications. Many don’t have anyone trained to support them, and little or no documentation. You can’t get at the data inside. Lots of subtle inefficiencies, constraints, and workarounds have grown in the manufacturing environment because of these brittle, static applications. The problem has been growing, but given what’s going on in the global economy, it’s time to acknowledge that this is a recipe for disaster.
No matter what specific pain points lead you to seek new plant solutions, it is important to think about the infrastructure and architecture very early in the process. Do you want to standardize on a single technology platform, application platform, and business process engine? Or are you content to support multiple ones in different areas. Infrastructure decisions must take into account these issues, and decide what to use for security, dashboards, and other operations-wide services. “Production Operations” is central to every dimension of manufacturing. It is in the middle of the design chain, the middle of the supply chain, and between business systems and automation and control systems. It is critical that Operations Management systems easily end effectively integrate with all of these systems. There are seven essential categories of functionality in Operations management systems. (read). With these, strategies such as compliance management, real-time performance monitoring, or rapid product innovation, are implemented and supported at the plant floor level.
No matter what specific pain points lead you to seek new plant solutions, it is important to think about the infrastructure and architecture very early in the process. Do you want to standardize on a single technology platform, application platform, and business process engine? Or are you content to support multiple ones in different areas. Infrastructure decisions must take into account these issues, and decide what to use for security, dashboards, and other operations-wide services. “Production Operations” is central to every dimension of manufacturing. It is in the middle of the design chain, the middle of the supply chain, and between business systems and automation and control systems. It is critical that Operations Management systems easily end effectively integrate with all of these systems. There are seven essential categories of functionality in Operations management systems. (read). With these, strategies such as compliance management, real-time performance monitoring, or rapid product innovation, are implemented and supported at the plant floor level.
Integration is critical for a dynamic manufacturing operation that is capable of responding to dynamic marketplace demands, and this is more than just P2B integration.There are five areas that frequently must be integrated to Operations systems:Enterprise/Business systems(P2B)Design and Engineering systemsAutomation, Controls Equipment, and other plant-level applicationsSuppliers, outsourced manufacturing operations, and sister plants, including transportation and logisticsProduct Support operations: Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) etc.
Oracle Application Integration Architecture (AIA): Based on Fusion Middleware Integrates all Oracle Products (E-Business Suite, JD Edwards, Siebel, Agile, …)Elements: Industry Reference Models … Models based on key industry processes Enterprise Business Objects (EBO): …Unify (canonical) data models (OAGi, UN/CEFACT) Enterprise Business Serrvices (EBS) … Re-usable services Application Business Connector Services (ABS): …Integrate Legacy Systems Process Integration Packs (PIP) … Integrate and extend applications … Componsite applications