Wonderware, a business unit of Invensys Systems, has launched version 2.2 of its DT Analyst plant productivity improvement software.
The software provides Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) calculations and other key plant metrics used to improve equipment performance and availability. The company says that version 2.2 enhances customer efficiency through improved report navigation and event categorisation.
DT Analyst software offers plant decision-makers industry-standard key performance indicators (KPIs) such as OEE, which compares manufacturing operations throughout the plant and across the enterprise in near-real time. This allows senior management to enforce productivity improvement initiatives throughout the company and compare plant production lines, shifts or parts of a production line, enabling managers to target or set priorities for areas of improvement, the company claims.
High-speed, high-volume manufacturing operations can benefit from OEE. OEE calculations provide a complete picture of a plant's operations, including system and equipment availability and performance measurement, which helps managers ensure that operations are running at rated production levels. As a result, plant personnel from the plant manager to the plant-floor operator can visualise the effectiveness of plant assets using OEE and determine how well equipment performs in real time with the implementation of process improvements or changes.
This means that short-duration packing machine stoppages can be measured and analysed to evaluate how they affect the production line's OEE. The DT Analyst event monitor helps plant operators identify and correct problems. After a solution is applied, plant staff will be able to immediately measure the solution's effect.
"Wonderware products are known for their ease of use and efficiency," said Jim Frider, product marketing manager for Wonderware's plant intelligence products. "This new release of DT Analyst software continues in that tradition because it detects and resolves recurring availability, performance and quality issues, decreasing costs and increasing profitability without large capital outlays."
The updated software has also expanded the application's multilingual support. It now supports German, French and Spanish, with additional language support in development. Regional settings are now configurable, and version 2.2 supports a broader range of non-English-language operating systems.
"Many of Wonderware's largest DT Analyst users are international manufacturers focused on improving productivity and asset utilisation," Frider said. "DT Analyst 2.2 software provides better support for these important markets."
Wonderware is a business unit of Invensys Systems, and is the world's leading supplier of industrial automation software. Founded in 1987, Wonderware pioneered the use of the Microsoft Windows operating system in HMI automation software for manufacturing operation systems. Based in Lake California, Wonderware has regional sales and development offices throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia to provide support to its network of more than 160 distributor offices.
Wonderware has approximately 300,000 software licenses in approximately 100,000 plants worldwide, which is about 30 percent of the world's 335,000 plants with 20 or more employees. For more information, visit the Wonderware.