All relevant process and diagnostic data is monitored in the HMI system. This makes it possible to react to warning messages, which reduces downtime.

© Siemens

The same applies to the software: it should be flexible, reliable, open and modular. The visualization is the most visible and important component in the HMI system for operators and must therefore be easy to adapt and convenient to use. Due to the increase in IT networking, extended security certificates are also required, for example for remote access via a browser, for company-wide or global data exchange or for cloud solutions.

Optimal interaction between hardware and software

Hardware and software are often purchased by different departments in companies. Each department may make a good deal for itself. Follow-up costs and expenses are usually disregarded: long-term tests and problem-solving phases, incompatibility at crucial points that only becomes apparent in the application, or short usage times, as updates destroy the compatibility of both components. Combination packages consisting of industrial PCs and HMI systems offer a solution in which the individual components are optimally matched to each other. They are issued system-tested, have undergone extensive diagnostics and include worldwide approvals and certificates.

Siemens also offers a combination with its Simatic industrial PCs and Simatic WinCC HMI systems. The scalable combination packages, in which hardware and software are already coordinated during development, are available in various configurations and performance ranges. This approach also shortens the subsequent planning phase when new components are added to the existing system. Hardware availability is up to six years, while the repair and spare parts service extends over a further five years. At the same time, the software is continuously kept up to date and accompanies the hardware throughout its entire life cycle.

Industrial PC with Simatic WinCC Unified: robust hardware and convenient software for a harsh industrial environment.

© Siemens

Other features include flexibility and openness through the support of standard interfaces such as OPC UA, MQTT or REST API. These are crucial for easy integration into existing IT infrastructures, for example into higher-level MES/ERP systems and for connecting third-party automation systems. The completely newly developed WinCC Unified System also impresses with its combination of PC-based visualizations with panels directly on the machine, as a solution with a uniform look and feel and consistent functionality.

Simatic WinCC systems are just as long-term available as the Simatic IPCs, expandable over many years and standardized. Together, they create a flexible, open platform with numerous integrated functionalities such as a library for standardization and more efficient process operation. With the help of software extensions and special certifications (ATEX, marine, etc.), systems can be designed for different industries, from small to complex configurations.

Industrial PC with Simatic WinCC Unified.

© Siemens

The combination package also scores points in the increasing linking of OT and IT levels: Simatic IPCs are certified for connection to cloud systems from common providers, offer extensive gateway functions and, in conjunction with end-to-end data integrity, enable flexibly scalable networking - from local to global. With the HMI software, data is recorded locally, pre-processed and transferred to the cloud for central evaluation. This makes it possible to set up classic edge structures.

This benefits companies such as Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, which modernized its almost 60-year-old hot-dip coating plant with an intelligent virtualization and redundancy concept. The existing virtualization solution could not be technically expanded, so the company opted for a combination of Simatic IPC547 and the SCADA system Simatic WinCC V7 as a redundant control system in a virtual IT infrastructure. Thanks to the combination with a central data archive server, detailed long-term evaluations of plant availability, efficiency, energy consumption and quality are now possible. Access is via 27 operating stations or the intranet, which also facilitates support from service technicians.

Ready for the networked future

The authors: Brigitte Händler, Marketing Manager HMI/SCADA (left), and Wolfgang Lay, Marketing Manager IPC, work at Siemens in Nuremberg.

© Siemens

The open architecture of the HMI system combined with a high level of system compatibility enables modernization. Initial approaches for implementing artificial intelligence are already embedded in the diagnostic functions and reduce inspection and test times. Service and maintenance aspects also contribute to a long life cycle: For example, the embedded PCs contain no rotating parts such as fans or hard disks. For all PCs - with and without fans - the operating hours, status of the storage media and other diagnostic data are displayed in the runtime environment of the HMI system and can be called up locally or remotely. Necessary maintenance work can thus be carried out preventively during downtimes. Such integrated diagnostic functions for an overall system consisting of PLC, network components and IPC hardware help to detect and rectify faults more quickly. In addition, long-term service operating systems ensure long-term availability in the same way as visualization software and hardware.

All these factors contribute to increased plant availability, reduced service costs and shorter downtimes, making the combination packages of Simatic IPCs and Simatic WinCC a reliable, high-performance choice.