Managing control strategies, code and standards across many PLC and SCADA/HMI systems is a major challenge for companies and involves a lot of work. A problem that Schneider Electric now wants to solve: Wonderware Prometheus is a universal configuration solution that programs and documents the control code for the entire control technology, from the operating system to the PLC to the I/O level. The solution therefore goes beyond the capabilities of existing control and SCADA/HMI software. Until now, many different editors have been used in companies, especially in systems with control systems from different manufacturers. One tool should now suffice. "Prometheus is an important breakthrough. A tool that can be used to configure and manage the entire automation system without any restrictions," says Rupert Krümpel, Sales Manager for Wonderware Software at Schneider Electric.

Manufacturer and platform-independent

With an open high-level language programming environment, almost all control technology components can be configured - regardless of the manufacturer or platform. Users are not dependent on being able to program Allen-Bradley, Modicon, Siemens or Raspberry Pi, for example. The only systems that could not be taken into account were those that do not disclose an interface. "Although the control code is developed independently of the target platform, there are no restrictions in terms of functionality," says Rupert Krümpel.
"Once completed, the code is then compiled by the manufacturer's software, which handles both the validation and the download to the hardware. The code developed in Prometheus can therefore use all the special features of the respective platform." For this purpose, Schneider Electric uses the APIs of the programming software of the respective hardware manufacturer to validate the logic from Prometheus and load it into the hardware. Prometheus also offers templates to ensure that the code can be reused.

A multi-user framework ensures that all users involved in engineering are always up to date with the latest project status. As each control unit is structured as a modular component, the workflows in Prometheus are flexible. Work can begin either at the top level with the definition of the processes or at the bottom with the configuration of the input/output level.

Always up to date

A multi-user framework ensures that all users involved in engineering are always up to date with the latest project status. As each control unit is constructed as a modular component, the workflows in Prometheus are flexible. Work can begin either at the top level with the definition of the processes or at the bottom end with the configuration of the input/output level. A built-in rough simulation enables testing and validation. The software will be available from January 2017. A built-in rough simulation enables testing and validation. The software will be available from January 2017.