CHANGE MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

• US 20090037872A1
• Filed: 05/17/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Schunck, Gunter Friedrich, Schnabele, Werner
• Granted Patent: US 8,065,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/105
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4183 characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41835 characterised by programme execution
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31402 Keep log book, for activities of a station, equipment
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31418 NC program management, support, storage, distribution, version, update
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32161 Object oriented control, programming
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

Systems and methods that facilitate electronic audit recording and tracking of interactions in an industrial control system via employing a differentiation engine that supplies an object-oriented presentation of an audit trail—and further present a view of a desired segment associated with a PLC program (e.g., a particular run of the PLC program), for an object that an audit is requested for. A user (e.g., a customer of the industrial process) can initially identify an object and subsequently view typically all changes to such identified object. Accordingly, a general requirement for checking every version to determine a change to the object is mitigated.

Claims

1. An electronic audit system, comprising:

a differentiation engine that supplies an object-oriented presentation of an audit trail for a PLC program in an industrial control environment, and

a view selection component associated with the differentiation engine, to present an object changed during various program runs.

2. The electronic audit system of claim 1 further comprising a recording component that logs real time interactions of the object with industrial control components.

3. The electronic audit system of claim 2 further comprising a tracking component that aggregates real time interactions to facilitate generation of audit data relating to the industrial control components.

4. The electronic audit system of claim 3, the industrial control components include a programmable logic controller (PLC) with a changeable software version during a run thereof.

5. The electronic audit system of claim 3 further comprising a packaging component that receives data from a PLC, and formats the data as an object.

6. The electronic audit system of claim 3 further comprising a recording component that records interactions with the differentiation component during a session.

7. The electronic audit system of claim 3, the differentiation engine with a trail of metadata that identify versions of the program.

8. The electronic audit system of claim 3 further comprising a hierarchical data model that represents a common data model for the plant.

9. The electronic audit system of claim 3 further comprising an artificial intelligence component that facilitates audit trailing of data.

10. The electronic audit system of claim 3 further comprising a directory interface that points to a data source.

11. A method of auditing an industrial control process, comprising:

identifying an object to be monitored among various versions of a PLC software; and

supplying an object-oriented presentation of an audit trail for the object.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising selecting a view from a program run to show changes to the object.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising identifying version changes for the PLC software.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising employing a directory to track source of data.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising collecting tracking an audit trail across various levels of an industrial plant.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising employing tags for the audit trail of the object.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising changing a version of software that runs on a PLC.

18. The method of 17 further comprising formatting data received from the PLC into packages.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising pointing to a data source via a directory interface.

20. An electronic audit system, comprising:

means for supplying an object-oriented presentation of an audit trail for a PLC program in an industrial control environment, and

means for displaying an object that is changed during various program runs.

21. The electronic audit system of claim 20 further comprising means for recording real time interactions of an object of the PLC program to generate audit data related to electronic audit system.

22. The electronic audit system of claim 20 further comprising means for tracking real time interactions to generate audit data related to electronic audit system.

23. The electronic audit system of claim 20 further comprising means for packaging data received from a PLC.

24. An audit system in an industrial environment further comprising:

a PLC with a changeable software version for a control thereof, and

a differentiation engine that tracks modification to the software engine as an object oriented presentation.

25. The audit system of claim 24 further comprising a packaging component that packages data related to the PLC.

26. The audit system of claim 24 further comprising a trail of metadata that identifies a software version.

27. The audit system of claim 24, the industrial environment further comprising a common data model.