Services portal

• US 8,055,371 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2010
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric Systems USA, Inc. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Invensys Systems Incorporated (Invensys PLC)
• Inventors: Russell, Melanie, Culverhouse, Martin, Barr, Russell, Martin, Peter, Bather, Robert, Sanford, Fred, Hasselbaum, Robert, Sikora, Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): JARRETT, RYAN A
• Application Number:
  US12/938,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20110055118A1
• Time in Patent Office: 370 Days
• Field of Search: 700/36, 700/108, 705/7, 705/8
• US Class Current: 700/108
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31457 Factory remote control, monitoring through internet
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2223/06 Remote monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0245 based on a qualitative model, e.g. rule based; if-then decisions
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0264 Control of logging system, e.g. decision on which data to store; time-stamping measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

An apparatus for monitoring performance of an industrial process includes a service portal for collecting, transmitting and analyzing parameter data from process field devices that includes a network connection that connects to a process control system of the industrial process, a remote collector that collects parameter data from process field devices, a processor that identifies, sorts, and stores the collected parameter data and a communications module for transmitting the stored parameter data to a remote monitoring station for analysis.

Claims

1. A method of improving a manufacturing client'"'"'s business performance comprising:

determining a current baseline business performance for the client including identifying targeted areas of improvement in the manufacturing area, each targeted area being associated with one or more industrial processes;

analyzing a potential economic gain for each targeted area;

identifying dynamic performance measures for each targeted area;

monitoring industrial process parameters within the target areas, each industrial process parameter being associated with an industrial process;

developing baseline dynamic performance measures of the target areas based on the monitoring of the industrial process parameters;

analyzing the baseline dynamic performance measures to identify areas within the targeted areas of improvement for optimization;

optimizing industrial process parameters associated with the identified areas within the targeted areas of improvement based on the analysis of the baseline dynamic performance measures; and

measuring, after the optimization, the industrial process parameters associated with the identified areas and developing second baseline dynamic performance measures based on the measured industrial process parameters.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a current baseline business performance for the client includes on site study of the manufacturing area.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying targeted areas of improvement includes identification of deficient performance of the process using economic analyses.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein using economic analyses includes defining how potential changes will yield an increased return on investment over the determined current baseline business performance.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying dynamic performance measures for each targeted area includes identifying measurable process parameters that are directly related to economic performance of the targeted area.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein monitoring industrial process parameters within the target areas and developing baseline dynamic performance measures of the target areas includes:

observing multiple performances of the one or more processes associated within each target area; and

evaluating economic effects of the industrial process parameters.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein monitoring industrial process parameters includes establishing a baseline optimum value for each process parameter based on multiple performances of each process.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the baseline dynamic performance measures to identify areas within the targeted areas of improvement for optimization includes evaluating the economic effects on a product of the industrial process parameters.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a current baseline business performance for the client includes an on site study of a plant-level process.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a current baseline business performance for the client includes analysis of plant-level performance measures.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising decomposing the plant-level performance measures to a measure of performance at a manufacturing process level or a unit level.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the measure of performance is specific to the manufacturing process level or the unit level.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising comparing the second baseline dynamic performance measures to the baseline dynamic performance measures to determine whether the optimization resulted in an improvement.