Change management methodologies for industrial automation and information systems

• US 8,584,096 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2011
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Schnabele, Werner, Schunck, Gnter Friedrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatri, Anil
• Application Number:
  US13/274,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20120036500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 717/149, 717125-132, 717/151
• US Class Current: 717/128
• 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. A system, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more memory communicatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors, the one or more memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions, comprising;

a differentiation engine configured to generate an audit trail of logged real time interactions with an industrial control object, wherein the real time interactions comprise changes to the industrial control object in a plurality of versions of the industrial control object; and

a view selection component configured to display a version of the industrial control object and to display changes between the version of the industrial control object and another version of the industrial control object.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the logged real-time interactions further comprise at least one of an access date, an access time, an application attempting access, a user name, an online or offline status, an application start or stop time, a file invoked, opened, or saved by an application, a type of access, or a memory alteration.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the differentiation engine is configured to be placed at various levels in a hierarchical model of an enterprise.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the industrial control object one of a control device, a tag, a backing tag, a program, an equipment phase, or an I/O device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the differentiation engine is further configured to generate an audit report of the industrial control object based upon the changes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the industrial control object one of a control device, a tag, a backing tag, a program, an equipment phase, or an I/O device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating, by the device, an audit report of the industrial control object based upon the changes.

8. A method, comprising:

generating recording, by a device including a processor, an audit trail of logged real time interactions with an industrial control object, wherein the real time interactions comprise changes to the industrial control object in a plurality of versions of the industrial control object; and

displaying, by the device, a version of the industrial control object, and changes between the version of the industrial control object and another version of the industrial control object.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the logged real-time interactions further comprise at least one of an access date, an access time, an application attempting access, a user name, an online or offline status, an application start or stop time, a file invoked, opened, or saved by an application, a type of access, or a memory alteration.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution, cause at least one device to perform operations comprising:

recording changes to an industrial control object in a plurality of versions of the industrial control object, and

displaying a version of the industrial control object, and changes between the version of the industrial control object and another version of the industrial control object.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the logged real-time interactions further comprise at least one of an access date, an access time, an application attempting access, a user name, an online or offline status, an application start or stop time, a file invoked, opened, or saved by an application, a type of access, or a memory alteration.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the industrial control object one of a control device, a tag, a backing tag, a program, an equipment phase, or an I/O device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising generating an audit report of the industrial control object based upon the changes.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising logging the real time interactions with the industrial control object at a specified level in a hierarchical model of an enterprise.