Industrial companies are going through their digital transformation! This translates into strong technological evolution – robotics and production automation, integration of communicating objects, product customization – but also into an unprecedented extension of companies’ information systems.
Tomorrow, each production machine but also each finished product will potentially be a communicating device to connect.
Over the last two decades, companies have massively computerized their administrative processes with four types of applications:
These different bricks of information systems have naturally been interconnected in order to avoid redundancies and inconsistencies.
In parallel, industrial processes saw the development of complex automations, robots, supervisions, as separate projects with no connection to the central information system.
Today, the growing inflation of communicating objects in the factory requires a transition to standard IT technologies. Interconnection requirements make the integration of all these projects into the information system compulsory!
Networking is a first element for the establishment of digital continuity. While technically simple to perform today, it however requires more and more wireless networks to connect mobile devices. It also implies to prioritize cybersecurity on these various network technologies.
Beyond this basic connectivity, communication protocols between the different bricks of the information system must be implemented.
With Qubes, IT technologies such as web services, SQL connections, or ISO 62264 standard implementations are directly available for connection with the ERP, PLM, SCM, APS software bricks. Qubes also provides a wide range of communication technology with supervisions, automatons and equipments, via PLC native protocols, OPC, measuring equipment drivers (scales native protocols,…).
Besides taking into account all the different protocols, digital continuity requires adequate semantics to enable communication between the information system’s various elements:
How can the ERP’s high level information be transformed into understandable components for a machine without operator intervention?
How can you structure technical data to avoid each application in the factory managing one part with no global consistency?
How do you integrate all machines and connected devices, and have the information system correctly interpret their data?
Qubes provides answers to all these questions in order for you to quickly set up a connected factory!
Qubes numerous possibilities open new structuring options for your information system. New allocation of responsibilities between ERP, PLM, MES et SCADAs become possible so as to build an information system better equipped to face the new challenges linked with Industry 4.0.
Qubes i4 is an industrial device located within the factory, whose role is to liaise with the central server and ensure the availability of critical functions (automatons, machine control, connected devices…).
It can either be a classical architecture with M.E.S. application server and central database hosted at your headquarters or on your service provider’s site, or a cloud solution hosted by Creative IT.
Discover Qubes i4’s various features.
How can Qubes i4 effectively address architecture and IT safety problems in an industrial context?
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