Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Top floor to shop floor info exchange

Connecting manufacturing data - including packaging data - to other company information systems is a trend that continues to pick up steam. A feature story in the March issue of Automation World makes that abundantly clear.

"Over the past 10 to 15 years, companies have used their ERP systems to connect the enterprise from one end to the other," writes Ron Spiegel, author of the story. "The first connections went naturally to the office functions: financials, human resources, sales and marketing, supply chain, and logistics. The final mile of connectivity goes to the plant itself. The IT department knows, of course, that the plant runs on an information platform, but until recently, plant data has been its own animal."

Spiegel's story is especially useful for those who build or buy packaging machinery, because in many ways packaging lags even farther behind than processing when it comes to getting data out of a machine on the plant floor and into MES or ERP.

Spiegel explores in the article the two most commonly used methods of connecting plant-floor data to the business side of the enterprise: By driving it through a database to a Microsoft SQL Server or by using a direct connection through OPC. "OPC (an open connectivity standard) has been getting a lot of attention in the field of connecting the plant to business systems, especially the most recent OPC UA (Unified Architecture), which was released to the OPC membership last fall," writes Spiegel. "The strategy behind OPC UA, according to analysts from ARC Advisory Group Inc. in Dedham, MA, is to leverage collaboration with other industry standards, including ISA-S95, ISA-S99, OAGi, EDDL, and MIMOSA."

2024 PACK EXPO Innovations Reports
Exclusive access: Packaging World editor-curated reports revealing PACK EXPO's most groundbreaking technologies across food, healthcare, and machinery sectors. Each report features truly innovative solutions selected from hundreds of exhibitors by our expert team. Transform your operations with just one click.
Access Now
2024 PACK EXPO Innovations Reports
Pharmaceutical Innovations Report
Discover the latest breakthrough packaging technologies shaping the pharmaceutical sector. This report dives into cutting-edge innovations, from smart containers that enhance patient safety to eco-friendly materials poised to transform the industry’s sustainability practices. All from PACK EXPO. Learn how forward-thinking strategies are driving efficiency and redefining what’s possible in pharma packaging.
Learn More
Pharmaceutical Innovations Report