Totally Integrated Automation in the Process Industry

Totally Integrated Automation in the Process Industry

 

 

Integrated solutions for automation by Siemens

The biggest single investment in 15 years. This project also allowed Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) to prove its strengths yet again.




The Austrian company AMAG rolling GmbH manufactures special aluminum for customers such as the aircraft industry. One of the company's new continuous strand furnaces has been automated with the SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system and now demonstrates how SIMATIC® PCS 7, as an integral component of TIA, can also benefit the metalworking industry. The Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali GmbH implemented the automation of AMAG rolling GmbH's plant. Ansaldo Sistemi is a Siemens Solution Partner that is also active in the metalworking area.

For Ansaldo CEO Giacomo D'lgnazio, the project is an example of how it pays off for the customer when the system integrator and the technology supplier work in partnership: "We develop tailor-made solutions based on the Siemens range of products. Users benefit here in particular from the uniformity of TIA." He also values the positive support provided: "The Siemens Service Portal with its FAQs, facilities for downloading documentation and software updates, and especially the personal enquiry function significantly facilitates start-up and later maintenance for the customer."

According to Giacomo D'lgnazio, SIMATIC PCS 7 is characterized by transparency and simplicity: "Use of the standardized PCS 7 interface and the messaging system significantly reduces the training overhead since operators and maintenance engineers do not require any basic introduction to the system provided they are already familiar with PCS 7. Thanks to the level of integration of the automation, we can use up to 15 percent of savings potential compared to our competitors."

Pietro Gallone, Operations Manager at Ansaldo, points to further benefits of PCS 7 that contributed specifically to the acceleration of the project: "The Safety Matrix accelerated start-up of the safety functions by at least 15 percent. Graphical sequencer visualization proved to be an advantage in process optimization. We saved up to 10 percent of the engineering overhead in this often time-consuming process.