Bridging the gap between operator and asset

Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) bridge the gap between operator and asset, allowing the all-important human element of the factory to interact with machines. No matter the format, HMIs have become more integral to the factory of the future and as a result OEMs have a new opportunity.

Machine building is a notoriously competitive market, with companies always looking to develop new, intuitive and innovative products that offer more benefits to their customers. The importance of HMI choice is growing rapidly in the age of digital transformation as HMIs become a vital interface between the machine, the connected factory and the on-site operators who are increasingly expected to make real-time interventions.

What should OEMs be looking for in HMIs?

When it comes to HMIs, with the right expertise, it is possible to engineer the device to complete whatever control or data function desired, but to reach that level of functionality your HMI has to have flexibility. Only by offering a high level of in-built flexibility can an OEM see the potential for scalability using templetisation.

Achieving this level of control allows OEMs to simply copy applications from one machine to another, essentially standardising their offering. Having the same look and feel across all products, whether that is a beverage bottling line or food packaging process. This vastly reduces design and training time for operators and creates a single, familiar environment.

OEMs have enough on their plate when it comes to fulfilling orders. Making complex machinery to perform an equally complex task is hard enough, why make it harder without a standardised approach to HMIs? Working this way means delivering a unit to a repeat customer is now even easier, both the machine builder and the end user are happy in the knowledge the new unit and all those that follow will be compatible.

By removing common issues like item addressing within the PLCs, OEMs no longer need to go into every HMI to build in compatibility. With the standardised approach all onsite operators know what information is being visualised and more importantly how to interact with that machine, even if it is brand-new on the factory floor.

HMI Design

When it comes to what's on the panel, simplicity is key to standardisation. To those machine builders needing to meet a standard (such as ISA101) the choice of HMI vendor is very important. OEMs should always look to receive the graphical representations straight out of the box. Again, this minimises design time and increases speed to market, providing the tools to meet both industry standards and specific end user needs.

Working with the right vendor and creating a standardised approach turns a time-consuming design task into a quick and easy configuration. For end users that need differing alarm limits or a new orientation, the OEM can provide configurability at the touch of a button rather than a costly re-design.

For machine builders, choosing a vendor for HMI software should start with a simple question, is this HMI software agnostic? Only by working with software that can communicate with hardware from a wide cross-section of vendors can true agility be offered as standard. It is important to avoid choosing a vendor that will also lock you into their hardware, for OEMs looking to offer tailored solutions to customers, this works against that desired flexibility.

Modular factory

The modular factory is an important initiative for the future of manufacturing, it is wide-reaching and affects the entire manufacturing process; HMIs play a vital role in the concept. There is a set of principles that OEMs need to work towards to provide a solution that supports this initiative.

For customers looking at a modular factory, the starting point will always be how easy is it to integrate. All machines must provide all relevant performance and control data in a format that conforms to industry standards. OEMs can build in this functionality using a real-time namespace. This means all data will be easily accessible, organised and populated by all machine modules. Using a common data model, machines can publish data to the namespace autonomously, making it easier than ever to add new machines without having to do extensive re-configuration.

Taking a food and beverage example, imagine a company with a line filling bottles. That line could be made of five pieces of equipment all from different machine builders. This isn't always the case, but it is common in the industry. These modular machine pieces can be joined together to create a single line. An OEM utilising a common namespace with the right software choice, combined with the ability for HMIs to display data coming from each modular section, is imperative to the success of this model.

Going one step further, imagine that same line experienced a huge increase in demand. The plant manager can add a second or third line to cope with increased throughput, safe in the knowledge that the software will communicate regardless of how many OEM machines are used in the line. Those onsite will already have an understanding of the information displayed through the HMI and production can expand without delay.

Whether a production line is growing in demand, adapting to a new product or just looking to operate more efficiently, visualising data is important at every stage, from the control room to the plant floor and to mobile for remote workers. OEMs have the opportunity to streamline this with their HMI choice, providing a cutting-edge solution that holds them above the competition in this tough sector.

The HMI is (physically) a small part of a factory operation but is one with a big impact on productivity. As the bridge between operator and asset, human and machine, HMI solutions allow those on the factory floor valuable insight into their machines. The opportunity and responsibility to make this process as simple and effective as possible increasingly lies with the OEM. Offering agnostic software, easing the pressure on the design teams and increasing speed to market are all achievable goals through the careful selection of HMI solutions. For OEMs this can often be the competitive edge that makes them the supplier of choice.