The more frequently you (re)use something the more cost effective it gets because the investment has the opportunity to pay off that much faster. This simple “rule” holds especially true for the complex procedures and long-term development involved in industrial automation and engineering. Anybody working for a Food & Beverage Manufacturer with more than one production site will be fully aware of the importance of reusability. Any application development could be profitable much sooner if it can easily be applied to multiple production sites. This becomes particularly evident in a packaging line management system (PLMS) - where the whole process evolution within a plant is affected. The advantages of a PLMS rollout are obvious:
Faster and thus more cost-effective implementation
Faster ROI
Perfect management over multiple production sites
Standardization of common system components can decisively impact the success of application rollouts. The software used for the visualization and control of packaging lines can thus be used to advance standards and regulatory compliance and yet, at the same time, must offer enough flexibility to adapt to local peculiarities. Configurable software such as zenon enables its users to meet both challenges. Its Wizards-based approach of “Automatic Engineering” guarantees that all standardized system components can be automatically included within the final application. Once being developed according to one’s own requirements, the created Wizard can also be used for application rollouts at any subsequent production line.
