Remove the complexity of industrial automation within your facilities using Simio’s orchestration tools. Simplify scheduling tasks, digital transformation while cutting costs using the insight-driven simulation and scheduling solutions Simio offers.
Achieving a ‘Lights Out’ Factory comes with the complete automation of industrial processes which is the bedrock of Industry 4.0. To achieve the accuracy and high performance that support real-time automation, putting the data your industrial processes produce to work is the first step. The data produced by your original manufacturing equipment, shop floor assets, material handling systems, Internet of things devices, and storage processes are the needed ingredients for automation.
To accurately deliver industrial automation, every data-producing process must be captured. Thus, the use of sensors, motion controls, and actuators are also fixtures that must be integrated into shop floors. Once this is achieved, the captured data from the many systems and variables within a facility must be analyzed, and can be used to automate select processes with the aim of achieving complete industrial automation.
Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS)– Automating the process of allocating resources and planning production timelines to optimize the production processes is an important step to achieving industrial automation. This is because of the positive butterfly effect automating advanced planning and scheduling has on other industrial processes that drive production.
Material Handling Systems and Logistics – A to B transportation, Milk runs, pick and drop stops…whatever you call the material handling and transportation system within your facilities, automating transportation systems lead to industrial automation. Automating external logistics such as third-party supply chains is also part of the process needed for industrial automation.
Maintenance – Defective equipment is one of the leading causes of downtime within industrial operations. Industrial automation includes automating maintenance processes through predictive maintenance concepts.
Automating industrial processes such as planning and scheduling or material handling requires modern tools driven by emerging technology solutions. These tools help eliminate the errors and challenges within traditional warehouses that lead to downtime and resource waste. Some of the tools or technologies that solve these challenges through automation include:
A combination of these solutions enables data to be captured in both brownfield and greenfield facilities. Also, integrating these solutions automate planning and scheduling, material handling, maintenance, and workstation operations.
Simio offers solutions that can help you achieve industrial automation on your own terms. These solutions are designed to streamline the advance planning and scheduling processes that define manufacturing. You can take advantage of:
Real-Time Scheduling - The ability for systems to make decisions in real-time is important to industrial automation. Simio enables accurate real-time scheduling throughout the lifecycle of industrial operations.
Enhances Advanced Planning – The process of redesigning shop floor plans and layouts for industrial automation can be enhanced using Simio simulation tools. Enterprises can also assess complex variables and systems with Simio to develop viable plans when automating processes.
Enhanced Accuracy – The assurance of highly accurate simulation results and scheduling reports ensure you get the best-in-class tools for executing your automation analysis and designs.
Cloud Compatibility – Simio can be complemented with cloud computing when extra computing resources are needed for very complex systems with large data sets. The scalability offered also enhances result accuracies and integration into already existing cloud computing ecosystems.
Enhances Administrative Effort – The ability to assess real-time and predictive scheduling data, as well as, simulate accurate answers to complex industrial problems provide administrators with the tools needed to make decisions regarding industrial automation.