SICE-ICASE International Joint Conference 2006

Oct. 18-2 1, 2006 in Bexco, Busan, Korea

Trend of Process Automation and Factory Automation

Seiichi Shin
Department of System Engineering, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan
(Tel: +81-42-443-7426; E-mail: shingse.uec.acjp)

Abstract: This paper presents a trend of PA (Process Automation) and FA (Factory Automation). These two major
fields of automation are now merging rapidly. Differences between them are now shrinking. The trend is shown from
the viewpoint of downsizing, networking, XML, and RFID. However, a basis of the trend is using mathematical
models. The automation world becomes so complex that we can not understand and manage it without the models.
Keywords: Process automation, factory automation, downsizing, networking, RFID, mathematical model

1. INTRODUCTION PID one. This is the lower side connection. The upper
side is the server which integrates information from
Progress of Information Technology (IT) is changing DCS and PLC. This paper shows this trend along the
the society everyday. It also changes the production progress of IT, adding to introduction of RFID to IA.
system, because the system should stand for demand
from the society. 2. DOWNSIZING
There are two fields in the production system. One is
PA (Process Automation) and another is FA (Factory
Automation). The former is continuous process for The first one which should be pointed out is
industries of steel, chemical, petroleum, and so on. The downsizing [1], so that the large scale computer is
controller used for PA is DCS (Distributed Control downsizing to a chip as a microprocessor. DCS, which
can handle more than thousands of loops with high
System), which treats analog signals mainly and an reliability, should be downsized. Therefore, PLC is
origin of DCS is a collection of PID controllers. The being used in PA area, where needs not so much scale
latter is assembly process for industries of automobile, and the less reliability.
home appliance, commodity, and so on. The controller
for FA is PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), which
treats ON/OFF signal mainly and its origin is a relay
*Downsizing
sequence. -Advancing Performance
However, from the end-user point of view, these two -Networking
are inevitable. Automobile industry needs PID DCS
controllers for handling of materials and facilities and
steel industry needs relay sequences for products PLC -PC
handling and delivery, too. Therefore, we say here IA
(Industrial Automation) as a combination of PA and FA.
k\
Display One Chip

Become Borderless

Information Sharing
SCM Fig. 2. Progress of PLC

F P However, the downsizing is never stopped at a PLC.

It should be downsized as DCS is downsized as a PLC
A A (Fig. 2). A future of PLC is embedded controller, which
is used in cars and home appliances. Therefore, the
Integration controllers, which are the symbols of IA, will go out
of DCS and PLC from our eyesight and a display may remain here.

Fig. 1. An integration of PA and FA.
Progress of IT is now connecting production lines of
PA and FA (Fig. 1) from both the upper and the lower
sides. Now, DCS has a relay function and PLC has a
3. INFORMATION SHARING
However, DCS is still necessary for the large scale
and high reliable plant. The role of DCS, of course, is
changing. DCS is now forwarding to information
handling as a document maker, an information server
and so on (Fig. 3).
In this Century, the production system is changing

89-950038-5-5 98560/06/$10 2006 ICASE

157
from Quantity to Quality, or another word, from mass to
individual. Market hates backlog and loves "production
to order." Therefore, SCM (Supply Chain Management)
system connects many companies world widely. Of
course, lines in a factory and factories of a company
should be connected for SCM.
.....
......
2 to the OPC server. Therefore, OPC is a symbol of
http://www.yokogawa.co.jp/MCC/y ys80/slpc/slpc- .htm
Fig. 3. Progress of DCS.
All lines, all factories, and many companies
connected through IP (Internet Protocol) collaborate like
an organized body. All information related to lines,
factories, and companies can be shared through IP and
visualized on a flat panel display at a board meeting at
the company. Therefore, all board members can visit
any time to all lines and all factories virtually, even in
DCS and PLC.
The members believe that a problem raised now is
how to handle the shared information. Do they really
share the information?
protocols.
The problem raised here is how to connect these
divided machines and human beings. There are two
solutions. We see them in the next section.
4. XML
One solution to the connection problem is OPC (Fig.
5), which was the abbreviation of OLE (Object Linking
and Embedding) for Process Control. OLE is a past
name of DCOM (Distributed Component Model) or
Active X of Windows Technology by Microsoft. OPC
server can handle both of analog and digital data, so that
this is a solution. Almost of DCS and PLC can connect
merging FA and PA.
Now, OPC is stepping up to XML and UA (Unified
Architecture) [2]. This means OPC of .net framework,
which corresponds to Web service. In the Microsoft
terminology, it is ".net" framework. OPC UA is
integrated as the framework. The OPC server is used
for PA and FA, so that OPC-UA is a card for PA and FA
integration.
HQ
I~~~~~~~~
A
A
, . . .~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . ...........
...........
... . l . ' 1 n1FihdHR:I : Wd th
_-
v v I
::
-------:------

*bit
*Gateway
*Processing SpeedW Fig. 5. OPC is a solution for integrating of PA and
FA.
*Complexity
Looking (HTML)-Looking+Contents (XML)
Entity
0 Node Router,
Bridge
XML
I SOAP ervice
--] I F--1 I WEB XML

XML _/WEB
bit- character XML
SOAP Service

SOAP,UDDI, WSDL
Fig. 4. Human beings are divided by a machine and
machines are divided by a human being.
Fig. 6. The Web service is a solution ofthe integration.
At present, all equipments in a factory are connected
and states of them can be visualized. However, it is not However, OPC is closed in the world of Windows, so
enough. The board members require an organic body, that the answer is web service as shown in Fig. 6, which
collaborations of lines and factories. To do so, it is uses SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) with HTTP
essential that collaborations of Servers or Data bases. (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). Data used in the service
There are so many databases in a factory and they use is XML (eXtensible Markup Language).
individual protocols. How to make collaboration among
data bases is a significant, while they are keeping own

158
 (Fig. 9). Moreover, RFID enables to include materials,
products in the world, so that all members in the factory,
c 0Q *planning paper that is, human beings, materials, and machines can be
*Patent presented in the world. We established a technical
*Design Diagram committee for RFID in FA Open Promotion Group
*Assemble Manual
*Production Report (FAOP) [5] in 2006, which is a successor ofthe research
*Maintenance Manual committee of RFID established in 2002.
*Daily Report
The real world becomes complex as IT technology
advanced. In order to understand the world and/or
optimize it, the virtual world is necessary. This is the
world realized in the information technology, that is, PC.
Fig. 7. Engineer and Documents.
@ Node Router,
<?xml version= 1.0"?> ~~~Bridge..

/Lo >g1::
<!DOCTYPE Report SYSTEM weekly.dtd >
<!-A Sample of Weekly Report-->
<report>
<Year Month Week>
<Year> 1997</Year> * Self Definable Markup(DTD,

A,I
<Month> I </Month> XML Schema)
<Week> I </Week> * Markup Encoding(Thesaurus)
mm'..
<Year Month Week
Separation of Looking and b
m i'''
An

<Lat>Yamada La Contents (XSL)

<First>Taro</First> * Data+Processing(Script)
</Name> * Data Exchange +RPC
(SOAP)

Fig. 9. Networking among machines, materials, tools,

Fig. 8. An example of XML Document.
XML is a standard of documents which is defined in
WWW Consortium [3]. There are many documents
around engineering as shown in Fig. 7. For example,
planning chart, design diagram, patent application,
assemble manual, maintenance manual, production
report, and so on are necessary in a factory. A sample of
XML is shown in Fig. 8. The document consists of a tag
and content. Therefore, XML is a virtual tag or tag for
information. Based on this tag, we can integrate DCS
information and PLC, moreover, we can do factories
and companies. We established Manufacturing Open
Forum (MfgX) [4] in 2002 for promoting XML in
manufacturing system.
5. RFID
In the former Century, we connect equipments in a
factory by networking. IT would be a powerful tool if a
perfect virtual world was constructed in a computer.
However, we miss human beings and materials in this
information world, because we Japanese seek a perfect
automation. In this factory, machines are working
without any human being, since cost for human beings
is very high in Japan.
However, this perfect factory, that is, unmanned
factory, escaped from Japan since the factory likes low
running cost and needs no human's skill. The remained
factories in Japan use high skills of human beings now.
Therefore, we should include human beings in a virtual
world of the factory.
RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) seems a
promising tool in order to include them in the world
and human beings.
http://www. delmia.jp/
http ://www. ai koku. co.jp/ms/catia/software/delm ia/top. htm
Fig. 10. Simulation in the virtual world.
One application of the virtual world is simulation. All
things should be included in the virtual world. It means
human beings, materials, and machines as shown in Fig.
10. In order to do so, we need tags for both worlds. One
is a tag embedded in XML documents, another is RFID
embedded in the real world. Based on these two sorts of
tags, that is, the virtual tags and the real tags, we can
integrate and optimize both of the worlds in a factory.
6. MATHEMATICAL MODEL
However, these tags are insufficient for integrating
and optimizing the factory. A factory is too complex to
be handled manually, so that a mathematical model is
inevitable [6-7].
PC only knows mathematics, as the computer
language consists of formulas, that is, logics and
substitutions. Therefore, the virtual world only can be
represented by a mathematical model. In PA, modeling

159
is a daily work and many processes are controlled based Mathematical Model X = Ax + Bu
on model predictive control. It predicts a future value
based on the model as a simulation. Moreover, the Physical Law y = CX

/
control input is optimized based on the prediction.
However, in FA, the mathematical model is rarely
recognized without simulation. Therefore, introduction
of the model predictive control to FA looks effective for Openvalv ifthe
level over the void bubble_sort(int
reduction of stocks. This is a fusion of PA and FA point.
Check temp-rt-r
*ptr, int n) { int i, j;
for(i=O;
technology, since the reduction is derived from JIT (Just after 1 firitc,
Inr e flow rate
,,he. the flow is
ill){ for(j=n-1 ;ili; j'--
){ if(*(ptr+j-1) >
*(ptr+j)){ swp((ptr+j-
it

in Time), which is a best innovation in mass production setteled. 1), (ptr+j)); void

in FA.
Figure 11 is the control block for such a system,
which is an assemble line for automobile components
[8] and Fig. 12 shows a reduction result. The left in Fig.
12 shows the ordinary stock which is controlled
manually based on experience of an operator. The right
is a result of model predictive control. We can reduce
the stock one half based on the mathematical model and
optimization.
Then, you can see one fusion of FA and PA here. We
introduce mathematical optimization method used in PA
to FA system here. However, the reverse is also useful.
That is an introduction of KAIZEN, continuous
improvement, to PA.
There are so big reserve tanks in some PA factories.
These are targets of KAIZEN. It is very difficult to
reduce the size of the tanks. However, high level control
with the high performance computer of nowadays, can
do it with the mathematical models.
Fig. 13. All things should be should be represented in
Mathematics for IT world.
7. Conclusion
XML is a virtual tag for information and RFID is a
real tag for materials or human beings. These two sorts
of tags are keys for making IT be perfect tool for a real
production system. Based on the tags, we need a
mathematical model of PA, FA, and IA process. The
model is inevitable for integration of PA and FA, since
Mathematics gives the most general general and
concrete description of the world and the computer only
can handle the language based on Mathematics (Fig. 13).
However, it becomes too complex for human beings, so
that it is necessary that aids of computer for
understanding the model. These are used for simulation,
design, prediction and optimization. A virtual world
including FA and PA systems can respond to demand
from society, that is, the real world.

REFERENCES
. K - L - _
I
[1] S. Shin: A new-dimension technical paradigm for
the 21st Century control systems, Proc. SICE05,
I
Okayama, 8-10 August, pp. 858-861 (2005)
AU[k] =
[2] http: lwww.opcfoundation.org/
Production Plan (Gs *Q*G.+R *Gs *Q*(Ym[k]-Hs*X.ek
Based on Shipment [3] http://www.w3.org/
[4] http://www.mstc.orjp/mfgx/
[5] http://www.mstc.orjp/faop/index.html
[6] S. Shin: Role of s ystematic a pproach to the
Yaoyorozu Information Society, Proc. IEEE
Fig. 11. Model predictive control for assemble line. SMC04, Den Haag, Netherlands, pp. 5615-5620
(2004)
[7] S. Shin: Human machine communication via sound
with wavelet transformation, Proc. 2005 IEEE
International Conference on Systems, Man and
Cybernetics, Waikoloa, Hawaii October 10-12,
2005, pp. 1984-1999 (2005)
[8] T. Kajiura and S. Shin: Modeling and control
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Manually Method Proposed Method

Fig. 12. A result of optimization.

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