products Pilot cable making factory CIM and FMS have been used in a cable making factory recently com- pleted in Aberdare, South Wales by Pirelli General. The pilot factory also uses just-in-time (JIT) and right first time methods. The latter method involves accurate monitoring and control processing to assure perfect quality and zero defects. PireUi expects a threefold increase in productivity from the plant which is said to be one of the first total business applications of CIM in the UK.

Building and domestic wires are low-tech products made to inter- national specifications and so there is no room for design differences or innovation. Pirelli believes that the area where they can achieve an advantage over their competitors is customer service. The aim of the Aberdare plant is therefore to provide a flexible and rapid response to customer needs. Reduced labour content, reduced material usage and wastage, and reduced work-in- progress result in savings in working capital.

The CIM system at Aberdare is based on an IBM system/36 minicomputer with about 100 IBM PS/2 microcomputers and IBM industrial computers. The process control system has been built around the GEC GEM80 family of proces- sors. The software was developed by an Italian company, SEIAF, in which IBM Italy is a partner. An optical fibre token ring has been installed around the factory to facilitate communica- tion between all the devices in the plant operations management system (POMS).

Functional areas in the factory have been broken down into the following areas: the business management system, the manufacturing manage- ment system, POMS and the plant control system.

The business management system deals with order processing, despatch and distribution, financial accounting and payroll/salaries etc.

The manufacturing management system handles manufacturing bills of material, structures and routings, capacity requirements planning, materials requirements planning, product design, product costing and purchasing and receiving.

The plant operations management

system enables manufacturing orders to be handled entirely by computer.

The POMS software receives manufacturing orders, batches these and sequences them through the machines by selecting the next operation before the end of the current job. Resources availability has already been determined and allowances made for material delivery times. The POMS records the location and contents of every bobbin. Each bobbin is fitted with a small radio transmitter which is checked on pick up by the automatic guided vehicle (AGV). POMS also generates AGV missions on a JIT basis and manages quality by monitoring alarms and events concerning the status of the product. It forwards a table of set-up instructions down to the program- mable logic controller which on job change will reset the relevant controls ready for the next operation.

Staff are not specialized in their jobs so that they may do both office and factory work. Everyone is required to be computer literate and training is

provided to keep staff abreast of new technological developments. (Pirelli General plc, PO Box 4, Western Esplanade, Southampton S09 7AE, UK. Tel: (0703) 634366) []

MAP interface from Allen- Bradley

Allen-Bradley announced the PLC-3 MAP interface for its PLC-3 and PLC-3/10 programmable controllers at the Enterprise networking event in' Baltimore, USA in June. The interface gives users the opportunity to become familiar with MAP 3.0 features in a laboratory or production environ- ment. An update will be available after MAP 3.0 has been finalized.

The PLC-3 MAP interface provides a seven layer MAP solution. The user loads PLC-3 MAP software into the interface on initial powerup. The interface communicates with the controller's processor over the PLC-3 backplane. Retentive memory on the interface maintains PLC-3 MAP software in the case of power failures.

The interface is available in broadband, carrierband or fibre-optic 802.4 media. Used as a broadband interface, it can communicate directly with high level host computers supporting MAP 3.0 capability. Used as a carrierband interface, it can process plant floor data transmission to a cell controller or higher level broadband network.

Multiple PLC-3 MAP interfaces

can be placed in the same PLC-3 system, connecting one system with multiple MAP networks or media types. The MAP capability can be added to existing applications as the PLC-3 system supports data highway, data highway plus or data highway II interfaces.

Diagnostic light emitting diodes (LEDs) and an RS-232 port enable users to examine and/or change local station or network parameters, either locally or from a remote PLC-3 connection. The MAP 3.0 broadband interface costs £4 500 and the carrierband and fibre-optic versions cost £4 250 each. (Allen-Bradley International, Chiltern House, 45 Station Rd, Henley on Thames, Oxon RG9 1AT, UK. Tel: (0491) 577013) []

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