SIEMENS & SMART CONTROLS POWER OF … · world class technological platforms for providing Control System & Automation Solutions, and Smart Controls India, ... process: Automation

IoT: InTerneT of TyrePaolo ButtiRockwell Automation

new TesTIng machInesJakob M Hess inmess

June/July 2015

US$20 200cusTomIsed soluTIonsRoberto Tamma Marangoni Meccanica

Vol No 6 Issue No 3

Global Impact of labels, trade barrIers

rNI No. MAHENG/201034042

POLYM

ERS &

TYRE ASIA JUN

E/JULY 2015rN

I No. M

AHEN

G/201034042

debates over new rubber lands

POWER OF SYNERGYSIEMENS & SMART CONTROLS

2015

Ashutosh Chincholikar, Head of Business, Smart Controls

Peter Haan, Digital Factory Division, Factory Automation, Siemens AG

68 Polymers & Tyre Asia June/July 2015 Polymers & Tyre Asia June/July 2015 6968 Polymers & Tyre Asia June/July 2015 Polymers & Tyre Asia June/July 2015 69

Cover Story

SYNERGYPOWER OF

It has been a win-win partnership between Siemens AG, the global leader in supplying world class technological platforms for providing Control System & Automation Solutions, and Smart Controls India, the innovation-driven Smart company that has made a niche for itself in Process Control Automation and IT Integration. The power of synergy this partnership effuses has worked remarkably well for both companies.

Automation solutions can be applied to almost all Industry segments, including automobiles and tyre. In order to implement these solutions in the tyre industry someone who understands the intricacies of tyre manufacturing processes is needed. This is where Smart Controls plays a big role in the Siemens scheme of things. With over 15 years of experience in serving the tyre industry, Smart Controls has full knowledge and experience of using the Siemens Technological Platform to implement automation solutions for almost all processes of tyre making.

PTA News Bureau

Driving the Digital enterpriSe

PTA News Bureau

Some weeks ago, the most important global industry show, the “Hannover Fair 2015,” opened its doors to show the visitors

the latest trends towards Digital Factory, Digitalisation and Industrie 4.0. How important are those trends for global tyre manufacturing? What is the translation from general trends to the implementation in a tyre plant? What are the examples that show already today the approach of the new technologies?

The most important key learning process: Automation does not start just with machine automation, which means integrating a programmable logic controller (PLC) into a machine and doing the PLC programming. The modern automation approach starts much earlier and covers all phases of the product development and production process.

The key success factor is to reuse all data generated during the early phases of the product and production life cycle directly in the later phases (PLM).

Starting with the tyre design, a tight data connection between the tyre R&D department and the production planning and production execution departments is the key to success. As soon as, for example, a new compound is designed in the laboratory of a tyre manufacturer, the Bill of Material (BoM) and the recipe of how to mix this compound should be available at the mixing rooms of those plants, which are designated to produce this compound. Onsite it should be easy to modify the global

recipe according to local needs. Including correct versioning and back tracking. Security aspects are also mandatory for compound and recipe handling, because this contains important intellectual properties.

The same transfer process should also work for the BoM of a complete tyre:

BoM data relevant to order management are forwarded to the MES

BoM data relevant to the mixer are passed on to the mixing room management

BoM data relevant to the tyre building machines passed on to them … etc.

By passing on this data, it can be assured that all parts of the tyre are produced according to the BoM specification – a major lever to reduce quality cost.

Another example which is easy to

understand refers to the reuse of the profile

design specification (e.g. created by the Siemens NX design

software for the production of dies that are used in the curing process).

In the phase of production planning, cutting edge concepts like the digital factory approach pay off best. It is very usual nowadays to do the layout of a new production area or a complete greenfield plant based on a CAD software tool. Material and production flow simulation can generate real benefits for tyre manufacturers.

The tyre production consists of several storage areas which are connected by different types of transportation systems or connected by the production machines themselves. Some of the following questions can be answered by tyre plant simulation:

• Will the targeted throughput be reached considering

• the transportation systems,

• retooling times for different tyre types or

• anticipated downtimes per machine or transportation segment?

• What happens in case of a machine failure? What is the influence on the overall throughput?

• Where are possible bottlenecks in the production flow and how could these be solved?

• What is the optimum amount of machines of each type?

• What is the utilisation rate of each machine?

Making the planning of tyre development, machine and production design easy: handling massive amounts of data with high performance and scalability with the 4th generation design software from Siemens PLM

SieMenS & SMart COntrOlS


Cover Story

SYNERGYPOWER OF

It has been a win-win partnership between Siemens AG, the global leader in supplying world class technological platforms for providing Control System & Automation Solutions, and Smart Controls India, the innovation-driven Smart company that has made a niche for itself in Process Control Automation and IT Integration. The power of synergy this partnership effuses has worked remarkably well for both companies.

Automation solutions can be applied to almost all Industry segments, including automobiles and tyre. In order to implement these solutions in the tyre industry someone who understands the intricacies of tyre manufacturing processes is needed. This is where Smart Controls plays a big role in the Siemens scheme of things. With over 15 years of experience in serving the tyre industry, Smart Controls has full knowledge and experience of using the Siemens Technological Platform to implement automation solutions for almost all processes of tyre making.

PTA News Bureau

Driving the Digital enterpriSe

PTA News Bureau

Some weeks ago, the most important global industry show, the “Hannover Fair 2015,” opened its doors to show the visitors

the latest trends towards Digital Factory, Digitalisation and Industrie 4.0. How important are those trends for global tyre manufacturing? What is the translation from general trends to the implementation in a tyre plant? What are the examples that show already today the approach of the new technologies?

The most important key learning process: Automation does not start just with machine automation, which means integrating a programmable logic controller (PLC) into a machine and doing the PLC programming. The modern automation approach starts much earlier and covers all phases of the product development and production process.

The key success factor is to reuse all data generated during the early phases of the product and production life cycle directly in the later phases (PLM).

Starting with the tyre design, a tight data connection between the tyre R&D department and the production planning and production execution departments is the key to success. As soon as, for example, a new compound is designed in the laboratory of a tyre manufacturer, the Bill of Material (BoM) and the recipe of how to mix this compound should be available at the mixing rooms of those plants, which are designated to produce this compound. Onsite it should be easy to modify the global

recipe according to local needs. Including correct versioning and back tracking. Security aspects are also mandatory for compound and recipe handling, because this contains important intellectual properties.

The same transfer process should also work for the BoM of a complete tyre:

BoM data relevant to order management are forwarded to the MES

BoM data relevant to the mixer are passed on to the mixing room management

BoM data relevant to the tyre building machines passed on to them … etc.

By passing on this data, it can be assured that all parts of the tyre are produced according to the BoM specification – a major lever to reduce quality cost.

Another example which is easy to

understand refers to the reuse of the profile

design specification (e.g. created by the Siemens NX design

software for the production of dies that are used in the curing process).

In the phase of production planning, cutting edge concepts like the digital factory approach pay off best. It is very usual nowadays to do the layout of a new production area or a complete greenfield plant based on a CAD software tool. Material and production flow simulation can generate real benefits for tyre manufacturers.

The tyre production consists of several storage areas which are connected by different types of transportation systems or connected by the production machines themselves. Some of the following questions can be answered by tyre plant simulation:

• Will the targeted throughput be reached considering

• the transportation systems,

• retooling times for different tyre types or

• anticipated downtimes per machine or transportation segment?

• What happens in case of a machine failure? What is the influence on the overall throughput?

• Where are possible bottlenecks in the production flow and how could these be solved?

• What is the optimum amount of machines of each type?

• What is the utilisation rate of each machine?

Making the planning of tyre development, machine and production design easy: handling massive amounts of data with high performance and scalability with the 4th generation design software from Siemens PLM

SieMenS & SMart COntrOlS

2015


Cover Storymake the life of the operators in the plant much easier!

Therefore, Siemens provides the state model and the common HMI screens as a sample code, which is contained in a sample project for the standard machine types in tyre manufacturing and is based on international standards. The aim is to also make the life of the machine builders easier by providing such a solution to tyre manufacturers.

It is essential for the management team of a tyre manufacturer to make clear decisions regarding how much standardization is wanted and how much additional cost for implementing this standard is accepted. Standardization is not for free! But the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the new production will be greatly influenced by this decision. And there is another important factor: Standardization may reduce the integration risk considerably! As already mentioned, many machine builders supply products for new tyre production lines. The risk of integrating all of these different machines into an optimized production line will be reduced considerably by the strict predefinition of standards. This is also shown in the following graphic.

A good part of the standardization cost will already pay off during the commissioning phase of the new production. Another part is the TCO reduction over lifetime.

In the end, it is a tradeoff from four factors:

• TCO

• Degree of standardization

• Cost of standardization

• Risk reduction

But major global automation suppliers such as Siemens also have influence on the cost for implementing standards in tyre manufacturing: By suggesting and providing the same standard across the tyre manufacturing industry, Siemens tries to avoid company-specific standards and promotes industry-global standardization. Thus, as soon as a machine builder has standardized his production according to the described model, he can reuse it for all future projects. This reduces the implementation cost for the machine builder in the long run considerably!

To avoid difficulties during the commissioning phase, there is another lever that arises from the digital factory approach: virtual commissioning! This will be illustrated based on the development of a curing press. But generally the process can be applied for all production machines in the tyre industry.

Today, all machine designs are created in CAD systems and cover the mechanical parts of the machine. The output of most CAD tools can be imported into Siemens Tecnomatix Process Simulate and three additional inputs can be added:

• The kinematics of the machine

• The behavior of electrical parts such as proximity switches or actuators such as motors or valves

• The list of all electrical inputs and outputs connected to the PLC

Siemens PLCs have access to this list of all electrical inputs and outputs. The PLC- internal I/O memory and the I/O list of the simulation are linked via an OPC connection. Now it is possible for the PLC to control the simulation of the curing press in the same way as the control of a real curing press would take place. This enables the PLC programmer at the machine builder to implement and test all program routines, even if no real machine is available yet. It is even possible to test program configurations that cannot be tested with the real machine because of possible damage to the machine’s mechanics. Furthermore, the complete machine- local HMI can be programmed and tested without the real machine. It is also possible for the tyre manufacturer and the machine builder to align the final look and feel at a very early project phase. The tyre manufacturer can use the simulation to train the local staff in the new production. As soon as the real machine is available, the OPC connection between the PLC and the simulation is replaced by the real I/Os and the curing press should operate as defined. In the picture above, this is shown by the switch between the simulation and the real curing press. When the real machine is delivered, the local staff knows already how to operate the machine. So virtual commissioning happens in real time and reduces the risk in the commissioning phase!

When the plant design is finished and all machines have been designed, commissioning be implemented without major risks – but how about the operation

of the new production? Do digitalization and the approach toward Industrie 4.0 also help? The answer is yes! The next picture provides an overview of all important functionalities required to operate a complete tyre production based on Siemens SIMATIC IT and SIMATIC WinCC and forming a complete Tyre Production Control Center:

Let’s have a look at the dedicated functions:

Production planning and scheduling:Based on the input from the higher-level ERP system, system production planning and scheduling divides all ERP orders into work orders for each production area. Optimization guidelines, for example those that keep the curing presses running 24x7 whenever possible, are equally considered as constraints from the viewpoint of predictive maintenance, e.g. to schedule the right time to clean the mold of a curing press. The overall goal of this module is to optimize the utilization of all production equipment units in the factory and to optimize output.

Order handling:Coming from planning and scheduling, every work order is split into area-specific entities, e.g. for the curing area.

Track and tracing, genealogy:Especially when entering the market for premium cars, it is essential to be able to show the genealogy of each tyre of the automotive manufacturer when requested. In the food and pharmaceuticals industry this is a common requirement and it will also become the standard for tyre manufacturing, because tyres are still the root cause for around 1,200 car accidents per year in Germany.

The track & tracing approach has to cover the complete value chain from the inbound area, with all of the materials arriving there, to outbound delivery. A challenge is to overcome the step from the process-oriented part of the value chain to the more factory-oriented part from the semi area.

• What is the optimum storage capacity for the raw material stock, the green tyre stock, etc.

• How do holidays without delivery affect stock capacities?

Of course, all of these questions can also be answered by a team of specialists. But a nearly 100% optimized solution can only be developed using simulation and scenario technologies. For example, it is also possible to simulate scenarios with different machine types, different levels of availability, different throughputs, but also different prices for comparison. With the latest version of Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, it is also possible to simulate the energy consumption, which adds another perspective to the total cost of ownership, which has become essential lately.

In the future, this plant simulation process and different machine option scenarios will also be supported by innovative machine builders providing key information about their machines, not only on datasheets, but also via a plugin for plant simulation. Thus each machine builder can easily proof the benefits of his machine to potential customers, the tyre manufacturers, in the simulation of the future production line.

As soon as the plant and its lines are designed, the integration of the machine has to be planned. Of course, there is the mechanical integration. Are all kinematics of all machines in a production shop working seamlessly together? This is once again a question to be answered by simulation based on Siemens Tecnomatix.

But how about logical integration? Modern plants have a supervisory control

and data acquisition (SCADA) system and a manufacturing execution system (MES) covering the entyre production chain. Additionally, there is the integration into tyre logistics. All machines have to be connected to all three systems. Because in the tyre industry, normally one machine builder does not supply all of the machines. Instead, there are various suppliers with different automation and different communication behaviors. To integrate all of them into one production line in order to work with maximum performance and produce high-quality tyres may easily become a nightmare.

Therefore, it is essential for a tyre manufacturer to define a so-called preferred parts book, together with the automation provider(s),. , This describes the automation components to be used for the new production. The advantage of the preferred parts book for the tyre manufacturer is the reduction of different automation components installed in the plant, which results in a reduced spare parts stock and – even more important – in dramatically reduced training effort for the maintenance team of the tyre manufacturer. The components in the preferred parts book always represent a tradeoff between the optimization of a dedicated machine and the reduction of complexity. This has to be worked out by the tyre manufacturer’s automation team, supported by the automation and drives vendor. The preferred parts book has to be forwarded to the machine builder as part of the request for quotation (RFQ), because this type of standardization may also require some effort on the machine builder’s side.

However, just defining a preferred parts book is not enough to guarantee seamless

integration into the overall systems such as SCADA, MES and logistics. In addition Additionally, a clear definition of the communication interface has to be described and also handed over to the machine builder as part of the RFQ. Three types of information have to be distinguished:

• How to communicate between the machine and the higher-level systems (vertical integration)

• How to communicate inbetween machines (horizontal integration)

• What has to be communicated, e.g.

• download and upload of recipes

• commands to control the machine

• machine feedback such as status information (“no material available”)

• provision of quality datasets for a tested tyre

When to define the interface between the control center and the machines?

Already during the tyre design it has to be decided whether there are critical manufacturing processes that need to be monitored in detail. This may require additional or special measurement equipment to ensure the acquisition of important quality data.

At the latest when the production design is finished do the integration requirements also have to be described and forwarded to the machine suppliers.

If the integration requirements are announced later to the machine builder, e.g. during the commissioning phase, this very often leads to a change request and additional cost for the tyre manufacturer.

Standardization of defined preferred parts and standardization of the machine communication interfaces are two ways of standardization. A third type is the standardization of the machine states and a standardized machine HMI. Even without any standard, most of the production machines will be equipped with so-called “light stacks”. However, the behavior of one machine may differ from the others. For example, the state “no material available” may be signaled once with a blue light stack, at the next machine with a blue flashing light stack. According to EN / IEC 60204-1, the flashing mode is correct.

Moreover, each screen of the local machine HMI may look different. Of course, different functions of a tyre building machine and of a curing press will always look different. But there is no reason to have different behaviors for “going into automatic mode” or “switching to manual mode”. Such types of standardization help

The Siemens Tecnomatix software allows you to model, simulate, explore and optimize logistics systems and their processes. Well in advance of production, these models permit the analysis of material flows, resource utilization and logistics for all levels of manufacturing planning, from global production facilities to local plants and specific lines

2015


Cover Storymake the life of the operators in the plant much easier!

Therefore, Siemens provides the state model and the common HMI screens as a sample code, which is contained in a sample project for the standard machine types in tyre manufacturing and is based on international standards. The aim is to also make the life of the machine builders easier by providing such a solution to tyre manufacturers.

It is essential for the management team of a tyre manufacturer to make clear decisions regarding how much standardization is wanted and how much additional cost for implementing this standard is accepted. Standardization is not for free! But the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the new production will be greatly influenced by this decision. And there is another important factor: Standardization may reduce the integration risk considerably! As already mentioned, many machine builders supply products for new tyre production lines. The risk of integrating all of these different machines into an optimized production line will be reduced considerably by the strict predefinition of standards. This is also shown in the following graphic.

A good part of the standardization cost will already pay off during the commissioning phase of the new production. Another part is the TCO reduction over lifetime.

In the end, it is a tradeoff from four factors:

• TCO

• Degree of standardization

• Cost of standardization

• Risk reduction

But major global automation suppliers such as Siemens also have influence on the cost for implementing standards in tyre manufacturing: By suggesting and providing the same standard across the tyre manufacturing industry, Siemens tries to avoid company-specific standards and promotes industry-global standardization. Thus, as soon as a machine builder has standardized his production according to the described model, he can reuse it for all future projects. This reduces the implementation cost for the machine builder in the long run considerably!

To avoid difficulties during the commissioning phase, there is another lever that arises from the digital factory approach: virtual commissioning! This will be illustrated based on the development of a curing press. But generally the process can be applied for all production machines in the tyre industry.

Today, all machine designs are created in CAD systems and cover the mechanical parts of the machine. The output of most CAD tools can be imported into Siemens Tecnomatix Process Simulate and three additional inputs can be added:

• The kinematics of the machine

• The behavior of electrical parts such as proximity switches or actuators such as motors or valves

• The list of all electrical inputs and outputs connected to the PLC

Siemens PLCs have access to this list of all electrical inputs and outputs. The PLC- internal I/O memory and the I/O list of the simulation are linked via an OPC connection. Now it is possible for the PLC to control the simulation of the curing press in the same way as the control of a real curing press would take place. This enables the PLC programmer at the machine builder to implement and test all program routines, even if no real machine is available yet. It is even possible to test program configurations that cannot be tested with the real machine because of possible damage to the machine’s mechanics. Furthermore, the complete machine- local HMI can be programmed and tested without the real machine. It is also possible for the tyre manufacturer and the machine builder to align the final look and feel at a very early project phase. The tyre manufacturer can use the simulation to train the local staff in the new production. As soon as the real machine is available, the OPC connection between the PLC and the simulation is replaced by the real I/Os and the curing press should operate as defined. In the picture above, this is shown by the switch between the simulation and the real curing press. When the real machine is delivered, the local staff knows already how to operate the machine. So virtual commissioning happens in real time and reduces the risk in the commissioning phase!

When the plant design is finished and all machines have been designed, commissioning be implemented without major risks – but how about the operation

of the new production? Do digitalization and the approach toward Industrie 4.0 also help? The answer is yes! The next picture provides an overview of all important functionalities required to operate a complete tyre production based on Siemens SIMATIC IT and SIMATIC WinCC and forming a complete Tyre Production Control Center:

Let’s have a look at the dedicated functions:

Production planning and scheduling:Based on the input from the higher-level ERP system, system production planning and scheduling divides all ERP orders into work orders for each production area. Optimization guidelines, for example those that keep the curing presses running 24x7 whenever possible, are equally considered as constraints from the viewpoint of predictive maintenance, e.g. to schedule the right time to clean the mold of a curing press. The overall goal of this module is to optimize the utilization of all production equipment units in the factory and to optimize output.

Order handling:Coming from planning and scheduling, every work order is split into area-specific entities, e.g. for the curing area.

Track and tracing, genealogy:Especially when entering the market for premium cars, it is essential to be able to show the genealogy of each tyre of the automotive manufacturer when requested. In the food and pharmaceuticals industry this is a common requirement and it will also become the standard for tyre manufacturing, because tyres are still the root cause for around 1,200 car accidents per year in Germany.

The track & tracing approach has to cover the complete value chain from the inbound area, with all of the materials arriving there, to outbound delivery. A challenge is to overcome the step from the process-oriented part of the value chain to the more factory-oriented part from the semi area.

• What is the optimum storage capacity for the raw material stock, the green tyre stock, etc.

• How do holidays without delivery affect stock capacities?

Of course, all of these questions can also be answered by a team of specialists. But a nearly 100% optimized solution can only be developed using simulation and scenario technologies. For example, it is also possible to simulate scenarios with different machine types, different levels of availability, different throughputs, but also different prices for comparison. With the latest version of Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, it is also possible to simulate the energy consumption, which adds another perspective to the total cost of ownership, which has become essential lately.

In the future, this plant simulation process and different machine option scenarios will also be supported by innovative machine builders providing key information about their machines, not only on datasheets, but also via a plugin for plant simulation. Thus each machine builder can easily proof the benefits of his machine to potential customers, the tyre manufacturers, in the simulation of the future production line.

As soon as the plant and its lines are designed, the integration of the machine has to be planned. Of course, there is the mechanical integration. Are all kinematics of all machines in a production shop working seamlessly together? This is once again a question to be answered by simulation based on Siemens Tecnomatix.

But how about logical integration? Modern plants have a supervisory control

and data acquisition (SCADA) system and a manufacturing execution system (MES) covering the entyre production chain. Additionally, there is the integration into tyre logistics. All machines have to be connected to all three systems. Because in the tyre industry, normally one machine builder does not supply all of the machines. Instead, there are various suppliers with different automation and different communication behaviors. To integrate all of them into one production line in order to work with maximum performance and produce high-quality tyres may easily become a nightmare.

Therefore, it is essential for a tyre manufacturer to define a so-called preferred parts book, together with the automation provider(s),. , This describes the automation components to be used for the new production. The advantage of the preferred parts book for the tyre manufacturer is the reduction of different automation components installed in the plant, which results in a reduced spare parts stock and – even more important – in dramatically reduced training effort for the maintenance team of the tyre manufacturer. The components in the preferred parts book always represent a tradeoff between the optimization of a dedicated machine and the reduction of complexity. This has to be worked out by the tyre manufacturer’s automation team, supported by the automation and drives vendor. The preferred parts book has to be forwarded to the machine builder as part of the request for quotation (RFQ), because this type of standardization may also require some effort on the machine builder’s side.

However, just defining a preferred parts book is not enough to guarantee seamless

integration into the overall systems such as SCADA, MES and logistics. In addition Additionally, a clear definition of the communication interface has to be described and also handed over to the machine builder as part of the RFQ. Three types of information have to be distinguished:

• How to communicate between the machine and the higher-level systems (vertical integration)

• How to communicate inbetween machines (horizontal integration)

• What has to be communicated, e.g.

• download and upload of recipes

• commands to control the machine

• machine feedback such as status information (“no material available”)

• provision of quality datasets for a tested tyre

When to define the interface between the control center and the machines?

Already during the tyre design it has to be decided whether there are critical manufacturing processes that need to be monitored in detail. This may require additional or special measurement equipment to ensure the acquisition of important quality data.

At the latest when the production design is finished do the integration requirements also have to be described and forwarded to the machine suppliers.

If the integration requirements are announced later to the machine builder, e.g. during the commissioning phase, this very often leads to a change request and additional cost for the tyre manufacturer.

Standardization of defined preferred parts and standardization of the machine communication interfaces are two ways of standardization. A third type is the standardization of the machine states and a standardized machine HMI. Even without any standard, most of the production machines will be equipped with so-called “light stacks”. However, the behavior of one machine may differ from the others. For example, the state “no material available” may be signaled once with a blue light stack, at the next machine with a blue flashing light stack. According to EN / IEC 60204-1, the flashing mode is correct.

Moreover, each screen of the local machine HMI may look different. Of course, different functions of a tyre building machine and of a curing press will always look different. But there is no reason to have different behaviors for “going into automatic mode” or “switching to manual mode”. Such types of standardization help

The Siemens Tecnomatix software allows you to model, simulate, explore and optimize logistics systems and their processes. Well in advance of production, these models permit the analysis of material flows, resource utilization and logistics for all levels of manufacturing planning, from global production facilities to local plants and specific lines


Cover Story

Quality trends have to be provided not only for single production steps, but also for the combination of different parts of the value chain, e.g. to visualize the influence of a changed compound on the tyre uniformity behavior.

Yield rates: one of the most important key performance indicators (KPI) for a plant manager! To establish an ongoing improvement process, it is essential to define the right KPIs, based on the right granularity of measured problem classes and failures. If you go too much into detail, you will lose the overview. And if the KPIs are too general, it’s no longer possible to derive quality improvement measures from it.

Management reports generate optimized reports for each group of persons in the tyre factory and are another measure to reduce the TCO. Thus, for example, the head of plant management needs different reports than the line manager or the quality manager. But all reports have to be based on the same consistent dataset.

Recipe management has to be seamlessly integrated from the tyre R&D department down to the shop floor of all production areas. It should be possible that the amount, but also the allowed deviation of each parameter captured in the final finishing area for each tyre, be specified in tyre R&D and electronically forwarded to the testing machines.

From the tyre-related functions we are moving on to more machine-specific functionality:

Material flow:This screen gives an overview of the current state of all machines, the utilization of intermediate storage areas, and the machine-related KPIs for each machine.

Overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and machine utilization rate: Always remember: We already discussed the utilization rate of each machine during the plant design phase, when we optimized our plant design using the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation Software. But now we have the same screen based on real machine data. All classified failures and problems are displayed. And so we can see whether the plant design is already optimized or if there are areas for improvement. It is also very important to be able to analyze the root cause, because in many cases the insufficient utilization of a single machine may be caused by problems with another machine or a storage area. Showing all of these relationships between the machines is one of the tasks of this function.

Downtime monitor: The downtime monitor also aims at machine optimization. It shows when a machine was down and how long it took to make it work again, including all intermediate steps such as failure evaluation and repair.

Energy management: EM today is essential for operating a plant in an optimized way and to reduce the TCO. All types of energy have to be covered and this function has to provide the right degree of transparency to the plant team so that it can take the right measures and reduce energy consumption.

Visualization:Key parameters and key actions of all machines should not only be visible at the machine, but also in the plant control center in order to have access to all machines from a central point, if required.

Alarms and system diagnostics:In case of any problems, the appropriate persons in the plant should get notified by the correct alarm messages according to their responsibility in order to ensure fast response by the staff. And they have to get all of the information required to solve a problem as soon as possible. For example, Siemens SIMATIC PLCs are equipped with intelligent functions to detect problems such as cable breaks automatically and to display the logical location of the broken cable directly as

an alarm message at the operator station – without additional programming, because this is a SIMATIC system feature.

Maintenance:Even better if there are no sudden problem alarms due to an effective implementation of predictive maintenance methods to ensure 24x7 operation of all machines.

Now everything is prepared to deliver the machines to the new production line and to ramp up production according to schedule. Digital Factory, Digitalization and Industrie 4.0 have been major levers to make this happen – smoothly. Regarding the question whether the Digital Enterprise will be the digital copy of the company in the future, Anton S. Huber, CEO of Siemens Digital Factory Division, answers: “The digital representation of the value chain is just one aspect, but an important one. The Digital Enterprise emerges from the connection of the real company with its digital image. The intelligent collaboration of these two worlds, the digital and the physical one, leads to the economic advantages that are absolutely vital to maintain competitiveness and project profitability in global business.

Of course, not all of these digital concepts have already been implemented. But we think Siemens is on the way to Industrie 4.0 - driving the digital enterprise. Also in tyre production! Siemens provides such leading edge concepts, but Siemens does not provide any production machines for the tyre industry. This is done by our partners, system integrators and machine builders, such as Smart Controls from India.

2015


SMart COntrOlS: SieMenS SOlutiOn prOviDer

established in 1999, the innovation-driven Smart Controls has made a niche for itself in Process Control Automation and

IT Integration. The key focus topics are:

• Control systems, SCADA and IT integration for a wide range of generic manufacturing processes and logistic systems

• Control system solutions based on Siemens’ latest offerings, which includes PLCs, drives and SCADA

• IT integration solutions based on OPC, Historian, and the latest Microsoft technologies.

Today, Smart Controls is known for implementing process automation in many industry-specific segments such as rubber &tyre, automobile, textiles, power, metals, food, infrastructure, etc.

With a team of highly experienced and professional engineers, Smart Controls possesses extraordinary skills to provide solutions for every step of the rubber and tyre manufacturing process using the standard Siemens Simatic platform.

Integrated solutions for tyre manufacturing for enhanced productivity and reduced scrap generation includes:

• Turnkey mixing room solutions, integrated into SAP, visualised through the Web

• Curing press solutions, integrated into MES

• Tyregenealogy system, directly connected to SAP

• Plant-wide MIS, especially for the tyreindustry

• Specialists in retrofitting control/SCADA for every process in the tyreindustry

PLC: An IT productA PLC is no longer just an automation system, It is an IT product. This was envisaged by Smart Controls in 1999. That is when the journey to serve the industry with the latest offerings for IT-based control systems started. The challenge was to move ahead of time and to offer something the industry was really looking for.

With the vision to deliver the best IT-based automation solutions, Smart Controls formed a team of IT professionals to

assist the control system engineers. The result was a series of solutions where a control system was not just controlling the machines or the process it was working like a hub connected to the business platforms.

Siemens supported Smart Controls with its innovative Simatic Automation Systems all the way, along with some futuristic IT products, to help create this fusion.

Today, Smart Controls has almost four dozen mixing lines running with the Smart Mixing solution, completely ready to be connected to the IT and business platforms. In fact, some of them are already connected. In addition to this, Smart Controls is one of the first Indian companies to successfully roll out a tyre genealogy and MIS system for the tyre industry.

By offering customers its Value Proposition Solutions, Smart Controls, backed up by Siemens, is one of the best Solution Providers for IT-based automation systems in the tyre industry.

Offering added valueSmart Controls strongly believes that “added value” is the solution to customers’ problem. It goes hand in hand with the problem it solves, offering added value.

InnovationSmart Controls solutions are always designed ahead of time. The company believes that its solutions will help the customer run an App on his smartphone or tablet and that he will be able to get the latest update on the performance of his mixing room, or maybe his TBM or curing presses. But this is still under development because it is ahead of its time. State-of-

the-art software products by Siemens play an important role in order to achieve this goal.

PerformanceSmart Controls claims that the constant improvement of its solution’s performance is its main motto and that the improvement always comes from the shop floor. It always audits the solutions and carefully makes a note of the suggestions coming from the people who use the machines day in and day out. This results in a constant increase in performance.

CustomisationCustomisation is the company’s greatest strength. “We believe that we are not selling cars that all look alike. We want our solutions to be used by our customers in their own way. Perhaps this is the biggest strength that we possess with our solutions,” Ashutosh Chincholikar, Head of Business, says.

“Getting the job done is part of our company culture. We at Smart Controls understands that when a mixing line is being commissioned, we can expect to face challenges in terms of interacting with different vendors, interfacing different types of control systems, working under unfavorable conditions and during odd hours, and so on. But our objective is very clear. We have to ‘get it done.’”

It develops a future-proof design to ensure that the solution can always be scaled up in case of improvements. Comprehensive documentation and structured training ensure that the system can even be used by trainees.

Smart Controls’ solutions are not cheap, but it’s value for money, Chincholikar


Cover Storyadds. “We pass on price advantages to our customers through aggressive pricing due to our lower input costs. Solutions that help the customer boost his productivity or reduce scrap is something that we aim for. We know for sure that unless the customer gets benefits from our solutions, we will not be in business.”

Smart Controls has been serving the tyre industry for over a decade. Whether mixing lines or tyre manufacturing machines, curing presses or extruders, or tyre testing machines are concerned, the Smart Controls team knows the tyre manufacturing process extremely well.

“It doesn’t make sense to sell a mixing line solution. If we cannot upgrade it in the future because, for example, the control system hardware has become obsolete. This is one of our key aspects. Smart Controls provides state-of-the-art IT-based automation systems for the tyre industry. Due to this focus, our customers can rest assured that changes in tyre manufacturing technologies and obsolete hardware can always be accommodated by Smart Controls” he says.

Top solutionsThough Smart Controls has contributed solutions for almost every process involved in tyre manufacturing, some of the solutions have created significant benefits fortyre manufacturers. This includes: Mixing line solutions; Curing press solutions; Tyre genealogy solutions, and Manufacturing intelligence systems.

Mixing line solutionsRubber mixing lines are always a tricky subject. It’s not just about the integration of various machines such as mixers, feeders (commonly called mixer upstream equipment), mills and batch-off systems. It’s all about achieving the right viscosity, dispersion and distribution of the rubber compound.

Smart Controls, as a Siemens Solution Partner with excellent knowledge of the rubber mixing requirements and a rich experience in commissioning around four dozen rubber mixing lines, remains one of the best Solution Providers for control systems for both new and old mixing lines. It has the capability of replacing obsolete existing control systems with state-of-the art control systems in less than 48 hours of mixer downtime.

Salient features include:

• Solutions based on the standard SIEMENS Simatic platform

• Scalable with short retro fitting times

• Highly flexible and customizable recipe system

• Highly flexible production scheduler

• Powerful process diagnostics &reports

• SAP connectivity, Web visualization

• Common reporting for all mixers (CRM)

Benefits• Improved productivity due to flexible design of recipe and production scheduler

• Reduced downtimes due to powerful diagnostics

• Less scrap due to powerful reporting

• Reduced manpower due to innovative design

• Value for money, the perfect solution for retrofits

Curing press solutionsSmart Controls has rolled out a solution for curing presses that can be applied to individual presses and groups of presses. This solution is based on the standard Siemens Simatic PLCs and HMI at the press level and on WinCC at the monitoring level.

Scope: • Siemens Simatic-based press controls with HMI

• Siemens WinCC-based monitoring SCADA system for several presses

• Recipe management

• Diagnostics and reporting

• SAP/ERP connectivity

• Bar coding

• Display solutions

Salient features:• Centralised recipe management for all presses

• Shop floor display providing all of the required details such as production, critical alarms, etc.

• Advanced Web-based, press-related reporting module, providing many different reports, e.g. on production, scrap generation, downtimes, quality, etc.

• Circular chart on SCADA for temperature and pressure during curing

• Advanced data logger for fast and compressed data logging

• MES/SAP connectivity

Benefits:• Scrap reduction by avoiding mistakes in mold selection and recipe verification and intelligent, active monitoring of the curing temperature and pressure

• Quality analysis and comparison using SPC modules

• Consolidated data visualization for better press comparison

• Soft circular chart on SCADA results in low maintenance costs for the chart recorder

Tyregenealogy –Building manufacturing intelligenceAlmost every tyre manufacturer feels the need to improve his response to the customer in the event of quality-related issues. This generates the requirement to build up a foundation for automatic inventory and product traceability.

Keeping in view this scenario, Smart Controls rolled out its tyregenealogy/track &trace solution, which helps to record and track critical events regarding a specific tyre and provide real-time Work in Process (WIP) visibility. Now the user can track important processes, production, and quality information.

The biggest challenge when implementing this solution was to establish a large network and to acquire data from different controller types and models.

The solution works like this: a barcode sticker is attached to the green tyre, called as tyre number, at the tyre manufacturing machine, which captures basic information such as TBM machine no., operator details, recipe details, etc. Now the tyre is transferred to the curing presses, where the tyre type is validated based on mold type and recipe code. The tyre is NOT cured unless validation is performed. This drastically reduces the probability of scrap generation. Once the tyre has been cured, it is transferred to the visual inspection area, where the tyre inspector inspects the tyre for any defects and records his comments for the tyre number in the human machine interface. Then the tyre is tested for uniformity and balancing. The recipe selection for the uniformity machine takes place automatically while the tyre number is scanned by the fixed barcode scanner installed on top of the tyre conveying system. Finally, the tyre is tested in the X-ray machine. The results of curing, TUO/run-out testing and X-raying are stored in the server together with the ty renumber.

The tyre is then stored in the warehouse, where the location of storage is linked with the tyre number and also the mold serial number.

This solution not only facilitates product traceability in the event of customer complaints, it also reduces scrap and increases productivity of the tyre plant. Thanks to the advanced validation methods and automatic recipe selection designed by the Smart Controls team.

MIS – Building Manufacturing IntelligenceAbstractIn this competitive world, every manufacturer wants to produce faster and better while keeping the costs under control. This is only possible if there is a way to measure the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Because if you can measure it, you can manage it.

Keeping this requirement of the industry in mind, Smart Controls rolled out the Manufacturing Intelligence System, commonly called MIS Solutions.

The concept is simple: connect all plant level controllers to a server and obtain the data related to production, downtimes and quality. For this you need an advanced software to analyse the data and convert it into Manufacturing Intelligence to support the Decision Support System.

Smart Controls Manufacturing Intelligence system turns large amounts of plant data into Manufacturing Intelligence by connecting to all plant level controllers in addition to multiple data sources such as SQL, Oracle, SAP and lab data. In short, it collects and processes data from the plant floor, corporate databases, and anywhere in between.

2015


Cover Storyadds. “We pass on price advantages to our customers through aggressive pricing due to our lower input costs. Solutions that help the customer boost his productivity or reduce scrap is something that we aim for. We know for sure that unless the customer gets benefits from our solutions, we will not be in business.”

Smart Controls has been serving the tyre industry for over a decade. Whether mixing lines or tyre manufacturing machines, curing presses or extruders, or tyre testing machines are concerned, the Smart Controls team knows the tyre manufacturing process extremely well.

“It doesn’t make sense to sell a mixing line solution. If we cannot upgrade it in the future because, for example, the control system hardware has become obsolete. This is one of our key aspects. Smart Controls provides state-of-the-art IT-based automation systems for the tyre industry. Due to this focus, our customers can rest assured that changes in tyre manufacturing technologies and obsolete hardware can always be accommodated by Smart Controls” he says.

Top solutionsThough Smart Controls has contributed solutions for almost every process involved in tyre manufacturing, some of the solutions have created significant benefits fortyre manufacturers. This includes: Mixing line solutions; Curing press solutions; Tyre genealogy solutions, and Manufacturing intelligence systems.

Mixing line solutionsRubber mixing lines are always a tricky subject. It’s not just about the integration of various machines such as mixers, feeders (commonly called mixer upstream equipment), mills and batch-off systems. It’s all about achieving the right viscosity, dispersion and distribution of the rubber compound.

Smart Controls, as a Siemens Solution Partner with excellent knowledge of the rubber mixing requirements and a rich experience in commissioning around four dozen rubber mixing lines, remains one of the best Solution Providers for control systems for both new and old mixing lines. It has the capability of replacing obsolete existing control systems with state-of-the art control systems in less than 48 hours of mixer downtime.

Salient features include:

• Solutions based on the standard SIEMENS Simatic platform

• Scalable with short retro fitting times

• Highly flexible and customizable recipe system

• Highly flexible production scheduler

• Powerful process diagnostics &reports

• SAP connectivity, Web visualization

• Common reporting for all mixers (CRM)

Benefits• Improved productivity due to flexible design of recipe and production scheduler

• Reduced downtimes due to powerful diagnostics

• Less scrap due to powerful reporting

• Reduced manpower due to innovative design

• Value for money, the perfect solution for retrofits

Curing press solutionsSmart Controls has rolled out a solution for curing presses that can be applied to individual presses and groups of presses. This solution is based on the standard Siemens Simatic PLCs and HMI at the press level and on WinCC at the monitoring level.

Scope: • Siemens Simatic-based press controls with HMI

• Siemens WinCC-based monitoring SCADA system for several presses

• Recipe management

• Diagnostics and reporting

• SAP/ERP connectivity

• Bar coding

• Display solutions

Salient features:• Centralised recipe management for all presses

• Shop floor display providing all of the required details such as production, critical alarms, etc.

• Advanced Web-based, press-related reporting module, providing many different reports, e.g. on production, scrap generation, downtimes, quality, etc.

• Circular chart on SCADA for temperature and pressure during curing

• Advanced data logger for fast and compressed data logging

• MES/SAP connectivity

Benefits:• Scrap reduction by avoiding mistakes in mold selection and recipe verification and intelligent, active monitoring of the curing temperature and pressure

• Quality analysis and comparison using SPC modules

• Consolidated data visualization for better press comparison

• Soft circular chart on SCADA results in low maintenance costs for the chart recorder

Tyregenealogy –Building manufacturing intelligenceAlmost every tyre manufacturer feels the need to improve his response to the customer in the event of quality-related issues. This generates the requirement to build up a foundation for automatic inventory and product traceability.

Keeping in view this scenario, Smart Controls rolled out its tyregenealogy/track &trace solution, which helps to record and track critical events regarding a specific tyre and provide real-time Work in Process (WIP) visibility. Now the user can track important processes, production, and quality information.

The biggest challenge when implementing this solution was to establish a large network and to acquire data from different controller types and models.

The solution works like this: a barcode sticker is attached to the green tyre, called as tyre number, at the tyre manufacturing machine, which captures basic information such as TBM machine no., operator details, recipe details, etc. Now the tyre is transferred to the curing presses, where the tyre type is validated based on mold type and recipe code. The tyre is NOT cured unless validation is performed. This drastically reduces the probability of scrap generation. Once the tyre has been cured, it is transferred to the visual inspection area, where the tyre inspector inspects the tyre for any defects and records his comments for the tyre number in the human machine interface. Then the tyre is tested for uniformity and balancing. The recipe selection for the uniformity machine takes place automatically while the tyre number is scanned by the fixed barcode scanner installed on top of the tyre conveying system. Finally, the tyre is tested in the X-ray machine. The results of curing, TUO/run-out testing and X-raying are stored in the server together with the ty renumber.

The tyre is then stored in the warehouse, where the location of storage is linked with the tyre number and also the mold serial number.

This solution not only facilitates product traceability in the event of customer complaints, it also reduces scrap and increases productivity of the tyre plant. Thanks to the advanced validation methods and automatic recipe selection designed by the Smart Controls team.

MIS – Building Manufacturing IntelligenceAbstractIn this competitive world, every manufacturer wants to produce faster and better while keeping the costs under control. This is only possible if there is a way to measure the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Because if you can measure it, you can manage it.

Keeping this requirement of the industry in mind, Smart Controls rolled out the Manufacturing Intelligence System, commonly called MIS Solutions.

The concept is simple: connect all plant level controllers to a server and obtain the data related to production, downtimes and quality. For this you need an advanced software to analyse the data and convert it into Manufacturing Intelligence to support the Decision Support System.

Smart Controls Manufacturing Intelligence system turns large amounts of plant data into Manufacturing Intelligence by connecting to all plant level controllers in addition to multiple data sources such as SQL, Oracle, SAP and lab data. In short, it collects and processes data from the plant floor, corporate databases, and anywhere in between.


Ashutosh Chincholikar, Head of Business, Smart Controls

Cover Story

tia: tOtal aDvantagethe Totally Integrated Automation

(TIA) solution developed by Siemens has had a great impact on the tyre manufacturing

process. How has this system evolved over the years? What is the latest from Siemens’ TIA?Because tyre manufacturing, both globally and in India, consists of many machines from different vendors, Totally Integrated Automation brings a unique advantage to the manufacturer, and also to the machine builder. The TIA portfolio offers automation products and systems for the complete tyre production chain, from mixing to final finishing. With STEP 7 and S7-300, Siemens has established a remarkable double digit market share. With TIA Portal and S7-1500, the latest development within the SIMATIC family, Siemens is addressing innovations concerning:

• usability and reduced time to production,

• implementation of added values for end customers (tyre manufacturers), e.g. CPUs with integrated HMI and HTML server for easy diagnostics directly at the machine,

• dramatically increased performance in combination with footprint

reduction.

As the manufacturing processes in industries – particularly the tyre industry - change with more stress on

• Towards the tyre manufacturer: automation has to support a clear reduction of the total cost of ownership (TCO). This contains easy maintenance, access to all data inside the machine to improve quality and productivity over the life cycle and easy integration of additional machines into an existing line based on standard interfaces.

How do your SIMATIC technologies and technology-based solution approach help the tyre industry?• Industry fit: SIMATIC products and systems cover all technological requirements from mixing to final finishing, from the MES “top floor” down to the shop floor.

Siemens avoids generating industry-specific products. Instead we drive our product portfolio in such a way that the standard portfolio covers all requirements of the industries supported by SIMATIC.

• Global reach: this standard portfolio is supported by our global organization – at the machine builder’s and also at the tyre manufacturer’s location by our local teams.

• Technology extensions: those standard products are extended by tyre-specific software technological application

samples offered by our tyre team

to interested partners.

Those examples can be used by the partners

like an own software

development.

sustainability, how does Siemens keep pace with or keep ahead of these changes?The development of the TIA Portal and the new PLC generations S7-1200 and S7-1500, combined with the new PC-based software controller S7-1500S, gives our customers a clear advantage to allow them to stay ahead of their competitors. And it also brings Siemens into such a “leading position.” The TIA Portal will be the platform for many future developments to keep SIMATIC, but also SIMATIC customers, in a leading edge position. However, sustainability also means compatibility: all existing S7-300 and S7-400 programs can also be used in the new PLCs.

From a sustainability point of view, what are the advantages that Siemens TIA delivers?Sustainability has to be considered in two directions:

• Towards the machine builder: automation products and systems have to be scalable and easy to be adapted to different versions of a machine, e.g. from small to large scale machines.

But scalability goes further: some tyre manufacturers prefer traditional dedicated PLC technology, like S7-1200 or S7-1500. Others standardize the entire corporation on PC-based control. Using a modern PLC system, the same PLC program can be used for both outputs: for PC-based or for traditional dedicated PLCs. This saves a lot of effort at the machine builder.

Safety is another example for scalability: a modern automation system has to offer integrated

safety as an option, so the option can be used if it is required by

the tyre manufacturer.

Peter Haan, Digital Factory Division, Factory Automation, Siemens AG

2015


Do you offer hardware solutions to the tyre industry?Concerning hardware, there are two standard delivery channels:

• One is the delivery of products to the machine builder or its panel builder.

• Another is the delivery of complete control panels designed according to the requirements of the machine builder. Partly this is done by Siemens internal panel builders, but very often also by Siemens Solution Partners like Smart Controls.

How much has the synergy coming out of the partnership between Siemens and Smart Controls helped both entities sharpen their capabilities?Siemens is the global leader in supplying world class technological platforms for providing Control System & Automation Solutions. These solutions can be applied to almost all Industry segments like Metals, Power, Cement, Food, Pharmacy, and Automobile and of course Tyre. In order to implement these solutions in the tyre industry, someone who understands the intricacies of tyre manufacturing processes is needed. This is where Smart Controls plays a big role. With over 15 years of experience in serving the tyre industry, Smart Controls has full knowledge and experience of using the Siemens Technological Platform to implement automation solutions for almost all processes of tyre making.

How did this partnership come about? What unique features did Siemens pick out in Smart Controls that led to this alliance?

Siemens formed a team worldwide to focus on the needs of tyre manufacturing processes. There was certainly a need to find a solution partner that is close to the tyre industries and knows the manufacturing process. There was no better fit than Smart Controls: Centrally located in India, huge panel building factory, manpower resources with good know-how of Siemens platform and tyre manufacturing processes.

What are the latest technology innovations coming out of this partnership?Solutions for mixing lines had always been on the cards. But the latest innovations will be in terms of plant-wide solutions with Siemens PLM software tightly integrated with Siemens MES Simatic IT and factory-wide automation systems.

How positive has your experience of operating from India been? Do you think the Indian market offers as many growth possibilities as it boasts?Especially for the future tyre market

Milind Kulkarni, Head – Business Development, Factory Automation, Siemens India, said: “Siemens believes that the tyre industry in India can gain enormously by starting automation at the beginning of the production life cycle. This means starting with the tyre design and extending it to all key departments or functions in the complete value chain of tyre manufacturing - Tyre R&D centre, production planning, production, quality assurance, ware housing.

Proper data integration and flow between these key departments or functions is important for success. This can be easily realised by seamless handshaking of Siemens PLM Software with Totally Integrated Automation (TIA).

Siemens’ goal is to support machine builders for developing machines on latest SIMATIC products and systems (this is already a reality in many cases) thus benefiting the Tyre manufacturers by increasing productivity by using latest technology available in the market.

We support our customers (both OEMs and Tyre Manufacturers) during all project phases – from planning to commissioning up to SOP. We too are keen in rendering timely after-sales service to ensure high up time of the plant keeping customers satisfied.

Siemens advantagesPartnering with involved OEMs, Solution Providers and Tyre Manufacturers throughout the value chain from Tyre design to manufacturing and maintenance

Seamless integrated product and system portfolio –

Tyre manufacturing consists of many machines from different vendors; Totally Integrated Automation brings a unique advantage to the manufacturer, but also to the machine builder.

Tyre production know how by our presales support team, our solution team (CoC-Tyre) and our Global reach is a differentiating factor amongst our peers in the market today.”

aDvantage autOMatiOn

development Siemens evaluated India as a major driver. There are the following reasons for this evaluation result:

There are many local tyre manufacturers in the country operating its business since years based on the local demand and generating sustainable profit. This local home base market offers the big players in the market to go global. This offers significant market opportunities for Indian machine builders, but also for the global tyre machinery industry, for Siemens and Smart Controls.

On the other hand India’s population development is so much promising for the big global players in tyre manufacturing that we could see major investments in the Indian tyre industry, e.g. from Continental and Michelin. This is another growth opportunity for machine builders, but also for Siemens and our solution providers like Smart Controls, because this generates a lot of retrofit business.

What challenge does Smart Controls face when partnering with a global leader like Siemens?The biggest challenge for Smart Controls when partnering with a global leader like Siemens is to continuously train its manpower to use the latest technologies and simultaneously keep the cost of its solutions under control. That is why Smart Controls is known in the industry for its Value Proposition Solutions.

How does the partnership strategy work? Do Smart Controls and Siemens work together in the “Go To Market” process to assess market needs?Yes of course. This “Go to Market” approach involves a lot of work at the pre-sales stage. It’s a constant process of innovation. Customer needs are to be jointly analysed by Smart and Siemens in order to arrive at the most appropriate solution. This ensures that a true Value Proposition Solution is offered to the customer.

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SIEMENS & SMART CONTROLS POWER OF … · world class technological platforms for providing Control System & Automation Solutions, and Smart Controls India, ... process: Automation