INTEGRATION PROJECTS AND INDUSTRY 4.0 viewed in the light of the entire hierarchy of the automation and informatics tasks in a production company.
Today we usually find the automation and production informatics tasks in a hierarchical and mostly vertical structure:
- LEVEL 1 (AUT/OP) — Automation of the production and technological processes and their local control incl. installation of the corresponding electrical, measuring and action components and incl. visualization on operation panels.
- LEVEL 2 (HMI/SCADA) — Visualization of the production and technological processes enabling their control from the technology layer.
- LEVEL 3A (MIS – Management Information System) —Production information system based on the acquisition of data from diverse sources and its conversion to information.
- LEVEL 3B (MES – Management Execution System) —Production information system in the environment with completely digitalized processes. In thecontinual production types mainly, the acquireddata is further used, applying the optimization algorithms, for the subsequent close-loop control.
- LEVEL 4 (DT/industry 4.0) — Production information system in the environment with completely digitalized processes. The application of the digital twin as a faithful digital model of the physical production/logistic system for the real-time simulation and optimization of the manufacturing processes, in discrete production types mainly.
The level 4 integrated with the completelydigitalized environment of the levels 1, 2and 3A/3B can be then taken as a base for Industry 4.0 applications.
