Data acquisition
Data acquisition
Manufacturing and energy companies have an abundance of plant data available to them, including data about energy usage, physical assets, production processes and business management. However, insufficient recording, lack of communication and inadequate data acquisition software can all make collecting and processing this data difficult. zenon is a software platform designed to address these challenges and improve data acquisition for factories and utilities.
The importance of improving data acquisition
Data acquisition refers to the conversion of physical signals into digital values that can be analyzed and manipulated by a computer. In today’s competitive landscape, manufacturing and energy companies have to rely on accurate and efficient data acquisition to assure quality performance in the present and plan for a more productive future.
Without an effective data acquisition system, plant operators and decision-makers struggle to discern the meaning behind data points and create the best outcomes. Improving data acquisition, therefore, comes with a number of important benefits for factories and utilities. For example, it can allow you to decrease costs by improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and respond to problems with better, faster decisions informed by accurate data. The result is a factory or plant optimized to perform at a high level.
How zenon improves data acquisition for factories and utilities
To remain competitive, manufacturers and energy companies need to capitalize on the data they have, using it to identify trends and support both large and small decisions. The zenon Software Platform from COPA-DATA comes with features to help factories and utilities benefit from improved data acquisition.
When you choose to implement zenon in your facility, you can expect to benefit from:
- Centralized data collection: zenon Historian records process data from sensors, machines and systems throughout your entire facility and sorts data into various kinds of archives. Every archived data collection has a time stamp attached, making it easier to filter historically for targeted analysis.
- A solid basis for informed decisions: To make confident decisions, you need to know that the data you’re using is accurate. By recording all manual intervention by users and protecting data from external manipulation, zenon provides a solid basis for data-backed decisions. Furthered by integrated tools for data analysis and reporting, zenon makes processing and acting on data easier for individuals throughout a manufacturing or energy company — both on the production floor and in management.
- Flexible, custom and up-to-date data logging: Mobile devices have made plant data collection (PDC) less laborious in recent years. zenon supports communication protocols between different mobile systems and can communicate directly with mobile logging devices, making data acquisition more flexible and customized.
- Easy access to data through the Internet: zenon eliminates the need for slow and complicated paper-based documentation, which can quickly become sources of disorganization and frustration. With online access to real-time process data, decision-makers can respond to issues quickly and easily find the exact data sets they’re looking for.
- Integration with heterogeneous hardware: With over 300 drivers and communication protocols developed in-house, zenon is hardware independent and can integrate seamless with any hardware and system of your choice.
