NW Systems Group has partnered with Swedish-based industrial automation and safety products provider Kentima, as both companies eye up the opportunities for wider deployment of IP video monitoring systems in UK manufacturing and processing plants.
NW Systems has been deploying IP video monitoring systems in food processing and discrete manufacturing plants in the UK for some years but has been looking for an IT provider with domain expertise to help expand its offering in this market.
For NW Systems’ founder Frank Crouwel the real power of IP video can only be fully realised in the manufacturing world if it is fully integrated with HMI/SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) or other ICS (Industrial Control Systems) or, in larger plants, with MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems.
If integrated into existing control systems, IP cameras can support manufacturing processes in key areas such as Work in Progress (WIP) visualisation, product traceability, non-conformance management and quality control management more generally. As centralised control systems are connected with more devices and systems throughout a manufacturing plant; the opportunities to use cameras to support processes increases exponentially.
Frank Crouwel, managing director, NW Systems Limited, explained: “The fact that data transmission via Ethernet is becoming more widespread in UK plants; and standards bodies such as the OPC Foundation are working so hard to establish best practice for interoperability between control devices; makes the time right to explore wider deployment of IP cameras in this market alongside Kentima’s SCADA and video management software.”
Kentima’s product suite includes its WideQuick HMI (Human Machine Interface) SCADA software, Ethiris Video Management Systems and industrial computers – all designed to help increase productivity and efficiency in manufacturing plants.
NW Systems will now offer Kentima’s WideQuick and Ethiris offerings alongside its existing portfolio of IP video products. The combination will give manufacturers the opportunity to implement HMI/SCADA systems (with or without video) without launching costly MES deployments which may take years and are expensive to roll out.
Mads Bo Frederiksen, area sales manager, Kentima, added: “NW Systems is a great integration partner for us in the UK. They can add value to WideQuick and Ethiris deployments because of their IP video monitoring expertise and prior experience in the sector. Smart use of video data enhances control systems which UK plant manufacturing engineers and quality engineers are already using. Widespread deployment of PROFINET (the Industrial Ethernet protocol) combined with the work of OPC Foundation which our products support, makes connectivity between control devices that much easier. Use cases can be built, and ROI realised, much more quickly and easily than before.”
