Change is at the core of evolution as Citect launches version 3.2 of its next-generation MES solution, Ampla

With the theme of the event on evolution, Citect launched the latest version of its manufacturing execution system (MES), Ampla, at Maropeng on 13 March 2008.

The launch highlighted the fact that the MES products are changing and maturing rapidly to meet the needs of operations managers.

The 130 attendees at the event were those actively driving change and innovating for improved operational performance. The audience included end-users, IT professionals, consultants and vendors that are focused on enabling improved decision-making for operations managers.

Schneider Electric reiterated its focus on operations management issues including energy efficiency. Michel Crochon, Executive VP Automation, Schneider-Electric, explained that: "Our roadmap is to develop collaborative power and control solutions. This includes the development of integrated solutions for optimised capex and opex. Crochon explained the four steps for improving energy efficiency, highlighting that "Schneider Electric has been actively investing in automation to improve our customers' energy efficiency".

The keynote speaker for the event was Johan van Tonder, Information Management Manager for Anglo Platinum. Van Tonder said: "An operational intelligence strategy focuses on integrated automation and information delivery to support decision-making."

He very clearly articulated the key elements in successfully specifying and selecting an MES for the minerals processing industry and discussed the importance of information architecture in the design of an MES solution.

While energy efficiency was clearly a top priority for many of the attendees, the mining, minerals processing and metals industry is also focused on improving the standard of metal accounting. Citect invited Professor Peter Gaylard from AMIRA to speak to the group on the development and documentation of the AMIRA Metal Accounting Guidelines P754. Professor Gaylard explained the common challenges faced by the companies in this sector and gave valuable advice on what is reasonable practice.

Colette Munro, Global Director, Ampla described how Ampla v3.2 can support operations managers who are proactively addressing the key issues of energy efficiency and metal accounting.

"The reliable collection of data from multiple sources, the presentation of the data in context to the operational model and the appropriate workflow and audit trails are essential to any sustainable approach to improving energy efficiency and/or improving the reliability of the Metal Accounting solution," she said.

Ampla V3.2 utilises a new Web service layer to support service-oriented architectures (SOA) and has been designed up front for broad, robust interoperability.

"SOA is being rapidly adopted as a key to enterprise architectures by leading companies in mining and manufacturing," Munro added. "The MES layer is an important part of the overall enterprise architecture and therefore MES products that are designed to support SOA provide clients with faster integration and more flexible business processes. The move to SOA has also enabled us to deliver new services to our customers more rapidly."

The final speaker at the event demonstrated what could be achieved with Ampla and a clear focus on improving plant performance. Christo Visser, Sectional Head Technical Services for De Beers Venetia Mine, spoke about the benefits of providing real-time intelligence within a world-class diamond mine. Following the implementation of Ampla, Venetia Mine was able to capture valuable and timely downtime information, as it occurred.

"It is all about information and not data, and as we grow, the information will become knowledge and with maturity, knowledge will become wisdom," said Visser. As his presentation so correctly pointed out: "If you can't see the ball, you can't hit it." Ampla shows you that ball.