Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Industrial automation'

In industrial automation systems, there is usually large volume of data which needs to be delivered to right places at the right time. In addition, large number of nodes in the automation systems are usually distributed which increases the complexity that there needs to be more point-to-point Ethernet-connections in the network. Hence, it is necessary to apply data-centric design and reduce the connection complexity. Data Distributed Service for Real-Time Systems (DDS) is a data-centric middleware specification adopted by Object Management Group (OMG). It uses the Real-Time Publish-Subscribe protocol as its wiring protocol and targets for mission- and business-critical systems. The IEC 61499 Standard defines an open architecture for the next generation of distributed control and automation systems. This thesis presents the structure and key features of DDS and builds a model of real-time distributed system based on the IEC 61499 Standard. Then a performance evaluation of the DDS communication based on this model is carried out. The traditional socket-based communication is also evaluated to act as a reference for the DDS communication. The results of the evaluation mostly show that DDS is considered as a good solution to reduce the complexity of the Ethernet connections in distributed systems and can be applied to some classes of industrial automation systems.

COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
A área de reconhecimento de imagens é essencial em Sistemas de Automáticos Industriais para a manipulação de peças sem a interferência humana. São apresentadas, neste trabalho, diversas características para reconhecimento de perfis bidimensionais, e selecionadas aquelas que são variantes com a posição. Esta seleção evita o alto custo computacional devido à variação do posicionamento das peças numa esteira rolante. As características selecionadas das imagens digitais de objetos são os monumentos invariantes. A partir destes momentos usa-se uma árvore binária de decisão para classificar os objetos, permitindo, deste modo, a identificação dos mesmos.
Image recognition is essential in Industrial Automatic Systems for manipulation of parts without human interference. In this work several features for 2D profile recognition are presented and those independent of position are selected. The selection avoid the high computational cost related to the variable position of the objects on a conveyor belt. The selected characteristics from the digital images of the objects are the invariant moments. On the basis of the extracted features, a binary decision tree is used to classify the objects, allowing the identification of the profiles.

Nowadays, networks are fundamental elements for developing factory automation systems. In this thesis, we focus industrial communication networks (ICNs) employed at the device level, for the fast data exchange between controller and sensors/actuators, that are required to satisfy tight reliability and real-time requirements. In this context, the scenario is rapidly evolving. Indeed on the one hand, high performance and low costs are required to cope with more and more demanding requirements, while, on the other hand, real-time characteristics are needed in an increasing number of industrial automation applications. In the last years, two new types of ICNs have been introduced for device-level industrial communication. Besides fieldbuses, traditionally employed, both real-time Ethernet (RTE) networks, based on IEEE 802.3 standard, and wireless networks have become available. In this thesis we focus on Ethernet Powerlink, a popular RTE network. Firstly, we refer to the Ethernet Powerlink specifications and provide a description of the network and, in particular, of the data link layer protocol real-time features. We propose a modification to the protocol that allow the network to better manage real-time acyclic traffic and provide results of a relevant both theoretical and a simulative analysis. Subsequently we investigate possible wireless extensions of Ethernet Powerlink based on the IEEE 802.11 wlan and present results of both a theoretical and a simulative analysis relevant to two specific solutions. Finally we practically realize one of the two solutions and provide results of extensive measurements on the real system. We particularly focus on the comparison between theoretical, simulative and experimental results and on the influence of real components behavior on the overall performance of the system.
Le reti di comunicazione sono diventate un elemento fondamentale dei sistemi di automazione industriale. In questa tesi si considerano, in particolare le reti di comunicazione impiegate per la comunicazione di livello dispositivo, per il veloce scambio di dati tra contollori e sensori/attuatori, e alle quali è solitamente richiesto un elevato grado di affidabilità e determinismo. Lo scenario della comunicazione industriale si sta rapidamente evolvendo. Infatti da una parte prestazioni sempre più elevate e costi contenuti devono sempre più conciliarsi con la soddisfazione di aspettative crescenti in termini di real-time, dall'altra sempre più applicazioni di automazione industriale richiedono uno scambio di dati preciso e veloce. Negli ultimi anni, in particolare, due nuovi tipi di reti di comunicazione industriale sono apparse sul mercato e si sono iniziate ad utilizzare nei sistemi di automazione. Oltra alle reti di comunicazione di campo, tradizionalmente utilizzate, reti real-time Ethernet, che si basano sullo standard 802.3, e reti wireless si sono cominciate ad diffondere negli ambienti industriali. In questa tesi ci focalizziamo su Ethernet Powerlink, una diffusa rete real-time Ethernet. Inizialmente descriviamo la rete e in particolare le caratteristiche di real-time del protocollo di livello data-link da essa definito. Proponiamo, quindi una modifica al protocollo che consentirebbe alla rete di gestire in modo più efficiente il traffico real-time aciclico e presentiamo alcuni risultati, ottenuti sia analiticamente che per mezzo di simulazioni. In seguito, analizziamo possibili estensioni wireless di Ethernet Powerlink mediante la rete 802.11 e presentiamo risultati ottenuti per via teorica e simulativa relativi a due particolari soluzioni. Infine implementiamo praticamente una delle due soluzioni e presentiamo i risultati di una serie di misure effettuate sul sistema reale. In particolare, mettiamo in evidenza differenze tra l'analisi teorica, simulativa e sperimentale e l'influenza del comportamento di componenti reali sulle prestazioni fornite dal sistema nel suo complesso.

This thesis is concerned with the mathematical aspects related to the optimal cutting of an object whose three-dimensional shape has been accurately and robustly reconstructed using appropriately developed computer-vision tools. First, a brief introduction to various one- and two-dimensional packing problems is presented. The Constrained Rectangle Packing problem which allows for defects to be modeled is then formulated and an efficient algorithm for solving it is presented. The two-stage stock-cutting problem according to which a set of rectangular pieces of prespecified dimensions are to be cut from a general shape object with general shape holes or defective regions is then investigated. It is shown how mathematical morphological operators can be vised in order to determine the optimal shifting for a given cutting pattern and proved that the problem of obtaining the optimal cutting pattern is NP-hard. However, the optimal solution to the unconstrained problem using mathematical programming is proposed. For the general problem good sub-optimal solutions are obtained using the technique of simulated annealing. Stereo-vision techniques are then employed for the accurate shape determination of the object to be cut. A three-dimensional reconstruction technique based on projective geometry is formally analysed and guidelines for its robust application are given. Finally, emphasis is placed on the correspondence problem, which becomes very difficult in the case of non-coplanar features and cameras set at 90 degrees from each other. It is shown how to cast the problem into an optimisation framework and a branch and bound algorithm is used in order to obtain the optimal solution. For increased robustness a Hough-Transform-like algorithm is also suggested. Both synthetic and real experimental results are presented throughout the thesis in order to illustrate the validity and usefulness of the proposed algorithms.

Industrial control systems are applied in many areas e.g., motion control for industrial robotics, process control of large plants such as in the area of oil and gas, and in large national power grids. Since the last decade with advancement and adoption of virtualization and multicore technology (e.g., Virtual Monitoring Machine, cloud computing, server virtualization, application virtualization), IT systems, automation industries have benefited from low investment, effective system management and high service availability. However, virtualization and multicore technologies have posed a serious challenge to real-time systems, which is violating timeliness and predictability of real-time application running on control systems. To address the challenge, we have extended a real-time component-based framework with virtual nodes; and evaluated the framework in the context of virtualized multicore environment. The evaluation is demonstrated by modeling and implementing an orchestra application with QoS for CPU, memory and network bandwidth. The orchestra application is a real-time and distributed application deployed on virtualized multicore PCs connected with speakers. The result shows undistorted orchestra performance played through speakers connected to physical computer nodes. The contribution of the thesis can be considered: 1) extending a real-time component-based framework, Future Automation Software Architecture (FASA) with virtual nodes using Virtual Computation Resource (VCR) and 2) design and installation of reusable test environment for development, debugging and testing of real-time application on a network of virtualized multicore environment.
Vinnova project “AUTOSAR for Multi-Core in Automotive and Automation Industries “

This report is the proof of concept that shows how Coded UI can be used for the automation of GUI tests. For this thesis-work, an industrial case study is done on 26 different test cases provided at the company Basalt AB. The problem they had was that testing was very time consuming and was therefore not done as often as needed to keep the level of quality required for the system developed. The method that has been used are called the validation method and the work was according to that divided into five steps: choosing test cases, a learning process, implementation, compare the results and then draw conclusions. Test automation has benefits of time savings and the fact that tests will be reused. Testing will take minutes instead of hours and the tests can be executed over and over again as many times as needed. So by changing from manual testing to automated testing, tests can be run faster and therefore more often. The investment of automated testing will be repaid before the end of the fourth test round. So conclusions can be drawn from the results of this thesis and it shows that it absolutely is worth the investment of automating the testing process.

Cost of poor quality describes what the lack of quality costs an organization. By understanding what the concept is and how it can be translated into a specific organization, it creates the conditions for eliminating them, and it can generate a saving of up to 30% of the organization's turnover. The study has been carried out at ABB Industrial Automation Control Technologies in Västerås within the group ABB AB. This work has focused on visualizing the problem and how it could be attacked. The purpose of the thesis is, "… to generate evidence about the management of drawings, as well as to propose measures that can improve this process. The aim is also to help ensure that there is a process where suppliers always produce based on the right and most recent edition. " The processes of drawing management have been visualized based on information from interviews, observations and secondary data that have been based on information from routines together with governing documents. Thereafter, deficiencies in this drawing management process have been identified and also the causes. The result from the thesis is a process mapping with identified shortcomings and the causes of these. A specification has been prepared for guidelines on how ABB Industrial Automation Control Technologies will work with improvements on this process.
Kvalitetsbristkostnader beskriver vad avsaknaden av kvalitet kostar en organisation. Genom att förstå vad begreppet är och hur det kan översättas till en specifik organisation skapas förutsättningarna för att eliminera dessa samt på så sätt spara upp till 30 % av organisationens omsättning. Studien har genomförts på ABB Industrial Automation Control Technologies i Västerås inom koncernen ABB AB. ABB Industrial Automation Control Technologies har en förståelse om vad kvalitetsbristkostnader är och därmed har ett problemområde presenterats. Detta arbete har inriktats på att visualisera problemet samt hur det skulle kunna angripas. Examensarbetets syfte är, ”Avsikten med detta arbete är att generera underlag kring hantering av ritningar samt att även föreslå åtgärder som kan förbättra denna hantering. Syftet är även att bidra till säkerställandet av att ha en process där leverantörer alltid producerar efter rätt och senaste upplaga av ritningar.” Processen ritningshantering har visualiserats baserat på information från intervjuer, observationer samt baserat på sekundärdata som information om befintliga rutiner och styrande dokument. Därefter har brister inom denna ritningshanteringsprocess identifierats samt medföljande orsaker åskådliggjorts. Studiens resultat är en processkartläggning med identifierade brister och orsakerna till bristerna. En kravspecifikation har tagits fram som skapar grunden till förbättringsarbetet som ABB Industrial Automation Control Technologies står inför.

Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e Telecomunicações
In today’s modern industry, the majority of the tasks are getting more automated, and the human intervention reduced. Despite this fact the machines used still need maintenance. This is such an important part of the area, that all industries have specialized personnel just to maintain the automation systems. The reason is that the systems used on nowadays factories are becoming more specific and demanding in technological terms. This translates in a constant interaction between the machine manufacturers and the factory maintenance team. The purpose of this study was to develop a proof of concept prototype, projected to serve as a starting point for a market product in the field of industrial automation. The product aims to bridge the communication gap between manufacturers and industrial plant personnel. The focus of the thesis is in a mobile application for an industrial Tablet PC, in order to provide new tools to the industrial operator. These new tools include technical support functionalities, like remote reprogramming of industrial devices or via video call. They additionally add the possibility to locally access to industrial devices and functionalities seen in commercial “smart” devices, like the use of the camera. The main results of the thesis were to develop a working prototype tested in a real industrial case scenario, as well to find out that no industrial manufacturer provides a turn-key solution with the stated requirements.
Atualmente em automação industrial, a maioria das tarefas estão automatizadas, e a intervenção humana é cada vez mais reduzida. Apesar disso as máquinas usadas continuam a precisar de manutenção. Esta é uma parte tão importante da área, que todas as indústrias têm pessoal especializado apenas para manter os sistemas de automação. A razão é que os sistemas utilizados hoje em dia nas fábricas são cada vez mais específicos e exigentes em termos tecnológicos. Isso implica uma interação constante entre os fabricantes das máquinas e a equipa de manutenção da fábrica. O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver um protótipo de prova de conceito, para servir como ponto de partida para um produto de mercado na área de automação industrial. O produto visa estreitar a comunicação entre os fabricantes e o pessoal responsável na indústria. O foco do trabalho é uma aplicação móvel para um Tablet PC industrial, a fim de fornecer novas ferramentas para o operador industrial. Estas novas ferramentas incluem funcionalidades de suporte técnico, como a reprogramação remota de dispositivos industriais ou através de chamada de vídeo. Incluem ainda a possibilidade de aceder localmente a dispositivos industriais e funcionalidades oferecidas por dispositivos comerciais "inteligentes", como o uso da câmara. Os principais resultados da tese foram, desenvolver um protótipo testado em ambiente industrial, bem ao descobrir que nenhum fabricante industrial fornece uma solução chave na mão com os requisitos estabelecidos.

L'analyse de la qualité de l'électricité est une demande qui s'est vue augmentée au cours des dernières décennies. Les creux de tension sont les perturbations les plus fréquentes et les plus impactantes dans les réseaux électriques industriels, entraînant des pertes financières importantes pour les clients industriels. Le cœur de ce travail de thèse est dédié à la classification des causes de creux de tension ainsi qu'à leur localisation relative par rapport au point de mesure principale. L'algorithme développé utilise les formes d'onde de tension et de courant comme entrées pour identifier les causes des creux de tension dans les réseaux industriels BT. La solution est basée sur des signatures de séries temporelles quadridimensionnelles, obtenues par l'application de la transformée de Fourier court terme (STFT) et de la transformée de Fortescue. La source d'un creux de tension est identifiée à l'aide d'une stratégie de classification basée sur la distance avec une mesure basée sur l'algorithme Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). En outre, l'algorithme soft-DTW est utilisé pour réduire la taille de la base de signatures d'apprentissage, augmentant ainsi la vitesse de classification. Les performances de la méthode ont été analysées en termes de séparabilité des classes, d'efficacité de la prédiction (précision et robustesse au bruit) et de sensibilité aux variations de la fréquence fondamentale. La méthode est robuste aux niveaux de bruit jusqu'à un SNR = 15 dB et aux variations de fréquence fondamentale jusqu'à +/- 0.5 Hz. De plus, un indice de confiance sur la prédiction est proposé, augmentant la fiabilité de l'algorithme. Le système offre une mise en œuvre facile en milieu industriel sans avoir besoin de données enregistrées au préalable. La méthode présente l'avantage d'utiliser une base de données de référence de taille réduite, entièrement composée de données synthétiques. Les principaux avantages de la méthode proposée sont ses capacités de généralisation et la possibilité de déclencher une alerte basée sur l'indice de confiance. La précision de classification obtenue sur des données synthétiques comportant sept causes est de 100%. La méthode atteint également un F1-score supérieur à 99% avec des mesures terrain représentant cinq classes sur trois sites industriels différents. Enfin, nous étudions également l'impact des creux de tension sur les équipements industriels. Nous proposons une méthodologie pour estimer la composition de charges déconnectées suite à un creux de tension. Les résultats ont montré des limites en termes d'interaction harmonique entre les charges. Ces limites sont discutées et plusieurs propositions sont faites pour améliorer la méthode
The demand for power quality analysis has increased over the past decades. Voltage sags are the most frequent and impactful disturbances in industrial power grids, leading to high financial losses for industrial clients. The core of this thesis work is dedicated to the classification of voltage sag causes and their relative location to the monitoring point. The solution uses voltage and current waveforms as input to identify the causes of voltage sags in LV industrial grids. The methodology is based on four-dimension time series signatures, obtained through the application of the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) and the Fortescue Transform. The source of a voltage sag is identified using a distance-based classification strategy with a custom distance measure based on the Dynamic Time Warping algorithm (DTW). In addition, the soft-DTW algorithm is used to reduce the size of the signature training database and increase speed. The performance of the method was analyzed in terms of class separability, prediction efficiency (accuracy and robustness to noise), and sensitivity to fundamental frequency variations. The proposal is resilient regarding noise levels up to an SNR = 15 dB and fundamental frequency variations up to +/- 0.5 Hz. Moreover, a confidence index on the prediction is proposed, increasing the algorithm's reliability. The proposal offers an easy implementation in industrial applications with no previous recorded data. It has the benefit of using a reduced-size reference database, entirely composed of synthetic data. The main advantages of the proposed method are its generalization capabilities and the possibility of raising an alert based on the confidence index. The obtained classification accuracy on synthetic data with seven causes is 100%. The method reaches a classification F1-score higher than 99% with field measurements representing five classes obtained from three different industrial sites. Finally, we also study the impact of voltage sags on industrial equipment. We propose a methodology to estimate the self-disconnected load composition following a voltage sag. The results showed some limitations in terms of harmonic interaction among the loads. Some of the limits of this approach are discussed, and several proposals to improve the load composition estimation for future work are made

The growing demand for products and services puts great pressure on logistics performance and enhances the role that logistics plays in determining a company’s competitiveness. This research focuses on internal logistics systems, which includes all logistics activities and processes within the physical limits of an isolated company. Internal logistics is vital for the overall function of many companies. However, despite its importance, this part of logistics has traditionally not been viewed or developed in a strategic way. Since internal logistics activities are often characterized by a high degree of manual handling and hence strongly affect the cost of operations, there is a large incentive for improvements in this area.   One possible way to improve an internal logistics system is with the help of automation. In many areas, automation is a well-known means to increase productivity and cut costs, thus improving competitiveness. However, automation is not commonly used within internal logistics activities, and there is a lack of knowledge and research within this new application area. The main objective of this research, therefore, is to contribute to an increased understanding of how automation can be used to develop competitive internal logistics systems. Four empirical studies have been performed to investigate how companies perceive and work with their internal logistics systems, specifically in terms of improvements using automation. The empirical studies also aimed at identifying and describing how the studied companies could benefit from automation within internal logistics activities. From the studies, the importance of assessing and being aware of the current state of logistics performance was discovered as a basic requirement that needs to be fulfilled before conducting improvement work. Further, one of the main overall conclusions from this research is the need for a logistics strategy that includes goals and plans for the operation and development of an internal logistics system. As a result of the research, a structure and procedure for the development of a logistics strategy and a framework for conducting an improvement process in internal logistics using automation were developed.
Lean Automation

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores Especialidade: Robótica e Manufactura Integrada
This thesis addresses the device lifecycle support thematic in the scope of service oriented industrial automation domain. This domain is known for its plethora of heterogeneous equipment encompassing distinct functions, form factors, network interfaces, or I/O specifications supported by dissimilar software and hardware platforms. There is then an evident and crescent need to take every device into account and improve the agility performance during setup, control, management, monitoring and diagnosis phases. Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm is currently a widely endorsed approach for both business and enterprise systems integration. SOA concepts and technology are continuously spreading along the layers of the enterprise organization envisioning a unified interoperability solution. SOA promotes discoverability, loose coupling, abstraction, autonomy and composition of services relying on open web standards – features that can provide an important contribution to the industrial automation domain. The present work seized industrial automation device level requirements, constraints and needs to determine how and where can SOA be employed to solve some of the existent difficulties. Supported by these outcomes, a reference architecture shaped by distributed, adaptive and composable modules is proposed. This architecture will assist and ease the role of systems integrators during reengineering-related interventions throughout system lifecycle. In a converging direction, the present work also proposes a serviceoriented device model to support previous architecture vision and goals by including embedded added-value in terms of service-oriented peer-to-peer discovery and identification, configuration, management, as well as agile customization of device resources. In this context, the implementation and validation work proved not simply the feasibility and fitness of the proposed solution to two distinct test-benches but also its relevance to the expanding domain of SOA applications to support device lifecycle in the industrial automation domain.

The goal of this thesis is to describe the current state of artificial intelligence, and how it can be applied to the industry. Artificial intelligence is considered as one of the major enablers of a movement towards the fourth industrial revolution. It has the potential to increase growth across our global economy, for instance, by automating work and enhancing the performance of humans. It can also be implemented to optimize decision making, and create interconnected supply chains, where the availability of real-time information from multiple facets enables a complete optimization and transparency, which would not be attainable using only currently established methods. While we are yet far from a point where AI could completely replace human workers on a larger scale, it can still be useful for automating certain work activities, which can be identified through an appropriate categorization. In addition to determining current technologies’ potential in automation of work, it is explained, how AI can be used to create a loop between the physical and digital worlds. In practice, this means creating optimized systems, in which continuous information flow and algorithmic decision making enable completely new levels of operational efficiency. When these optimized activity points have been created across a supply chain, they can be connected to create a digital supply network, collapsing the linear flow of a traditional supply chain to an interconnected entity, where real-time flow of information can be leveraged to optimize the entire system, while automating a great deal of decision making between the connection points. This literature review is divided into two major chapters. In the first one, the current stage of technological evolution is covered by going through some of the most essential AI-based solutions and comparing them to a selection of human capabilities. In the latter part, it is discussed how AI can be combined with human workforce to automate various types of work activities. This chapter also includes the part where AI’s potential is covered in terms of optimization and supply chain improvement. After these two major chapters, there’s a discussion about some of the challenges we are going to face while creating these solutions and investing in them. Finally, everything is wrapped up by concluding how these things are seen from the author’s perspective based on insight gained during the writing of this thesis
Työn tarkoitus on kuvailla tekoälyn nykytilannetta ja sitä, kuinka tekoälyä voidaan lähteä soveltamaan teollisuuteen. Tekoälyä pidetään yhtenä keskeisistä neljänteen teolliseen vallankumoukseen johtavan liikkeen mahdollistavista tekijöistä. Sillä on potentiaalia luoda talouskasvua muun muassa työn automatisoinnin ja ihmisten suorituskyvyn tehostamisen kautta. Sen käyttöönotolla voidaan myös optimoida päätöksentekoa ja luoda tilaus-toimitusketjuja, joissa useiden tahojen välinen ajantasainen tiedon kulku mahdollistaa järjestelmien täyden läpinäkyvyyden ja optimoinnin, jota ei kyettäisi saavuttamaan pelkästään tämänhetkisiä vakiintuneita menetelmiä käyttämällä. Vaikka olemme vielä kaukana pisteestä, jossa tekoäly voisi korvata ihmiset kokonaan laajassa mittakaavassa, sitä voidaan kuitenkin hyödyntää tiettyjen työtehtävien automatisoimiseen — nämä voidaan tunnistaa oikeanlaisen kategorisoinnin kautta. Työn automatisointipotentiaalin määrittämisen lisäksi käydään läpi, miten tekoälyä voidaan soveltaa fyysisen ja digitaalisen maailman välisen silmukan luomiseen. Käytännössä tällä tarkoitetaan sellaisten optimoitujen järjestelmien luomista, missä jatkuva tiedon kulku ja algoritminen päätöksenteko mahdollistavat täysin uudentasoisen operatiivisen tehokkuuden saavuttamisen. Sen jälkeen, kun näitä optimoituja yksiköitä on luotu ympäri tilaus-toimitusketjua, ne voidaan yhdistää yhdeksi digitaaliseksi verkoksi, jossa perinteinen lineaarisesti etenevä tilaus-toimitusketju hajotetaan siten, että sen kaikki pisteet ovat yhteydessä toisiinsa. Reaaliaikainen tiedon kulku yhteyspisteiden välillä mahdollistaa koko järjestelmän optimoimisen samalla, kun suuri osa päätöksenteosta automatisoidaan tekoälyn avulla. Tämä kirjallisuuskatsaus on jaettu kahteen pääkappaleeseen, joista ensimmäisessä käsitellään tekoälyn teknisen kehityksen nykytilannetta käymällä läpi olennaisia tekoälyyn pohjautuvia ratkaisuja ja vertaamalla niitä valikoituihin inhimillisiin kyvykkyyksiin. Toisessa osassa kerrotaan, kuinka tekoäly voidaan yhdistää työtä tekevien ihmisten kanssa monenlaisten tehtävien automatisoimiseen. Tässä kappaleessa käsitellään myös tekoälyn potentiaalia järjestelmien optimoinnin ja tilaus-toimitusketjun kehittämisen työkaluna. Näiden kahden pääkappaleen jälkeen käydään läpi haasteita, joita tulemme kohtaamaan tekoälyyn pohjautuvien ratkaisujen luomisen ja niihin investoimisen aikana. Työ päättyy yhteenvetoon, johon on tuotu mukaan kirjoittajan omaa näkemystä kirjoittamisen aikana aihepiiristä muodostuneen ymmärryksen pohjalta

Uma das atribuições da engenharia de automação é o desenvolvimento de solução de automação e controle de processos contínuos industriais. Para tanto, a principal ferramenta emprega para este controle é a ação de controle Proporcional-Integral-Derivativo (PID). Nas últimas décadas diversas empresas fabricantes de equipamentos de automação industrial têm desenvolvido e aprimorado seus controladores industriais. Estes, além de realizarem o controle de processo por lógica de intertravamento, também possuem a ação de controle PID com a finalidade de executar o controle de processo contínuo como controle de velocidade, controle de pressão, controle de nível, etc. Porém, devido a grande variedade de controladores industriais por conseqüência, a grande variedade de implementações instrução PID, implica, muitas vezes, em falta padronização da programação e operação do algoritmo da equação PID implementados nos mais diversos controladores industriais. Tal fato dificulta a engenharia de automação industrial em desenvolver controle de processos contínuos através de instruções PID. Este trabalho de pesquisa aborda o desenvolvimento de metodologia \"MAFPID\" como ferramenta de engenharia de automação para aferir o funcionamento da instrução de controle PID implementada em equipamentos de controle e automação. Esta metodologia é constituída de três Etapas de testes. A primeira Etapa constitui o estudo do equipamento testado a partir das documentações fornecidas pelo fabricante. A segunda Etapa constitui de teste dos parâmetros proporcional, integral e derivativo, realizados no controlador industrial isolado de qualquer processo. A terceira Etapa constitui de teste do controlador interagindo com um circuito analógico. Este circuito simula o comportamento de alguns processos industriais, fornecendo ao controlador aferido sinais de entradas e de saída semelhantes aos processos reais. Este trabalho também apresenta dois estudos de caso, nos quais foi aplicada a metodologia MAFPID.
One of attributions of the automation engineering is the development of automation solution and control of industrial continuous processes. For in such a way, the main tool uses for this control is the action of Proportional-Integral-Derivative control (PID). In the last diverse decades companies equipment manufacturers of industrial automation have developed and improved its industrial controllers. These, besides carrying through the control of process for interlocking logic, also possess the action of control PID with the purpose to execute the control of continuous process as control of speed, control of pressure, control of level, etc. However, due to great variety of industrial controllers for consequence, the great variety of implementations instruction PID, it implies in lack standardization of the programming and operation of the algorithm of equation PID implemented in the most diverse industrial controllers. Such fact, it makes difficult the engineering of industrial automation in developing control of continuous processes through instructions PID. This work of research approaches the development of methodology MAFPID as tool of engineering of automation to survey the functioning of the instruction of control PID implemented in control equipment and automation. This methodology is constituted of three stages of tests. The first stage constitutes the study of the equipment tested from the documentations supplied for the manufacturer. The second stage constitutes of test of the parameters proportional, integral and derivative, carried through in the isolated industrial controller of any process. The third stage constitutes of test of the controller interacting with an analogical circuit. This circuit simulates the behavior of some industrial processes, supplying signals of input and output to the surveyed controller of similar to the real processes. This work also presents two studies of case, in which was applied methodology MAFPID.

Nowadays the electronics market and technology in general are constantly expanding. Technological evolution is steadily growing to keep pace with the times: perhaps the competitiveness of the various markets makes the timelines close. Just think of the market of all electronic devices, every 6 months or less, comes out a new, more powerful model with new functions and able to satisfy the needs of the consumer more and more fully. This thesis addresses the evolution of technology as regards one of the many factors affecting electronics, that is, the construction of electronic cards with certain tolerances, made by their ohmic and functional calibration. In particular, it will be analyzed, studied and modernized, a system that allows the calibration of electronic components by the use of lasers and other devices. The thesis is divided in 7 chapters: Chapter 1: general introduction and scientific bases, Chapter 2: laser structure and additional components, Chapter 3: process explanation and software design, Chapter 4: hardware design and software development, Chapter 5: time analysis, Chapter 6: visualization development, Chapter 7: final considerations and possible variants.

Road hazards have been threatening drivers’ safety. Drivers should perceive road hazards in order to reduce or eliminate risks (Shinar, 2007a). Hazard perception is a cognitive ability which can be improved through practice (Mark S. Horswill, Hill, & Wetton, 2015). Failures in hazard perception can cause adversities (Spainhour, Brill, John Sobanjo, Jerry Wekezer, & Primus Mtenga, 2005). Hence, understanding the cognitive process of hazard perception is important for improving drivers’ reactions and creating human-like autonomous systems. While there is no agreement among researchers about the concept of hazard perception (Baars, 1993; Mica R. Endsley, 1995b; Flach, 1994), most accepted views describe hazard perception as a process (Banbury, 2017). One of the predominant cognitive theories which describes hazard perception as a process is Neisser’s action-perception (Neisser, 1987). Neisser’s model relates hazard perception to mental map of the world and includes limitations of drivers’ memories. The action-perception model alongside other dominant hazard perception theories which describe the phenomenon can only be valid if drivers have mental models of hazards (Mica R. Endsley, 2000). Mental models which can facilitate the hazard perception process cannot be described by dominant theories that describe mental models as cognitive structural and functional models (Preece et al., 1994) In fact, the mental model which can be used for hazard perception and risk anticipation should explain how hazard can fail a traffic system and cause crash. Thus, the first experiment explores the existence of such a mental model by using Schema World Action Research Method (SWARM) cognitive probes. The result proves the existence of subjective mental models of hazards. Mental models are subjective, and drivers can have different preference of actions to a hazard accordingly. Automation of driving requires drivers to monitor the Autonomous vehicles (AVs) behaviors and takeover the control when needed (Banks & Stanton, 2017). For a successful monitoring of AVs drivers should build an appropriate level of trust in systems according to systems reliability (Lee & See, 2004). AVs should produce acceptable results to be considered reliable and drivers should develop accurate mental models of AVs actions and limitations (Walliser, 2011). Drivers will evaluate systems actions by their subjective mental models including mental models of hazards. However, AVs are designed by their designers and have limitations in replicating human-like reactions to hazards (Don Norman, 2016). The second experiment investigates how discrepancies between design models of AVs and drivers’ mental models including mental models of hazards can influence drivers’ trust in automation. In this part, naturalistic method and a Tesla S is used and participants are interviewed after five days of driving by using advanced automated systems. Results show that drivers use their mental models of hazards to predict hazardous scenarios and takeover the control before hazards materialize. Additionally, findings reveal how complexity of the system can result in function confusion, mode confusion, and misinterpreting AVs capabilities, which can result in abuse of automated systems. Results reveal that there is a need for adequate training of drivers on autonomous and advanced systems.

The growing demand for UI test automation has triggered the development of many tools. Researchers and developers have been continuously working to further improvise the existing approaches. If we look at GUI test evolution we can observe a clear progress from manual testing towards complete automation. Numerous approaches have been made to automate the GUI testing process. Record and playback tools, key-word driven methodologies, event flow exploration strategies, model based approaches are continuously evolving with higher level of automation. Similarly, new ideas and strategies to make these tests efficient are also emerging. Optimization of this resource consuming activity is another very important aspect in this area.  Dependencies between different tests can create deadlock scenarios, while running larger test suites. A concept of Ordered Test Suite can be used to cope with such dependencies. Following the Model Driven Architecture initiative by Object Management Group, a new global trend of Model Driven Engineering is creating a big sensation in the field of model based software development. Using the same principle, studies have also been made to automatically generate tests from models. Behavioral models can be made using the model driven approaches and these models can be analyzed to generate tests automatically. This master thesis addresses different approaches made for Graphical User Interface test automation, some optimization issues and solutions, a case study done at a software company to automate User Interface testing and a model driven approach for automatic test case generation.

Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2016.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-58).
This thesis describes the design and implementation of an evaluation system for Silicon Labs' current sensor products. The system provides significant advantages over existing evaluation systems by reducing hazardous voltages and currents through increased sense resistance and improving simplicity through a modular motherboard, daughtercard, and software system. The system is versatile and supports modifications for additional customization. All existing Silicon Labs' current sensor products are implemented in the system. The performance of the constructed evaluation system is shown to exceed existing work. The constructed system uses lower currents, requires fewer specialized components, improves portability, and provides access to advanced product functionality.
by Michael A. Wu.
M. Eng.

A significant part of our daily lives is dependent on the continuous operation of Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS). They are used to control the processes of delivering electricity and clean water to our households, to run and supervise manufacturing industries that produce things we use every day. Therefore, undisturbed, safe and secure operation of IACS are highly important for us all. A malfunctioning IACS may cause damage to the environment, stop production of goods or disrupt essential infrastructure.  The ongoing transformations related to the Industry 4.0 paradigm is having a great impact on IACS, forcing a shift from a rigid, hard-wired system architecture towards a service-oriented structure, where different modules can collaborate dynamically to adapt to volatile production requirements. This shift entails a substantial increase in connectivity and is hence potentially increasing exposure of these systems to cybersecurity threats. Understanding potential risks, and protection against such threats are of great importance.  Access Control is one of the main security mechanisms in a software system, aiming at limiting access to resources to privileged entities. Within IACS, this mechanism is mainly used as means to limit human users’ privileges on system assets. In the dynamic manufacturing systems of Industry 4.0, there is a need to include fine-grained Access Control also between devices, raising a number of issues with regards to policy formulation and management.  This licentiate thesis contributes towards the overall goal of improving the security of IACS in the evolving systems of Industry 4.0 by (1) discussing high-level security challenges of large industrial IoT systems, (2) assess one of the main standards for IACS cybersecurity from an Industry 4.0 perspective, (3) derive requirements on Access Control models within a smart manufacturing system, and (4) presenting an algorithm for automatic Access Control policy generation within the context of modular automation, based on formal process descriptions.

This thesis explains the development of a computer vision system able to find and orient relatively small objects. The motivations is exchanging a monotonous work done by hand and replace it with an automation system with help of an ABB IRB 140 industrial robot. The vision system runs on a standard PC and is developed using the OpenCV environment, originally made by Intel in Russia. The algorithms of the system is written in C++ and the user interface in C++/CLI. With a derived test case, multiple vision algorithms is tested and evaluated for this kind of application. The result shows that SIFT/SURF works poorly with multiple instances of the search object and HAAR classifiers produces many false positives. Template matching with image moment calculation gave a satisfying result regarding multiple object in the scene and produces no false positives. Drawbacks of the selected algorithm developed where sensibility to light invariance and lack of performance in a skewed scene. The report also contains suggestions on how to precede with further improvements or research.

Industrial robots are increasingly used within the manufacturing industry, especially in collaborative applications, where robots and operators are intended to work together in certain tasks. This collaboration needs to be safe, to ensure that an operator does not get injured in any way. One of several solutions to this is to use virtual safety zones, which limits the robots working range and area to operate within, and may be more flexible than physical fences. When the robot exceeds the allowed limit of the virtual safety zone, a control system that monitors the robot position, forces to robot to stop. Depending on the current speed and payload of the robot, the initialized stop has a braking distance until the robot has completely stopped. How far the separation distance between human and robot must be, is calculated using ISO-standard guidelines when doing risk assessments. To support affected personnel in their work, an investigation and experimentation of braking distances among several robots has been conducted. These testing experiments have been designed to simulate a collaborative operation which is an excessive risk in a robot cell. The tests have been performed with various speeds and payloads, for comparison between the robot models and for validation against already existing data. The difference with this study compared to existing ones is that several robot axis’ are used simultaneously in the testing movements, which is a benefit since a robot rarely operates with only one axis at a time.  Main results of the performed tests are that the robot doesn’t obtain speeds over 2000 mm/s when axis 1 is not involved, before the virtual safety zone is reached. Axis 1 can generate the highest speeds overall, and is therefore a significant factor of the braking distance. The results and conclusions from this thesis states that these kinds of tests give useful information to the industry when it comes to safety separation distance and risk assessments. When applying the information in a correct way, the benefits are that a shorter safety separation distance can be used without compromising on safety. This leads to great advantages in robot cell design, because space is limited on the factory floor.

I dagens läge är industriella nätverk inte anpassade för att koppla upp resursbegränsade enheter pga av att industriella nätverks-protokollen som används är mer anpassade för real time applikationer. Det skulle vara ett stort steg för de industriella nätverken att kunna koppla upp resursbegränsade enheter för enkel övervakning samt analysering av data. Efter en undersökningsperiod av ett flertal olika IoT-protokoll, gjordes valet att implementera CoAP på en Anybus CompactCom-modul för testning. Under projektets gång användes det en del white-box testning i början vid implementationen av libCoAP. Efter att en fungerande implementation var gjord, påbörjades testning av input och output överensstämmelser med hjälp av black-box testning istället. Resultatet jämfördes i slutändan med den existerande lösningen att skicka parameterdata med hjälp av TCP. Resultatet hade en responstidsskillnad som var 92,3 % snabbare. Samtidigt tog det sammanlagt 24,2 % mindre plats i minnet (FLASH och RAM) för implementationen på Anybus CompactCom-modulen.

Studies about the industrial standard IEC 61499 and its relation to the RTFM Model of Computation represent the basis of this thesis. An overview of industrial automation software in general and in the scope of Svenska Kraftnät introduces the subject of software related issues. The thesis focuses on selected properties, which are important for software development to improve the robustness of industrial automation software. Among others, timing is essential due to its importance in real-time applications. An example case of the nuclear power plant Forsmark in Sweden illustrates problems correlated with timing issues and makes the lack of an overall system modelling (including timing) evident. A review of the relevant industrial standards for software development in industrial applications provides a background for various aspects of software compliance to safety requirements. Special attention lies on the standards IEC 61131 and IEC 61499 for industrial software development and their programming and execution model. The presented RTFM framework defines a concurrent model of execution based on tasks and resources together with a timing semantics that was designed from the outset for the development of embedded real-time systems. It can serve as a scheduling and resource management for the run-time environments of industrial applications, while addressing the aforementioned issues. Mappings from the functional layer (IEC 61499 function block networks) and safety layer (PLCopen safety function blocks) to RTFM show the applicability and possibility of using IEC 61499 as an overall, distributed, and hierarchical model. A discussion on options for future work presents choices to pursue the second half of the PhD studies. Formal methods for program specification and verification open up an interesting path to further increase the robustness of industrial automation software.
Godkänd; 2016; 20160318 (maalin); Nedanstående person kommer att hålla licentiatseminarium för avläggande av teknologie licentiatexamen. Namn: Marcus Lindner Ämne: Inbyggda system/Embedded Systems Uppsats: Robust Industrial Automation Software: Outsets for Non-determinism and Real-time Execution Examinator: Professor Per Lindgren, Institutionen för system- och rymdteknik, Avdelning: EISLAB, Luleå tekniska universitet. Diskutant: PhD Alois Zoitl, Division: Control Systems Engineering, Manufactureing Engineering, Fortiss GmbH An-Institut Technische Universität München, Germany. Tid: Tisdag 3 maj, 2016 kl 13.15 Plats: A1547, Luleå tekniska universitet
Frekvensomriktares funktion i beredskapskritiska system

The Controller Area Network Bus was released by Bosch as an innovative and new method of providing prioritised and fault tolerant communication within automotive applications. Since its introduction in 1986 many protocols have been designed to operate above this network structure, utilising the prioritisation properties to their advantage. This thesis will focus on building a custom testbed using existing university equipment and then programming an implementation of the CANopen protocol. The physical network will consist of a Controller Area Network bus as this is supported by a multitude of devices and can act as a method of integrating many devices available within the Murdoch University Industrial Computer Systems Laboratory that previously had no method of direct communication. The newly constructed testbed will be built in the most cost-effective manner possible and rely on integrating currently underutilised hardware available to students with the view of expanding the capabilities of teaching facilities in the Industrial Computer Systems Laboratory. The newly developed set of programs and network will facilitate the teaching of additional material to students by way of a set of manuals that will act to complement existing material already developed for the in-lab hardware.

This experimental Ph.D. research, developed within the CT Pack company, manufacturer of machines and plants for food packaging, aims at improving the performance (i.e. in terms of products per minute) of the operations of picking and placing of products in a packaging line. In particular, the objective is to develop a new Delta robot, fully realized inside the company, with unique mechanical features in terms of payload capacity with using the latest technologies for industrial automation and control. This research illustrates the development of a novel parallel Delta robot. The kinematic structure known as Delta robot is one of the most important inventions in the industrial machinery sector, mainly used in the packaging industry. The robot specifically developed in CT Pack Company is called CTFLEX. Its development consists of choosing the proper control hardware and creating the programming software to configure new characteristics as mechanically performed; the software has been chosen to be the same used in PLC controllers of the machines, obtaining a robot well integrated into the same line. This research will further demonstrate the uses of this robot, the steps during software development and the optimization of its performance
This experimental Ph.D. research, developed within the CT Pack company, manufacturer of machines and plants for food packaging, aims at improving the performance (i.e. in terms of products per minute) of the operations of picking and placing of products in a packaging line. In particular, the objective is to develop a new Delta robot, fully realized inside the company, with unique mechanical features in terms of payload capacity with using the latest technologies for industrial automation and control. This research illustrates the development of a novel parallel Delta robot. The kinematic structure known as Delta robot is one of the most important inventions in the industrial machinery sector, mainly used in the packaging industry. The robot specifically developed in CT Pack Company is called CTFLEX. Its development consists of choosing the proper control hardware and creating the programming software to configure new characteristics as mechanically performed; the software has been chosen to be the same used in PLC controllers of the machines, obtaining a robot well integrated into the same line. This research will further demonstrate the uses of this robot, the steps during software development and the optimization of its performance

Research on workplace health and safety analyses the integration of work practices with safety, health and wealth of people at work. The aim of occupational safety is to realize a safe and health work environment, eliminating or reducing the risks for workers' safety and health. The objective of this thesis is the study, integration, development and application of innovative approaches and models for decision-making support in the context of occupational safety in industrial plants and logistics. Such methodologies are expected to lead practitioners and decision-makers, in particular safety professionals and companies, in the management of occupational safety. In particular, this research focuses on the integration and application of ergonomics principles to reduce biomechanical overload of manual work, and methodologies and solutions to improve safety of confined space work in industrial plants. The study of biomechanical overload due to manual handling of loads and awkward postures is the object of several researches and publications addressing the ergonomic risk assessment and the ergonomic approach to remove or reduce the risk of manual handling injuries and disorders. Furthermore, when awkward postures are assumed in high-risk workplaces as confined spaces, the overall risk of work is extremely high. Confined space work is a high-risk activity, posing a significant hazard for both workers and rescuers involved in the emergency response. The leading cause of accidents and fatalities in confined spaces is atmospheric condition (Sahli & Armstrong 1992, Harris et al. 2005, Flynn & Susi, 2010, Meeker, Susi & Flynn 2010, Ye 2011, Bellamy 2015). Further common causes are fire, explosion, ignition of flammable contaminants, spontaneous combustion and contact with temperature extremes. Besides, work activities in confined spaces (e.g., welding and maintenance tasks) frequently require awkward and static postures, at high temperatures. This thesis stresses the importance of implementing health and safety interventions at workplace. These interventions have impact not only on enterprise level but also on individual and social levels. Furthermore, protection of human life is a matter of human rights and human life has an invaluable value. In this thesis, the role of occupational safety and safety strategy as means for the improvement of workers and companies’ performances clearly emerges. Two parallel research fields on occupational safety are investigated: ergonomics and confined spaces. Selected data are introduced related to occupational accidents and diseases due to biomechanical overload and work in confined spaces. The literature survey on controls for risk elimination and reduction shows that technology for safety is available. Nevertheless, injuries and accidents still occur, i.e. safety is frequently considered an expensive investment and a compliance obligation. Specifically, administrative and engineering controls for risk elimination and reduction are introduced for each research field. Administrative controls include work procedures and mathematical models for the design of safe work processes. Such control methods reduce the workers' exposure to occupational risk factors. The ergonomic analysis of manual handling activities drives the modelling by multi-objective optimisation problems in the design of administrative controls for the ergonomic risk reduction in different industries. Administrative controls for risks in confined spaces include work procedures, a multi-criteria decision tool and the analysis of the requirements of Internet of Things (IOT) technologies for reducing the risk of confined space work. The introduction of automation to replace manual work and engineering controls for confined space work are analysed for the risk elimination. Results show that the integration of ergonomics and safety principles in the industrial processes plays a leading role in the successful implementation of the overall strategy. Technologies for safe confined space work and technical solutions assisting workers during manual material handling tasks have been the focus of the Solutions Database Project, funded by the Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale of Bologna (AUSL), Italy. The study of such technological and technical solutions lead to the development of the Solutions Database, a free access database available online for researchers and practitioners (http://safetyengineering.din.unibo.it/en/banca-delle-soluzioni). The thesis ends with the recommendation that companies should integrate workplace health and safety principles to human resource management and work organisation. The management of health and safety issues should be considered to be crucial for workplace development, as a lever to increase performance and productivity. Finally, this research aims to support and reinforce the evolution of the concept of safety in industry, from ex post required obligation, to ex ante optimisation strategy.
L'attività di ricerca in materia di salute e sicurezza negli ambienti di lavoro analizza l'integrazione tra le attività lavorative e la sicurezza, la salute e il benessere dei lavoratori. Lo scopo di tale scienza è di realizzare un ambiente di lavoro sano e sicuro, eliminando o riducendo i rischi per la salute e la sicurezza dei lavoratori. L'obiettivo di questa tesi è lo studio, l'integrazione, lo sviluppo e l'applicazione di approcci innovativi e modelli di supporto alle decisioni in merito alla sicurezza occupazionale negli impianti industriali e nella logistica. Tali metodi vogliono essere una guida per chi mette in pratica i principi della sicurezza nei luoghi di lavoro, quali aziende e professionisti della sicurezza, e coloro che sono chiamati a prendere decisioni in merito alla gestione della sicurezza dei lavoratori. In particolare, questa ricerca si focalizza sull'integrazione e l'applicazione dei principi dell'ergonomia per la riduzione del sovraccarico biomeccanico dovuto alle attività manuali, e di metodi e soluzioni per migliorare la sicurezza del lavoro negli ambienti confinati presenti negli impianti industriali. Lo studio del sovraccarico biomeccanico dovuto alla movimentazione manuale dei carichi e alle posture incongrue è l'obiettivo di numerose ricerche e pubblicazioni in merito alla valutazione del rischio ergonomico e all'approccio ergonomico per la rimozione e la riduzione del rischio d'infortuni e malattie professionali legate alla movimentazione manuale dei carichi. Inoltre, quando le posture incongrue sono assunte all'interno di ambienti lavorativi ad alto rischio, quali gli ambienti confinati, il rischio complessivo del lavoro diventa molto elevato. Il lavoro all'interno degli ambienti confinati è un'attività a elevato rischio, che espone sia i lavoratori che i possibili soccorritori coinvolti nella risposta d'emergenza a un elevato pericolo. La causa principale degli infortuni e degli incidenti mortali all'interno degli ambienti confinati è la condizione atmosferica presente nell'ambiente. Altre cause frequenti sono il fuoco, esplosione, presenza di contaminanti infiammabili, combustione spontanea e contatto con temperature elevate. Inoltre, l'attività lavorativa negli ambienti confinati (es., saldatura e manutenzione) richiede spesso posture statiche ed incongrue, mantenute in presenza di elevate temperature. Questa tesi sottolinea l'importanza dell'attuazione tempestiva degli interventi per il miglioramento delle condizioni di salute e sicurezza sul posto di lavoro. Questi interventi hanno un impatto non solo a livello aziendale, ma anche a livello individuale e sociale. Inoltre, la protezione del lavoratore è questione di diritti umani, e la vita umana ha un valore inestimabile. In questa tesi, emerge chiaramente il ruolo della strategia di gestione della sicurezza sul lavoro come mezzo per il miglioramento dei lavoratori e delle prestazioni aziendali. Due ambiti di ricerca in materia di sicurezza sul lavoro sono approfonditi parallelamente: l'ergonomia delle posture, dei movimenti e delle postazioni di lavoro, e le attività negli ambienti confinati. Saranno mostrati dati numerici e casistiche relative agli infortuni e alle malattie dovute al sovraccarico biomeccanico e al lavoro negli ambienti confinati, in ambito industriale. L'analisi della letteratura sui metodi per l'eliminazione e la riduzione del rischio mostra la presenza di numerose tecnologie, ad oggi disponibili, per la sicurezza dei lavoratori rispetto a tali ambiti. Tuttavia, gli infortuni, gli incidenti e le malattie professionali sono ancora presenti, a dimostrazione del fatto che la sicurezza è spesso considerata un costoso investimento e un mero obbligo di conformità alla normativa cogente. In particolare, questo elaborato presenta diverse metodologie di tipo amministrativo e tecnico per l'eliminazione e la riduzione del rischio in ciascun ambito di ricerca indagato. I controlli amministrativi comprendono procedure e modelli matematici per la progettazione dei processi di lavoro in sicurezza. Tali metodi di controllo riducono l'esposizione dei lavoratori ai fattori di rischio. L'analisi ergonomica delle attività di movimentazione manuale guida la modellazione dei problemi di ottimizzazione multi-obiettivo nella progettazione dei controlli amministrativi per la riduzione del rischio ergonomico in diversi settori industriali. I controlli di tipo amministrativo per la riduzione dei rischi in ambienti confinati includono procedure di lavoro, metodologie decisionali multi-criterio e l'analisi dei requisiti dei sistemi basati sulle tecnologie dell'Internet delle cose (IOT) per ridurre il rischio del lavoro negli ambienti confinati. L'introduzione dell'automazione a sostituzione del lavoro manuale e le metodologie tecniche per il controllo del rischio durante il lavoro negli ambienti confinati vengono presentati come strumenti per l'eliminazione del rischio. I risultati mostrano come l'integrazione dei principi dell'ergonomia e della sicurezza nei processi industriali svolga un ruolo di primo piano per il successo dell'attuazione della complessiva strategia aziendale. La tesi termina con la raccomandazione che le aziende dovrebbero integrare i principi di salute e sicurezza sul posto di lavoro per la gestione delle risorse umane con la strategia organizzativa e produttiva aziendale. La gestione dei problemi e dei rischi per la salute e la sicurezza dei propri lavoratori dovrebbe essere considerata come cruciale per lo sviluppo e il miglioramento dell'ambiente di lavoro, nonché un efficace leva per aumentare le prestazioni e la produttività dell'azienda. Infine, questa ricerca sostiene e rafforza l'evoluzione del concetto di sicurezza nel settore industriale, da ex post obbligo di adempimento a una normativa cogente, a ex ante strategia di ottimizzazione.

The projected increase in air traffic density has led to the development of NextGen that is expected to revolutionize the way the NAS is currently functioning. For NextGen to be implemented successfully, it is important to understand the humanautomation relationship within a complex system. Controllers will have to rely on automated tools to successfully manage aircraft in their sector. Increasing human trust in automation can lead to an increase in automation acceptance and its proper use. However, we are not aware of any research studies that have attempted to directly train individuals to trust automation. We report on an attempt to train 8 novice air traffic controllers to trust the automated NextGen tools in a radar internship course. Although the results were not statistically significant, the trend in the data suggests that it may be possible to train trust in automation.

Currently process industry faces a paradoxical situation. On the one hand there is the urgent need to optimise the performance of processes by increasing throughput, decreasing operating costs while increasing the product quality. On the other hand there are only few specialists in industry who are able to develop and apply appropriate control strategies for the increasingly complex processes in the process industry. Generally, these specialists work in research and development departments necessitating a considerable amount of time to develop sophisticated solutions for specific processes. However, in the process industry control design and fine-tuning are mostly done by practitioners more than by specialists, directly at the process and in a minimum of time. Within this commissioning phase the process is assembled and set into operation, often with suboptimally turned controllers. Efforts have been undertaken to support these commissioners doing their tasks, and for single variable processes practically applicable methods have been developed. Nevertheless, for more complex processes the generation of mathematical process models as an appropriate base for control system design still is a major problem in practice. The subject of this work is the development of a structured approach to identification techniques for the analysis of industrial processes that enables industrial users with limited control engineering knowledge to design process models suitable for the design of industrial controllers. This latter aspect has been addressed within the collaborative research project between the University of Glamorgan and the Fachhochschule Hannover, of which the work presented in this thesis is a substantial part. Therefore, an industrially suitable scheme for computer aided control system design (CACSD) has firstly been developed in agreement with industrial users in order to set the frame for the research project. This scheme has been based on simple block-oriented model structures composed from nonlinear static and linear dynamic characteristics. The scheme is simple in use and intuitive to understand and follow. Therefore, it can be directly applied also by inexperienced engineers, who look for quick and efficient solutions as a basis even for nonlinear controller design. Beyond this a standardised identification procedure for nonlinear processes has been elaborated in order to provide process models fitting to the CACSD scheme. This standardised identification procedure has been equipped with two improved algorithms. For the approximation of even multidimensional static characteristics a capable method has been developed necessitating neither apriori information nor user interaction. For the identification of discrete-time linear dynamic models a two-step identification method has been improved by a numerically efficient least squares estimator that allows the parallel estimation of a set of model structures, which is evaluated automatically. For the validation of the proposed approach and the developed methods a prototype identification tool has been programmed, which also lays the ground for the integration of the whole CACSD scheme into a block-oriented simulation environment.

In this thesis, the automation of the long term and cyclic processes by using a programmable control unit is aimed. To achieve this goal, timing relays and various microcontrollers are investigated. PIC microcontroller is chosen to implement the control unit due to its advantages like high speed, Harvard and RISC architecture, low cost and flexibility for programming. Theory of the PIC microcontrollers is studied and a controller unit to be used in the mentioned processes is designed. Some features are added to the device to widen the application fields and consequently a multi-purpose programmable controller is realized. In the device, Microchip PIC16F877 is used as the microcontroller. The code of the controller is written in Assembly Language and is compiled with MPASM. This controller counts the signals coming from internal Timer 555 or external signals and activates ten different outputs in order. The operating times of the outputs can be changed by a keypad and shown in a display. By keeping the number of the used ports of the microcontroller, as few as possible, room for the future improvements and additions is provided.

Orientador: Flávio Vasconcelos da Silva
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T22:32:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Coghi_MarcoAntonio_D.pdf: 5060817 bytes, checksum: d137220a40c940b3e3dec91efe64bde7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013
Resumo: Organizações industriais químicas investem grandes cifras para conectarem informações coletadas em tempo real de seus processos fabris a partir de instrumentos inteligentes, redes de comunicação, controladores de processo, sistemas de controle distribuído, bancos de dados temporais, aplicativos para gestão e acompanhamento da produção e qualidade, ERP, etc. Esse esforço tem sido feito para implantar soluções a problemas pontuais de departamentos. Uma vez pensados de forma isolada das demais necessidades da empresa, tornam-se ilhas de informação. Em plena era do conhecimento, informações pontuais e ilhadas trazem inúmeros malefícios como falta de colaboração de informações interdepartamentais, falta de veracidade para tomada de decisões gerenciais, acompanhamento histórico gerencial para melhoria contínua dos processos de negócio, democratização das informações, conexão com fornecedores e clientes em tempo real. O Plano Diretor de Automação e Informática, objeto desse trabalho, utiliza-se de modelos e metodologias como forma de integração dessas informações rumo à gestão do conhecimento em tempo real e os organiza em 3 domínios: Negócios, Ciclo de Vida dos Ativos e Cadeia de Valor. Propõe colaboração certificada entre fornecedores de matéria prima, processadores (área industrial) e clientes que compram seus produtos finais. Propõe o gerenciamento da performance da organização rumo a seus objetivos e por fim, propõe que a carteira de investimentos seja orientada à melhoria contínua, chegando a Excelência Operacional (OpX). Todas essas propostas partem da utilização de tecnologias tanto de automação como de tecnologias de informática para serem integradas e governadas por um único ponto de vista oriundo do gerenciamento de portfólio da organização industrial. Devido às altas cifras desses investimentos, as soluções tanto de hardware como de software não são adquiridas todas de uma única vez, mas sim dentro de projetos e programas escalonados no tempo de vida da organização industrial. Ao conjunto desses programas e projetos, chamamos de portfólio de investimentos. E para que possam ser pensados de forma integrada em nível de sua automação e informática, o Plano Diretor deve ser trabalhado dentro da gestão do portfólio. Como resultados da aplicação desses modelos e metodologias, conseguiu-se que organizações industriais chegassem mais fácil e rápido a tomada de decisões gerenciais em benefício do Negócio, Cadeia de Valor e Ciclo de Vida de seus ativos de forma colaborativa e promovendo a melhoria contínua de sua operação e gestão através de sistemas integrados em todos os domínios da informação. Como conclusão, aspectos positivos, avanços e progressos para a ciência, ficam aqui registrados um conjunto de conhecimentos e boas práticas que poderão ser aplicados, melhorados e evoluídos pelos profissionais do setor
Abstract: Chemical Industry Companies invest large amounts of funds in order to gather and send real-time information regarding their industrial processes to their Corporative Systems developed by Information Technology departments. This procedure requires smart instruments, communication network, process controllers, distributed control systems, historical data bases, manufacturing execution systems and enterprise resource planning solutions. These efforts are made in order to implement solutions to well-localized departmental issues. Once these are thought as specific needs of the enterprise, they become isolated patches of information. In the Knowledge Era, isolated information may cause several problems, such as bad syncing of interdepartmental information, lack of veracity for the management decisions, low democratization of the information and connection between the suppliers and the clients, and lack of continuous improvement for the inefficient historical database usage. The Automation and Information Master Plan, subject of this work, uses models and methodologies to integrate and manage information in real time. It rearranges information in 3 domains: business, value chain and asset's lifecycle. It proposes certified collaboration between raw-material suppliers, product processors and clients, which consume the final product. It also proposes performance and organization management in order to achieve continuous quality improvement, i.e. establish Operational Excellence (OpX). All these proposals arise from the application of Automation and Information Technologies and are oriented by the Industrial Organization Portfolio's Management only. Due to the investments' expensiveness, the solutions regarding either software or hardware are not accomplished at once, but rather inside projects and gradual processes along the industrial organization's lifetime. This set of projects and gradual processes is named investment's portfolio. In order to accomplish the integration between automation and information, the master plan must be developed inside the portfolio's management. As a result of the application of these models and methodologies, it was possible for the industrial organizations to make faster and easier decisions regarding the wellness of their assets, value chains and assets' lifecycles. In addition, these decisions also provided continuous operational quality improvement by means of management of systems integrated with all domains of information. As a conclusion, positive aspects as well as scientific progresses are here recorded as a set of procedures that should be applied, improved and further developed by professionals of the area
Doutorado
Sistemas de Processos Quimicos e Informatica
Doutor em Engenharia Química

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Customers procure solutions and services to streamline and improve their business functions. For services to be viable to a customer, it is required that the service provide more value to their business than the actual cost of procuring the service. This report aims to understand what the value is that the customers place in the services they require. From this understanding, a framework is produced that drives value in delivering site-based support services. The framework is built on four objectives that will deliver value to the customer. The objectives of a service are as follows: to be customer focused, to have effective resource management, to be proactive in nature and to be sustainable over the life of the service. The framework also defines a set of processes that conforms to, and drives the stated objectives. Although there are many such frameworks in existence, their focus is general in nature. This report will focus specifically on the delivery of site-based support services for automation solutions in a manufacturing industry. Site-based support services are expensive in nature because the solution provider provides dedicated and knowledge specific resources to customers. For this reason, the value expected by a customer is much higher than other forms of support services. This problem is investigated and a framework is produced through research of established Service Management frameworks.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kliente bekom oplossings en dienste om hul besigheidsfunksies te stroomlyn en te verbeter. Vir dienste om aantreklik vir 'n klient te wees, word dit vereis dat die voorsiende diens meer waarde tot hul besigheid toevoeg as wat die koste van die diens is. Hierdie verslag mik om te verstaan wat die waarde is wat kliente heg aan die dienste wat hulle vereis. 'n Raamwerk word gebou wat waarde toevoeg in op-perseel gelewerde dienste. Die raamwerk is gegrond op vier doelwitte wat vir kliente waarde lewer. Die doelwitte van 'n diens is om gefokus op die klient te wees, om hulpbronne effektief te kan hanteer, om proaktief van natuur te wees en om ondersteunbaar oor die lewe van die dienste wees. Die raamwerk beskryf 'n stel prosesse wat by diens doelwitte pas en die doelwitte dryf. Alhoewel daar baie ooreenstemmende raamwerke in bestaan is, is die fokus van die bestaande raamwerke algemeen van natuur. Hierdie verslag ondersoek spesifiek die lewering van op-perseel diens ondersteuning vir geoutomatiseerde oplossings in 'n vervaardigings nywerheid. Op-perseel gelewerde ondersteuningsdienste is duur van natuur omdat die diensverskaffer kliente voorsien van toegewyde, kennisryke hulpbronne. Om hierdie rede, vereis die klient meer waarde van op-perseel gelewerde dienste, as van ander diens forums. Deur navorsing van bekende diens besturings raamwerke is 'n nuwe raamwerk gebou wat fokus op die lewering van op-perseel dienste.

Modern manufacturing organisations face a number of external challenges as the customer-base is more varied, more knowledgeable, and has a broader range of requirements. This has given rise to paradigms such as mass customisation and product personalisation. Internally, businesses must manage multidisciplinary teams that must work together to achieve a common goal despite spanning multiple domains, organisations, and due to improved communication technologies, countries. The motivation for this research is to therefore understand firstly how the multiplicity of stakeholders come together to realise the ever increasing and ever more complex number of product variants that manufacturing systems must now realise. The lack of integration of engineering tools and methods is identified to be one of the barriers to smooth engineering workflows and thus one of the key challenges faced in the current dynamic market. To address this problem, this research builds upon previous works that propose domain ontologies for representing knowledge in a way that is both machine and human readable, facilitating interoperability between engineering software. In addition to this, the research develops a novel Skill model that brings the domain ontologies into a practical, implementable framework that complements existing industrial workflows. The focus of this thesis is the domain of industrial assembly automation systems due to the role this stage of manufacturing plays in realising product variety. Therefore, the proposed ontological models and framework are applied to product assembly scenarios. The key contributions of this work are the consolidation of domain ontologies with a Skill model within the context of assembly systems engineering, development of a broader framework for the ontologies to sit within that complements existing workflows. In addition, the research demonstrates how the framework can be applied to connect assembly process planning activities with machine control logic to identify and rectify inconsistencies as new products are introduced. In summary, the thesis identifies the shortcomings of existing ontological models within the context of manufacturing, develops new models to address those shortcoming, and develops new, useful ways for ontological models to be used to address industrial problems by integrating them with virtual engineering tools.