Integration Objects
Encyclopedia
Integration Objects is a software development firm that was created in 2002. The company is a systems integrator and solutions provider for knowledge management
, automation and plant process management
and decision support applications
.
They develop OPC software products and knowledge management platforms for manufacturers primarily in the oil and gas
, refining and petrochemicals
, chemical
, food and beverage
, steel
and pharmaceutical industries. They also provide consulting services. Integration Objects is a member of the OPC Foundation, the International Society of Automation and MIMOSA.
Integration Objects has also collaborated and partnered with other IT companies such as Invensys
, OSIsoft
, Gensym and ABB for large projects and its clients include ExxonMobil
, Saudi Aramco
and Solvay Chemicals
.
technology follows a set of open standards specifications, created and managed by the OPC Foundation
, to ensure interoperability
between devices and systems in industrial automation and within other enterprise systems.
The origins of OPC are based on Microsoft
's OLE, COM and DCOM technology and today's OPC set of standards allow field systems and other devices, automation and control applications and business applications to communicate acquired real-time and historical data and records to enterprise systems and between production devices from multiple vendors. The standards are evolving and are created or rewritten to account for emerging technologies and trends.
- information silos disconnected from other systems, including business systems.
Enormous amounts of data may be available, but companies often lack the proper infrastructure that would allow them to adequately share data so they can use it to improve process efficiency and profitability. Integration between process control, plant-level and enterprise systems is no longer an option for manufacturing and energy companies if they want to remain competitive.
Convergence of the IT world with automation and process controls greatly helps in this effort by providing economically and technically competitive solutions. However, the sharing of process information within and between networks must be done in a way that aligns with the overall security policies of the enterprise. This is why system integrators must find customized solutions that fit the specific company's needs and goals.
, information
, and knowledge
are embedded in computer systems, documentation, and in the minds of individuals across an organization but accessing it can be both extremely difficult and time-consuming. However, by using intelligent computer platforms to not only capture and integrate this knowledge, but analyze, organize and store it as well, users can monitor and manage operations and performances and effectively make safe and smart decisions rapidly to improve results.
Knowledge management
allows an organization to benefit from the collective knowledge of its written resources and employees' experiences and know-how. Applications of knowledge management systems can be found in many fields. For example, in case of abnormal plant conditions, knowledge management platforms allow an operator to identify the root cause
of the problem and the correct action that should be taken by automatically reviewing the stored and analyzed data found in the system.
Knowledge management can be a strategic asset necessary for an organization to remain competitive.
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
, automation and plant process management
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
and decision support applications
Decision support system
A decision support system is a computer-based information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in...
.
They develop OPC software products and knowledge management platforms for manufacturers primarily in the oil and gas
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
, refining and petrochemicals
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
, chemical
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
, food and beverage
Food and Beverage
F&B is a common abbreviation in the United States and Commonwealth countries, including Hong Kong. F&B is typically the widely accepted abbreviation for "Food and Beverage", which is the sector/industry that specializes in the conceptualization, the making of, and delivery of foods...
, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and pharmaceutical industries. They also provide consulting services. Integration Objects is a member of the OPC Foundation, the International Society of Automation and MIMOSA.
Integration Objects has also collaborated and partnered with other IT companies such as Invensys
Invensys
Invensys plc is a global engineering and information technology company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was formed in 1999 through the merger of BTR plc and Siebe plc. It has offices in more than 50 countries and its products are sold in around 180 countries.Invensys is organised into...
, OSIsoft
OSIsoft
OSIsoft, LLC is a worldwide manufacturer of Application software for real-time data infrastructure solutions, called the PI System. Founded in 1980, OSIsoft, LLC is privately held and headquartered in San Leandro, CA, with operations worldwide....
, Gensym and ABB for large projects and its clients include ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
, Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco , officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia.Saudi Aramco is the world's largest and most valuable privately-held company, with estimates of its value in 2011 to be $7 trillion USD.Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves,...
and Solvay Chemicals
Solvay (company)
Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company with its head office in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1863 by Ernest Solvay to produce sodium carbonate by the solvay process. Since then the company has diversified to two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics...
.
OPC Standards
OPCOLE for process control
OLE for Process Control , which stands for Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control, is the original name for a standards specification developed in 1996 by an industrial automation industry task force...
technology follows a set of open standards specifications, created and managed by the OPC Foundation
OPC Foundation
The Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control Foundation is an industry consortium that creates and maintains standards for open connectivity of industrial automation devices and systems, such as industrial control systems and process control generally...
, to ensure interoperability
Interoperability
Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together . The term is often used in a technical systems engineering sense, or alternatively in a broad sense, taking into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system to...
between devices and systems in industrial automation and within other enterprise systems.
The origins of OPC are based on Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's OLE, COM and DCOM technology and today's OPC set of standards allow field systems and other devices, automation and control applications and business applications to communicate acquired real-time and historical data and records to enterprise systems and between production devices from multiple vendors. The standards are evolving and are created or rewritten to account for emerging technologies and trends.
Relevance of system integration
Manufacturing companies invest large amounts of money in industrial automation infrastructures, but many have yet to realize the full value from their investment as many remain islands of automationIslands of automation
Islands of automation was a popular term used largely during the 1980s to describe how rapidly developing automation systems were at first unable to communicate easily with each other. Industrial communication protocols, network technologies, and system integration helped to improve this situation...
- information silos disconnected from other systems, including business systems.
Enormous amounts of data may be available, but companies often lack the proper infrastructure that would allow them to adequately share data so they can use it to improve process efficiency and profitability. Integration between process control, plant-level and enterprise systems is no longer an option for manufacturing and energy companies if they want to remain competitive.
Convergence of the IT world with automation and process controls greatly helps in this effort by providing economically and technically competitive solutions. However, the sharing of process information within and between networks must be done in a way that aligns with the overall security policies of the enterprise. This is why system integrators must find customized solutions that fit the specific company's needs and goals.
Relevance of knowledge management
Many enterprises across various industries face the same issue - important resources such as dataData (computing)
In computer science, data is information in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from programs. A program is a sequence of instructions that detail a task for the computer to perform...
, information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
, and knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
are embedded in computer systems, documentation, and in the minds of individuals across an organization but accessing it can be both extremely difficult and time-consuming. However, by using intelligent computer platforms to not only capture and integrate this knowledge, but analyze, organize and store it as well, users can monitor and manage operations and performances and effectively make safe and smart decisions rapidly to improve results.
Knowledge management
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
allows an organization to benefit from the collective knowledge of its written resources and employees' experiences and know-how. Applications of knowledge management systems can be found in many fields. For example, in case of abnormal plant conditions, knowledge management platforms allow an operator to identify the root cause
Root cause
A root cause is rarely an initiating cause of a causal chain which leads to an outcome or effect of interest. Commonly, root cause is misused to describe the depth in the causal chain where an intervention could reasonably be implemented to change performance and prevent an undesirable outcome.In...
of the problem and the correct action that should be taken by automatically reviewing the stored and analyzed data found in the system.
Knowledge management can be a strategic asset necessary for an organization to remain competitive.