INSTANT ACCESS TO SUCCESSOR PRODUCTS VIA ASSET ADMINISTRATION SHELLS

If a product has been in use for an extended period or is already quite old, the chances are that the manufacturer has already developed a successor product. Should a product that is no longer available fail in the field, it can take precious time to find a suitable new product and replacement will be delayed as a result. System availability has never been as important as it is today, and every period of downtime costs operators time, money and patience.

The solution? Digital nameplates (according to IEC 61406) together with asset administration shells. As with new firmware versions, manufacturers can compare instance asset administration shells in the cloud and supplement them with additional information as necessary. Should a successor product become available during the product lifecycle, this information is stored in the asset administration shell.

If a product fails, maintenance staff can simply scan the digital nameplate in the instance asset administration shell to immediately see if a successor product is available. They can request a quotation from the manufacturer and/or a successor product by simply clicking. By linking the original product to the successor product, in addition to the quotation, further application advice can automatically be provided, e.g. if the enclosure dimensions have changed. This solution saves time and money – and significantly reduces system downtime.