The Challenge
IGS was keen to future-proof the integration of its industrial-scale vertical farms into clients’ existing infrastructure. The vertical farms are usually part of a larger overall process, and making the integration as simple as possible is a key factor for their clients. To make the challenge even more complex, clients may well have a variety of existing systems and vendor-based solutions that they require the vertical farm to integrate with. So how did IGS achieve its aims?
Our Approach
IGS approached NeoDyne to ask for expert advice. NeoDyne are a system integrator that has over 25 years of experience of integrating disparate systems. As they have an agnostic approach to the different vendors solutions, NeoDyne are able to offer impartial advice that delivers the best solution for the particular challenge each customer faces. NeoDyne worked closely with the IGS software engineering team, ensuring they could fully understand the requirements and propose a flexible approach to digital manufacturing and the integration of IGS systems into their customers’ overall process. Considerations included:
- Ease of integrating IGS technology with existing customer infrastructure
- Alignment of IGS technology with industry-standard models, such as ISA-95
- Robust & scalable interfaces for 3rd-party solutions
- Exposing relevant contextualised process data to drive future process improvements on the customer site, such as energy monitoring
- Lower cost for both the initial installation on the customer site, and for future integrations with 3rd-party software
- Faster delivery of future digital transformation initiatives
- Greater access to data across the customer enterprise by providing a real-time, single source of truth
Based on these considerations, NeoDyne advised that the IGS solution be designed to be Unified Namespace-ready. Benefits of this approach over a traditional Industry 3.0 approach include allowing IGS process data to be made visible across a lightweight, scalable infrastructure such as MQTT. As a result, this data can be automatically discoverable to other customer applications interested in it.
About IGS
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is a world-leading industrial-scale vertical farming technology provider with over a decade of industry experience.
IGS partners with growers to address and overcome real-world challenges with science-backed, proven technology, enabling them to produce consistent, high-quality plants all year round.
What is the Unified Namespace?
The Unified Namespace (UNS) is a data architecture for industrial manufacturing systems, which acts as a centralised repository of all data collected from sensors, IIoT devices, machines, robotic solutions and other system components, as well as all its context. The UNS is a single source of truth for all data and information in your business. It’s a place where the current state of the business exists.
Customer Requirements
- Future-proof the IGS solution
- Integration with industry standards
- Use of non-proprietary, non-vendor-specific communication protocols to allow integration with as many other IT/OT systems as possible
- Minimise bespoke interfaces and data flows, reducing the cost and timescales for the IGS solution to be integrated on customer sites
- The solution must be scalable
- The solution must be reliable
- Flexible application design that could be easily updated to match a changing process or factory
Challenges
- IGS’s customers have varying systems across IT/OT layers of their enterprise
- The installation of an IGS solution on a customer site should not require any bespoke engineering from the IGS development team
- Minimise any development work for IGS customers
- Eliminate bespoke interfaces and solutions, reducing the complexity of any future system updates
- IGS’ expertise is in the development of their vertical farming solution, while NeoDyne’s is in integrating OEM solutions with industrial IT/OT systems
Outcome
- The IGS solution is open, scalable, and aligns to industry standards
- This simplifies its integration with their clients’ existing systems
- The engagement between IGS and NeoDyne was completed within the allocated timeframe and budget.
- IGS and the business’ customers have confidence that their solution is future-proofed and aligns with Industry 4.0 principles
Other Case Studies
See other System Integration projects below to see our solutions in action
Huhtamaki
Design, configuration and delivery of a multi-lingual, paperless shop floor MES.
MSD Brinny
Design, supply and commission of a new Clean Utilities and Process Control System for a brownfield contract manufacturing plant.
