Energy efficiency is an important strategic goal in production planning and control. Digital factory tools enable an integrated factory production planning and design that includes the optimization of the energy efficiency of production systems. For this, the digital factory tools have to be extended accordingly – the aim is to assess planning alternatives from an energy consumption standpoint, and to identify the potential for energy efficiency improvement.
Between 2010 and 2015, inpro developed features that have been integrated into existing simulation programs; these features enable the preventive calculation and reporting on energy consumption. In order to use in the Siemens-Software „Plant Simulation“ the standardised model library „VDA Automotive Module Library” was enhanced to support energy-efficient planning.
inpro also developed tools for energy data visualisation and analysis in production system operation. With this, a company’s energy management is supported visually, which facilitates the quantitative assessment of the impact of efficiency measures. This helps to verify if and when the company’s efficiency targets have been reached.
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