What features should your Automation Change Management software have?
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An automation change management system (CMS) is essential for managing program changes to prevent downtime, safety hazards, and quality loss. It should include features such as version archiving, user notifications of changes, secured access, and support for non-networked devices, ensuring a comprehensive management of automation systems. Effective CMS implementation requires careful assessment of facility needs and a focus on open standards and modular upgrades.
What features should your Automation Change Management software have?
- 1. of an Automation Change Management System 10 Key Features
- 2. What is an Automation Change Management System (CMS)?
- 3. It is a centralized system that manages changes to program logic. If program changes are not managed correctly and the current device program and configuration are lost, it can result in: ✓ Downtime ✓ Decreased machine performance ✓ Increased safety hazards ✓ Decreased quality
- 4. The selection of the best CMS application to meet a facility’s needs requires a careful assessment of the features provided by a CMS and the plant’s requirements. An effective CMS will provide 10key features
- 5. 1 An archive of prior versions of programs
- 6. Many facilities will set retention parameters to maintain a representative number of prior versions of program files. These parameters will include the number of copies to maintain and a minimum age of a copy to be deleted. The age requirement is very useful when multiple unsuccessful attempts are made to correct a program issue and it is determined that reverting to an older copy of the program would be a better starting point than recent edited versions. 1 An archive of prior versions of programs Customer case study: Nestle Purina Increases Productivity and Reduces Downtime with a CMS
- 7. 2 The ability to detect and notify users of program changes
- 8. Optimal CMS benefit is achieved when users go through the CMS to make all program changes. This ensures a complete history of changes. The CMS should also have the ability to interrogate devices and compare the program running in the device to a reference copy in the CMS. If changes are detected, appropriate identification and notification should occur. 2 The ability to detect and notify users of program changes White paper: Safeguarding Your Plant Automation Systems with a CMS
- 9. 3 Tools for documenting changes and making them visible to users
- 10. As program editor software packages vary in their capability to identify changes, the CMS yields tremendous benefit by providing a consistent, intuitive tool to compare changes between any two versions of a program. This could be between a master copy, prior version or the current version in the processor. 3 Tools for documenting changes and making them visible to users Application Story: Manufacturing Plant for Multinational Pharmaceutical Company Implements a CMS for Configuration Management and Regulatory Compliance
- 11. 4 Secured user and workstation access
- 12. Each user should be authenticated by the CMS. In addition, some facilities have line-of-sight or other restrictions on which workstations can be used to edit certain device programs. This is often utilized when improper program changes could have safety impacts. 4 Secured user and workstation access Cybersecurity: AutoSave Protection and Recovery Solutions
- 13. 5 Features mapped to user permissions
- 14. Users should be assigned to groups with permission profiles that map to the user’s authority within the plant. Careful consideration of these roles during implementation is encouraged. It is also advisable to keep the role structure as simple as possible. 5 Features mapped to user permissions Customer case study: Specialty Manufacturer Minimizes Machine Downtime with Automation Change Management
- 15. 6 Procedures for recovering from hardware failures
- 16. If the device hardware fails a replacement device will need to be obtained and connected to the network. A CMS user should then be able to download the latest copy of the program to the device to resume operation. 6 Procedures for recovering from hardware failures Application story: Automotive Manufacturer Installs a CMS to Prevent Downtime After a PLC Failure
- 17. 7 Open standards and architecture
- 18. The CMS should use standard hardware and software, not proprietary or open-source platforms or tools which can have licensing or security concerns. This would include modern Windows server and client software support as well as a standard SQL database for ease of corporate reporting and integration. 7 Open standards and architecture White paper: Safeguarding Your Plant Automation Systems with a CMS
- 19. 8 Ease of upgrade and enhancement
- 20. As there are frequent updates to the automation software used for plant devices, the CMS should have a modular architecture supporting the ability to easily update and deploy new drivers supporting these updates. 8 Ease of upgrade and enhancement A list of the automation devices supported by MDT AutoSave
- 22. Disconnected devices should be supported by a checkout and check-in procedure, or if provided by the CMS application, non-networked tools can be used to download copies of programs from the central repository to the controls engineer’s laptop for access remotely. It is also helpful if the CMS can compare the program in the device with the one downloaded from the repository, capture user comments regarding program changes, assist in creating new programs in the field, and synchronize all changes back to repository. 9 Non-networked device management Case study: Implementing a Change Management Solution at the Water Corporation of Australia
- 24. For a CMS to be effective in safeguarding a plant, it must support a wide range of devices, not just a few brands of devices, as well as any PC-based application. The CMS should also have customizable and extensible tools for managing all files and data in the plant. 10 Plant-Wide Control Supported Devices: Full list of devices (PLC, robots, SCADA, CNC, etc.) supported by AutoSave
- 25. of an Automation Change Management System 10 Key Features To find out more about what a CMS does, download this whitepaper: Safeguarding Your Plant Automation Systems with Change Management Other resources on automation change management systems: Application stories Customer case studies Videos Product information sheets