By the end of 1995, 28 technologies will be operating the Demonstration Factory, grouped into five discrete part processing Technology Centers: advanced cleaning, coatings removal, organic finishing, inorganic finishing, and process water discharge reuse and recycle. Figure I shows the organic finishing line. The focus of these technologies is the reduction or elimination of air, solid, and aqueous discharges of ozone depleting chemicals, volatile organic compounds, or heavy metals.

In support of the demonstrations, a Factory Data Integration System (FDIS) for automated acquisition of data is under continuing development. The demonstrations require testing and analysis of new processes against existing customer baselines to determine if the new technology is applicable to a specific manufacturer's need. Such analyses require the collection of laboratory data for product quality, health risk assessment, life cycle analysis, mass and energy balances, and statistical analysis. The data are critical for determining the viability of a new technology as a replacement for a manufacturer's existing process. Near real-time data collection is necessary for proper operation of the processes to insure that the equipment and finished products are the proper quality. The FDIS, which has been demonstrated and will soon be on-line, collects laboratory and process data during the demonstrations, while reducing the redundant and often error-causing manual input of information. The FDIS provides an effective and practical means to collect, manage, use, and present factory operations and laboratory data within the demonstration factory and is capable of:

• Automating process and laboratory equipment control.
• Automating information collection and processing.
• Presenting information to the operator and engineers for post-processing analysis
• Storing and accessing raw process and laboratory data and statistical summaries.
• Generating reports automatically.

Use of Data - Data collected by the FDIS are used for two purposes: to perform post-demonstration material balances and life-cycle analyses including cost, quality, environmental and rate comparisons with existing processes for manufacturers, and to continuously improve the processes in the factory. Manufacturers will use the factory data to support their changeovers to the newer environmentally-conscious manufacturing processes. FDIS data help the manufacturer determine if the alternative technology produces quality products at an acceptable cost. The data also intended to identify other benefits of the technology, including environmental.

Degree of Difficulty - The FDIS collects, integrates, and manages data generated during the technology demonstrations, including laboratory and factory operations data (such as process operating parameters, material tracking, and equipment maintenance information). The data must be available in near real time to laboratory personnel and process operators on the shop floor so that corrections can be made as soon as possible if anomalies occur in the process, as well as at the engineers' desktops.

Ease of Use - NDCEE's policy of continuous improvement dictates that the system must be easy to maintain, modify, and upgrade. The intricacies of the FDIS's communication with all of the laboratory equipment, other process equipment, and the company's computer network are transparent to the operators and users of the FDIS.

Accurate Data Collection - The FDIS maintains a consistent and accurate flow of data with the lab equipment or process, regardless of the operator's level of experience. The fact that several demonstrations are conducted concurrently complicates this need. Personnel must be able to quickly adapt to working on new processes or lab equipment, or relearn ones they have used in the past. Because state-of-the-art technologies may be more technologically complex than traditional processes, the FDIS will be capable of instructing the user how to operate and understand each process, including how to perform test and analysis procedures.

The FDIS consists of five integral functional areas: laboratory management/data collection, shop floor management, process management/data collection, data storage and archiving, and data retrieval andanalysis. The laboratory management/data collection function manages and collects data retrieved from laboratory test equipment and saves test data, calibration information, and final test results. This function also maintains quality assurance data, raw data, analyst check point data records, and tracks the lab's internal operations activities as part of an overall laboratory quality control system.

The shop floor management function, or Automated Shop Floor Management System (ASFMS), presents material inventories, part locations, operating schedules, and maintenance schedules to management and equipment operators, sets up processes, and provides near real time status reports of demonstrations in progress.

The process management/data collection function tracks a part through the process, gathers data for analysts, monitors alarms, downloads defined setpoint and setpoint limits to the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), and timestamps data being collected. This function is performed through the operator interface and data acquisition (DAQ) computer that collects information via a PLC or directly from the process sensors through a personal computer (PC) data collection card for sensing requirements outside of the PLC capabilities. The operator interface communicates with the PLC, ASFMS, and process data database through a graphical environment.

The data storage and archiving function organizes and stores data from all manufacturing processes, laboratory equipment and sensors. This function provides short-term storage via a Novell fileserver and long-term storage via compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM). The data repository consists of the following databases: process data, laboratory data, and ASFMS data. Utility data will be collected but is not currently.

At the second level, the laboratory equipment operator uses a graphical based operator interface to control test equipment and visualize data. On-line multimedia-based tools assist the operator through the test and function as a refresher tutorial to minimize errors. If the results are acceptable, the computer-to-network interface facilitates all subsequent data archiving and management functions (level 3) until the data are retrieved from the database for further analysis (level 4). All of this takes place automatically and is totally transparent to the equipment operator.

Oracle provides the majority of database services to the FDIS. The Oracle server software operates as a network loadable module (NLM) on the Novell network server. Currently, the FDIS uses these tools within Oracle to perform database maintenance and monitoring, enable two or more computers running Oracle to exchange database data through a network, checks programmers instructions for correctness, submits the instructions to Oracle, and then modifies or reformats Oracle's responses based on orders set in place.

User interface components and the database interfaces are primarily implemented using the Omnis application development system. A combination of the client-server capabilities of Oracle and the proprietary data management capabilities of Omnis ensures effective implementation of the database interfaces. Omnis has strong and consistent cross-platform support for both PC and Macintosh computers, potent data management capabilities, effective graphical user interface development tools, and general industry acceptance.

A test plan is formulated before each new technology is demonstrated in the factory to develop a logical approach to address the needs of the NDCEE's clients. Typical questions asked bv clients include: Can our operators run the equipment? Will our customers be satisfied with the new product? Will I get the quality I need at the right cost? The test plan uses techniques such as designed experiments to get the answers these questions in the shortest possible time, at the lowest cost to the client while ensuring that the test results meet statistical criteria for reliability.

Tests performed in the demonstration factory also use manufacturer's own parts, materials and operators if the client so chooses. The test plan specifies what laboratory testing and quality control analyses to perform during the demonstration and the data and results to collect and record from these tests. Laboratory personnel use the FDIS to retrieve the test plan and extract specific equipment operating and setup requirements for each piece of lab test equipment.

The FDIS is particularly useful as it makes it possible to display setup parameters derived from the cookbook, calibration parameters, and SOPs. On-line SOPs allow LabVIEW to prompt the user for multiple test executions and calibration points derived from the cookbook. SOPs will be available to guide the laboratory technician in raw sample preparation, initial instrument calibration, in-process instrument calibration verification, operator decision points for calibration checks, sample analysis, acceptable ranges for given samples, and method specific quality control.

Quality Assurance Testing Laboratory

Conclusion

The NDCEE's data collection and process control team continuously reviews commercially available products to ensure the FDIS remains state-of-the-art. Intelligent control, voice recognition, and wireless network communications are some of the technologies the NDCEE is considering integrating into the FDIS. Increasing the FDIS's capabilities with the integration of state-of-the-art software packages and technologies is integral to the successful collection of laboratory data and continuous improvement of the FDIS.