• Rittal India P Limited - EPLAN Division

Eplan Experience - Optimising Engineering Efficiency

Eplan Software & Service has launched at the SPS IPC Drives (November 2014) ‘Eplan Experience’, a new knowledge-driven international programme that aims to optimise engineering efficiency. By making engineering practices more efficient it will lead to specific and clear competitive advantages such as strategic innovation management through a high-performing IT environment; shorter time to market; optimal resource management; and greater international competitiveness.

Eplan Experience is suitable for existing or new customers in all industries in which Eplan is currently active. It is applicable to all companies, activities and locations, and can be implemented and tailored to specific requirements. Eplan Experience is based heavily on feedback from Eplan’s global customers in a variety of industries.

“Eplan Experience will help our customers meet the many challenges in controls engineering they are facing in today’s fast evolving world, such as growing complexity, big data, and new types of connectivity,” says Thomas Michels, head of product management. All these – and other – challenges can be reduced to one common denominator: increased efficiency. This is exactly the objective of Eplan Experience.

“We help companies to do more with the same or fewer resources, to accelerate product development, and free product development resources for other value-added activities,” adds Michels.

Highly modular Eplan Experience is totally integrated with the existing Eplan Platform. Highly modular, it consists of eight Fields of Action – specific areas of operations that a company wishes to optimise and make more efficient.

IT Infrastructure involves integrating a customer’s Eplan software into their IT infrastructure to ensure it is high-performing. It will lead to a problem-free and clear installation and updating process.

Platform Setup allows a customer to make an application-specific programme configuration for an ideal working environment. It will help define and implement plat-form settings in the most optimal way.

Codes & Standards provides guidelines for settings and the use of device and master data. It will enable companies to comply with all the necessary global standards for documentation and production. This includes the new IEC 81346 standard.

Product Structure provides a clear method for structuring machines and systems. This will be through a clear product and technology structure and designation as the basis for the use of automation methods and interdisciplinary-nary collaboration.

Design Methods – Selection and implementation of the most efficient design methods is a key to efficient engineering. Working alongside Eplan experts, customers will be able to analyse, evaluate, define and implement their selected design methods, to reduce engineering efforts and project planning time.

Workflow evaluates and automates design processes step by step, by using a scripting API or an additional specific development. It will reduce errors, integrate data technology in processes, and ensure consistency within engineering.

Process Integration integrates workflows into a customer’s processes. This is achieved by exploiting additional potential and adjacent processes to the construction process (PDM/ERP).

Project Management - To achieve productivity in the shortest possible time, Eplan Experience provides a project plan based on standardised processes.

Initial focus The initial focus of the launch of Eplan Experience is on the two Fields of Action called Codes & Standards and Design Methods.

“One of the key priori-ties for engineering companies is to implement the new IEC 81346 standard in their engineering environment,” explains Michels. “IEC 81346 forms the basis for the structuring of products, machines and plants – covering as many disciplines as possible and with consistent terminology.

We are therefore already offering hands-on training seminars on Codes & Standards and Design Methods to help companies achieve smooth compliance with IEC 81346.”