Differentiation Engine for Industrial Automation Audit Trails
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Solution Overview
Problem
In industrial automation systems, managing software changes and version control is complex due to continuously evolving design and specification requirements, leading to difficulties in identifying the proper software version and causing confusion and resource wastage.
Innovation Solution
A differentiation engine is employed to provide an object-oriented presentation of an audit trail, allowing users to track and record interactions within industrial control systems, enabling real-time recording and tracking of changes to PLC programs and objects, and facilitating the identification of specific version changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual version checking of software components is performed, then complete version verification is achieved, but time consumption and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
An audit trail intermediary system is introduced between the software components and users. This intermediary automatically records all software interactions, version changes, and modifications in a structured audit trail database, eliminating the need for manual version checking while maintaining complete verification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary recording of all software versions and changes in the audit trail before any verification is needed. By pre-documenting all version information, interactions, and modifications as they occur during normal operation, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming retrospective version checking.
2Loss of information
If detailed tracking of all software interactions is implemented, then complete audit capability is achieved, but system complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of implementing a complex real-time analysis system, the patent creates simplified copies of software interaction data in the audit trail. The system records essential information (version numbers, timestamps, user actions) in a standardized format that is easy to query and analyze, reducing system complexity while maintaining audit completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The audit trail system segments information recording into distinct, manageable components: software component identification, version tracking, user action logging, and timestamp recording. This segmentation allows each component to be implemented and maintained independently, reducing overall system complexity.
3Loss of information
If comprehensive software change tracking is implemented, then full version history is maintained, but ease of identifying specific changes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs visual differentiation in the audit trail interface to highlight specific changes. Different versions, modification types, and status changes are presented with distinct visual indicators, making it easy for users to quickly identify and distinguish specific changes without manually reviewing entire version histories.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds temporal and categorical dimensions to version history presentation. By organizing changes along time axes and categorizing them by type (modification, deletion, addition), the system transforms complex version data into an easily navigable multi-dimensional view that simplifies change identification.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods that facilitate electronic audit recording and tracking of interactions in an industrial control system via employing a differentiation engine that supplies an object-oriented presentation of an audit trail—and further present a view of a desired segment associated with a PLC program (e.g., a particular run of the PLC program), for an object that an audit is requested for. A user (e.g., a customer of the industrial process) can initially identify an object and subsequently view typically all changes to such identified object. Accordingly, a general requirement for checking every version to determine a change to the object is mitigated.