Federated Plant Orchestration for Multi-Plant Resource Coordination
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current orchestration systems in industrial automation are inadequate for managing and optimizing IT/OT infrastructure across multiple plants, leading to labor-intensive and error-prone manual handling of global tasks.
Innovation Solution
A federated orchestration system comprising multiple intraplant orchestrators for individual plants and an interplant orchestrator for coordinating across plants, enabling automated configuration, coordination, and management of resources and services at both plant and interplant levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If manual handling is used for global-level orchestration tasks across multiple plants, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but labor intensity increases and error susceptibility rises
Solution Approach 1:
The orchestration system is segmented into two distinct components: intraplant orchestrators that handle local plant-level tasks and an interplant orchestrator that manages global multi-plant tasks. This segmentation allows automation of specific orchestration functions without requiring a complete centralized system, thereby reducing overall system complexity while increasing automation extent for targeted tasks.
2Productivity
If centralized orchestration is implemented across multiple plants, then global optimization and resource coordination improve, but system complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a hierarchical dimension to orchestration by operating at two distinct levels: plant-level (intraplant) and multi-plant level (interplant). This dimensional approach enables global resource optimization across plants without requiring a single complex centralized system, as each level operates with appropriate complexity for its scope.
Solution Approach 2:
The interplant orchestrator serves multiple functions including coordinating resources across plants, optimizing global resource allocation, and managing inter-plant workflows. This multi-functionality allows a single component to deliver global optimization benefits without requiring separate specialized systems for each function, thereby controlling overall system complexity.
3Productivity
If manual orchestration of resources and services across plants is performed, then system simplicity is maintained, but time consumption and operational efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The orchestrators are designed to autonomously perform orchestration tasks including resource allocation, service coordination, and task management without requiring manual intervention. The system self-manages the coordination between plants and within plants, eliminating time-consuming manual operations while maintaining operational efficiency through automated decision-making algorithms.
4Reliability
If manual handling of orchestration tasks is used, then system simplicity is preserved, but error susceptibility and compatibility issues increase
Solution Approach 1:
The automated orchestrators incorporate feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor system state, resource availability, and task progress. This feedback enables the system to detect and correct errors automatically, ensuring high accuracy in orchestration tasks. The feedback loops also allow the system to adapt to changing conditions and maintain reliability without requiring overly complex error-handling procedures.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
In the field of industrial automation, manual handling of orchestration tasks at a global level is labour-intensive while being prone to error and compatibility issues. There is provided a federated orchestration system. The federated orchestration system comprises: a plurality of intraplant orchestrators assigned to respective ones of a plurality of production plants, wherein each intraplant orchestrator is operative to execute one or more intraplant orchestration tasks regarding the respective production plant; and an interplant orchestrator operative to execute one or more interplant orchestration tasks. The interplant orchestrator and the intraplant orchestrators are operative to cooperate to orchestrate resources and services of the plurality of production plants.