Anyone who wants to ensure reliable production today,
, should no longer just consider whether the hardware and software
are up to date. No, everything must also be made cyber secure
, especially if you want to use IoT tools for higher productivity and more efficient maintenance.
Tarkett therefore seized the opportunity of retrofitting its production line for
rolled PVC products in Lentzweiler to draw up
a future-proof blueprint for the rest of its
production. ATS proved to be the ideal
multidisciplinary expert.
Chances are you have already come into contact with Tarkett products. Literally. Because Tarkett
can call itself a world leader ininnovative flooringandsports surface solutionsin multiple market segments: from residential applications to
healthcare, from shops to offices. The sustainable
flooring offered by Tarkett consists ofrolls, modular
tiles, linoleum, carpet, wood, and combinations of vinyl and
carpet.It stands out thanks to the use
of digital printing technology, which offers customers a wide range of possibilities
to unleash their creativity.
More efficient through greater automation
unit in Lentzweiler and an R&D center in Wiltz. Quentin
Lecomte is one of the 350 employees working at
in Lentzweiler. "I work in Tarkett's design office,
a team of seven engineers, each with their own specialties,
who strive to get the best possible return from the production lines
." In order to keep up with market demand
, Tarkett's capacity will need to grow in the coming years
. And preferably within the existing walls. "Through more
extensive automation, we want to increase the efficiency and
reliability of production.We are
convinced that automation is the way to compete
with low-wage countries."
Migration for greater reliability and control
Tarkett has a dozen production lines,
which are very diverse. Project engineer Christophe Martin:
"The production site itself dates back to the 1990s.
But there are also older lines here that we inherited from
other Tarkett sites and rebuilt here
. The most recent line is
less than five years old." The current
laminate line has a separate PLC from
different manufacturers for each processing step
(checking base material, laminating, texturing,
applying PU coating, sorting, cutting, and
packaging). "Because it was no longer possible
to obtain spare parts, we wantedto migrate those
seven PLCs to two Siemens S7-
1500 Fail Safe CPUs (PLCs with integrated
safety functions). This was to increase the reliability of
production and have more control
over the line," says Lecomte.
Long-term partners
The approach taken for this line was to form part of the blueprint
for modernizing the other production lines
. The Tarkett team therefore wanted to build a long-term partnership
.
"We have been working with ATS Brussels (BU
Distribution) for a long time for the purchase of electrical
components. To our great satisfaction. That is why
we have broadened this collaboration: ATS has been appointed
for theelectrical modernization
and automation. In a second phase,
we rolled out a separate OT network
for the production servers together with ATS.
“ATS carried out most of the
preparation in its own
workshop. As a result,
the impact on our
production was limited to those
three weeks.”
Quentin Lecomte, Tarkett
Tight timing
As with most retrofits,time wasthe biggest challenge. Martin: "We
shut down the line for three weeks this summer. The entire conversion had to be completed within
that period." Tarkett's engineering department drew up the plans on which ATS
could base its work. Project manager Thibau Lavent: "It was a textbook collaboration. Their
knowledge of the machines and processes here made the work much easier."
Little impact
In total, two PLCs and 30 remote IO islands were replaced. A real feat, considering the timing! Lecomte: "ATS carried out most of the preparatory work in its own workshop. This meant that the impact on our production was limited to just three weeks." The second challenge:migration to TIA Portal. "It was still
about S5 technology, with old, poorly structured code. You have to understand all the addresses
well in order to convert the program. The preparation by Jonas (Logghe,
application engineer at ATS) was decisive," explains Lavent.
Much better steering
In the end, ATS spent a week and a half on the conversion, a week on testing
, and a week on the functional start-up. "A huge step forward," says Lecomte about the
result. "Nowthat everything is integrated and virtualized, we can manage the line much more
effectively and create a more resilient situation. It's now just a matter of fine-tuning the
details so that the line gains speed and efficiency without the risk of it
coming to a standstill."
OT meets IT
In addition, ATS designeda new architecture for the OT infrastructurefor Tarkett. Martin: "We are OT professionals through and through, not IT professionals. Nevertheless, we recognize that the link between the two is becoming crucial. Access to IoT tools adds value in analyzing, optimizing, and maintaining a production line. ATS has provided us with a future-proof solution thanks to its knowledge of OT and IT."
Virtualize
In accordance with NIS2 regulations, ATS has replaced the physical servers with two virtualized servers with high availability to limit risks and ensure redundancy. Access to the line can now only be obtained via the PLC, for which security has been tightened. Furthermore, an upgrade to WinCC V8.1 was carried out, the network was segmented based on VLAN technology, and the server room was improved.
(Siemens Scalance switches, NAS Synology with Veeam, monitoring with Sinec NMS).
What now?
"We now want to roll this approach out to all production lines once we have completed it. Only then will we tackle the next line. I'm already itching to start the next project with ATS:the same mentality, the same efficiency, despite the language barrier," Lecomte concludes with a wink.
“A textbook example of collaboration. Tarkett's knowledge of
their machines and processes has simplified the work here at
.”
Thibaut Lavent, A.T.S. nv
