Software is playing an ever greater role in industrial production. Ronald Lange (46) has come up with an invention that enables engineers to simultaneously utilize the large number of automation tools in a comprehensive Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) Portal and access the data without any need for conversion. In 2010 Siemens used the industrial software TIA Portal to create the basis for an industrial automation system that makes all automation tools available in a standardized development environment for the first time.

The system architecture for complex facilities was previously marked by a strict separation of various tasks such as control, operation, monitoring, and drive system technology. However, a new generation of software architects has a whole new view of the future. They believe it should be as easy to combine industrial software into a single automation system as it is to create a miniature world out of Lego blocks. Still, the rule of thumb with software especially is that the path to simplicity can be very complex. Lange, who studied computer science at the University of Erlangen, began working at Siemens Automation in Erlangen in 1989 right after he graduated, so he knows the world of automation like the back of his hand.

As a young developer, he worked on refining the Siemens concept of Totally Integrated Automation (TIA), which governs the interplay between the various individual components of automation systems, software tools, and services during the planning and construction stages for industrial facilities, as well as during their operation. “The software tools for the individual automation programs were becoming more and more complex and needed to be carefully integrated into the various automation levels,” Lange explains. As a result, automation technology and industrial software grew closer and closer together but the programming operations became more complicated. It thus became clear to developers at Industrial Automation Systems that the problem could only be solved by a completely new software framework. Work then began on the TIA Portal as a new generation of the TIA organization system.

Hundreds of software developers on three continents spent several years working on this project. Lange and his team were responsible for the system architecture. “That was my biggest professional challenge so far,” he says. Together they came up with clever ways to break down the complex structure into more manageable components. “The important thing is to have a clear definition of what each piece of software does and how the individual programs should be layered to ensure that the system can be effectively controlled,” he explains. On the one hand, the portal provides the foundation for the interaction of the individual software tools; on the other, the team needs to make sure that one faulty program can’t bring down the entire system. Put simply, Lange’s invention for the TIA Portal enables the exchange, processing, and reuse of all of the data of an automation system in various software tools such as applications for design, configuration, and fault diagnosis.

If, for example, an engineer planning a project for a new facility defines the parameters for operating the controller, the same parameters can later be used in project planning for the drive system control or the operation and monitoring equipment. Unlike conventional architectures, the software applications within the TIA Portal utilize the same modules for their respective functions. Data sets can also be archived as so-called libraries that engineers can access as needed when planning the facility. Engineers can switch back and forth between programs when carrying out the project planning for the facility operation and control, and upload proven settings from the library. This saves a lot of time because it eliminates the need for conversions and enables the simple implementation of complex algorithms for various programs.

The structure of the TIA Portal makes it possible to both plan and operate all production processes on all levels. The TIA Portal needs to enable extremely complex applications when automated industrial facilities are designed. Among other things, service technicians who do not regularly work with software can later solve production problems with the help of depictions on the monitor that are clear and easy to follow.

The TIA Portal can also receive external data sets via interfaces. “This means, for example, that data from automotive industry suppliers can be taken in and used for the production process down the line,” Lange explains.

Lange and his team didn’t only have to develop optimal solutions for current requirements; they also had to look to the future. “The portal is designed in a manner that ensures it can be expanded to accommodate new requirements over the next ten to 15 years,” says Lange, who already has 53 inventions under his belt. These have resulted in 106 individual patents and 43 patent families. Lange believes the value of an invention is based solely on whether it makes it possible to develop new products or improve existing ones. “Only in those cases can you say it involves an innovative technology,” he says.

Lange spends his free time with his wife and three school-age children. “That leaves me with only a little time for sports and my occasional guitar playing," he says.