The key to security
November 1st 2007

The Electronic-Key-System (EKS) from Euchner UK provides a level of monitoring and control to meet safety and security as well as monitoring critical processing operations. It provides secure user identification without the use of passwords, and can be used in harsh industrial environments

The Hirtler company, founded in 1887 and based in Heitersheim, Germany, produces more than 110 million bars of soap and 14,000 tons of soap products every year for major brand names. The soap manufacturing process at Hirtler is highly automated and comprises a large number of separate processes and plant that had previously been controlled and monitored separately. When Hirtler decided to integrate the separate systems in this process into their existing and well established factorywide production control system (Siemens SIMATEC PCS-7), they undertook extensive market analysis before selecting the Electronic-Key-System (EKS) from Euchner.

This was chosen due to the environmental conditions and the flexibility of the system.

This integration has had the advantage of providing access to all process data on each of the control terminals in the individual production areas. As a result of networking the separate plant and server stations, the problem of the management of access to the processes arose.

The requirement was that not all employees on the machines in the different process areas should have complete access to all process data. Due to the networking of the individual server stations, it was important to only give employees in different parts of the plant access rights to the process control system as was necessary for their related part of the process.

The electronic-key-system

EKS comprises two components: an Electronic-Key and the Electronic-Key adapter. The Electronic-Key, in the form of a robust tag, contains a memory chip and an antenna. This is a transponder without a battery that transmits its information inductively, and therefore without contact, to evaluation electronics in the Electronic-Key adapter. At the start of any operation, the Electronic-Key is inserted in the Electronic- Key and above all traceably controlled using EKS. In normal operation, e. g. 'Login' can be controlled straightforwardly by inserting the Electronic-Key and 'Logoff' by removing the Electronic-Key. The memory in the Electronic-Key in general contains a range of important information such as name, department and, very importantly, the varying levels of access rights.

The use of the EKS at Hirtler

A Euchner EKS system was integrated into each of the current six process terminals.

Every user was given a dedicated Electronic-Key on which personal data and the access rights for their individual area of work and responsibility was stored. As there are critical parameters in the process chain, by awarding specific access rights it ensured that only authorised and trained users are allowed to change important process parameters.

The monitoring of all process data, which is in principle possible with the EKS, was however also reduced only to the area in which a specific operator works. In this way not all error messages in the process chain are displayed, but only the malfunctions in the related production segment that are then dealt with by the operator. In addition, all changes are saved in the system ensuring data changes are fully traceable. It is therefore possible to allocate production batches to relevant employees.

Key management can be undertaken directly on-site or on a separate PC workstation to suit the organisation's requirements. At Hirtler the data exchange with the EKS Electronic-Key adapters is performed via clients in the production areas that are connected to the server over Ethernet (fibre optic). The integration of the EKS Electronic-Key data in the logon system already existing on the PCS 7 was undertaken by Siemens. Currently Hirtler has defined 20 different access rights for the EKS Electronic-Key, however, this feature can be expanded at any time to suit future needs.

The advantages of the system

With the integration of the separate systems in soap manufacture into the factory-wide PCS 7 production control system, it was possible for every employee to access and also change all process data on any of the control terminals. In this complex manufacturing process, however, there are critical process parameters that are only allowed to be changed by authorised and trained employees. The restriction of access rights and automatic access control on the individual control terminals was therefore an appropriate solution. With the EKS Electronic-Key-System, a protocol has been integrated with which access to PC-based systems can be securely and traceably controlled. With the assignment of Electronic-Keys, each employee is given individual access rights for specific process parameters. It is therefore no longer necessary to assign passwords as all the access data is saved on the EKS Electronic- Key. If this Key is lost or an employee leaves the organisation, the access provided can be simply and remotely deleted. It is also possible to program a new replacement Electronic-Key. Furthermore, the EKS is suitable for industrial use and the mechanical design allows use in harsh environmental conditions. Due to the high degree of protection (IP 67), the system is resistant to water, alkalis and oils. The electromagnetic compatibility is also designed such that the system can work in any industrial environment.

More articles from Euchner (UK) Limited: