OMAC to Showcase Connect-and-Pack Standards at Pack Expo

July 30, 2009
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—The Packaging Workgroup of the Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC) will showcase the cost benefits of Connect-and-Pack standards at the upcoming Pack Expo show and conference Oct. 5-7 in Las Vegas.

The Packaging Workgroup (OPW) will host vendor demos at its booth—c-949 in the Association Pavilion—and a seminar at the Pack Expo conference.

At the booth, B&R Automation, GE Fanuc, Schneider Electric, Wipro and Wonderware will each demonstrate the advantages of using OMAC Connect-and-Pack standards for human machine interface (HMI), manufacturing execution systems (MES), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and control functions.

The Connect-and-Pack standards—PackML and PackTags—were approved in August 2008 as part of the ISA88 standards. They are designed to make packaging operations more effective and competitive by simplifying customization and integration. Cost benefits include operational and equipment reliability, optimized operations through an integrated supply chain, lower engineering and training costs and shorter project cycles, according to OPW.

The ISA88 Technical Report on Machine and Unit States documenting how PackML and PackTags follow the ISA88 standard is available at the ISA standards Web site. Click here for more.

More details about the seminar can be found here. Additional information about the Pack Expo demonstrations and seminar can be found here.