• Simatic PCS 7 Plant Automation Accelerator V3.0 plant and automation engineering software closes the gap between plant engineering and the process control system
• More powerful, more open version
• Increased system openness based on GSDML and NE150 standards
• Seamless engineering through the integration of various Simatic components

Siemens has extended its engineering software for planners and automation engineers, Simatic PCS 7 Plant Automation Accelerator 3.0 (PAA), to include new functions for even more flexible and integrated automation engineering. With this latest software version, Simatic PCS 7 automation projects can be configured even more easily and efficiently. With Version 3, the PAA software closes the gap between plant engineering and the process control system. The entire plant structure including measuring point data can be generated easily and synchronized between the systems. Automation engineers are supported in all phases from tender preparation (such as bills of material), automatically generated process control data from electrical engineering in the Siemens Simatic PCS 7 process control system (including controlled mass data engineering), to as-is documentation of the process automation.

For companies in the process industry, smooth and more efficient processes in the engineering workflow for processing plants give a crucial competitive edge. Many internal and external contributors to a project combined with a wide range of data formats and interfaces often lead to transmission errors and system interrupts. The result is not only loss of information, but also the need for manual rework. Version 3.0 of the PAA supports the flexible importing of signal lists and/or measuring point lists, for example. These are frequently exchanged between plant and engineering planners. The time-consuming specification and strict adherence to rigid Excel structures is no longer necessary. This provides greater flexibility during the planning phase and reduces coordination work.

In addition to supporting the standard for the import of device-specific master data (GSD data, which is operated on Profibus), Version 3 of PAA also enables the easy and quick configuration of Profinet-capable devices. For the open exchange of engineering data between CAE system and PCS engineering tools, the latest NE 150 standard is supported. With system-wide, open and flexible data exchange for lists, GSDML and NE150 files, the new version offers a long-term competitive edge.

Use of this system together with the new Simit simulation software Version 10.1 creates an even more seamless image of the digital twin for the process industry. Through virtual commissioning, the created automation project can be checked intensively in terms of function before actual commissioning takes place. This minimizes possible error sources. The integrated engineering with the PAA offers a comprehensive and seamless workflow, providing quick, high-quality automation engineering and documentation of a plant.