Batch Control

Batch control turns raw inputs (ingredients) into a valuable output (product) by moving them through an ordered set of operations. A big part of batch control is working within constraints like available labor, machine capacity, mechanical design, and quality requirements. 

An easy analogy is baking cookies at home. You have the equipment and flexibility to make almost any kind of cookie, but to be successful, you need a list of ingredients, amounts, and a procedure (normal people call it a recipe). 

The constraints of your kitchen equipment (how much dough your mixer can hold and how many trays can fit in your oven, for example) will determine how many cookies you can make at any given time and how many batches you’ll have to process. 

The same applies to manufacturing — almost all processes have a starting point, a finite amount of processing time, and an ending point, which makes them batch processes. For each procedure, your equipment must manage raw input quantities, temperature, pressure, etc., and perform all steps in the proper sequence. 

Batch control allows you to seamlessly adjust existing recipes and move between different procedures without disrupting the entire manufacturing process or impacting quality — and without the hassle of additional controls programming or the need for extra support.

The S88 standard, also known as ANSI/ISA-88 or Batch Control, is a crucial component in industrial automation. Created by the International Society of Automation (ISA), this standard focuses primarily on the plant floor SCADA layer and provides a structured method for implementing and maintaining batch processes.

ISA-88 acts as an extension of ISA-95, facilitating the transfer and influence of master formulations and recipes from the ERP and MES layers down to the batch control recipes found in ISA-88. As batches are produced, materials used are often tracked and reported back up to MES and ERP layers for inventory control, traceability, and electronic batch reporting.