The first step was to add connectivity to industrial processes so that they could communicate flexibly and effectively with each other and with the company's management and monitoring systems. BonÀrea needed a comprehensive standard for cybersecurity and industrial networking that would connect the IT infrastructure for the supermarket platform for orders with the OT infrastructure of the production processes. As it was to be used both in existing plants and in the new production center in Épila, Zaragoza province, the scalability of the system was a decisive factor. "The new plants have to be operational this year and cover an area of 170 hectares and 13 halls. The main project objective is for them to be fully digitalized straight away and to be integrated into the network with the existing plants and services," says Sergio Otero, Digitalization Specialist at Siemens Digital Industries Spain.

Connectivity as the basis for the project

Once the project objectives had been defined, Siemens set to work together with its solution partner otpoint. They integrated the existing network of more than 65,000 devices into the new network that will be created in Épila. It has a similar number of devices. Albert Vendrell, Head of New Facilities at bonÀrea Agrupa, says: "The solution proposed by Siemens was extremely positive: we were able to increase our productivity by 10%, significantly reduce downtime and improve management." With the completion of the Épila project, bonÀrea will be able to carry out all maintenance operations immediately and from any point on the internal or external network.

"Siemens has used the full range of its technology to ensure optimal, efficient and secure integration of the IT and OT elements," says Eugenio Moreno, Head of Digital Connectivity Solutions at Siemens Digital Industries Spain. "Siemens has developed the first comprehensive digital standard for connectivity and 'Cybersecurity for Industry'. One of its key features is that it can be fully integrated with the rest of the systems that bonÀrea has been operating for decades," he adds.

Industrial Ethernet switches Scalance XC-200 can be used to manage the entire industrial communication network. Scalance SC-600 industrial security appliances are used as the core element of network segmentation. They protect access to the various production systems and improve the performance of the automation system. The Scalance XR-500 high-performance switches can be used to create a so-called network backbone with 10 Gbit/s, which can cope with the high demands of OT networks. At the same time, they offer a high degree of flexibility when it comes to expanding the network infrastructure.

Remote access and network management combined

The digital infrastructure was used to implement a range of bonÀrea network services that are available to every user profile. The solution with Sinema Remote Connect for secure and simple remote access management is particularly impressive. Using VPN technology, all remote access is encrypted and authenticated. Engineers can also connect to their engineering tools remotely from anywhere. The Sinec NMS network management platform provides a real-time overview of the entire network based on the FCAPS model. Thanks to a clear overview of the infrastructure, all assets can be monitored and network components such as switches, firewalls and industrial routers can be diagnosed and communication settings configured on them.

With the help of Siemens, bonÀrea is building a digital infrastructure that can be used to maintain all systems: Factories, company filling stations and even a water treatment plant. "In the latter, we have integrated technology from Siemens for remote control of the treatment process," explains Vendrell. It is based on Simatic controllers that are connected via Scalance SC-600.

However, the close collaboration between Siemens and bonÀrea does not end here. Marc Mases, Head of Digitalization at bonÀrea Agrupa, explains: "Linking our entire IT/OT network paves the way for the implementation of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, the digital twin and edge computing." One of the goals of digitalization at bonÀrea is to digitalize the previously manual picking of 76,000 daily orders. The biggest advantage is that an industrial network standard has been developed for all production facilities, which includes remote communication, mobile applications, OT and IT connectivity, network administration and cybersecurity.