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EPLAN
The challenge of data quality and data depth Eplan Data Portal: The path to an ideal device data set
Digital device data is the key element for efficient engineering. One of the biggest challenges for this is both the data quality and the depth of said data. The Eplan Data Portal is rising to this challenge: since the beginning of the year, the portal is being updated on a monthly basis. Users now also have a rating function for reviewing device data, thereby offering manufacturers practice-based feedback from the market. Furthermore, since the Hannover Messe, Lab Versions of the Eplan Data Portal allow users to try out the latest features.
Monheim, Germany– the Eplan Data Portal is the central platform for digital device data in the area of automation engineering. Currently, more than 230 manufacturers offer more than 800,000 data sets as direct downloads – if you include integrated configurators and the respective variants, it’s actually more than 2 million data sets. Since the beginning of the year, the data is being updated on a monthly basis so that users and manufacturers alike can better benefit from the platform and to help ensure the data’s high quality. These updates include not only the addition of new manufacturers, but also the completion of existing manufacturing data.
User ratings as a quality indicator
Another step towards continuous quality improvement is the new rating function. As common on other portals like Amazon, it allows users to rate the offered content by awarding stars to them. The goal is to qualify the product’s digital data, not the product itself. The users thereby provide helpful feedback that not only helps other users but also gives manufacturers valuable indicators from the market to continue developing their data. The users themselves thus can have an influence on the data quality.
Sorting options for improved usability
Based on the rating function, users can directly sort search results in the portal using two additional options: filtering device data according to the highest-rated products or, alternatively, according to the amount of downloads the device data set has generated so far. This way, users know exactly which items have the best quality regarding their device data, or which items are used most often within their product group. Naturally, the added value of this depends on how intensively engineers use the rating function. That is why their evaluations are highly welcome.
An outlook into the future
The convenient usability – paired with the right contents – is a key asset for future cloud applications. A Lab Version of the new Eplan Data Portal, in which users can test the new interface, has been available since April via all common browsers. Whether they try out the new search functions or want to explore the look and feel of the new dashboard: the Lab Version offers a preview of all of these features. It will be continually expanded and new version releases will regularly be available to test. Eplan is hereby providing its users a peek behind the scenes in the development process.
Additional information
More than 80 product catalogues with more than 50,000 data sets have been updated since the start of 2018. Moreover, fifteen renowned manufacturers – including Hitachi Industrial Systems with automatic circuit breakers, Yaskawa with frequency converters, and IMI with more than one hundred cylinders – have been newly integrated into the portal.
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Rating.jpg: Users can give stars to rate the device data found in the portal and provide an orientation for other users.
