Conveyor visualization system and method

An industrial system visualization method, comprising:

• during a design phase, executing computer code via a processor to represent a plurality of machine components of an industrial system and at least one conveyor section between the machine components, displaying representations of the machine components and the conveyor section on a display device based upon the executed code, receiving data representative of utilization of the conveyor section, displaying graphical indicia of the utilization based upon the received data, and storing a configuration file based upon the displayed representations and indicia;
• and
• during a commissioning phase, programming an industrial control or monitoring component based upon the stored file.

An industrial system visualization method, comprising:

• receiving a stored file created during a design phase comprising computer code representing a plurality of machine components of an industrial system and at least one conveyor section between the machine components;
• and
• during a commissioning phase, programming an industrial control or monitoring component based upon the stored file to display representations of the machine components and the conveyor section on a display device based upon the computer code, to receive data representative of utilization of the conveyor section, and to display graphical indicia of the utilization based upon the received data.