Plant control systems and the internet

The following is my personal view of the business planning quandary faced by the major automation companies, first expressed in a Comment page published by Technews.co.za in the South African Journal of Instrumentation and Control, SAIC, March 2018 issue:

It is a common saying that the pace of technology change accelerates with time: although possibly as the observers get older, they become set in their ways, and cannot keep up.

This is certainly true, in my experience: I am getting older, set in my ways, and struggle to keep up. However:

It is not only the pace of such changes, but the speed at which the changes are spread across the ‘world market’, that makes new technologies so rapidly applied and, sometimes, profitable. In consumer markets, the effect is most evident, with the spread of mobile phones and mobile computing: possibly this would all not have come to pass without the availability of the Internet fuelling the spread of information. But for automation, and industrial sensors, has the technology change been rapid? I believe it has, and believe it is now accelerating ever faster, taking advantage of the advances made to meet the demands of other users. This has been evident, and mentioned in these columns, in referring to wireless sensors, batteries for self-powered devices, and self-power from solar or vibration or heat energy. There are many more developments that should be included in that list.

The problem for Automation companies

But how are the major sensor and automation companies driving this growth into their businesses using advances in technology: what are they researching? Where are they investing to get a business advantage? I think that their business planners are having a difficult time at the moment.

Around ten years ago, the big new technology coming to the fore was wireless communication from battery powered sensors. The large automation companies, like Emerson and Honeywell, invested heavily into this technology, and there was the inevitable confrontation between two rival systems – WirelessHart and ISA100. The automation marketplace thrives on such confrontations, for example the spat between Foundation Fieldbus and Profibus. It happens in other markets too; think of Blu-Ray and standard DVDs, PAL and NTSC TV systems etc.

Other perceived growth areas

After the wireless investments blossomed, the Internet was looming, and everyone believed they had to take advantage of the data that could be collected, and networked. Certainly Emerson and ABB went heavily into power network control systems, but ABB had major product availability and systems installation capability in the power industry and has made real progress. Emerson eventually sold out of this network power business, but retains the Ovation DCS used for thermal power station control on site.

Automation companies also bought into the long-established, relatively dormant and slow market of condition monitoring systems, by acquiring the companies quoted to be ‘active’ in the field, who had the ‘black art’ knowledge of industrial condition monitoring. Personal experience, back in the ‘70s, has taught me what a hard sell and difficult market even the simpler condition monitors offer, monitoring bearing wear etc, and that hardly suits the major project potential that might be of interest to big contractors. Complex systems, such as those applied to turbines in power stations, did offer potential, but needed real specialist back-up.

Additionally, the people in the business, such as Schaeffler perhaps (once again the product suppliers with the customer base), slowly developed their own bearing monitoring systems, ranging from portable hand-held units to bigger wired/wireless systems – these are the ones that I believe will succeed in this market. An alternative approach adopted was based on wireless technology developments, which needed a central monitoring system, the ultimate goal for the automation guys. Sensors for steam trap monitoring were designed by majors such as Emerson, to expand their plant control systems into condition monitoring for the plant engineers.

Sure enough, after a slower start, steam trap companies such as Anderson (US) and Spirax Sarco (UK) developed their own systems, and had the market entry with the customers using their traps. The opposite approach was adopted by Yokogawa, which is the pioneer of ISA100 industrial wireless systems. They created alliances with people like Bently Nevada, the bearing condition monitoring sensor people, and with Spirax Sarco on steam traps. Maybe this was to be able to reverse sell them the back-up products and technology for wireless systems, or maybe to hope for the potential of a plant monitoring control system supply.

Software systems

Most of the automation majors have alliances with the large software and computing companies, like Cisco and HP. The current approach seems to be to use these alliances to piggy-back a 24/7 plant monitoring system using the Internet, supplied as a service across the world. Again, I believe the companies with the product on the ground, the stuff that needs monitoring, will be the major players. Here it looks like GE, monitoring its own brands of refrigeration compressors, large pumps and gas turbines at power stations and offshore etc. are best placed.

The future

The quandary is where the Internet will help the industrial control systems and sensor suppliers expand their businesses in the future. The answer deduced above is stick to what you know and what you are known for. The irony is that the major with the best potential now is Rockwell Automation, with its systems based around Ethernet communications, interfacing with anything, plus their onsite Ethernet hardware, with control systems already configured to deal with such varied inputs. Maybe this was why Emerson made an abortive take-over offer for Rockwell late last year. The potential has also been seen by Profibus, who are pushing forwards with their Profinet, and where they go, Siemens will always be in the background.

Cybersecurity and Biopharma in Ireland

Cyber-attacks are an inevitable part of modern life, so cyber-security is a major focus for process control and automation systems on plants everywhere, and particularly in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. The ISA in Ireland is organising a one-day conference in Cork in April, to explore the solutions and concerns which uniquely affect control and automation systems used across Ireland today. The conference will also cover automation systems within the manufacturing, transportation and other critical utilities.

ISA Ireland has assembled some of the world leading speakers on this topic including those from some leading Control and Automation suppliers.

SIEMENS – ROCKWELL – EMERSON – YOKOGAWA – ABB

They all agree that the growing threat from cyber-attacks on the control systems running your manufacturing plants and critical infrastructure is not going to go away, and the threats are continually evolving. Such systems that cannot be shut down when under a cyber-attack need extra levels of protection.

This ISA Ireland conference will be held at the Rochestown Park Hotel, in Cork, on 13^th April. It is focused on preventing or mitigating the damage that a cyber-attack will have on your control and automation systems. We will highlight the nature of the threat, how your systems and infrastructure can be better protected, and methods used to minimise attacks on your business. The presentations will give you an understanding of how the control system manufacturers are designing protections into the existing and future control system to reduce these threats, and explain practical steps that can be used to design-in safety measures.

Emerson biopharma investment at NIBRT Dublin

Emerson Automation Solutions is providing automation software and Delta distributed control systems valued at USD 1 million to Ireland’s National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) to help train next-generation workers on the latest technologies designed to optimise pharmaceutical production.

Mike Train, executive president of Emerson Automation Solutions, explained “NIBRT is leading the way in helping Ireland, its universities, and Europe meet the demand for the skilled biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce the industry needs.” This collaboration with NIBRT follows a 2016 NIBRT study of the biopharma manufacturing industry in Ireland that found more than half of respondents have a high degree of difficulty recruiting and developing bioprocess engineers.

The planned Emerson Room at the NIBRT facility will simulate an innovative bioprocessing environment and feature a fully operational DeltaV system to provide real-life training in a safe environment.  Martin Shanahan, CEO of the IDA Ireland, said: “The biopharmaceutical industry is extremely important to Ireland, and is worth over €uro40 billion in annual exports. It is essential that we continue to provide the appropriately skilled workforce capable of operating these state-of-the-art processing plants for many years to come. Emerson’s significant investment will help us support this continuously evolving industry.”

Dominic Carolan of NIBRT; Mike Train of Emerson Automation Solutions; and Martin Shanahan,  of IDA Ireland, at the NIBRT facility in Dublin