PROCESS AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS
DCS MODERNISATION WITHOUT DISRUPTION
Today’s technologies are enabling industrial producers to reinforce the efficiency and sustainability of their process control systems. Stefan Basenach, Senior Vice President, Automation Technology at ABB, introduces ABB’s Automation Extended that brings the benefits of digitalisation to new and existing DCS deployments without jeopardising production continuity
A
BB’s recently announced Automation Extended program marks a decisive move by the company to modernise its industrial customers’ mission-critical Distributed Control
Systems. In an uncertain world where producers’ profitability is under threat, the program harnesses open standards and cutting-edge tech to help plant owners control costs, while embracing valuable new opportunities.
Global competition, rising energy costs, tighter
regulations and the drive to decarbonise are imposing relentless pressure on industrial margins. Plant operators are meanwhile grappling with other challenges, from cyber-attacks to a scarcity of suitably skilled engineering talent. To address these realities, producers
are targeting efficiency gains through the modernisation of their control platforms. In response to these market priorities, automation vendors are bringing the benefits of digitalisation to a new generation of agile Distributed Control Systems. Equally, automation suppliers are exploring how today’s tech can extend the capabilities and working life of their customers’ existing DCS investments. AI and Machine Learning are providing powerful insights into the continual flow of process and maintenance data between field devices and their controllers. Subtle patterns buried in real-time and historic information can signal degradation in a process or subsystem, prompting timely intervention before a sensor or other connected device fails. This proactive approach can minimise
costly unscheduled downtime, while controlling workers’ exposure to the potential risks of sudden equipment failure.
Deeper digitalisation also lets plant owners play to the talents of today’s process engineers, whose abilities differ significantly from their predecessors. Through the increasing automation of routine monitoring and maintenance tasks, organisations can free staff to focus their time and attention on higher-level business objectives including process optimisation, safety and sustainability. While the benefits of digital transformation
are well understood, producers’ enthusiasm to embrace new tech is often tempered by pragmatic considerations. Halting production for major upgrades can cost tens of thousands of pounds per hour in lost revenues. Plant owners may also balk at introducing fresh vulnerabilities into their mission-critical systems, as well as incurring additional costs in staff training to accommodate new workflows. As a result, the pace of adopting innovation has slowed for producers whose prime concern is preserving production continuity. This approach is not without its drawbacks. With many DCS installations in their second or third decade of operation, aging componentry means progressive deterioration in measurement accuracy, system stability and potentially cybersecurity risk. Unified efforts to develop open technology
standards are accelerating IT/OT convergence in today’s automation ecosystem. Initiatives including NAMUR Open Architecture, NAMUR Modular Automation and Open Process Automation
Forum collectively define a secure, interoperable architecture for industrial process platforms. Similarly, OPC UA leverages standard data models to simplify information exchange between devices, controllers and applications without being tied to specific platforms or communication protocols. ABB’s commitment to managing control obsolescence focuses on providing a smooth, incremental DCS modernisation pathway. Central to this strategy is eliminating disruptive rip-and-replace upgrades. Here open standards simplify the task of upgrading I/O, controllers and operator workstations from multiple vendors in line with plant owners’ budgets and priorities. This standards-led approach also simplifies the introduction of new digital capabilities to address changing business needs – including condition-based monitoring, asset optimisation and intelligent assistance – without jeopardising production or staff safety.
This philosophy of ‘innovation with continuity’ is illustrated by ABB’s Automation Extended that lets DCS users modernise and future-proof new and existing control solutions at a measured pace. The limitations of fixed, inflexible DCS designs are overcome by a modular, software-oriented architecture that emphasises reconfigurability, security and scalability. Under this model, new capabilities can be introduced via a self-contained digital layer, securely connected to a central core that oversees real-time process control functions. Crucially, the functional separation of these parallel domains allows innovation to flourish without endangering the continuity of day-to- day operations. Equally, the smooth integration of new services via this digital hyper automation space relaxes traditional staff workloads, allowing teams to focus on broader business goals with less time spent on routine monitoring and management tasks.
Cautious pragmatism often deters industrial
producers from maximising the potential of today’s digital technologies. Through standards-driven initiatives such as ABB’s Automation Extended, industrial organisations can stay in control of their digital journey, profiting from latest tech trends and future-proofing their DCS investments with minimised exposure to risk in a competitive and fast-changing world.
ABB
www.abb.com/global/en/areas/ automation
JULY/AUGUST 2026 | PROCESS & CONTROL ENGINEERING 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
