SMART FACTORIES
HOW ANY FACTORY CAN BE SMART
Dan Rossek, regional marketing manager at Omron, says an incremental approach to digitalisation is the way forward...
W
hile the view conjured up by thoughts of smart factories is often one of pristine green field sites with
the latest technologies in place, the reality for many manufacturers is very different. Legacy equipment and unconnected lines are more often the norm, along with a wide variety of technologies and differing levels of capability. However, the benefits of digitalisation can be enjoyed by any manufacturer. When we refer to digitalisation capability,
we are really talking about the ability to interface data at line level – typically from machine level devices – and escalate it into the IT world. Many manufacturing sites will have a
disparate range of legacy machines that perform their function well and in many cases, efficiently, but do not offer any digitalisation capability. In a 2013 report, The All-Party Parliamentary
Manufacturing Group suggested that this was a result of the British culture of taking pride in making things last as long as possible, contrary to the culture of some other countries that take pride in having the latest equipment. The challenge this creates today is that
when these legacy lines were commissioned, the benefits of collecting data at line level or integrating it with the IT level wasn't understood, and many systems were designed with basic logic functions, using simple analogue I/O.
48 OCTOBER 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL This creates challenges for manufacturers
looking to start their smart factory journey. In addition, some sectors, like food and beverage, can find it hard to justify the investment in technology, where short-term contracts make long-term investment a risk. Plus, most manufacturers are reluctant to disrupt a machine or line if it is working well. Of course, the most straightforward solution
is to retrofit a new control system architecture and place the automation technologies onto it; i.e. maintain a machine’s mechanical structure and update everything else around it. While this is the preferred option for some manufacturers, many factories are not able to pause a line for the time needed to undertake a retrofit. For this reason, an incremental approach
may be more suitable; looking at explicit parts of a machine and establishing what can be achieved with individual improvements.
DEFINING DIGITALISATION OBJECTIVES
The starting point of any digitalisation journey is to define a clear set of objectives. Becoming digitalised is not an objective in itself. Generally, the desire to develop digitalisation capabilities will be triggered by challenges or opportunities which have already been identified. For example, is the business operating over its capacity? Are production issues causing missed deadlines? Are parts not being delivered on time? Are there quality issues? Having a clear, prioritised list of objectives is
vitally important to understand what needs to be solved before trying to solve it. This will often involve identifying where the greatest return on investment (ROI) can be made, as this is where the quickest digitalisation wins can be found. This might mean replacing repetitive manual tasks with automated capabilities such as robotics, enabling device condition monitoring for prescriptive maintenance function or understanding the causes of quality issues and updating processes and procedures to eliminate them.
UNDERSTANDING THE BASELINE
Next, it is important to analyse the legacy platform by undertaking a technology assessment of plant and capital equipment to establish a baseline of what can already be achieved. In simple terms, this means looking at whether there is any intelligence within the equipment and its wider systems, whether it is connected, and whether it has IT/OT capabilities which can escalate data into the IT domain. This stage should identify the types of machines, automation architecture and capabilities that are present to provide a holistic view of the status of the plant. Many SMEs have relatively simple sites, so this need not be an overly complex process. A technology assessment may identify that
the field level data needed to understand any identified challenges may not be available within the existing systems. Typically, manufacturers with legacy equipment do not
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