SMART FACTORIES
Reaping the rewards of a smart factory is definitely not limited to
greenfield sites. With the right approach, all manufacturing operations – regardless of the age of the equipment in use – can benefit from developing a digital capability, providing they take the right steps
have the necessary intelligence within their lines. They may know basic information about how many items they produce, but generally, there is no deterministic information such as how productive the line is or how long it is idle or stops for. Deterministic information allows manufacturers to build a level of intelligence that can tell them what to change, or what needs to be added to a machine.
ADDING A DATA ACQUISITION LAYER
If the baseline analysis identifies insufficient system capability to run the required sensors and capture the data they produce, then a secondary data collection layer, using technologies such as Omron’s Sysmac Automation Platform and field level deterministic sensors, can be added. This can work independently to the machine and not interfere with it in any way. This is a particular advantage with legacy equipment as if something were to go wrong, the original equipment may not be able to be replaced. Depending on the machine’s scale, this data collection layer could be a system
controller with fieldbus communication that allows I/O to be deployed remotely. Alternatively, a central PLC could be used to collect information. In addition, some or all of this investment
could be redeployed further along the journey, when the project moves from identifying problems to managing them. Manufacturers can benefit from secondary architecture to which other sensors or automation technology can be added in the future. The results from the baseline assessment
could be overwhelming. But remember that an entire site does not need to be tackled in one project. It is far more practical to compartmentalise and prioritise the elements which will give the greatest return. In addition, there are several schemes and
organisations to help businesses on their journey towards a smart factory, such as the High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centres.
DE-RISKING INS-APR20-LABFACILITY.qxp_Layout 1 17/04/2020 15:23 Page 1
Capital investment in digitalisation can be de- risked by building in flexibility and agility to
enable the solution to adapt to future changes within the business. Modern automation systems have this capability built in, and if they are intelligently employed, users can be sure that they will be able to fulfil future requirements. Furthermore, organisations such as Omron
are developing different methods of de-risking projects and improving the accessibility of technology, such as through a servitisation approach or alternative financial models. From this perspective, the customer is charged for equipment based on an outcome or performance based metric, or via a financial leasing solution, as an alternative to a one-off capital investment.
Omron Electronics
www.industrial.omron.co.uk
OCTOBER 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL 49
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