PC-FEB23-PG06.1_Layout 1 06/02/2023 13:25 Page 6
NEWS
DIGITAL PARTNERSHIP BOOSTS PRODUCTION AT WARBURTONS
THE FIVE TOP TRENDS IN AUTOMATION FOR 2023
EO of OMRON’s Industrial Automation Business Unit (IAB) in Europe, Fernando Colás highlights essential automation trends for this year.
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The manufacturing industries will continue to face many challenges and riding them out will involve building resilience and flexibility into business models. At the same time, companies must embrace emerging technologies - sensing, robotics, 5G and artificial intelligence - to help the solve the problems they face as a result of societal challenges.
chneider Electric has announced a multi-year extension to its technological partnership with Warburtons, to improve production at six of its manufacturing sites across the UK and mitigate the rising cost of energy and raw materials.
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Founded in 1876, Warburtons employs nearly 5,500 people across the UK, producing and distributing over 2 million baked goods daily to 18,500 stores across the nation. Against the ongoing energy crisis, Warburtons is focused on optimising its operations to ease pressure and avoid passing costs onto its consumers. Warburtons’ vast business operation is supported by a network of factories, suppliers, and distributors, so it is constantly looking for ways to reduce its environmental footprint and costs.
Using leading analytics technology developed by Schneider Electric and information technology company AVEVA, Warburtons can securely visualise data across all operations in a single information stream. The AVEVA System Platform, supplied by AVEVA Select UK & Ireland, is designed to break down silos and provide a unified, real- time view of the respective facilities. This makes for better system design and maintenance, more agile decision-making, and more efficient, flexible, and profitable manufacturing.
For example, through the live production information and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) data calculated by the system, Warburtons is targeting a 5% increase in yield in its bread-slicing operations. System implementation is being conducted by NeoDyne, a certified Schneider Electric Alliance Integration Partner, as a trusted expert in designing and integrating Schneider Electric’s products and solutions. The 24- month roll-out of the system started in late 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2024. Implementation at Warburtons’ Stockton-on- Tees facility has already been completed, with engineers reporting positive feedback from the site.
Schneider Electric will be responsible for capturing, recording, and reporting on real- time process data, allowing Warburtons to optimise operations, improve quality, and reduce costs across its business.
www.se.com
6 FEBRUARY 2023 | PROCESS & CONTROL
Trend #1 Value for money There is no escaping the fact that inflation will cause the cost of equipment and components to increase in 2023. Therefore, automation providers will need to focus on providing solutions that neutralise these cost increases by generating value for users. Fernando Colás said: “As an example, at OMRON, we always offer a complete and connected solution, not just products. This is encapsulated in OMRON’s innovative- Automation approach - which is how we generate value through our solutions. All our innovation is underpinned by the three ‘i’ pillars: integration (control evolution), intelligence (developing intelligence through ICT) and interaction (human- machine collaboration).”
Trend #2 OpEx rather than CapEx investments
At the same time, many businesses are halting CapEx spending due to the economic climate - inflation is always accompanied by a rise in interest rates, which means it will take longer for projects to yield a return on investment. However, businesses are aware that they still need to invest in automation to stay on top of their game, keep growing and drive efficiencies, which is contributing to a shift towards CapEx investment models. OMRON predicts that we will see this trend gather pace in 2023 and leasing options that ease the capital investment burden will gain popularity for automation projects. To assist companies who are considering investing in collaborative or mobile robots gain a quick and easy overview of return on investment based on actual data, OMRON has launched a ROI calculator with both OpEx and CapEx options, and also offers financing solutions such as leasing options.
Trend #3 Harmonised automation Industrial automation has historically been viewed as a replacement for labour. With collaborative robotics and automation, OMRON has moved towards workers and machines working alongside one another. Colás said: “We believe that this will evolve into harmonised automation, an approach that will help businesses maximise human capabilities through people-oriented automation technologies. Accelerating data-driven operations through digitalisation will be key to this business transformation and people empowerment.”
AI-assisted high-speed control, for example, will help less experienced workers to make better decisions. Building more harmonious and stronger relationships between people, machines and the environment will become the main target in automation, improving productivity whilst reducing carbon footprint.
Trend #4 Adapting to autonomous manufacturing
OMRON predicts that the next few years will see the transition from an ‘optimisation’ society, in which consumption is the main driver and quantity is valued more than quality, to an ‘autonomous’ society, which prioritises quality, sustainability and the development and wellbeing of the individual. This trend will play out in the manufacturing space as we move to ‘autonomous’ manufacturing. A decade ago, China was the factory of the world, mass consumption was the main driver for production and very little consideration was given to raw materials usage and the environment. Today, companies are transitioning away from this mindset towards an approach that prioritises sustainability, the development and wellbeing of the individual, and quality over quantity. Automation solutions will evolve to reflect this trend, helping manufacturers to achieve carbon neutrality, digitalisation and improved quality of life for staff. Trend #5 Insulation against supply chain instability
In 2022, the automation industry was caught out by a number of supply shocks, and has been working hard to insulate against future supply chain disruption. At OMRON, for example, the company has redesigned over 1,000 products to make them universally compatible in terms of components. This has been a huge undertaking but will make it easier to substitute components in the event of shortages. OMRON has built more flexibility into its production processes and adapted the company’s capacity to component scarcity cycles. OMRON has duplicated production lines across the world so that when there are shortages in one region it can produce in another. The net result of these initiatives should be that users of automation are better protected against supply uncertainties going into 2023.
industrial.omron.co.uk
CEO of OMRON Industrial Automation Europe, Fernando Colás
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