EDITOR’S CHOICE I
nstead, innovation with continuity and seamless evolution are becoming the foundations of long-term operational success. For decades, industrial automation
followed a predictable cycle: install a control system, operate it for years, then replace it at the end of its supported life. That model worked when technology evolved at a gradual pace, with plants able to accommodate major upgrades every decade or two. That is no longer the reality. Today’s industrial sites operate under rising
performance expectations, tighter safety and compliance requirements, greater cyber risk and increasing pressure to integrate digital tools. At the same time, extended shutdowns are rarely viable. In this environment, the most important shift
in automation is not a new feature or faster processor. It is a shift in mindset. Industrial automation must deliver innovation without
CONTINUITY THROUGH CHANGE living systems built over decades. Control and integrated with new equipment, operating standards and regulatory demands. A control system is more than hardware and
software. It contains the accumulated knowledge of operators and engineers over decades of work, such as alarm strategies, tuning decisions, interlocks, workarounds and lessons learned from past incidents. If you replace a system too abruptly, that embedded knowledge can be lost and performance can suffer. Industrial operators increasingly need to
evolve systems without disrupting operations or discarding what still works. ABB refers to this approach as Automation Extended, an open, modular automation architecture that separates core control from digital operations, which delivers cyber-secure, future-ready stability and accelerates time to market. This and replace’ programmes towards seamless evolution and lifecycle extension. We believe that if a system is stable and
safe, age alone is not a reason to remove it. Modern automation architectures enable core control systems to remain stable while digital capabilities evolve independently. This results in continuous improvement without operational disruption. This approach lowers risk by avoiding
unnecessary downtime and focusing investment where it actually improves performance. It also place.
FUNDAMENTALS FIRST In recent years, much attention has focused on digital transformation. Yet many of the most meaningful gains still come from getting automation basics right. A poorly tuned control loop can quietly
increase energy consumption and variability.
STRENGTHENING INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION FOR LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE
By Per Erik Holsten, President of ABB’s Energy Industries division
Industrial automation is entering a new phase. In an era of surging energy demand, rising performance expectations and limited shutdown windows, system modernisation cannot rely on wholesale replacement
situational awareness and increase operational risk.
Adding more software does not solve these
a badly controlled process, but it can amplify a well-controlled one. At ABB we believe that strengthening the
automation foundation is often the fastest route to measurable improvement. Modern automation ecosystems are designed to protect the fundamentals while allowing advanced analytics, optimisation and AI-driven capabilities to be added securely over time. Only then can advanced analytics, optimisation and autonomous functions deliver their full value.
less by standalone technologies and more by integration. Predictive maintenance only works when it is tied into how maintenance is planned and executed. Advanced process control only delivers if it is looked after over time. The same is true for digital twins: they add value when they support real operational change, not when they sit on the sidelines.
STABILITY BEFORE AUTONOMY Higher levels of autonomy are advancing, particularly in hazardous or remote environments. But autonomy is not a switch that
10 MARCH 2026 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
can be turned on overnight. Each step requires stable measurement,
predictable control behaviour and strong cyber resilience. Operators must understand how control. The objective is not to remove people from operations but to reduce variability, improve safety and strengthen consistency. In practice, long-term performance
still comes back to fundamentals. Strong measurement, stable control and disciplined system standards remain the most reliable sources of improvement. Without that foundation, higher-level digital initiatives rarely deliver what they promise. Continuity allows plants to improve without
losing the knowledge and stability they depend on. And as digital and AI capabilities expand, their value will depend on how well they are integrated into everyday operations. Technology only creates impact when it becomes part of how a plant runs. Industrial automation is moving into a new
era. The question is no longer simply how to adopt new tools, but how to strengthen existing systems while steadily improving performance over time.
ABB
www.abb.com/global/en
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