Planning a revamp? What problems do you anticipate?

Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director of European Automation, discusses the stages of hot cutover and alternative solutions to minimise downtime.

Let me set the scene. As a plant manager, you've set your sights on a full system upgrade. You've broken the news to the rest of the team and you’re pleasantly surprised to see they share your excitement. You might think their happiness is a result of having a brand new system, but in reality it might be the prospect of having a short holiday while the upgrade is completed.

With hot cutover there's no need for a full plant shutdown. Quality assurance machinery can continue to run and the lack of downtime means your customers won't be affected. Hot cutover may sound like the perfect solution, but don't be fooled into thinking it's a simple process.

Hot cutover planning

After making the decision to go for hot cutover upgrades, the first thing to do is plan the logistics.

Cutover logistics should consider the space requirements of the old and new equipment, since both will be in operation as the cutover is performed. Power, communications and other connections must also be part of this planning since operator stations and I/O cabinets may be moved during the process.

Cutover sequence planning looks at the order that units will be converted from the old system to the new. Generally, a back to front order is used, unless factory conditions dictate otherwise. A key consideration is the switchover of PLCs. It's important that time and quality isn't sacrificed as a result of human error, so ensure that operators know which PLCs are in operation.

Safety planning

The logistics of hot cutover isn't the only thing to consider prior to the switch; a safety review should also be conducted. All plant operators should complete the relevant safety training and be provided with the necessary equipment well in advance.

The earlier you recognise any potential risks, the better. By conducting an initial field survey, challenges can be identified and solutions can be engineered. The most successful solutions consider the associated risk, cost and potential schedule changes.

Too much to ask?

If you're unsure whether you have the time and capacity to conduct a full system upgrade, there is another option. Implementing obsolete replacement parts can make your system as good as new. Whilst hot cutover ensures your system stays up and running throughout the upgrade, working hours can be lost on training and shifting machinery. With a vast network of authorised suppliers, European Automation sources and delivers parts anywhere on the planet, in record time, meaning your workforce can continue doing what they do best.

If you are considering an upgrade to tackle energy efficiency standards such as the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) and ISO50001, don’t exclude obsolete industrial automation spares as a solution. Cutting the monthly bills and reducing your carbon footprint doesn't have to mean a costly upgrade. Industries from aerospace to oil and gas are already reaping the efficiency benefits of Eco Obsolete Technology (EOT).

EOT is the name given to products that comply with energy efficiency regulations, even after they become obsolete. Many industries rely on obsolete components to keep them up and running. Today, more and more companies are turning to EOT for their efficiency needs.

Once you have the facts for each option, it's decision time. Either way if you do it right, your workforce won’t be in for a long weekend.

@euautomation #PAuto 

Bar codes on steroids in industry!

European Automation has published an industry report about the potential applications of radio-frequency identification (RFID) in industry. An in-depth analysis of the technology, the report looks at how RFID can be used in sectors including retail, logistics and manufacturing. The report is available for download on European Automation’s website, in the Special Reports section. 

Traditionally, RFID tags have been used in retail and logistics for asset tracking. Nicknamed ‘bar codes on steroids’, RFID tags can be scanned automatically, without needing a direct line of sight to the reader. RFID tags hold basic information about a specific physical object, like an individual product, a palette or shipping container.

European Automation’s industry report suggests that RFID has started being used in more complex applications, including warehouse management and resource planning systems, to help reduce costs and streamline processes.

“Manufacturing and industrial automation are two sectors that haven’t yet become mass market users of RFID technology in production,” explained Darren Halford, group sales manager of European Automation. “The technology that would allow manufacturers to implement RFID systems on their production lines already exists, but until hurdles like standardisation and security are addressed and resolved, widespread adoption of the technology is unlikely to happen outside logistics, stock and warehousing. Unfortunately, this means manufacturers everywhere are missing out.”

European Automation’s industry survey also analyses the role RFID technology could play in the intelligent factory of the future and how it could be related to innovative industry trends, such as Industry 4.0. Although RFID has been around since the Second World War, the technology can be made compatible with existing control systems such as SCADA and DCS, as well as with new generations of equipment, such as big data driven applications. 

This is the first of six industry reports European Automation is planning over the next twelve months. The subsequent ones will focus on energy efficiency and sustainability, collapsing automation architecture, machine-to-machine communication and information security. 

Intelligent Robots, should we be scared?

Mark Proctor of European Automation has written this piece about automation in the smart factory. He highlights industry movement towards greater automation -  technological advances and the Internet of Things (IoT) are making the prospect of "lights out" manufacturing seem closer than ever. He has used the Siemens facility in Amberg as an example. 

In 1942 science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov bestowed upon the world The Three Laws of Robotics in his collection of short stories I, Robot. This was the basis for a reasonably successful film by the same name that you might have seen.

Without the comforting knowledge of the three laws, the idea of sentient machines would undoubtedly keep many of us up all night. Instead however, safe in the knowledge that, thanks to the first law, a robot may not harm a human being, the dawn of the smart factory can be greeted with open arms instead of terrified screams.  

In the 1980s American carmakers feared they might be completely wiped out by cheaper and more efficient Japanese competitors. This led to car manufacturers in Motor City, Detroit, envisioning an illustrious solution to beat their rivals - “lights-out” manufacturing. The vision was of a factory that could ultimately run on its own with minimal human interaction. They would turn the lights out in the factory and leave robots to do all the work unsupervised.

This hasn't quite been the case with the manufacturing industry until fairly recently. Technological advances and the internet of things have resulted in interconnected devices forming a convergence point between the physical and digital world. The more information stored in a system, the better positioned machines are to make smarter and timelier decisions about things normally left to human judgement.

Most factories now use processes such as laser cutting and injection moulding that operate with minimal human interaction. Additive manufacturing machines can be left alone to print day and night once they have been designated a task. And fear not my human brethren, as we all know a robot must obey the orders given to them by human beings - it’s the second law of robotics.

These processes benefit manufacturers by minimizing defects and downtime, therefore boosting efficiency.   

The Siemens (IW 1000/34) Electronic Works facility in Amberg, Germany, is a plant that we would probably fear if we weren't so impressed by it. The 108,000-square-foot high-tech facility is home to an array of smart machines that coordinate everything from the production to the global distribution of the company’s products. 

The custom, built-to-order process involves more than 1.6 billion components for over 50,000 annual product variations, for which Siemens sources about 10,000 materials from 250 suppliers to make the plant’s 950 different products.

Despite the endless variables within this system, a Gartner industry research study conducted in 2010 found that the plant boasts a reliability rate of more than 99 per cent, with only 15 defects in every million. 

You can therefore see the importance of keeping such an efficient automation process up and running. Asimov's third law - a robot must protect its own existence.

However, when this goes wrong and production breaks down, it's comforting to know that European Automation can send key parts such as drives, motors, PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) and HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces) out in as little as nine hours, to quash any robotic uprising.