3 obstacles that stand between industrial companies and plant automation

Most industrial environments rely on legacy equipment and software platforms that weren’t designed to work with modern plant automation, AI or data—or to handle Industry 4.0 demands.

While some legacy systems may be able to store data, the information is collected in formats that don’t translate to modern platforms. Gaining real-time insight into operations or taking actions to improve production is difficult when existing systems struggle to communicate with new platforms.

As a result of aging equipment and its inability to support predictive maintenance, it’s estimated that manufacturers spend up to $222 billion annually on maintenance-related costs.

While plant challenges differ when it comes to enabling legacy and new equipment to work together, common hurdles arise in nearly every situation.

Recently, Belden was invited to discuss these common challenges with Manufacturing Technology Insights. During that conversation—and in the insights shared below—we explored ways to overcome three common obstacles involved with plant automation. Read on to learn about these practical approaches.

1. Integrating legacy systems with modern operations

Today, in many manufacturing environments, production and maintenance data are still entered and tracked manually. Paper-based maintenance logs are a good example. Instead of using automated systems, operators and technicians make note of inspections, repairs and downtime occurrences on a clipboard or in a spreadsheet. Later, this information might be entered into a central system.

If someone forgets to document an action, or if the documentation is delayed, inaccurate or incomplete, then the data is difficult to analyze and extract value from. For example, recurring equipment failures and early warning signs of necessary repairs will be much harder to detect without automated tracking and centralized data storage for production and maintenance.

Before legacy systems can integrate with modern equipment to support strategies like condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and automated work orders, data collection must be aligned, consistent and automated.

Automating data collection also eliminates “trapped data”: information stored across different systems and in various formats. When data is “trapped,” it’s difficult to access, share and use. By automating data collection and integration, siloed information becomes available and usable to everyone.

2. Bringing different systems and protocols together

It’s not unusual for different operational philosophies, design standards, architecture, protocols, manufacturers and generations of equipment to function together within the same plant. But to make sure new and existing equipment work concurrently, interoperability and compatibility are key. This means finding ways to work around their differences to ensure optimal performance.

There are ways to integrate systems and protocols so legacy equipment works alongside new equipment to exchange and use data securely, regardless of manufacturer, protocol or generation.

A good example of this integration in action is when Belden helped a gas company optimize the performance of its diverse systems, which relied on different communications protocols. In this scenario, information is polled using Modbus and sent to a Rockwell Automation processor using EtherNet/IP. A ProSoft gateway transfers data between devices. By developing a way to poll the engines in gas compression stations to evaluate condition and check for changes, we enabled operators to proactively manage maintenance and reduce downtime.

3. Planning digital transformation at the right pace

Rising business costs, demand fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and ongoing economic uncertainty put the squeeze on capital budgets. With all these financial pressures, funding isn’t always readily available to support all automation and digital transformation initiatives at once.

Solutions that won’t force your organization to “go all in” on new technology, automation or digital transformation is the best way to overcome this hurdle. Your digital transformation partner should help you develop a phased, step-by-step roadmap tailored to your budget and timeline.

Migration scenarios like these are key to carrying out digital transformation practically and cost effectively. They help you prepare for the future while minimizing risk and giving your organization time to adapt. They also maximize previous technology and equipment investments by allowing you to extend the life of existing machines and preserve capital.

Drive plant automation without a complete upgrade

To stay competitive and reduce costs, industrial plants must embrace real-time, data-driven decision-making. But you don’t have to completely upgrade or replace all your plant equipment to accelerate digital transformation.

Belden can help you connect to what’s possible with the equipment and systems you have, making your data accessible and usable anytime and anywhere to guide business operations and strategies. With our complete connection solutions, you can put your operational data to work for you, tapping into analytics to adapt quickly, mitigate risk and optimize workflows as operations become more complex.

Learn how we help with digital transformation.

Related links:

• Enabling Affordable Digital Transformation in Plant Operations
• How and Why We Digitized Our Own Production Operations
• Material Handling Automation: Don’t Forget About Cybersecurity