Organizations have come to expect that their control systems will operate for many years and often anticipate using the same systems for decades. New improvements in cloud computing coupled with rapid advancement of control system technology has many people wondering if these control system trends will change.
Sean Sims, vice president for Emerson’s DeltaV™ platform, recently spoke with Control Engineering Europe to discuss the coming evolution of control systems. He shared how manufacturers will be impacted by the newest technologies and cloud computing even as the control system remains at the heart of successful operations.
Uptime expectations
Much like the average driver doesn’t want to know how to design, build, or fix a car, many manufacturers don’t want to be responsible for the nuts and bolts of their automation; they want it to just work and be available 24/7/365. However, building, integrating, troubleshooting, and maintaining a control system needs to be done by somebody. Many organizations are partnering with experts to take this work off their hands so they can focus on their core business: production.
Partnering for success
Emerging technologies will be a key element to increased performance as manufacturers face a global marketplace. To ensure that gains from new technology are sustainable, organizations must ensure that they are built on a strong foundation of optimized automation in the plant. Sean explains,
Technology alone is not the answer to more flexible and efficient production.
One easy way to ensure a strong automation foundation is to look to the experts. Partnering with an automation supplier to build a long-term strategy for control system performance is a great place to start.
Very few internal manufacturing organizations have the resources to meet production goals and strategically follow fast-changing technology trends. Indeed, trying to achieve that can leave plants focused on tactical maintenance instead of business goals.
As an expert partner, Emerson spends years building institutional knowledge about its customers’ operations and collaborates with plants to develop long-term, sustainable strategies to derive operational improvement across the lifecycle with platforms they build. Sean explains,
Today we are seeing a trend for companies to invest fewer resources into maintaining automation and instead to ask suppliers to manage everything—from equipment sensors to full control systems and digital twins.
You can learn more about how organizations are partnering with automation experts to drive a more successful future by reading the full article online. To learn more about Emerson’s DeltaV™ distributed control system and advanced control technologies, visit the DeltaV page at Emerson.com.
