Drives & Controls March 2023

n TALKING INDUSTRY Smart steps to an AI future? Digitalisation and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) represent the next level of industrial automation. The latest Talking IndustryWebinar focused on these topics and industrial communications. Andy Pye, who chaired the session, summarises some of the discussions. Talking Industry 42 March 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com V ia a poll, we asked our audience what stage they were at in the digitalisation process. Only 10% judge themselves to be at an advanced level, while the remaining 90% were almost evenly divided between“Not sure where to start”,“At the start”and“Midway on the journey”. Kicking off the discussion, Jean-Paul Verheylewegen highlighted the maxim of starting with small pilot projects, while having a vision of the overall benefits of digitalising the whole enterprise. Not so much “start small”, as“start smart”. He explained that there are two parts to an IIoT project. The first is to collect data from IoT devices, process it and then push it to a higher system, such as an MES. The second part is to generate value out of the data and disseminate it. Two different skillsets are needed: people with an IT knowledge may have difficulties with data acquisition from the field; people with an OT background may have difficulties with cloud systems and data manipulation, which require more specific IT competencies. Chris Barlow focused on how to manage data flow, from acquisition to usage and storage. He acknowledged the importance of getting people on board for the journey, citing potential conflicts over budgets and even personnel themselves. He explained the differences by comparing a Scada system, used for real-time visualisation and the control of a manufacturing system, with an MES. The art is about bridging the business and control systems. Luke Walsh interjected that before you can choose between a holistic approach or a piecemeal approach to digitalisation, you need to convert the workforce from being (possibly) digital sceptics towards being digital champions – in his view, you cannot do this overnight, but need a slow measured approach. Alejandra Matamoros said that at the MTC, the emphasis is to take that holistic view, to discover and understand the long- term vision. That doesn’t come by only meeting senior management, but by involving all key stakeholders. Only then can you start delivering the project in smaller chunks. So start small, but work to a technology roadmap that takes you through the whole transformation journey. Unusually, the formal part of the discussion concluded with a demonstration of the Brainbox smart energy monitoring system, which uses IIoT connections to capture, aggregate and analyse plant-wide energy data. This small digitalisation step delivers an immediate return to the bottom line. Finally, the panel members gave their views on the potential of AI in manufacturing. Luke Walsh jumped in to say that, in his view, digitalisation must come first. “AI has gone from being peddled as snake oil to actually having a legitimate place within the environment of manufacturing,” he said. “And its legitimacy is only just starting to show. AI depends on digital data and can manipulate digital things exceptionally well.” Chris Barlow added that predictive maintenance is an area which benefits greatly from elements of machine learning. Alejandra Matamoros expressed reservations about the safety and ethical aspects associated with using AI algorithms. “We need to evolve warranty policies that will actually define the concerns and the boundaries of how far AI can actually be taken,” she suggested. Jean-Paul Verheylewegen agreed that AI works on data and regardless of the potential capabilities of AI in the future, companies need to transform digitally first. As shown in the poll, most are still at the digitising phase. n Now available as a podcast If you missed this Talking IndustryWebinar, there are various ways to catch up. It available as an on-demand video on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqy0ruqx6co ) and now also as a podcast via https://talkingindustry.podbean.com The online panel On the panel for thisWebinar were: • Jean-Paul Verheylewegen , Global Sales Manager, MB Connect Line (an IT security company acquired by Red Lion Controls in 2022) • Chris Barlow , Sales & Marketing Director, Novotek • Alejandra Matamoros , Technology Manager, Manufacturing Technology Centre • LukeWalsh , Managing Director, Brainboxes • Andy Pye , Webinar Chair and Consultant Editor, DFA Media