40 n SCIENTIFIC, MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL May 2026 www.drivesncontrols.com Ensuring reliability by careful design In laboratories, clinics and manufacturing environments, reliability is not an option. It separates quiet productivity from deviations, scrapped batches and delayed diagnoses. Automation delivers value only when it remains repeatable under the constraints of sterility, traceability and validation. Most scientific and regulated automation systems follow a broadly similar structure. At the edge are sensors and actuators. Deterministic controllers are used to sequence interlocks, motion and safety. Supervisory layers collect context for audit, quality assurance and decision-making. Reliability does not come from the schematic alone, but from how these layers interact when something unexpected occurs. Determinism and traceability Time is a key element of reliable automation. Synchronised clocks across controllers, I/O and data systems ensure events are recorded in the same order everywhere. Where possible, events should be timestamped at the source. For processes such as dosing or sealing, this alignment turns investigation from guesswork into evidence-based analysis. Clear system boundaries also improve reliability. Modular skids or cells with defined interfaces limit the impact of change. In regulated environments, smaller validated units make upgrades and maintenance easier to manage without triggering extensive revalidation. In laboratories, robotic sample handling, barcode checks and LIMS (laboratory information management system) integration enforce identity and chain of custody. The aim is consistent preparation, traceable data and clean recovery from interruptions. Pharmaceutical manufacturing relies on recipe-based batch control, process analytical technology and environmental monitoring to protect product quality. The control system coordinates transitions, verifies preconditions and maintains records that withstand regulatory scrutiny. These principles play out differently depending on the domain. Clinical and medical equipment introduce additional safety requirements. Automated checks, interlocks and deterministic operating sequences ensure devices remain within validated performance envelopes, supported by a clear trail of operational evidence. Electrical problems Many apparent automation faults originate in the electrical infrastructure rather than the software. Reliability improves when power is designed and maintained as a first-class subsystem. Segregating clean and noisy loads prevents disturbances from propagating through control circuits. Selective protection ensures a short-circuit on a peripheral device does not collapse the entire low-voltage rail. Where availability is critical, redundancy should be implemented carefully to avoid common-mode failures, not as a checkbox exercise. Short voltage dips are a common cause of disruptions. Brief energy buffering can prevent nuisance resets that corrupt batches, interrupt imaging or invalidate samples. This is particularly important in environments such as cleanrooms or imaging suites where upstream power disturbances are outside the control of the automation system. Thermal conditions also matter. Electronic components age more rapidly at elevated temperatures, so derating for real enclosure conditions and continuous loads is essential. Control cabinets should be laid out to separate heat sources from sensitive measurement and control electronics. Designing for recovery Reliability does not mean preventing every failure. Instead, it means ensuring systems fail safely and recover quickly. Critical process states should be preserved so restart behaviour is deterministic. After a controlled power disturbance, the system should resume operation safely without requiring manual intervention. Alerts should be limited to actionable Reliability is essential for scientific, medical and pharmaceutical applications. As Daryl Sharp, product manager for power reliability at Phoenix Contact, explains, all aspects of the system need to be considered for this this to be achieved. Reliability in scientific, medical and pharmaceutical automation is never the result of a single technology
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=