PWE October 2021

Insight – Talking Industry #7 Review October 2021 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 13 UK process industry has historically been very conservative, but to improve their competitiveness, and to increase their diagnostic coverage, a large amount of data is being driven from the top down, much of it focussing around asset management. We are engaging with asset managers, people we have never engaged with before.” Legacy machines A related area is how to incorporate legacy systems into a digitalisation manufacturing factory. While it is uncommon to build a new factory from scratch, many plants incorporate machines which are 40 years old or more. “Mostly, companies are making do with the machines they already have,” said Michael Lefeuvre (Red Lion) who specialises in linking legacy machines to digital networks. “When you go into the field, many manufacturers are not at the digital level. It’s a good target, but still a dream! “Creating the first digitalisation stone often involves connecting old machines. Such a machine may be central to the whole operation, because it does something unique and cannot be replaced. The primary objective is how to collect very basic data, when such a machine does not have any communication technology on board, not even a PLC. It is also important to consider cybersecurity, because legacy machines, even though they may be connected into the network, are not capable of handling their own security. “The biggest challenge of connecting such machines into a digital network is not the technology, because collecting and processing basic input and output signals is relatively straightforward. It is more the strategic issue of data sharing. Often, senior executives they don’t think about the data needs of the shop floor, to assist with how well or badly production is going and how that might be used. Again, a well-designed roadmap will help with planning.” “IT systems are often designed for the management or top-level levels in the company, with nothing for the shop floor,” continues Michael Lefeuvre. “But while senior management needs to have a vision of where they want to go, operators also need to be able to use data on the shop floor to optimise production. But for that you need to make a connection between the shop floor and the data, and there is often no such connection. It’s always bottom up.” Readers can listen to the discussion as it evolved by accessing the on-demand version by visiting the Talking Industry website: https://talkingindustry.org/ Speakers Professor Sam Turner - Chief Technology Officer, High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult Keith Atkinson - Automation Sales Engineer - Weidmuller UK, Bill Killick - Technical Key Account Manager – HMS industrial Networks Michael LeFeuvre - Regional Product Manager - Red Lion Controls Sam Thiara - UK Sales Director - MCS Control Systems