In the age of connectivity, there is no shortage of useful information that engineers can leverage to optimise and improve operations. Everything from the speed of motors to the weather forecast can influence production. However, bringing these data sources together in a secure way is a challenge faced by many engineers. Here, George Walker, managing director of Novotek UK and Ireland, explains how engineers can bridge the gap between local process data and external data sources.

The Internet of Things (IoT) may still be a relatively new concept for many consumers and professional service businesses, but the idea of machine-to-machine communication and connectivity is nothing new for industry. In fact, it’s been more than 50 years since the programmable logic controller (PLC) first became popular among industrial businesses as a means of controlling connected systems.

The principle behind the PLC is quite simple: see, think and do. The controller will ‘see’ what is happening in a process based on the input data from the connected devices and machines. The PLC then processes this input and computes if any adjustments are required and if so, it signals these commands to the field devices. Traditionally, the field devices that could be controlled was limited, but recent developments in sensor technology have made specific components and resources much more measurable.

For example, if a water tank is almost at full capacity in a food processing plant, data from connected sensors can feed that information to a PLC. The PLC then sends the signal for the valve to close once the water volume exceeds a certain threshold, which prevents overflow. This is a simple control loop that sufficiently meets the need of the process.

Unfortunately, even as edge computing and PLC technology has advanced and offered more sophisticated data processing and control at the field-level, many plant engineers continue to setup their devices in this way. In reality, modern edge devices and industrial PCs (IPCs) are capable of providing much greater control, as well as responding to external commands or variables that were previously beyond the scope of control systems.

The outer loop

While the idea of the Industrial IoT (IIoT) is predominately a means of branding modern connectivity, the wider Industry 4.0 movement has brought with it some valuable advancements in edge and PLC technology. Among these advancements is the potential for on-premises automation and control systems to not only connect with local devices in an inner loop, but to draw from external sources: an outer loop.

The outer loop can take several forms, depending on what is most applicable or relevant to a process or operation.

For example, some more digitally mature businesses might have outer loops that feature an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, supply chain management software or a wider manufacturing execution system (MES). These systems will share and receive relevant information or send required adjustments — such as due to raw material intake or low stock — to an edge device, which feeds into the inner loop. This allows industrial businesses to make use of more comprehensive data analysis than can be achieved in local data systems.

Alternatively, an outer loop could draw from data sources that are completely external to a plant’s operations. For example, a wind farm operator could use an outer loop that drew from sources of meteorological data for wind forecasts. This could inform the optimum pitch and yaw of a turbine, controlled by a field device.

Another example, and one that will resonate with many industrial businesses, is energy price. The cost of power from the electrical grid fluctuates throughout the day, which might mean that on-site generation — such as solar panels or heat recovery processes — become more economical during times of peak grid demand. An outer loop can communicate this data efficiently to the relevant systems in a business, and changes can then be enacted that allow the business to reduce energy costs.

Establishing secure connection

Clearly, there is a benefit for industrial businesses to establish both inner and outer loops. However, there is one barrier to deployment that most engineers encounter: hardware limitations.

Traditional PLCs were designed in a rather utilitarian manner to complete control functions effectively and in a straightforward manner. This no-frills approach persists even with modern PLCs — even with today’s technical specifications, most PLCs are not designed in a way that struggles to handle much more than a real-time operating system and some control applications.

Attempting to set up such a PLC to interact with an outer loop would either not work at all or severely hinder performance and risk failure.

Engineers can tackle this problem by introducing a separate gateway device that serves as an intermediary between the outer loop and the inner loop. However, this is a somewhat inelegant solution that requires investment in additional devices, which will require ongoing maintenance and introduce yet another device into already large system networks. Across an entire site, this quickly becomes costly and complicates network topologies.

A better solution is an unconventional one. It is possible to set up a modern automation controller in such a way that it breaks the conventions of PLCs, as long as the device is capable of multi-core processing at pace. From Novotek’s perspective, one of the best modern units that meet this need is Emerson Automation’s CPL410 automation controller.

The CPL410 can split inner and outer loop processing between its multiple processor cores. The inner loop and PLC processes can run from a single core, while another core — or even a group of cores, depending on complexity — can run more sophisticated containerised applications or operating systems. Additional cores can broker between the inner and outer loops, ensuring reliability and security.

A multi-core setup is useful because it allows the PLC processes and gateway to be consolidating into a single unit, without compromising performance capacity or speed. It also means that ageing or obsolete PLCs can be upgraded to a controller such as the CPL410 during any modernisation initiatives, minimising additional capital costs.

Although the idea behind the IoT is not a new one for industrial businesses, the fact that other sectors are embracing the idea means more external data points than ever before are available. With systems in place that can support effective inner and outer loops, industrial businesses can leverage the increased connectivity of external markets and enhance their own operations.

According to a report by Gartner, the worldwide manufacturing industry will spend $561 billion on IT in 2018. Emphasis on digital transformation is driving this spend. However, businesses shouldn’t blindly invest in IT without aligning it to their business goals. Here, George Walker, managing director of industrial automation specialist Novotek,  explains.

Business goals and values are important for decision making. For instance, if a company’s business objectives focus on reducing waste, maintaining sustainability or reducing overheads, its manufacturing processes — and subsequent investment — should be defined with these specific goals in mind.

Consider American brewing company Anheuser-Busch as an example. In its 2025 US sustainability goals document, the business outlines a company-wide commitment to maintaining sustainability in its manufacturing processes. Among several other sustainability schemes, the brewer recycles its spent grain into bioreactors to be broken down by bacteria and turned into fuel. By doing this, the company saves money, reduces its carbon emissions and, vitally, remains in line with its company values and objectives.

But, how can manufacturers use new IT investments to help them achieve business goals? Efforts to reduce waste in production provides a good example of this. Let’s say a manufacturer hopes to increase its profits by reducing avoidable wastages in production. A sensible investment would be a data collection software that would allow the manufacturer to identify the six big losses in its facility — a term used to describe common reasons for productivity losses in manufacturing.

The best way to identify these losses is by using an IoT platform to collate and analyse data from processes across the factory floor. A perfect example is GE Digital’s IoT platform. When companies install an IoT platform to monitor their production, they could make some shocking discoveries. Unexpected wastes, such as breakdowns, faulty setups, idling, misalignment, defects in processes and start-up losses become apparent.

With Novotek, after installing an IoT platform, we carry out an analysis based on the six big losses. This allows you to measure and track all your wastages and understand their causes and effects. We would then be able to help recommend suitable fixes.

In the case of a quality defect, the IoT platform would identify if there were any problems, such as micro stops or changeover. Then, using six-sigma-based approach methods to rework processes to reduce waste could be identified. From this analysis, a detailed long-term IT solution can be formulated based on your company values and goals. There are indications from Gartner that manufacturing spend on IT will grow by a CAGR of three per cent through to 2022. It will be more important than ever to make sure IT investments carry forward fixes inline with your business goals and values. As the emphasis on IT focused fixes continues to grow, it will become vital to form cohesive IT strategies.

The food and beverage manufacturing industry is one of narrow margins, high demand and strict regulatory requirements. As such, it’s easy to understand why many manufacturers are turning to higher levels of automation and digital technologies to meet an ever-growing and ever-changing demand from consumers. And as interest around Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has grown, more senior managers at food businesses are considering digitally transforming operations. 

However, the trouble with concepts such as Industry 4.0 is that they are ambiguous. IIoT, for example, includes everything from automatic process control and improved data collection to advanced data analysis and virtual reality (VR) supported maintenance. There are lots of potential benefits offered by this cornucopia of technologies, but they are often too conceptual for most food manufacturers to truly grasp.  

Instead, we must look at the technologies that can offer tangible value to manufacturers. For many, control systems and process automation are the prime areas for development. In fact, a report published by the Food and Drink Federation found that manufacturing process automation was the second biggest focus area for innovation by food manufacturers, with 73 per cent of manufacturers investing in this area. 

Automation is of particular interest for food manufacturers as it offers a meaningful way to achieve the benefits promised by the IIoT. For example, a fourth-generation HMI/SCADA software can oversee and control certain connected processes. As part of a larger networked automation platform — for example, GE Digital’s Predix — this software could contribute to the effective deployment of a smart predictive maintenance program. 

With such a program, food manufacturers can minimise downtime by having a system in place to monitor equipment health and automate certain maintenance tasks in a proactive, predictive manner. However, this can only happen if a manufacturer has suitable quantities of relevant operational data. This comes back to food plant managers ensuring they take the right first steps in their automation journey. 

The first steps 

For food manufacturers making their first moves into modern automation systems, the first step should always be to identify why managers want to automate. This involves developing what we refer to as a technology adoption profile. 

There are two main profiles: the innovator, who wants to experiment and find new ways of operating and developing better products, and the “price-sensitive purchaser”, who has the main aim of reducing downtime, minimising operating expense and maximising margins by making operations as efficient as possible. This profile influences the types of technology that you should invest in as a first step into process improvement. 

Once a manager determines what they want to achieve, the first port of call should be to ensure a system is in place that can collect and store an effective amount of data from machines, sensors and systems. This is where Historian software proves invaluable.  

For food businesses, Historian software ticks the right boxes for traceability and for process management and improvement, because it stores accurate operation and production data. This data should form the basis of any effective automation strategy, as plant managers can easily identify the key areas that require optimisation or improvement. 

Crucially, Historian systems don’t require substantial changes to an existing system configuration; they simply slot into existing technology infrastructure, connecting easily to a wide range of data collection and reporting tools. Some best-in-class Historian systems, such as GE Digital’s Historian, make integration even easier via fast software installation and integration. 

Historically, the challenge here has been one of price. Currently, Historian software is typically built around a model where manufacturers pay upfront for an amount of tags, irrespective of whether they are actively analysed or even used at all. The result is that medium to large size enterprises are paying high costs for 10,000 tags, when they might only need and use 400. Meanwhile, smaller companies are being priced out. 

To tackle this, Novotek has teamed up with GE Digital to provide Enterprise Historian software using a subscription-based model, making the system affordable to food manufacturers of all sizes. With this model, users can store data is several tags but only pay for the tags that they analyse, which reduces the barrier to entry for digitalisation and allows managers to retroactively analyse collected data. 

This model helps food manufacturers in remaining competitive. Not only does the insight provided by the Historian software allow for greater analysis and improvement of processes, but plant managers can attain this without paying over the odds. From here, food manufacturers can determine how their automation journey progresses — whether it’s down the route of innovation or improved overall equipment effectiveness. 

Every industrial business focuses on uptime as a priority. For manufacturers, this directly relates to productivity and profitability, with any disruption to operations — for example, due to a power failure — being a costly risk. Yet for power utilities companies, uptime is all about securing a continuous supply of power to said manufacturer by ensuring assets are reliably operational. Here, David Evanson, Corporate Vendor Relationship Manager Novotek UK and Ireland, highlights some of the most overlooked factors in automation uptime in power network assets.

The typical power generation and distribution network consists of hundreds of distributed assets, ranging from the generators and motors supporting power generation, to the power poles and infrastructure that distribute that power across long distances. This has been the case for decades, but the number of assets continues to climb as more areas experience greater levels of electrification, adding complexity to the process of managing power networks.

In the years ahead, power networks are only set to become more complex. In 2018, Prithpal Khajuria, business lead and domain expert for power industry at Intel, commented that “there are several new elements coming to the grid, solar panels, added storage, electric vehicles, so the management of the distribution grid is going to become more complex as we go forward.”

The automation layer of a power network is vital in managing this challenge, allowing utilities managers and technicians to remotely monitor assets and easily adjust processes. Integral to this functionality are programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in the field, which already have a complex set of technical requirements that operators must consider when specifying them.

An often overlooked consideration when specifying hardware is futureproofing. For power networks, PLCs might be in operation for over a decade. As such, two other factors become important in selection: environmental conditions and modularity. Some parts of a network are exposed to extended temperature conditions and the PLC must be able to function effectively in this range. Similarly, upgrading PLCs in the future shouldn’t require a complete overhaul of connected automation systems.

From Novotek’s experience providing automation hardware and software to the power industry, part of the reason that operators overlook these considerations is due to the scale of the network. If one in 50 PLCs is failing due to environmental issues, this can at first seem like a nuisance more than a pressing problem. But for larger power generators where networks of 2000 controllers are quite common, this amounts to 40 PLC failures and can severely impede efficient power generation.

Furthermore, when the time comes to modernise and upgrade the PLC or replace it due to a failure, it means ensuring compatibility with the other systems and devices in the automation layer. With some PLCs, operators can find themselves in a situation where only certain models of hardware will communicate effectively, leading to a time-consuming and expensive replacement process.

At Novotek, we recommend choosing open PLCs and automation, which are compatible with the broadest possible range of systems and applications. For example, Emerson’s PACSystems RX3i range of controllers fits this requirement because it is an open controller that can communicate with most modern automation systems. In addition, it also boasts an extended operating temperature that makes it durable in demanding environments and it supports easy migration from outdated controllers, with backwards compatibility for modular kits and built-in programming translation. These factors together make it an ideal option for power network automation.

Although technical capabilities are a core consideration of automation layer devices, futureproofing is equally about environmental and physical factors. They are invaluable to maintain a reliable power generation and distribution network long-term, ensuring uptime for the network and those that rely upon it.

50 years ago, the thought that a plant manager could stay home and be able to have meaningful oversight of operations, while collaborating with other remote colleagues on the details, was unbelievable. If COVID-19 had struck at that time, most factories would have simply closed entirely.

Today, instead, with the right industrial IT solutions, plant management — along with team supervisors, quality leaders, engineers and continuous improvement managers — can work as a team as if they were together, regardless of where they are. A combination of developments in IT and OT have come together to make this possible.

There are now ways to securely deliver existing automation software applications such as SCADA via the web. Likewise, plant data repositories, or Historian software, have had the speed and power of their collection and storage capabilities supplemented with modern, web-based tools for exploring data. This includes ways to quickly add context and description to otherwise technical data points, so there can now be one source of raw truth that is accessible from anywhere, comprehensible by anyone.

Full-fledged production tracking systems or MESs have similarly had rich web-based front ends built, so that the detailed flow of events and activities can be tapped into from anywhere, regardless of how those systems may have had to be tied to on-site automation and sensors

The driving force behind the evolution of plant tech, though, was to enable greater productivity. With information from core operations readily at hand, alongside information from the broader enterprise, leading firms began to accelerate their continuous improvement efforts, undertake deeper collaboration with suppliers and other industrial partners and develop better insights into how to refine products and processes. The fact that their modern systems lent themselves to remote work and collaboration would come to be seen as a bonus aspect to these capabilities.

Despite the ready availability of modern plant IT and automation, and the numerous documented cases of manufacturers realising the benefits of modern systems, many factories remain wedded to paper, spreadsheets and ad-hoc/as-able machine data analysis efforts (often based on manual extraction and collation of data from individual assets).  The implications of this go beyond it being comparatively inconvenient to deal with remote working.

Firms that have incorporated more modern plant solutions already enjoy significant advantages in their cost of production, their operational flexibility and their predictability in relation to meeting demand. The question is whether such current advantages will be further entrenched, or whether we will see a surge of investment from others to take on these capabilities. There is also a question of whether the firms catching up will look to go beyond simply sustaining their operations and towards fine-tuning or even re-shaping them.

Lessons from leading organisations

The next wave of technology adopters can benefit from observing how organisational structures and behaviours have been changed as modernisation has unfolded. New tech has certainly changed the way line-side operators stage, execute and manage production. However, the freer flow of data to different stakeholders has also seen improvement in surrounding business processes such as supply chain coordination and product design.

One of the cultural changes common in leading firms is broad recognition that detailed operational data supports the work of many stakeholders traditionally seen as removed from the production process. This has prompted the formation of cross-functional teams responsible for ongoing learning about the continuing evolution of automation and software.

Tasked with spotting developments that could yield outsize impact, not just sustain incremental gains in capability, cross-functional teams embody the recognition that technology is not only a critical tool to enable existing strategies, but potentially the key to new ones. That behavioural change also means that tech adoption is no longer intimidating or mysterious. With IT, operations, product design, engineering and quality leaders learning together, each group’s perspective and knowledge becomes part of a common understanding of how to understand the next technology wave in the context of the firm’s challenges and opportunities.

If the COVID outbreak showed how rapidly our steady work routines and supply networks can be disrupted, this is the time to see how technology can provide UK plc with increased resilience and a renewed operational vigour. It’s vital that manufacturers adopt the tools that support better insight and collaboration for the impact they can have on productivity, flexibility and even innovation. Modern plant systems should be seen as critical to success all the time, not just as a convenience during a pandemic.