Industrial processes generate thousands of terabytes of data every day, most of which can be calculated and analysed to offer insights on how to improve or optimise operations. More users that are experienced with data collection and analysis often eventually encounter the problem of system scalability: as more data is generated, the idea of using the cloud to store and process data might seem appealing.

It is this challenge that leads operators to mentally pit local data parsing and aggregation in Historian systems against storage and analysis in the cloud. The belief is that the large storage sizes boasted by cloud providers, alongside the appealing concept of off-site data processing without the computational requirements, is better suited for higher volumes of data produced by the evolving edge. The process could therefore be logically streamlined to connect edge devices and systems in such a way that they communicate data directly to the cloud, where it can be stored, processed into usable KPIs and accessed by staff.

Because directly connecting edge systems to the cloud means that raw data is pushed directly to the cloud without significant pre-processing, it means that hundreds of messages are sent every hour. It doesn’t appear to be a problem at first — until the finance department receives the monthly invoice.

Processing raw data in cloud systems is also relatively expensive. Most database technology for time series data in cloud is not optimised for read and write functionality. This means that overall performance suffers as a consequence, with seemingly the only way to alleviate these issues being to increase the capacity of the cloud service.

Both of these issues make the use of Historian systems apparent. This is not to say cloud is bad. It is good for scalability and freeing up local resources from data storage. But as with all things, it must be deployed and set up intelligently.

If Historian systems can aggregate edge data and perform simple calculations to refine that information, it reduces the volume of data sent to the cloud. It still provides engineers on the factory floor the option of viewing granular data, while letting managers and executives access the refined data via the cloud — reducing the cloud collection and processing burden.

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.