A Look into the Future of Process Automation Systems
Published on : Sunday 05-03-2023
Johan Björklund explains how ABB envisions the process automation systems of the future and the benefits they will deliver.
Recent years have seen a host of rapidly developing trends that have posed immense challenges for industrial companies. As well as the pandemic and the attendant supply chain issues and rising labour shortages, there have been geopolitical disputes and the ever present to minimise the impact of industrial activities on the environment. All these events are causing process industry companies to re-examine how they operate.
For over 40 years, Distributed Control Systems (DCS) have been helping to ensure that industrial processes are operated reliably, efficiently, and safely. Over time, DCS technology has changed to allow it to adapt to new demands and requirements. This process has now taken a significant step with the advent of digitalisation. The ‘Digital DCS’ offers many exciting ways to allow maximum productivity, collaboration, and operator engagement, all while ensuring the DCS’ core functions continue to be delivered. As Net Zero becomes more a part of companies’ goals, digitalisation will help future Distributed Control Systems make a bigger contribution to sustainability.
Adapting for the future
If DCS are to be flexible enough to meet changing future requirements, they need to be able to evolve as their users’ needs change. This ability to change will allow them to add new functions that will result in their becoming more open, interoperable, and adaptable.
Distributed Control Systems are too costly and too critical to many processes to be replaced at each new development or with changing user needs, so the future DCS must be able to accommodate new user needs and technological opportunities while continuing to operate in a safe, secure, and reliable manner.
Taking a modular approach to developing the DCS will bring benefits by allowing elements of the process to be changed or upgraded without the need to replace the entire system.
This flexibility will be achieved by a radical change to the architecture of the DCS, one in which the control system core functions are separated from the less critical features. This will produce an extended automation environment, promoting and aiding greater collaboration between people, systems, and equipment.
This evolution is being enabled by the creation of the NAMUR open architecture (NOA) model, which expands the functions of the DCS while leaving the core control system untouched.The NOA model adds a layer to the DCS that extends the functionality of a control system by allowing extra functions, such as asset and device management, optimisation, and planning, without the time, risks or potential disruption required for changes or upgrades. It does this by providing an open and secure environment for integrating IT components from the field up to enterprise level.
One example is helping companies to achieve the benefits of IIoT-enabled sensors using edge and Cloud computing technology. This allows companies to collect and analyse huge quantities of data across numerous parameters, while allowing them to share it between individuals, departments, or among different sites.
With non-core functions moved to a connected-yet-separate digital environment, users’ systemscan adapt more easily as needs change. A more agile, modular environment allows new and innovative offerings to be taken on board more quickly. In parallel, existing applications can be moved to a virtualised, digitally native environment, allowing the use of more advanced cybersecurity tools for enhanced protection.
Transforming project execution
Minimising the time and resources needed to deploy DCS solutions will allow operators to meet the needs to get new production units online faster. One way of achieving this is to separate automation hardware and software engineering at the set-up stage. This is enabled by ABB’s Adaptive Execution approach, which allows multiple teams to conduct project tasks in parallel. These teams can work from different locations or even in a virtualised cloud-based engineering environment.
Allowing all work to be carried out at the same time can cut project delivery times by anywhere between 10 and 40 percent.
Time can also be saved using pre-made and pre-tested automation software modules. These are already set up with all the elements required for the application, including the interfaces needed to communicate with both other modules and the overall system.
It’s clear that future DCS solutions will allow companies to use their engineering teams more effectively by removing many of the time-consuming tasks associated with project execution.
Optimising performance with data analytics
Only around 20 percent or less of the data generated by an average plant is typically used. Clearly, companies not using this data are missing a significant opportunity to optimise plant performance. Many companies have found it difficult to collect and analyse data and turn it into information that can inform actions by the relevant people.
These issues are being addressed by digital technologies. An example is AI-enabled analytics. Combined with edge computing, this can analyse operational data at the point of production, allowing more effective management of assets as well as predictive maintenance to improve plant or process performance.
Using digital technologies to analyse data can also aid regulatory compliance. With continuous emissions data analytics hosted on the cloud, numerous emissions monitoring instruments can be assessed to ensure they are providing the expected performance. Checking this performance in real-time against established models will help companies demonstrate compliance with environmental regulations. Emissions monitoring equipment must demonstrate availability to comply with regulations, so analysing operational data will help operators identify which systems might be in danger of going offline and then take action to prevent it.
Making new business models possible
Separating hardware and software in the digital DCS can help avoid the lengthy and costly exercise of specifying and purchasing hardware based DCS systems. By contrast, the new digital ecosystem allows a totally different approach, ensuring changes can be made more quickly and at less cost.
New models such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) have become available, cutting the time required to purchase and implement a DCS. In addition, companies gain added freedom to choose applications and services they need through self-service free trials and pay-as-you-use, while also discontinuing using them when no longer needed.
All these approaches help boost innovation and flexibility, helping users find new ways to adapt their DCS as business challenges develop and evolve over the years.
Towards the autonomous control system
One of the major roles of automation systems is to help operators operate and maintain industrial plants in the face of continued labor shortages and the challenges of workers leaving the industry and taking knowledge with them.
Although today’s control systems already automate a growing variety of low-level processes, humans are still needed for the more complex and unusual decisions and tasks. The goal is that future autonomous control systems will also be able to handle these more involved, higher-level tasks.
One of the main ways to achieve this autonomy will be through the introduction of AI. Tasks will need to be assessed for their suitability for automation and the technology will need to effectively prove that it can operate safely. ABB has its own six-level taxonomy of autonomy, based on the scope of the automated task and the role of the human. Level 0 denotes no autonomy, while Level 5 indicates that the system takes all decisions and actions completely autonomously.
Bringing intelligence to the field
Engineers in the field will also greatly benefit from AI and machine learning algorithms, giving them greater intelligence and more information to diagnose and solve process problems wherever they are. With mobile access to control systems data, they can assess process conditions in real-time, while Augmented Reality (AR) tools will overlay instructions and information on top of a real-world view of the equipment or help them link up with experts to get advice.
Conclusion – a bright future for the DCS
Although their limitations had led to doubts about the future of the DCS, the flexibility of the latest generation of digital technologies, combined with initiatives such as NOA, mean that the future is looking bright.
DCS solutions are set to become increasingly open in both functionality and usability. The future is one in which industrial operators will have a growing number of functions and opportunities, allowing them to transform the performance and sustainability of their operations.
Johan Björklund is Head of Market Segments and Sales Enablement, Industrial Automation Process Control Platform at ABB. He is responsible for portfolio management and sales enablement for control systems within ABB.
