Industrial Automation Magazine India

Connected plants will demand closer collaboration between all parties

Published on : Sunday 01-08-2021

Andreas Faath, Head of Industrial Interoperability, VDMA.

The theme of connected plants has been promoted since long – decades even. It becomes an important topic in Industry 4.0 as well. So what is new – in the concept and in implementation?
The possibilities with the latest developments enable a connected plant for all business sizes, due to the fact that standard protocols are now integrated into almost any modern device. But it is still an engineering effort. Because no standard semantic was available.
 
On the technical side, what is new is that interoperable communication is possible across various levels, from pure OT to MES to the cloud – proprietary protocols at the various levels are being replaced. At the same time, IT networking also creates higher requirements for IT security, which OPC UA also covers.
 
Equally new is the wide use of OPC UA companion specifications. They enable machine and component suppliers to set up an interface which is semantically interoperable. Which means that all machines of the same type, like a machine tool, an injection moulding machine or a weighing scale have the same interface for its OPC UA server. This enables a faster integration into the shopfloor IT systems and not yet another engineering project per machine. Inside VDMA, the world’s largest association with more than 3300 members of the mechanical engineering industry, more than 35 working groups are developing those companion specifications. More than 600 companies for various sectors of this industry together with customers and other stakeholders using the specification in praxis are developing the global production language.
 
The latest news is that in addition to the OPC UA companion Specifications for domain specific interoperability also cross domain interoperability is provided by the so called ‘OPC UA for Machinery’. The first building blocks like machine identification are already released and much more building blocks like energy information and state machines are coming soon.
 
A fully connected plant seems utopian. What is a realistic vision that plant managers should aim for? And why should it be short of the utopian goal?
In my view, digitisation should always be seen with the corresponding added value behind it. Of course, there is huge added value in what you describe as 'utopian fully connected plants’. But even on the way there, plant managers should set themselves small goals, analyse their processes, and develop specific areas where data is needed to improve processes. I think, for example, the OPC UA for Machinery specification provides basic information, such as the availability of machines, which allows KPI calculations or also allows weak points in the process to be identified. Use cases like these are the cornerstones of digitisation and bring us closer to the ‘fully connected plant’.
 
Connectivity protocols are a central topic for total interoperability, and today OPC UA appears to be dominating this space. What are the pros and cons of OPC UA, and would it hinder further innovation?
OPC UA is not a protocol, it is a communication stack allowing you to use current state-of-the-are transport and security protocols. Therefore, innovation in the IT world is quickly transferred to the OPC UA stack. Take the current activities around Ethernet-APL and TSN networks. One can already use these protocols to ensure ‘real-time’ communication. The field level communication activities are in place, that OPC UA for FX could in the future be an open replacement for today's proprietary fieldbus protocols. Particularly noteworthy is the advantage that OPC UA created in the world's largest system of partners for the standardisation of data.
 
There are certainly proprietary protocols – stand-alone solutions – that are less complex and therefore easier to implement. However, this does not offer the possibilities of OPC UA, such as the encapsulation of transport across different enterprise levels.
 
OPC UA too has some competition. How viable are the contenders like Open Group or Universal Automation? Would these alternatives form new islands or would they efficiently communicate with each other?
All relevant automation suppliers contribute to the OPC community to foster the dissemination of this technology and to ensure smooth communication. Similarly, other standards such as MTP, MDIS and others have chosen OPC UA as their base.
 
How much is the contribution from user-industry towards standard, open protocols for interoperability? A major issue is of course legacy controllers. What is the strategy to integrate older machines into new networks?
In the cooperation of VDMA and OPC Foundation, many suppliers as well as end users contribute to the development. In the largest ecosystem of standardisation, end users provide valuable feedback to the development of companion specifications, which addresses their needs. Their feedback is needed to develop the technology and the open specifications to pave the way to the ‘fully connected plant’.
 
All of the major control manufacturers have recognised the potential of OPC UA and have been offering OPC UA in addition to the current proprietary interfaces for several years. Legacy or brownfield machines can be easily integrated with gateway solutions or additional communication ways to be integrated into the new networks.
 
A connected plant offers advantages of efficiency. Does it also become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which become more sophisticated by the day?
The cyber threat level has increased steadily over the last ten years due to technological progress, consolidation of technologies, cost pressure and rapidly evolving attack technologies, meaning there is pressure on all parties involved to take action. Industrial automation has now reached such a high level of networking that it is impossible to imagine a production process without it. However, the present methods of shielding sensitive critical infrastructure and monitoring data streams are increasingly being pushed to their limits. Connected plants will demand closer collaboration between all parties involved on an appropriately secure basis. This factor is particularly applicable in light of the fact that automation technology is often more vulnerable due to its longer operating time, maximum availability requirements and stronger dependencies between interconnected production processes.
 
Given that, it is the responsibility of every stakeholder to invest in industrial security focused on the security of all components and processes required to ensure the reliable and secure operation of an automated production plant. In light of the recent events, the OPC UA communication stack enables secure and resilient deployments of connected factories. By basing on state-of-the-art security protocols and auditing by relevant bodies it is one piece in the puzzle to fulfil the requirements for a secure connected factory. Various hackathons and even the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) confirm that OPC UA is up to today's security challenges.
 
Andreas Faath, VDMA Head of Industrial Interoperability, is responsible for the VDMA's OPC UA activities in which more than 600 companies worldwide are involved. This positions him as an important contact for the international mechanical and plant engineering industry regarding OPC UA standardisation. Due to the close cooperation with numerous companies in the mechanical and plant engineering industry, he represents their wishes and requirements regarding OPC UA. Due to the strong international political networks of the VDMA, Mr Faath was successful in introducing the OPC UA activities into global industrial ecosystem. Prior to his employment at the VDMA, Mr Faath studied mechanical and plant engineering and was a scientist at the Technical University of Darmstadt with focus on Digitalisation and IIoT. Afterwards he worked in research and development for process optimisation and digitalisation in the field of vehicle testing at General Motors.