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Control, Instrumentation and Automation in the Process and Manufacturing Industries February 2020

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Is radar now the better ultrasonic?

Getting on board with AI technology

SPS highlights industry trends and innovations

Enhancing safety with mobile solutions

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CONTENTS Get smart to artificial intelligence

Editor Suzanne Gill suzanne.gill@imlgroup.co.uk Sales Manager Adam Yates adam.yates@imlgroup.co.uk Group Publisher Iain McLean Iain.mclean@imlgroup.co.uk Production Holly Reed holly.reed@imlgroup.co.uk Dan Jago David May G and C Media

Publishing Director Production Manager Studio Design

Working on the content for this issue, and talking to some experts on the subject of Artificial Intelligence, has crystalised in my mind how important this technology will become for industry – and in the not too distant future.

I attended a press event in December at which AI was discussed. A very informative presentation clearly set out the important differences between AI in the cloud and AI at the edge. Both have an important role to play, but it is vital to have an understanding about what questions you want to answer, before you think about the best AI solution. I was also interested to find out that the use of trained algorithms means that AI at the edge really isn’t a resource intensive application and minimal hardware is required for data interpretation.

I hope that you find the AI focus section as interesting to read as I did to put together. You can safety assume that this is a subject that we will be revisiting many times in the coming year. I would also be keen to hear about your experiences with AI so far.

Suzanne Gill Editor – Control Engineering Europe suzanne.gill@imlgroup.co.uk

INDUSTRY REPORT

SCADA & HMI

4

22 SCADA is on a transformation journey

Is blockchain changing the way trust, transparency and revenue is viewed in manufacturing supply chains?

24 Operation-driven matrix design

EDITOR’S CHOICE 6

PROCESS CONTROL

Plant information management system expands data acquisition and export capabilities

PROCESS SAFETY 26 Why should the process industry should take segregation and cybersecurity seriously?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 10 AI at the edge has a very small footprint 12 Find out about the benefits of AI for engineers as well as the barriers to its adoption in the industrial environment

28 Intrinsically safe smart devices have an important role to play in improving productivity and employee safety Control, Instrumentation and Automation in the Process and Manufacturing Industries February 2020

14 AI in production: Think before you act www.controlengeurope.com

Is radar now the better ultrasonic?

VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES

PG 12

16 Variable frequency drives: looking at replacement options

EXHIBITION PREVIEW 17 SPS 2019 shone a spotlight on industry trends and innovations

PG 8 Getting on board with AI technology

Control Engineering Europe is a controlled circulation journal published eight times per year by IML Group plc under license from CFE Media LLC. Copyright in the contents of Control Engineering Europe is the property of the publisher.

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Control Engineering Europe

SPS highlights industry trends and innovations

Control Engineering (USA) Mark Hoske Circulation Tel: +44 (0)1732 359990 Email: subscription@imlgroup.co.uk Completed print or on line registration forms will be considered for free supply of printed issues, web site access and on line services.

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Enhancing safety with mobile solutions

PG 22

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Paid subscriptions for non-qualifying applicants are available for £113 (U.K.), £145 (Europe), £204 (rest of world); single copies £19.

February 2020

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INDUSTRY REPORT

Blockchain and the manufacturing supply chain Blockchain is changing the way trust, transparency and revenue in manufacturing supply chains are viewed, says Karthik Sundaram, program manager – industrial at Frost & Sullivan.

B

lockchain is a digital ledger that can be used to store, record and manage transactions.

Originally created to support financial transactions with the aid of smart contracts, it can support the transfer of any data or digital asset. As records along the chain are stored and distributed across different nodes in the network, it is difficult to counterfeit these records, making blockchain a secure, immutable and transparent way to record and service transactions. This advantage strengthens the cause for blockchain applications outside of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Much of the potential for blockchain in manufacturing has, to date, remained theoretical. Globally, factories manufacture products in huge volumes. However, there is still no guaranteed method of knowing how, when and from where these products originate. In almost every case, the journey of a product to the end user remains unseen, resulting in a lack of transparency, despite the fact that over 50% of customers today are seeking transparency in the production process.

If a manufacturing supply chain can be made transparent, everything could be monitored and made visible to all stakeholders. This will help manufacturers establish trust in the system and their products.

One of the key areas where blockchain can bring value is in the audit trail. Currently, there is no uniform standard to aggregate and share data. Modern supply chains need a system that can enforce standards for parties to access the full set of data they require. Essentially, this is the

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purpose of a blockchain. If there are defective products in a supply chain, they could be easily tracked across entities in a way that has never been done before. Instead of shuffling through a bulk of papers, bills, files, data and emails, a blockchainbased system could track goods with certainty throughout their journey.

Uniform, aggregated data will also allow manufacturers to perform higher levels of predictive analytics.

One of the biggest challenges in modern supply chains is the ability to get all of the data in the right place, at the right time and within the same framework. blockchain would help realise this scenario. It would allow data to be used along with several other technologies – such as artificial intelligence – to maximise efficiencies.

This data could also be sold, providing companies with an extra revenue stream. For example, blockchain can support new maintenance approaches (such as automated service

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agreements) and shorter maintenance times. blockchain can also support more complex machine-as-a-service (MaaS) applications by facilitating IP protection, documentation management, and performance tracking.

But, is blockchain ready for factories?

Yes, says Frost & Sullivan. It is confident that blockchain will have a critical role to play in shaping the future of factories. Undoubtedly, it will bring greater efficiencies to the supply chain, better coordination in automation, and maximum transparency when dealing with counterfeit trade. However, it believes that the rising diversity of applications and the complexities of manufacturing supply chains could delay blockchain adoption. The transformation will therefore require proactive collaboration among manufacturers, policymakers, scientists and technology investors underpinned by new platforms that can support this transformation.

Control Engineering Europe

INDUSTRY REPORT

Are we set for a surge in AI investment?

According to new findings of research undertaken by IFS, a global enterprise applications company, manufacturers are planning to aggressively invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

The international research, which examined the perception and adoption of AI within the sector, revealed that 91% are planning to invest in AI strategies. Industrial automation and inventory planning & logistics were cited as the key focus areas by 54% and 40% of respondents, as manufacturers seek to enhance productivity and boost efficiency.

IFS’s study polled 383 manufacturing decision makers working with technology including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), and Field Service Management (FSM). The study revealed that manufacturers saw AI as a route to create, rather than cull, jobs.

Around 51% of respondents stated they expect AI to increase headcount, while 22% believed it won’t impact workforce figures.

Alongside investment in AI to support industrial automation and planning & logistics, scheduling was also viewed as an area of opportunity for investment,

with 36% planning to use it to enhance production scheduling and 25% for service scheduling. Only 6% intended to invest in AI for customer relationship management, differing significantly from other sectors which see this as a major use case.

“AI is no longer an emerging technology. It is being implemented to support business automation in the here and now,” said Bob De Caux, VP of AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) at IFS. “We are seeing many realworld examples where technology is augmenting existing decision-making processes by providing users with more timely, accurate and pertinent information. In today’s disruptive economy, the convergence of technologies such as AI, RPA, and IoT is bolstering a new form of business automation that will provide companies that are brave enough with the tools and services they need to be more competitive and outflank larger competitors.

“The findings of the study show that the time is right for manufacturers to reap

both business and financial benefits from technology automation. Falling for the hype of AI is easy, but success requires disruption to existing business models. The technologies themselves are not a panacea, nor are they a universal solution to any problem. However, with the right data model and viable use cases, AI can support improved productivity and deliver significant benefits to both operations and the wider business. AI will be used by the vast majority of organisations in some form in the near future, extracting real value from intelligent processes, for the long-term.”

5G will require a new approach on the factory floor By 2026 there will be 5.3 million 5G connections on the factory floor according to ABI Research.

As a technology, 5G will be a good fit to provide wireless connectivity on the factory floor, as it enables, for example, establishing a huge wireless sensor network or implementing Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications for predictive maintenance and product monitoring.

Early 5G trial deployment projects – at companies such as Schneider Electric, Osram and Mercedes – hint that bringing 5G connectivity to the factory floor will decrease maintenance costs by 30% and increase overall equipment efficiency by 7%.

While there are many use cases and areas of application for 5G in industrial manufacturing, targeting the Control Engineering Europe

enterprise vertical will fundamentally change the value chain associated with 5G. However, this will require closer collaboration between network operators, infrastructure vendors, and manufacturers.

A recent Return on Investment (ROI) study conducted by ABI Research has shown that 5G will take approximately 14 to 15 years to break even if it remains solely in the consumer market, versus 10 years if enterprise business models were in place. “It is, therefore, highly important for network operators and infrastructure vendors to develop new business strategies taking into manufacturers’ requirements,” said Leo Gergs, research analyst at ABI Research. “Centrally, this should include moving away from selling connectivity as such and develop attractive pricing models for additional network capabilities.”

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February 2020

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

Compact PLC with smart factory capabilities Mitsubishi Electric has introduced its smallest and most powerful compact PLC to date. The aim of the FX5UC series Micro PLC is to give machine builders and manufacturers more functionality in a smaller space – while also providing web access and network connectivity.

The compact PLC has a program memory of 128,000 steps and a large device memory. In addition, it has an execution speed of 34 ns. It can perform positioning and advanced motion control functions for up to eight synchronised axes, eliminating the need for dedicated controllers that increase hardware and maintenance costs, programming time and equipment footprint.

Additional built-in functions include tools to prevent data theft or tampering such as security key authentication, while allowing operators to access system status safely via the Web and interact with on-board features such as data logging.

The CPU module is one-quarter the size of a conventional one, so can fit into smaller spaces. Other features contributing to the space saving rationale include the incorporation of 16 digital inputs and 16 built-in relay/ transistor outputs, avoiding the need to install additional, space-consuming terminal blocks in many applications.

Monitoring fill levels remotely Pepperl+Fuchs has introduced an autonomous wireless battery operated IoT sensor with integrated ultrasonic measurement for determining fill levels. The data is recorded at regular intervals and uploaded to the internet along with the current geolocation.

The Wilsen.sonic.level sensor is suited to use in a variety of different wireless networks. Depending on the wireless standard selected, an appropriate remote location is available on the Internet for the incoming sensor data.

The Wilsen.service is able to handle the decoding and the targeted

forwarding of the sensor data and also offers secure and convenient device management – a useful feature if a large number of IoT sensors will be used in later practical operation and if logging into the wireless network and assigning the right users needs to be as automated as possible.

Wilsen device management enables automated application parameterisation of IoT sensors and a structured roll-out for software updates will ensure that even large numbers of IoT sensors in the field are kept up to date.

Plant information management system with expanded data acquisition and export capabilities Yokogawa Electric Corporation has released Exaquantum R3.20, an enhanced version of its plant information management system (PIMS) software package in the OpreX Asset Operations and Optimisation family.

Exaquantum has been designed to support the digital transformation in the process industry by gathering large volumes of plant data and transforming it into usable business information. The latest version extends connectivity to OPC UA which allows it to capture data securely from multiple layers of assets. It

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February 2020

Easy-to-deploy vibration sensor simplifies asset monitoring The AMS Wireless Vibration Monitor is a low-cost, easy-to-deploy, vibration sensor from Emerson. It is able to perform prescriptive analytics on vibration data using native software to automatically identify failure modes and prevent potential problems involving rotating assets.

The compact device is said to make it economically feasible to fully monitor motors, pumps, fans and other critical plant equipment to reduce downtime and achieve more reliable operations.

The AMS Wireless Vibration Monitor is able to collect and contextualise vibration data to generate actionable information. By applying Emerson’s PeakVue Plus technology, the device can identify when, why, and how assets will fail. This allows technicians to prioritise common mechanical issues such as bearing defects, gear wear, under-lubrication and pump cavitation, enabling them to focus more on operations-critical tasks.

The AMS Wireless Vibration Monitor operates on the WirelessHART network and fully supports the vibration analysis tools included in Emerson’s AMS Machine Works software. It uses a triaxial sensor to capture data in three dimensions to generate a complete picture of the machine condition.

also enables more efficient and secure communication with business systems and data analysis tools to help achieve operational improvements.

Increasingly, a large volume of plant data is also required by other business systems and tools, so it needs to be efficiently exported from the PIMS in a standardised format that is also usable in a PC environment. Extending the usability of standardised plant data to a wider audience opens up opportunities to more easily extract value from this information and break down any silos that may exist.

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Control Engineering Europe

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COVER STORY

Yes, radar is now the better ultrasonic!

VEGA’s radar sensors with 80-GHz technology have been opening up new applications in level measurement for five years. The company has now developed a new instrument series based on 80 GHz specifically for simple applications. It represents a real alternative to ultrasonic technology.

V

EGA has been developing sensors for radar level measurement for 30 years.

When it introduced VEGAPULS sensors with 80-GHz operating frequency, a new era began. Thanks to the more precise focusing of the transmitted signal, the received measurement and interference signals can be better separated – this makes the measuring process more reliable and easier.

Many measuring tasks that had once been considered impossible became commonplace. Radar sensors from VEGA are now in use in more than 750,000 applications worldwide.

The series of 80-GHz radar sensors started with VEGAPULS 69 designed for

continuous measurement of bulk solids under widely different process conditions.

It is ideal for level measurement in extremely high silos, large bunkers and segmented vessels. In contrast, VEGAPULS 64, with its dynamic range of 120 dB, measures practically any liquid. Its application spectrum ranges from aqueous media to hydrocarbons and liquid gases – regardless of the dielectric constant. Thanks to precise signal focusing, the level sensor achieves very good results even in complex processing systems with agitators or other internal components. And due to its very small process fittings, it is also suitable for compact containers as well as for retrofitting.

The 80-GHz VEGAPULS 80 series offers a number of additional advantages. One of the most important is undoubtedly its independence from external conditions – the radar sensor is just as unaffected by temperature fluctuations, vacuum or high pressures as it is by dirt and contamination. As a result, the level sensors are virtually wear and maintenance free and remain in service for many, many years.

A new microchip VEGA is once again breaking new ground by adding a new compact instrument series to its portfolio of radar sensors. It is suitable for price-sensitive applications, such as those found in the

VEGA has introduced a new range of compact 80GHz radar sensors for the water and waste water sectors.

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February 2020

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Control Engineering Europe

COVER STORY water/wastewater industry or in auxiliary process loops in process automation.

VEGA developed a new radar microchip especially for this purpose – one that is characterised by its extremely small size and low energy consumption. This makes it possible for the company to offer a very compact radar sensor. These microchips are also much cheaper, which allows the sensors to keep up with ultrasonic measurement technology in terms of price.

Stable readings

Robust and weatherproof

Submerged? No problem

The new VEGAPULS instruments are ideal for level measurement of liquids and bulk solids. They are available both as a compact version with cable connection compartment and as a standard version with fixed cable connection (IP68). Like the previous sensors of the VEGAPULS series, they deliver reliable measured values without effect from external conditions such as temperature fluctuations or soiling. What is more, they output standardided signals directly.

The VEGAPULS instrument series is complemented by the optional VEGAMET controllers. These have a large graphic display that can be used to visualide all measured values.

To protect them from the elements, the controllers are equipped with a weather-resistant field housing.

The instruments’ non-susceptibility to ambient conditions is a feature that pays off especially in the water/ wastewater sector where there are still many ultrasonic sensors in use.

Due to their physical measuring principle, however, these sensors have to contend with the adversities of nature from time to time. The reason is that the transit time of sound changes when the temperature changes, e.g. due to solar radiation.

Strong wind or rain, or even fog, can also damp the emitted sound waves and further restrict the measuring range. In contrast, the new VEGAPULS instrument series is immune to such external influences.

Due to process conditions in some applications, sensors can be regularly flooded. For that reason ultrasonic sensors are often equipped with mechanical flood protection sleeves. However, such components can easily become soiled or damaged. Radar sensors do not need such protective equipment that often has to be cleaned or repaired.

Another advantage is that radar sensors allow reliable measurement right up to the sensor antenna. This is particularly important for storage and buffer tanks that ensure the supply of raw materials for ongoing processes. Compact radar sensors can exploit their strengths here, as they can be installed even in very confined spaces and small process fittings.

Since they have no dead zone, the sensors can measure dependably right up to the top of the container. Even when there is strong outgassing from the medium, the sensors deliver reliable measuring results – regardless of the type of medium and process conditions. Since most of the new sensors have Ex approval, they can also be used for flammable media.

Control Engineering Europe

Level sensors often struggle with buildup and soiling. This applies especially to ultrasonic sensors: buildup affects the reliability of the measurement signal and enlarges the dead zone. Radar sensors, however, can suppress any interference caused by buildup on the antenna system.

Their optimised signal processing allows them to do this. Further, radar sensors are not affected by soiling and therefore do not need to be cleaned.

Precision measurement Thanks to the strong focusing of 80-GHz technology, the radar beam can be aimed at the measured medium with pinpoint accuracy. As a result, narrow shafts or deposits on vessel walls or internals such as pipes or pumps cannot generate interfering signals. A typical application can be found in water pumping stations, where height differences in the terrain are effectively evened out. Level measurement in the pump shaft allows

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cost-effective control of the pumps. The measured values from the radar sensors provide the basis for this, regardless of dirt, foam or condensate. Even spider webs do not impair the function of the radar sensor, which always delivers reliable readings.

There are also very practical reasons why radar measurement technology is increasingly replacing ultrasonic. Radar technology from VEGA is really simple to install and commission, and easy to handle in day-to-day work processes.

One thing that contributed to this is the broad experience gained with the 80-GHz VEGAPULS standard instrument series in many different industries and applications. VEGA engineers were able incorporate this know-how in the development of the new compact series. So, there is now an extremely large treasure trove of experience available, and that will pay off in future applications. The instruments can also be used universally, which allows a reduced inventory, with far fewer instruments and spare parts kept in stock. That’s good for the user, who can rest assured that any components needed will be delivered quickly!

Wireless operation; simple setup The instruments of the new series can be installed quickly and easily. Setting their internal parameters and putting them into operation is also a breeze.

And thanks to the proven VEGA Tools app, any user can set up and adjust the instruments quickly and wirelessly via Bluetooth – from a safe distance, if necessary. It only takes a few steps for the user to get his first reliable and accurate level values. Bluetooth makes everything much easier – parameterization, display and diagnostics – especially when working in harsh environments or Ex hazardous areas. Besides higher accuracy and dependability, these are important arguments for choosing radar measurement technology for standard measuring tasks. ! www.vega.com/en/home_uk February 2020

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AI at the edge has a small footprint At a recent Festo press event, Tanja Maaß, managing director at Resolto Informatik, spoke about the benefits of bringing artificial intelligence directly to the machine.

Suzanne Gill reports.

W

hile artificial Intelligence (AI) is starting to play a much bigger role in industry, Maaß was quick to point out that the requirements of the machine builder (OEM) and end-user will be very different. She said: “For the end-user, AI is probably most often associated with predictive maintenance applications. But it could have many more uses – helping speed up production lines or to reduce waste, for example.

“End users could also use AI technology to help as part of an intelligent energy optimisation solution and for peak load forecasting. Early anomaly detection is another good application for AI. Using an algorithm in place of a programme will result in a system that is able to learn through experience to identify anomalies in a process.”

In the machine building sector AI can be utilised to create service offerings.

Maaß explained: “As margins on hardware offerings reduce, having the ability to offer a service would give OEMs a valuable new repeating income stream and the use of AI will help

detect anomalies to lower the risk of breaking a contract through machine failure.” Taking this thinking to the next stage, Maaß pointed out that if it was possible to offer a 100% guarantee that a machine will always be available it could make the product-as-a-service model more attractive to end-users.

Achieving 100% guaranteed machine availability requires real-time data and Maaß pointed out that any data analysed in the cloud will only ever answer questions retrospectively. “Even if you are monitoring data continuously in the cloud it will still always have a slight latency to it,” she said. “Historical data can only ever answer questions about an event that has already happened.

“Live data, monitored close to the field, however, allows us to predict what will happen. These real-time machine learning solutions are able to learn healthy behaviour patterns and recognise emerging unhealthy behaviour patterns. With an AI algorithm it should be possible to not only ask for recommendations to prevent potential events, but to ask it to act automatically to avoid an event.”

SCRAITEC analytics work continuously and in real-time.

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February 2020

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The SCRAITEC platform from Resolto Informatik is able to collect data, analyse it, optimise it and then present the solution in some way. Since the company was acquired by Festo several years ago, it has focused on applications that use SCRAITEC algorithms on Festo hardware, such as the CPX controller and the IoT gateway.

In one such application, Resolto was approached to provide a predictive maintenance solution to allow an automotive company to predict wear and cycle time deterioration on pneumatic clamping units. This application quickly turned into an optimisation solution. “When we applied the data to SCRAITEC it identified an unexpected unhealthy behaviour pattern in one part which was found to be losing the company the equivalent of one car every day. SCRAITEC on a Festo CPX E CEC controller – with no cloud connectivity – has learned the normal operative state, regardless of the clamping unit type, and is now able to offer an early indication of anomalies which will lead to clamping unit failure.

In another application, for a household electrical appliance company, Resolto was approached to find a solution to poor welds of washing machine drums. “We needed to look at data from the SAP system in addition to the plant-level data,” said Maaß. “This identified a problem linked to where the steel came from. The solution sees SCRAITEC cross-reference the origin of steel in a drum and automatically make the necessary heat and timing adjustments to the welding process for each drum.”

In conclusion, Maaß pointed out that it often comes as a surprise to many that AI need not be a resource intensive application. She said: “Using a trained algorithm will have a very small footprint and requires minimal hardware for interpretation. If you have a device running close to a machine and it is well trained and has local feedback, there is probably no need to ever connect it to a central system.” !

Control Engineering Europe

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Find out how to reduce your cabinet requirements by up to 50%, visit: www.eaton.com/MTLSUM5

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Getting on board with AI technology It is becoming a reality that technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are starting to change the traditional role of the control engineer. Suzanne Gill finds out more about the benefits it can offer engineers as well as the barriers to its adoption in the industrial environment.

A

ccording to Jos Martin, senior engineering manager at MathWorks, the biggest impact of AI on control engineering in the coming years will be on the workers themselves. He said: “As demand for data science skills grows and the tech skills gap widens, everyday engineers and scientists, as well as data scientists, will be expected to fill the gap, undergoing training on how to design and deploy machine learning systems to become ‘citizen data scientists’.

To be able to make the most of AI in their work, engineering professionals will need to possess skills such as the ability to deal with large datasets, and to build and train AI models and understand how to use new development tools and software.

Companies need to support their workers to upskill and must be willing to invest in adequate training to make this a reality.”

Hartmut Pütz, president Factory

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Automation EMEA at Mitsubishi Electric Europe, agrees that AI will affect the control engineering role. He said: “Control engineers will need to change their daily task list. Their role will start to include much more data analysis activities. When users start to implement more self-learning and self-optimising technology in processes a big part of the control engineering objectives will change and this will mean that engineering skillsets will also need to change. I believe that the job profile will become more aligned with that software engineering and data engineering.

“In around 10-15 years it is very likely that process optimisation will be handled entirely by AI technologies and the ability to programme PLCs will become much less important. Even today we are seeing PLC programs being generated automatically by higher level systems in the simulation space and then downloaded into the PLC.”

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Improving efficiencies AI algorithms are starting to improve the efficiency of the entire factory production line, reducing energy consumption and waste, enabling organisations to meet important corporate social responsibility targets as well as deliver cost-savings.

Traditionally, to achieve good AI accuracy levels and easy training of models, the use of high-performance computing systems such as GPUs, clusters and data centres that use 32-bit floating-point math, have been vital.

However, developments in software tools now mean that AI inference models, which use a range of fixedpoint math, can enable engineers to capitalise on devices such as electronic control units and other embedded industrial applications that run on lower power.

AI is helping to improve the accuracy of predictive maintenance applications – such as those for predicting the remaining useful life for an industrial site pump. However, one of the biggest barriers to its adoption in the industrial space is having enough high-quality data to properly train AI models. “Lots of failure data is needed to ensure the AI model is accurate, but it is expensive and inefficient to create data from real, physical equipment. Fortunately, improvements in software now make it easier to recreate data from critical failure conditions and anomalies by generating simulations representing failure behaviour and synthesising it to train a model,” said Martin.

“We are seeing AI being used to transform design in everything from Control Engineering Europe

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE industrial plants to wind turbines to autonomous vehicles to aircraft,” he continued. “However, another barrier to adoption of AI for smart design is the complexity of multi-domain, AI-driven systems. To get around this, engineers are turning to model-based design tools that provide an end-to-end workflow to reduce complexity. These tools can simulate, integrate and continuously test systems, allowing designers to trial ideas in complete context, identify weaknesses in the data and spot flaws in component design before they become a problem.”

Reinforcement learning (RL) – a form of AI famous for beating human players in chess and Go – is also now being employed to improve engineering design. It works by learning to perform a task through repeated trial-anderror interactions within a dynamic environment. Martin predicts that very soon engineers will deploy RL agents into AI models to optimise performance, for example improving response times in an autonomous driving system.

Where and how?

An important question facing industry today is where and how to leverage AI and the data that drives it, to capture

as much value as possible. Andrew McCloskey, chief technology officer, EVP of R&D at AVEVA, believes that this offers a huge opportunity for modern control engineers as when properly implemented AI will make them more effective than ever before, enabling them to implement huge savings for their companies. “AIenhanced predictive maintenance of industrial equipment can generate a 10% reduction in annual maintenance costs, up to 20% reductions in downtime and a 25% reduction in inspection costs, said McCloskey.

Predictive maintenance will leverage both supervised and unsupervised learning – the two primary methods of machine learning that essentially describe the ‘training’ required for artificial intelligence algorithms to ‘get smart’ and provide these savings. Supervised learning enables knowledge transfer from the control engineer in a very short time while unsupervised learning is able to automatically recognise disparities in data that may have significant consequences if left unchecked.

Together, these algorithms develop high probability predictions that often are not intuitive or otherwise easily identified. “This frees up more time for

the control engineer to take on even bigger challenges and drive a flow of continuous improvement, not just a singular event of improvement,” said McCloskey.

“For example, equipped with predictions of impending failures, it is no longer necessary to perform inspections and maintenance based on a pre-determined time schedule.

Instead, we maximise the lifespan of equipment parts and replace them as and when necessary – in this case, just before the impending problem occurs.

With tight capital and operating budgets, manufacturers are looking to ‘sweat’ existing assets, and this predictive maintenance approach translates into significant savings in inspection and maintenance costs while keeping unplanned downtime to a minimum.”

Conclusion There can be no denying that the technology is making waves in the control engineering sector but we have learned that AI is not a magic bullet. While there are still barriers to adoption of the technology, it is vital that industry starts to engage with AI as the benefits are too great to ignore. !

Creating inference cameras without AI expertise An all-in-one solution that is said to make it easy for users to get started with AI-based image processing is now available from IDS in the form of the NXT ocean. Users only need their own application expertise and sample images to create a neural network.

With the help of the IDS NXT lighthouse cloud software, it is easy to train an AI classifier with image data. Because it is a web application, all functions and the infrastructure for creating the neural network are immediately available. There is no need to set up a development environment first.

The process involves three basic steps – upload sample images, label the images and then to start the fully automatic training. The generated network can then be executed directly onto IDS NXT industrial cameras, turning them into inference cameras which are able to apply the ‘knowledge’ acquired through deep learning to new data. This makes it possible to automatically solve tasks that would either not be possible with rule-based image processing, or would require great effort.

Control Engineering Europe

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February 2020

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN PRODUCTION

Although AI offers some great potential benefits, care does need to be exercised before incorporating it into industrial applications. Tim Foreman, offers some guidance.

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ompanies can be over eager to start implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies without being fully aware of the challenges they could face.

When considering AI the first step should be to identify the problem that you wish the technology to solve.

Companies often find that the biggest problem they face is they are not able to pinpoint the problem they want to solve.

Once the problem is realised, companies also find that despite wanting to implement AI, they face another hurdle as some are not yet measuring data, which makes it difficult to incorporate AI solutions. To solve this, companies will need to start collecting and cleaning data before even thinking about introducing AI. One difficulty is that a lot of existing data is not suitable for analysis, as it is contaminated, duplicated or scattered, or there is key information missing. So, while there is huge potential for the use of new technology, you can only use it if the data being gathered is both sufficient and correct. When starting to think about AI, it is also important to think in a broader sense about data science and what and how much data is needed before coming to a conclusion. You will need a substantial amount of data if you want to reach the right conclusions.

The next step is to consider implementing AI. It can be applied at various levels, depending on the problem that needs to be solved. For example, to compare the performance of two factories, it is necessary to gather the data and put it into the cloud (inside or outside the enterprise), it is then possible to compare and analyse the data and start to draw conclusions.

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But the main challenge remains: What problem do you want to solve? A company with strong, toplevel management should know the key challenges it faces and will want to use the most effective tools to optimise its performance.

The problems faced will determine what needs to be done. For example, is there a need to look wide, at a lot of data? For example, to compare a large amount of data from 20 factories, this is where AI in the cloud can play a key role. However, if an immediate reaction on a bottling line is needed to avoid downtime, a solution with AI at the edge should be considered.

The machines within a factory are a potential source of valuable data, however there are key questions that need to be addressed from the outset: • Data: Is there enough? Which data is the most relevant? How will it be used?

• Infrastructure: What is the cost of infrastructure?

• Outcome: What problem really needs to be solved? How can cloud or edge computing improve business efficiency?

Some manufacturing facilities might decide to send all data to the cloud.

Large IT companies are promoting this as the solution to everything.

However, it isn’t a panacea, as it doesn’t show or respond in real time to what is actually happening in the machines. This is why Omron has focused on the development of tools to help the human brain cope with the challenges of what is happening inside the machines – along with details

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of downwards analysis and pattern recognition.

Within an industrial manufacturing environment, you can look at the actual process within the machine with edge computing technologies. Real-time data processing at the edge enables an immediate response to an abnormal situation in a process. With AI at the edge, manufacturers are able to control complexity and security. To translate information into action, manufacturers need efficient control and monitoring for a more natural, proactive relationship between operator and machine.

With edge computing, the data and the computing resources are located close to the machines. This enables users to gain real-time information about the efficiency of different aspects of their industrial automation system. This makes it possible to access intelligence within the machine, which in turn enables deep analysis to be carried out.

In this way, AI can contribute to direct and immediate results, because the intelligence is incorporated within the machine rather than being located elsewhere. Users can focus on potential issues in the process, using the real-time data from the system and its components.

Control Engineering Europe

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Conclusion Traditionally, programming a machine to recognise micro-second skill patterns in the local data that might be entering it, has been next to impossible.

All machines may have had this information but until recently it has been ignored.

The introduction of AI solutions at the edge – inside the machine – has changed this. It can provide tools that enable you to look at that data.

Advances in technology mean that you can have machine control equipment that will process that data and recognise patterns within it.

Ultimately, both cloud computing and edge computing are great solutions for a factory starting to use AI. But it’s clear that in terms of using AI in the production line, edge computing really does appear to have the edge. !

Tim Foreman is european R&D manager at Omron.

Reducing the complexity of deploying machine learning for quality inspection Pleora Technologies has introduced a machine vision artificial intelligence (AI) platform that is said to simplify the deployment of advanced machine learning capabilities to improve the reliability and lower the cost of visual quality inspection.

“While AI promises to revolutionise quality inspection, integrators and designers struggle with how to costeffectively integrate advanced capabilities into existing and new applications,” said Harry Page, president, Pleora Technologies.

“Pleora’s AI Gateway platform is an evolutionary approach to AI, with plug-in machine learning skills for classification, sorting, and

defect detection combined with the flexibility to train and deploy open source or custom algorithms.

Users can immediately employ AI to reduce inspection errors, falsepositives, and secondary screenings while preparing for more advanced Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 applications.”

With Pleora’s new gateway end-users and integrators can more easily deploy AI skills without the need for any additional programming knowledge. Through a web-based interface, images and data are uploaded to ‘no code’ training software on a host PC, which generates a neural network that is deployed onto the Pleora AI Gateway.

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VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES

VFD: Swap or upgrade?

Variable frequency drives (VFDs) offer energy efficiency and other benefits. There is a lot to know behind the process of replacing a drive, says Jonathan Kopczyk.

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ariable frequency drives (VFDs) are the standard for motor control today. However, they do not last forever and replacing a VFD may not always be easy. The task is simplified when you know what to look for and how to properly go about it. There are two primary scenarios to consider when replacing a VFD. Replace a VFD with the same model – The first priority is matching the model number and the voltage class and current/HP rating on both units. This also verifies the new VFD will fit in the existing space. Next, all wiring must be landed on the same terminal designation.

Finally, parameter settings should match those that are key for the application.

There are many forms of backup, especially if the old VFD can still be powered up. If accessed, parameter settings can be written down, stored in a software program, or even saved to the keypad’s memory and transferred to the new VFD. Ideally this should be done before the replacement process takes place. In cases when the VFD is incorporated in a bigger piece of equipment, the OEM may have its own parameter listing. The worst case is the drive will have to be set up manually and optimised for the application by the user.

It may prove beneficial to save a few parts from the old VFD as some parts can be reused. The main circuitry parts of the VFD, including capacitors, should not be kept as there may be internal damage or extensive wear.

Upgrade a VFD with a different or newer model – It is more complicated to upgrade or replace a VFD with a different model as there are more factors involved.

Sizing and obtaining the correct model should be approached as if the drive is for a new application. Variables such as amperage, voltage, enclosure, de-ratings, and application type need to be taken

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into account. Also consider whether the original had been sized correctly.

Physical sizing is important so always check a dimensional drawing to verify space requirements.

Most stand-alone VFDs are rated simply for an indoor environment with little to no protection against airborne debris. They are often put inside an enclosure, which offers greater resistance against harmful elements such as dust and water. Replacing the unit as a whole can get pricey, and only the drive itself may have failed.

Swapping the VFD may seem logical but components such as circuit breakers, filters, bypass configurations and other electrical equipment need to be examined for compatibility.

When it comes to wiring, assuming the terminal designations have no match from one VFD to the next, a simple breakdown of the I/O type can help clarify where the wires should be landed. Once the main circuitry wiring is completed, the control wires and terminal designations on the new VFD can be categorised into five types – digital inputs, digital outputs, analogue inputs,

analogue outputs and other I/Os. Programming is what makes the application. If a parameter list with nondefault values can be obtained from the old VFD, then setting up the new model will be less troublesome. If the VFD needs to be configured from the start, breaking down the basics that a drive needs, such as a frequency and run command, will make setup easier. The advanced features can be programmed last.

Other considerations Repairing the VFD is an option and the ability to accomplish this depends on factors, such as availability of parts, model or sizing of the drive and the extent of damage. Environmental issues should first be considered. Other failure means are generally external to the VFD itself.

Thesecan include motor problems and input voltage fluctuations which put strain on internal components such as capacitors. !

Jonathan Kopczyk is a technical support engineer for Yaskawa.

This article originally appeared on www.controleng.com.

Bypass and configured packages include a replaceable variable frequency drive.

Image courtesy: Yaskawa

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Control Engineering Europe

UK INDUSTRY REPORT

REGIONAL DIVERGENCE IN MANUFACTURING PERFORMANCE Britain’s manufacturers are backing the Government’s aim of driving growth more evenly across all UK regions following the findings of a survey which shows that performance in manufacturing continues to diverge across the UK. The Regional Manufacturing Outlook survey for 2019 Q4, published by Make UK and business and advisory firm BDO LLP, found that industry in London and the South East is booming, with growth indicators far outstripping any other UK region in five-out-of-six survey indicators, in most cases by a substantial margin.

The average balance for total orders across the UK was +6% whereas in London and the South East it was +21%.

The difference was even more stark for domestic orders (+30% compared to a national average of -5%) and also for export orders (+39% compared to +10%). This divergence was also

reflected in employment prospects.

The survey found that the West Midlands is suffering acutely from the problems in the automotive sector, with all six of the survey indicators in negative territory. The balances in total orders and output showed the biggest declines in the UK in the final quarter of the year while the region’s balance for UK orders was also the worst across the UK. Commenting on the report findings, Tom Lawton, head of manufacturing at BDO, said: “The old north-south divide

PRODUCTS DEVELOPED FOR ATEX CERTIFICATION We provide our customers with a product or system read for A certification www.displaytechnology.co.uk

is, unfortunately, still very much in play when it comes to industrial performance.

Industry will be keen to see Government promoting investment, skills and employment across the whole of the UK to re-balance growth.

“Currently, sectors such as automotive are also facing a combination of structural factors that are posing great challenges for those companies and supply chains who depend on them. As part of efforts to spread growth more evenly, it is essential that policies are put in place to safeguard the regions where these key sectors are so important to their prosperity.

“Manufacturers will hope the start of a new decade and a fresh Government will secure a renewed focus on delivering a long term, modern industrial strategy to ensure industry can be at the forefront of tackling the societal and technological challenges we face.”

MACHINE VISION

MAKING DEEP LEARNING EASY FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE APPLICATIONS Yonatan Hyatt explains how manufacturers can benefit from deep learning in their machine vision applications.

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s manufacturers look towards more intelligent machine vision systems, deep learning is becoming a more common technique. Indeed, a report by ABI Research predicted that deep learning-based machine vision techniques within smart manufacturing will experience a compound annual growth rate of 20% between 2017 and 2023.

One barrier to its adoption in quality assurance applications is that for many manufacturers it is cost prohibitive or too complex an engineering task.

The traditional vendor mechanism for deep learning machine vision means that software is sold as a package separately from the other components, all of which must be put together as a hard-engineered solution.

This solution will be applicable for inspecting a single product at a single location on one single line. Even the most advanced solution equipped with deep learning will not be truly flexible.

Because the task is so complex, the manufacturer will arrange for a systems integrator to select the lighting, cameras, communication, housing and more. It will be the systems integrator that selects the deep learning software for use in the machine vision solution as often the manufacturer will not have the expertise in-house to set up, train and operate a traditional deep learning solution independently.

The lack of flexibility in traditional machine vision solutions means that if a change on the line occurs, the systems integrator must be called in again to either adjust the solution, for example by developing new lighting conditions, or to replace the solution with something new.

Complex training Once built, a machine vision solution equipped with deep learning requires a training process. The user must present hundreds to thousands, and

sometimes even millions, of defective samples to the solution, to teach it what a defective product looks like. The integrator will have to set machine learning parameters, such as data-augmentation, network topologies and final classification thresholds. All of this can take months.

To change this scenario, an autonomous machine vision solution has been developed by Inspekto. The S70 gives manufacturers full control of their visual quality assurance.

They can set up a fully operational quality assurance system out of the box in under an hour. Set up requires around 20 to 30 good samples, and no defective ones.

The algorithm developed by Inspekto requires no prior knowledge of the object nor any expertise from the operator, the system can distinguish any nuisance changes in the field of view from any material changes which constitute a defect.

Changes in the object’s orientation, or in the lighting conditions will therefore not be flagged up as defects.

The system can inspect any product, at any location on the line and under any environmental conditions.

An autonomous machine vision solution will also be more flexible – it should be easy for the system to be moved from one point on the line to another, offering the same simple set up at the new location.

This flexibility also means that visual quality assurance can be performed on multiple products at the same location on the production line, with the system detecting and classifying each product as appropriate. !

Yonatan Hyatt is CTO at Inspekto.

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Control Engineering UK

NEW PRODUCTS

DECENTRALISED IP66 FREQUENCY INVERTER WITH IO-LINK The latest addition to the Lenze i500 inverter range, the i550 protec, has been designed for decentralised drive tasks and comes with IP66 protection class, IOLink connectivity and a power range of up to 75 kW. It is said to be the first of its kind to offer this level of communication integration for decentralised applications, making it suitable for use with conveyors, fans, pumps and lifting units. With IP66 / NEMA4X ingress protection, the device can be installed in areas that experience adverse environmental conditions such as high temperatures, dust, dirt or water jet during cleaning operations.

The inclusion of the IO-Link V1.1 standard interface enables sensors and actuators distributed throughout an application to be linked to a centralised control system using the new i550 protec. If an IO-Link master is already in use in the network, additional costs can be saved by using the i550 protec, as devices will be automatically parametrised during standard set-up, or as part of an in-service device replacement.

The new decentralised communication standard ASi-5 can also be connected to the i550 IO-Link interface, along with other common fieldbus interfaces.

Two-armed collaborative robots launched Two new collaborative robots have been launched by Toshiba Machine, available in the UK from TM Robotics.

The new collaborative robots, include a two-armed humanoid and a SCARA version. The humanoid cobot, which has been developed to meet demand for human-machine collaboration in parts assembly and inspection processes, offers a 6kg maximum payload for each arm or 10kg when used in combination.

The SCARA model also features two arms and is suited to use in fast-paced handling applications.

The launches are said to mark the beginning of a new era for Toshiba Machine and its industrial robot division.

From April 1, 2020, the company will return to its original name of Shibaura Machine. The name change represents a formal separation from Toshiba Corporation, but will have no impact on the new product releases that have been

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February 2020

developed at the company’s Japanese base. The corporate name change will, however, have no bearing on that of TM Robotics in the UK.

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Visual inspection made easy with stroboscopes A range of hand-held stroboscopes that enable the visual inspection of rotating equipment to be carried out in an economic and timely fashion has been introduced by SKF. Traditionally, to allow visual inspection of machinery to take place it has been necessary to shut it down first, interrupting operations and causing costly downtime.

The TKRS stroboscopes enable visual inspections to be carried out on equipment while it is rotating.

The hand-held devices emit flashes of light timed to coincide with the speed of the running machine, creating an optical effect whereby the moving parts appear to be permanently frozen in place. This allows visual inspection to take place.

Matching the timing of the strobe effect with the machinery to be inspected can be tricky using some stroboscopes. By contrast, TKRS stroboscopes are said to be quick and easy to set-up and use. Users can change the frequency at which the stroboscope flashes to match the speed of the rotating machine simply by turning a rotary control wheel with their thumb.

Advanced TKRS stroboscopes use lasers to detect the speed of the machinery and feature a builtin trigger input that can receive signals from machines that express their rotation speed. These features enable their flash frequencies to be synchronised automatically.

The range is suitable for general maintenance tasks, including inspection of couplings, fan blades, gears, belts, chains and more.

However, the stroboscopes can also be used for advanced production quality control and visual vibration analysis.

Control Engineering UK

EXHIBITION REVIEW

SPS HIGHLIGHTS INDUSTRY TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS Despite the challenging economic climate, the 30th SPS exhibition once again broke records. The number of exhibitors with their own booths was bigger than ever before, with exhibitors showcasing an ever wide a range of products and solutions designed to help industry meet their current and future challenges.

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he direction that industry is travelling has been reflected in the new exhibition’s name, SPS - Smart Production Solutions – and this was also very much in evidence in each of the 17 exhibition halls. In addition to topics from the IT world, including machine learning, digital twins, cloud, and big data technologies, security has also become a growing growing focus area.

“This year my personal highlight was once again Tuesday morning at 9 am, seeing the first visitors stream into the exhibition halls,” said Sylke Schultz-Metzner, vice president at SPS. “Every year visitors and exhibitors put their heads together, discuss and work together to find the best solution and it is the realisation that, in those three days in Nuremberg, the future of our industrial nation is determined. This is what still inspires me about the SPS event!”

Steffen Winkler, vice president sales, Business Unit Automation & Electrification Solutions at Bosch Rexroth AG, confirmed the importance of the exhibition for the automation industry. He said: “ There is hardly any other exhibition at which we hold such in-depth discussions, at which so many concrete ideas are born and joint projects are launched.”

Prominent on the Phoenix Contact stand was a demonstration of the growing PLCnext Technology ecosystem for automation. To make its own PLCnext Technology expertise – along with the expertise of other users – easily available the company created the PLCnext Store. Here it has deposited a selection of turnkey Control Engineering Europe

software functions as app’s. The store can also be used to market app’s developed by third-parties.

The PLCnext Store now includes software functions in various forms, including fully-programmed turnkey solutions, modules that help develop apps more quickly, and apps that help customise the runtime environment of the controller. This means that users can find function libraries created in accordance with IEC 61131-3, firmware extensions for the PLCnext runtime system, and solution apps that can be used for automation applications without programming knowledge.

Phoenix Contact also showed its extended Axioline I/O system portfolio which includes plug-in, systemindependent I/O Smart Elements featuring a compact design and up to 16 channels. The elements featuring IP20-rated protection are inserted into an Axioline F backplane.

Backplane modules allow four or six Smart Elements to be inserted and integrated into the Axioline F local bus. Thanks to a double row of slots,

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two I/O elements can be placed one above the other which allows different functions to be accommodated in an overall width of 15mm with up to 32 channels.

In addition to standard I/O functions, the range includes a four-channel IO-Link master and PROFIsafe modules used to acquire and output safetyrelated signals. Additional Axioline F I/O modules can be used to add more functions to an Axioline station.

Highlights on the Moxa stand included a gateway solution that promises easy connectivity from the edge to the cloud. The UC series IIoT Edge Gateways are the first Azure IoT Edge certified Arm-based computers. Integrating Azure IoT Edge with Moxa’s IIoT gateways is said to benefit users in a number of ways, including secure remote connections to enable deployment in remote locations; connectivity to allow existing brownfield applications to share data with the cloud; and device management and product longevity.

The loT Gateway UC-8100A-ME-T

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EXHIBITION REVIEW

computing platform is built around a Cortex-A8 processor and designed for embedded data acquisition applications.

It has built-in remote communication capabilities and is Microsoft Azure-ready to facilitate data transfer from field devices to the cloud. The computer comes with dual RS-232/422/485 serial ports and dual 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports, as well as a Mini PCIe socket to support cellular modules.

Mitsubishi Electric set out to demonstrate its ability to achieve greater connectivity of the shop floor operational technology (OT) with IT infrastructure.

The first step in optimising OT/IT connectivity is utilising plant floor data and this is possible with edge computing solutions such as theOPC-AU compatible MELIPC. Data can be pre-processed locally and aggregated to create information locally and can seamlessly connect the shop floor with higher level IT systems such as MES and ERP platforms.

The improved control and visualisation of manufacturing processes is another example where OT/IT crossover is in demand. Mitsubishi Electric’s SCADA system, MAPS achieves this by collecting

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and aggregating production data for both shop floor use and IT management systems. The recent acquisition of ICONICS has extended the company’s portfolio in this area and will be able to provide more value by exploiting the data even further.

ICONICS’ suite of software products are designed to offer advanced capabilities on top of traditional, classic SCADA applications, as well as helping to bridge the gap between IT and OT, including advanced IoT technology that is said to bring SCADA to a new level.

Lenze put a focus on the opportunities offered by digital transformation which, it says, is fed by the increasing ability to link available data more closely – not just in production but also during machine and system development.

One of Lenze’s key tools for digital engineering is the EASY System Designer.

This web-based planning tool will very soon support users with the complete planning of machine solutions, consisting of automation and drive components as well as software. The tool checks the feasibility of the system solution that has been developed and documents everything necessary for those involved in the engineering process. This can save

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valuable planning time, shortening the decision-making process and reducing project risk. The solution can also be made available for further engineering tasks and the complete solution can be transferred immediately to the EASY Product Finder shopping cart to accelerate the quotation process.

The planned system solution can then used as the basis for developing a corresponding PLC program. The programmer will have access to the information on the machine’s structure, selected hardware components and software modules, as well as the application parameters and other relevant project data, in their engineering environment. This means that they can finalise the PLC program and get the machine up and running quickly.

HARTING Technology Group showcased a variety of new connectivity solutions for digital and smart automation. A key feature on the stand was promotion for the new SPE Network, an alliance of technology companies which are jointly developing future-proof connectivity solutions for Single Pair Ethernet (SPE).

The collaboration between > p20 HARTING, TE Connectivity and HIROSE Control Engineering Europe

The Industrial Interoperability Standard

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Interoperability for Industrie 4.0 and IIoT OPC UA is a framework for Industrial Interoperability ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞ ➞

Scalable from sensor to IT Enterprise & Cloud Modeling of data and interfaces for devices and services Integrated security by design with configurable access rights for data and services Extendable transport protocols: Client/Server and Publisher/Subscriber Independent from vendor, operating system, implementation language and vertical markets International: OPC UA is IEC62541

The OPC Foundation closely cooperates with organizations and associations from various branches. Information models are mapped onto OPC UA to make them interoperable with integrated security.

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UPDATE

German and english version under opcfoundation.org/ resources/brochures/

FLC brochure https://opcfoundation.org/ flc-pdf

Security brochure https://opcfoundation.org/ security

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OPC Foundation Videos https://www.youtube.com/ user/TheOPCfoundation/ videos 1

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Initiative: Field Level Communications (FLC)

OPC Unified Architecture

OPC Foundation extends OPC UA including TSN down to field level

Practical Security Recommendations for building OPC UA Applications

Interoperability for Industrie 4.0 and the Internet of Things Version 08 // June 2018

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EXHIBITION REVIEW in the field of Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) has recently expanded by the creation of the Single Pair Ethernet - Industrial Partner Network and the news that Würth Elektronik, LEONI, Murrelektronik and Softing IT Networks are now also supporting SPE technology as a future infrastructure solution for the IIoT. Harting introduced its T1 Industrial, which is said to be the first standardised SPE interface in line with the release of IEC 63171-6, which brings data and power on one pair of wires to previously unattainable locations.

Also on display was the MICA Edge Computing System which demonstrated its ability to work in conjunction with machines and the Cloud.

Blurring boundaries Under the motto ‘Faster. Better.

Connected. discover hybrid automation in a new dimension’, Festo used the event to demonstrate how the boundaries between pneumatic and electrical automation are blurring, with the introduction of many new pneumatic, electrical and hybrid automation solutions. It also set out to focus on its smart production solution, in the context of digitalisation.

With the Simplified Motion Series Festo is expanding its product portfolio in the field of electric drives. The six drives are designed for simple motion and positioning tasks. In addition, the drives can be quickly put into operation without software, previous knowledge of programming or electrical connection technology, with integrated IO-Link offering extended functions.

A highlight on the stand was Automation Suite which

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includes a range of software tools for commissioning the entire electrical drive package from mechanics to control. The software combines parameterisation, programming and maintenance of Festo components in a single program.

Gigabit EtherCAT The EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) used the event to highlight its support for gigabit EtherCat technology, in the form of EtherCAT G, following its acceptance as an addition to the EtherCAT standard.

Commenting on the addition, Dr Guido Beckmann, Chairman of the ETG Technical Committee, said: “EtherCAT is already the fastest industrial Ethernet fieldbus, and will remain so, due to its special functional principle. With EtherCAT G particularly data-hungry applications, such as machine vision and high-end measurement technology, can now also be integrated. This extends the range of applications for EtherCAT technology and makes it even more viable for the future.”

It is thought that the existing 100 Mb/ sec EtherCAT technology will continue to offer the best solution for the majority of applications. However, EtherCAT G offers additional user advantages, especially in applications where particularly large amounts of process data must be transported per device.

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This can include machine vision, high-end measurement technology or complex motion applications that go beyond the scope of classic drive control.

As an extension of standard EtherCAT technology, EtherCAT G is fully compatible; existing devices designed for 100 Mb/sec can be seamlessly integrated into an EtherCAT G system, and EtherCAT G devices in a 100 Mb/sec EtherCAT system behave like classic EtherCAT devices.

The central element of EtherCAT G is the use of EtherCAT Branch Controllers, which fulfil two main functions: On the one hand, they act as a kind of node for the integration of segments from 100 Mb/sec devices; on the other hand, they enable parallel processing of the connected EtherCAT segments. This significantly reduces the propagation delay in the system, which increases system performance many times over previous levels.

Beckhoff demonstrated the benefits of its TwinCAT Analytics offering for machine builders and systems integrators looking to transform their business models through the use of machine and plant process data.

TwinCAT Analytics – which automatically converts analysis configurations into executable PLC code –now also includes a one-click dashboard generation feature. All it

Control Engineering Europe

EXHIBITION REVIEW takes for users to generate an entire HTML5-based analytics dashboard based on the PLC code and to load it into a selected Analytics Runtime container is a simple mouse click. When the process completes, users receive a network address that they can then use to access the dashboard in a web browser. The ability to generate dashboards without the need to write a single line of code or design graphics can offer huge timesavings within the engineering process.

Based on TwinCAT 3 HMI, the new functionality provides at least one HMI Control for every TwinCAT Analytics algorithm, each with an up-to-date tile design that follows the latest web standards. The controls contained in a dashboard can be selected individually in an algorithm’s properties with the aid of a control preview. Users can also combine multiple algorithms within an individual HMI Control.

Belden demonstrated how it is able to offer cost and time savings for a wide variety of connectivity requirements – from sensor to the cloud – to help deliver maximum productivity and uptime.

A number of new products and technologies were shown from the Belden, Hirschmann and Lumberg Automation product ranges designed to enhance the productivity of industrial systems and machines. These included Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) technology solutions with Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) capability and the Hirschmann EAGLE40 Industrial Firewall, a ruggedised multiport cybersecurity solution which is designed to maximise uptime in automated environments.

Evolving alongside data transfer demands, the EAGLE 40 includes more port options with increased bandwidth and encryption capabilities.

Controller with software separation On the Emerson Machine Automation Solutions stand the IC695CPL410 controller was pointed out as a highlight. It is said to be unique in its ability to create a software separation of the quad core system into two dualControl Engineering Europe

cores capable of running completely separate operating systems. It does this by utilising a powerful quadcore processor and a virtualisation technique known as hypervising.

So, one dual-core system can run the PAC systems engine just like the one that runs on the RX3i PAC systems hardware while the other dual-core system could be treated like any computer.

The design team put Ubuntu Server Linux on the hardware, which offers opportunities for software developers and customers to merge the plant floor with the tools that are taken for granted in the IT environment.

The two halves of the CPL410 connect via an internal NIC that can pass OPC-UA data back and forth. For any tag on the PLC side, it is possible to choose to publish the tag or not.

Ultimately, the control of this is on the PLC programmer. Setting the publish tag to False means that the tag won’t be exposed to the Linux side of the CPL410. Another option for this setting is ‘External Read Only’ meaning the tag can be seen by the Linux side, but not changed. The final option is ‘External Read/Write’ meaning that the tag can be seen and changed by the Linux side. This distinction is important as it means that the PLC programmer can pick and choose which variables remain hidden and which can be changed by the Linux side.

Ethernet physical layer The biggest topic for discussion on the Analog Devices stand was the the release of new industrial Ethernet physical layer (PHY) products to help manufacturers address key Industry 4.0 and smart factory communication challenges surrounding data integration, synchronisation, edge connectivity, and system interoperability.

The ADIN1300, for example is a low-power, single port Ethernet transceiver designed for time-critical industrial Ethernet applications up to Gigabit speeds and designed to

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operate reliably in harsh industrial conditions over extended ambient temperature ranges. It is the latest technology developed for the company’s ADI Chronous portfolio of industrial Ethernet solutions.

ADI Chronous Ethernet solutions encompass a range of industrial Ethernet technologies from realtime Ethernet switches, physical transceivers and protocol processing to complete network interface products. Designed to support scalable and flexible system development, the ADI Chronous product portfolio offers multiple port count, low power consumption, and flexible bandwidth. Being multiprotocol, these solutions are compatible with all existing protocols while also providing the ability to future-proof for TSN features.

On the ABB stand visitors could find out how the company’s Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) software suite is able to streamline production by enabling seamless plant orchestration.

A new version of Ability MOM software platform offers an extended range of capabilities and new digital applications designed to give operators, supervisors and plant managers the visibility and insights to take the right actions for increased productivity, quality and compliance.

New features in the enhanced MOM platform include enhanced user experience based on new HTML 5 web client; a new interactive dashboard application that provides greater visibility and collaboration; a new statistical process control (SPC) application, to determine if each process is in a state of control; and a new Batch Compare application – for advanced batch analysis !

Next year the SPS exhibition will be held from 24 – 26 November 2020, once again at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. For more information, please visit www.sps-exhibition.com.

February 2020

21

SCADA & HMI

SCADA GOES ON A TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY Christian Nomine explores the changing requirements for both SCADA software and HMI systems across the manufacturing and processing sectors as the importance of collecting, storing and analysing data grows.

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he changing requirements for both SCADA software and HMI systems are being defined by industry’s digital transformation.

A core element of this process is bridging the gap between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT).

Achieving this connectivity allows both OT and IT staff to have quick and easy access to timely, relevant data for efficient plant operation and management decisions.

So, SCADA is moving from simply being a convenient tool for managing a plant or process to being a vital part of the digital make-up of a factory.

This raises the importance of SCADA platforms to a much more prominent position in the digital transformation process and enabling new business models that go alongside that change.

Because most process and manufacturing plants in Europe have evolved over a long period, modern SCADA solutions need to be able to interact with a variety of both new and legacy software systems and hardware components. This requires a large library of built-in connectivity options for third-party automation controllers, and also requires the ability to connect

seamlessly with a range of database technologies and management software platforms such as MES and ERP.

A role to play When it comes to machine learning and data analytics, SCADA also has a role to play: using it as a simple way to contextualise data, for example. By adding meaning to pure numbers it can be used to visualise and understand logged machine data, before it is put into a deep neural network to learn patterns and predict outcomes.

From a more independent function point of view, SCADA systems are now also being asked to support web services, IIoT and cloud-based connectivity such as OPC UA, plus MQTT and IT connectivity such as SNMP or ICMP to monitor IT assets.

The need for greater connectivity and functionality requires SCADA solutions to also be underpinned by appropriate levels of security. Once this has been

dealt with, convenience becomes the key to usability, and this applies equally to the numerous platforms that a comprehensive SCADA solution now has to support. The operator interface should work just as well on an HMI as it does on an industrial PC, a touch screen laptop, a tablet or smart phone. Being platformindependent is also important when it comes to alarm notifications and push messages to mobile devices as much as it is for the main screen interface. !

Christian Nomine is solutions consulting & product marketing SCADA, Factory Automation EMEA, at Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

PLC gains a virtual HMI The UniStream PLC is a multifunction controller from Unitronics that offers communication support and introduces the concept of a virtual HMI, whereby the PLC stores and runs the program logic as well

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February 2020

as the HMI user application within the PLC itself. This allows users to view and operate a machine locally or to access it remotely.

The controller features built-in I/Os that can be expanded to more

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than 2,000 I/Os including digital, analogue high-speed and temperature, as well as communication modules supporting Modbus, Ethernet/IP, MQTT, SQL, SNMP, and others.

Control Engineering Europe

PROCESS CONTROL

Operation-driven matrix design A multivariable control matrix has manipulated variables (MVs) on one axis, controlled variables (CVs) on the other axis, and models in the matrix that indicate a relationship between that MV/CV pair. Effective multivariable controllers use the right models for various control and optimiSation needs. Allan Kern reports.

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atrix design practice refers to how control engineers go about designing the matrix at the heart of any multivariable controller. A multivariable control matrix consists of manipulated variables (MVs) along one axis, controlled variables (CVs) along the other axis, and models at various locations within the matrix, which indicate a relationship between that MV/ CV pair (Figure 1). Designing the matrix consists of selecting the MVs, CVs and models which, for various control and optimization purposes, are wanted in the multivariable controller.

‘Large-matrix’ design practice has been dominant in industrial applications for the last 30 years.

In large-matrix practice, a wideranging plant test is used to identify all related process variables and process interactions (models). An underlying principle has been more variables and more models yield a more complete solution, for both control and for optimization purposes. It has been routine for large-matrix practice to result in one large multivariable controller spanning an entire plant unit, with dozens of variables (sometimes more than 100) and hundreds of models (sometimes upwards of 1,000).

A side-effect of this approach is that most installed multivariable controllers in the process industry today are large, complex, fragile, costly, and challenging to own, operate and maintain.

Moreover, the large-matrix approach has excluded smaller multivariable control applications that may be warranted

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February 2020

based on more basic control and operation improvements, but which do not necessarily justify the high cost threshold of the large-matrix paradigm.

In conventional multivariable control technology, the built-in optimizer always has been considered an essential piece, so most involved never questioned it.

Instead, the search has looked for better ways to support and maintain the largematrix controllers. However, with insight from decades of experience, it is now possible to see alternative ways to build smaller and more efficient multivariable control applications to address operation and control needs without a built-in optimiser, and therefore without the side-effect of growing the matrix beyond its basic control and operation scope.

Operation-driven matrix design Operation-driven matrix design can reveal important automation opportunities that have previously remained ‘below the radar’ of

large-matrix practices. It differs from optimisation-driven design in key ways. It often results in smaller multivariable controllers, rather than one large controller, with fewer variables and models. When concerns arise regarding a variable’s importance, its efficacy for control, or the reliability of its models, it is often left out of the matrix. Leaving it out errs on the side of reliability. Keeping it errs on the side of optimisation.

The overarching goal of operationdriven matrix design is automation, not optimisation, and such a design strives to include only necessary, reliable, and worthwhile parts.

In operation-driven matrix design, groups of related single-loop controllers are identified, based on frequent (often highly coincident) changes to setpoints, outputs or modes. This activity represents manual open-loop multivariable control being carried out by the operating team. The objectives are to:

Figure 1: Multivariable control matrix for an atmospheric crude distillation column, based on operation-driven design practice. The matrix is smaller than traditional crude column applications.

It addresses primarily column pressure and product inferential quality control, which are often the most valuable objectives of this application – and often the ones found ‘unclamped’ in existing large-matrix applications. Images courtesy: APC Performance LLC

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Control Engineering Europe

PROCESS CONTROL 1. Automate these manual multivariable control scenarios to capture the well-known intrinsic benefits of closed-loop versus open-loop control.

2. Relieve the operating team of repetitive control loop micromanagement, thereby allowing more time to play a proactive process oversight role.

Operation-driven design does not strive to include all related variables and models. It often focuses on the ones already used in existing manual multivariable control operating practices and procedures. It automates established proven procedures and captures the experience and skill of the operating team regarding which MVs are suitable and reliable for controlling which CVs. Using automation to capture operator skills is an important criteria that largematrix practice often neglects in favour of greater optimisation.

What about optimisation?

Optimisation belongs in the business layer, based on access to site-wide information, ability to bring a variety of planning, scheduling, blending and modelling tools to bear, and the appropriate execution time frame, which is typically daily and not in real time. Common practice is performing daily updates to the (optimised) sitewide production plan and handing it down via the operating chain of command, usually starting with the ‘morning meeting’.

This raises questions about the conventional multivariable control built-in optimiser in the control layer.

In the control layer, multivariable control needs to execute at high frequency because process values are subject to real-time changes.

However, optimisation normally does not need to execute at high frequency because optimization normally does not change in real time. This makes the control layer optimiser redundant and Control Engineering Europe

Figure 2: Operation-driven multivariable control application ‘low altitude radar’ spotlights potential multivariable control applications that have remained ‘below the radar’ of large-matrix practice.

Like previous industry-wide initiatives to address loops-in-manual and bad-actor alarms, this simple technique identifies multivariable open loops that can be closed to capture the well-known benefits of closed-loop vs. open-loop control and operation.

unnecessary, even as it contributes significantly to the high cost and maintenance of conventional multivariable control applications (second only to model maintenance).

Low altitude radar Many smaller multivariable control applications have remained ‘below the radar’ of the large-matrix multivariable control paradigm, but the exact nature of these applications and a method to identify them has never been proposed – until now.

A simple technique for spotting these applications is to use a console activity log to reveal the controllers that require the most operator intervention in the form of setpoint, output or mode changes (Figure 2).

A safe assumption is most of these bad actors are effectively in a manual multivariable control scenario, wherein operators must frequently adjust groups of related controllers to keep related process variables within constraint limits and (to the extent possible) at optimum target values. [Note: the term ‘optimum target values’ refers to how remaining MV availability (after constraint control) is utilised, and does not necessarily mean the value comes from a real-time optimiser,

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which in fact it often does not.]

This manual open-loop activity can be automated — these multivariable loops can be closed – by deploying an operation-driven multivariable controller to capture closed-loop control benefits versus open-loop control.

This same technique has successfully been used in industrial applications twice in recent memory: Once to address loops-in-manual (as opposed to multivariable loops in manual) and once to address bad actor alarms.

In each case, this technique was used to show the extent of the problem, and then measure progress towards best practice target metric values. According to EEMUA 191, Alarm systems — a guide to design, management and procurement, operators should not have more than one alarm per 10 minutes. However, there is no best practice guideline for controller interventions per hour. This also has remained below the radar — until now. !

Allan Kern, P.E., is owner, president, and control engineering consultant at APC Performance LLC. This article originally appeared on www.controleng.com February 2020

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HAZARDOUS AREAS

Enhancing safety with mobile solutions The goal of enterprise mobility solutions is to network people, plants and systems, using data as efficiently as possible. The use of intrinsically safe smart devices can help improve productivity and the safety of employees, says Dietmaer Deppisch.

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he flood of data coming from modern production facilities is usually managed by central controls. However, for comprehensive and timely monitoring of processes, data needs to be available closer to the process and more directly – preferably in real time and with low latency. Modern, intrinsically safe (IS) smartphones and tablets can serve as decentralised mini data centers or digital gateways – for example in combination with professional software, sensors, beacons or other smart peripheral devices. The accumulated data can be transferred to the mobile device in real time and evaluated there, with the corresponding applications, at any location and at any time. This solution can help improve productivity and also significantly raises employee safety in hazardous areas.

The right safety level Employees frequently work alone on the plant floor, outside the range of hearing and vision of their colleagues. They can be exposed to higher risks in their daily work and depend on quick assistance in case of an emergency. If no appropriate safety precautions are taken, injuries, accidents and consequential damage to people and equipment can easily occur.

The company must ensure that an accident is detected and the rescue chain is set in motion swiftly. In case of critical hazards it is mandatory to set up a certified lone-worker protection solution (LWP).

Programmable 3D motion sensors can automatically trigger an alarm in the event of a hazard, report the exact location of the incident and

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February 2020

By working alone in hazardous areas workers are at higher risks of an accident so need better protection.

document the entire process for later investigation.

A typical comprehensive lone worker protection system will consist of Personal Alarm Signal Terminals (PAST) just as a mobile phone or wireless device; Personal Alarm Signal System (PASS) (software on server); and connection between the PASS and PAST via telephone or wireless network. For larger scale lone worker protection solutions mobile devices can be integrated into cloud server systems.

The Pepperl+Fuchs brand ecom offers such solutions.

A practical example A power plant operator in northern Italy offers a good demonstration of the benefits of a lone worker protection solution consisting of mobile devices and specifically for hazardous areas developed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons.

The management was looking for a reliable automated system that would help prevent accidents and reduce the time for a potential rescue to an absolute minimum. It chose a solution

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with ecom’s smartphone series Smart-Ex and beacon series Loc-Ex – both certified for use in Zone 1/21 and Division 1.

With BLE beacons employees can also be located indoors or be warned of possible hazards in advance. They have an interior range of approximately 10 to 30m and up to 300m in the open field.

The signal from the beacon is received by an application on the Smart-Ex smartphone and the distance to the beacon is calculated.

When the mobile worker enters the working area, the location can be read out accurately – even threedimensionally, i.e. across floors – and forwarded to the control center´s central navigation system. The user is not dependent on an Internet connection because the mobile devices and applications store the beacon signals locally on the device and send them immediately to update the backend system as soon as access to the company network is available. Compared to other geo-location technologies, this beacon technology offers a high degree of precision and accuracy in all three Control Engineering Europe

HAZARDOUS AREAS

axes. The position of the mobile worker is stored in the temporary memory of the device and only forwarded to the rescuer in the event of an alarm.

It cannot be retrieved either from the device itself or from the outside, from the alarm console in the control center or by subsequent technical analysis.

The solution meets all data protection requirements, guarantees the safety of lone workers and, in an emergency, reduces the response times of the rescuers to a minimum.

In another scenario an oil company commissioned Italian institute L’Istituto di Vigilanza dell’Urbe (IVU) to optimise and secure the refueling of petrol tanks at gas stations. This posed a challenge due to the high safety measures for the refueling process. Delivery and filling, for example, may only be carried out by specialised forwarding agents, under the supervision of a qualified person. The goal was to centralise the monitoring of tank processes in a control center and to

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implement a comprehensive protection system for lone workers. When selecting and integrating a solution, IVU relied on a specialist systems integrator for radio communication and control rooms. This company designed a complete all-inone solution employing ecom IS mobile devices.

These mobile devices are equipped with a push-to-talk-over-cellular application. In the event of an accident, rescue workers can be notified immediately via Lone Worker Protection applications. Programmable 3D motion sensors automatically start an SOS request when, for example, the device falls off or no movement is detected. Each work area has been mapped with geofencing so the software detects the GPS position of the worker. This guarantees that an accident is always instantly detected. All SOS requests also activate the handsfree function of the smartphone as well as its camera which allows the

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control center to assess whether the employee is responsive and what kind the injuries are. Where previously two people (for example, a truck driver and supervisor) were necessary because of safety requirements, one driver is now sufficient. The supervisor no longer has to be on site, because the devices are monitored continuously (GPS position, battery charge, signal quality, connection status) and entries and exits in a filling station are automatically noted. The control room supervisor will be able to determine, in seconds, whether an alarm is real. It is also possible to document an emergency situation by using recorded voice communication, video streaming, GPS position and event logs.

The documentation of the entire rescue chain provides an effective basis for further optimising alert processes. !

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PROCESS SAFETY

INCORPORATING RESILIENCE IN SAFETY AND CONTROL LAYERS In recent years, large-scale professional cyberattacks and chip hardware vulnerabilities, affecting industrial plants around the globe, have clearly shown a need for the process industry to take segregation and cybersecurity more seriously, say Rehan Ahmad and Shafeekh Rahiman.

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igital transformation holds many opportunities for plant operators to enhance efficiency, increase flexibility and future-proof plants. At the same time, however, the growing level of automation and connectivity can also result in plant security issues.

In late 2017 a safety controller deployed in a process facility in Middle East was hacked. The safety instrumented system (SIS) was compromised and initiated a plant shutdown. While no damage or injuries occurred, the incident does highlight the need for increased awareness in relation to segregation and cybersecurity in what is effectively the last line of defence in any process plant. Furthermore, critical hardware vulnerabilities affecting most modern processors have recently been identified.

Attack modes such as Meltdown and Spectre exploited these in order to steal data from computers all around

the world. This again reopened the discussion around the layer of protection and additional segregation requirement in different layers. An independent protection layer (IPL) is a device, system, or action that is capable of preventing a scenario from proceeding to its undesired consequence independent of the initiating event or the action of any other layer of protection associated with the scenario.

Standards and segregation The purpose of modern functional safety solutions is to reduce safety and security risks to a minimum. Therefore, a holistic approach is needed which not only includes the core SIS (final control elements, logic solver including I/O module and sensors), but also its environment like the engineering station, asset management tools (AMS) and handhelds as well as field entry panels and human machine interfaces (HMIs).

To reduce the risk in all prevention layers International standards provide guidelines and recommendations. For example, Safety Standard IEC61511-2, states that Basic Process Control System (BPCS) & SIS should be completely separated, isolated & independent (clause 11.2.4). The standard states that SIS is normally separated from the BPCS for the following reasons: • To reduce common cause, common mode and systematic failures, minimising the impact of BPCS failure on the SIS. • To retain flexibility for changes, maintenance, testing and documentation relating to the BPCS. • To facilitate the identification and management of the SIS devices, making the validation and FSA of the SIS more straightforward and clear.

• To support access security and enhance cyber security for the SIS, such that revision to BPCS functions or data do not impact the SIS. • To reduce the amount of analysis that should occur to ensure that the SIS and BPCS are properly designed, verified, and managed.

This separation can be achieved via identical separation (same technology) or diverse separation (different technology). To meet SIL-3 and SIL-4 requirements diverse separation must be adopted and identical

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Control Engineering Europe

PROCESS SAFETY

separation is not sufficient. As stated in the IEC 61511 standard, today’s users prefer to utilise Programmable Electronics (PE) technology for both the BPCS and the SIS, as it provides maximum flexibility and the ability to interchange information between the BPCS and the SIS. Unfortunately these characteristics can be counterproductive when trying to maintain separation and independence between the BPCS and the SIS. Integrated control and safety system (ICSS) is a concept which integrated both BPCS and SIS. It simplifies the configuration by using common network domain, common software library and common engineering workstation. The ICSS concept adopted for SIL-3 requirement directly contradicts IEC 61511-2, clause A9.4.2, for having different manufacturers for diversity. It also does not fulfil completely the measures of ‘differences’ set out in IEC 61511, Clause 11.2.4.

No safety without security The security requirements deserve to be defined in a similar manner which is to specify protection layers and provide separation between the layers. This is because the security environment is the protecting layer which prevents security threats reaching the SIS. Befitting this concept, the zones and conduit concept is described in the international standard for automation security, IEC 62443-3-2.

Control Engineering Europe

A zone, in line with this standard, is a dedicated part of an overall application where identical security recommendations apply. Each zone has clearly defined perimeters and dedicated interfaces to other zones.

For each of the zones (or layers) it is necessary to define what level of security protection measures need to be implemented. These measures are the ‘foundational requirements’ of IEC 62443-3-3 and are listed as following: 1. Identification and authentication control 2. Use control 3. System integrity 4. Data confidentiality 5. Restricted data flow 6. Timely response to events 7. Resource availability The intent is to keep the threat or risk in a zone from reaching another.

Hence each zone acts as a protection layer and any interface or conduit should have enough measures to avoid any breach of security. Therefore, the BPCS, SIS, maintenance and engineering workstation and office zones should be segregated.

Any well-structured management plan for safety and security should go in tandem. Data flow requirements, interfaces and required defence systems have to be designed and built according to the International Standards

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IEC 61508/61511, Security Standard IEC 62443 and others.

A holistic approach will address security and safety management systems, secure communication infrastructure and zones/layers capable of withstanding security breaches. For example, for an effective cyberdefence, the computer infrastructure should be set up with a secure firmware (BIOS) management, reduced access rights and with only the required Windows services activated.

Portable devices should not be used as engineering stations as they can be easily moved between zones.

The engineering station should be kept completely separate from other functions and the engineering station for one zone should not handle the other zones, to list just a few measures.

All devices – controllers, PCs, remote IOs and firewalls, for example – should feature an intelligent password management system and install mission specific set of application programs alone which are to be regularly updated with necessary patch management.

So, it is vital that a lifecycle management approach is taken for both security and safety. The design, realisation, operation and maintenance should all provide a management plan for security and safety. This approach should not be applicable for the industry alone – users, manufacturers, vendors and service providers also need to take responsibility for the incorporation of safety and security lifecycle management for themselves. !

Rehan Ahmad is chief operating officer at HIMA Middle East and Shafeekh Rahiman is life cycle service manager at HIMA Middle East.

February 2020

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DRIVE SURVEY

SURVEY OFFERS DRIVE ADVICE The 2019 Control Engineering Motor Drives study asked respondents: ‘Based on your experiences and knowledge, what’s the best advice you can offer?’

Mark Hoske provides some highlights of the answers to this study.

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irstly, check for temperature rise on motor, how harmonic contents spread into the grid, and the overall efficiency at partial load.

It does not matter which brand of drives you choose for your application.

The most important factor will be the quality of the product, availability, and standardisation. Standardisation can reduce the stock of spares required and helps support personnel understand the drives used.

Know the specific details of your application requirements before specifying the drive. For example, know peak velocity usage, not just average velocity. Similarly, know the maximum torque that the application demands.

Consider all of this with the motor’s performance in light of the specific drive that you intend to use. Failing to do the pencil-work, prior to specifying the drive, is almost a guarantee of disappointing performance later.

Know the application before selecting a drive.

Correct drive sizing As efficiency standards change for induction motors, watch for inrush currents and breakdown torque and breakdown current changes. Inrush currents are rising and can cause challenges with electronic overloads.

It is important to have a thorough understanding of your application,

particularly high friction and/or high inertia starting. To get the full use of available motor torque, the drive must be correctly sized. For very large motors performing heavy-duty cycle work, be certain that the transformer and conductors do not cause large voltage drops when the application is at its greatest demand.

For large hammer mills using wound rotor motors and liquid rheostats, we target <5% voltage drop at the motor at 200% full load amps (FLA). It is very common for engineers unfamiliar with the application to undersize the transformers and conductors.

Products, parts, support Buy from someone with good technical knowledge and a lot of hands-on experience. Hire and keep good technical support people on staff.

Check compatibility before ordering, if you’re not using similar products.

Double-check specs and requirements for motor and drive selection.

Drive pricing, quality Buy the best you can afford. Keep your equipment in good shape. All machines will break down at some point (most will do so at the worst possible time!).

Cheap equipment usually doesn’t work well, breaks down easily, and/or has bad technical support.

Do not get hung up on bells and whistles. In operation most settings tend to remain factory default and work fine.

Design, maintenance, retrofit Don’t think you can delay or skip preventive maintenance.

Take the time to read drive manuals before installation.

Keep an open mind, standardise as much as possible, and make sure you keep up with your manuals. !

Position, speed and torque control are most important with servo drives.

Graphic provided courtesy of Control Engineering 2019 Motor Drives Study.

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Survey managed and data compiled

by Amanda Pelliccione, CFE Media and Technology research director. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media and Techology.

Control Engineering Europe

B EG I N W I T H P R EC I S I O N .

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