Chapter 1

Industrial automation

Abstract

This chapter outlines the general introduction to the industrial automation, history and inventor's contribution to this new discipline of engineering. The evolution of the systems from different perspectives such as needs, technology, and application are described. The evolution of the systems from the controllers, communications, connectivity, and networks are outlined. The introduction and evolution of the field communication networks from a historical perspective to the current day situations are described. The model of an automation system as defined in some standard frameworks are described in a layered manner with a description of the systems in each layers and the responsibility of each of these systems in each layers and with other systems in different layers. The reader can gain a bird's eye view of automation systems used in plant and control environment and general understanding of the different layers, along with the duties of each of these layers, by the end of this chapter.

Keywords

automation industrial control layers level functional architecture process

1.1. Introduction

Industrial automation of a plant/process is the application of the process control and information systems. The world of automation has progressed at a rapid pace for the past four decades and the growth and maturity are driven by the progression in the technology, higher expectations from the users, and maturity of the industrial processing technologies. Industrial automation is a vast and diverse discipline that encompasses process, machinery, electronics, software, and information systems working together toward a common set of goals - increased production, improved quality, lower costs, and maximum flexibility. But it's not easy. Increased productivity can lead to lapses in quality. Keeping costs down can lower productivity. Improving quality and repeatability often impacts flexibility. It's the ultimate balance of these four goals - productivity, quality, cost, and flexibility that allows a company to use automated manufacturing as a strategic competitive advantage in a global marketplace. This ultimate balance is difficult to achieve. However, in this case the journey is more important than the destination. Companies worldwide have achieved billions of dollars in quality and productivity improvements by automating their manufacturing processes effectively. A myriad of technical advances, faster computers, more reliable software, better networks, smarter devices, more advanced materials, and new enterprise solutions all contribute to manufacturing systems that are more powerful and agile than ever before. In short, automated manufacturing brings a whole host of advantages to the enterprise; some are incremental improvements, while others are necessary for survival. All things considered, it's not the manufacturer who demands automation. Instead, it's the manufacturer's customer, and even the customer's customer, who have forced most of the changes in how products are currently made. Consumer preferences for better products, more variety, lower costs, and "when I want it" convenience have driven the need for today's industrial automation. Here are some of the typical expectations from the users of the automation systems. As discussed earlier, the end users of the systems are one of the major drivers for the maturity of the automation industry and their needs are managed by the fast-growing technologies in different time zones. Here are some of the key expectations from major end users of the automation systems. The automation system has to do the process control and demonstrate the excellence in the regulatory and discrete control. The system shall provide an extensive communication and scalable architectures. In addition to the above, the users expect the systems to provide the following: Life cycle excellence from the concept to optimization. The typical systems are supplied with some cost and as a user, it is important to consider the overall cost of the system from the time the purchase is initiated to the time the system is decommissioned. This includes the cost of the system; cost of the hardware; and cost of services, parts, and support. Single integration architecture needs to be optimum in terms of ease of integration and common database and open standards for intercommunication. Enterprise integration for the systems needs to be available for communication and data exchange with the management information systems. Cyber security protection for the systems due to the nature of the systems and their deployment in critical infrastructure. Automation systems are no more isolated from the information systems for various reasons. This ability brings vulnerability in the system and the automation system's supplier is expected to provide the systems that are safe from cyber threats. Application integration has to be closely coupled, but tightly integrated. The systems capabilities shall be such that the integration capabilities allow the users to have flexibility to have multiple systems interconnected and function as a single system: shop floor to top floor integration or sensor to boardroom integration. Productivity and profitability through technology and services in the complete life cycle, in terms of ease of engineering, multiple locations based engineering, ease of commissioning, ease of upgrade, and migration to the newer releases. Shortening delivery time and reducing time of start-up through the use of tools and technologies. This ability clearly becomes the differentiator among the competing suppliers. SMART service capabilities in terms of better diagnostics, predictive information, remote management and diagnostics, safe handling of the abnormal situations, and also different models of business of services such as local inventory and very fast dispatch of the service engineers. Value-added services for maximization in profit, means lower product costs, scalable systems, just-in-time service, lower inventory, and technology-based services. Least cost of ownership of the control systems. Mean time to repair (MTTR) has to be minimum that can be achieved by service center at plant. The above led to continuous research and development from the suppliers for the automation systems to develop a product that are competitive and with latest technologies and can add value to the customers by solving the main points. The following are some of the results of successful automation: Consistency: Consumers want the same experience every time they buy a product, whether it's purchased in Arizona, Argentina, Austria, or Australia. Reliability: Today's ultraefficient factories can't afford a minute of unplanned downtime, with an idle factory costing thousands of dollars per day in lost revenues. Lower costs: Especially in mature markets where product differentiation is limited, minor variations in cost can cause a customer to switch brands. Making the product as cost-effective as possible without sacrificing quality is critical to overall profitability and financial health. Flexibility: The ability to quickly change a production line on the fly (from one flavor to another, one size to another, one model to another, and the like) is critical at a time when companies strive to reduce their finished goods inventories and respond quickly to customer demands. The earliest "automated" systems consisted of an operator turning a switch on, which would supply power to an output - typically a motor. At some point, the operator would turn the switch off, reversing the effect and removing power. These were the light-switch days of automation. Manufacturers soon advanced to relay panels, which featured a series of switches that could be activated to bring power to a number of outputs. Relay panels functioned like switches, but allowed for more complex and precise control of operations with multiple outputs. However, banks of relay panels generated a significant amount of heat, were difficult to wire and upgrade, were prone to failure, and occupied a lot of space. These deficiencies led to the invention of the programmable controller - an electronic device that essentially replaced banks of relays - now used in several forms in millions of today's automated operations. In parallel, single-loop and analog controllers were replaced by the distributed control systems (DCSs) used in the majority of contemporary process control applications. These new solid-state devices offered greater reliability, required less maintenance, and had a longer life than their mechanical counterparts. The programming languages that control the behavior of programmable controls and DCSs could be modified without the need to disconnect or reroute a single wire. This resulted in considerable cost savings due to reduced commissioning time and wiring expense, as well as greater flexibility in...