Chemical Technology September 2016

CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION

their operational systems may be compromised via their IT systems, less than half have a strategy to address this. Internet security – whether effecting industrial systems or not – is a challenge for all businesses. A company that has its billing and client management systems compromised will suffer whether the factory is offline or not. Security can be managed, and systems restored even if they are compro- mised, if there are good strategies in place to address them. Yes, this does make managing companies implementing IIoT much more challenging. Enter opportunities for engineering consulting firms. GE has developed an aircraft maintenance business, expand- ing from their jet engine manufacturing, to monitor and predict maintenance for their clients. GE’s intention is to offer their clients the ability to have no unplanned downtime on their jet engines and locomotives. They have expanded that software platform into Predix, which creates a digital cloud-based replica of your systems via the various added sensors permitting similar comprehensive management. Michelin, similarly, is offering fleet managers to pay for tyres on a kilometres-driven basis, and using sensors to help reduce fuel consumption. Claas, a German agricultural machinery manufacturer, produces one of the most sophis- ticated combine harvesters in the world. Their equipment can operate automatically, with sensors that monitor crop flow and automatically optimises performance. A company’s suppliers have the potential to be integrated into the manufacturing and production process to a much greater extent than ever. The German Federal Government has termed this next innovative wave in industry as “Industrie 4.0” and a working group was established in 2012 to develop a series of design principles to support this fourth industrial revolution. They include: • The ability of systems, sensors and devices to be in- teroperable. Given the potential for integrated systems such as those promoted by GE, such interoperability will be critical. • Information systems must also be transparent, creating a virtual copy of a plant as a digital model derived from sensor data. • Systems should provide technical assistance to improve decision-making and reduce the need for humans to perform boring, tiring or dangerous tasks. • Lastly, systems must decentralise decision-making by allowing systems to run autonomously, and – should anything go wrong – informand delegate to a higher level. Conclusion Certainly, there are dangers from poorly implemented sys- tems, and going from limited telemetry to a fully-integrated system with thousands of new sensors in one step is likely to lead to companies disrupting themselves. The oppor- tunities are also tremendous. For existing plants, there is the benefit of efficiency and safety. For innovators, there’s the opportunity to create new types of services for others. And, for me, there’s the opportunity to sleep in on Satur- days if my wife can get an SMS directly from the fermenta- tion tank only when it needs her help.

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Chemical Technology • September 2016