Strategies for Avoiding the Fallout of Poor Equipment Integration
In today’s evolving manufacturing environment, automated equipment and Industry 4.0 technologies are key to remaining competitive. However, the costs associated with poor equipment integration can be staggering, so careful, strategic planning of these projects is critical to success.
This blog will highlight the benefits of properly integrated equipment, outline common integration challenges, the consequences of ineffective equipment integration and provide strategies for doing it right so you can reap the rewards of fully functional automated equipment.
The Role of Integrated Equipment in Modern Manufacturing
Technologies such as automated process equipment, robotics, sensors, Artificial Intelligence and control and analytical software can intelligently automate manufacturing processes that previously required manual interaction. These and other Industry 4.0 technologies are used in modern manufacturing to manage workflows, prevent bottlenecks and execute manufacturing tasks without the need for human intervention.
When integrated correctly, automated equipment and Industry 4.0 technologies can drive efficiency, productivity and quality, while offsetting the shortage of skilled labor, reducing waste and minimizing the cost of doing business – all of which give manufacturers an edge over the competition.
Successful integration of equipment automation and Industry 4.0 technologies can yield benefits, including:
| Optimized processes | Proper integration of automated equipment and supporting technologies can streamline production and reduce bottlenecks, downtime and human errors, optimizing workflows so assets and resources are used in the most efficient and effective way. |
| Reduced maintenance costs | When properly integrated, modern automated equipment identifies and detects equipment anomalies prior to failure. By alerting maintenance techs to issues in advance, downtime and maintenance costs will be slashed. |
| Flexibility | Programmable automation systems easily adapt to changes in production demands, providing the flexibility to accommodate seasonal or demand-based process variations. |
| Improved product quality | Automated equipment includes sensors, machine vision and other technologies that, when properly integrated, ensure manufacturing repeatability and uniformity, detect flaws and defects and send alerts so operators can correct problems before entire runs are impacted. |
| Minimal waste | By detecting production issues early, raw material, finished product and labor waste will be minimized, helping to reduce costs and maintain production targets. |
| Reduced utility costs | Modern automated equipment is more energy efficient and programmable control systems ensure that equipment runs only when necessary and at the proper speed, reducing the utility costs and supporting sustainability initiatives. |
Equipment Integration Pitfalls
While the benefits of automated equipment are worthwhile, the integration process can be challenging.
Here are the common pitfalls that may prevent manufacturers from getting the most from equipment automation projects:
- Legacy systems: Most manufacturing facilities operate using outdated legacy systems that were not designed to communicate with modern automation, creating compatibility issues. This prevents data sharing across systems and results in operational inefficiencies.
- Data silos: Older systems often isolated data, resulting in a lack of visibility between departments. The inability to share and view data across the business delays the identification of issues. Data silos result in downtime, inefficiency, redundancies and logistical issues.
- Security issues: Because automated equipment and Industry 4.0 technologies can be vulnerable to cyber threats, sensitive and/or proprietary data can be compromised by a breach in just one component. Cybersecurity must be properly addressed by professional automation integrators to avoid these vulnerabilities.
- Lack of scalability: Manufacturers who experience growth and fluctuation in market demand may need to scale up production. However, when integration is not well managed, it becomes difficult to adapt to production increases or changes. Industrial automation integrators ensure that the systems can accommodate growth.
The Cost or Poor Equipment Integration
Mismanagement of these challenges can cost manufacturers big time in the form of wasted resources, downtime and inefficient operations.
Here’s a look at the consequences of careless equipment integration:
| Lost productivity | When automated equipment can’t communicate, the plant does not operate in its optimal state, causing bottlenecks and production glitches that result in lost productivity and throughput. This negatively impacts the supply chain and customers. |
| Downtime | Automation and Industry 4.0 promote predictive maintenance. However, without the real-time data and analytics available through proper integration, the inability to detect maintenance issues and communicate alerts forces manufacturers into reactive maintenance mode, which means unplanned downtime, prolonged outages and costly equipment failure. |
| Energy waste | Inefficient equipment integration often results in excessive power consumption as equipment is not well controlled. In addition, alerts may not be sent when equipment is running too fast and trends in energy usage cannot be tracked and trended. |
| Poor decision making | When information is siloed by ineffective equipment integration, data sharing is delayed. This can prevent operators and maintenance techs from making informed, data-driven decisions about asset usage, production schedules and repairs, wasting time and resources. |
| Increased waste | When systems do not communicate or send alerts when processes drift, it can result in the loss of entire batches, wasting raw materials and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost product and labor. |
| Security breaches | Due to the connectivity between automated systems, a breach in one component can expose the entire facility to cyber threats that result in the loss of proprietary data. This can be a financially devastating issue and may cause safety and compliance issues. |
| Loss of control | Without proper integration, there is limited visibility into the real-time performance of equipment, leaving manufacturers unable to track productivity, identify production and maintenance issues or detect defects or anomalies in the process. The inability to tightly control production results in reduced productivity, catastrophic equipment failure, wasted resources and unsafe operating conditions. |
Strategies for Avoiding Equipment Integration Issues
The best way to prevent these costly integration issues is to hire experienced industrial automation integrators. However, these additional strategies will help manufacturers avoid common pitfalls:
- Select a team: A project team of in-house operators, plant managers, maintenance technicians and professional automation integrators should be developed. The team should communicate on a regular basis during project planning and installation so that everyone is aware of the goals of the project, as well as any issues or changes that arise as the equipment automation and integration project progresses.
- Plan ahead: When integrating automated equipment, potential integration issues such as production interruptions during installation, legacy systems, data silos and security concerns should be identified early in the equipment integration process so they may be planned for and addressed.
- Safety: Make sure risk assessments are performed as needed and systems are designed to meet safety requirements.
- Test equipment: All new automated equipment should be pilot tested under a range of conditions to see how it performs before being integrated into the facility to ensure that it operates as expected under all possible scenarios. It should also be tested after integration to be sure that it can be securely and safely controlled.
- Monitor performance: Once new equipment has been integrated into the facility, performance should be monitored to be sure it is working as expected and that data is visible to all relevant departments. Monitoring should include operational performance, throughput, efficiency and product quality. Any issues should be addressed immediately to avoid impacting the entire production system.
While the integration of new automated equipment may seem daunting, being aware of the challenges and common pitfalls can help manufacturers avoid them. The assistance of professional industrial automation integrators is essential to success as they will have the experience required for proper equipment integration and will be a knowledgeable resource for your equipment automation project.
For more information on selecting the right automated equipment, project planning or application to application integration, please contact the automation professionals at JHFOSTER.
