Article - Awareness of new technology

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Date: May 2007

With this article I want to sharpen my views to people who are holding off fieldbus technology. Large enterprises especially within the chemical- and petrochemical industry are somewhat reluctant to embrace "change for change sake". This joined with the inherent risk of safety, environment and product quality, means that unless there are clearly identifiable benefits in costs and project timescales, new technology like PROFIBUS and PROFINET, which represent significant culture change are difficult to get the end-user to buy into.

Why change to PROFIBUS or PROFINET?
It is important to understand the benefits it can bring. If you look at the current automation trend;

We always want: - More Production, More Quality, More Information
With: - Less Costs, Less Time, Less People, Less Downtimes

PROFIBUS and PROFINET can bring all of this, but some people are holding back to this relatively new technology. Is it because we are afraid of new things? Are we too old? Are we worried about our job? We should not hold back, but look around us; the best example I can give you is the aviation industry.
Before an airplane lands, it sends wireless information to the ground crew about the status of engine and other parts. After landing, the ground crew immediately knows what to take from the shelves, put it in the truck and do maintenance on the plane, in order to take off as soon as possible and safely reach the follow-up destination. The pilot doesn't even notice this process. In the cockpit he is just looking at his indicators saying everything is OK.

PROFIBUS devices have a lot of intelligence and diagnostics.

PROFIBUS devices have a lot of intelligence and diagnostics.

Why are people complaining about an automation technology that can't fall from the sky! PROFIBUS has been used for many years, in many industries and has proven itself. We see more and more plants completely equipped with this outstanding technology. The management of these enterprises are aware that the intelligence and diagnostics of the instruments contribute to costs savings and optimization of production automation. So, the critical point is the awareness of modern automation technology. Especially with maintenance technicians who constantly have to work with this system. A lot of times their know-how is relatively limited which leads to a point that they are going to look at the installation as a 'black-box'. This means; training is essential! Also for the parties that have nothing to do with the fieldbus system. The instances that have to design the factory itself should also be aware, because they can save on cable trays, cooling and energy. The instances that keep up with spare parts should also be aware, because less are required. The instances that do the testing and commissioning should be aware, because less work has to be done.

My conclusion; the entire "holding off" issue comes down to know-how and trust.