Preparing for the future

Exploring the World Economic Forum’s Readiness for the Future of Production report 

In January, the World Economic Forum (WEF) launched its first Readiness for the Future of Production report, which revealed Britain to be one of just 25 countries in a positive position to benefit from the fourth industrial revolution. Here, Nick Boughton, sales manager at leading systems integrator Boulting Technology, explains the key findings of the report and what it means for UK manufacturers. 

Some of the world’s richest and most powerful people, including Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron took to the snowy Swiss town of Davos in January for the WEF’s annual meeting. Since its humble beginnings in 1971 as a management forum, the event now sees over 3,000 of the world’s leading business, financial and political figures discuss a variety of topics that can aid in improving the state of the world.

As part of this year’s meeting, the WEF launched its Readiness for the Future of Production report, which details a new framework assessing how well positioned global economies are to benefit from Industry 4.0.

The framework is made up of two key components: structure of production, which measures a country’s scale of production and drivers of production, which looks at the key enablers that allow the country to capitalise on Industry 4.0.

Japan was identified as leading the way in current baseline production, while the US is best positioned to capitalise on Industry 4.0 in order to transform manufacturing production systems.

How ready is the UK?
While the UK has a long history of manufacturing, in recent years the industry share in its economy has declined from 25 per cent in the 1970s to less than 10 per cent in 2017. This decline in market share has had a significant impact on jobs and indeed the number of manufacturing facilities around, with many shutting down due to production being cheaper abroad. 

Despite the fall in market share, the UK has a strong ability to innovate and is leading the way in high-tech manufacturing industries such as aerospace and pharmaceuticals. This has led to the creation of the smart factory, where machinery and equipment are able to improve processes through automation. Between January and October 2017, the UK aerospace industry grew by a rate of 9.8 per cent, making it the fastest growing aerospace market among G7 countries.

The pharmaceutical sector is also set to strengthen its position following a period of decline. The recent investment by Accord Healthcare, which opened a state-of-the-art factory in Fawdon earlier this year, creating between 350 and 500 new jobs, is one of many examples of growth in the market. 

The rise of the smart factory has resulted in a definite skills gap, however, with many manufacturers not having appropriately trained staff to capitalise on the benefits of technologies such as robotics. The UK Government has put plans in motion to tackle this issue with the launch of the Made Smarter review, which looks at three of the industry’s key challenges: leadership, adoption and innovation.

Drivers of production
In order to support the development of the global manufacturing industry, the WEF’s report identified six drivers of production that represent the factors and conditions that need to be met to capitalise on Industry 4.0 technologies. These drivers are technology and innovation, human capital, global trade and investment, institution framework, sustainable resources and demand environment.

Drivers of particular importance for system integrators are technology and innovation and human capital.

Technology and innovation
Emerging technologies such as edge computing, digital twinning and virtual reality are reliant on a strong technology infrastructure. While the UK is a leader in innovative technologies, many manufacturers fall at the first infrastructure hurdle due to a lack of connected devices and the ability to effectively analyse and make use of the data produced by their equipment.

With many systems, such as motor control centres (MCCs) and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) having a long-expected lifespan, older devices do not have the capability of connecting to a wider network unless retro-fitted with the appropriate sensors and communication packages.

Once connected, digital security and data privacy can become an issue. To counter this, manufacturers must have a strong cybersecurity policy in place when adopting new technology.

Human capital
People are often critical of transforming production facilities. If the workforce doesn’t evolve, a business has no hope of changing its operations. The introduction of new technologies has led to a change in the skills required by manufacturers, with many struggling to adapt and therefore missing out on the benefits of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

In the coming years, there will be a further shift in production from labour-intensive roles to those that are more knowledge and skills based. With this shift, fears of job losses have risen once again. According to a YouGov survey, 13 per cent of employers think that more than 30 per cent of jobs will become automated in the next 10 years. While some jobs will be managed by industrial digitalisation technologies (IDT) such as robots, many new roles will be created that are more skills based.

With this in mind, the UK Government’s Made Smarter review will be key to ensuring the manufacturing industry is fully equipped to benefit from Industry 4.0. As new roles are created, the training of new staff and re-training of existing employees will be vital in addressing the skills gap created by the evolution of technologies.

Boulting Technology is tackling the skills gap head on with ongoing training and development for all staff and a robust apprenticeship programme. As new technologies are introduced, it’s important that staff undergo relevant training to effectively incorporate new technology into their work. All Boulting Technology employees are encouraged to undertake continuing professional development (CPD) and are supported by the business to do so.

The Readiness for the Future of Production report and the Made Smarter review will play significant roles for those looking to drive innovation through Industry 4.0. For manufacturers to truly benefit from IIoT technologies, they must transform their internal infrastructure, which includes staff capabilities. By not doing so, the UK’s position in the WEF report will no doubt slip in years to come.

Energy efficiency expectations

According to the Data for the Public Good report by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) in December 2017, a digital twin of UK infrastructure is necessary to identify inefficiencies in national energy use. Here, Nick Boughton, sales manager at systems integrator Boulting Technology explains how to manage energy efficiency across sectors. 

Inefficient machinery, which increases wasteful energy use, is a key area of improvement for many businesses, as a way of complying with the Carbon Trust’s Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA). You can’t manage what you can’t measure, so the first step towards the efficient management of energy is an analysis of unique energy requirements. 

Energy demand
With a few exceptions, such as Liberty Steel in Newport, which renewed its entire production process as part of its green steel strategy, ahead of reopening in 2015, a complete process remodel and brand-new methods are often unrealistic or impossible. It could also be that the result is even less efficient than the process being replaced; because new doesn’t necessarily mean better. Instead, gradual improvements to machinery, maintenance and operating processes are the focus for many engineering and manufacturing directors, with incremental improvement the focus.

Data centres, which traditionally operate using a hot aisle/cold aisle cooling method, have become the infamous energy inefficiency example. In this scenario, server racks are lined up in alternating rows, with cold air intakes facing one way and hot air exhausts facing the other. Typically, cold aisles face air conditioner output duct and hot aisles face air conditioner return ducts.

Optimum server operating temperatures range between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius, but with Moore’s Law stating that processing power for computers will double every two years, the heat produced by the state-of-the-art machinery within data centres will only increase.

For data centres, investing in more efficient cooling methods such as on-rack cooling is necessary to provide energy efficiency, while avoiding equipment damage from overheating. On-rack cooling replaces the back doors of an enclosure with a heat exchanger, bringing the cooling equipment much closer to the heat source. This can eliminate the hot aisle/cold aisle row arrangement as there’s no need to worry about hot and cold air mixing because hot air never enters an ambient space. 

A similar scenario is playing out in manufacturing plants, particularly those embracing industry 4.0 and choosing to use local edge computing rather than making use of the cloud.

Monitoring
Surveys, which provide a top-down approach to ensure no part of a plant is overlooked and no piece of machinery is missed due to oversight, should be carried out regularly by facilities managers to meet energy efficiency requirements.

However, a more specific approach must be taken by energy managers, when a specialist piece of equipment, such as a pump centre is assessed. Boulting has many years’ of experience working with pump centres, including the award-winning upgrade to the Thames Water raw water pumping station at Littleton. The solution implemented increased the site’s performance while making it more flexible, reliable and energy efficient. A complete redesign and manufacture of pump impellers improved pump efficiency, resulting in an improvement from 80 to 87 per cent.

Using their experience, Boulting’s engineers suggest innovative solutions that reduce energy waste. A holistic process, which analyses each plant’s unique requirements, ensures the engineers deliver the best energy efficiency improvements possible, increasing return on investment.

The measures Boulting’s experts apply range from replacing cables or executing a maintenance plan to replacing an essential piece of equipment such as a motor control centre with a smarter model equipped with monitoring abilities

The future
Smart sensors will be installed on much new machinery, as more process plants, data centres and even offices begin taking advantage of the industrial internet of things to deliver a variety of benefits, including remote monitoring and digital twin enabled design. The data captured by these sensors will build on the surveys currently employed, allowing for efficiency decreases to be recognised and counteracted immediately. 

Because sensors will be built directly into components, such as motors, inverters, gears and bearings, manufacturing and engineering directors can sleep soundly, without worrying that inefficiencies are creeping into the application.

Whether the facility in question is a data centre, office or processing plant, the most powerful way to reduce energy loss is through a holistic and overarching process, which can be supplemented by correct use of data from in-built sensors alongside other methods such as surveys and digital twins. In the future, we won’t just see the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC)’s predictions for a digital twin of the UK becoming a reality, we will also see a data-driven approach to maintenance being introduced across the board.

Predicting the future

The fourth industrial revolution is well underway and as state-of-the-art technology drops in price, many more industries are benefiting from smart factories. As a recent PwC survey found 72 per cent of companies expects to achieve advanced levels of digitisation by 2020, the reach of these technologies is only set to increase in 2018.

Here, Nick Boughton, sales manager at leading systems integrator, Boulting Technology shares his predictions for 2018.

In November, the UK Government announced that 2018 would be the Year of Engineering. This coupled with the launch of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and Made Smarter Review has signalled a major vote of confidence in the sector as it pledges to help make the UK a world leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by 2030.

With Industrial Digital Technology’s playing such a significant role in the transformation of the sector, what should manufacturers be investing in?

Real applications of virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR), which digitally simulates a product or environment and augmented reality (AR), where the digital product or information is projected on to a real-world background, have traditionally been consumer-focused applications, aimed mostly at gamers.

However, with equipment such as the Microsoft HoloLens now being aimed purely at business applications, this is changing.

Boulting Environmental Services uses virtual reality to provide its clients with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in their projects, develop designs more clearly prior to beginning construction work and reduce mistakes.

Virtual reality will become prominent during the design of a facility and it could even have applications for building information modelling (BIM). Inputting computer-aided design (CAD) files into a VR application can allow the designer, engineer and client move around the product and facility, viewing it under a different light without the need to produce expensive prototypes. VR also has the potential to revolutionise training, particularly when working in hazardous environments. Engineers can explore and manage a range of scenarios without any risk to themselves or equipment.

Maintenance is where augmented reality comes into its own. AR can instantly provide important information to maintenance engineers wearing AR headsets while allowing them to keep their hands free.

For example, when combined with remote monitoring and dashboard user interfaces, the status of a drive or motor control centre can be visualised next to the system in question. This type of technology is already being employed by companies with multiple sites, allowing for the comparison of key performance indicators (KPIs) between plants, learning from one another to improve process efficiency and asset lifespan.

Similarly, when combined with a risk-based maintenance schedule such as Boulting’s BRISK, each piece of machinery can be colour coded according to the risk it poses to the plant.

The rise of artificial intelligence
Machine learning is a concept that has been around for decades, where the computer doesn’t rely on rule-based programming but instead operates using algorithms that can adapt and learn from data.

Closely related to this is artificial intelligence (AI), a branch of computer science aiming to build machines capable of intelligent behaviour.

One of the major benefits of AI is advanced data analysis, where data is collected, stored and analysed automatically.

Dependant on the results of the analysis, processes can be automatically altered, increasing productivity, reducing costs or even preventing production downtime. Combined with trend prediction and predictive maintenance schemes, efficiency and yield rates can be greatly increased across a manufacturing plant.

Smarten up your factory
Legacy systems were traditionally designed to operate in isolation and are often unable to connect to the wider network and the internet. However, since the advent of Industry 4.0, many plant managers are keen to connect systems and take advantage of the benefits of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), including enhanced data collection, interpretation and use. The answer for many is to retrofit their systems to enable IIoT capabilities.

Smart sensors, data analysis systems and connectivity to the IIoT are just some of the benefits promised by the range of retrofitting options on the market.

The popularity of retrofitting existing equipment with these technologies using a maintenance budget is only going to increase. As equipment wears and requires replacement, the best choice for many will be a smart sensing motor or motor control centre which can connect to IIoT.

The introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies has left no stone or industry untouched over the past few years, particularly given recent price drops. 2018 is shaping up to be the year where new and exciting technologies such as VR and AI make their way onto the plant floor, making it truly a factory of the future.

Maintaining uptime

As John F Kennedy said in his state of the union address in January 1962, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”. Here James Davey, service manager at industrial systems integrator, Boulting Technology explains how, for high volume, low margin manufacturers a leaky roof might be very low down their list of priorities. 

High volume, low margin manufacturing is a challenging business model, typically applying to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) or food and beverage manufacturers, particularly the makers of private label or generic products. These sectors make their businesses work by maximising production volumes and minimising overheads. If volumes are below forecast or overheads are above, the manufacturer risks slipping margins or even running at a loss. Worse still, some retailers may impose fines on suppliers who fail to deliver on time. 

The tightrope

For manufacturers, there are tough decisions to make about how much effort is required to maintain a plant at a level where breakdowns will be rare enough to ensure volume targets are met. In the low margin high volume world, money spent on preventative maintenance may be seen, by some, as wasted as there is no immediate benefit from the outlay and even long-term benefits are difficult to attribute to some earlier spend, since the benefit is typically no breakdowns, or something not happening.

On the other hand, plant operators might opt for reactive maintenance, which means waiting for something to fail, then trying to fix it as quickly as possible. The downside here is that the maintenance team might be faced with a difficult and time-consuming task and extreme pressure to get production going again. With thousands of possible failure scenarios, there is a risk that the information, spare parts, tools or knowledge may not be on hand to enable the problem to be fixed in a timely fashion.

In most cases manufacturers operate a combination of preventative and reactive maintenance, although since reactive maintenance is the priority, preventative maintenance may not happen when a plant becomes less reliable, meaning the situation becomes even worse. 

A safety net

The third way to tackle maintenance issues is to seek a flexible and tailored solution that meets specific requirements. In many cases this starts with a risk based approach to installed equipment, surveying what is installed and reconnecting actions to mitigate any risk detected. This might include the testing of spares and purchase of more and archiving information through software dumps in a secure, accessible location, identifying high risk systems.

In many cases there may be systems providing vital services, to a whole plant, perhaps locked away in a separate building and largely ignored. These systems, if they fail, would take the whole factory down in a matter of minutes and worse still, they might be more difficult to get working again than more familiar equipment next to production lines.

The whole story

The Boulting service team offer a 24/7 support service using dedicated engineers and UK wide coverage. This is the safety net that clients quite rightly want. Boulting’s holistic approach means that we work with clients and their maintenance teams to ensure that calls are a rarity and if they do happen, the augmented maintenance team, which includes both Boulting and the client, can be up and running as soon as possible. 

By taking this approach described clients may at last have time to think about fixing that roof.

From switchroom to container

A 20 metre container could accommodate approximately 2,000 cases of wine, a small cafe or your company’s next switchroom. Industrial sectors are taking advantage of this versatility, and containerised electrical switchrooms are becoming a common sight. Here, Nick Boughton, sales manager at Boulting Technology, explains why the answer to complex electrical projects isn’t always adapting the system to fit the space.

Traditionally, systems integrators faced with a project would build the equipment in-house, transport it to site and spend time installing and testing it. Although this sounds like a relatively straightforward process, the reality is much more complex and there are plenty of opportunities for logistic difficulties to rear their ugly heads.

Safe transport is always tricky, especially when your “passenger” weighs a few tonnes and remote locations can be difficult to reach, particularly when there are only dirt roads going your way. Once on site, the equipment itself – usually large power distribution boards or motor control centres (MCCs) - can be difficult to get to wherever the switchroom is tucked away. Additional health and safety measures also need to be taken if there are people working in the building.

Fortunately, there is an easier way. By using an industrial container to host the switchroom and building all the equipment, lighting, cabling and HVAC into the room, companies can avoid most of these logistic headaches altogether. The project is always client-led and containerised switchrooms are highly customisable, which means the approach can reconcile even some of the toughest requirements in industry.

Controlled environment
The main advantage of containerisation is its controlled environment. It’s easier to plan, design, implement, test and especially maintain a containerised switchroom, as long as the right monitoring is in place.

Temperature is one of the most complex things to manage in any switchroom, especially when the space doesn’t allow natural air flow. With a container, it’s easy to install the necessary HVAC equipment in the initial stage of the project, along with remote temperature monitoring and alarms, which allow control engineers to identify a deviation from the normal parameters long before it becomes a risk.

For larger or more complex projects, the container approach also means better scalability, because as long as the client allows for some space next to the original container, it’s easy to get another one commissioned, designed and delivered.

Overall, the time it takes to design and test a containerised switchroom is significantly shorter than a more traditional approach that fits a system to a room. It’s faster and easier for the client, contractor and any third parties to fit all the requirements in a separate, controlled environment that can be delivered to the site, plugged in and left to run.

While it’s true that the capital cost of a containerised switchroom can be higher than a traditional system, this approach usually results in lower overall project costs, because it reduces testing and even building times significantly.

Remote or difficult sites
The containerisation approach works particularly well for remote environments, such as substations located in the middle of nowhere. The reverse is also true. In busy locations or areas of high risk or high security, it’s much easier to fit and test a switchroom when it comes neatly wrapped up in a “box” that doesn’t need any unwrapping. In nuclear projects, for example, where security, regulations and radiation can be significant hindrances for contractors a kitted out container is the easiest, fastest and most reliable bet.

A recent project saw Boulting Technology design, build and install a 20m containerised electrical control room for a nuclear site. The container housed power distribution, MCCs, control panel suites and stand-alone control panels. Boulting Technology built the MCCs and control panels in its Warrington factory, integrated them into a prefabricated container at the company’s St Helens mechanical workshop and completed the electrical fit out, installation and testing even before the container reached the site.

No more headaches
2,000 cases of wine would lead to one hell of a headache (to drink or to transport!), but containerised switchrooms are exactly the opposite. They reduce the ov
erall project timescale and logistic difficulties and they can be built exactly to the requirements of a client. Boulting Technology has yet to come across a project it couldn’t tackle, so if you’re stuck with a U-shaped switchroom with very small doors, don’t worry – a container switchroom might be just the thing you’re looking for.

To find out more, get in touch with Boulting Technology on +44 1925 720 090 or visit the Boulting Technology website on www.boultingtechnology.co.uk.

Collapsing architecture in infrastructure

The internet has a lot to answer for. Think about your job and how it would be different without the global system of computer networks we know as the inter-super-highway. Some of you might not even have a job without the internet. The information technology research and advisory company Gartner predicts that by 2020 there will be 25 billion industrial and commercial connected devices in use. Here Nick Boughton, sales manager at Boulting Technology discusses how greater connectivity is changing infrastructure.

Collapsing architecture is impacting
 industrial control systems

Collapsing architecture in an automation environment is a fairly new term that refers to the changing way in which systems in a factory communicate with one another. Systems in a plant are segregated into layers - from hardware level on the plant floor through to enterprise resource planning (ERP) computer networks in the office.

Traditionally, each layer of the factory worked on different networks; information from the factory floor was kept away from the office network and vice-versa. This was partly due to security and partly because raw data from sensors and actuators wasn't thought to be particularly valuable to the overall process.

However, in the modern age of manufacturing where margins are tight and everybody is looking for an edge, data can be collated and analysed to better understand factory processes and maximise efficiency.

With a new emphasis on quality and quantity of data, all layers of the factory are starting to communicate with one another. This means traditional network architecture in factories is starting to collapse, giving way to a new overarching, more fluid transfer of information. Industry calls this new level of interconnectedness the Internet of Things (IoT).

Whereas before, PCs on the corporate network couldn't access raw data from SCADA or hardware level, now information can be retrieved through secure access to different network cells.  There is a definite trend, not just for more data, but for more intelligence and this is spreading beyond the factory floor.  

Infrastructure is no longer publically owned. Like electricity and gas before it, water supply has become commercialised and understandably, there is now more pressure to turn a profit.

With this in mind, the factory model of collapsing architecture is starting to be seen in utilities. Competition is driving companies to look at their systems and ask how they can make them more intelligent.

The more data collected in infrastructure cells like pumping stations, the more likely it is to identify useful information. All this data can be collated and analysed to offer better insight and make more informed decisions that result in more profitable outcomes.

For example, let's say a supervisor at a pumping station turns on a pump to fill a reservoir upon arriving to work in the morning. The reservoir fills and the supervisor turns the pump off, job done. However, if you collect data at each step of this short process, certain questions arise.

Is this a peak time of day when the electricity needed to power the pump is more expensive? Can the reservoir wait to be filled during off-peak time? Does the reservoir need to be completely full or is it more efficient to only fill it to 75 per cent capacity? All this information can be processed to form more efficient results.

The IoT has brought about the collapsing architecture model with a view to improving efficiency by making better, more informed decisions. The end goal is to equip industrial computers and control systems with decision-making abilities. This allows the supervisor to concentrate on tasks that require more skill that intelligent automation can't muster...yet.