The Distributed Control System (DCS) has undergone a rapid change in recent years to reflect the needs of the modern plant. Agility and flexibility are key, and automation systems are required that can deliver this, along with the productivity and efficiency gains that make the automation of processes worthwhile. In years gone by, monolithic systems were the norm, supplied by a handful of manufacturers that had the technology and expertise to provide turnkey solutions to automate entire processes in one go.

As a consequence, users were often left with a patchwork of legacy systems from different manufacturers and different eras. This makes upgrading or refitting component parts and devices a challenge, as compatibility can be a major issue, complicating the life cycle management of assets.

Meanwhile, with the growth of digitalization, operators of these systems are increasingly demanding a seamless and modern user experience, with the same ease of use found in consumer devices and an expectation of interoperability of technologies from different suppliers in a secure environment. Against the backdrop of a skills shortage, this is particularly true of the younger cohort of engineers entering the industry, who expect the technologies they use in the field to offer the same levels of intuitive operation and interoperability as the devices such as smartphones and tablets that they use in their everyday lives. Ease of maintenance is another basic requirement, with field repairs and service available within minutes at the touch of a button.

Collaboration is key

Against this backdrop of industrial reinvention, societal change and evolving technology, suppliers of DCS solutions are having to adapt to meet the needs of the plant of the future. Increasingly, the direction of travel is toward openness and interoperability. One such initiative which is driving this trend is the Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF). Comprising users from a broad range of fields including oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceuticals and mining, as well as companies from the IT and telecommunications sector and automation providers, OPAF is working to define a standards-based, open, secure and interoperable architecture for modern process automation.

The stated goals of the organization are to enable readier access to leading-edge capabilities for DCS users, allowing integration of best-in-class components, while preserving asset owners’ application software at a significantly lower cost relative to future replacement. Further, the standard is intended to provide a framework for an open systems architecture that promotes innovation and value creation, applies across multiple industries, is commercially viable and allows for an inclusive collaboration among users and suppliers.

Another organization contributing to the acceleration of change in the DCS world is NAMUR, a global consortium of process industry end-user organizations with roots in Germany’s chemical industry. NAMUR Open Architecture (NOA) was established in 2016 and sets out a vision for how digital technologies interact with control systems in process-oriented industries while preserving the integrity and security of the production environment. NOA seeks to make production data easily and securely usable for plant and asset monitoring as well as optimization by maintaining shared standards that all manufacturers signed up to the agreement must adhere to. As well as creating a more open market for customers which will drive innovation. The goal is to effectively segregate core control and automation functionality from non-time-critical monitoring and optimization.

Ingraining flexibility

Another vital change in approach towards DCS design is the emergence of digital functionality. Whilst digitalization has been around for some time, in recent years the capabilities of digital ecosystems have helped to transform the automation landscape. Edge and cloud technologies are providing a flexible and secure computing infrastructure, including servers, data storage, development environments, business intelligence services, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics for improving risk management, optimizing productivity and achieving sustainability targets. An extended, digitally enabled environment can provide users with safe, secure, application-level access to core control OT data, as well as data from other industrial IoT devices, without disturbing core control operations.

The key to establishing this framework from a technological perspective has been ingraining openness and flexibility into the development of new products, services and systems. The participants of both OPAF and NAMUR collaborate to establish and maintain standards that guide the development and design of automation equipment. For the end user, this commitment to collaboration can only be a good thing, as it removes from the equation the prospect of being locked into proprietary hardware and software. Ultimately, the goal is to encourage innovation, both for automation system manufacturers, and the companies that use those systems. It also promotes a focus among system manufacturers on what their end users need from a DCS. Crucially, it means that new technologies can be rapidly adopted and leveraged, irrespective of who they were developed by.

The benefits of big data

Data is at the heart of the digital transformation, and yet the challenge of accumulating and analyzing the vast amounts of data generated by industrial processes remains a pressing one for the industry. Moreover, data for its own sake is of little value. Turning this data into genuinely useful and timely insights into the performance and efficiency of systems, as well as maintenance needs at any given time remains a challenge facing automation solution providers and it’s top of mind for those who embrace Industry 4.0.

Key elements of the digital ecosystem can now provide automation users with AI-enabled analytics and edge software to continuously analyze operational data at the point of production. This flexible, edge-oriented solution can predict issues and prescribe actions for the improvement and optimization of asset operations, as well as inform predictive maintenance strategies.

Edge solutions also work with higher-level applications where operations data can be combined with other types of operational, information and engineering technology data for strategic business analysis. Such applications can be deployed either on-site or in hybrid/cloud configurations that can be accessed from almost anywhere at almost any time. For example, sensors linked to the cloud can provide granular monitoring for the condition of a single device, while at the same time tracking fleet-wide performance, allowing small individual efficiency gains to rapidly mount up when extrapolated across the plant. Maintenance needs can be automatically flagged up when a device reaches a certain setpoint, with this data feeding into life cycle management systems to facilitate rapid replacement of faulty or obsolete devices with minimum downtime.

A group of automation providers that are participants of OPAF, has helped to pioneer and maintain open standards in DCS systems. Open platforms can help to preserve end users’ automation investments while affording them the ability to benefit immediately from emerging capabilities as they enter the market.

Keeping an open road to the future

As new technologies continue to develop that can be used to augment the functions of the DCS, maintaining an open structure that will enable them to be easily accommodated will be increasingly important. In this way, process operators can be sure that their Distributed Control Systems will have the flexibility to be able to continually adapt to changing requirements, without compromising core essential functions. As such, initiatives such as OPAF and NAMUR have a key role to play, both now and in the future.