ON today’s factory floor, upgrading legacy equipment is mostly a taboo subject. “Why fix it if it isn’t broken?” or “Why borrow trouble?”. There are many quick rebuttals to team members who faced a close call on the production floor around legacy equipment.
Legacy automation, characterised by technology in the later stages of its useful life, and where useful life is defined by receiving a disproportionately large amount of utility compared to the resources consumed, can limit efficiency, increase downtime, and jeopardise long-term factory vitality. As new automation technologies continue to emerge and interconnect at an exponential rate, failing to integrate these technologies can widen the gap between the competitive and the obsolete.
Implications
Upgrading legacy automation brings both opportunities and challenges. Opportunities can usher in a future of efficiency gains, along with challenges which, if not overcome, could jeopardise production metrics today. Legacy equipment can cap machine performance, increase troubleshooting time, raise maintenance costs, and invite undue cyber vulnerability.
Therefore, according to Omron, manufacturers must address these implications and leverage new automation technologies to enhance efficiency and productivity. Allowing them to stay competitive while also preserving flexibility to incorporate emerging technologies quickly.
Upgrading legacy automation can be daunting. Projects are typically capital and time-intensive. They can showcase any past decisions which were made to address problems long forgotten. Three of the largest challenges which are common on the factory floor include:
- Upgrade becoming replacements:
Motion upgrades require intimate knowledge of the application and the machine. Knowledge may be lost because of obsolete documentation or code without notes. As an example, the perception of a motion upgrade to increase throughput may appear to be a quick project, but it commonly results in a completely new machine.
- Technical debt masking as complexity
Commonly, an abundance of networks, confusing code, as well as missing wiring diagrams make paying down technical debt a larger capital project. Technical debt is friction in the factory, which resists efficiency gains by using the hidden inertia of the status quo. As an example, tackling complex wiring carries risk. One short can stall commissioning for days as replacement components are sought.
- Culture pressured by short-term metrics
When success is only measured at the end of a shift, not at the end of the year, teams require confidence that an upgrade will be a significant performance improvement today. The metrics on which maintenance and production teams are measured are important.
- Best practice
While each legacy system is unique, requiring a resolute team to focus on each challenge can be beneficial to ensure the end goal is achieved for all stakeholders.
- Upgrade or replacement, the machine is new
Ensuring safe operation should stay at the core of every project. Before commissioning the first production run, a safety audit should be conducted by a certified third party or internal team to ensure operator safety. In addition to operator safety audits, cyber risk assessments should be completed, ensuring that good cyber hygiene is maintained.
- Upgrade over time and start small
Upgrading a section of the plant floor at a time minimises the risk to overall production by reducing the vulnerability of plant-wide downtime through proper production planning. Starting small also creates an increased reservoir of spare parts for consumption elsewhere in the plant. This extends the transition period, allowing for more time to train maintenance and production teams.
- Plan for upgrades from day one
Build upgrades into the natural product lifecycle of the machine. Having the upgrade conversation illuminates the future of a production facility. While being future-oriented may yield more questions than answers, it is a necessary step to ensure upgrades do not become an unforeseen surprise. To aid in this selection process, automation partners who manufacture their products may have the edge, as these partners can showcase the future with a more tangible strategy.
- Talking upgrades today
Starting a project to upgrade automation, which is at the heart of the factory, is resource intensive. Capital requests, plant-wide training, and new production planning all take valuable resources.
Delaying the upgrade conversation, while allowing the plant to function today, can greatly increase hidden production risks. These risks may choose to no longer hide at the least opportune time.
Choosing the right partner to begin the upgrade conversation can de-risk an upgrade and put production teams back in control of their production by switching the narrative from reactive to initiative-taking.
Omron’s extensive expertise in automation technology positions the company as a valuable partner for manufacturers planning to upgrade legacy systems. By offering seamless integration solutions, Omron helps streamline the transition from outdated equipment to advanced automation, ensuring minimal disruption to production.
Omron’s comprehensive range of products and solutions, including the Sysmac platform, provides the necessary tools for enhancing efficiency, reducing downtime, and maintaining cybersecurity.
