On the right track

It’s been almost 15 years since the Fourth Industrial Revolution first burst onto the scene. These days, Industry 4.0 is no longer such a hot topic, and the digitalization of process plants remains pretty minimal.

Does that surprise you?

Not at all; what we’re seeing here is the typical cycle that new technologies transition through. After the initial euphoria, disillusionment sets in as exaggerated expectations fail to materialize and obstacles emerge. Then, companies start to get a better handle on the technology and find applications offering genuine added value – and the technology catches on. So, we’re still well on course with Industry 4.0, even though it may not feel that way.

How far down the track are we?

There is increasing clarity on the benefits of digitalization. Those relate primarily to remote monitoring of measuring points – that’s for small, decentralized plants. And for large plants, the benefits lie in managing the installed base. In such plants, with hundreds or even thousands of measuring points, we’ve shown that investments here rapidly pay off in terms of faster fault-fixing and improved maintenance planning. In any case, greater transparency makes processes safer and more efficient, and boosts plant availability. This creates considerable cost savings for industry and helps counteract the skills shortage.

What obstacles still need to be overcome for digitalization to become the norm?

One obstacle is that the process industry prioritizes safety and security over innovation. Moreover, there are high investment costs, long lifecycles and numerous suppliers when it comes to plants and equipment. A lack of standards likewise hampers digitalization, ditto with shortfalls in IT/OT convergence – meaning the scalable integration of information technology and operations technology. Basically, there are too many data silos and not enough integration. Plus, there’s a knowledge gap: What’s the point of technologies if employees don’t know how to use them?

How is Endress+Hauser assisting customers in dealing with these issues?

We ensure a seamless, easy-to-use flow of process and instrument data from our sensors. For many years now, our instruments have communicated digitally using well-established standards. Their data is transmitted to our cloud-based IIoT ecosystem Netilion, either directly over Ethernet or wireless technology, or indirectly via adapters and edge devices. Once in Netilion, the data gets linked to the instrument’s digital twin. This platform allows us to offer our customers flexible and scalable services that they can use for tasks like monitoring measurement data and device status, managing documentation for every instrument in a given plant and even managing inventories and water networks.

Does the data lend itself to further processing?

Yes. With standardized interfaces and open communication protocols, any platform or IT system can automatically retrieve and ingest the data. Also, customers can now download standardized digital twins from our cloud. Netilion itself is designed as an open IIoT ecosystem: It supports integration of other manufacturers’ devices. We’re also at work in many industry consortiums, developing end-to-end data chains and manufacturer-independent standards. This is the only way to set about creating intelligent, connected systems that offer even greater benefits for all stakeholders.

Where is the most significant progress being made in digitalization?

The Advanced Physical Layer is currently bringing intrinsically safe Ethernet to the Ex zones of major industries. As such, it plays a key role in enabling users to fully exploit the capabilities of our intelligent measuring instruments. It means that vast amounts of data can now be transmitted directly, in real time, to the cloud and IT systems. The development of this technology really shows what successful digitalization is all about. What’s required is networking and collaboration with competitors, value-chain partners and customers – whose needs we have always considered top priority. We now have an extensive Ethernet APL portfolio. All instruments concerned are tested for interoperability and they’re easy to use. Orders are pouring in at a terrific pace.

What aspects of digitalization are set to grow in importance?

The more industry digitalizes and interconnects its devices and systems, the more it will matter to have good cybersecurity. As a technology, artificial intelligence will improve our customers’ production processes. I’m absolutely certain of that, even though we’re currently at the peak of the AI euphoria phase. Our own in-house applications are proof of the enormous potential here. Every digitalization project our customers tackle today will help them break completely new ground tomorrow.