Embracing Universal Automation for sustainable industrial growth
30 July 2024
Unlocking the full potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution requires a new way of thinking about automation. A new approach is needed for designing, building, operating, and maintaining automation systems that separates the software completely from the hardware, decoupling the application design from runtime deployment.
Fundamental to the success of this approach is opening communication across different machines, devices, and sensors to help them to work together more efficiently, regardless of the supplier of each device. This method is called Universal Automation, representing a ‘plug and produce’ method that creates a common software layer across all automation technology.
Realising the vision of Universal Automation will unlock a more accessible, efficient, and sustainable future for businesses within the renewable energy sector and manufacturers exploring renewable sources for their own facility.
Schneider Electric is guiding the way for businesses throughout the supply chain to utilise Universal Automation with its EcoStruxure Automation Expert solution. As a Universal Automation-compliant system, it represents a next-generation solution that leverages IEC 61499 standards to decouple software from hardware, ushering in a new era of interoperability and IT/OT convergence. This opens a new level of seamless integration for businesses with existing legacy assets that wish to use digital transformation capabilities to improve sustainability.
Solving challenges with a software-centric approach
Now on its 24th version, EcoStruxure Automation Expert represents the world’s first software-centric industrial automation system using an IEC 61499 standard approach, creating a digital thread that runs through all industrial operations. End users, integrators, and vendors themselves can analyse, edit, or update systems effectively, providing a new level of flexibility to meet the specific business requirements needs of now, and those of the future. With this open approach that is vendor-agnostic, EcoStruxure Automation Expert can be applied to a scaling business as they drive towards unparallelled engineering efficiency.
This new automation paradigm is based on object-oriented model and event-based mechanisms, providing the engineering tools to design, commission, and maintain the application, along with related hardware and software components. What this means in practice is the ability to fix operational problems and alter production flows fasters, with less risk, and less time investment than traditional approaches to industrial automation. Based on quantitative studies across Schneider Electric’s customers, EcoStruxure Automation Expert provides up to 3x faster application creation, 6x faster diagnostics, and 7x faster production alterations.
Unlocking sustainability
For renewable energy production companies, EcoStruxure Automation Expert simplifies the management of complex automation processes and enables businesses to scale quickly in response to increasing demand. The system's open architecture ensures compatibility with a wide range of devices and platforms, facilitating the seamless incorporation of innovative technologies. This compatibility extends the lifespan of existing assets, reducing the traditional costs associated with scaling a business, as well as cutting carbon emissions.
Manufacturers exploring renewable energy sources for their own facilities also stand to benefit significantly. The ability to integrate new energy solutions without overhauling entire automation systems means that sustainability initiatives can be implemented more swiftly and cost-effectively. The result is a more resilient and adaptable production environment, capable of meeting evolving energy demands and regulatory requirements.
The practical implications of Universal Automation and EcoStruxure Automation Expert are profound. Businesses can pursue ambitious sustainability goals with confidence, knowing that their automation systems will support and enhance these efforts. The seamless integration of renewable energy technologies, coupled with improved operational efficiency, paves the way for a greener industrial landscape. The convergence of IT and OT facilitated by Schneider Electric’s EcoStuxure Automation Expert means that businesses have access to sophisticated data analytics that can be harnessed to optimise hardware performance, reduce energy consumption, and cut down on waste.
As industry continues to operate against the backdrop of a climate crisis, and the race toward carbon net zero remains at the core of operations, open automation is not enough. Universal Automation is the key to improving efficiency, unlocking interoperability, and striving for sustainability at a single business level as well as across the supply chain. Integrators, OEMs, and end users alike must now work together to facilitate the next level of industrial automation regardless of the assets already in place. Find out more about how Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert is making this possible, here.
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