Line between DCS and PLC systems continues to blur

London – The field of industrial automation (IA) is at a cross roads. All major IA vendors acknowledge that the automation and control solutions (ACS) product portfolio is nearing saturation, either directly or indirectly. A major trend underlining this development is the narrowing product definition between individual ACS products, in particular the programmable logic controllers (PLC) and distributed control system (DCS) product line.

A new analyst insight from Frost & Sullivan on the automation & control systems (ACS) market examines the current market scenario and future landscape, as well as details on game changers in factories of the future. On optimistic estimates, the European distributed control systems market and programmable logic controllers market are expected to reach Euro6.45 billion in 2017.

“Vendors have currently emerged with hybrid products that combine PLC and DCS functionality as a means to counter high competition and gain end-user recognition,” notes Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Karthik Sundaram.

“Despite economic advantages, the emergence of such products has clouded end-user perception to a large extent, and it remains to be seen if this technical strategy yields expected results,” he added.

There is a significant shift from the traditional parameters determining the ACS market. Currently, it is a company’s product portfolio that yields the maximum influence in the ACS market space, followed closely by service support and cost considerations. This, however, is set to change.

“In the coming years, the emphasis on the IA product portfolio is likely to diminish,” said Sundaram. “In contrast, the need for globalised service support, coupled with cost factors, is expected to gain significant momentum.”

As the ACS market steadily graduates towards the next level, it will offer IA vendors challenging opportunities for growth and excellence. Vendor participants will need to be in tune with on-going developments and enhance their ability to compete and succeed in the future of factories.

“Frost & Sullivan’s vision of the factory of the future is catalysed by five mega trends - cyber security, mobile and wireless technology, enterprise ecosystem, cloud computing and sustainability,” says Sundaram. “These mega trends will influence all aspects of an industrial enterprise.”

For instance, operating personnel in future factories will not be confined to work stations inside control rooms. The advent of tablets and mobile platforms will enable them to track production lines, perform maintenance operations and monitor process issues from their tablets - all while on the move.

The adoption of secure cloud computing technology will enable factories access to relevant strategic data from the Internet to execute real-time decisions and enhance operational efficiency.

“In essence, future factories will have secure wireless networks supporting a highly automated production process, seamlessly interlinked with enterprise software working through the clouds,” concludes Sundaram. “A high-end factory will also involve collaborative manufacturing promoting operational excellence and aiding sustainability.”

According to Stuart Greenwood of Eaton’s Electrical Sector these trends are, in fact, well advanced and is already delivering results.

“It could be claimed, with considerable validity, that as soon as remote I/O modules became available, the process of convergence between PLC’s and DCS’s was underway,” said Greenwood. “With this in mind, it’s hard to see the convergence of PLC’s and DCS’s as a new trend since it’s already been with us for at least a couple of decades.

Convergence, he adds, is now continuing to spread and most modern automation systems of any size now incorporate intelligent devices - such as variable-speed drives with built-in intelligence, and electronic operator interface panels - in the field.

With all of these devices linked to the central controller via network or fieldbus connections, it does indeed become difficult and even, perhaps, almost meaningless to distinguish between the PLC and the remainder of the automation system, Greenwood continued.

“Except, that is, within the control panel itself,” he noted. “It is astonishing to realise that, although conventional hard wiring of field devices has virtually disappeared in all but the smallest of installations, traditional hard wiring is still very much the norm inside most control panels,”

The wiring runs are, of course, much shorter inside the panel than outside, but that’s no longer a valid reason to ignore the benefits that bus-based panel wiring - which is perhaps better described as lean panel wiring - can provide.

This “surprising omission” in automation technologies has, however, finally been addressed, with the arrival of bus-based lean panel wiring technology, the Eaton expert concluded. This allows all of the devices within a control panel, such as motor starters, HMI panels and even conventional pushbuttons and indicator lights, to be connected