Automation Extended: enabling industrial innovation with continuity

Fran Scott (0:07)

Welcome to Industry Optimized, the ABB podcast. I'm Fran Scott, presenter, a pyrotechnician and engineer at heart, and I'm your host.

In previous episodes, we've explored how automation keeps essential industries running safely, reliable, and without disruption. But today, we're looking at a different challenge. How do you design new control systems or modernize existing ones to last for decades without putting that stability at risk? That is the question at the heart of this episode, where we explore Automation Extended. This is an approach focused on helping industries evolve over time while still keeping control of today's operations. Joining me today are Per Erik Holsten, president of ABB's Energy Industries Division, and Joachim Braun, president of ABB's Process Industries Division. Together, we'll explore what innovation with continuity looks like in practice for both existing and future industrial operations. Per Erik and Jo, welcome to the podcast.

Per Erik Holsten (1:13)

Thank you.

Joachim Braun (1:14)

Great to be here.

Fran Scott (1:16)

Brilliant. Now, before we dive in, I want to start with the foundations. Now, most people never see these systems, do they?

But they do sit at the very core of industrial operations. Now, Jo, why are process control systems so fundamental to industrial operations today?

Joachim Braun (1:38)

They are so fundamental because today's industrial operations are pretty much built on the existence of such systems. It would not be possible to deal with the amount of information coming from the field level in a given plant. All of the signals, all of the different measures which are being taken without really getting it into a control system which helps you to make sense out of it, which helps you to compare to the desired status and then also to start intervening if anything goes wrong in your plant. So the system is really at the core of such industrial operations and you can hardly imagine them without it.

Fran Scott (2:21)

So in a way, they are not just part of the operations, they're like the backbone of how industries run. And often I can imagine they need to run with very long life cycles, which I suppose immediately raises the next question, which is how do industries balance that need for that long-term stability with this need to modernize?

Per Erik, that's one for you.

Per Erik Holsten (2:49)

Yes, absolutely. You're right. I mean, they have to basically balance these two things.

And if you look at the automation systems of today, many of them are legacy system back from the 70s and 80s with basically electronics that will at one point in time go obsolete. So there is a need to modernize just because of obsolescence. You cannot get the components anymore because they are pretty old fashioned. And the second thing is the degradation of the components, which is then obviously leading to possibilities of shutdowns and making sure that you don't operate with the highest possible reliability. So there is a key here that you have reliability but also modernize because you get new functionality that is super important in today's world, just like AI for example. If you want to take advantage of AI, you need a modern system that can deal with the data stream that is currently available in today's industrial facilities.

Fran Scott (3:50)

So with some of these old systems coming to their turn, the end of their life, I suppose, why isn't simply replacing these control systems more often a realistic answer, Per Erik?

Per Erik Holsten (4:02)

It exposes the operator of the industrial facility to any facility to a big risk. And that's what we're talking about here. It's a big risk. You have to rip out what is there and replace it with something more modern.

And in ABB, we have backwards compatibility, which is very important for our customers. So basically, you don't need to rewire. You don't need to change everything at the same time. You can gradually upgrade and make sure that you modernize as time goes by.

So with that, you avoid the possibility of shutdown. You avoid the risk of having a super high investment with ripping out everything at the facility and replacing it with a modern system. So I think it's important for two reasons. One is the obvious cost one. And the second one is the risk one. And then you have, in addition, risk of shutdowns and losing production.

Fran Scott (4:55)

And the tension between stability versus change, it can look very different depending on the type of operation. In critical infrastructure, for example, modernization, it isn't just about performance. It's also about resilience, compliance and trust. And to bring that into focus, let's hear from Matthijs Zwart, CIO at Vitens.