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IndustrialAutomation
Duetotherapidadvancesintechnology,allindustrialprocessing
systems,factories,machinery,testfacilities,etc.turnedfrom
mechanizationtoautomation.Amechanizationsystemneedshuman
interventiontooperatethemanualoperatedmachinery.Asnewand
efficientcontroltechnologiesevolved,computerizedautomationcontrol
isbeingdrivenbytheneedforhighaccuracy,quality,precisionand
performanceofindustrialprocesses.Automationisstepbeyondthe
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mechanizationwhichmakesuseofhighcontrolcapabilitydevicesforan
efficientmanufacturingorproductionprocesses.

WhatisIndustrialAutomation?
ThewordAutomationisderivedfromancientGreekwordsofAuto
(meansself)Matos(meansmoving).Thus,amechanismmovebyitself
orselfdictatediscalledautomation.Ascomparedwithmanualsystems,
automationsystemsprovidessuperiorperformanceintermsof
precision,powerandspeedofoperation.Industrialautomationisthe
useofcontroldevicessuchasPC/PLCs/PACsetc.tocontrolindustrial
processesandmachinerybyreplacingasmuchaspossiblelabour
interventionanddangerousassemblyoperationswithautomatedones.

Inindustrialcontrolawidenumberofprocessvariablessuchas
temperature,flow,pressure,distance,andliquidlevelscanbesensed
simultaneously.Allthesevariablesareacquired,processedand
controlledbycomplexmicroprocessorsystemsorPCbaseddata
processingcontrollers.
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Controlsystemsaretheessentialpartsofanautomationsystem.The
varioustypesofclosedloopcontroltechniquesensuretheprocess
variablestofollowthesetpoints.Inadditiontothisbasicfunction,
automationsystememploysdifferentotherfunctionssuchascomputing
setpointsforcontrolsystems,plantstartuporshutdown,monitoring
systemperformance,equipmentscheduling,etc.Thecontrolsystems
alongwithmonitoringadaptedtotheoperatingenvironmentinan
industryforflexible,efficientandreliableproductionsystem.

Theautomatedsystemneedsspecialdedicatedhardwareandsoftware
productsforimplementingcontrolandmonitoringsystems.Inrecent
years,thenumberofsuchproductshavebeendevelopedfromvarious
vendorswhichprovidingtheirspecializingsoftwareandhardware
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products.SomeofthesevendorsareSiemens,ABB,AB,National
Instruments,Omronandsoon.

ReasonsforAutomating
Aswearelivinginthehighlycompetitivebusinessenvironment,the
industryorinotherwordsmanufacturersischallengedbythefactors
likewithstandtoharshmanufacturingenvironments,meetinglatest
energyefficientstandardsandtoofferarobustlevelofsecurity,etc.
Somethefollowingarethereasonsusedtojustifytheautomation.
Toincreasethelaborproductivity
Automationincreasestheproductionratebyproducinggreateroutput
foragivenlaborinput.Itisnotpossibleforhumanworkerstoworkfor
longhourswithoutlosingaccuracy.Inotherhand,without
compromisingonaccuracy,automatedcontrolsystemsabletoworkfor
longhours.Henceincreasedproductivityandefficiencyperhourof
laborinput.

Toimprovetheproductquality
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Oneofthechiefbenefitsoftheautomationisthatthereductionof
fractiondefectrate.Withthemanualoperationofmanufacturing
process,theremaybeacompromiseonqualityspecificationsofthe
product.Buttheautomationsystemperformsoperationswithgreater
conformityanduniformitytothequalityspecifications.Byusingthe
automationsystems,industrialprocessesarecontrolledandmonitored
atallstagesinordertoproduceaqualitativeendproduct.
Toreducethelabororproductioncost
Theautomatedsystemshelptheindustriestosaveagreatdealinthe
longtermbysubstitutingautomatedmachineryinplaceofhumanlabor
sothatunitproductioncostisreduced.Automationequipmentrunning
smoothlyoruniformly247notonlyincreasestheproductivity,but
alsoconsequentlyresultsexcellentreturnoninvestmentbysaving
salaries,workforcecosts,pensionsandcostswithemployees.The
automatedsystemalsoreducesthelaborshortagebysubstituting
automatedoperationsinplaceoflabor.
Toreduceroutinemanualtasks
Inmanyindustrialapplications,processvariablesliketemperature,
liquidlevel,pressure,etc.aretobeperiodicallymonitoredasaroutine
tasktomaintaintheirsetlevels.Thusanautomationsystemcreates
theautomaticworkingconditionbyemployingclosedloopcontrol
systems.

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Toimprovesafety
Byimplementingautomatedsystem,workismadesaferbytransferring
theworkerfromanactiveparticipationlocationintheprocesstothe
supervisingrole.Theautomatedmachinesareabletoworkinthe
hazardousenvironmentsandotherextremeenvironments.Also,these
systemsmakeuseofindustrialrobotsinplaceofhumanworkers,
especiallyinlifethreateningconditions(chemicalandhightemperature
conditions).Thusanindustrialautomationsystempreventsthe
accidentsandinjuriestotheworkers.
Toassistremotemonitoring

Mostoftheindustrialoperationshavetobecontrolledremotelyfor
convenientandlongdistancemonitorandcontrolofprocessvariables.
Forsuchcases,automatedsystemsprovideacommunicationlink
betweentheprocessareaandsupervising(monitorandcontrol)area,
therebyallowingoperatorstocontrolandmonitortheindustrial
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processesfromaremotelocation.Thebestexampleofthisremote
controlistheautomatedelectricpowergridcontrol.
FunctionalElementsofIndustrialAutomation
Anindustrialautomation(IA)isanintegrated,flexibleandlowcost
systemplatformthatconsistsofvariouselementswhichperformsa
widevarietyoffunctionslikesensing,control,supervisionand
monitoringrelatedtoindustrialprocesses.Thefigurebelowshowsthe
structureofindustrialautomationwhichdescribesthevariousfunctional
elementsofIA.

SensingandActuatingElements
Thesensorsorsensingelementsconvertthephysicalprocessvariables
suchasflow,pressure,temperature,etc.intoelectricalorpneumatic
form.Varioussensorsincludethermocouples,RTDs,straingauges,etc.
Thesignalsfromthesesensorsareusedforprocessing,analysing,and
decisionsinordertoproducethecontroloutput.Thevariouscontrol
techniquesareimplementedtoproducetherequiredoutputby
comparingcurrentsensedprocessvariablewithsetvalues.Finallythe
controllersproducethecomputedoutputsandareappliedaselectrical
orpneumaticsignalinputstotheactuatingelements.Actuatorsconvert
theelectricalorpneumaticsignalstothephysicalprocessvariables.
Someoftheactuatorsincludecontrolvalves,relays,motors,etc.

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Aspecialcategoryoftheinstrumentsissmartinstrumentswhichare
integratedsystemsofsensingoractuatingelementswiththecapability
ofcommunicatingwithfieldbuses.Thesesmartdevicesconsistof
signalconditioningcircuitinternallyandfacilitatestoconnectingdirectly
tothecommunicationlinkintheindustrialbussystem.

ControlSystemElements
Thesearethemicroprocessorbasedelectroniccontrollersorsimply
industrialcomputersthatacceptthesignalsfromvarioussensorsas
wellascommandsignalsfromsupervisorysystemsorfromhuman
operators.Thesecontrollerscanbecontinuouscontrolsystemsor
sequential/logiccontroldependsonthestructureofcontrolnature.The
controllerprocessesthesensingvaluesandsupervisoryvaluesand
dependsonthecontrolstructure,itproducethecontroloutputto
variousactuatingdevices.
Amoderntypeofcontroldeviceusedinautomationsystemsisthe
ProgrammableLogicController(PLC).PLCsarecomewithdedicated
software sothatthesearecapableofbeingprogrammedtoperform
correspondingcontroloperations.PLCshaveruggedCPU,digitalI/O,
analogI/Oandcommunicationmodulessuchthattheycanoperateat
industryenvironmentconditionstocontrolthevariousprocess
parameters.

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HumanMachineInterfaceoroperatorinterfaceisagraphicalinterface
fortheoperatorswhichdisplaystheprocessinformationsuchas
processvariablestatus,loggingresultstothedatabase,generating
alarmsignals,etc.SCADAisoneofthegraphicaluserinterfacewhich
remotelycontrolstheindustrialoperations.Also,Distributedcontrol
systems(DCS)providetheirownHMIforthegraphicaldisplayof
variousindustrialparameters.

SupervisoryControlElements
Supervisorycontrolperformshigherlevelcontrolovertheautomatic
controllerswhichfurthercontrolsthesmallersubsystems.Themajor
elementsofthislevelareprocessstationPCsandHumanMachine
Interfaces.TheseprocessstationPCsareresponsibleforfunctionslike
setpointcomputations,performancemonitoring,diagnostics,startup,
shutdownandotheremergencyoperations.

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HumanMachineInterfaceoroperatorinterfaceisagraphicalinterface
fortheoperatorswhichdisplaystheprocessinformationsuchas
processvariablestatus,loggingresultstothedatabase,generating
alarmsignals,etc.SCADAisoneofthegraphicaluserinterfacewhich
remotelycontrolstheindustrialoperations.Also,Distributedcontrol
systems(DCS)providetheirownHMIforthegraphicaldisplayof
variousindustrialparameters.

TypesofIndustrialAutomationSystems
Industrialautomationistheuseofcomputerandmachineryaided
systemstooperatethevariousindustrialoperationsinwellcontrolled
manner.Dependsontheoperationsinvolved,theindustrialautomation
systemsaremajorlyclassifiedintotwotypes,namelyprocessplant
automationandmanufacturingautomation.

ProcessPlantAutomation
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Inprocessindustries,theproductresultsfrommanychemical
processesbasedonsomerawmaterials.Someoftheindustriesare
pharamaceutical,petrochemical,cementindustry,paperindustry,etc.
Thustheoverallprocessplantisautomatedtoproducethehighquality,
moreproductive,highreliablecontrolofthephysicalprocessvariables.

Theabovefigureshowstheprocessautomationsystemhierarchy.It
consistsofvariouslayersrepresentingwidespreadofcomponentsina
processplant.
Level0orPlant:Thislevelconsistsofmachineswhichareclosestto
processes.Inthis,sensorsandactuatorsareusedtotranslatethe
signalsfromthemachinesandphysicalvariablesforthepurposeof
analysisandtoproducethecontrolsignals.
DirectProcessControl:Inthislevel,automaticcontrollersand
monitoringsystemsacquiretheprocessinformationfromsensorsand
correspondinglydrivestheactuatorsystems.Someofthetasksofthis

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lelvelare
Dataacquisation
Plantmonitoring

Darachecking
Openandclosedloopcontrol
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Reporting
PlantSupervisoryControl:Thislevelcommandstheautmatic
controllersbysettingthetargetsorsetpoints.Itlooksafterthecontrol
equipmentforanoptimalprocesscontrol.Someofthetasksofthis
levelare

Plantmonitoringperformance

Optimalprocesscontrol

Plantcoordination

Failuredetection,etc.
ProductionSchedulingandControl:Thislevelsolvesthedecision
makingproblemslikeresourceallocation,productiontarget,
maintenancemanagement,andsoon.Tasksofthislevelincludes

Productiondispatch

Inventorycontrol

Productionsupervision,productionreporting,etc.
PlantManagement:Thisisthehigherleveloftheprocessplant
automation.Itdealsmorewithcommercialactivitiesthantechnical
activities.Tasksofthislevelinclude

MarketandCustomeranalysis

Ordersandsalestatistics

Productionplanning
Capacityandorderbalance,etc.

ManufacturingAutomationSystem
Themanufacturingindustriesmaketheproductoutofmaterialsusing
machines/robotics.Someofthesemanufacturingindustriesinclude
textileandclothing,glassandceramic,foodandbeverages,paper
making,etc.Newtrendsinmanufacturingsystemshavebeenusing
automationsystemsateverystagesuchasmaterialhandling,
machining,assembling,inspectionandpackaging.Withthecomputer
aidedcontrolandindustrialroboticsystems,themanufacturing
automationbecomesveryflexibleandefficient.
Thebelowfigureshowsthemanufacturingautomationsystemhierarchy
inwhichallfunctionallevelsareautomatedbyusingdifferent
automationtools.Theselevelsinclude
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MachineryLevel:Inthislevelvarioussensingandactuatingdevices
controlsthemanufacturingprocess.Itisaninstrumentationlevelof
machinecontrol.Tasksofthislevelincludedatacollection,signalcheck
andmachinecontrol.
CellorGroupLevel:Thisisanotherautomationlevelatwhich
operationofagroupofmachineswithinamanufacturingcellsareco
ordinated.VariousautomatedcontrollerslikePLCsareemployedfor
suchcontrolofmachines.
ShopFloorLevel:Itisasupervisoryautomatedlevelwhere
supervisionandcoordinationofseveralmanufacturingcellsarecarried
out.
PlantLevel:Thisautomationlevelperformstheactivitiesofproduction
monitoring,controlandscheduling,etc.HMIsemployedatthislevel
facilitatetocontrolallthemanufacturingprocessvariablesremotely.
EnterpriseLevel:Thisleveldoesallthemanagementrelatedactivities
suchasproductionplanningandscheduling,etc.
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