Automation budgets: more than automation

Think Again: When considering an automation, controls, or instrumentation project, look beyond the price of equipment, software, and networks toward many extended, often unquantified, benefits.

By Mark T. Hoske December 19, 2012

When considering an automation, controls, or instrumentation project, look beyond the price of the related equipment. Because savings bring benefits to many areas beyond where the automation is applied, costs should be defrayed across many departments, not just operations or manufacturing. Redesigned and updated workflows using new automation, controls, and instrumentation can result in faster start-up; greater flexibility and energy savings; higher throughput; better diagnostics and product quality; less downtime, troubleshooting, maintenance, and waste; easier optimization and upgrades; tighter integration; and greater information flow to interdependent areas of the enterprise and supply chain, including lower costs for manufacturing IT.

Where to look

Through the year, we detail such benefits at www.controleng.com. A few examples, from this issue, follow.

If information averts an accident, saves a batch, or avoids an unplanned shutdown, think again about the value of automation, controls, and instrumentation in your next return on investment (ROI) calculation.

– Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com

Go Online

At www.controleng.com search for keywords related to your next project for more ideas on how to better quantify benefits and rally support.


Author Bio: Mark Hoske has been Control Engineering editor/content manager since 1994 and in a leadership role since 1999, covering all major areas: control systems, networking and information systems, control equipment and energy, and system integration, everything that comprises or facilitates the control loop. He has been writing about technology since 1987, writing professionally since 1982, and has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from UW-Madison.