​Keywords:  ARC Advisory Group, Hannover Messe, Media Partnership, Industry, Digitization, Industrie 4.0. Industrial IoT, Partner Country

ARC Advisory Group, the leading market research and technology consulting organization for industry and infrastructure; and Hannover Fairs, USA announce that the two organizations have formalized a partnership agreement making ARC an official media partner for the 2016 Hannover Messe, the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology.  This year’s fair will be held April 25 – 29 in Hannover, Germany.  For the first time in the fair’s long history, the US will be the official Partner Country.

Under this agreement, ARC will encourage its large base of global clients and others from the technology end user and supplier communities to attend the fair.  ARC will also actively participate as both an exhibitor and content provider.  ARC executives and senior consultants from North America, Europe, and Asia will represent the company at Hannover Messe.

Andy Chatha, ARC’s president and founder, commented: “At the recent ARC Industry Forum in Orlando, Florida, we were delighted to see that potentially disruptive technologies and approaches such as Industrial IoT, Industrie 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, predictive maintenance, analytics, machine learning, open automation platforms, and digitization are finally beginning to gain traction among industry executives and other thought leaders.  By actively participating in Hannover Messe and encouraging other industry stakeholders to attend the fair, we hope to help accelerate this momentum.  This is because ARC believes that companies that don’t selectively embrace new technologies and approaches such as these will lose market share to those that do.”

​Keywords: Low Voltage Motor Control Center (LV MCC), MCC Selection Guide, Intelligent MCCs, Leading LV MCC Suppliers, Market Shares, Strategies for LV MCC Adoption, LV MCC Selection Criteria List

ARC Advisory Group has recently published a new Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide designed specifically to help industrial organizations select the most appropriate low voltage motor control center (LV MCC) for their requirements.  LV MCCs provide the most suitable method for grouping electrical motor control, automation, and power distribution in a compact and economic package.  Motor control centers play a huge role in achieving safety, energy efficiency, and higher productivity through efficient motor control technologies.

Despite the global economic uncertainties, the adoption of LV MCCs has shown strong growth in the past few years. The major drivers of adoption were increasing demand for more electricity, a growing need for new and upgraded infrastructure, need for productivity improvement, safety of the workforce and the plant, government initiatives for saving energy across all regions, as well as better control of machines with the latest intelligent MCC technologies.  “Furthermore, safety and energy efficiency are driving demand in this market as older equipment is being replaced with the latest intelligent technology.  Specifically, in the industrial sector the demand for AC drive-based solutions is rising as the importance of maintaining a power factor near the unit will prevent many manufacturers from being subjected to penalties from the electrical utilities.  This trend boosts the adoption of intelligent LV MCCs,” according to Sal Spada, Research Director, Co-author of ARC’s new “Low Voltage Motor Control Center Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide”.

Intelligent Motor Control Centers
Improving energy efficiency in all industrial processes is crucial in preventing climate change.  Governmental and public decision-makers are working to direct industry towards using more energy-efficient operating methods.  Intelligent LV MCCs along with AC drives solutions play a major role towards gaining a high degree of energy efficiency.  Also, manufacturers are seeking to become more productive as a strategy to remain competitive.  The use of intelligent motor control center solutions offers more diagnostics without having to shut operations down.  MCC components, whether it is a circuit breaker or AC drive, are now incorporating intelligence, enabling manufacturers to assess problems through remote networking.

Critical to Select the Appropriate LV MCC
It is critical to select the appropriate LV MCC, as the industry standards concerning safety requirements, technologies, and applications for LV MCC continue to vary/change or increase.  When making technology selection decisions, this makes it critical for industrial organizations to accurately identify and weigh the relative importance for a wide variety of technology selection criteria.  The relatively large number of suppliers in this domain makes these types of selection decisions even more challenging.

ARC’s new Low Voltage Motor Control Center Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide is designed to help industrial organizations make informed, impartial, fact-based technology selection decisions.  The guide provides an in-depth discussion of the overall LV MCC market, profiles of the leading LV MCC suppliers, recommended selection criteria, and a wealth of other relevant information.

For more information on this and a number of other ARC technology selection guides, readers can visit www.arcweb.com/technology-evaluation-and-selection.

​Keywords: Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), Industrial UPS Selection Guide, UPS Technology Trends, Leading Industrial UPS Suppliers, Market Shares, Strategies for UPS Adoption, Selection Criteria

ARC Advisory Group has just published a new Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide designed specifically to help industrial organizations select the most appropriate uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) for their requirements.  When deploying IT networking gear and servers in industrial environments such as warehouses, control rooms, and production lines on the plant floor; a clean, stable, and secure power supply helps ensure continuous operation.  The right UPS can protect systems from damaging power problems and provide “ride-through” capability until generator power becomes available or line power is restored.

Uninterrupted power is essential for any automated application.  Sensitive electronic systems and devices such as DCSs, safety systems, SCADA systems, PLCs, robotics, Ethernet switches, and industrial computers all rely on a foundation of clean, regulated, nonstop AC or DC power.  Industrial UPSs contributed significantly to high availability and productivity by providing power protection.

Industrial UPS adoption has shown decent growth in the past few years due to the need for improved power quality, growth in infrastructure and smart grids, and increases in the number of machine-critical applications across various industries. “The global demand for energy is increasing at a solid pace, fueled by the demand in emerging economies and growth in the overall global economy.  This raises demand for clean and reliable power, boosting the adoption of industrial UPS systems,” according to Sal Spada, principle author of ARC’s new “Industrial Uninterruptible Power Supply Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide”.

Industrial UPS Applications Growing in Discrete and Hybrid Industries
Industrial UPSs are more prevalent in the process industries.  However, the application of industrial UPS in discrete and hybrid industries is growing in many mission critical and process/machine control applications to support automation controllers, emergency lighting, or safety gates.  Equipment utilized in these industries is often subjected to harsh environments of extreme dust, pressure, moisture, and high temperature ratings.  Today, industrial UPSs are designed to work under these harsh environments and various temperature ratings. 

Critical to Select the Appropriate UPS Technology
As the variety of applications for industrial UPS increase, so do the specific application requirements.  When making technology selection decisions, this makes it critical for industrial organizations to accurately identify and weight the relative importance for a wide variety of technology selection criteria.  The relatively large number of suppliers in this domain makes these types of selection decisions even more challenging.

ARC’s new Industrial UPS Technology Selection Guide is designed to help industrial organizations make informed, impartial, fact-based technology selection decisions.  The guide provides an in-depth discussion of the overall UPS market, profiles of the leading industrial UPS suppliers, recommended selection criteria, and a wealth of other relevant information.

For more information on this report, please visit our Technology Evaluation and Selection section.

​Over the last year, the logistics market has seen a large number of acquisitions involving third-party logistics providers (3PLs).  ARC research indicates that, cumulatively, these acquisitions involve companies that have over 40 percent of the total Managed Transportation Services (MTS) market.  This makes it increasingly challenging for shippers to select a 3PL with the appropriate characteristics and capabilities for their particular requirements.  To enable shippers to do so in an informed, impartial, fact-based manner, ARC Advisory Group now offers a Managed Transportation Services Supplier Selection Guide.  Unlike previous offerings in the logistics space, this ARC Selection Guide focuses specifically on managed transportation as a distinct service line.   

Managed transportation is not the largest service line for most 3PLs.  If these 3PLs are acquired, there is no guarantee that the acquiring company will value the MTS business as much as the former owners.  There are past examples of 3PLs with MTS practices seeing that business diminish, or even go away entirely within a few years of an acquisition.  Selecting an appropriate MTS provider to work with has become more difficult and risky.

In a managed transportation service arrangement, a shipper contracts with a third party to plan and execute its logistics moves.  In other words, instead of having internal planners plan and execute moves, those planners are employed by the MTS supplier, but work on the shipper’s behalf.

The primary driver for an MTS engagement is the recognition that man-aging transportation is not a core competence for the company.  MTS relationships are generally successful.  Two-thirds of respondents to ARC Advisory Group’s managed transportation services survey reported that they achieved freight savings based upon their MTS relationship.  Many achieved quite substantial savings.  Significantly, the freight savings did not come at the expense of diminished service levels to customers.  From a service perspective, MTS represents a low-risk engagement.  The selection guide reviews our research on the ROI companies can expect when they engage in an MTS arrangement, as well as what factors are linked to successful engagements.

This guide is designed to speed the supplier selection process.  Over 150 criteria are provided that can be used in selecting a supplier. 

The guide also provides data on who the leaders in the market are, and which 3PLs are the leading providers in different regions of the world and a variety of different industries.  Supplier profiles are provided on all prominent suppliers of managed transportation services.

The decision of which MTS supplier to work with is a critical decision.   It must be made with care, using an impartial, fact-based approach.  Most supply chain professionals are very busy and have more to do, than time in the day to do it.  The individuals on the selection team will find that this guide to be a very good investment that greatly reduces the time and effort required choose the most appropriate service provider for their business.

For more information on this report, please visit our Technology Evaluation and Selection section. 

​To help organizations select the laboratory information management system (LIMS) software that best meets their unique business requirements, ARC Advisory Group released the “Laboratory Information Management Systems Evaluation and Selection Guide”.

The macro-level challenges facing manufacturing companies - expand markets, increase innovation, improve governance, manage risks, comply with regulatory requirements, and deliver quantifiable operational results while maintaining margins have a trickledown effect, even into the laboratory.  Challenges such as these will continue to make laboratory information management systems an indispensable piece of enterprise software for managing business issues.

“During the course of normal operations, a laboratory generates enormous amounts of valuable data from the hundreds of samples processed.  While LIMS can help derive value from these data, it’s critical for manufacturers to select both the right LIMS solution for their specific requirements as well as the right deployment approach for that solution.  This requires a structured and well-thought-out selection process using the appropriate selection criteria, “according to Senior Analyst Paula Hollywood, the author of ARC’s Laboratory Information Management Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide.  She continues, “Cloud deployment offers cost savings over the traditional licensing model and benefits collaboration.”

LIMS as Platform for the Lab
The most prevalent shift occurring in laboratory automation is that users are gravitating toward a unified laboratory platform capable of integrating disparate data sources.  Laboratories are infamous for being informational silos, particularly in an R&D environment.  A LIMS that not only stores and manages lab data, but also manages the lab, and facilitates integration with common enterprise application is becoming more popular.  As the line between LIMs and ELN functionality continues to blur, the need for a unified platform will accelerate.

LIMS Generate Big Data
The laboratory is a major contributor to the Big Data phenomenon.  A single lab can generate an enormous amount of data.  The key lies in the ability to use the data to make business decisions in real time utilizing analytical tools and techniques as well as an infrastructure that can support fast data handling.  For example, data analysts can use Big Data to predict demand and associated production requirements for a particular product based on a combination of data: manufacturing, raw materials, market trends, etc.  Leveraging Big Data also requires connectivity of disparate databases throughout the enterprise, including the LIMS in the laboratory, to enable proactive planning and scheduling according to market demands, or changes in raw material or energy pricing.

To help manufacturers make the best technology and supplier decisions relative to this important software, ARC’s new LIMS selection guide provides an overview of the technology and the market, an overview of leading LIMS suppliers, and suggested selection criteria.

For more information, please visit our Technology Evaluation section. 

​The urgent need to quickly and efficiently transfer knowledge from today’s aging workforce to the new generation of workers is one of the main reasons industrial organizations are investing in simulator-based training for operators and other workers. 

“Operator Training Simulators (OTS) and process simulation is vital to prevent incidents and accidents and help new operators understand how to respond quickly and appropriately to worst-case scenarios.  While operator training simulators are already well proven in many industries, new virtual reality-based immersive training simulator technologies are emerging that create an even more realistic and interactive training environment that is particularly appealing to the new ‘digital generation’ of workers.  As a result, usage of these immersive training solutions are expanding to all workers, as reflected in our research,” according to Janice Abel, the principal author of ARC’s new report, “Operator and Immersive Training Simulator Evaluation and Selection Guide”. 

Immersive simulators provide a 3D virtual environment in which graphical representations of the users (avatars) interact with the virtual plant or upstream production assets, in many cases, even before the actual asset is completed.  Users are implementing more and better immersive virtual reality training simulators for control room operators, but also for other types of workers.  These simulators are very effective for training workers for hazardous industrial environments, both onshore and offshore. 

According to the guide, a number of factors will lead to an expanding market for operator training and immersive simulation solutions for the process industries, particularly in selected industrial sectors.  The ability to transfer knowledge quickly is a key factor.  The new tech-savvy, digital generation workers that are replacing the current workforce often lack the experience needed to operate a plant safely and efficiently.  In some emerging countries, workers change jobs on average every two years, and this drives the need for simulator-based operator training solutions.  User selection and best practices are important considerations when selecting new solutions.

About the Guide and Selection Criteria
ARC’s Operator and Immersive Training Simulator technology evaluation and selection guide includes selection criteria for key functions and features.  The research guide includes information about software and hardware technologies, tools, and methodologies for high-fidelity solutions that accurately replicate and simulate plant operations.  Training simulators considered in the guide include both field and console operator training simulators, 2D, 3D, generic high-fidelity, dynamic high fidelity, and immersive (virtual reality) training simulator applications.  Leading suppliers in the process industries and regions are also included.  The guide also researches the impact of new technologies and best practices for operator and immersive training simulators.

For more information, please visit our Technology Evaluation and Selection section.

To help organizations select the plant asset management (PAM) system that best meets their unique business requirements, ARC Advisory Group has released its “Plant Asset Management Evaluation and Selection Guide”.

Asset uptime, availability, and safety are critical to achieving high operational performance.  For industrial organizations, these KPIs are directly tied to shareholder value.  However, sustainable improvement in managing assets requires a modern PAM system with appropriate features and functionalities.  This publication contains guidance and selection criteria to enable technology and supplier selection teams to find common ground with lower risk and faster time to decision.

“While implementation of PAM solutions are not mandated by any regulatory authority, such systems can provide an additional layer of protection to safety systems by ensuring assets are in proper working order,” according to Senior Analyst Paula Hollywood, the author of ARC’s Plant Asset Management Evaluation and Selection Guide.  “Executive management, operations, and maintenance need a modern PAM system to manage operating equipment and improve return on assets.”

Adoption of PAM Driven by Need to Reduce Risk
The need for plant asset management systems continues to evolve as an increasing number of enterprises look to reap the benefits of PAM solutions, which include reduced unplanned downtime, increased asset availability, safety, asset integrity, longer asset life, and reduced operating costs.  These benefits have a positive impact on profitability, but can be distilled down to a single motivating factor for manufacturers: risk reduction.  The focus on risk reduction has elevated interest in PAM solutions in manufacturing for assets inside the plant walls as well as vehicle fleets, pipelines, and infrastructure.

Selection Criteria Include Functions and Business Needs
PAM systems have evolved from specialty applications to commercially available broad scale solutions for entire plants and widely geographically dispersed enterprises.  Current PAM systems offer solutions to monitor greater numbers of applications and asset classes, and have migrated to more functional areas of the plant to encompass not only maintenance but also plant operations. 

PAM systems typically include the processes and technology for organizing, creating, controlling, managing change, and governance related to proactive asset management.  The objective of the PAM Evaluation and Selection Guide is to ensure that technologies and suppliers selected meet user requirements.  ARC’s PAM Evaluation and Selection Guide includes selection criteria for key functions and business requirements to actively manage both automation assets and production asset classes. 

For more information on this guide, please visit our Technology Evaluation and Selection section.

Two senior ARC Advisory Group analysts with more than 50 years of combined industry experience will be presenting on three key automation-related topics at the third ISA Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) Conference at the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi on May 26 and 27, 2015.  These topics address: justifying investments in automation security, managing automation system obsolescence, and strategies for effectively deploying wireless technology in the process industries.

Securing Automation

Director of Consulting, Peter Reynolds, will speak on best practices for securing automation systems in industrial plants, a key, “top of mind” topic in many industrial plants and facilities today.  Since appropriate counter-measures often require considerable effort and capital investment, Mr. Reynolds’ presentation also addresses approaches for justifying both the effort and expense required to effectively secure automation hardware and software.

“While the threat of security breaches to industrial control systems is increasing due in large part to today’s widespread use of Internet and other commercial technologies in modern automation, ARC has found that many organizations are still reluctant to take action.  This is partly because cyber security efforts have been difficult to justify and programs and projects difficult to fund.  But to be able to take advantage of new approaches, such as the Industrial Internet of Things, to unlock previously stranded data to create value, reduce costs, and improve both safety and availability; appropriate security mechanisms must first be put in place,” Mr. Reynolds commented.

Peter Reynolds has more than 24 years of professional experience in process control, advanced automation applications, and information technology in the downstream oil refining industry.  Prior to joining ARC, he served as Strategic Planning Manager for Automation and IT at Irving Oil, which operates Canada’s largest refinery.

Managing Automation System Obsolescence

Recent ARC Industry Forums have included both day-long workshops on automation obsolescence and presentations in which end users have shared their experiences managing the lifecycle of their older process control and safety systems.   Presenter Harry Forbes and other senior ARC analysts also regularly consult with end users from major automation users on this important topic.  In this ISA presentation, Mr. Forbes will discuss ARC’s takeaways from these activities and discuss system obsolescence issues in the context of ARC’s Collaborative Process Automation System (CPAS) vision, including how new user requirements and emerging technologies will impact future process automation systems and applications.  According to Mr. Forbes, “There’s no single ‘silver bullet’ for managing system obsolescence, but our ongoing research has uncovered a number of different approaches that appear to work quite well.”  

Wireless Technology in the Process Industries
As anyone who has recently stepped into an industrial plant knows, industrial wireless technology and applications are proliferating at a rapid pace.  ARC Advisory Group recently conducted a survey of over 300 professionals engaged with wireless technology in the process industries.  Associated research also included a series of in-depth interviews with domain experts from a cross-section of process industries, both upstream and downstream, plus a comprehensive market outlook study for technology suppliers.

Based on these data, Harry Forbes, a noted expert on industrial networking, will present ARC’s current view on the industrial wireless technology market and several recommended strategies for end users to realize value from wireless technology in both new and existing plants.

Harry Forbes, Research Director at ARC, has 30 years of experience in automation, power generation, energy management, modeling and simulation, advanced control and optimization, and industrial networking.  Prior to ARC, Mr. Forbes served in a variety of marketing and engineering roles at Invensys, SimSci-Esscor, Foxboro, and Detroit Edison Company.

​ARC Advisory Group’s new Transportation Management System (TMS) Evaluation and Selection Guide is designed to help organizations make informed choices when selecting a TMS supplier offering a Planning & Execution solution.  A planning and execution solution is owned by shippers or 3PLs that do not own transportation assets and instead rely on a diverse set of carriers to move goods to their destinations. 

According to Steve Banker, Service Director for Supply Chain Management at ARC Advisory Group and the primary author of this study, “We also are including a survey of the return on investment (ROI) companies can expect to get from a TMS.  This survey not only shows the overall ROI, but the ROI and risks associated with different buckets of functionality.  A TMS is a solution where a phased implementation makes a lot of sense.  This data helps companies understand how to better implement functionality that has a higher payback with a lower risk profile before implementing other less promising functionality.”   

Dr. Banker has spent over 15 years covering transportation management systems.

ARC’s “Transportation Management System Evaluation and Selection Guide” contains general guidance, over 100 specific selection criteria, ROI data, market data, and supplier profiles to help an organizations team members make more informed, fact-based decisions.  The guide can help a technology selection team find common ground, with lower risk and in far less time.

For more information on this selection guide, please visit our Technology Evaluation and Selection section. 

​Keywords:  3D Plant Design, Infrastructure, Capital Projects, Asset Management

Engineering design tools (EDT) for plant and infrastructure provide specific functionalities for both design/construct applications for EPCs and asset management solutions for owner-operators. Today’s engineering design tool solutions address specific design and operations requirements throughout the entire asset lifecycle, from design and build during the CapEx phase, through the much longer operate and maintain OpEx phase.  The new ARC Advisory Group report “Engineering Design Tools for Plants and Infrastructure Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide” addresses this dynamic and can help operators select the appropriate EDT solution for their unique requirements.

Large Complex Capital Projects Require the Right EDT
Today’s capital projects have become very large, complex, lengthy, and expensive.    Currently, capital spending overall has steadied as companies and the governments that fund these projects consider the complexities and cost of new mega-projects in light of future global markets and business drivers; and risk aversion continues to be a significant element of project planning.

Often executing these massive projects requires forming joint ventures or partnerships between engineering, construction, and owner organizations.  This interdependence requires the use of the latest generation of 3D engineering design tools for efficient project execution and operating and maintaining assets.  While EPCs have long understood the value of engineering design tools, owner-operators are now seeing the additional value that related asset management tools can yield in the operations phase.  Next-generation 3D design applications play an integral part in the optimal design and construction of assets and now play an increasingly important role throughout the entire lifecycle of plant and infrastructure assets. 

EDT Suppliers Provide Latest Design/Build/Operate/Maintain Solutions
Today’s EDT suppliers offer plant and infrastructure design applications that represent the very latest cutting edge technologies.  This includes 3D design and visualization; laser scanning and point cloud modeling; concurrent design/construct methods; project management; asset management; and a wide range of specialized engineering for structural, civil, test simulation, and others.

ARC’s “Engineering Design Tools for Plants and Infrastructure Technology Evaluation and Selection Guide” covers all these areas and includes a matrix of selection criteria to help asset owners make the best technology selection decisions for their unique requirement based on their planned or installed asset base and the resources available to them.  The selection guide also provides an overview of technology suppliers with relevant insights into their particular strengths and weaknesses as they apply to this market space.

For more information on this report, please visit our Technology Evaluation and Selection section.