Steve Leech, of Siemens Industry Automation, highlights some of the influencing factors that are forcing companies to confront their plant modernisation issues and he offers a strategic approach to support plant performance into the future. It would be fair to say that the phrase 'make do and mend' applies to the mindset of many organisations when it comes to confronting the need to modernise plant and control systems. Sweating assets is a common approach in tough economic times, but the operational risks associated with avoiding modernisation can be highly significant. While existing process automation and safety assets may still be performing adequately, a key question needs to be considered - whether the plant is performing to its full potential and capability- and, crucially, whether it can continue to do so into the future? A system deemed to be cutting-edge even ten years ago will not be able to deliver the technology benefits and performance that developments over recent years have turned into a reality. Ageing legacy technologies become increasingly difficult and costly to operate and maintain which can significantly affect a company's ability to support new business targets or apply new technologies and solutions to help increase and improve performance. The complex design of legacy systems is often based on outdated technologies, making them problematic to change and slower to respond to market trends.
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