Introduction to Industrial Automation

Figure 1.9  Basic elements of an automated system.

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  Introduction to Industrial Automation

A fundamental motivation for the automation of an industrial process is that the viabil-

ity of the enterprise, and particularly business profit, can be achieved through the following 

objectives:

 

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Production increase

 

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Cost reduction, mainly due to the reduction of human-related cost

 

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Improvement of the product’s quality

 

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Improvement of the raw material utilization (reduced loss in materials)

 

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Reduction of energy consumption

Many other secondary benefits may be derived from the automation of an industrial process, 

i.e., plant safety, environmental pollution reduction, etc. The aims of industrial automation are 

frequently difficult to achieve for several reasons, such as inherent limitations of the plant, imple-

mentation costs and general situations in the marketplace. Regardless of these difficulties, there 

has been continual development of industrial automation from a control tools and methods point 

of view. Consequently, advancements in automation and control made possible the development of 

larger and more complex processes of various kinds (e.g., oil and gas refining, chemical, pharma-

ceutical, food and beverage, water and wastewater, pulp and paper, mining, iron and steel, cement, 

etc.), thus bringing numerous new technological and economic benefits.