GAMBICA forms industrial network security group

Is your password crackable?

GAMBICA has formed an industrial network security group to identify standards and best practice for members and their customers to help counter the threats of viruses, industrial sabotage and terrorism. 

The new group already has 19 members and came about as a result of feedback from other group members suggesting that this is an area of increasing interest to the automation industry.

“I put out a proposal to GAMBICA’s membership and within hours got messages back from about 15 member companies saying they were definitely interested in participating in such a group,” reveals Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA.

“We had an exploratory meeting where it was determined that the industry is interested in spreading best practice among both vendors and their customer base.

“Defence-in-depth is what is needed; because there is no single solution to industrial network security – it is systematic. Industrial network system security is just part of the wider topic of security and needs to be integrated, not treated separately. There is no point in having an uncrackable password protection system if people write them on sticky notes and put them on their screens.”

Brambley points out that industrial networks are rarely managed in the same way as enterprise networks, and fall under different areas of responsibility in a business. Office applications are typically managed by an IT department using its approved security software, standards and codes of practice, while the industrial side tends to be looked after by an engineering department without necessarily involving the IT team.

For example, it is not uncommon for a PC controlling a manufacturing cell to be running a very old version of Windows, such as NT or XP without an internet connection.

“At some point later in its life, the engineering department may decide it wants to connect some manufacturing cells to get production information out onto the IT network,” add Brambley. “This can introduce vulnerability if the cells are managed by a PC with an old version of Windows that has not been updated.

“Industrial network systems need to be dealt with differently from IT networks in a business.

“Communications need to be continuous and without glitch for monitoring a fast process, whether the controlled process is food, oil, metalworking, paper or anything else.

“This is different to an enterprise IT environment, where it does not matter if a PC takes a few seconds to update and the user can’t access a Word document during that time!”

Brambley concludes that security measures need to recognise the needs of the system and that the automation industry has a part to play as the experts in integrating their own systems into a wider security policy. They need a voice and a presence to tackle these issues and GAMBICA’s new group provides this.

GAMBICA tops British Standards table for contributing members

A recent report from BSI, the business standards company, has revealed that GAMBICA has more members contributing to BSI committees than any other trade association. The report, entitled Structuring Knowledge: Standards Development Briefing states that GAMBICA has representation on 100 technical committees and sub committees.   

The report was published by BSI to demonstrate that standards are a crucial part of the way that business delivers value to the economy and to society.

BSI committee members are leading experts who help to create published standards. They come from industry, trade associations, government organisations, professional associations, research institutions, academia, consumer and public interest bodies.

Furthermore, the report does not only demonstrate influence over standards in the United Kingdom. In order to influence standards at a European (CEN / CENELEC) and international level (IEC / ISO), work has to be conducted at a national standards working group level through the BSI.

This has been highlighted over the last twelve months by changes in the regulatory landscape in Europe, most notably with the release of the new standardisation regulation, EU No 1025/2012, in October 2012, as well as moves in numerous countries to clarify the referencing of standards in regulation.

“This shows how well GAMBICA is ensuring that it lives up to one of its core principles, namely that our members will be provided with the best possible representation when standards which can dramatically affect their business prospects are being developed both in the UK and Europe,” argued Ron Neiger, president of GAMBICA. “This analysis shows that there is no association which does more for its members’ interests in the standards arena.”

“Advances in standardisation are only possible through the collaborative effort of our valued network of standards experts and stakeholders,” said Shirley Bailey-Wood MBE, director of publishing at BSI. “It is this work that enables us to identify and shape standards that respond to the pressing industrial and societal issues of the day, while delivering real benefits to business, industry and the general public.  Participation in a committee ensures that member’s requirements, understanding of the market and voice is heard and captured into the development of a standard, and we are actively seeking experts to get involved.”

Top 10 trade associations on BSI committees and sub committees as published by the BSI are:

1, GAMBICA Association - 100
2, UK Steel Association - 80
3, British Cables Association - 70
4, British Plastics Federation - 68
5, Safety Assessment Federation - 54
6, Energy Networks Association - 54
7, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders - 53
8, Intellect - 48
9, Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Electrical Appliances - 46
10, Engineering Equipment and Materials Users' Association – 41

The report can be downloaded in full here.

GAMBICA publishes updated installation guide for power drive systems

Installation guide for
Power Drive Systems

GAMBICA and REMA have updated their joint publication titled ‘Installation Guidelines for Power Drive Systems’, which is available for free as a download from the GAMBICA website. The publication is an authoritative guide on best practice for the installation of Power Drive Systems.
Acceptable operation of a drive system is dependent on a satisfactory installation. Compliance with the appropriate EU Directives and with local regulations is also a legal requirement.

Each section in the report covers the requirements for a different part of a power drive system, to assist specifiers and purchasers from specification to installation and commissioning.

The new document is the result of a study carried out by GAMBICA and REMA, taking note of well-established fundamental theory and technical papers and also incorporating the results of specific investigations carried out as part of the process. It principally considers the aspects of safe mechanical and electrical installation and the avoidance of EMC problems.

“This is the 4th Edition of the Technical Guide, with updates on power drive systems including the drive, motor and load, together with cabling, site considerations, circuit protection, earthing and harmonics,” said Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA and convener of the organisation’s variable speed drive (VSD) group.

“Power Drive Systems is an IEC term which covers the VSD, motor and sensors used for feedback control information to the drive, as well as auxiliary parts like filtering and protection. The technical guide has now evolved into a comprehensive treatise for engineers and installers, giving them a VSD manufacturer’s perspective on best practice for installation.

“Since the 3rd Edition in December 2006, it has been updated with reference to current legislation, regulations and standards, and with new sections on earth loop impedance testing, bearings and power conditioning, as well as an updated section on transformers.”

REMA represents the sector of the electrical industry concerned with the manufacture of electric motors and generators, without limitation of output or voltage, excluding turbine/traction machines and those used in aircraft. Further publications are available from the GAMBICA publications page.

GAMBICA whitepaper set to highlight the importance of system efficiency, not product efficiency

GAMBICA will be launching a white paper at the 2012 Motor Driven Systems conference in which it will make an economics based analysis of the comparison between investing money in efficient systems to reap financial gain and saving capital by not investing but accepting higher energy bills.

Steve Brambley, Deputy Director

The paper, presented by GAMBICA deputy director Steve Brambley, will show how the lifetime cost of efficient equipment is lower due to the high proportion of energy costs in motor driven systems. Brambley will explain that 97% of the lifetime costs of a motor come from the energy it consumes and that energy efficient systems can deliver significant, often double digit, savings. He will also compare two example lifetime costs, the first with investment in motor control, the second without it.

“Running old or inefficient equipment is a false economy,” explains Brambley. “The real barrier to investment is the understanding of the lifetime cost of a system at a corporate and financial level. In contrast, I think engineers readily accept the benefits of motor control.”

The Motor Driven Systems conference will take place on November 8 at St. John’s Hotel, Solihull. The event, which is supported by companies from the pump, compressed air, motors, drives, controls and fan industries, aims to bring together the varied strands of legislation, standardisation, system strategies and technological developments affecting motor driven systems.

In the context of the economic downturn and subsequent cuts, manufacturers are reluctant to invest in improving their systems. However, as time passes, inefficient industrial machines consume more and more expensive energy and begin eating away at profits. One solution to this problem is the installation of a variable speed drive (VSD) or alternative fixed speed form of motor control, as GAMBICA’s white paper illustrates.

“The American industrialist Henry Ford once said that, If you need a machine and don't buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it, but don't have it,” says Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA.  “I believe that a century later, his assertion is more pertinent than ever for UK manufacturing. As our findings point out, VSDs can reduce the energy cost of most fixed speed motor driven systems by more than their own capital cost in a relatively short period - often less than a year. As energy prices continue to soar, the return on investment on a VSD application increases in proportion to the bill,” he concluded.

The price for delegates to attend the Motor Driven Systems event is £235 plus VAT. For more information, bookings and a conference programme, visit the Motor Driven Systems website.

Frost & Sullivan’s VSD report hides the deeper truth

Frost and Sullivan’s recent report on the use of Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) in the food and beverage market made headline news for all the wrong reasons. It presented the fact that VSDs are dropping in price by three per cent per year as its most significant finding. Furthermore, many of the news reports buried the most important results - the fact that electric motors consume two thirds of the energy used in the F and B sector.

A cursory analysis of a three per cent drop in price for variable speed drives demonstrates that the product is holding its own in the recession. For instance compare the price drop to the average cost of an LCD television today and its equivalent five years ago. Suddenly a three per cent drop seems like a figure that can still provide a comparatively high profit margin.

In contrast, compare the amount of energy used in the F and B sector now to the amount used five years ago, when the automation of the industry was substantially less advanced than it is today. There were thousands fewer electric motors in use, thousands fewer opportunities to save energy using VSDs and millions of pounds less being spent on energy. 

The bottom line is that 66% of all industrial energy, not just the F and B industry is used by motors and 97% of motor lifetime cost is energy. The financial gains provided by VSD control are uncomplicated and compelling. In comparison a three per cent price drop doesn’t seem like headline news to me.

Ebullient mood at Automated Britain

The announcement of Nissan’s investment of £125 million into Britain, for the unveiling of a new concept model to be manufactured at a state of the art factory in Sunderland, formed the backdrop of a Government address to elated delegates at the Automated Britain conference.

Intellect and GAMBICA held the joint event on March 6, 2012 at The Commonwealth Club in London to promote the concept of automation and its benefits to industry. Called Automated Britain – The Renaissance of UK Manufacturing the event explored whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more investments of this type.

Keynote speakers included Mark Prisk MP, the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise and Juergen Maier, managing director of Siemens UK Industry. Case studies were presented by major automation companies such as ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Rockwell and Siemens in tandem with the manufactures that use their technology.

Mark Prisk told the conference, “Nissan estimates that the investment will create and safeguard 2,000 jobs. That news is, in my book, a real vote of confidence in the UK automotive sector. It vindicates the decision we took to put manufacturing back at the heart of our economic strategy.

“Modern manufacturing requires a continuing commitment, not only to technological investment, but to a culture of innovation. There are several examples here today, so we already have British firms leading the way. Despite difficult spending decisions elsewhere, we took the decision to ring-fence and maintain a science and research budget at £4.6 billion, and to increase capital investment by £500 million.

“We have taken on the principle of the Technology Innovations Centres to ensure that we smooth the path from original research to commercial success. We call them ‘Catapults’ for the simple reason that they are about propelling ideas into commercial ventures. The first is funded at £140 million over the next six years and focussed on high value manufacturing.”

The stage was then taken by Juergen Maier who forewarned that automation could become UK manufacturing’s Achilles heel, if we don’t take full advantage of the technologies available in the same that other European countries do. “What we are excellent at in this country is process improvement,” he said.

“We do not invest in the best automation and capital equipment, such as robotics, which Mr Prisk mentioned earlier. There are two reasons for this. One is that we do have an issue about getting finance, particularly to SMEs and despite numerous initiatives like Project Merlin or the growth funds.

“The other is that in the UK, we have an engineering culture of sweating our assets. We should be investing about 22 billion Euros into our manufacturing capability in the UK compared to the 57 billion Euros spent in Germany. We are a good 35 percent below that in terms of the amount that we invest in automation.

“We are still at levels of 2009 and nowhere near the pre-recession rates of 18.3 billion. And the forecast is that we are not going to lift out of it this year, whereas you can see Germany reinvesting, so its competitiveness will be better than the UK’s.”

Following the morning presentations, a panel discussion was chaired by Peter Marsh, Manufacturing Editor of The Financial Times. During the panel, Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Digital Infrastructure, queried the role of enhanced capital allowances (ECAs) in making automation investment decisions and their importance to productivity gains when making the business case for investment.

The view of the panel was that it tends to be the larger companies that invest in automation and robotics. Peter Marsh asked Mike Berridge, director of business improvement at the AWS Electronics Group whether his SME would have invested more than it does at present if it had access to ECAs. Berridge replied, “We probably would.”

Chris Buxton, chief executive of the British Automation & Robotics Association (BARA), said, “Customers are always looking for product repeatability. Automation and robotics leads to better manufacturing flexibility, and not only do you get improved consistency of quality but also an increased level of quality, because the performance of the machinery employed is repeatable.

“The benefits include reduced cost, particularly in terms of labour cost. Consistency of quality leads to better competitiveness, which in turn leads to better profitability, growth and more jobs. Successful companies employ people – those going out of business make people redundant. A study by BARA shows two to three million jobs created in manufacturing, as well as indirect jobs downstream.  The estimate is that between now and 2016 we will create another million jobs.”

The fact that the impact of automation on jobs in the UK formed a big part of the conference was no surprise. From Mr Prisk’s mention of Nissan’s investment in the keynote speech, to BARA’s discussion about the impact of robotics on job creation, the tone was clear. What is interesting is that there were so few dissenting voices in the crowd, from end users to MPs and manufacturers to trade bodies the view was clear; the UK’s Achilles heel can also be its jobs lifeline, provided we invest in and manage the process intelligently.

We must rebalance the UK economy whatever the economic conditions

Siemens is proud to be a key sponsor of Automated Britain, which is being held at The Commonwealth Club in London on Tuesday March 6, 2012. Here Juergen Maier, Managing Director of Siemens UK Industry Sector, explains why the UK has no choice but to move forward in order for the economy to recover.

Somebody asked me if it was possible to talk of rebalancing the UK economy in the face of an economic storm and whether the Government policies in place were sufficient to allow this to happen. I replied that the current economic conditions make it doubly important that we should aim to redress the balance towards manufacturing, which at the moment only stands at 12% of GDP compared with a European average of 25% and a world average of 31%.

As for government action, we have renewed support for apprenticeships and vocational training. For instance, there are a number of University Technical Colleges that are being set up to offer 14-19 year olds the opportunity to take a full time, technically-oriented course of study.

Each one is equipped to the highest standard and sponsored by a university or college. Thirteen new University Technical Colleges are to be opened across England including The Black Country University Technical College, which opened in the West Midlands in partnership with Siemens.

Another key initiative is the High Value Manufacturing Catapult which, in October 2011, brought seven partners together to form the new Catapult centre, bringing together their expertise in different and complementary areas of high value manufacturing.

The new centre provides an integrated capability and embraces all forms of manufacture using metals and composites, in addition to process manufacturing technologies and bio-processing. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult will draw on excellent university research to accelerate the commercialisation of new and emerging manufacturing technologies.

At Siemens we are delighted to be able to support both these initiatives and several others which are engaging with our sector.

The Automated Britain conference has already attracted significant cross-party political support from policy makers in government and industry and politicians from all parties. Mark Prisk MP, Minister for Business and Enterprise, will deliver one of the keynote addresses; 'The view from Government’. He will be joined at the event by Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Digital Infrastructure.

Also present will be Iain Wright, MP for Hartlepool and Keith Hodgkinson, Head of electronics, materials, chemicals and product regulation at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), who will chair the last panel session.

Automated Britain is a joint conference between GAMBICA and Intellect to promote automation as a key factor in growing the UK economy. To attend the event, go to www.automatedbritain.co.uk and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.

Automated Britain promises lively panel discussions on Britain’s manufacturing renaissance

Does automation really create growth and increase employment? What are the drivers to encourage uptake of investment in automation? These and many more questions will be hotly debated at Automated Britain’s panel discussions, according to Marco Pisano, programme manager of Intellect.

Automated Britain, a joint conference between Intellect and GAMBICA to promote automation as a key factor in growing the UK economy, will take place at the Commonwealth Club in London on March 6 2012.

Peter Marsh, of The Financial Times

The first panel discussion will address the question: Does Automation really create growth and increase employment? Chaired by Peter Marsh, manufacturing editor of The Financial Times, panellists will include Alan Courts, finance director of Rittal UK, John Frieslaar, chief technical officer for Western Europe at Huawei Technologies, Atul Mehta, partner and industrial sector leader at IBM Global Business Services, Mike Berridge, director of business improvement at AWS Electronics Group and Ian Schofield, key account manager at ABB Robotics.

The themes to be discussed will include:
• Does automation drive growth in the whole supply chain (including product, equipment and services) and therefore increase employment?
• Automation may replace repetitive task labour, but does it also grow high value labour in the technical, design and service areas?
• What is the importance of investing in education and training for the right skills for this economic model?

The second panel discussion, entitled what are the drivers to encourage uptake? will address the question of investment in automation. The Chairman will be Keith Hodgkinson, head of electronics, materials, chemicals and product regulation at BIS. He will be joined by Eric Le Corre, managing director of Michelin Tyre, Myles McCarthy, MD Implementation Services at the Carbon Trust, Danny Wootton, global innovation director at Logica and Professor Mike Jackson, director of EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Intelligent Automation at Loughborough University.

The themes the discussion will draw out include:
• To what extent is Government supporting manufacturing in the UK?
• What policy decisions could further improve the confidence to invest more in automation?
• What financial options are there to seek funding for investment? What else could be done?
• How can the manufacturing community spread best practice to encourage general industrial growth?
• What research and innovation activity will support this growth?

There will also be a table-top exhibition during the event and opportunities for networking discussion and debate during the day and at the evening drinks reception.

To attend Automated Britain go to www.automatedbritain.co.uk and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.

Automated Britain attracts significant cross-party political support

Policy makers in government and industry and politicians from all parties are supporting the Automated Britain conference reports Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA.

Automated Britain is attracting significant cross-party political support. A joint initiative between GAMBICA and Intellect to promote automation as a key factor in growing the UK economy, is taking place at the Commonwealth Club in London on March 6 2012.

Mark Prisk

Mark Prisk MP, Minister for Business and Enterprise, will deliver the keynote address 'The view from Government'. Also attending will be Chi Onwurah, Member of Parliament for Newcastle Central and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Digital Infrastructure.

Julian Huppert

Julian Huppert, Member of Parliament for Cambridge, said this about the event: “Investment in automation is crucial if our manufacturing industry is to retain its place in the competitive global market and grow in the future, bringing desperately needed new jobs.

“These are extremely difficult economic times but by embracing new technology we equip our manufacturing industry with the most up-to-date tools it needs to keep a competitive edge. And of course, this industry’s success is vital for the UK economy as a whole, not only producing the goods we need at home but holding our strong position in the extremely important international export market.

“In addition to the huge economic benefits that automation brings, there are also environmental advantages. Automation consumes less energy, controls pollution and cuts carbon emissions.”

Pauline Latham OBE, Member of Parliament for Mid Derbyshire, adds: “Automation technology has the potential to increase the competitiveness of our manufacturing industries, whilst increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. For this technology to be successful in Britain, it is important that there is a continued supply of motivated and well educated young people to continue the trade, and this could be done by graduate and apprenticeship schemes.”

Chi Onwurah (right)

At the event, automation users and manufacturers will team up with politicians and civil servants to demonstrate that the economy can be rebalanced by manufacturing, and that automation plays a major part in that.

The conference will also explore whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more of this type of investment, and will end with a panel discussion ‘Investment in automation; What are the drivers to encourage uptake?’, chaired by Keith Hodgkinson, Head of electronics, Materials, Chemicals and Product Regulation at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

To attend Automated Britain go to Intellect's website and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.

Automated Britain - Where manufacturing automation users meet policy makers

Automated Britain, on March 6 2012, will provide a unique opportunity for automation users to interface with policy makers in government and industry. Here, Marco Pisano, programme manager of Intellect, argues that the Automated Britain conference, which will take place at the Commonwealth Club in London, is one of a number of factors that could herald a renaissance in UK manufacturing.

Marco Pisano

Automated systems and processes are an essential part of attracting direct investments and represent a key component for growth to rebalance the British economy. A combination of world-class R&D from the corporate and academic sectors and early adoption of automated technologies by UK manufacturers can accelerate economic recovery in Britain.

Participants at the Automated Britain conference will learn about the government's manufacturing growth strategy and get an insight into automation strategies and market trends. Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA says: “Automation users and manufacturers will demonstrate that the economy can be rebalanced by manufacturing, and automation plays a major part in that.

“The government aims to rebalance the economy away from reliance on services and towards industry, which at the moment only stands at 22% of GDP. This contrasts with a European average of 25% and a world average of 31%. The part that the financial sector played in the economic downturn has given Government a desire to be less reliant on services. What we want to show is that automation is a key player in making this rebalancing happen and to make UK business competitive in a global market.”

Automated Britain is a joint initiative between GAMBICA and Intellect and will alert the manufacturing industry, Government and the media to the economic benefits that automation offers. It will also spread best practice by having senior executives from the automation and manufacturing industries jointly present case studies on successful uses of automation to improve competitiveness.

The conference will also explore whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more of this type of investment. Case studies will be presented by manufacturing companies such as Rolls Royce, Kraft Foods, National Grid and Ricoh in tandem with their automation partners ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Rockwell, PCME and Siemens.

Steve Brambley argues that there are examples where global companies have decided to invest in the UK, and adds: “The conference will positively demonstrate what is happening right now, and what is possible if we join up policy decisions with industry best practice.”

To attend Automated Britain go to www.automatedbritain.co.uk and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.