Just like most strained, inefficient and vulnerable systems, supply chains can also benefit from automation, according to a recent ISA position paper, “Automation drives the global quest for resilient supply chains”.
“Whether it’s COVID-19, the Suez Canal blockage, war in Ukraine or the Baltimore bridge collapse, they can all disrupt supply chains worldwide. Suppliers have been going offshore for decades because of low costs, but this makes their supply chains fragile and brittle,” says Steve Mustard, president and CEO of consultant National Automation Inc. and chair of ISA’s content steering committee. “ISA says automation can help strengthen supply chains, and traditional instrumentation, process control, robotics, AI, digital twins and virtualization can all play a part. They can help businesses and their supply chains be more efficient, reduce costs and improve just-in-time manufacturing even if they’re onshore.”
Chief among these efforts is reshoring microprocessor manufacturing to the U.S. as detailed in the CHIPS Act, which also calls for embracing new technologies and automation to reduce chipmaking costs and increase flexibility. “This would address much of the brittleness in many supply chains. All the suppliers and everyone else that depends on microprocessors would benefit if they were made in more places worldwide, which would allow production to rapidly shift to another region when needed,” explains Mustard. “No one wanted to do this before pandemic, but now they know they’ve got to do something to be less vulnerable. COVID-19 vaccines were produced incredibly quickly by standing up modular facilities.
“And, because another pandemic or a similar crisis will likely happen in the future, we must recognize and resolve bottlenecks. We can’t wait for a contractor to spend six years building a plant. Pharmaceutical companies, chipmakers and other industries must find ways to manufacture quickly by building standardized production modules that are delivered and assembled onsite, and can be relocated as needed. This is similar to the automobile plants that retooled to make airplanes during World War II or NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs that met President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon less than 10 years. It’s all about will.”
Mustard reports that supply chains can also bolster their flexibility and modularity by integrating many of the standards that ISA develops and administers, such as ISA 88 for batch process control and ISA 95 for interfacing between controls and enterprises.
“Both of these standards have common data interchange definitions, which can help suppliers and users buy networking hardware and software that will connect and share data with fewer proprietary issues,” says Mustard. “If devices can work together more easily, it can relieve some of the pressure on supply chains. For example, they may be able to plan better and design out items with longer lead times.”
