ethner et usage + strategy survey 2012-+do+not... · ethner et usage + strategy survey 2012 condcu...

EthErnEt UsagE + stratEgy sUrvEy 2012

CondUCtEd in assoCiation with

A joint survey by Automation World and Moxa was conducted in late 2012 to obtain insight into current engineering and management applications and opinions surrounding the use of Ethernet and wireless networks across industry.

Where Respondents Use Ethernet

O�ce/enterprise communications

Connecting shop �oor system to the enterprise

At the machine level to connect devices/instrumentation

Wireless in the front o�ce

77%

56%

74%

52%

AUTOMATION WORLD SURVEY:

Ethernet And Wireless In Production FacilitiesA joint survey by Automation World and XYZ Company was conducted in late 2012 to obtain insight into current engineering and management applications and opinions surrounding the use of Ethernet and wireless networks across industry.

Ten years ago it was di�cult to �nd large numbers of

engineers open to the idea of using Ethernet for plant

�oor operations. As for their opinion on wireless …

forget about it. If Ethernet was a stretch for most engi-

neers due to its perception as an IT network for front

o�ce operations, the use of wireless (outside of remote,

long distance process operations) was just crazy talk.

But in the last few years, a noticeable shift has taken

place in operations engineers’ attitudes about Ethernet

and wireless network technologies. We �rst started

seeing demonstrable proof of this in the Automation

World Innovation survey conducted in late 2011. In that

survey, nearly half of respondents said the incorporation

of Ethernet into plant �oor systems was the most

innovative advance to occur in automation over the past

decade. With so many readers citing this development

as being more innovative than any other, Ethernet’s

advance onto the factory �oor was recognized as the

clear innovation winner in readers’ opinions.

With this new Automation World survey, conducted with

XYZ Company, we wanted to dig deeper and learn not

just what engineers think about Ethernet and wireless

on the plant �oor, but how they are using it there and

what their plans are for it. Nearly one thousand readers

from a variety of industries — ranging from automotive,

chemicals, and electronics to food & beverage, oil & gas,

and machinery/equipment OEMs — responded to the

survey. Here’s what we learned.

PAGE 1

ANOTHER RESULT THAT SPEAKS to the

overwhelming acceptance of Ethernet in the

plant is the fact that Ethernet is used at the

machine level to connect devices and

instrumentation (74 percent) nearly as often

as it is used to connect front o�ce device

communications (77 percent). Given that

most initial uses of Ethernet in the plant were

to connect production systems to the

enterprise, a surprisingly lower number of

respondents (56 percent) currently use

Ethernet to connect shop �oor systems to the

enterprise than use the technology to

connect devices at the machine level.Wireless on the plant level 35%

CONSIDERING THAT SUCH A great

deal of Ethernet technology is already

deployed on plant oors across

industry, the question becomes: What

do users have their eyes on now when

it comes to expanding or improving

their networks? According to the

survey, the focus remains on the

blocking and tackling issues of

Ethernet deployment, with switches,

routers and cabling/connectors

accounting for the vast majority of

planned purchases. The high level of

planned purchases for these core

levels of the technology suggest that

both network expansion and upgrade

projects are in planning.

Automation World Survey: Ethernet and Wireless in Production Facilities

INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET-RELATED PURCHASES EXPECTED IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

Switches

Routers

Cabling/Connectors

Network management software

66%

49%

64%

26%

Wireless LAN accessories

No plans to purchase any components or devices

39%

18%

WHO HANDLES INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT ETHERNET NETWORK?

DESPITE THE FACT THAT tensions

between IT and production

engineers still persist in many

companies, largely due to systems

territoriality, Ethernet may well

prove to be the technology that

helped bridge the gap and lead the

two groups to develop a better

perspective of each other. The nearly

even split on Ethernet installation

and maintenance responsibility

between engineers (34 percent) and

IT (31 percent) underscores greater

levels of interaction between the

two groups that was, in many cases,

initiated by Ethernet. Service contract with suppliers

12%

System integrators

24%

Sta� engineers34%

IT department31%


Maybe21%

No7%

Yes71%

ARE PLANT MANAGERS AND ENGINEERS OPEN TO USING ETHERNET?

HELPING PARSE THE CONCLUSIONS drawn from responses in

the slide above are the results of this very direct question about

openness to Ethernet. With only 7 percent of plant managers

and engineers now opposed to the idea of Ethernet on the

plant �oor, the number of naysayers that could block adoption

of this technology has shrunk considerably over the years.

Ethernet Want-to-Do and WirelessTwo open-ended questions on the joint Auto-mation World/XYZ Company survey on indus-trial Ethernet and wireless networks asked about: 1.) The speci�c use of wireless on the plant �oor; and 2.) Ethernet projects respon-dents would most like to do. On the application of wireless question, the vast majority of respondents are using wireless networks to connect PLCs and PCs to their SCADA and HMI systems. An equally prevalent wireless application is the connection of remote I/O and sensor/meter devices. Such applications of wire-less are often considered classic industrial wireless deployments, since implementation of wireless for such purposes has been used in process industry �eld applications for decades. Some of the more recently adopted wireless applications cited by respondents included use in: data acquisition, control of variable frequency drives, safety instrumented systems, power monitoring/conditioning, machine I/O, and

motion systems. Several respondents also noted their use of wireless for on-site cameras, bar code scanners, and alarm systems. The unful�lled industrial networking desires of respondents include:• Connecting to the factory with a smart phone;• Converting process control operator stations to Ethernet;• Connecting work cells and machines to form a SCADA/MES system;• Remote switching of power distribution networks;• Increased support for Power over Ethernet by more vendors;• Real-time instrument data feeds over Ethernet;• Connecting dedicated safety controllers with Ethernet;• Development of a complete wireless network connecting plant cameras, voice, data and control systems;• Connecting servo drives with Ethernet; and• Implementing IEEE 1588 precision time control.


CURRENT STATUS OF ETHERNET ADOPTION

Have been doing it for a few years & examining more applications for it 41%

Most everything on the plant �oor that can be connected with Ethernet has been 22%

Looking beyond wires where possible and seriously exploring wireless 12%

Just beginning the process 26%THOUGH A NUMBER of respondents are just now beginning to

use Ethernet on the plant �oor, a signicant number (41

percent) has been doing it for years and is thinking about

additional applications for it. The fact that nearly as many

respondents (22 percent) have connected everything possible

on the plant �oor with Ethernet as are just beginning the

process (26 percent) really speaks to how widely Ethernet is

accepted as a factory �oor network compared to prevalent

opinions just a decade ago. The number of respondents begin-

ning to explore wireless (12 percent) may seem low, but in

many factory installations high levels of electromagnetic

interference can cause problems for wireless networks. New

products (such as wireless/cellular hybrid technologies) are now

coming to market to address these issues and will likely cause

this percentage to surge in the years ahead.

INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET PROTOCOLS CURRENTLY USED OR PLANNED FOR IMPLEMENTATION

3%CC Link IE

10%EtherCAT

56%EtherNet/IP

6%Ethernet Powerlink

45%Modbus TCP

18%Pro�net

72%Ethernet TCP/IP

4%Sercos III

5%None/Doesn’t apply to us

6%Other

10%Foundation Fieldbus HSE


WITH A SIGNIFICANT

NUMBER of respondents

potentially planning near-

term purchases of Ethernet

equipment, the obvious

question is: What matters

most to Ethernet technology

buyers? As with most

automation-related technolo-

gies, price (55 percent) and

local support/service (51

percent) are the clear

winners, followed closely by

support for specific protocols

(46 percent) and previous

experience with the supplier

(40 percent).

MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF ETHERNET PRODUCT SUPPLIERS

HOW ETHERNET USE ON THE PLANT FLOOR IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE IN THE NEXT 5 YEARSLOOKING BACK AT THE conclusions drawn from

the Ethernet Installation & Maintenance graphic

on page 2, it comes as no surprise that more

respondents (36 percent) think there will be a

convergence of IT and automation networks in

the next �ve years. Of interest is that 21 percent

of respondents expect to convert their existing

�eldbus communications over to Ethernet in that

same time frame. Considering that both discrete

and process manufacturing operations tend to

keep technologies in place until they are no

longer operable, the fact that such a signi�cant

number expect to replace existing �eldbus

networks, which have very long lifecycles, speaks

to the increasing adoption of all things Ethernet

in the worlds of manufacturing and processing.

37%Selection of products

51%Local support/ service

55%Price 46%

Support for speci�c protocols

14%Name recognition

40%Previous experience with supplier

13%Thoroughness of specs on Web site

16%Recommen-dations from peers

26%Existing company arrange-ments with supplier

Plan to convert existing �eldbus communications to Ethernet wherever possible during that time 21%

See a convergence between IT o�ce Ethernet networks and industrial automation Ethernet networks 36%

Not much change from current status 27%

Will begin launching initial projects using Ethernet 17%


RESPONDENTS’ JOB DUTIES

Intgration or Consulting 12%

Information Technology 7%

Operations 11%

Executive management or �nance (i.e. CEP, CFO, CIO, CTO, VP) 10%

RESPONDENTS’ INDUSTRIES

Survey MethodologyTo gather responses for this survey, three e-mail invitations were sent to Automation World’s subscriber list September – October 2012. Respondents who identi�ed themselves as working for automa-tion suppliers were �ltered out of the results, resulting in a net total of 917 end user readers complet-ing the survey.

Engineering 59%

12% 5%

2%2%

5%

3%2%

13%

10%

6%

3%

4%4%

10%

5%

4%

2%2%

5%6%

7%

1%1%2%

Water/Wastewater

System Integrator

Semi-conductors

Pulp &Paper

PowerGeneration

Plastic &Rubber

Pack-aging

Oil & Gas

OEM

Mix-ing

Life Sciences/Medical

Instru-menta-tion

Food & Beverage

Fabricated Metals

Electronics

Constr-uction

Com-puters

Commu-nication Devices & Equip.

Chemical

Automotive

Alter-native Energy

Agri-culture

Aerospace

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