Page 18 - EngineerIt April 2021

TIME SENSITIVE NETWORKS
Industry 4.0

changing customer priorities and needs.
Supports more reliable automation. To prepare for the exponential speed and change of industry 4.0, South African
TSN supports the real-time, deterministic manufacturers need to adjust their infrastructures and develop new ones, upskill
data crucial for accuracy and precision. their workforce and reorganise their businesses. Having an integrated IT system
If the timing of a data point (for example, in place that can handle the increased speed of change, higher flow of data and
a signal) is delayed or off in any way, a new networking and communication needs, while leveraging new applications
machine may not respond properly and such as cloud computing for example, will become indispensable in an industry
cause downstream impacts that decrease 4.0 environment. Attracting the right digital talent/skills and (re-)training and
productivity and result in lost revenue. developing the existing workforce to understand and operate the new and smart
Consider, for example, the precision technologies (e.g. advanced analytics, sensors and robotics, 3D printing) will be
required for a robot to work alongside equally important. Last but not least, South African manufacturers need to develop
a human; if the robot’s movements the right industry 4.0 vision and mindset within their organisations, embrace a new
are off by even a fraction of an inch, collaborative culture with suppliers, business partners and customers, innovate
worker safety can be jeopardised. TSN beyond product levels and create opportunities for new disruptive business models
facilitates instantaneous communication on the edges of their businesses. Industry 4.0 offers huge opportunities for South
applications like this and many more to African manufacturers to re-invent themselves and become more successful and
improve safety and quality. competitive in local as well as global markets. n
Helps close the divide between
information technology (IT) and operating Karthi Pillay Africa Manufacturing Industry Leader Deloitte South Africa
technology (OT) specialists. By providing
a common set of tools, TSN supports
the often distinct and competing goals of
IT and OT teams. It presents a common
framework, a shared language, that
supports collaboration. Additionally,
we’re seeing many OT specialists near
retirement age, meaning they’ll take
their historical expertise of today’s field
buses to retirement with them. TSN has
the potential to resolve these future skills
gaps by providing a common framework
that enables IT specialists to support
industrial Ethernet. This saves resources
and can increase productivity.
Allows companies to allocate
their R&D spend elsewhere. Since
TSN resolves bandwidth constraints,
companies no longer need to build new
bandwidth allocations when they try to
scale up or add new capacity. We’ve
seen companies invest tens of millions Figure 2: Requirements for time sensitive networks. Analog Devices offers a wide portfolio
in infrastructure that becomes obsolete in TSN Ethernet solutions that enable the Industry 4.0 revolution.
or ineffective just a decade later. TSN
dramatically reduces the need for bring the fourth industrial revolution to life. That requires software, middleware, advanced
rebuilding and thus creates opportunity for silicon components, brilliant inventors and engineers, dedicated technicians and operators,
investment in technologies that support education and time. But my colleagues at Analog Devices and across the industry believe
greater automation. It frees up capital in the incredible potential of these emerging technologies and, like our customers and
for reinvestment in upskilling employees partners, feel inspired by the nearly endless opportunities. n
by training them to manage and operate
complex robotic systems, for example. About the Author
Jordon Woods is the director of the Analog Devices Deterministic Ethernet Technology
Conclusion (DET) Group. The DET Group enables the seamless and secure connection of customer
There is no doubt that TSN standards are products across the entire landscape of industrial IoT. Woods has 35 years of experience
a crucial, foundational building block for in the semi-conductor industry. He is familiar with a variety of Ethernet-based industrial
the promise of Industry 4.0 and the many protocols, including PROFINET and EtherNet/IP® , as well as IEEE standard 802.1AS and
applications it will transform—ushering other emerging TSN standards. He is also a voting member of the IEEE 802 working group
in the next generation of technology to that defines new Ethernet standards for time sensitive networks. He can be reached at
revolutionise how manufacturers work jordon.woods@analog.com.
and operate. Yet it’s just one piece of Analog Devices are represented in South Africa by Altron Arrow call Conrad Coetzee at
a broader ecosystem we’re building to +27 (0) 11 923 9720 or +27 (0) 83 746 2616

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