QualityWhat is my rejection rate?

MarketingWhat is my response time

to a new order?

EngineeringWhat is my equipment

utilisation?

ManufacturingDemands ‘READY TODEPLOY’ People

Education to Employment ASPIRATIONS OF AN ENGINEER

AIA Campus Connect Day A REPORT

Issu

e 1,

Vol

. 3; A

pril

- Jun

e 20

14

Enabling Global Competitiveness

SKILLINGfor

Competency

OperationsWhat are my production

bottlenecks?

Automation

1

F O R E W O R D

Industrial growth, sustainable value-addition, education and competency development are rarely looked at holistically. While scale and speed do count in modern society, substance and self-responsibility are the cornerstones for growth. Culture and systems that nurture excellence invariably become the talking point for generations. At a time when automation technologies are being fiercely marketed, we believe it is an opportune moment to take a pause and reflect on the technical competencies of people who will manage capital assets productively.

Are we doing enough to sow the right seed in the education curriculum, and to harmonise professional training with role enhancement? Are we creating enough interest in our business ecosystem for mentorship activity? The current issue of AUTOMATION INDIA is a pointer to the road ahead. It covers many aspects of the industry – academia partnership, creating modern and relevant course content, and in-house refinements of our approach to skill development.

Coincidentally, this issue comes at a time when AIA launches the Campus Connect mission. It is an outcome of powerful collaboration between industry partners and engineering institutions (see the centrespread of the issue). Do connect yourself, your engineers and your alma mater. Everybody stands to win!

We solicit your feedback at director@aia-india.org

Anup WadhwaEditor

Issue 1, Volume 3; April - June, 2014Enabling Global Competitiveness

Supervisory Board

K. NandakumarPresident, AIA

CMD, Chemtrols Industries Ltd.

Vijay V. ParanjapePast President, AIA

J. P. SinghFounder

Effectus Consulting LLP

All rights reserved. Reproduction without prior permission of the publisher is expressly prohibited. The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the magazine’s contents are correct. However, we accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions and accept no responsibility for any loss or damage caused as an effect thereof. The opinions expressed by experts are their own and in no way reflect that of the publisher.

Education to Employment: Aspirations of an EngineerVikram Gupta, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Harsha Shamanna, Designus

Way Forward

6Nurturing Human Capital for a Stronger FoundationK. V. Balasubramanya, Axcend Automation and Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

In Focus

9AIA Campus Connect Day: A ReportNeha Singh, Automation Industry Association

Report

16Competency: A Critical Process Parameter for Leveraging AutomationMukund V. Mavalankar, Bharat Forge Ltd.Nidamaluri Nagesh, Tech Mahindra

Face-to-Face

17

Technology for Competency DevelopmentSabyasachi Mandal, Yokogawa India Ltd.

Trends

26

Manufacturing Demands ‘Ready to Deploy’ PeopleR. Joshi, Festo Controls Pvt. Ltd.; Darren Wyllie, Honeywell Process Solutions; Bipin Jirge, ifm electronic India Pvt. Ltd.; Sameer Gandhi, Omron Automation Pvt. Ltd.

In Dialogue

23

Cover StorySkilling for Industrial AutomationDilip Chenoy, National Skill Development Corporation

Competency Development Strategies for the Process IndustryVivek Gupta, DCM Shriram; Avinash Rai, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. 20

View Point

Editorial Co-ordinator and DesignCustage Marketing Solutons Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai (info@custage.com)

Products... 12News... 13

2

2

Focus Experience

forIndustrial

Automation

SKILLING

COVER STORY

The solution to India’s pursuit of being a world-class industrial competitor

is automation, and we are confident that India will present players with

the perfect platform to showcase technologies while allowing the Indian

market to access automation solutions designed to improve business

profitability and optimise manufacturing operations.

The Skilling Challenge

In today’s global economy, skill and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development for any country. Countries with higher and better levels of skills adjust more effectively to the challenges and opportunities of the working world. It is also an acknowledged fact that the world population is ageing fast. By 2040, the global

population aged 65 and above is expected to reach 1.3 billion – more than double of 530 million in 2010. This trend is expected to result in severe labour shortage across the world.

India, home to the second largest population in the world, has the distinct advantage of having one of the youngest populations, globally. Statistically,

3

49.9% of India’s population would be below 29 years in 2021, leading to the possibility of 650 million people (a large number of them English speaking) being in the employable age of 15 - 59 years in a decade from now; meeting the requirements of both, the domestic and world economies.

A review of the skill sets within this group currently reveals that only about 10% of those working have had a formal exposure to skill training. Further, only 17% of firms in the manufacturing sector send their employees for training. India’s youth bulge will continue to face challenges in harnessing its demographic dividend till the time the focus for the country is completely moved on to skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling. There are many skill development programmes already underway as a part of the ‘Silent Revolution’ in India; but for them to reap the desired result, the industry and the academia should come forward and work in a coordinated manner to address this issue.

Key Barriers to ChangeThere are multiple challenges that need to be addressed if we have to have a skilled workforce going forward. l First is the quantity issue. There is a war

for talent. According to National Skill Development Corporation’s (NSDC) skill gap analysis for 22 high growth sectors; the industry will require 347 million trained workers by 2022 to sustain its growth, with another 150 million requiring up-skilling / re-skilling.

l Second is the quality challenge. Employers / industry did not have a say in forming the curriculum and setting standards, either in the education space or the skill space. As a result, majority of the students coming out of the system were unemployable.

l Third, the aspiration of the youth was inclined towards acquiring a degree and white collar job as against acquiring a skill and a related job. In all, 90% of the students drop-out at different levels before they reach college. Majority of these students are unemployable due to lack of skills. With 12 million people joining the working population every year, it becomes important to motivate them for getting skilled and becoming

gainfully employed.l Fourth the training capacity that exists

today requires an eight fold increase to train 500 million people by 2022 and if you look at it differently perhaps a 24 times increase in the next year.

Industrial product

manufacturers who

want to expand their

business will need

to develop talent

strategies that not only

address their most

immediate workforce

needs, but incorporate

comprehensive

planning that enables

them to position for

future growth as well.

India is yet to see a full-fledged social behavioural change of adopting skills which need to be induced and imbibed in the Indian landscape to help harness the available workforce of the country.

Future ProspectsCurrently estimated at INR 12,000 crore (USD 2 billion), India’s automation industry is growing at an annual average of 12 per cent, which translates into huge opportunities for the sector. According to Frost & Sullivan, if India is to supersede the current advanced economies, the capital investments in manufacturing automation should touch USD 2 billion by 2016. However, the penetration of automation is way below the mark when we look at our SME sector. With evolution of the Indian market, there is a need for more competitive edge in terms of productivity (even the start-ups have become aware of the benefits derived from adopting automated processes across their value chain). Also, experts believe that the current situation of the industrial automation sector in India can be enhanced by stimulating the demand for products and services. System Integrators can be our industry’s most effective channel to service this sector which is spread far and wide across every region.

In this environment, industrial product

4

manufacturers who want to expand their business will need to develop talent strategies that not only address their most immediate workforce needs, but incorporate comprehensive planning that enables them to position for future growth as well. This includes thinking about what kind of talent is needed to drive the organisation forward, how essential skills should be sourced and what might be the optimal culture required to fuel the company’s momentum.

People who have industrial automation skills and knowledge are required as operators; maintenance, commissioning and installation technicians as well as PLC operators; drive operators; SCADA system operators etc. can perform a variety

of functions. They can help make factories and installations

more efficient in the

use of personnel, materials and machines. They can also handle responsibilities for managing workflow and analysing production. Some may be involved in the design, development and testing of new manufacturing techniques and systems. Some estimates put the number of such workers currently employed in functions such as instrumentation and automation product operation and maintenance as close to 93 lakh people. In addition, about 15 lakh people are employed in production, installation, commissioning and after-sales service of instrumentation and automation products for this market. It is also projected that there is a current deficit of close to 2 million people in this sector alone.

The typical view is that many of the workforce or potential members of the workforce lack adequate understanding of processes, specific knowledge of the products and equipment, orientation

to safety and knowledge of distribution and control systems.

According to experts the problem is mainly due to three factors i.e. disconnect between what is taught and what is required on the job, not having enough capacity to train people in identified areas and a mismatch between qualification and demand.

Why Change the Process?

Clearly this has to change. Industry should collectively build formal linkages with academia, focus heavily on supporting on-the-job training and create a pull for aspiring youth to train for jobs in this sector and aspire to build careers in the automation industry. Sectors like agriculture and manufacturing, with focus on industrial automation, become of key importance here.

The hiring process within organisations also needs to be reviewed. The focus on a degree needs to shift to focus on competencies. Firms should collectively make public the job map of the sector along with the competencies for each job. Rather than focusing on recruiting and training people for the job,

a model that is perhaps not scalable; it is imperative that we restructure our training and hiring process and work in collaboration with institutes and vocational training providers. This constant skill upgradation will enable India to move into higher realms of innovation and R&D.

It is important that the industry realises certain aspects while planning for its growth and organisations such as the Automation Industry Association could work towards the following:l A clear definition of talent needs

should be listed and should be based on a clear understanding of mission-critical positions based on current and future strategic goals.

l Rethink how to hire and harness talent. For example, organisations should partner with third party organisations like universities, colleges, schools and industry associations to create a more diverse talent pool.

l Consistently engage current and future workers in training as well as use analytical information for candidates to provide customised talent offerings based on their respective work profile and environment.

l Focus on re-skilling and up-skilling of employees based on their performance and skill gaps in support

NSDC:An Insight

NSDC which was formed as a PPP in 2009, with a mandate to skill 150 million people by 2022, has taken several steps to help the industry meet their requirement of skilled manpower. In the first four years of operation, NSDC has approved 136 skilling proposals, creating a 10 year capacity of skilling 78 million people. Apart from this, NSDC has also approved 31 Sector Skill Councils which have standardised 742 job roles, by creating 2,027 National Occupational Standards in different sectors across the country. Many of the NSDC partners such as AISECT, Gram Tarang, Laurus Edutech and Rooman Technologies are working together with different industries to impart automation skills to their workforce through 17 centres across the country. The Association works with respective sectors to develop qualification packs for various automation related job roles.

It is imperative that we

restructure our training

and hiring process and

work in collaboration

with institutes and

vocational training

providers. This constant

skill upgradation will

enable India to move

into higher realms of

innovation and R&D.

5

of the organisation’s growth strategy.l Participate in forming ‘Sector Skill

Councils’ to standardise vocational training in respective sectors.

l Usage of advanced analytics to develop a flexible workforce

Programmes now-a-days are designed to help graduates develop knowledge and skills associated with many areas of industrial automation. Skills taught in such programmes include process planning, tool engineering, inventory control, quality control, plant engineering, plant maintenance, manufacturing methods, value analysis, manufacturing, research and development etc.

Enabling the Skilling EcosystemThe industry should recognise skills and pay a premium to the skilled workforce. It also needs to work in close partnership with the training sector. NSDC partners to develop models that make skill development efforts sustainable. Simple motivating steps could include paying a one or more month’s salary as a placement fee, rewarding employees who stay on for a period of time by refunding the money spent on training, working with banks to ensure repayment of loans taken; thereby assisting career growth path. Further, the

industry could also stipulate that suppliers and others working with them employ a certain percentage of certified workers and move to a 100% certification regime in a given time frame. Not only would this encourage more and more young people to acquire skills, but also ensure a higher return on investment.

Dilip ChenoyNational Skill Development Corporation

dilip.chenoy@nsdcindia.org

The solution to India’s pursuit of being a world-class industrial competitor is automation, and we are confident that India will present players with the perfect platform to showcase technologies while allowing the Indian market to access automation solutions designed to improve business profitability and optimise manufacturing operations. Clearly, people are the key and a skilled and productive workforce would enable this evolution as well as transform lives of millions of youth in the country. Interestingly, as leaders you do not need any mandates to do this. You can simply do this by demonstrating leadership both, in thought and execution. The time to start is, ‘Now’.

Industry should

collectively build

formal linkages with

academia, focus heavily

on supporting on-the-

job training and create

a pull for aspiring

youth to train for jobs

in this sector and aspire

to build careers in the

automation industry.

From the President’s

Desk

K. NandakumarPresident, AIA

Substantial portion of the growth experienced by India since 1980s is attributable to its demographic dividend and average age of

working population being less than 30. Over the next two decades, the continuing demographic dividend could add about two percentage points per annum to India’s per capita GDP growth. This depends on the ability of the economy to absorb and productively employ human capital through adoption of appropriate technology and required skill.Effective deployment of automation implies enhanced productivity, reliability and quality. Customers do expect benefits when they invest; however, as soon as the investment call is made, the onus of getting everything right shifts to the supplier. Managing operational complexities necessitates a life-cycle approach to competency development, with due emphasis on cross disciplinary subjects. Automation functionality and ‘operations knowledge capture’ are required at each stage of a project. Today, though we are endowed with powerful systems, yet we are often caught off-guard when welded seams tear, pressure pipes burst, power transformers burn, toll-gates jam; leading to a whole lot of manual interpretations and off the cuff assessments. I understand that NSDC is aware of the unique challenges in mapping roles and skill sets. AIA is in dialogue with them to explore how best and fast we can do that. Ultimately, it is the people who cause transformation.

6

This interaction highlights varied aspects that are vital to the growth of the Indian automation industry.

While exploring the industry and academia connect, finer aspects of the role that education is playing or could play are also deliberated upon. In dialogue are Vikram Gupta, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Harsha Shamanna, Designus.

Q. Which engineering discipline did you major in during your B.E. / B.Tech? How many courses did you take in instrumentation / automation? [Vikram Gupta]: I have done my Bachelors Degree in Instrumentation Engineering from Vivekananda Education Society’s Institute of Technology (VESIT) located at Chembur, Mumbai. The course was divided into 8 semesters over 4 years, the first year being common to all engineering courses. From the second year onwards, instrumentation subjects were introduced. The core principles of instrumentation were covered in the second year. The third year had a lot to do with instrumentation system designing and industrial process control.

Education to EmploymentAspirations of an Engineer

It is important that

teaching system

simultaneously takes

care of the practical

learning needs. I would

probably discard

extensive theory

subjects from the

perspective of external

competencies required

and replace them

with practical learning

sessions instead.

Instrumentation

engineers typically

work for industries

with automated

processes such

as chemical or

manufacturing

plants, with the

goal of improving

system productivity,

reliability, safety,

optimisation and

stability.

Harsha ShamannaDesignus

harsha@designus.co.in

Vikram GuptaBharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. guptavikram@bharatpetroleum.in

In Dialogue...

WAY FORWARD

7

project was to develop a work clamping system for an automated machining process. This involved detailed understanding of many elements of the automated system in focus and associated design constraints.

l Limited practical exposure to the basic elements of an automated system was the primary handicap. I was constrained to think in terms of providing conventional mechanical engineering solutions because of my limited exposure on automation from the electronics perspective. Had I played around the electronics, the clamping system would have turned out to be a much more intelligent and operator-friendly accessory.

Q. What is your current job description? Please explain with examples how the automation learning from college got translated into job competencies?[Vikram Gupta]: I am an Assistant Manager-Instrumentation, currently in charge of instrumentation maintenance and projects for the utilities department of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Mumbai refinery.

The instrumentation course, I believe, is very nicely designed as most of the courses which are outlined by the university are in-line with what we do on the job. Courses like industrial process control, control systems, transducers, analytical instrumentation, control valve selection etc. make the students well equipped with the skill set required for the job.

[Harsha Shamanna]: A product designer owns Designus, a Mysore based product design, mechanical engineering and prototyping consulting firm.

As said earlier, though the learning from college did not put my automation skills / knowledge on the top of my competency matrix, it did create a penchant for taking up a career in automation. Subsequently, I took up a job at the Indian arm of iRobot Corporation where I had the opportunity to work with multi-disciplinary teams developing robots and several other contemporary automated systems as well.

Q. Please share with us your aspiration of a dream role over the next few years

In the final year, one has to opt for elective courses based on his / her area of specialisation.

[Harsha Shamanna]: l National Institute of Engineering (NIE),

Mysore (Mechanical Engineering).l Probably one course in basic

instrumentation and a couple of courses indirectly associated with automation.

Q. In what way did the instrumentation / automation curriculum help your understanding of fundamentals and principles?[Vikram Gupta]: The way in which the programme is outlined, a lot of focus is given on fundamentals and principles of instrumentation. The 2nd year covers analytical instrumentation as well as industrial instrumentation. They build the foundation in the second year. Third year was practical application of those principles. Thus making it ready-to-use once out in corporate circles.

[Harsha Shamanna]: The curriculum during the final semesters was just enough to create a penchant towards automation and instrumentation. However, during the first half of the undergraduation, we had other comprehensive mechanical engineering courses in kinematics / dynamics of machinery that gave us an in-depth exposure towards mechanisms and moving elements. These laid the basic foundation for subsequent courses associated with automation during the final semesters.

Q. During your studentship in these courses, did you pick up contemporary and applied knowledge on automation? What were the gaps / missing points?[Vikram Gupta]: We had a course on ‘Virtual Instrumentation’ which was an elective course in the final year which I had opted for. This course really helped me bridge the gap between the student life and the professional life. The elective course could be weaved with an internship programme. This would give an opportunity to practically test all our theory knowledge in an industrial environment.

[Harsha Shamanna]: l Yes, to some extent. My final year

that would do justice to your creative talent and way of thinking? Does the role demand more understanding of contemporary automation?[Vikram Gupta]: Instrumentation is a very vast field. It requires know-how of mechanical equipment like heat exchangers, columns and rotating equipments. Also, as an instrumentation person you have to be well versed with chemical operations. Based on my experience in the industry, I would like to provide customised solutions which will help debottleneck major roadblocks in terms of production with the help of state-of-the-art instrumentation.

The role very much requires one to be updated with the latest technology as technology is continuously changing and evolving. With advancements in the field of wireless technology, we see its increased use in remote monitoring applications.

[Harsha Shamanna]: Typically in India, automation skill set is often restricted to bigger industries and manufacturing lines. However, in general, contemporary automation can be an effective value engineering tool and has the ability to make a big impact in other fields as well. For example, an automated feature on healthcare equipment could significantly improve patient safety and usability. An automated movement sensor could cut down electricity usage by half! We have a dearth for such indigenous products with creative automation. Over the next 3 years, our focus is to develop atleast three such full fledged prototypes for the healthcare and speciality consumer products industry.

Q. Please share what kind of laboratory equipment and exercises will produce a learning environment where working professionals can re-skill or upgrade their competencies to resolve technical issues that they would experience during jobs?[Vikram Gupta]: An ideal laboratory could be a miniature replica of an industrial plant where an engineer can pilot test his control philosophy. Trial and error being the best mode of learning, a ‘Miniature Laboratory’ will provide a platform to enhance his / her pool of knowledge.

8

soft skills, man-management and emotional intelligence. Thus, the course should also focus on all-round development which will make him / her, a good team player.

[Harsha Shamanna]: Robotics and automation is a multidisciplinary field. Generally, each discipline offers a couple of core theory courses that normally include elements of automation within their own discipline. However, such courses need to consider the need for creating high level clarity on aspects from other disciplines as well. Further, it is also important that the teaching system simultaneously takes care of the practical learning needs. I would probably discard extensive theory subjects from the perspective of external competencies required (for example, extensive theory related to microprocessors / microcontrollers for mechanical engineering students) and replace them with practical learning sessions instead (usage and applications of microprocessors / microcontrollers in building an automated system).

Q. Give two ideas for a final year student’s internship project, which can provide additional on-the-job comfort in dealing with modern industrial automation technologies.[Vikram Gupta]: I believe the final year project has a big role to play in the curriculum as it gives the students a learning opportunity as well as a

platform to test their ideas and concepts.

A lot of companies now-a-days are willing to give students an

opportunity to come over and do summer internships

where they are given small projects to handle.

We recently had a group of students as summer interns

who executed interface level measurement and control in the existing d i s t r i b u t e d c o n t r o l system. As instrumentation course has a w i d e s p r e a d application right

Colleges can have a programme for working individuals such as specialised programmes on DCS and PLC system. As most of the instruments now-a-days are ethernet based, colleges can have programmes on networking, fieldbus etc.

[Harsha Shamanna]: For an engineer working in the field of automation, it helps a lot to stay hands-on. A basic laboratory set up or a prototyping facility is a must. However, it is tough to prescribe specific laboratory equipment or tools because of the variety of skills needed for the development of an automated / robotic system. It also depends on one’s primary competency as well.

Q. Coming back to the needs of a fresh engineer, which courses would you discard and which would you bring in new to the teaching systems in college?[Vikram Gupta]: I feel most of the courses outlined by the Mumbai University are very much required and do justice to the course. Though engineering is a technical field, there is still a very high level of human intervention. Hence, it is important to give equal weightage to non-technical courses like communication skills,

from process industries to biomedical instrumentation, students can also take up final year projects in biomedical instrumentation systems.

[Harsha Shamanna]: There are plenty of opportunities for creating automated systems; student projects, in particular. Automation could be an answer for any activity that is dull, dirty or dangerous! Students could probably focus on several society needs where one can easily start identifying areas for improvement. Moreover, it is less likely that he / she gets an opportunity to analyse the society needs further in his career. My ideas for a final year student’s internship are as follows:l An automated wheel chair accessory

that could assist a patient to stand up independently or with minimal external assistance.

l A tiny, remote controlled automated mobile platform that could move inside an underground drainage for a pre-defined distance. Such a system could eventually be used for scrutiny and de-clogging.

Q. Any other matter that you wish to share?[Vikram Gupta]: Instrumentation engineering, I believe, is a study of different subjects that can be the launch pad for many careers. It is more of an inter-disciplinary branch that includes study of electrical, chemical, electronics as well as computer engineering. They step in wherever ‘sensing’ of physical quantities is required and work in power plants, chemical plants, manufacturing facilities, oil refineries, steel industry, drug makers as well as software and hardware companies, to name a few avenues.

Instrumentation engineers typically work for industries with automated processes such as chemical or manufacturing plants, with the goal of improving system productivity, reliability, safety, optimisation and stability. The control of processes is one of the main branches of applied instrumentation.

There is hardly any area of engineering, science and technology where instrumentation is not needed, making it a field of significant potential.

9

Relevance of Human Capital in AutomationUnique to the automation sector is the need of professionals who can blend high technology adoption with absolute humanitarian sensitivities. While professionals need to design, develop, test, install, commission, resolve problems as well as maintain the industrial process and shop floor activity; at the same time, they also need to ensure preservation of ‘HSE (Health, Safety and Environment)’ leading to better quality of life and future. Not only should they ensure the health and safety in facilities, they are instrumental to ensure that products manufactured in these facilities are also safe and reliable with quality that can be safe for the common man - the ultimate consumer.

It is difficult to imagine India’s economic growth story without prioritising the competency development needs across different segments.

Growth and the Human CapitalProfessional organisations grow by developing and leveraging the experience and knowledge of human

capital for organisational excellence. Nurtured human capital is the prime source of a positive environment that can produce results consistently and sustain growth over a long haul.

The first step in nurturing human capital is to offer respect and dignity so that there is a natural alignment with high principles and ethical values. The ‘core’ of human beings is to be inspired to achieve, grow and create a legacy through legitimacy. Genuine understanding of a common core, fair engagements, transparent communication, good governance as well as aligned rewards and recognition can create teams to be innovative, imaginative and yield results far beyond what is normally expected out of them.

The automation sector has to nurture special competencies and these would fall under the categories; Learning and Development, Usage of Tools, Multi-Skills Approach and Site / Plant Visits and Working Environment at Remote Locations, which are as elaborated in the article.

In India, organisations that engage with their team meaningfully close to know on their strengths, shortcomings, aspirations, career interests, personal life and family dynamics, should still be professional in their

approach to build a performing team that is customer savvy and creating value to clients – have a unique approach to nurturing human capital.

Nurturing Human Capital for a STRONGER

FOUNDATION

IN FOCUS

10

or orLearning and Development Acquiring engineering excellence which could be effectively used, globally – Today’s relevant topic is ‘Simulation’. Having a simulator designed using global best practices would add immense value to business. Learning the behaviour of the industrial processes, in general and all process equipments, in particular; ‘Off-line’ on a simulated environment (for both, steady state and dynamic) holds the key for effective plant operation on ‘Live’ / ‘Real-Time’ mode. In automation, all process industries are focusing on having a full-fledged, robust and self-reliant process simulation platform to train the Process Operators and Production Engineers to optimise on time, efforts, inventory and overall cost-savings, besides reduction in wastage of valuable resources. This would enable the plant operators to be ready with confidence to address turbulences and unstable conditions of processes during ‘Live’ operation.

Another latest trend in automation is the entire plant / process operation through a hand-held device (designed through Mobile App).

Relevant Examples

Understanding Terminologies NurturingA phenomenally powerful word. It denotes presence of a continuous state, with no limits - reiterating that growth is a continuous process.

Human CapitalThe collective consciousness of human beings in an organised corporate environment represents the strongest capital that a corporate has access to fuel its growth, but understated and unrepresented in its accounting books.

Automation

A technology stream that encompasses multi-disciplinary engineering - Controls, Instrumentation, Software, Mechatronics, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, and Chemical, to name a few.

Automation Industry

A set of organised people, innovating products and solutions, that is propelling economies by enabling manufacturing and utilities to meet the constantly changing consumer needs across the globe.

Learning and Development l Should be addressed on a continual

basis. l Keeping the organisation in focus,

conduct TNA (Training Need Analysis)

l Draw up a curriculum and plot a calendar to effectively administer the same.

l Capture the effectiveness post the learning intervention to learn on the ‘Gaps’ still prevailing.

l Promote sharing of technical aspects, lessons learnt and personal experiences through knowledge share sessions.

Constant learning is a must for all layers of organisations - leaders to the field

sales to the front office reception. Imperative in human capital leveraging organisation is that it is a constantly learning organisation.

Usage of Tools l Encourage usage and deployment of

standard tools as much as possible during the various phases of project execution. This breaks the routine, monotony and kindles interest, besides saving on effort, cost and time.

l Motivate the talent to devise own tools with their expertise to speed up development and testing efforts.

This creates innovative methods that can be unearthed in the process of becoming an efficient organisation.

Multi-Skills Approach Promote cross and multi-skill approach to build good application engineering knowledge. While this serves the constant hunger for learning

new technology platform, it also enhances the engineer’s own

capability and confidence. Such learning in a team provides a great

pool of potential leadership with

business perspectives for organisations in their growth endeavours.

Site / Plant Visits and Working Environment at Remote Locations Organisations should engage all people for site visits, understanding physical plants and engaging in integration and testing as a prerogative. This helps people to master the nuances and get confident of the processes involved.

Nurtured human capital

is the prime source of

a positive environment

that can produce

results consistently and

sustain growth over a

long haul.

Usage of Tools Deploy commercial off-the-shelf available productivity tools with simple and proven techniques (score cards, reviews, charts, plan, checklists, MS-Project etc., for an end-to-end automation project life cycle management - concept to commissioning) for overall project management, design support tools, development support tools, testing support tools (for manual and automated testing), besides in-house developed tools to achieve desired efficiency and standardisation. Typical solutions include Agile for project management, Flash Builder and Flex for development, Open Source, Test (Complete, Anywhere, Partner, Automation), Squish, Ranorex, Selenium, Maveryx, Quick Test for testing Graphical User Interfaces (GUI).

11

Multi-Skills Approach Groom an Instrumentation and Control engineer to be proficient in Front End Engineering and Design (FEED), project engineering, system engineering, installation and commissioning aspects of automation package deliverables as applicable to a process industry over a structured learning and

development approach so that the resource availability is very high in the organisation for multiple needs. This results in holistic understanding

of the automation package deliverables by the engineer.

Site / Plant Visits and Working Environment at Remote Locationsl Visualisation of site situation / conditions, handling of

contractors, sub-contractors, consultants and clients at various levels add a different personality to the engineer, besides building the requisite confidence.

l Plant / process visualisation in terms of civil, mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation and IT infrastructure provides a complete technical flavour. This enables the engineers to pick up the technical / process terminologies which otherwise is not possible. Engineers would understand, converse better with clients / process licensors and consultants; appreciate and deliver in line with expectations.

l An organisation should be sensitive to site working conditions, safety and respect of clients towards their people working at plant / sites. Sensitivity to difficult and remote site visits and its impact on their personal life should be appreciated by the organisation and treated with humane approach.

or or

Relevant Examples

Understanding Terminologies NurturingA phenomenally powerful word. It denotes presence of a continuous state, with no limits - reiterating that growth is a continuous process.

Human CapitalThe collective consciousness of human beings in an organised corporate environment represents the strongest capital that a corporate has access to fuel its growth, but understated and unrepresented in its accounting books.

Automation

A technology stream that encompasses multi-disciplinary engineering - Controls, Instrumentation, Software, Mechatronics, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, and Chemical, to name a few.

Automation Industry

A set of organised people, innovating products and solutions, that is propelling economies by enabling manufacturing and utilities to meet the constantly changing consumer needs across the globe.

Valuing Human CapitalThe most important question is how can we ‘value’ human capital? One way could be to carefully assess and evaluate ‘Loyalty’

and ‘Trust’ coupled with competence and constant learning attribute. This important attribute blossoms within and sustained over a long period of time, can

do wonders towards being a world-class organisation.

Are the people, including leaders, demonstrating equanimity under both, the difficult and good times? Recognise those who are truly loyal, who trust and carry the DNA of the organisation in their blood and behavioural attributes along with performance, motivate, recognise and suitably remunerate them.

Build belief in the institutionalisation of human capital. Celebrate performing people and achievers who have their organisation loyalty, commitment and alignment. Build in a fair performance system that engages with loyalty and performance in equanimity. Have a support plan to transform and re-assess people who are non-aligned either, in performance or commitment levels to get them on board or make way and relieve them to find their own alternate path in professional life. It is important in nurturing human capital; unethical, disrespected behaviour and actions should be treated with severity to

ensure the sanctity of the capital and trust built around it.

In the eastern world like India, organisations that engage with their team meaningfully close to know on their strengths, shortcomings, aspirations, career interests, personal life and family dynamics, should still be professional in their approach to build a performing team that is customer savvy and creating value to clients – have a unique approach to nurturing human capital.

As a professional automation engineer who has been engaged with human development over the years as both, personal and professional passion; I truly believe that nurturing human capital is the only way for any world class organisation to evolve and sustain.

K. V. BalasubramanyaAxcend Automation and Software

Solutions Pvt. Ltd.bali.kv@axcend.com

The most important

question is how can

we ‘value’ human

capital? One way could

be to carefully assess

and evaluate ‘Loyalty’

and ‘Trust’ coupled

with competence and

constant learning

attribute.

12

Ultrafast Automation for New-Age Engineers from B&R

now develop programs and configure the parameters in the form of IEC 61131 function blocks in a software tool called Automation Studio. Communication between I/O and CPU tasks is handled conventionally through the exchange of process variables. Logical operators like AND, OR, XOR and NOT can be used, as can arithmetic operators such as ADD, SUB, MUL and DIV as well as flip-flops, PWM, comparator functions and counters. The connections created with function blocks can be tested just like regular control code. Simulation is possible by executing the modules on the controller. If everything works as planned, the software function is then assigned to the respective hardware component in the Automation Studio hardware configuration.

The Advantagesl Response time of 1 µsl Massive reduction of PLC loadl IEC 61131 programming

Application in a Packaging LinePrimary packaging is the most intricate process in the packaging industry. The packaging material meets the product at the highest possible speed; as a result, the level of precision has a direct influence on both, product quality and usage of

Automation engineers’ brains are always brimming with ideas to

improve machines and processes. Ultrafast automation with its reACTION Technology is set to change the scenario for good. This new-age technology reduces response time in industrial automation applications down to 1 µs. B&R has designed this new ultrafast control technology using standard hardware that can be programmed in accordance with IEC 61131 standards. The result is immense increase in performance without the downside of additional costs. reACTION technology of ultrafast automation has been built upon a new concept that opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

This is How it WorksThe technology is based on I/O modules with integrated Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chips. An FPGA is an integrated circuit (IC) designed to be configured by a programmer after the chip has been manufactured. FPGAs contain programmable logic components called ‘logic blocks’ and a hierarchy of reconfigurable interconnects that allow the blocks to be ‘wired together’. Logic blocks can be configured to perform complex combinational functions, or merely simple logic gates like AND and XOR. FPGA chips have the ability to process signals quickly in parallel. With around 10 connected function blocks, the processing time in the FPGA is around 0.8 µs.

B&R has also made implementing the technology an easy task. Engineers can

raw materials. Gravimetric and volumetric filling processes in liquid filling machines, for example, can take advantage of reACTION technology to operate valves and sensors with the precision of 1 µs.

Other high-speed packaging machine functions like code stamping and bad product rejection can combine B&R’s reACTION and NetTime technologies to synchronise motion control and distributed I/O to achieve absolute precision. Digital output patterns can be controlled with a resolution of 125 ns, and fast input edges such as registration marks or product detection can be recorded with a timestamp of 1 µs.

Ultrafast automation fully empowers the new-age engineers!

For further details please contact:B&R AutomationWeb: www.br-automation.com

SSI Schaefer Offers Intelligent Solution for Dynamic Order Picking

The Schaefer Carousel System (SCS) from SSI

Schaefer stands for high-speed order picking with minimal use of space using the ‘goods-to-man’ principle. For item picking in a highly dynamic range, SCS offers an innovative and cost-effective system of upto 1000 picks per hour, 50 per cent higher storage density and a modular system concept making the SCS an intelligent solution for dynamic order picking processes at high proficiency and profitability

B&R reACTION technology increases the performance of high-speed packaging machines.

levels. Precise operator input confirms guides and controls each function, resulting in zero-error-order-picking. The integration of efficient conveyor and sophisticated

control technologies assures high stocking and picking rates.Additional benefits include:l Guarantee of short

implementation time.

l High order picking quality based on the unique user guidance system.

l Security of investment, thanks to the flexibility of the system.

l Space-saving and resource-saving installation.

l Virtually unlimited flexibility with regards to the range of articles.

For further details please contact:SSI SchaeferWeb: www.ssi-schaefer.in

PRODUCTS

13

Omron Opens its First Automation Centre in India

through state-of-the-art actual demonstrations on machines and laboratories.

l The field of expertise includes SYSMAC Platform, Vision Inspection Solution, Robotics Solution and Machine Safety Solutions. The SYSMAC platform depicts a high speed and high accuracy fully integrated platform by three ‘Ones’ – One Machine Controller, One Machine Network and One Machine Software. The vision laboratory allows testing of vision inspection functions by customers with all possible variations of lighting, lens and controllers. A notable area in the centre is the ‘Tsunagi Lab’ which provides the complete integration experience of Omron to Omron and Omron to third party components so that the patrons are able to learn and handle the technologies which are in the scope of the total solution.

l Delta Robot and the SCARA Robot, together with Bottle Filling and VFFS (Vertical Form Fill Seal) machines, are

After the successful launch of its four Automation Centres (ATCs) across

the world, Omron Automation, part of Omron Corporation, Japan, opened its fifth ATC in India at Mumbai. The centre was inaugurated by the company’s key leaders from the industrial automation team from Japan, Singapore and India. In the industrial automation sector, it is extremely vital to provide a hands-on exposure to the associates so that they are able to actually believe and then achieve what they have not been able to do so far through their manufacturing establishments.

Speaking on the occasion, Yutaka Miyanaga, Senior Managing Officer, Company President of Industrial Automation Company, Omron Corporation, Japan says, ‘Believing in bringing innovation to manufacturing by automation to enrich lives of people around the world, today Omron is well-known for its quality products and application strength in the industrial automation segment, globally. This initiative is a part of our ‘Asia Hotspots’ strategy - one of its important tasks is to consolidate our foothold in India which is indeed a highly promising market for Omron Automation’.

Based on the philosophy of ‘you create the concept, we will help you to make it work’, the centre aims to showcase Omron’s expertise in the ‘sensing and control’ technology so that the customers are able to test their new ideas, experience and understand how they can bring more improvements to their current manufacturing setup and can become more competitive in their respective fields in the industrial automation domain.

According to Takehito Maeda, MD, Omron Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Industrial Automation Business, ‘The ATC is a step towards highlighting our solution centric approach and excellence in execution as a complete ‘automation partner’. It shall play a very important role in strengthening our contribution towards India’s manufacturing prowess and the society’.

Highlights of the Centrel The centre has on display Omron’s

key portfolio of industrial automation range as well as the technical and application support capabilities

displayed at the machine demo area to integrate SYSMAC features with the demands of industrial applications – primarily, packaging and material handling.

Spread over 3750 square feet, the facility hosts more than 10 experts as software, hardware and application specialists dedicated to the ATC.

We are confident of achieving relevant traction in many industries through this initiative such as packaging, F&B, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, special purpose machines, automotive and textile by catering to the advanced requirements of the manufacturing segment like productivity, quality, efficiency and safety.

Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz Awarded MSME National Award

March, 2014. ‘Only a fraction of enterprises today have the skills, risk appetite and resources to avail of the opportunities offered by globalisation. We need to change this state of affairs’, says Dr. Manmohan Singh at the National award ceremony.

Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd. led by its

visionary MD, Anuj Kapuria received the prestigious, ‘MSME National Award’ for outstanding performance in the field of R&D, under MSME category, by Hon’ble Ex-Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh in

Hi Tech Robotic Systemz, an ISO-9001:2008 certified company has DSIR approved in-house laboratory equipped with advanced equipment and Quality Technology Tools (QTT) to maintain and sustain quality. Their product range include throw-able robots for surveillance, commander kit for live search and rescue operations, confined space remotely operated vehicle with integrated robotic arm for mine detection, disruptor mounted robot for destroying explosive material, Advance Driver Assistance System, Driver State Monitoring System etc.

NEWS

Industry Partners

www.aiacampus.in

16

REPORT

AIA Campus Connect Day A Report

The Campus Connect Day, organised by Automation Industry Association (AIA) and sponsored by Emerson and Pepperl+Fuchs, was held at Global Technical

Campus, Jaipur on 11th April, 2014. The event comprised of Leadership Talks, Panel Discussion, Technical Presentations and Student’s Competition.

During the ConnectThe event began with a keynote address by the Chief Guest, Avinash Rai, Sr. Vice President, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. and was followed by the Guests of Honour, Shyamashis Brahma, Vice President, Genpact Ltd. and Dr. Shipra Mathur, News Editor and National Head, Social Development Concerns, Patrika Group of Newspapers. Anand Singhal, Chairman, Global Technical Campus and Sunil Khanna, Past President, AIA and MD, Emerson Network Power along with Anup Wadhwa, Director, AIA; Ravi Agarwal, Director, Pepperl+Fuchs (India) and Vipin Bhogal, Steinbeis (India) graced the occasion.

Sunil Khanna threw light on the current environment challenges and opportunities for the industry and academia to collaborate. Anand Singhal, CII, Rajasthan emphasised on the principal-agent relationship in the industry and academia. He also appreciated the efforts of AIA in providing a common platform for the industry and academia. Shyamashis Brahma and Dr. Shipra Mathur also expressed their views relating to employment opportunities and the overall development of young technocrats.

During the lecture series, eminent figures of the industry introduced various new technological trends. Vivek Gupta, Head – Instruments, DCM – Shriram highlighted the need and application of ‘Safety Instrumented Systems’. Satyan Vijay, Sr. VP, Genus Power Infrastructure Ltd. touched upon ‘Smart Grids’ and

Sandip Sen, Economist and Author simplified the complexity of the Indian Economy through his presentation on, ‘Indian Economy Roundup 2000 and 2014’.

The post-lunch sessions had Ravi Agarwal showcasing ‘The Exciting World of Automation’ and Vipin Bhogal shared several examples highlighting ‘Innovation’. Dr. A. S. Prasad, Emerson introduced the relevance of a model for ‘Sustainable Development’.

Qualifying Contest - Business and Technical LeadershipThe Campus Connect Day was preceded by a qualifying contest at the Global Technical Campus to shortlist top 5 teams on the basis of their understanding of business and technical leadership. The topics were, ‘Applying the Internet of Things in Manufacturing’ and ‘Meeting India’s 20 GW Energy Target, by 2020, through Non-Conventional Sources’.

The highlight of Campus Connect Day was the staging of the final competition in the presence of the AIA jury. The AIA Winners Trophy was awarded to the Prayatna team. The Pragati team was adjudged as the 1st Runners Up and the Prakriti team was declared the 2nd Runners Up.

Neha Singh Automation Industry Association

aia.program@gmail.com

The AIA’s Campus Connect Day provided a unique platform for students to interact with the industry, by way of Leadership Talks, Panel Discussion,

Technical Presentations and Student’s Competition.

17

To highlight varied aspects of human capital and enhancing skill through training for developing world-class competencies for benefit of the Indian automation

industry, in dialogue are Mukund V. Mavalankar, Bharat Forge Limited and Nidamaluri Nagesh, Tech Mahindra.

Q. Which aspect of training or re-training poses the biggest challenge and why?[Mukund V. Mavalankar]: The biggest challenge we face in training and re-training is that most of the trainees lack the basic scientific and technical training during their school and vocational training years. This lack of basic training and understanding of technical subjects is because the training that our schools and collages impart is too bookish and mark centric. The main reason is that we do not have devoted, experienced and dedicated trainers in most of the schools or training institutes.

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: Hands-on training on all automation devices is a major challenge, as hardware is being updated rapidly along with software tools to manage these devices. Networking of these devices and familiarity of rapidly evolving web enabled software requires a continuous investment in training aids and actual hardware. Additionally, obsolescence of semiconductor chips drives cost upwards.

Q. How practical is the goal of ‘ready to deploy’ people. Will it be helpful to the industry in the long term. What does your experience suggest?[Mukund V. Mavalankar]: The industry would just love to have ‘ready to deploy’ professionals in every department of an enterprise. The Indian industry, I am sure, will grow much faster if such well trained professionals are available as ready resource. This will also allow the industry to focus effort and resources on the core business. Of course, the industry will have to put in some efforts initially to help institutes develop course materials and also help in training capable teachers. My practical suggestion is that institutes should spend more efforts in training the students and developing relevant curricula, while the industry should spend more efforts on training the teachers.

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: ‘Ready to deploy’ people, though in principle, is an ideal state; however, the market realities and mobility for higher wages makes this an impractical approach. Getting skilled engineers and to retain them is difficult in a manufacturing environment, other than electrical and electronics industries as typically automation and control engineers do not have a career growth path or the necessary recognition by these industries. They do not command a premium (Wage Gap) like typical product design engineers in the manufacturing industries. They are expected to work 24/7, unlike a product engineering who works 40 hrs. a week. Additionally, due to headcount constraints, manufacturing industries do not hire and nurture controls and automation engineers unless absolutely necessary.

Nidamaluri NageshTech Mahindra

nidamaluri.nagesh@techmahindra.com

Mukund V. MavalankarBharat Forge Ltd.

mukund@bharatforge.com

In Dialogue...

CompetencyA Critical

Parameter for Leveraging

Automation

FACE-TO-FACE

18

l Commitment of management to growing local and in-house talent

l Objective performance evaluation and transparent rewarding mechanisms

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: Universities and colleges,l Must aggressively collaborate with

industries and place their students for practical training in far more greater numbers.

l Realign their engineering curriculum to incorporate industry best practices with a focus on hardware and software being introduced globally.

l Form alliances and partnerships with leading suppliers to get the

latest hardware and software in their laboratories for enhanced hands-on training.

Q. Is it necessary to find different ways to impart theory of modern sensors, analysers and other sophisticated equipment to technicians not conversant with the English language? If so, what do you suggest?[Mukund V. Mavalankar]: Fortunately, we do not have to struggle with this problem in India. Most of the technicians know or are able to learn English. It is better that the medium of instruction is English. When you know and are

able to read, listen, understand and

communicate in English,

you are

Institutes

should

spend more

efforts in

training the

students and

developing relevant

curricula, while the

industry should spend

more efforts in training

the teachers.Q. How much progress do you see in local employment for a high tech industry such as yours?[Mukund V. Mavalankar]: We have seen and witnessed lot of changes in the last decade or so in terms of local employment in our industry. Typically, 90% of our workforce and supervisors are drawn from local talent pool. We do not have to go far and wide to hunt talent any more for advanced manufacturing shops. Many MNCs have set up a shop and have been instrumental in training local talent for us to draw from. We are confident of people who understand complex manufacturing processes and state-of-the-art equipment.

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: The level of employment in automation and control is inadequate due to economic slowdown and consequent capex reduction in most sectors. Automotive sector hiring has been reduced to replacement due to attrition. The local requirements will increase as the markets rebound.

Q. Please highlight the points required for developing world-class competency culture.[Mukund V. Mavalankar]:l Good talent pooll Motivated workforce who

focus on acquiring and renewing their skills

l A meritocratic organisation

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regarded as a professional and there is some aspirational value attached to it.

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: Definitely we must make efforts to develop audio visual training aids and hands-on live video demonstrations to teach in local languages.

Q. Would you recommend use of simulators for operator training? Do companies like to completely own these or do they prefer to fund a shared facility or do they prefer to just pay to an external trainer on the basis of number of trainees covered?[Mukund V. Mavalankar]: Yes, of course, simulators are ideal for training operators. Computer based training has lot of advantages. One can learn at one’s own pace and can learn and re-learn as many times as required to learn a topic thoroughly without being embarrassed.

At Bharat Forge, we bear all the training costs ourselves. Also, about 60% of the training is done by internal faculty and balance is done by external resources. While considering and deciding internal or external faculty, we look at specific domain knowledge and domain experience.

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: Yes, hands-on simulation for operators is a good technique to teach all aspects of controls and automation. Larger companies with motivated controls and automation departments tend to actively set up such facilities internally whereas small to medium manufacturing companies would prefer external / supplier facilities to get their staff trained and provide simulators for hands-on training. Typically, the suppliers of hardware and software are on the hook to train the staff gratis at the time of procurement.

Hands-on

simulation

facilities for

operators

should be

hosted by a

regional collaborative

organisation of

suppliers, local and

federal Government

agencies and

local engineering

institutions to

develop local skills

systematically and

invest in extensive

facilities with all kinds

of automation and

control equipment.

However, these facilities should be hosted by a regional collaborative organisation of suppliers, local and federal Government agencies and local engineering institutions to develop local skills systematically and invest in extensive facilities with all kinds of automation and control equipment. There is also a great need to reinforce such training periodically as well. More emphasis should be on safety of all automation, process and robotic systems.

Q. What is your satisfaction in respect of engineers employed with degrees in mechatronics and instrumentation? Are these 2 important branches directly linked with automation?[Mukund V. Mavalankar]: We prefer plain vanilla electrical / electronic engineers and then train them to be multifaceted professionals by acquiring required skills while working.

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: Unfortunately, I have encountered very few individuals with these backgrounds for me to reach any meaningful assessment. However, both these areas are interlocked and connected to automation in a variety of ways both, physically and controls wise. It is very important that they get a good grounding in advanced electronics, feedback and controls theory, signals and systems to be able to apply signal conditioning, closed loop and open loop control systems stability criteria and advanced programming logic etc.

Q. Please share your thoughts on awareness levels of plant managers and investors as regards automation and how contemporary is the awareness.[Mukund V. Mavalankar]: Most of plant managers are now-a-days aware of and can accept modern technologies

without much persuasion. Modern technologies have become user friendly and have increased personnel productivity manifold. Hence people find these acceptable. Most of the professionals and investors are well read and are aware of sophisticated controls. They only worry about system crashing suddenly and the time required to reset the process again.

[Nidamaluri Nagesh]: Most Plant Heads and Plant Managers are typically number driven and are much focussed on production numbers and pay little heed to the Automation and equipment deployed. However there are a few who appreciate and are beginning to understand the need to get involved and understand the benefits of automation and controls to support high volume and extreme customisation.

20

In today’s scenario of hi-tech automation and innovation, technology is growing at a very rapid pace. We have moved from slide rules to calculators to PCs to wireless

instrumentation and now, cloud connectivity. Just think of the people preparedness, engineering graduates are getting trained on a decade old curriculum and even working professionals lag behind by several years. The awareness level of traditional plant managers is below par, hence strategies about automation competencies often begins after the machinery lands up for installation and commissioning. This is what is causing a concern across our industry.

Education to Industry: The JourneyAutomation is the heart of any plant, but neglected because of the IT glamour. From pneumatic to digital and wireless, has been a long journey. For a good automation engineer, one has to not only have good knowledge of controls and instrumentation, but also have a grasp over computers, networking and hardware / software. The present period is most exciting in human history for science and engineering cutting across traditional disciplinary boundaries in unprecedented ways.

Automation (comprising of field instrumentation, control systems, related IT and communications) can be taught with more practical exposure in colleges i.e. say the last semester could be of

VIEW POINT

6 months on-the-job training (like internship in medical colleges) to have a feel of the industry automation. This would give them the extra confidence to partner with plant and process engineers in delivering superior solutions and comporting well with the IT staff.

Education is beyond teaching and learning - it must impact thinking. Engineering courses teach more of theory. Going by the current scenario, a large percentage of professionals either seek guidance from their supervisor to update their knowledge or they follow the age old, self study that is the read and learn pattern to keep them updated. But the questions that arise here are: Is the skill acquired in the above mentioned ways apt to understand the system to its optimum use and does it have a rating against some standards? Or are they just sufficient enough to satisfy one’s own learning needs? Is the industry unitedly interacting with the newly formed National Accreditation Board?

To bridge this gap, one solution can be a 6 months additional course after graduating in the specialised field. Timely evaluation for proper utilisation of resources and upgradation of training modules with changing patterns shall add to this. In addition to technical knowledge, automation engineers should broaden their thinking horizon to apply project management and financial approaches if they wish to become a part of

Competency Development

Strategies for the Process Industry

Education

is beyond

teaching and

learning - it

must impact

thinking.

21

the decision making teams for plant optimisation.

Employment Training NeedsFund allocations for training of existing employees: Investment in training needs of existing employees is also crucial to keep these employees motivated and offer them with a better defined job structure. As an example one may have a look at the data presented by the Planning Commission Working Group on Power for the 12th Plan as given in Table 1.

Improvements in technology and the increasing scale of operations increase the criticality of each employee and hence the importance of adequate training increases. The Ministry of Power requires mandating organisations to allocate adequate funds to training and development activities for meeting the stipulated training requirement.

Simulators are expensive items which can be kept by training institutes to give virtual feeling of the plant to the trainees. Similar is required from other automation utilities as well.

Knowledge Sharing

There should be regular knowledge sharing sessions with case studies for different category of plants and industries. This will pave way for standardisation of automation practices which will make plant operations more economic. This can be in the form of webinars, conferences, visits to plants etc. where engineers can

freely come up with innovative thoughts and make automation an exciting and challenging field. One such welcoming initiative from AIA is the AIA Campus Connect portal which can possibly extend to connect serving professionals.

Facilitating Knowledge Transfer in Local Language to Technicians All technical literatures are in English which is not suitable for technicians. Intelligent technicians make their own notes, but most of them not. By way of translation facility, such as google, atleast theory and important operating instructions can be provided in Hindi. On-the-job personnel when provided with this will definitely contribute in a good way.

Increasing Awareness and SkillSome of the steps taken by DCM Shriram in increasing the awareness and skill are as follows:l Regular in-house training sessions

for all levels. Like for workmen, basic theory class followed by practical

session. This is done in Hindi (local language).

l Working philosophy of the individual equipment is discussed. Instrumentation associated with it and its interlock is explained. Feedback is taken from working technicians and officers for enhancing the scope of further improving the programme. This session is done at the work place, rather than the central training centre where participation level is low.

l Opportunity is given to all, so that each one gets the opportunity to improve upon their skill levels.

l Training imparted is not only related to automation / instrumentation, but also on safe working and hazards associated with it.

Table 1: The 12th Plan Additional Manpower Requirement (in thousands)

Area Technical Non-Technical Total

Thermal 26.9 10.0 36.9

Hydro 37.5 6.3 43.8

Nuclear 13.2 5.6 18.8

Power System 148.4 45.1 193.5

Total 226.0 67.0 293.0

Development of

training programmes in

vernacular languages,

usage of live test

benches, development

of self test facilities

are some of the

ways of increasing

the effectiveness

and utilisation of

the automation

components.

22

Vivek GuptaDCM Shriram

vivek_gupta@dcmshriram.com

The Ministry of Power

requires mandating

organisations to

allocate adequate

funds to training

and development

activities for meeting

the stipulated training

requirement.

l Reports are made on aspects such as interlock scheme, maintenance, spare part consumption pattern etc. All of this is thereafter uploaded on the Plant Maintenance (PM) module in SAP.

l Minimum per employee man-day training is ensured.

l External training also plays a vital role. Automation vendors arrange training courses where employees are deputed from time to time. Thereafter, they share their learning.

l Local ITI students, who turn up for 1 year to 3 years training, are involved in all field activities so that they learn and use this knowledge for their employment.

Industrial automation has reached a phase where it has become impossible to think of any aspect of business without it. In fact, today operators have come to a point where many of them do not know how to run a business in the absence of all the logics and constraints built in. The biggest success of any industry is to build in safety systems in automation so that operational mistakes do not happen. The other biggest advantage is the operator neutral performance of the plant where the plant performance is dependent on the capability of the process, rather than operator skills.

To feed the industry’s requirement of trained personnel to run this automation and trained operators, at present, there is a big gap between the industry and academia. What concepts are being taught in colleges need to be converted into practical experience. The industry has to play a major role in this aspect by providing experience on the latest systems and tools in place. The easiest, but costlier option is to build simulators for training operators. This is a practice which is implemented in all developed nations. This has become a part of life with initial and refresher training continuing throughout the working period as the plant is updated throughout its life. The Indian industry has also started adopting simulators as a concept to accelerate development of operators and also to reduce errors

MIND SHARE

in the plant operation, some of which can result into huge losses and potential industrial hazard.

Getting ready-to-use trained engineers and operators today, in the Indian context seems to be a distant reality. At a lot of educational institutes, collaborations exist and is being strengthened by the industry to enable preparation of students for real life experience. Training of personnel to use and maintain physical hardware remains a very big challenge. The technology existing in present day sensors, instruments is very high with low reparability. Technicians with very little knowledge of English are expected to learn to run and maintain these physical devices. As a result, many a times, a highly effective sensor or device is run to its lowest level of operation without realising that we are utilising a small portion of the capability of the sensor. It is here

that we, as technocrats, are responsible for bringing high level of awareness and training through manufacturers / technology providers. Development of training programmes in vernacular languages, usage of live test benches, development of self test facilities are some of the ways of increasing the effectiveness and utilisation of the automation components.

Automation industry consists of two major portions; one, manufacturing and development of all the input systems and two, integration of these to achieve results required by any process. Development of input devices has become a prerogative of the developed world, which is investing heavily in basic sciences and leading to development of newer technologies and devices. The manufacturing hubs, in so called China Far East, have become the factories of the world to produce these devices for consumption. India has become a hub for integration and implementation of these automation systems. China has converted itself into a hub of manufacturing by utilising its biggest weakness, of a very big population. To achieve this, it has developed a large pool of industry lead research and training organisations where technocrats are migrating in midstream from industry to these institutions.

Avinash RaiHindustan Zinc Ltd.

avinash.rai@vedanta.co.in

l New engineers, joining the company, are provided with extensive on-the-job training which is reviewed on a daily basis by their Supervisor and HOD. This ensures better results.

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Manufacturing DemandsREADY TO DEPLOY

PeopleTo be competitive at a global scale, we need to train our manpower suitably. Norms in the education sector need to be suitably altered

to introduce hands-on training.

Q. Which aspect of training or re-training poses the biggest challenge and why?Manufacturing industries employ people with or without work experience. Employees without work experience need to be trained so that they can be employed for the job function. Employees with work experience need to be trained for productivity enhancement. Before providing training, a systematic training need analysis is required to ensure that the competency gap is filled in and required results can be reached through the training. Though there are a good number of training offers in the market, there is a lack of a targeted approach to training. Manufacturing industries, at times, send out employees for training based on the training contents rather than training needs.

Q. How practical is the goal of ‘ready to deploy’ people. Will it be helpful to the industry in the long term. What does your experience suggest?It is the immediate requirement of industries to have ‘ready to deploy’ people, provided the people available for deployment are suitably trained. There is a shortage of well trained personnel as repeatedly reported by industries at

various forums. Productivity in Indian industries is relatively low due to the same reason.

Q. How much progress do you see in local employment for a high tech industry such as yours?Automation market is reported to be growing by 10 to 12% on an average. Needless to say that employment in industries also grows in line with it.

Q. Please highlight the points required for developing world-class competency culture.To be competitive at a global scale, we need to train our manpower suitably. Norms in the education sector need to be suitably altered to introduce hands-on training. More industry specific and application oriented training should be the focus rather than computer based or theoretical training.

Q. Is it necessary to find different ways to impart theory of modern sensors, analysers and other sophisticated equipment to technicians not conversant with the English language? If so, what do you suggest?It is no longer acceptable that a technician does not have

R. JoshiFesto Controls Pvt. Ltd.

r_joshi@in.festo.com

IN DIALOGUE

[R. Joshi]During my travel through the country, I find more and more women travelling on business. Though a large part of automation is meant for a manufacturing industry’s shop floor, there are a good number of functions in the automation field that are outside the shop floor and not having adverse site conditions. Functions such as training, consultancy, design, purchase, logistic, some of the pre and post sales cycles, research and development, programming, project management

etc. do employ female candidates in automation and other manufacturing industries.

[Bipin Jirge]Regarding women in the automation field, we can proudly say that there is no difference between genders. This is true in the Indian context as well. We should encourage more women to enter in this very interesting field of automation technology. We do see now-a-days, many women working in this field.

OPINIONS ON WOMEN IN AUTOMATION

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O PI N ES

O PI N ES

a formal education (ITI or other vocational education). Considering that technologies are global, any technical education needs to have basic English as a part of its education. On the other hand, the delivery of training can always be made by the instructor in local language for effective teaching,

Bipin Jirgeifm electronic India Pvt. Ltd.bipin_jirge@ifm-electronic.in

Talent in automation technology is not easy to spot. It is in fact challenging to develop / train people here. The reasons could be many, a few of them are:l Automation technology typically

combines many technologies like electrical-, electronics-, mechanical-, fluid- handling etc. It takes few years for an engineer to get to know and

Darren WyllieHoneywell Process SolutionsACSIndia@honeywell.com

As we look ahead at what the year might hold for engineers and IT staff working for the process industry, one thing is clear. The industry challenges that afflicted companies in 2013 still remain in 2014; a rising cost of doing business, continued market volatility and a chronic shortage of skilled talent to meet ongoing production demands. While the industry has felt the burden of skill shortage for a number of years now, we expect that in the next few years, organisations will witness unprecedented staff turnover as a generation of engineers retire – the baby boomers.

From a business management perspective, what does this mean? If unprepared, it can signify the loss of decades of knowledge and experience, replaced by new operators that may indeed have the skills, but lack the notches in their belts to help them respond to incidents just as promptly and intuitively as their predecessors. In this environment, the process of capturing the knowledge of senior operators before they retire is critical, but some businesses may not know where to start.

In the past couple of years, the ‘knowledge capture’ functionality has moved out of just the control room

to incorporate the entire enterprise, using intelligent data gathering and visualisation tools that allow for more effective decisions in a fraction of time, leading to overall business transformation in the long term. With use of such technology, remote collaboration efforts can be significantly improved, and more widely, personnel productivity levels increased by approximately 10 per cent. These kind of tools also allow expert knowledge to be effectively harnessed and relayed even if an expert is not present, maintaining business confidence in the competency of staff at all times.

Beyond enterprise data management technology, software for new and ongoing operator training has an important role to play in the process of workforce management. One of the key obstacles that customers face with newer recruits is that few have personal experience with abnormal, infrequent or unusual process operations. But, by using process modelling technology, these kinds of scenarios can be replicated to ensure that operators are trained to act in both, a quick and appropriate manner for that specific situation.

Regardless of any ongoing improvements in technology, now or in the future, people are and always will be the key assets of a business. Yet with ongoing pressures on the talent pool across the world and a retiring generation of engineers, developing and sustaining operator competency becomes increasingly challenging. The right tools can make all the difference to a business, ensuring that plant knowledge is captured and shared with a new generation of staff, and sustaining the overall safety, reliability and profitability of an operation.

though the technical terms and equipment names may remain to be in English. The training material can also be developed in local languages to this effect.

Q. Would you recommend use of simulators for operator training?

Do companies like to completely own these or do they prefer to fund a shared facility or do they prefer to just pay to an external trainer on the basis of number of trainees covered?Simulator might be a misleading term. Operators have to be trained

Need of higher

productivity, quality

consistency and

increase in production

capacities demand

increased automation

in industries. The

education institutes,

though, need to

capitalise on this

requirement of

industries.

25

O PI N ESQ. Do you think that an industry body like AIA needs to supplement the efforts of global leaders like Omron, Siemens and Rockwell in automation technology competency development and if so, how?l It will be good to have such kind

of procedures and nuances in place. However, it should not be too complicated to hamper the industry’s growth. All in all, it should not create an entry barrier which I think is not in favour of the industry.

l It should focus on quality, methodology for deliverables, competency building and most importantly, it should be supplier neutral.

Q. Does education through local language intervention help when discussing sensor theory, HMI programming etc. If so, please elaborate with few recommendations and case studies.Yes, it has to be a mix of English and the local language. This not only helps better understanding for channel partners and customers, but is also helpful to create a connect for the organisation.

Q. What is your satisfaction in respect of engineers employed with degrees in mechatronics and instrumentation? Are these 2

important branches directly linked with automation?Anybody from college needs training to adjust to the corporate culture. It also largely depends on the corporate how they train and nurture the basic competency level of these engineers.

Q. Please share your thoughts on awareness levels of plant managers and investors as regards automation and how contemporary is the awareness.l Plant Managers currently have a

focused approach, but I feel they need to have broad based awareness so that they can take the best ideas and use the best practices.

l Investors need to improve as they are completely dependent on plant managers. They should have a much broader base of awareness so that they can take the required macro decisions.

understand all these technologies on the plant floor.

l There are very few formal institutes who teach / train automation technology on the factory floor (not only through books).

l There is very little awareness of automation technology in most of the engineering colleges.

I sincerely feel that, automation industry players also need to do some promotional activity at the engineering college level so that students develop interest in this field and get attracted, and thus act as supporters for automation. The automation industry should also sponsor their hardware / software to engineering colleges so that students get hands-on experience of the automation technology right from college days, thereby helping suppliers nurture customers.

Sameer Gandhi Omron Automation Pvt. Ltd.

sameerg@ap.omron.com

hands-on on training equipments. The training equipments should be nothing but a replica of the real industrial equipment. Can we think of an automobile mechanic who has been trained on maintenance of a car only through web-based or computer based training?

Q. What is your satisfaction in respect of engineers employed with degrees in mechatronics and instrumentation? Are these 2 important branches directly linked with automation?All engineering branches are directly linked with automation. Automation is a specialisation. Therefore, it appears that only mechatronics and instrumentation are directly linked with automation. The engineers having degrees in mechatronics and instrumentation have very good theoretical knowledge. The syllabus of mechatronics is rather new. The syllabus of instrumentation has also been revised in most of the institutes. However, what is lacking is the practical part. There is a gap between mechatronics / instrumentation that is used in the industries and what is covered by the institutes. Unlike in computer based training, mechatronics and instrumentation need investment

in equipment, which is insufficiently made by the institutes.

Q. Please share your thoughts on awareness levels of plant managers and investors as regards automation and how contemporary is the awareness.There is high level of awareness in the industries about automation needs. Industries are exposed to global and local competition. Need of higher productivity, quality consistency and increase in production capacities demand increased automation in industries. The education institutes, though, need to capitalise on this requirement of industries.

Automation market

is reported to be

growing by 10 to

12% on an average.

Needless to say

that employment in

industries also grows

in line with it.

26

TRENDS

As global competition is intensifying and the process industry is striving to achieve ideal plants and operations for survival, a virtual

plant can create a revolution.

IntroductionA dynamic simulator is a software tool for building a virtual plant in a computer by modelling an existing plant or a plant to be built. Processes that involve significant amount of fluid mechanics and mass transfer are best suited for modelling and dynamic simulation. With a dynamic simulator, the following can be achieved:

l Carrying out of various designs and engineering programs for a plant which is prior to or else under construction, as if it actually existed.

l Performing operations in a virtual plant which cannot be tried in an actual plant.

l Visualising or estimating conditions in the plant, and predicting plant behaviour based on the current plant conditions.

Dynamic Simulator: Improving Business CompetitivenessAn Operator Training Simulator (OTS) is a computer-based training system that uses a dynamic simulation of an industrial process (Refinery, Petrochemical, Chemical, Fertilizer, Power Plant etc.). Thus, it is a virtual plant that can normally be integrated to a replica Distributed Control System (DCS) or emulated DCS.

Integrated virtual plant or an OTS provides benefits as detailed.

for Competency Development

27

Primary Objectives and OTS Benefitsl Understanding the plant configuration

and control systems (that too offline!).

l Familiarisation of Trip Logics systems (that too offline!).

l Provide training on the concept of an operational team approach, including panel and outside operators, for all aspects of the plant operations, startup / shutdown and emergency response.

l Normal operations with realistic dynamic process behaviour.

l Simulate plant startup. l Emergency handling.l Increase operator skills and

responsiveness to incidents.l Increase unit uptime.l Reduce startup and shutdown times.l Increase plant safety.l Reduce environmental concerns.l Increase operator process

experience and develop process diagnostics skills to recognise and respond to emergency and / or upset situations.

l Familiarisation with the DCS operator workstations and the DCS / Emergency Shutdown System (ESD) system functions.

l ‘What if?’ analysis (scenario analysis).

l Provide training on system responses

Processes that

involve significant

amount of fluid

mechanics and

mass transfer are

best suited for

modelling and

dynamic simulation.

and / or complex sequence of events.

l Improving profitability.

Engineering Applications and Long Term Benefitsl DCS check out.l ESD / Safety Interlock System (SIS)

check out.l Startup, shutdown procedure

verification.l Design verification for dynamic

performance.l Control system verification.l Process engineering studies, Advance

Process Control (APC) check out and plant optimisation check out.

Key Attributesl Enhanced safety and reliability of its

plant operations. l Enhanced competency of its operations

team. l Reduced cost of engineering

efforts. l Manage records of trainings

undertaken by its employees. l Measure, evaluate, enhance and

record skills / proficiency levels of employees.

Education of Chemical ProcessEducational environment with virtual plants are provided to teach chemical engineering. Through exercises on a virtual plant that is not available by

28

lectures and seminars, engineers as well as operator-trainees will be able to acquire analytical ability and capability. Objectives are to let

Sabyasachi MandalYokogawa India Ltd.

sabyasachi.mandal@in.yokogawa.com

Through exercises on

a virtual plant that

is not available by

lectures and seminars,

engineers as well as

operator-trainees will

be able to acquire

analytical ability and

capability.

Chaman Gupta Matix Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd.

Q. Which aspect of training or re-training poses the biggest challenge and why did you choose to invest in training simulators?Training of fresh engineers (Graduate / Diploma) on plant operations is comparatively more challenging. An OTS allows training on the system which is an exact replica of a plant DCS / PLC. There are no penalties for mistakes and such exposure helps boost their confidence, which further results in higher productivity.

Q. How has it helped Matix move towards the goal of ‘readily deployable’ people. Did it encourage you to take in more local talent?Yes. OTS helped us in overcoming the plant specific skilled personnel shortage as there is no plant of such technology in nearby areas.

TH O U G HTSQ. Tell us about the language preferences of local technicians and operators. Are they equipped to absorb all the learning imparted in the English language?

Yes. Today, English is the language being used for all official / plant communication. People at all levels are comfortable with this.

Q. What is your experience with fresh instrumentation engineers? Do they pick up the knowledge of chemical processes easily?

Yes. After some exposure, they do pick-up very well.

Q. Please share your thoughts on improvements needed in the way engineering courses are currently conceived?

Based on our interaction with fresh engineers, we feel they need more orientation on practical applications that occur in the field.

them master the basic knowledge of chemical engineering, the principles of process engineering, principles and performance of various types of equipment and unit operation, control operation and movement of processes. If the inner conditions of equipment and behaviour are displayed when manipulating variables or set-point variables are changed, trainees can understand better and deepen their knowledge of the principles of the process and control systems, and operating variables. Particularly, such environments are useful for operators to obtain the background knowledge necessary for operation while they are convenient for engineers to acquire the sense of real operation at an actual plant. This type of educational environment is applicable not only to enterprises, but also to universities.

Operator TrainingStudies show that OTS improves operator effectiveness and plant-wide

safety, providing increased company profits through better product quality, minimal plant shutdown and throughput.

At an operating environment, giving the feeling of being at an actual plant, the trainee will be able to learn how to handle various plant operating situations. The training includes procedures for startup / shutdown that are decreasing opportunities now-a-days, equipment failures and malfunctions, emergency operations for abnormal conditions and transient operations such as grade or load changing.

There are two types of operator training simulators for realisation: l One is to connect an actual

DCS directly being the same type of DCS being used in the plant control.

l Second is to simulate operation console function of DCS on graphic windows and the logic of control equipment.

The DCS emulation type can be realised at comparatively low costs, but if training of DCS operation is considered to be very important, the DCS direct connect type is more suitable.

ConclusionA skilled workforce is paramount as technology becomes more complex and companies strive to do more with fewer personnel. Moreover, global competition is intensifying in the process industries as in all other industries. Companies in the process industries are striving to achieve ideal plants and operations for survival. A virtual plant can create a revolution and OTS is the solution to meet these extreme needs.

AJAY KUMAR GARG ENGINEERING COLLEGEGhaziabad

www.akgec.org, www.tifac-core-akgec.org

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