Automated risk
Speaking at the recent Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Automation event in London, UK, Martin Turner, deputy director of global consulting at RSA Insurance, says, “It’s all about the reduction in the cost of risk because insurance is there to indemnify you if something goes wrong – if you have a fire, breakdown or an accident – but there are a lot of hidden costs that go with that.”
He adds, “It’s about getting product to customers…If we don’t get product to customer, we’ve got all sorts of problems and insurance can only help you out part of the way with that.”
So is increasing automation good or bad for risk management?
In short, the answer is yes because there are a lot of favourable factors, according to Turner. These include operator safety; the avoidance of repetitive tasks and workplace exposure, in addition to reduced human factors; operator errors, housekeeping.
Process/machinery fire risk is also often reduced. This, he says, depends on the application but relates to common hazards such as electrical systems or larger hydraulics. “Automation robotics tend to be more energy efficient, depending on less power,” he notes. “Machines tend to keep themselves cleaner.”
Another favourable factor is improved instrumentation and control, which also facilitates food safety and traceability, Turner explains.
But, things can go wrong, he notes, and there are three things to consider:
- Change management
- Business continuity
- Process and IT security.
Change management
In terms of change management, Turner says the system machinery component that the customer is likely to get delivered is going to have been professionally designed and have all the relevant conformity markings. When it is installed it is going to be fit for purpose and present little additional hazard or risk, he explains. “The thing that we find when we come along regardless of when we’re involved in the process, but particularly when we come along after the event, is what we might term peripheral or unintended impacts – those things that are actually beyond that project that everybody’s been focusing on.”
For example, when robotics are integrated into certain production lines output is increased. “All of that product has got to go somewhere,” Turner explains.
“Has anyone thought about what happens in the warehouse? Where does all of the product go? How are we going to deal with that? How is the marshalling area going to cope? Have we got enough storage capacity?”
Often, he notes, companies will say ‘We’ve got to get more capacity into our warehouse so let’s narrow the aisles of the racking.’ This can have a major impact on the design effectiveness of fixed fire protection systems, for example.
“Some of these impacts can be quite damaging to an insurance programme because of the increased exposures they create, but they can also mean that in the event that they do get a fire, that’s not going to be protected,” Turner explains.
Integrated production lines are also important. When a component or machine has been delivered to a manufacturer, it has all of its necessary conformity, but when it is integrated into a larger system, “sometimes that overall declaration of conformity is missing for the whole production line,” Turner explains.
So what are the keys to success for change management?
According to Turner, a formal change management process is needed first of all. “That’s making sure that all stakeholders are involved – all of those people who are close to the core of the project.”
Another key to success, he says, is site engagement and ownership: “Another common thing we find is that project teams work on these projects, then hand them over to the operational people at site and there is a lack of ownership because it has been delivered to them and maybe because they weren’t involved in the earlier stages of the project, they don’t quite understand it.
“They don’t really know why it does what it does and so it’s quite important to the people who are actually going to be receiving this when it is out of the project phase and becomes operational that there is a good handover.”
Business continuity
There are a number of things associated with automation projects and robotics, including higher output per machine and critical control panels. Turner explains, “Electrical control panels can in a very small space give us a real criticality with a business interruption potential that is disproportionate to the size and value of that particular panel.”
In addition, there is a potential creation and/or exacerbation of bottlenecks. If certain production lines are running faster in one part of the manufacturing site, he says, that may create bottlenecks elsewhere.
Manufacturers also need to think about future obsolescence, according to Turner. “On day one everything is still available and supported, but what about five, 10, 15 years down the line? We see that with old equipment that is decades old in factories and people are as nervous as anything about having fires and things like control decks and control panels because it is irreplaceable.”
Turner believes a manufacturer needs to have an effective business continuity management (BCM) programme. This will include a business impact analysis and a risk assessment.
Manufacturers should also have a business continuity plan (BCP) in case that line goes down. “We should still contemplate the fact that it could happen,” he says. “If it can happen, it will happen somewhere in the world.”
Process and IT security
There is also an emerging risk of process and IT security with automation. “There is a rising incidence of cyber type incidents,” Turner explains. “They can be deliberate, they can be accidental or operational – in other words, things just not being designed very well.
“We’re all familiar with cyber attacks and data lost with banks and telephone companies, but what we’re starting to see now is these cyber attacks actually having effect on the ground where sensoring systems and motors are.”
Companies often have known repeatable processes and procedures for replacing infrastructure and application servers, but not for a possible Internet of Things (IoT) outbreak.
“Those of you who are in a manufacturing environment, just contemplate that,” Turner notes. “A cyber attack on your automated robotic production line. Have you got a plan for it?”
One of the keys to success, therefore, is to recognise cyber risk. “Recognise it, consider it and make sure that it is integrated with the project. I would suggest that those people who are supplying or installing your equipment should be challenged in this area. How is their design inherently protected against this type of thing or what additional controls and protections can they offer against this type of attack?
“There should be an integrated security strategy and that really starts with the site – it starts with the site perimeter, physical security, IT networks, systems and components, right down to actual controls of the panels.”
