As Stephen R. Covey famously stated: “Begin with the end in mind.” This principle has become essential for developing automation strategies that effectively support long-term business objectives.
While manufacturers seek operational consistency and advanced Industry 4.0 data-driven solutions to improve efficiency, profitability and scalability, they also face ongoing, urgent challenges such as operator shortages, loss of institutional knowledge due to a retiring engineering workforce and cybersecurity threats.
As a result, they are no longer best served by addressing projects on a case-by-case basis. Instead, they can benefit from establishing a long-term partnership with an integrator who is an authority on all aspects of digitalization and who can develop a deep understanding of their business. This approach ensures that project investments are strategically aligned with long-term goals, helping to keep manufacturing operations competitive and secure.
The role of the long-term integrator partner
A main automation partner is this type of integrator. This partner serves as both a technical authority and a trusted advisor who understands the manufacturer’s processes and business challenges. This partner helps the manufacturer identify long-term business objectives, assess their current operations, and build a structured, multi-year strategy to reach their goals.
Rather than treating projects as isolated fixes, the main automation partner draws on their holistic understanding of both the automation industry and the manufacturer’s needs to create a practical roadmap. For manufacturers that are often too busy addressing urgent production issues, this partner guides their attention from short-term concerns towards a long-term strategy.
The roadmap prioritizes initiatives based on their alignment with the broader objectives and the order in which they are best executed. This proactive approach ensures systems integrate smoothly into future automation phases, minimizing unforeseen rework. The manufacturer’s budget is considered, as this dictates the rate of implementation. For example, a larger budget allows for a faster implementation timeframe while a smaller budget may extend it. Early projects include tangible, quantifiable results, assuring stakeholders’ investments are well managed.
This is a relationship that evolves over time. As the partner becomes more integrated into the client’s business, they better recognize and address critical business drivers, leading to increasingly effective solutions. They also help facilitate the cultural shifts needed for adopting new technologies by addressing workforce concerns, delivering targeted training, and ensuring employees embrace and benefit from these innovations.
Engaging with a main automation partner eliminates the repeated learning curves that occur when working with multiple integrators and helps reduce implementation time and associated costs. Controls and automation consistency is also achieved across systems and facilities, simplifying operations through streamlined system maintenance and training.
PLC upgrade example
Consider the common scenario where a manufacturer seeks support upgrading a legacy PLC. While a traditional system integrator approach might involve a quote on the project and completion of the upgrade, an integrator working to become the manufacturer’s main automation partner takes a more holistic approach.
Rather than treating the upgrade as an isolated task, they work to understand the business drivers behind it. They ask thought-provoking questions such as: “What is driving the need for the upgrade right now? Is it part of a larger initiative to fully connect the production floor to the OT (operations technology) network? If so, how will the resulting data be used to improve operational efficiency and support digital transformation efforts? How secure is your facility’s OT network?”
By thoroughly understanding the manufacturer’s broader goals and current challenges, a long-term partner can ensure that the facility’s network infrastructure is appropriately sized, integrated and protected with essential cybersecurity measures if needed. They also ensure the upgraded PLC supports future connectivity, data-sharing, advanced analytics and security requirements, thereby reducing the risk of costly rework that may need to be done down the line.
A focus on core competencies
Working with a long-term partner allows a business to remain focused on its own core competencies and IP rather than diverting resources towards the very different field of controls and automation. Because automation partners specialize in these fields, they typically complete this work faster, more efficiently and at a consistently higher quality standard. They may also provide around-the-clock system support, minimizing the impact of unexpected downtime, including expensive batch losses.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers, for example, can leverage this type of partnership to keep internal teams centered on their primary mission — the development and production of lifesaving therapies and medications — while ensuring their limited engineering resources remain dedicated to the critical functions of FDA compliance, validation and ongoing operations. While automation technologies offer an array of remarkable benefits, their growing complexity demands a proactive implementation strategy. Rather than approaching automation as isolated projects, manufacturers who engage with a main automation partner apply Covey’s principle of beginning with the end in mind to their strategic planning. This positions them to efficiently adopt emerging Industry 4.0 technologies, including cybersecurity, AI-driven analytics and digital twins, while also standardizing operations across facilities.
A trusted long-term automation partner helps ensure systems are not only seamlessly integrated, but that the entire operation remains competitive, resilient and positioned for sustainable growth.
Fred Fontaine is president at E Tech Group. E Tech Group is a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA). For more information about E Technologies Group, visit E Tech Group on the Industrial Automation Exchange.
