Cost savings are the main factor driving end-user adoption of fieldbuses

Citation

(1999), "Cost savings are the main factor driving end-user adoption of fieldbuses", Assembly Automation, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.1999.03319dab.004

Cost savings are the main factor driving end-user adoption of fieldbuses

Keywords Fieldbus

Cost savings are the main consideration in selecting a fieldbus, according to a new Datamonitor survey of over 700 automation end-users across eight major industries in Europe.

The survey results are incorporated in a new report from Datamonitor, Developments and Customer Opinions on Fieldbus, which assesses the current market picture and likely future developments for the different fieldbuses.

Major conclusions of the survey include:

• •

  Saving money, particularly through lower maintenance costs, is the main advantage end-users expect to gain from a fieldbus.

• •

  Profibus is the fieldbus closest to becoming dominant in the European market.

• •

  Profibus is also the fieldbus with the best reputation for value for money, although end-user commitment is fragile due to market uncertainty.

Saving money, particularly through lower maintenance costs, is the main advantage that end users expect to gain from a fieldbus

With many different fieldbuses vying for acceptance as the standard protocol automation manufacturers have much to gain from the wider acceptance of their particular endorsed standard. Datamonitor's survey was aimed at establishing which are the major factors leading to end-user acceptance of a particular fieldbus.

The survey revealed that end-users see cost as by far the most important factor in the selection of a particular fieldbus. "Lower maintenance costs" were seen as the first or second priority by the greatest number of respondents (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Cost saving priorities for end-users (by budget weighted response)

Lower maintenance costs come through less wiring and a generally simplified plant structure. While this is likely to make the plant marginally more reliable, the main saving comes through lower staffing. Fewer technical staff reduces wage and non-wage costs, and, given the shortage of technically qualified staff in many European countries, eases recruitment problems.

Profibus is the fieldbus closest to becoming dominant in the European market

According to Datamonitor, Profibus is currently well ahead in terms of existing installations in most end-user sectors in Europe. Its nearest rival among "true" fieldbuses is Interbus. This is partly simply because it has existed longer than many of its rivals, giving it more time to build up a number of installations. However, there are two more important reasons. The first is Profibus' status as a recognised European standard. This bolsters its claims to permanence, as well as fostering a virtuous cycle as depicted in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Schematic diagram of how one fieldbus can become and remain dominant in the industrial automation market

Profibus hopes to achieve the dominance portrayed in Figure 3. As it becomes more widely adopted, equipment manufacturers are forced by customer demand to make their equipment Profibus-compatible. This makes the fieldbus even more dominant, reinforcing the cycle. The position is analogous to that of Microsoft products as a de facto standard in the office PC market.

The second factor encouraging this in Europe is the backing of many of the major suppliers. Thus, as Siemens is the dominant PLC supplier in Europe outside the UK, it has the largest customer base. The company's backing for Profibus encourages it to promote the standard through its workforce.

However, this factor applies disproportionately to Europe and discrete control, where Siemens is dominant. In the DCS market, and in the USA, the picture is much more open. Many of the USA and DCS companies support the Foundation Fieldbus. According to Datamonitor, it is likely that North America will develop as a mirror image to Europe, with another fieldbus as the de facto standard.

Profibus is also the fieldbus with the best reputation for value for money, although end-user commitment is fragile due to market uncertainty

Datamonitor's survey asked respondents to rank competing standards across a range of criteria. In terms of value for money, Profibus has the highest ranking in reputation amongst end users in every industry surveyed except oil and gas, fine chemicals and metals.

However, the reputations of each fieldbus are highly fragile. Much seems to depend on end-user familiarity with existing fieldbuses. This in itself points to a potential vulnerability for Profibus, which may gain much of its reputation simply from being the best known fieldbus. The large proportion of the sample survey that simply did not know which fieldbus was the best value for money is indicative of high levels of uncertainty in the industry. On average 23 per cent of respondents were unable to express an opinion as to which fieldbus was the best value for money (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Responses to "which fieldbus offers the best value for money?"

One of the few areas where Profibus was beaten in terms of reputation was in the oil and gas industry. In this sector, Foundation Fieldbus has already acquired a stronger reputation than Profibus. The reasons for this are complex, but are partly a result of technical factors, such as the merits of bus arbitration compared to token passing, as well as commercial factors such as the backing of major oil and gas DCS suppliers like Honeywell for Foundation Fieldbus.

According to James Powney, Datamonitor consultant and author of the report:

The message for manufacturers is that existing reputations are easily eroded. In the world of fieldbuses, there is still everything to play for.

For further information contact: Russ Milburn. Tel: +44 (0) 171 316 0001; Fax: +44 (0) 171 372 0130; e-mail: rmilburn@datamonitor.com; http://www.datamonitor.com/in