System Replacement

Feb. 18, 2009
Replacing obsolete or nearly obsolete systems can have a huge positive impact on production, but getting there can be expensive. A traditional approach can be costly, unless you can avoid a complete, all-at-once, swap-out of equipment.

Replacing obsolete or nearly obsolete systems can have a huge positive impact on production, but getting there can be expensive. A traditional approach can be costly, unless you can avoid a complete, all-at-once, swap-out of equipment.

A step-wise approach using currently available technology would allow for an orderly controlled transition including verification of the new equipment before switch-over. This type of transition can allow organizations to upgrade systems or components from the same supplier, to migrate to a new vendor or to execute a combinational approach, depending on company-wide policies on equipment standardization.

Users can benefit from advanced functionalities as a result of the latest technology, including enhanced performance, algorithms, throughput and connectivity, while later replacing the major part of the investment, the I/O systems, as they see fit.

What sorts of systems have you replaced? How did your company's equipment standardization policy affect your decisions?

About the Author

Mike Bacidore | Editor in Chief

Mike Bacidore is chief editor of Control Design and has been an integral part of the Endeavor Business Media editorial team since 2007. Previously, he was editorial director at Hughes Communications and a portfolio manager of the human resources and labor law areas at Wolters Kluwer. Bacidore holds a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is an award-winning columnist, earning multiple regional and national awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He may be reached at [email protected] 

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