June 2019

54 n GAMBICA SUPPLEMENT June 2019 www.drivesncontrols.com INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT - A MANAGED SCIENCE O ne of the biggest challenges facing OEMs of machinery and specialist equipment is the reliance on, and management of, their control system developers – especially the programmers of PLC code or developers of other types of software. The managers who face the challenge of specifying the machine operation and performance, and of finding the resource to perform the PLC code development, are rarely PLC programmers themselves. In all but the biggest companies, the management team understands the base machine technology, the markets and the processes, yet relies on either a single internal PLC programmer, or an external contractor. Imagine the risks of being reliant on one person and not knowing if a replacement programmer will have access to the source code, the tools, the files and the often-forgotten supporting documentation – if it ever existed. Risk and reliance In our experience, many OEM companies have a small number of expert programmers, who are either employed or sub-contracted. And if you rely on just one or two people, how do you manage to deliver new machine variants or debug recently delivered machines, if your one expert is on vacation or sick leave? Other considerations are needed to ensure that the programming of your machines and their functionality are future-proofed and de-risked. You may also need to source additional PLC programmers who will either be part of their own payroll or a sub- contracted service that can be relied upon and potentially switched to a different sub-contractor if the first one cannot meet your needs. Managing the development of your PLC code might seem like a black art that you will never understand, but the implications of getting it wrong are enormous. For example, how much would it cost your business if you couldn’t ship any machines or equipment for eight weeks while the Jan Hemper, technical director of InControl Systems, discusses the challenges of managing the development of software for OEMmachines and specialist equipment Jan Hemper BELOW: PLC code development should be included in a business’ strategic priorities.