| | JULY-SEPTEMBER 20218The current COVID-19 pandemic crisis is an unprecedented one. It requires novelty to save lives, maintain safety and health, and keep our businesses running. There is a before and after COVID-19 moment. Particularly in respect to adaptation of new digital technologies and ways of working.Before COVID-19, we experienced a some what slow adaptation and use of digital technologies despite the clear time- and cost-saving benefits. In some areas, like commercial buildings or mining, the transformation happened at a higher pace, primarily due to bigger payoffs by minimizing complexity, improving efficiency and increasing uptime. But we also saw areas where things did not move as fast. Yet, we can see the move towards everything is connected and smart products and services has accelerated over the last 9-12 months. Within the manufacturing space, we see an increased pace of adapting new smart, connected products and services, in the form of collaborative robots, automation, and connected devices to ensure higher uptime, quality, and energy efficiency. As products become connected and made easily available in new ways­via mobile apps and cloud-based offerings--functional safety and cyber security become more important. This is also true on a component level like variable speed drives.Thus, when developing new products or services, we all need to understand the environment they operate in, like temperature, humidity, and dust levels. And, we need to have a good understanding of the industries (e.g., manufacturing and mining)and applications (e.g., conveyors, pumps, fans, lifts)where our products and services are used. If we put the customer at the center of everything we do, we ensure we develop relevant and value-adding products. By maintaining this focus, we also keep in mind how we use digital technologies to make installation, operation, and service easier. We are experiencing a paradigm shift--also within the manufacturing space--in which intelligence and controlling capabilities are moving towards the edge and towards the cloud (or in the fog, an on-premise deployment). This shift calls for a change in mindset regarding functional safety and industrial security. Functional safety has been a major topic in the Industrial Automation world for years. Now, we see the industrial cyber security for assets standards (IEC 62443-series) define similar requirements. These measures will ensure both development processes and the product itself complies to a minimum level of security. The focus around Industrial Automation Control System (IACS) security programs, policies, and procedures has been RETHINKING INDUSTRIAL SECURITY AND FUNCTIONAL SAFETY IN THE NEW NORMALBy Janne Kuivalainen, SVP, Global Product Management & Development in Danfoss DrivesIN MY OPINION
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