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Why should railroad signaling managers care about industrial automation?
The industrial automation industry is a world apart from the railroad signaling
industry. Is there any reason railroaders should be interested in learning about
industrial automation? Why should railroads care about how Ford automates its
production lines or how DuPont automates process control equipment? Does it
help us deal with track circuits and switch machines? Would it help us move trains?
benefit from
learning about
industrial
automation?
Are you aware of these 5 facts about industrial automation?
 | Electronic controllers have been used as a replacement for relays for twice | |
| as long as in the rail signaling industry |
| The industrial automation industry is huge in comparison to railroad | |
| automation (PLC hardware alone are a $5 billion/yr market) |
| Most industrial automation users are currently dealing with the same issues | |
| as railroads (remote access, configuration management,asset productivity,...) |
| In terms of capabilities modern industrial automation platforms make most | |
| railroad automation products look like medieval relics |
| There are vital industrial automation platforms, there are vital PLCs | |
railroad signaling
people don't know
The point is...
If you want to know about the possible future directions of railroad automation
products, if you want to know how some of the largest companies in the world
are dealing with some of the same challenges facing railroaders, if you want to
maximize the efficiencies of your rail operations, you would be well advised to
spend some time learning about automation in other industries.
I don't claim that standard industrial automation equipment can be used to
replace railroad signaling equipment - quite the opposite. I also do not believe - as
some people do - that railroaders will inevitebly migrate to the use of pure
industrial automation products. That is not the purpose of this website. But I do
believe that individuals in railroad sigaling have everything to gain from learning
about the automation world outside of their own industry.
everything to gain
from learning
about automation
in other industries
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