Shopfloor PC protection still a common oversight

PC protection isn’t just about protecting PCs, it’s about protecting production. Research carried out on behalf of PC protection systems company Armagard highlights what the firm refers to as “an alarming lack of contingency for computer downtime on factory floors”. Driven by the pressure to build faster, cheaper and better, manufacturers are becoming ever more reliant on computer power. And despite the availability of industrial ruggedised computers, many still go for the price and familiarity of the standard PC. But, says Armagard, the downside of using standard PCs on the shopfloor is that if the computers crash, production lines can stand idle. And downtime is likely when the PC is exposed to dust, washdown, temperature extremes, vibration, collision – and tampering and theft. It’s a plain fact, he says, that in many industrial environments, standard PCs are working well outside conditions required to maintain their warranty. Considering the sums spent on production systems, it is surprising that there are still manufacturers out there who fail to protect against the environment – or simply ignore it. Armagard polled 116 manufacturers in the food and drink, paper processing and automotive sectors to assess contingency planning for shopfloor computer failure. 84% of companies were using PCs yet an astonishing 40% of these had taken no measures to protect them despite their dependence on them in terms of maintaining production. According to Tim Clarke, Armagard’s marketing director: “Many companies simply don’t understand that an unprotected PC isn’t designed to survive outside the office. Take dust, for example; the PC’s fan will draw the dust-laden air inside the casing and distribute [it] across the motherboard. Insulation of the electronic components will lead to overheating and premature failure. The risk is exacerbated in the faster machines which have micro-fans to cool the processors. These simply create dust traps at the most critical components.” Clarke continues: “Managers frequently fail to make the link between computer downtime and production downtime. They think in terms of the cost of replacing the PC. If the PC enclosure costs more than the PC, they’re not interested.” Yet among the companies that were not protecting their PCs, only 33% predicted they could replace a PC within an hour. 52% said it would take longer than a day, of which 21% predicted a delay of more than a week. The results pointed to an average delay of 19 hours. And only three of the companies that didn’t protect their computers said that computer downtime would have no impact on production. The responses from the rest showed an average cost per hour lost of £900 in terms of lost production alone – £17,100 per incident. He says PC vendors must take some of the blame. The firm’s research reveals that very few companies received advice from suppliers about the need to protect computers installed in the factory – and few had a kind word for the post-sales support service they received. None of the PC vendors dominates the industrial market, and Armagard’s own experience of the majors is that many are either unaware or not interested in the sector despite its growth.