Industrial organizations around the world struggle to manage risk. Incidents, such as product recalls, data breaches and worker injuries, have immediate consequences and can impact customers, employees, intellectual property and revenue.
Risk management should be focused on where problems originate. In many cases, that is within the automation infrastructure. Rockwell Automation has outlined four key areas for managing risk at its source, including:
- Equipment Obsolescence: Modernizing production systems can play a major role in minimizing downtime and improving quality, safety and security.
- Quality: Harnessing the power of existing operational data can improve quality management and help drive adherence to regulatory requirements.
- Safety: Addressing safety in crucial areas of culture, compliance and capital helps reduce the number of safety incidents and improve operational performance.
- Security: Embracing end-to-end security across facilities and enterprises helps to protect people, intellectual property and physical assets.
“We view enterprise risk management as a continuous cycle of improvement that includes assessments, technology and infrastructure,” states Scott Lapcewich, vice president and general manager, Customer Support and Maintenance, Rockwell Automation. “Our unique blend of expertise in manufacturing processes, automation, operations, safety and security helps customers mitigate enterprise risk within their plant environments.”
By addressing risk in these key areas, companies can effectively manage brand-critical safety, quality, security and obsolescence challenges at their source. An e-book outlining the four key areas of risk management is available on the Rockwell Automation website.