How to calculate financial validation for a new automation system?
Does your process plant have an outdated distributed control system (DCS)? As your DCS reaches the end of its life, you know migration is a must – but first you need to justify the expense.
This justification typically will compare the cost of continued operation with your current DCS to the costs and benefits of migrating to a new automation system. It’s not a simple calculation – a lot of factors come together to comprise the total cost of ownership (TCO). To perform the most accurate analysis, every factor must be identified and quantified including:
- Current maintenance and support costs
- Quality of process control
- New automation system costs and benefits
Excessive TCO for your existing DCS might spur migration, but the clincher is the quantification of new automation system costs and benefits.