Automation: on the up: automation in the chemical and related process industries is on the increase. While this can raise operating efficiencies and address staffing shortages, it brings its own challenges.(Process technology)

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A variety of electronic instrumentation is used to monitor flows, pressures, temperatures and other features in chemical plants, in real-time, to ensure that the production processes are working properly and to avoid breakdown of machinery and accidents. As chemical plants in the developed world become older, because of the lack of investment in new capacity, it is even more important to be constantly on the alert for the first signs of failing equipment, which can be costly and stop production.

At a time of rising energy costs, when the price of electricity can change by the hour, real-time monitoring is also an essential means of keeping a tight grip on plant overheads. Such monitoring also provides a way of reducing wastage of raw materials, which are increasingly supplied through quarterly and even monthly deals.

The changing workforce

In recent years, there has been an increase in automation, particularly in the chemical industries of Europe, North America and Japan, because of the growing shortage of qualified staff. As plant operators and engineers retire, they are not being replaced by people of similar knowledge and experience.

'The recession has perhaps postponed the qualified staff crisis by a few years,' says Eddie Habibi, chief executive of PAS, Houston, Texas, a US supplier of automation solutions to the chemical and other process industries. 'Some chemical companies are in danger of losing as much as half of their qualified …