Risk Management in Automation and Power Industries

 Executive summary
Power provides the basis on which the global economy runs. Modern power and
automation technologies have seen greater advancement within the industrial scenario. Such
advancement has seen the incorporation of flexible and smarter power and automation industrial
technologies. For instance, operations that once depended on pneumatic manual controls
decentralized across production channels are now central-based and controlled by advanced
computerized system. The advanced technologies generally involve human-computer interaction
systems that ensure not only focus on production efficiency but also ensure that an intricate
balance is achieved between production and consumption. These technologies, however, are not
without challenges and hence risks.
Automation is defined as a process of replacing traditionally human industrial functions,
with machine elements that automatically make decisions and operate the system, e.g. use of
robots (Berg, 2007, p.12). Automated power industries not only focus on production efficiency
but also strive to strike a balance between production and consumption. While automation is
known to enhance safety and system reliability, such systems are more vulnerable to intrusion
and thus, elimination of one risk yields a newer form of risk. For instance, buying, selling, and
distributing power require an interconnected transmission line based on computer management
operations. Such operations are prone to cyber intrusion and hence, the increased need for
advanced risk mitigation procedures.
However, this paper will go beyond mere securi