Industrial DevOps: From Concept to Critical Need – Insights from the First Annual Report

The concept of Industrial DevOps, first introduced in 2018 by Dr. Suzette Johnson and Robin Yeman, has rapidly evolved from a theoretical framework to a critical need in modern manufacturing and industrial operations. This evolution, culminating in the 2023 publication of their comprehensive book Industrial DevOps: Build Better Systems Faster, has now been further validated by the First Annual State of Industrial DevOps Report, released by Copia Automation in 2024.

The report surveyed 200 US executives across various industries and provides compelling evidence for the urgent need to adopt Industrial DevOps practices in manufacturing and distribution sectors. Here are some key findings:

Key Findings

1. The Cost of Downtime:

• On average, downtime costs organizations $4.2 million per hour.
• Manufacturing shutdowns caused by industrial coding errors last an average of 30 hours and cost $126 million per shutdown.

2. Causes of Downtime:

• 50% of all downtime is attributed to industrial code changes, confusion over code, lack of visibility into industrial code, and issues with programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
• Cybersecurity breaches are the leading cause of unplanned downtime (47%), followed by hardware malfunction (45%) and coding/software issues (41%).

3. Prevalence of Ad Hoc Fixes:

• 78% of respondents noted that ad hoc fixes to industrial code are commonplace, potentially leading to future vulnerabilities and downtime events.

4. Time Spent on Debugging vs. Reviewing Code:

• Respondents spend an average of 10 times more time (45 hours/month) debugging code than reviewing it.

5. Industrial DevOps Sentiment:

• 97% of respondents agree that their team would benefit from using Industrial DevOps technology and practices for PLC coding and management.

6. Challenges to Adoption:

• 44% cited competing priorities as the top challenge to adoption, followed by a lack of interest from management (39%).

Validation of Concept

These findings underscore the predictions made by Johnson and Yeman about the importance of applying DevOps principles to industrial settings, beginning with their 2018 paper and culminating in the 2024 publication of the award-winning book Industrial DevOps: Build Better Systems Faster.

The Copia Automation report validates Johnson and Yeman’s work, demonstrating that the principles they outlined aren’t just theoretical but are critically needed in today’s industrial landscape. The high costs associated with downtime, the prevalence of cybersecurity risks, and the challenges with code management all point to the urgent need for the structured, collaborative approach that Industrial DevOps provides.

Industrial DevOps offers a promising path forward as industries grapple with the challenges of developing increasingly complex and interconnected systems. It combines the best practices of software development with the rigorous requirements of hardware engineering, addressing the unique needs of cyber-physical systems.

The journey of Industrial DevOps, from its conception by Johnson and Yeman in 2018 to its recognition as a critical industry need in 2024, demonstrates the foresight of its originators and the rapidly evolving nature of industrial technology. As more organizations become aware of the benefits and adopt these practices, we can expect significant improvements in efficiency, reliability, and security across the industrial sector.

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