THE EMPT Y CABINET REVOLUTION
THE EMPT Y CABINET REVOLUTION
What maintenance engineers see now:
• Open control cabinet on factory floor
• Same programming tools and interfaces as before
• Empty space where PLC hardware once sat
• Identical safety functions operating remotely
• Only network cables and power connections remain
What’ s actually running the production line:
• Virtual controller software in data centre 10km away
The psychological challenge:
•“ If you can touch the PLC, you know it’ s there and the safety will work,” explains Henning Löser.“ All of a sudden, you open up the cabinet and the PLC is missing. How do you know the safety is really working?”
140 August 2025