Known issues. Quiet risks. Long-term costs.
TL;DR
These aren’t hidden problems. They’re known risks that keep getting pushed down the list. Here’s how to bring them back into focus—and move them forward.
As we head into the July 4th holiday and the start of Q3, it’s common for upgrade and maintenance efforts to take a backseat. It’s not about neglect or lack of awareness—teams see the risks. But when time and budget are tight, urgent needs win out, and quieter issues get pushed aside.
Some industrial automation problems don’t demand immediate attention. But that doesn’t mean they’re harmless. Left alone, they quietly become more complex, expensive, and challenging to resolve on your terms.
This post isn’t here to tell you what you already know. It’s here to help you reframe those lingering issues, so they don’t stay stuck at the bottom of the priority list. Below are three quiet risks and ways to surface their impact and take meaningful action, even in resource-constrained environments.
Messy Tag Structures: You Know It’s a Problem, Now Help Others See It
You already know what a bad tag structure does to your system. It clutters your SCADA, slows down troubleshooting, and forces your team to work harder to spot real problems.
To help leadership see the value:
Frame it as an efficiency upgrade. Clean tags reduce downtime, speed up diagnostics, and help avoid costly mistakes. It’s a small investment that protects larger ones, like HMIs, alarming systems, and historian data integrity.
If a full cleanup isn’t realistic right now:
Start with one process area or a new project. From here on, apply naming conventions consistently. Measure and document the difference, then use that to expand the effort later.
Dive deeper into troubleshooting Ignition Tag Quality Issues.
💡 Pro tip: Use your next Ignition deployment as a chance to reset your tag strategy.
Legacy PLCs: The Problem Isn’t Age, It’s the Risk of Waiting
You know which PLCs are aging out. The hardware still runs, but support is fading, parts are getting harder to source, and fewer engineers know how to work with them.
But from the outside, they’re “still working,” which can make proactive replacement a hard sell.
To start the conversation with decision-makers:
Shift the focus to risk. A surprise failure can stall operations, force emergency sourcing, or lead to rushed system changes. Planned replacements give you control over timing, cost, and engineering resources.
If a complete upgrade isn’t feasible this year:
Build a phased roadmap. Prioritize high-risk or high-value systems. Even documenting the risk and identifying next steps positions your team as forward-thinking.
Learn more about the hidden costs of upgrading legacy systems.
Download the Automation Lifecycle Workbook
💡 Pro tip: Start collecting lifecycle data across your installed base. It makes planning and budget conversations easier down the road.
Outdated Operating Systems: It’s Not Just IT’s Problem Anymore
You’re tracking the risks of Windows 10 End-of-Life and other unsupported systems. You know they can’t be patched. Vendor software may stop working. Cybersecurity risk is rising.
But others in the organization may not see it that way until something breaks.
To elevate it as a business concern:
Frame unsupported OS use as an operational risk. It can impact audit readiness, system uptime, and vendor compatibility. And when a patch is needed and unavailable, the business impact is immediate.
If complete migration isn’t realistic this cycle:
Virtualize legacy systems and restrict network access. Harden what must remain in place. Document your OS inventory and define a timeline—even a long one.
Read more about Windows 10 End-of-Life and how it can impact you
💡 Pro tip: Position this as part of your plant’s broader cybersecurity strategy– it often unlocks more urgency.
Address What You Can Now, Before Urgency Forces Your Hand
You’re not ignoring these issues; they’re just competing with everything else on your plate. And when resources are limited, it’s hard to make the case for fixing what isn’t actively broken.
But the longer these risks sit unresolved, the fewer options you have when they finally surface. Small actions now can prevent bigger problems later and give you more control over how and when those problems get solved.
If you’re ready to get ahead of what’s coming, our AUDITIQ™ assessment can help. It’s a structured, engineering-led review that gives you a clear picture of where things stand across SCADA, PLCs, operating systems, and hardware lifecycle—so you can confidently act.
Start with clarity. End with confidence.
👉 Explore AUDITIQ™ or contact us to schedule a discovery call.
