Structural Independence
Structural Independence is Potenza's term for the principle that the party assessing and governing an OT network should have no equipment to sell on it and no vendor quota to meet. It is a separation of roles, not a judgment of any vendor: the same reason auditors do not keep the books.
An OEM that supplies the controllers and switches has a legitimate product roadmap to protect. A party governing security has to be free to recommend against that roadmap, to keep an obsolete but isolated device in service, or to replace a vendor's equipment with another's. Both roles are necessary; combining them creates a conflict of interest that surfaces exactly when the advice matters most.
Why it matters in cement, mining, and aggregates
The principle is the fifth control in the Cement & Mining OT Baseline, independent governance, and the first of the twelve questions in Potenza's procurement memo. It matters most for operators carrying an End-of-Life fleet, because the modernization roadmap is where the money is.