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		Market Levels Rising in the Process Level Measurement & Inventory Tank Gauging Segments - 05/11/12 Automation.com, May 2012 By J Timothy Shea, Senior Analyst Due to expected increasing demand for level measurement and inventory tank gauging technologies as tools to help companies to continue to improve operational efficiencies, increase productivity, gain greater control over inventories and enhanced accuracy, VDC is forecasting a 5.2% CAGR through 2016.

		Sensors Improve Pump Performance and Provide Protection - 05/21/12 Pumps & Systems, May 2012 By Craig McIntyer, Endress+Hauser Pump monitoring instrumentation is often not included with installations, but proper sensors can protect a pump and help with efficient operation.

		The Proper Use of Guided-Wave Radar in Steam Loops - 05/21/12 Sensors, May 2012 By Keith Riley and Ravi Jethra, Endress+Hauser This article discusses the use of guided-wave radar (GWR), also known as time-domain reflectometry (TDR), in your steam loop, including the way that this technology functions and how it differs from more traditional forms of level indication.

		Wireless makes inroads across the process automation sector - 05/20/12 Industrial Ethernet Book, May 2012 By David Walker, Emerson Wireless technology is commonplace and WirelessHART, using the IEEE 802.15.4 radio operating at 2.4GHz, is providing tangible benefits in the process industries. The network range has been extended and redundant communication routes provide the crucial 99.9% reliability.

		Tips and Tricks: 6 overlooked places to use industrial wireless - 05/20/12 Control Engineering, May 2012 By Mike Fahrion, B&B Electronics How Wi-Fi industrial wireless communications can save time, trouble, and money: Flexible work cells, mobile connections, and network enabling legacy devices are three of the overlooked areas.


		Wireless technologies for industrial automation - 05/20/12 Control Engineering, May 2012 By Brent E. McAdams, FreeWave Technologies Wireless networks for industrial automation enhance the ability to gather time-critical information, digest it, and react, key to continuously adapting to change with increasing reliability and profitability. No wireless technology resolves all challenges.

		Weigh batching: the benefits of an automated system - 05/13/12 Process & Control, April 2012 By David Boger, Flexicon A weigh batching system should be engineered according to the number, volume, flowability and location of materials to be weighed, the respective strengths of loss-of-weight and gain-in-weight batching methods, and the new or existing conveyors, control systems and processes with which it will be integrated.

		A Failure to Communicate - 05/12/12 Control, May 2012 By Dick Caro, CMC Associates Why has this industry failed to accept the variable frequency drive (VFD) as a final control element in process control loops to replace the ubiquitous control valve?

		Controls for Drilling Oil and Gas Wells - 05/12/12 Control, May 2012 By Béla Lipták Here’s how the present, largely manual operation of well drilling can benefit from automation.

		Clever pumping - 05/12/12 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2012 By Sanna-Kaisa Ehanto, ABB The growing use of VSDs, particularly intelligent drives for pump control, represents a major departure from the standard operating practice of using control valves to vary fluid flow.

		Automation Usage of IT Network Technology - 05/07/12 Automation.com, May 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Participants of the Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable discussed the topic of networking approaches while considering the differences between manufacturing automation control system networks and business IT networks.

		Unifying Recipe Management - 04/30/12 Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable group described the overall goal and vision of unified recipe management is to increase manufacturing productivity and accomplish zero day production releases. How far have they come?

		The imaginary hacker - 04/26/12 Hydrocarbon Processing, April 2012 By Goble, W., exida No matter how many blogs, magazine articles and white papers are written, a real credible threat to a refinery or petrochemical facility from some vague person or organization seems “imaginary” to those controlling plant budgets.

		Promoting flow in storage bins - 04/26/12 Process Engineer, April 2012 By Gerry Wetton Process operators encounter problems such as 'bridging' and 'rat-holing'. And, therefore, insufficient flow rates. Here are the problems and solutions to managing flow in storage bins.

		Profit control in real-time - 04/25/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2012 By Peter G. Martin, Invensys Real-time sensor-based automation systems already implemented in most industrial plants have what is required to control real-time profitability in much the same way they have been utilised to control manufacturing and production processes.

		Maximize the Success of Your Control System Implementation with Standards-Based Object-Oriented Design - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By Rick Slaugenhaupt, TechMinder Consulting The benefits of using object-oriented design principals in the design of a modern process control solution.

		Remote Access Goes Mainstream - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By Dan Hebert Remote access is one of the fastest-growing and most quickly accepted new technologies to ever hit the process control industry. It seems that everybody in the process industry is using remote access in one way or another, for a variety of purposes ranging from equipment diagnosis to optimizing control systems.

		Selling Diagnostics to Management - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By John Rezabek Experience has demonstrated that, without a "champion," instrument asset management systems can gather dust, and the rank and file revert to their traditional, reactive, fire-fighting ways.

		The Future of Process Manufacturing - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By Maurice Wilkins, Yokogawa What are you going to do when your most experienced operator retires?

		Addressing Control Applications Using Wireless Devices - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By Terry Blevins, et al, Emerson This article examines the difference in a wired vs. a wireless installation and what changes in the PID are needed to address control applications using wireless devices.

		Intelligent Control of FBC Boilers - 04/18/12 Power, April 2012 By Roger Leimbach, Metso Automation Optimizing combustion control is critical to reducing emissions and increasing plant operating efficiency, particularly for fluidized bed combustion (FBC) boiler plants burning biomass fuel that has unpredictable moisture content. The secret: measuring actual energy flow.

		DCS Migration & Retrofit Insights - 04/17/12 Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor There is a great deal of discussion about DCS migrations and retrofits these days, raising questions that can be overwhelming for users. Suppliers offer upgrades from their legacy systems as well as upgrades from a competitor’s DCS. I interviewed industry veteran, Paul Galeski, to get his insights on this important topic.

		Benefit of a Relational Embedded Database for Industrial Automation Systems - 04/15/12 Automation.com, April 2012 By Sasan Montaseri, ITTIA What are the important characteristics for selecting an embedded database for an industrial automation system? What can a database offer beyond recovery from power failure, preventing data loss, or reducing flash media wear? What are the hidden costs when selecting an embedded database?

		Root Cause Analysis - Treat the problem, not the symptom! - 04/10/12 Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The fundamental principal of root cause analysis is to use symptoms as clues to find the real source of a problem. This method requires analysis and/or testing to determine if something is a symptom or problem, but it can ultimately decrease the time to resolution.

		Production Energy Optimization Profile - 04/07/12 Control Engineering, April 2012 By Kevin Totherow While vendors and users are developing, assembling and implementing solutions for industrial energy management, the reality is that getting companies to invest in and getting users to buy into these solutions is only possible if they deliver actionable information and empower work teams.

		Designing, simulating and implementing automation systems using model-based design - 04/07/12 What’s New in Process Technology, April 2012 By MathWorks Simulation can uncover problems earlier in the development process and reduce the number of defects found later in the process, when they are more costly and difficult to fix.

		Remaining vigilant to cyber attack - 04/07/12 Control Engineering Europe, March 2012 By Dr. Peter Fröhlich, Belden The newest malware is called Duqu, which installs a backdoor on the infected computer that can be used to load and execute other programs on the system. Duqu is more of a spy than a saboteur.

		Measuring level interfaces - 04/03/12 InTech, April 2012 By Gene Henry, Endress+Hauser A common measurement in the oil & gas, chemical, and petrochemical industries is detecting the interface level between two liquids in the same tank or vessel, such as oil and water. Modern level instrumentation can solve many level interface problems.

		Using alarm suppression - 04/03/12 InTech, April 2012 By Charlie Fialkowki, Siemens Industry Alarm suppression, defined as preventing indication of the alarm to the operator when the base alarm condition is present, is a useful function for helping to ensure that operators are not presented with alarms unless they are relevant.

		Integrated DCS and SIS - 04/03/12 InTech, April 2012 By Johan School and Erik de Groot Today, advanced digital technology has made it feasible to combine process control and safety instrumented functions within a common automation infrastructure - all while ensuring regulatory compliance.

		The FMEA method - 04/03/12 InTech, April 2012 By William Goble, Exida A Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is commonly used to do safety integrity calculations and detect unrecognized design problems. The method is systematic, effective, and detailed, although sometimes called time-consuming and repetitive.

		Fieldbus Foundation Remote Operations Management Strategy - 03/21/12 Automation.com, March 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The goal of FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management (ROM) is linking people that understand the processes and equipment in a secure fashion around the world to achieve faster start-up time and reduced operating costs.

		Trends in industrial communication 2012 - 03/19/12 Automation.com, March 2012 By Staffan Dahlström, HMS Industrial Networks Despite a turbulent market, we saw a growing interest in industrial communication solutions in 2011. Trends include the growth of networks (70 at last count), the need to save energy, integrated safety networks and remote access.

		Torsional vibration concerns on large nuclear and fossil steam turbine generator retrofits - 03/15/12 Energy-Tech, March 2012 By Stephen R. Reid Based on a recent assessment of nuclear and fossil generating stations in Europe, TG Advisers identified various levels of torsional vibration concerns in more than 25 units. This was a surprising result considering the relatively long history of understanding and addressing this dangerous failure mechanism.

		Take Control Of Your System With Differential Pressure Control - 03/14/12 Engineered Systems, February 2012 By Bjarne Andreasen Often, heating and cooling controllers are not being allowed to do their job. The controllers can only do their job as specified if the three key conditions for hydronic control are fulfilled.

		Automation True Believers Gather in Orlando - 03/12/12 Automation.com, March 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The annual ARC World Industry Forum brings together a wide range of innovative industrial automation users, industry associations, suppliers, system integrators, and thought leaders to learn and share ideas. These are the true believers who understand the impact that automation has on sustaining manufacturing competitiveness.

		Locked in real-time profitable safety - 03/12/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, March 2012 By Peter G. Martin, Invensys The safe operations of industrial plants are now understood to be a direct factor in the profitability of those plants.

		The quest for operational efficiency - 03/10/12 Process & Control, February 2012 By Simon Ellam, Siemens Industry Automation Operational efficiency is the ability for an organisation to execute its tactical plans while maintaining a healthy balance between costs and productivity.

		Mobile Industrial Worker - 03/10/12 Control Engineering, March 2012 By Peter Granger, Cisco Technologies have enabled industrial workers to get mobile, and there’s no going back.

		Nightmare Recovery - 03/10/12 Control Engineering, March 2012 By David McCarthy, TriCore How to avoid nightmare system integration projects: When an automation project is far astray, there may be a point where you must call in reinforcements to clean up rather than scrap it.

		How to Build the Control Room of the Future - 03/10/12 Control, March 2012 By Jim Montague Sleek flatscreens and sparkling consoles may be intoxicating, but designing and constructing a truly useful control room requires more forethought and planning and less impulse equipment buying.

		Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel-Part 3 - 03/10/12 Control, March 2012 By Bela Liptak This article concentrates on pipelining safety and on how automation could have prevented such accidents as the rupturing of the ExxonMobil pipeline running under the Yellowstone River in Montana last summer.

		Information Synergy - 02/27/12 Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The automation industry is learning to go beyond simply providing business systems with data by synergistically using information to collaborate in new ways to make plants more profitable, responsive and efficient.

		Pick Right, and Service Is Free - 02/25/12 Control Design, February 2012 By Dan Hebert Does it annoy you when automation suppliers charge for technical support? Do you think this service should be free, or at least built into the cost of the original product? Here’s how to get free service.

		Why Nuisance Alarms Just Won't Go Away - 02/25/12 Automation World, February 2012 By David Greenfield Why do a majority of operators and engineers say that alarm overload continues to negatively affect the production process?

		Smarter marshalling - 02/17/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, February 2012 By Andrew Ashton The more terminations in a loop, the more the effort and cost of installation, the more potential there is for installation errors (open circuit/crossed wires) and the more the effort required for cold commissioning checks. Marshalling can help.

		Busting Myths About Foundation Fieldbus - 02/17/12 Control, February 2012 By Larry O'Brien, Fieldbus Foundation Many myths and misconceptions continue to persist surrounding Foundation fieldbus technology. The author busts some of these more persistent myths .

		Farewell to Standardization: Wireless and FDI - 02/17/12 Control, February 2012 By Dieter Schaudel, University of Freiburg With FDI and Ethernet looming, will there be one standard for wireless and one standard for field device integration?

		Monitoring Control Loop Performance - 02/17/12 Power, February 2012 By Jacques F. Smuts, OptiControls, et al Control loop performance-monitoring software can improve loop performance at electric power plants by automatically collecting data, assessing several aspects of loop performance, and providing the results in reports and user interfaces.

		Digital Factory Superstructure Emerging with OPC UA - 02/17/12 Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor OPC UA is emerging as a fundamental technology for implementing Digital Factory concepts to increase production efficiency. The concept was reinforced at the ARC Forum in a session titled, Transforming Manufacturing with OPC UA: From Embedded to the Enterprise.

		Suppliers Embrace OPC UA - 02/17/12 Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor During a half day session at the Sixteenth Annual ARC World Industry Forum Conference some automation vendors made it clear they are adopting OPC UA. This adoption is intended to close the gap between advances in the general computing industry and industrial automation systems.

		Maximising operational efficiency - 02/15/12 Control Engineering Europe, January 2012 By Simon Ellam, Siemens Maximising throughput, availability and product quality, while minimising operating, maintenance and energy costs, helps to get more out of a process plant. Here are some of the areas that can have a big impact on maximising a process plant’s operational efficiency.

		Wireless communications in safety systems - 02/15/12 Control Engineering Europe, February 2012 The motivating factors for installing wireless sensors are easy to see – simplicity of installation and operational flexibility. The main challenges for safe wireless communication are to guarantee a short response time and to immediately detect loss of contact with sensors.

		Rockwell Automation Product Philosophy - 02/13/12 Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon Rockwell Automation firmly believes there are users that only want simple controllers and users that want integrated control and information products. In order to meet these requirements Rockwell has two separate product and software architectures, Connected Components and Logix.

		Selecting an open digital protocol in process automation - 02/12/12 Plant Engineering, January 2012 By James Powell, Siemens Currently the “Big Three” open digital protocols in process automation, HART, Profibus, and Foundation Fieldbus, are competing against one another. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

		Using Modbus for process control, automation - 02/12/12 Plant Engineering, January 2012 Jim McConahey, Moore Industries-International One of the oldest digital communication protocols is also the most popular, and for good reason. You should get to know Modbus.

		Cyber Espionage comes to SCADA Security - 02/06/12 Automation.com, February 2012 By Eric Byres, Tofino Security Today’s attacks show a different focus – attempts to steal valuable information that can be used to make a counterfeit product, out-bid a rival, or coordinate a short selling campaign against a company’s stock.

		Considering Variable-Area Flowmeters - 02/04/12 Flow Control, January 2012 When users are looking for a simple, low-cost solution, VA meters are a particularly good fit. While they can measure flowrate, they are well suited for applications where a flow/no-flow determination is desired.

		Is Stuxnet Dead? - 02/04/12 Flow Control, January 2012 By Amy W. Richardson 40 percent of critical infrastructures that did a security audit found Stuxnet in their systems. Experts say Stuxnet is no longer itself a threat as much as the legacy it has left behind — a roadmap for cyber war.

		Water Run Amok - 02/04/12 Flow Control, January 2012 By Brad Clarke Every water utility has some degree of leakage or water loss within its systems, which can be greatly reduced by pressure management.

		Compliance with new pipeline rule offers opportunity to implement best practices - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Russel Treat, EnerSys Many pipeline operators will spend substantial time and effort reworking their control rooms and systems to comply with the new Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s Control Room Management rule by 1 August 2012. Done right, this could significantly improve their operations.

		Change needed in pinch-valve standard definitions - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Gerald Liu There is a discrepancy between definitions in ANSI/ISA-75.05.01, Control Valve Terminology, and the draft standard ISA-75.10.03. Here’s an explanation of the need for change.

		PID tuning rules - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Greg McMillan l Controllers can be tuned for maximum disturbance rejection by a unified method. PID options in today’s DCSes, such as setpoint lead-lag, directional output velocity limits, and intelligent suspension of integral action, can eliminate oscillations without retuning.

		Sizing orifice plates - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Allan G. Kern When sizing orifice plates, some new rules of thumb can be applied to significantly improve orifice plate turndown and accuracy, while gaining extended measurement range.

		Uninterruptible power supplies and cybersecurity - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Michael A. Stout Every network connected device in a data or SCADA network is a potential backdoor—even a UPS connected to the company’s Ethernet network for remote monitoring and management could be compromised by a hacker.

		Simulation improves operator training - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Platt Beltz, Yokogawa PC-based simulation cuts operator training costs while yielding superior results as compared to other training methods.

		Engineering objects - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Carlos M. Delgado, CDM Smith Simple but structured interdisciplinary knowledge containers can help companies keep, transfer, apply engineering expertise

		Emerging Technology Benchmarking - 02/03/12 Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor These results of the Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) Emerging Technology Benchmarking Survey addressed major automation topics including DCS vs. PLC, Fieldbus Technology, Smart Devices, VFDs, PAT, APC, Wireless, Operator Interfaces, Computing Technology, Validation and Skills gaps.

		Using HART with asset management systems - 01/29/12 Control Engineering, January 2012 By John Yingst, Honeywell Process Solutions Is HART information sufficient for a comprehensive asset management program? Is native HART-enabled I/O a necessity, or are there practical ways to use it in a legacy I/O environment? Should users expect to make substantial hardware changes?

		Where Valves Are Used: The Biopharm Industry - 01/29/12 Valve Magazine, January 2012 By Carl Taylor Stringent requirements regarding cleanability and materials of construction mean that some products that perform ordinary and useful flow control functions in other applications must either be used with great caution or not used at all.

		Virtual reality can address the skills crisis - 01/29/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2012 By Janice Abel, ARC Staffed largely by aging workforces, companies need to ensure that they can continue to operate their plants in a safe, reliable and profitable manner. Operator training simulator (OTS) systems provide an excellent way to train new operators.

		Optimising the cost of steam generation - 01/29/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2012 By Johan van der Westhuizen, Yokogawa Efficient and accurate metering is vital to ensure that excessive consumption can be detected, along with an accurate picture of where the steam is being used to enable cross-departmental energy charging to be applied.

		Creating a single approach to plant control - 01/29/12 Instrumentation, January 2012 By Simon Ellam, Siemens Adopting an integrated control approach for primary and secondary manufacturing processes through available automation solutions can deliver many benefits for food manufacturers.

		Using ANSI/ISA-99 standards to improve control system security - 01/29/12 Industrial Ethernet Book, February 2012 By Eric Byres, Tofino Security Product ANSI/ISA-99 Standards provide a framework for companies to achieve and maintain security improvements through a life cycle that integrates design, implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement.

		Security for automation systems using risk analysis techniques - 01/29/12 Industrial Ethernet Book, February 2012 By Franz Köbinger To make a sound decision about which security measures will be implemented, it is first necessary to analyse those existing risks that cannot be tolerated. It is then necessary to derive protection targets, and from these, the concrete measures that can and should be implemented.

		Changing with the Times: Industrial Automation 2.0 - 01/27/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Matthew Littlefield, LNS Research There are a whole slew of new technologies and system architectures being adopted in the automation industry at a very rapid pace. Companies today face the very real possibility that if they don’t effectively understand, adopt, and leverage these new technologies to their advantage; they will be left in an increasingly uncompetitive position.

		Open Architecture "Use Cases" - the Next Frontier - 01/23/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The next major frontier in the evolution of open architecture is the development of application standards built around Use Cases to increase automation productivity and efficiency. Packaging machine standards from OMAC's Packaging Workgroup is a good example.

		Top 5 Automation & Control Trends to Watch in 2012 - 01/22/12 Design News, January 2012 By Rob Spiegel What we'll see through the deployment of new technology is higher productivity, greater throughput, and safer plants. These developments in technology are beginning to draw young engineers.

		Remote and condition monitoring in chemical plants - 01/19/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Gianni Minetti, Paradox Engineering Chemical plants struggle with growing complexity and are often instrumented for process control. Wireless sensors might not always be a viable option, while wireless transmission seems to be the best choice. So how to conjugate these two elements?

		Major Automation & Control Trends in 2012 - 01/16/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Here are my thoughts on major automation and control trends in 2012. These opinions are based on a wide range of inputs from users, suppliers and industry consultants, and from attending numerous industry forums, conferences and trade shows every year.

		Control systems just got more maintenance-friendly - 01/15/12 PlantServices.com, January 2012 By Mike Bacidore, chief editor While many plants have begun utilizing the control-system network more often for monitoring assets, each of the devices might be running on a different system, so managing physical assets in a coordinated fashion still requires a bit of patchwork integration.

		Process automation protocols: A three-horse race where everyone can benefit - 01/15/12 Plant Engineering, January 2012 By James Powell, Siemens AG Currently the “Big Three” open digital protocols in process automation-- HART, Profibus, and Foundation Fieldbus--are competing against one another. Would it not be beneficial to have just one standard?

		Taking Control Of Open Process Control Networks - 01/15/12 Industrial Automation Asia, December 2011 By Chris Lyden, PAS As vendors have now moved to open platforms, plants face new challenges maintaining the reliability of automation systems which arise from the management of an IT infrastructure that simply did not exist with traditional proprietary automation systems.

		Create Information Connections and Optimize Your Plant - 01/12/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Rockwell Automation To harness the wealth of untapped “manufacturing intelligence,” companies must overcome the barriers to collecting, correlating, visualizing and sharing plantfloor information with the overall operation.

		Industrial Computers, Part 2. Data Processing Escapes the Enclosure - 01/11/12 Control, January 2012 By Jim Montague Whether it happens on a cloud-based service, virtualized server or plain old wireless, internet or Ethernet, it's clear that industrial computing for process control has moved beyond its old laptops and desktops.

		Industrial Computers, Part 1 PID on Your Smartphone? Maybe - 01/11/12 Control, January 2012 By Walt Boyes Everywhere you look, the embedded controller is with us. It lives in your washing machine, in PLCs, PACs and in the controllers that are part of your DCS. Everyone's iPhone will soon have an 'app' for PID control or ladder logic.

		Charlie Cutler's Latest Ideas for Multivariable Controllers - 01/11/12 Control, January 2012 By Charles Cutler The use of PV modeling in conjunction with updating the valve transforms in multivariable controllers represents a significant step forward in multivariable technology.

		Recent Trends Shape Future of Distributed Control Systems - 01/11/12 Automation World, December 2011 By Barry Young The network infrastructure of the DCS and the network architecture for plant information are becoming increasingly intertwined. That means DCS systems are being affected by server virtualization, smartphone and other IT trends.

		Balancing Security, Compliance and Operational Management - 01/11/12 Automation World, December 2011 By Gary Mintchell Disappearing air gaps and growing network connectivity increase the burden of managing security, compliance and operations, according to Industrial Defender’s global survey of critical infrastructure operators regarding cyber security.

		Power of the Cloud - 01/11/12 Control Engineering, December 2011 By Jeanine Katzel Cloud computing is everywhere, including manufacturing! This latest computing craze may seem like just another buzzword, but “the cloud” and its advanced computing technologies are here to stay.

		Energy Management: Brave New World - 01/11/12 Control Engineering, December 2011 By Kevin Parker Major global automation vendors have quickened the pace at which they are introducing products and services for better industrial energy management.

		Addressing the perils of DIY DCS - 01/11/12 Control Engineering Europe, January 2012 By Tim Sweet, Honeywell Process Solutions When PLCs and HMI software are integrated, the result looks a lot like a DCS. But all is not as it seems. This is very much a DIY approach with technical risk and added costs that may not always be obvious.

		Maximising operational efficiency - 01/11/12 Control Engineering Europe, January 2012 By Simon Ellam, Siemens Maximising throughput, availability and product quality, while minimising operating, maintenance and energy costs, helps to get more out of a process plant.

		Proper relief-valve sizing requires equation mastery - 12/29/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, December 2011 By J. Kim, et al, Bayer A mistake in relief-valve sizing can result in catastrophic failures because relief valves are usually the last defense to the process equipment against instrument failures, process upsets and operator errors. This article focuses on sizing pressure-relief valves for critical flow of gases or vapors.

		Industrial Software: Programming With Old and New - 12/28/11 Control Design, December 2011 By Jim Montague Programs today consist of object-based software. Is this the end of legacy programming languages?

		Data in Moderation - 12/28/11 Control Design, December 2011 By Jeremy Pollard Over the past 10 years or so, data has been retrieved from control devices, using Ethernet or bus systems, and now we have more data than we know what to do with. Data is like good wine. Have just enough and you'll be a happy camper. Have too much and you'll get a hangover.

		Recent Trends Shape Future of Distributed Control Systems - 12/28/11 Automation World, December 2011 By Barry Young The network infrastructure of the DCS and the network architecture for plant information are becoming increasingly intertwined. That means DCS systems are being affected by server virtualization, smartphone and tablet mobile interfaces.

		Automation: Overdue for a Revolution - 12/28/11 Automation World, December 2011 By Jim Pinto Automation companies are all spending modest amounts of research and development money to develop products. But these are mostly extensions of old stuff, reincarnations of tired concepts that can’t generate real growth and just won’t cut it much longer.

		Artificial Intelligence: Fuzzy Logic Explained - 12/28/11 Control Engineering, December 2011 By Norm Dingle Fuzzy logic does not have to be hard to understand, even though the math behind it can be intimidating, especially to those of us who have not been in a math class for many years.

		Power of the Cloud - 12/28/11 Control Engineering, December 2011 By Jeanine Katzel “The cloud” and its advanced computing technologies are here to stay, holding a stockpile of benefits, few downsides, and the promise to give industry untold opportunities to do more and better business more profitably.

		Reducing business risk through joined up control and monitoring - 12/27/11 Automation, November 2011 By Bob Lane, Siemens Energy and biomass plant owners and operators should be examining the benefits of an integrated process control, gas emissions monitoring and reporting platform to help minimise risk and increase overall operational efficiencies.

		Making a sensible sensor selection - 12/27/11 Automation, November 2011 By Phil Dyas, SICK (UK) The wide range of industrial sensors increases every week to meet the growing number of application needs. This growing capability makes it ever more important to select the right sensor for the individual project requirements.

		HMI platforms evolve to take on new roles - 12/27/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, December 2011 By Craig Resnick, ARC Increasingly, users want the HMI platform to serve not only as an operator interface window into the application, but as an enterprise integration tool.

		Wireless Ethernet communications - 12/27/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, December 2011 By Tim Craven, H3iSquared Wireless can be used for relatively short distances up to approximately 3 km, in which case 802.11 (WiFi), will be recommended. To set up wireless over slightly longer distances than WiFi, up to around 12 km, 802.16/e (WiMAX) is the common choice.

		One way wireless - 12/27/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, December 2011 By Andrew Ashton Various commentators have likened the battle of the three industrial wireless standards to that between VHS and Betamax in the dim and distant past. So should you wait to adopt wireless or should you make an informed decision now and live with that?

		Managing Process Plants for Failure - 12/19/11 Automation.com, December 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Companies are looking for ways to improve efficiency and profits but the use of and Real-Time Optimization (RTO) including Advanced Process Control (APC) is still limited. Why?

		What Is PAS 55? - 12/18/11 Flow Control, November 2011 By Amy W. Richardson The British Standards Institution’s Publically Available Specification known as BSI PAS 55:2008 is being adopted by organizations around the world and, as a result, is on its way to becoming an internationally recognized standard for asset management.

		Sample Conditioning Systems Need Love Too - 12/18/11 Control, December 2011 By Robert Sherman and Jim Montague Process users and integrators must carefully design and match SCSs with application requirements and specifications, complete application data sheets and deploy climate-controlled shelters.

		Operations Drives Reliability - 12/18/11 Control, December 2011 By John Rezabek When operators are trained and take ownership of the assets they use, they can achieve as much or more than any measure of preventive, proactive or predictive maintenance.

		Cyber Warfare and the Control Systems Community - 12/18/11 Control, December 2011 By Robert M. Lee, USAF What must the control systems community do to adapt to the threat of cyber warfare? The community must get back to the basics of security, take part in creating better regulations, and band together to face the threat as a community instead of as individuals.

		Using modelling and simulation to optimise plant control systems - 12/18/11 What’s New in Process Technology, December 2011 By MathWorks Increased emphasis on more environmentally friendly, efficient, and safe processes has led companies to focus optimisation efforts across entire plants.

		Behind wireless technology and industrial automation systems - 12/18/11 Process & Control Engineering, December 2011 By Ray Rogowski Due in part to security concerns, the adoption of wireless networks has been gradual. The threat of cyber attacks, coupled with open enterprise wireless architectures, have had the biggest impact on electronic security fears.

		Understanding the automation knowledge crises - 12/18/11 Process & Control Engineering, December 2011 By Chris Lydent, PAS The size, complexity, and interoperability of modern automation systems has increased much more quickly than human ability to document and understand them.

		Coriolis benefits for oil and gas industry - 12/18/11 Control Engineering Europe, December 2011 By Andre Verdone, KROHNE Several measurement standards are now moving towards the use of Coriolis mass flowmeters, which can measure mass flow directly, at the same time as they measure temperature and density.

		Connecting the power of remote monitoring diagnostics - 12/17/11 Power-Tecnology.com, November 2011 As generation and distribution systems have grown ever more complex, monitoring and control systems have grown more sophisticated with a host of acronyms covering every stage.

		Analyzing and Improving Control Loop Performance - 12/17/11 Power Engineering, November 2011 By Jacques F. Smuts, OptiControls Power plants—especially coal-fired boilers—pose a set of control problems such as rapid load ramps, continuous unit demand changes, variable fuel quality and process interactions. Attempts to address poor performance are often limited to trial-and-error tuning methods and frequently fall short of the objectives.

		Cyber Security for Industrial Control Systems - 12/17/11 Power Engineering, November 2011 By Steve Cunningham, Rkneal Engineering Risks exist in adopting Internet technology without vigilant attention to security. With proper preparation, risks can be mitigated. A security policy, careful design of the network architecture, exception tracking and the development of an incident response team are needed.

		Modern mechanical and chemical treatment methods for maximizing steam generator performance - 12/17/11 Energy-Tech, December 2011 By Brad Buecker This article provides an overview of current treatment practices for high-pressure utility steam generators.

		Remote location power surge protection - 12/07/11 InTech, December 2011 By David Torres When planning a remote installation, consider proper grounding and bonding, the correct surge protection device (SPD) for the job, and proper installation. When installed correctly, it is possible to protect a remote site from lightning or other surge events.

		Promoting operator effectiveness—unlock the potential of your process - 12/07/11 InTech, December 2011 By Tobias Becker Operator attention, reaction, and effectiveness are often overlooked areas that can improve the performance and safety of your control system or plant. Yet operator effectiveness is one of the key elements for running a safe, efficient, and profitable plant.

		Improve efficiencies using industry experts - 12/07/11 InTech, December 2011 By Bill Lydon Hiring expensive consultants or having automation vendors recommend ways to improve your plant should be the last place to start. The first place to start is with the people in the plant.

		Is the cloud right for manufacturing? - 12/07/11 InTech, December 2011 By Maryanne Steidinger There is much discussion these days on whether cloud-based technology is “right” for manufacturing. Given the security concerns, what applications should manufacturers look for to help them get started? And, more importantly, why should they even care about the cloud?

		Centralized or distributed process safety - 12/07/11 InTech, December 2011 By Dr. Angela Summers This article examines various safety system architectures and shows process plant users how to pick the best solution to fit their specific needs.

		Total Cost of Ownership: Understanding Its Role in Process Automation - 12/05/11 Automation.com, December 2011 By Jerry Belanger, Honeywell Process Solutions Industrial plants need solutions guaranteeing their controls system investments are safeguarded. They want to increase the efficiency of production process, but also reduce the long-term total cost of ownership (TCO) of automation assets.

		A New HMI Software Product. Why? - 11/28/11 Automation.com, November 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor I was recently introduced to a new HMI software offering, Tatsoft FactoryStudio. My first reaction was - Why does the industry need another HMI software product? I interviewed Tatsoft CEO and founder, Marcos Taccolini to learn more.

		Control engineers shift roles? - 11/24/11 Control Engineering, November 2011 By Sheng Jingwei, Control Engineering China The integration of traditional control systems and manufacturing information systems brings more opportunities for control engineers to be involved and contribute positively to business goals.

		ERP, MES: When accountability meets agility - 11/24/11 Control Engineering, November 2011 By John Weber ERP and MES are not an either/or proposition. The two serve different functions, and should be partners within a given manufacturing organization.

		PLM & ERP: Their Respective Roles In Modern Manufacturing - 11/24/11 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2011 By Melanie Zhou, Parametric Technology Software With the rising adoption and expanding reach of PLM in recent years, it has become increasingly important for manufacturers to understand the relative strengths of PLM and ERP in addressing critical business needs, and what added benefits PLM brings to the enterprise.

		Direct Digital Controllers: Building Management The Smart Way - 11/24/11 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2011 By Philip Tang, Mitsubishi Electric Asia The latest generation of Direct Digital Controllers (DDC) can help building owners to meet these performance goals in conventional building management, while providing a complete energy management solution that reduces the carbon footprint.

		The Evolution of Safety Systems - 11/21/11 Automation.com, November 2011 By Nuris Ismail, Aberdeen Group In today's economic environment, manufacturers are under immense pressure to contribute value to the organization's bottom line by cutting costs and improving productivity wherever possible. In fact, in the Aberdeen Business Review study of over 170 manufacturers revealed that their primary goals for 2011 were profitability and cost reduction.

		In Redundancy We Trust - 11/18/11 Control Design. November 2011 By Jeremy Pollard Be very careful with any cloud implementation, private or public. Make sure you know what you are getting and get proof of the redundancy.

		Matching sensors to the application - 11/18/11 Instrumentation, October 2011 By selecting the right sensor, the positive contribution to quality improvement, energy savings and manufacturing speed and volume will have a significant impact on a business.

		Choosing a Fieldbus Host - 11/18/11 Control, November 2011 By John Rezabek Selecting a fieldbus host is not an easy decision. it might be as life-changing as getting married.

		What is PAS 55 - 11/18/11 Control, November 2011 By Nancy Bartels It provides clear definitions and a 28-point requirements specification for establishing and verifying an optimized management system.

		Help Is on the Way - 11/18/11 Control, November 2011 By Nancy Bartels Specification 55-1:2008 for Asset Management (PAS 55) provides clear definitions and a requirements specification for establishing a comprehensive, optimized management system for all types of physical assets across their lifecycle.

		Chips Are Up - 11/18/11 Control, November 2011 By Jim Montague The chasm between the plant floor and the data processing center remains huge, wide and deep. Folks on the IT and microprocessor manufacturing side seem to have little or no awareness of process control and automation.

		Saving of the Green - 11/18/11 Control, November 2011 By Nancy Bartels Good Asset Management yields both more uptime and more efficiency, but it also can be a big contributor to your energy-saving and sustainability efforts.

		Control the flow with metering pumps - 11/16/11 Plant Services, October 2011 By Hydraulic Institute Accuracy is a critical element of controlled-volume metering pumps and is achieved through capacity control and pump head arrangements. Stepper motors eliminate the need for stroke length control.

		7 Steps of Automation Project Success - 11/16/11 Plant Engineering, November 2011 By David McCarthy, TriCore These seven steps will help avoid common pitfalls in an automation project, and put the project on solid footing. Automation engineering can be one of the hardest to gauge for quality and basic completeness until it is actually installed and operational on the targeted processing equipment and network systems.

		Must Industry Choose Between Security or Efficiency? - 11/14/11 Automation.com, November 2011 By Eric Byres, Byres Security Inc. On one hand, industry is becoming increasingly concerned about just how vulnerable control systems have become to outside attacks. At the same time, new tools and applications that improve efficiency, but increase that exposure, are appearing daily. So must we sacrifice these gains in efficiency if we want to be secure?

		Intelligent Control Room Management For Oil And Gas Pipeline Safety - 11/14/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, November 2011 By Paul Thoman, et al This article discusses how intelligent control room management, based on a foundation of electronic standard operating procedures (eSOPs), can address the regulations, document the necessary actions for compliance validation, and drive operational excellence.

		Safety instrumented function design reduces nuisance trips - 11/14/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, November 2011 By A.G. Kern, Tesoro 2oo3 is traditionally considered the only choice when nuisance trip reduction is also a high priority, despite its higher cost, greater contribution to probability of failure on demand (PFD), and often, a sense of transmitter overkill. Registration required to read article.

		Pilot-operated safety relief valves: An effective plant upgrade - 11/14/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, November 2011 By J.R. Scott and N. MacKinnon, GE Energy The replacement of direct spring-operated pressure relief valves (PRVs) with pilot-operated safety relief valves (POSRVs) can help plant operators streamline maintenance processes, reduce maintenance costs, and address common valve performance issues. Registration required to read article.

		Specmanship vs. Reality - 11/14/11 Sensors, November 2011 By Mike Baker, Sherborne Sensors If you want to either specify a sensor or acquire meaningful data from a sensor, you first need to understand terms such as total error band, accuracy, and precision.

		Digital Diagnostics - 11/14/11 Automation World, November 2011 By Dave Gehman Half of the respondents to a recent Automation World survey indicate that they do not use the smarts—the advanced diagnostics—available in their Hart and Foundation Fieldbus devices. The reasons: cost, complexity and training.

		Optimizing Maintenance through Information - 11/14/11 Automation World, November 2011 By Gary Mintchell You might think that it takes a very expensive and time-consuming software project to accomplish a major upgrade that provides better asset performance and monitoring. But how about a smaller project?

		EDDL Enables Wireless Device Integration - 11/14/11 Automation World, November 2011 By Renee Robbins Bassett Using EDDL to prepare a control system for installation of a new device, users need only to copy the EDDL file is into the system.

		Avoid the Crisis - Achieve Zero Downtime - 11/10/11 Automation.com, November 2011 By Roy Kok In the terms of Automation, a crisis can be characterized as a loss of production (downtime), possibly of a simple piece of equipment, or it can be extensive, affecting major portions of the plant. Are we giving enough focus to the right areas, not focusing on the level of a "worst case scenario" type of crisis?

		Changing the way we think about Security - 11/10/11 Automation.com, November 2011 By Rick Kaun, Honeywell Process Solutions Security is thought of as physical protection against intrusion or the detection of hackers when, in fact, little thought is given to the security threats that exist inside the fences of any given facility.

		Emerson Executive Perspectives - 11/07/11 Automation.com, November 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Discussion of the industry issues and trends with Steve Sonnenberg, Emerson Process Management's Executive Vice President, and Peter Zornio, Chief Strategic Officer. Topics include Emerson's energy initiative, the economy, PLC/DCS debate, disposable automation, and more.

		Blurring the control boundaries - 11/05/11 Control Engineering Europe, November 2011 To both efficiently and cost-effectively handle the increasing complexity of automation, more users now expect a complete and consistent automation system, together with advanced engineering tools and support from their automation suppliers.

		How to achieve redundancy in power supply systems - 11/05/11 Process & Control Engineering, November 2011 By Weidmuller Redundancy is paramount when extreme reliability is required in power supply systems, as is the case in the DC supply to a DCS or PLC control system.

		Stuxnet Raises 'Blowback' Risk In Cyberwar - 11/02/11 National Public Radio By Tom Gjelten The challenge of managing a Stuxnet-like attack is compounded by the possibility that the U.S. government itself had a role in creating the cyberweapon. Concerns now are about the "blowback" risk to the U.S. homeland from the development of this potent cyberweapon.

		Has Open Architecture Delivered? - 10/28/11 Automation.com, October 2011 By Bill Lydon Since the 1980s, the automation industry has been adopting standards for networked industrial communications, software, and applications. Have users gained all the benefits originally envisioned?

		Improve material balance by using proper flowmeter corrections - 10/21/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, October 2011 By Peramanu, S. and Wah, J. C. Canadian Natural Resources A background on the importance of accurate measurements, a description of measurement errors and the role of uncertainties in mass balance and reconciliation. Flowmeter uncertainty equations are derived for differential pressure flow, volumetric flow and mass flowmeters.

		Find benefits in automating boiler systems - 10/21/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, October 2011 By Ali Bourji, WorleyParsons, et al Dynamic models unravel potential problems in high-pressure steam production and consumption.

		SCADA: Easy Field Access - 10/21/11 Industrial Automation Asia, September 2011 By Alex Hsiao, Advantech Companies are considering using the Internet for SCADA to provide access to real-time data display, alarming, trending, and reporting from remote equipment. The Internet makes it simple to use standard Web browsers for data presentation, thereby eliminating the need for proprietary host software.

		Protecting ICSs from Electronic Threats, Part 3 - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By Joe Weiss IT security certification exams don't address ICS issues, and professional engineering exams don't address cybersecurity.

		First Aid for Process Security - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By Jim Montague Viruses and cyber attacks are looming. Help from governments and standards is lacking. Some engineers and managers are fighting back to protect their applications and companies. Here's how they do it.

		Are Users Happy with ESD Solutions? - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By John Rezabek What's the status of Foundation fieldbus specification for Safety Instrumented Functions (FF-SIF)? The status is: Good luck finding any product, either in reality or even on suppliers' "roadmaps."

		Plant-Wide Control Approach - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By Sigurd Skogestad Herding cats: successfully manage all those process variables with a systematic approach to plant-wide control

		The Danger With Time Bombs - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By Pierre Grosdidier Time bombs prevent the execution of programs past a certain date and time. Vendors use them to enforce license agreements. Can your software vendor lock up your software so that you have to buy an upgrade? Maybe not.

		Device-Level Ethernet Requires Careful Network Selection - 10/21/11 Automation World, October 2011 By Chantal Polsonetti, ARC The stark contrast between using Ethernet as an integration platform versus a control network serving machine, motion or process control provides an indication of the growing range of potential applications.

		Markup Languages Enhance Integration - 10/21/11 Automation World, October 2011 By James Koelsch Incorporating markup languages into software application code can overcome disruptive inter-platform communications barriers, bringing together groups of engineers and disparate technologies.

		Manufacturing and the "Internet of Things" - 10/21/11 Automation World, October 2011 By David Greenfield The concept of networking every device imaginable to achieve higher levels of automated interaction is driving changes in industrial networking. But is this idea as viable for manufacturing as it is promised to be for the consumer sector?

		Manufacturers Invest in Cloud Computing - 10/21/11 Automation World, October 2011 By David Greenfield Spending on cloud computing is set to grow significantly over the next two years in efforts to increase capabilities and decrease budget allocations for IT hardware and software.

		New defences after Stuxnet - 10/21/11 Automation, September 2011 By Chris Evans, Mitsubishi Electric It is generally accepted ‘gateway PCs’ found in many automation architectures, represent weak points and are vulnerable to potential malware attacks from ‘the outside’ and also from CDs and USB sticks.

		How cellular technology will transform remote monitoring systems - 10/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2011 By Daniel Liu, Moxa With the advent of cellular communications, remote monitoring systems are changing. Remote monitoring systems can do more and cost less than before thanks to IP-based cellular technology.

		Utilising advanced pressure diagnostics to enhance process insight - 10/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2011 By Erik Mathiason and John Miller, Emerson Process Management Advanced diagnostics embedded in a pressure transmitter can provide a means for early detection of abnormal conditions in a process environment. Using this technology enables the user to proactively respond to changes in the process, troubleshoot and prevent future shutdowns.

		Evolving automation systems drive advances in manufacturing - 10/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2011 By Paul McRoberts, Rockwell Automation Australia Manufacturing systems are becoming more complex and interconnected but the classical programming and data management techniques are increasingly incapable of managing greater levels of integration. A paradigm shift is occurring in how critical and complex automation systems are designed, configured, and controlled.

		Safety compliant temperature measuring points - 10/17/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2011 By WIKA Instruments SIL-classified temperature sensors do not exist. And a temperature transmitter without a sensor has no useful function. As a consequence, the evaluation of a temperature measuring point can only be made by a combination of sensor and transmitter.

		Have you evaluated your MOM strategy lately? - 10/17/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2011 By Gerhard Greeff, Bytes Systems Integration New thinking has gone beyond MES into the realm of MOM (of which MES is but a part). A system cannot be specified using the AMR or the MESA MES definitions from the 1990s anymore and so another definition is required. MOM is a lot easier to define.

		Scanning for inside information - 10/17/11 Process and Control, September 2011 By Industrial Tomography One of the challenges in managing filtration and separation processes is to know what's going on inside the filter or separator. The technology of process tomography based on CAT scanning in medicine provides a tool for getting this sort of information.

		The real cost of water purity - 10/17/11 Process and Control, September 2011 By Mark Bosley, Purite For most industrial and process businesses, water is one of their key utilities along with electricity, gas and perhaps compressed air. Companies that use large volumes of raw water as an inherent part of the process can also make significant savings through water reuse or recovery.

		Driving operational excellence in brewing - 10/17/11 Process and Control, September 2011 By John Taylor, AspenTech Article explains how both breweries and their suppliers must streamline processes in order to drive real profitable growth while still meeting customer demand.

		Optimising CIP to keep a clean sheet - 10/17/11 Process and Control, September 2011 By Burkert Cleaning in place (CIP) is commonly used in hygiene critical industries such as food and beverage to clean a wide range of plants. Overall, it can be a very efficient way of cleaning and increasing health and safety legislation is set to make it more common.

		Testing the cloud - 10/17/11 Instrumentation, October 2011 By Dan Joe Barry, Napatech Cloud computing has become a reality, with more and more enterprises realising the benefits of remote hosting of IT services. This however, requires extensive test and management capabilities.

		Cut the Leash to Achieve Operational and Production Excellence - 10/16/11 Automation.com, October 2011 By Kevin Davenport, Cisco Systems This article shows how organizations are cutting the wire and deploying collaboration, security, cloud and sensor wireless and mobility technologies to achieve operational and production excellence throughout their entire corporate value chain.

		Control system integration: Security and efficiency key considerations for plant operations - 10/15/11 Plant Services, October 2011 An integrated system can change the way a company operates and make it more efficient. But with a shift toward dispersed operations with centralized control, the need has evolved for companies to more tightly intertwine control systems with safety, security, fire, manufacturing execution systems and more.

		Controlling smart grids - 10/15/11 Power-Technology.com, October 2011 As utilities modernise their networks toward smart grids, they also need to modernise their control systems. Article covers the shift towards designing maintenance and operational centres that are fully automated, decentralised and capable of self-healing.

		Calibration and maintenance as a singular concept - 10/15/11 Control Engineering Europe, September 2011 By Mike Shelton, GE Energy Calibration and maintenance is a singular concept although the two activities are often viewed separately. Calibration can be carried in isolation, as can maintenance, but for maximum effect, they should be carried together.

		Energy management practices in the spotlight - 10/10/11 Process & Control Engineering, October 2011 By Schneider Electric The Smart Grid is transforming the way we use all use energy today. By turning the classic linear energy grid into an intelligent and interactive network, it is changing behaviours, influenced by four main triggers.

		PLC vs. DCS - Competing Process Control Philosophy - 10/10/11 Automation.com, October 2011 By Bill Lydon The idea of using a PLC-based system rather than a DCS has become a philosophical and technical debate in the industry. DCSs have been the primary solution for process automation but now many PLC vendors are arguing that a single integrated architecture based on PLCs and/or PACs is the best approach to total plant automation.

		Why is good control important? - 10/06/11 InTech, October 2011 By Dick Caro Some processes make it almost impossible to achieve optimal loop tuning. Understanding ways to improve control makes engineers more valuable to their company and improves operations.

		How much is downtime costing you? - 10/06/11 InTech, October 2011 By Dave Crumrine and Doug Post, Interstates Construction Services Many of the real costs of downtime are hidden in other cost areas and do not show up unless you account for them properly. To effectively calculate total downtime cost, uncover all of these costs and list them in a separate “downtime” category.

		Thermocouples: What one needs to know - 10/06/11 InTech, October 2011 By Thomas W. Kerlin and Mitchell P. Johnson Thermocouples are widely used and are here to stay. Problems are infrequent, but potentially serious. Users need to know how to use thermocouples properly and to troubleshoot effectively when problems arise.

		Downtime analysis - 10/06/11 InTech, October 2011 By Wayne Matthews, Yokogawa Marex Downtime analysis (DTA) is an essential part of plant operations management, as it provides a powerful tool that enables a better understanding of the underlying issues that affect plant availability and rate loss.

		Energy management key during plant downtime - 09/26/11 By Mark Freeman, Siemens International Power Engineer, September 2011 By selectively switching off any energy consumers that are not currently in use, the demand for energy and the associated costs can be drastically reduced. This is particularly relevant to downtime in production. During breaks in production, many energy consumers continue running even though they are not required.

		System Automation Drives Need for Data Acquisition - 09/26/11 Electric Light & Power, September 2011 By Ronald D. Willoughby, KEMA In the 1980s and 1990s, new technology once was considered acceptable justification for upgrading or replacing automation equipment. In recent years, projects having well-defined and measurable returns on investment get priority. Gone are the days when flashy displays are enough to justify projects.

		Cyber Security Threats - Actions to Take - 09/26/11 Automation.com, September 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor In Part 2 of my interview with Eric Byres, leading industrial automation cyber security expert, he expands on the challenges and solutions for industrial cyber security, and includes recommendations for actions to take to protect your company and assets.

		The Risky Side Of ERP - 09/24/11 Manufacturing.net, August 2011 By Michael P. Collins This article exposes the problems and the dark side of ERP and other IT software, if for no other reason than to make the sellers work harder on guaranteeing the benefits and exposing the problems that happen during implementation.

		Effective Fluid Heating - 09/24/11 Process Heating, September 2011 By Thomas W. Perry, QMax Industries A fluid tracing system for process piping offers advantages over traditional fluid heating methods. Its design addresses factors considered when selecting the heating system for piping.

		Improving process safety in the energy industry - 09/24/11 HazardEx, September 2011 Recent incidents at offshore installations, and petroleum refineries and storage facilities in various parts of the world have highlighted the increasing importance of effective process safety management.

		Hazardous area mobile computing – driving efficiency and quality - 09/24/11 HazardEx, September 2011 The UK is leading the way in the adoption of hazardous area mobile computing solutions, which include ATEX certified personal digital assistants and laptops used in conjunction with specialist software and often wireless infrastructure.

		Reduce Energy Consumption: Cement Production - 09/24/11 Control Engineering, September 2011 By Patrick Murray Many cement producers have lowered energy costs up to 20% by using power and energy management systems, VFDs, model predictive control systems and energy assessments.

		Roadmap for Best Practices in Manufacturing - 09/24/11 Control, September 2011 By Dan Hornbeck, Rockwell Automation The combination of global safety standards, advanced safety technologies and innovative design approaches are turning safety into a core function that delivers significant business and economic value.

		Take a Bite Out of Lifecycle Costs - 09/24/11 Control, September 2011 By Dan Hebert How can automation be used to monitor, control and cut lifecycle costs for process equipment and components? The "big three" are reducing stress on equipment, enabling proactive maintenance and cutting energy use.

		Capture Tribal Knowledge for the Next Generation - 09/20/11 Sustainable Plant, September 2011 By Jim Montague While collected know-how begins with formal, documented procedures, most efforts also include gathering tacit data or "tribal" knowledge that was never preserved anywhere before now.

		Optimizing Ethernet for industrial implementation - 09/20/11 Plant Engineering, September 2011 By John Morse and Mark T. Hoske, Plant Engineering If a user is switching from a fieldbus to Ethernet, an understanding of the modus operandi of Ethernet is essential. Some fieldbuses are very easy to implement, and the Ethernet switch can be quite a change.

		The Future of Real-time Control - 09/12/11 Automation.com, September 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Bill Lydon talks with Jeff Kodosky, Cofounder of National Instruments and Father of LabVIEW, to discuss real-time control and particularly his continuing work on the problem of visually programming real-time- control applications.

		How to achieve real-time efficiency in food and beverage production - 09/11/11 Process & Control Engineering, September 2011 By Annie Dang Choosing the right process technology can help food and beverage manufacturers reduce on-shelf product errors and achieve real-time efficiency.

		Control loop optimisation: theory versus practice - 09/08/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, September 2011 By Michael Brown, Control Engineering Apart from a few very individuals, no one involved in practical control uses any mathematics. This is because there are no practical mathematical models of the process transfer functions that take real-world imperfections into account.

		Availability in the cloud - 09/08/11 Control Engineering Europe, August 2011 By Mike Lees, Hardware PT In order to decide whether manufacturing is right to put its trust in the cloud, one has to consider the implications of any potential downtime – from a production and safety perspective.

		An alternative to DCS or PLC/SCADA? - 09/08/11 Control Engineering Europe, September 2011 By Richard Sturt, Rockwell Automation A true ‘Plant-wide Automation’ approach takes the best features from DCS and PLC/SCADA systems and combines them into a single system. It combines the ‘systems approach’ of a DCS and flexibility of a PLC/PAC to provide a solution for multiple applications.

		Safety Testing In Scale-Up - 08/31/11 Pharmaceutical Processing, August 2011 By Swati Umbrajkar, et al Safe scale-up of chemical processes can be achieved in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The utilization of the skills of many different disciplines within the research and development, engineering, and production departments, allied to an efficient assessment strategy will achieve this.

		SIL Made Simple - 08/31/11 Valve Magazine, August 2011 By Michael A. Mitchell A good deal of misunderstanding exists about what an SIL is and how it is assigned. Yet anyone involved in products that are to be used in Safety Instrumented Systems should know how this designation came to be and what it means.

		Acceptable behaviour - throughout the entire system please - 08/31/11 HazardEX, August 2011 It is increasingly being recognised that where the integration of Process Control Systems (PCS) and Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) involves the sharing of hardware and networking resources the responsiveness, effectiveness and even the very role of the safety systems/functions can be compromised.

		Process Safety Pays: Leading a Process Safety Culture - 08/31/11 HazardEX, August 2011 Process safety is vital to ensure the protection of employees, the environment, communities and corporate reputation. But research shows that there are gaps in the understanding of process safety management at the most senior levels in industry – for example Finance Directors, CEOs and Board members.

		Cyber Security Threats: Expert Interview with Eric Byres, Part 1 - 08/28/11 Automation.com, August 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Cyber Security is a hot topic that has become more intense since the notoriety of the Stuxnet virus. I interviewed Eric Byres, one of world’s leading industrial automation cyber security experts, to gain a greater understanding of the challenges and solutions for industrial cyber security.

		Executive Interview - Norm Gilsdorf of Honeywell Process Solutions - 08/28/11 Automation.com, August 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Norm Gilsdorf of Honeywell Process Solutions sits down with our editor, Bill Lydon, to discuss their organizational changes, asset management, PLC competition, wireless, skill crisis, energy and sustainability.

		Executive Interview - Raj Batra of Siemens Industry - 08/22/11 Automation.com, August 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Raj Batra and Adreas Aufenanger of Siemens Industry sit down with our editor, Bill Lydon, to discuss Siemens' global realignment, their process industry initiatives, and their vertical market applications focus.

		Adaptive Control Offers Flexibility - 08/18/11 Control Design, August 2011 By Karl Mathia Real-time adaptive control can achieve near-optimal performance for various equipment configurations and changing loads.

		Really, Really, Really Cyber Secure - 08/18/11 Control, August 2011 By Walt Boyes It is now clear that machine-level, embedded controllers, such as PLCs, PACs and DCS controllers are vulnerable from both inside and outside the plant.

		Protecting ICSs from Electronic Threats, II - 08/18/11 Control, August 2011 By Joe WEISS, Applied Control ICS security is a lifecycle process that begins with conceptual design of a system and continues through to its retirement.

		All Quiet on the Wireless Front - 08/18/11 Control, August 2011 By Walt Boyes Survey says: When asked which wireless networks they use now, over 50% said they used 802.11x networks, 34% said they used one or more proprietary wireless networks, and WirelessHART continues to grow at 23%. ISA100 is only 4.4%.

		FDT--Your APP for Smart Device Information Integration - 08/18/11 Control, August 2011 By Garry Cusick, MACTek DTM (device type manager) is an application developed by the device manufacturer to ensure you get the best value from their products.

		SCADA Security's Air Gap Fairy Tale - 08/17/11 Automation.com, August 2011 By Eric Byres This tale doesn’t have princes or frogs in it, but instead it deals with SCADA and industrial control system security. It is the myth of the "air gap" between control systems and the rest of the world. Believing in it leads to a false sense of complacency by both end users and vendors, making it a very dangerous fairy tale indeed.

		EtherNet/IP Flows Into New Territory - 08/14/11 Automation.com, August 2011 By Brian Oulton, Rockwell Automation Proliferation of process instruments on EtherNet/IP may signal the start of a trend.

		A life cycle approach to energy management in the process industries - 08/13/11 What’s New in Process Technology, August 2011 By Honeywell In most process industries, the management of energy consumption has become a high priority. But standalone efforts to manage energy will not achieve the results that can be achieved when a comprehensive life cycle approach is used.

		Harvest time - 08/13/11 What’s New in Process Technology, August 2011 By ABB Energy harvesting is the process by which energy (ambient, motion, wind, light), derived from external sources, is captured and stored to supply power for low-energy electronics. Ambient energy is available in abundance in the process industry and it is here that energy harvesting is beginning to make its mark.

		Select the Controls - 08/13/11 Control Engineering Asia, July 2011 By Mogan Swamy Some pointers on choosing the right control system for your plant application. Registration required to read story.

		Cyber Security Alert - 08/13/11 Control Engineering Asia, July 2011 By G Venkatesh With the huge publicity given to last year’s sophisticated virus attack on an Iranian nuclear power station, industrial cyber security is rapidly shifting from the sidelines to center stage. Registration required to read story.

		HMI: Going from Cute to Effective - 08/13/11 Automation World, August 2011 By Dave Gehman A funny thing is happening on the way to today’s cutting-edge human-machine interfaces (HMIs) in process industries—they are losing almost all their color and shedding their cute factor.

		Valves for designing a compact plant - 08/13/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, August 2011 By Peter Meyer, Gemü Less space requirement, less material, a shorter installation time – today, these are the decisive criteria for developing process plant. Products that fulfil these conditions are favoured by design and plant engineers.

		Is there a best practice for MOM, MES and MIS systems implementation? - 08/13/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, August 2011 By Neels van der Walt, Bytes Systems Integration Various pitfalls and challenges mark the road to designing and implementing MES (manufacturing execution systems), MIS (manufacturing information systems) and MOM (manufacturing operations management) systems successfully.

		This is war and your SCADA is the target - 08/13/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, August 2011 Stuxnet has irrevocably changed the future of automation practitioners, SIs and end users. If you use a SCADA system, any SCADA system, you are almost certainly just as vulnerable to determined attacks by suitably motivated groups.

		Custody Battles - 08/13/11 Flow Control, July 2011 By Jesse Yoder & Belinda Burum The three types of flowmeters most commonly incorporated into these metering skids or stations and meter runs are differential-pressure, turbine, and ultrasonic flowmeters.

		Highlighting Pump Life on Pump Curves - 08/13/11 Flow Control, July 2011 By Joe Untener BEP and accompanying efficiency curves are not intuitive predictors of actual energy consumption, significantly understating the actual effect of running off of the BEP.

		Walt Disney Imagineering Improves Project Results - 08/12/11 Automation.com, August 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor David Van Wyk, Vice President of Project Management for Walt Disney Imagineering, explained the team's Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process at the recent Siemens Automation Summit. The IPD method helps Imagineering produce some of the world's most distinctive storytelling experiences that continue to deliver a high wow factor.

		Redundancy in EtherNet/IP systems - 08/07/11 InTech, August 2011 By Alain Grenier Article explores the balance between the cost of ensuring systems redundancy in an EtherNet/IP network and the cost of failure within a system and inevitably lost production.

		Virtualization 101: Understanding how to do more with less - 08/07/11 InTech, August 2011 By Paul Hodge Virtualization taps into the large amount of unused resources in today’s servers by allowing multiple operating systems and applications to be run at the same time. In basic terms, virtualization is taking one of these physical servers and splitting it up into many virtual servers.

		Evaluating sensors for system migration - 08/07/11 InTech, August 2011 By H. M. Hashemian Upgrading a system to advanced enterprise control computers and software without evaluating the performance of the sensors that supply these systems with data is an exercise in futility.

		Smart Grid for industrial disciplines - 08/07/11 InTech, August 2011 By Barry Contrael Smart Grid is a new buzzword in industrial circles. As with every previous initiative, it requires a bit of education to get to the point where you understand how you can implement it in a way that does more than go through the motions.

		Redundancy: Beyond controllers and capacitors - 08/07/11 InTech, August 2011 By Josh Neland and Franklin Flint As automated systems are required to do more and systems become more complex, companies have an opportunity to step back and evaluate where they can most effectively and cost-efficiently build redundancy into the computing infrastructure.

		Refining Industry Update – Natural Gas Economic Game Changer - 07/29/11 Automation.com, July 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Peg Stein, Director of Marketing in the equipment group at UOP, presented industry information, analysis, and opinion about the oil and natural gas industry at the recent 2011 Honeywell Users Group Americas Symposium.

		Changing Role of Wireless - 07/29/11 Automation.com, July 2011 By Ray Rogowski, Honeywell Wireless has matured to a point where it’s operating around the world in many different industries. And, while its capabilities continue to be uncovered, it’s apparent that wireless assets are influencing users with improvements beyond just cost savings over wired systems.

		Simple rules to make your simulator worth the investment - 07/26/11 International Power Engineer, July 2011 With increasing frequency, power plants and process facilities are justifying the purchase of plant specific simulators that reflect a plant's personality thus enabling effective operator training, control system validation, and engineering evaluations.

		Automation Upgrade and Migration Investment Strategies - 07/25/11 Automation.com, July 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor There is a continuing discussion about upgrading aging automation systems and TCO is one method used to make decisions. These investments should be analyzed as serious strategic business investments within a defined lifespan. There are a number of factors to consider in this analysis including business, technical, and operations.

		Four-Tube Coriolis Meter Measures Pipeline Flow Accurately - 07/23/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2011 By Michael Nuber, Endress+Hauser By using four flow tubes, a Coriolis flowmeter can offset pipeline noise, vibration and achieve higher accuracy

		The Fundamentals Of Pipeline Gas Chromatographs - 07/23/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2011 By Shane Hale, Emerson Process Management This article discusses the major components of the GC and provides an understanding of the theory and practice of gas chromatography in the pipeline industry.

		How Today’s Gas Ultrasonic Meter Handles Compressor Pulsations - 07/23/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2011 To date, limited testing has been done to determine the effects pulsation in the gas stream may have on the ultrasonic meter’s accuracy and performance. To more clearly understand the pulsation impact, Sick Maihak, Inc. sponsored tests conducted at the TransCanada Pipe Line Didsbury Gas Dynamic Test Facility (GDTF).

		Delivering Process Improvements Through Single-Use Operations And Lean Strategies - 07/23/11 Pharmaceutical Processing, July 2011 Intense pressure to demonstrate increased productivity and a robust return on R&D investment is leading the pharmaceutical industry to focus aggressively on cost control and process improvement.

		Non-invasive loop design - 07/22/11 What’s New in Process Technology, July 2011 By Mathworks Using model-based design, the development process can be improved by systematically designing, testing and implementing PID controllers on programmable logic controllers (PLCs), programmable automation controllers (PACs) and microprocessors.

		The Benefits Of Real-Time Monitoring - 07/22/11 Process Industry Informer, July 2011 By Dr Sam Watts, Stratophase Limited All production processes require optimisation and accurate monitoring to ensure that quality and efficiency are maximised wherever possible. This is true in all manufacturing settings, but has been particularly well illustrated in the pharmaceutical industry.

		New thermowell standard will encourage innovation - 07/22/11 HazardEx, July 2011 When it comes to designing a thermowell for an oil or gas pipeline, the thermowell must be evaluated to ensure that it passes the ASME PTC 19.3 standard. The recent major overhaul of the standard may encourage buyers to now seek out alternative thermowell designs.

		Analog-to-Digital Valve Upgrades - 07/22/11 Flow Control, June 2011 By Sandro Esposito The first step in making the transition to digital valve positioners is understanding how they can be easily and cost-effectively implemented in a facility.

		Connecting and controlling in food processing - 07/22/11 Control Engineering Europe, June 2010 By Hector Lin, Advantech To help improve productivity and quality control, many food and beverage operations are now integrating their myriad operations and making them conform to automation standards.

		MES: the next generation? - 07/22/11 Control Engineering Europe, June 2010 By Bas Broers, Honeywell Process Solutions MES 2.0 solutions have matured to a level that makes them incomparable to system offerings of just a few years ago.

		Magnetic flowmeters can contribute more - 07/22/11 Control Engineering Europe, July 2010 By Klaus Brockman, Emerson Process Management How the latest generation magnetic flowmeters, with built in diagnostics and integrated meter verification, can help to better manage the production process.

		All Eyes on Energy - 07/22/11 Control Engineering Asia, June 2011 By G Venkatesh With considerable cost savings to be had and green credentials to be gained, the topic of energy efficiency is increasingly moving to the top of the corporate agenda. Registration required to read article.

		Giving your plant a cyber health checkup - 07/22/11 Control Engineering, July 2011 By Jason Urso and Kevin Staggs, Honeywell Creating a strong cyber security health regimen so you can defend against threats, external and internal.

		PCs Don't Always Feel the Love - 07/22/11 Control, July 2011 By Dan Hebert Whether deserved or not, PCs have a reputation for being less robust and more prone to crashes than purpose-built controllers.

		Preventing Nuclear Accidents by Automation -- Part 2 - 07/22/11 Control, July 2011 By Béla Lipták Describes both the causes of the hydrogen explosions at Fukushima and the controls needed to protect against hydrogen explosions at American BWRs.

		Death of the Loop Drawing - 07/22/11 Control, July 2011 By John Rezabek Loop drawings have become mere "wiring" diagrams. Are they needed for fieldbus projects?

		Polk State College helps close manufacturing skills gap - 07/20/11 Automation.com, July 2011 Mosaic, a Florida-based fertilizer producer, asked Polk State College (PSC) to create a training program. PSC worked with Rockwell Automation and RWD Technologies to develop the curriculum.

		Users Discuss Remote Operations Experience - 07/18/11 Automation.com, July 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor At HUG 2011, four users shared their remote operations & monitoring experiences along with lessons learned. Included are recommendations of first steps for other companies considering remote monitoring and operations.

		Process Industries Rediscover Collaborative Production Management - 06/28/11 Automation World, June 2011 By Tom Fiske and Janice Abel Collaborative Production Management (CPM) is one of the hottest automation investment spaces in today’s process industries. After a couple of tumultuous years, companies once again are ramping up spending in CPM.

		Are We Making a MES of Information Technology? - 06/28/11 Automation World, June 2011 By Gary Mintchell Manufacturing Execution Systems, known as MES, have long seemed to be a solution in search of a problem. That’s not entirely fair, of course, but many people puzzle over what it is and how to apply it.

		How to Select The Best Touch Screen LCD Monitor - 06/28/11 Manufacturing.net, June 2011 By Herb Ruterschmidt, TRU-Vu Monitors The most important decision in selecting the best touch screen monitor for your application will be the type of touch screen technology to use. There are several types, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

		Tips For Building A Reliable Distributed Control System - 06/28/11 Industrial Automation Asia, June 2011 By Richard Chen, N-Tron Designing an optimised distributed control system is crucial for any plant or environment under its control. When planning for optimal control, there are some tips that one should follow.

		Architecture for Secure SCADA and Distributed Control System Networks - 06/28/11 Industrial Automation Asia, June 2011 By CK Lam, Juniper Networks It is important to realise the distinction between safety and security. While machines are built with several fail-safes to ensure safety, these fail-safes are designed against circumstances that have realistic probabilities. A cyber attack can skew the probabilities severely or mislead the operator into taking inappropriate actions by presenting false information.

		Systems DNA Simplified - 06/28/11 Industrial Automation Asia, June 2011 By Chris Lyden, PAS Unlike natural organisms, automation systems evolve daily and a change in the ‘DNA’ of one automation system can often have a significant impact to other systems to which it is integrated. The uses automation Genome is used to refer to the collective configurations within and among all automation systems in a plant.

		Integrated Safety Moves Beyond Outlier Status - 06/28/11 Design News, June 2011 Integrated safety continues to develop more potent solutions, driven by this year's deadline for complying with European safety standards which make it a requirement to calculate the performance level achieved by each safety function in a system.

		Switching to Wireless - 06/27/11 Control Engineering Asia, May 2011 By Jonas Berge Now you can detect level without incurring the cost and complexity of laying cables. Registration required to read article.

		Setting the Standard - 06/27/11 Control Engineering Asia, May 2011 By Peter Clarke How process plants can benefit through proper and careful adoption of the IEC 61511 safety standard. Registration required to read article.

		Stuxnet and the Paradigm Shift in Cyber Warfare - 06/27/11 Control, June 2011 By Robert M. Lee A brief history of the Stuxnet worm including its targets, the initial findings, possible creators of the worm and its effects.

		The I.S. Alternative - 06/27/11 Control, June 2011 By Ian Verhappen Intrinsic Safety (IS) makes it possible to perform live maintenance at any point in the control loop because, by its nature, it always keeps the amount of available energy on the wire pair below the ignition point for the gases/environment in which it's installed. So why don’t we use it?

		Protecting ICSs from Electronic Threats, Part 1 - 06/27/11 Control, June 2011 By Joe Weiss, CISM Applied Control Solutions From a cybersecurity perspective, industrial control systems (ICSs) are very brittle and attacking them isn't rocket science. On the other hand, it can be rocket science to protect them and maintain their missions at the same time.

		Uncovering the Benefits of Industrial Ethernet - 06/20/11 Automation.com, June 2011 By Nuris Ismail and Matthew Littlefield Aberdeen surveyed over 150 executives about the current state of their manufacturing operations and industrial networks. This article explores how the industry leaders are taking advantage of industrial networking to enable real-time visibility into data to optimize production, maintenance, and safety.

		Remote Possibilities - 06/12/11 Process Heating, June 2011 By Al Fosco, Frigel North America Although certain industries and larger machines have used such systems for a while, remote monitoring of central process cooling systems is relatively new, having been introduced to the market last year.

		Be In Control - 06/12/11 Process Heating, June 2011 By Monica Dickson, Watlow Understanding short-circuit current rating (SCCR) assignment options for industrial control panels is the first step in avoiding risk.

		Integrating a network of wireless sensors with standard control systems - 06/12/11 What’s New in Process Technology, June 2011 Interfacing to standard control systems such as PLC, SCADA stations, HMI panels is straightforward. All that is needed is for the wireless network coordinator and gateway to use a standard communications protocol.

		Batch operations benefit from process analytical technology - 06/12/11 Control Engineering, June 2011 By Robert Wojewodka, et al The online implementation of analytic technology comprises fault detection and end of batch quality prediction. The approach offers significant economic benefits; however, implementations face many challenges and so far few have documented online applications.

		PROFINET gains process acceptance - 06/12/11 Control Engineering Europe, June 2011 By Peter Wenzel, Profibus and Profinet International PROFIBUS PA is already widely used in process facilities. However, an integrated communication system such as PROFINET is essential to enable complete integration of centralised process-related operations of a plant with downstream applications involving mostly discrete processes, such as filling and packaging.

		Reducing costs with an integrated automation system - 06/12/11 InTech, June 2011 By Greg Dixson Thanks to lower cost control systems and advances in software, I/O, and Ethernet infrastructure, control engineers can better use industrial automation for its core purpose—to increase production flexibility and reduce the cost of ownership in a manufacturing or process facility.

		Certification and licensure: What is the difference? - 06/12/11 InTech, June 2011 By Gerald Wilbanks There are two excellent means to express the ability to perform a job function and present this in a solid and factual manner. These are to obtain a certification or to become licensed in the area of automation and process control.

		Automate to retain knowledge, ensure safer plants - 06/12/11 InTech, June 2011 By Ellen Fussell Policastro Beyond helping alleviate potential disaster, some of the benefits of automating process operations include helping companies retain skills, manage knowledge, reduce variability, reduce risk to the facility, and increase productivity.

		Quality system is lifeblood of control system integrators - 06/12/11 InTech, June 2011 By David Blaida An integrator must establish, document, implement, and maintain a quality management system and continually improve its effectiveness. The first step is to define all the processes that exist in the integration business, how they interact, the resources needed to accomplish them, and how to monitor, measure, and analyze their effectiveness.

		Virtual reality improves training in process industries - 06/12/11 InTech, June 2011 By Maurizio Rovaglio and Tobias Scheele Virtual reality (VR) models can improve time-to-competency in a range of critical functions and tasks, providing a vehicle to rapidly train this new workforce in ways that align with their interests and skills.

		Physical Security 101: Evolving ‘defense in depth’ - 06/12/11 InTech, June 2011 By Scott Hillman What good is cybersecurity if the bad guys can walk through the front door? A site vulnerability assessment determines possible holes in a plant’s overall security system and prioritizes improvement opportunities.

		Ethernet Advancements Help Deliver Integrated Plantwide Network Architectures - 06/07/11 Automation.com, June 2011 By Gregory Wilcox, Mike Hannah and Mark Devonshire Industry experts predicted that node cost, determinism issues and security risks would prohibit Ethernet’s growth into manufacturing, but it’s clear that this prediction hasn’t held true. We've experienced a swift rise and widespread industry adoption of Ethernet.

		Real-Time Visibility, Operational Agility and Flexibility driving growth of Industrial Networks - 06/03/11 Automation.com, June 2011 By J. Timothy Shea, VDC Research Group VDC Research partnered with Automation.com to conduct an extensive initiative into the market for wireline and wireless industrial networking infrastructure product markets. Recent research found that the demand outlook for wireline and wireless industrial networking infrastructure products will be quite healthy through 2015.

		SCADA and Control System Security: New Standards Protecting Old Technology - 06/01/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Scott Howard Industrial control systems were designed and built with a primary focus on performance, availability and reliability - not security. A new generation of standards-based security offerings lets operators defend their control system networks using the same technology that protects telecommunications, banking, and other critical IT infrastructure.

		Industrial Intelligence: Winning in the New World of Manufacturing - 06/01/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Brian McDonald, Cisco Systems In the new global business environment, manufacturers are facing some of the toughest operational and strategic challenges in recent memory. Any new investment must pay for itself either through operational savings or revenue growth.

		A Device by Any Other Name… - 05/27/11 Control Design, May 2011 By N. Lewis Bodden When it comes to naming points in a control system, it pays to take the time to develop a nomenclature plan.

		European Process Industry Debates Security Objectives - 05/27/11 Automation World, May 2011 By Thomas Menze and David Humphrey In the European process industries, hackers or other intruders have yet to breach security—no attacks by viruses, worms, or Trojans have been recorded. Nevertheless, protection scenarios are necessary because attacks have already been seen in other parts of the world.

		Certified Security: It’s Coming - 05/27/11 Automation World, May 2011 By Dave Gehman Industrial controllers, devices and networks that are certified secure—comprehensively secure—don’t exist, for the simple reason that the standards are not all in place. But bits and pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

		Network Security Requires Multi Layer Defense - 05/27/11 Automation World, May 2011 By James R. Koelsch A rash of recently published vulnerabilities and exploits prove that the conventional methods of blocking them are not enough. Here’s how to exploit the stability of automated processes to secure control networks.

		Plant-wide optimisation - 05/27/11 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2011 By Gordon Bartlett, Rockwell Automation The important elements to look for when choosing a system that offers the greatest opportunity for plant-wide optimisation include the ability to perform multi-disciplined control; plant-wide integration on a single, open, secure network; and the ability to run advanced control within the controllers.

		Pressure regulator selection - 05/27/11 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2011 By Bill Menz, Swagelok Regulators are available in a variety of types, designs and materials of construction, and choices should be made with care.

		Combining Power and Automation Products to Serve Customers - 05/27/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor ABB creates new role, appoints Brice Koch, to oversee relations with ABB’s largest customers and the development of opportunities in strategic growth areas such as rail, wind, water, solar, energy efficiency and smart grids. Koch will also be responsible for developing ABB’s service business.

		Mass Analytics Improve Process Control Performance - 05/27/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor The PlantTriage "true believers" gathered at the ExperTune User Conference from around the world to improve their skills and share their project successes. The conference focused on ways to improve process control performance with training, access to industry experts, and case studies.

		Easier M2E (Machine to Enterprise) Integration - 05/26/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Roy Kok Over the years, we’ve had sensor upgrades, improved controllers, better operator visibility, data archiving and analytics, and now we have enterprise integration for improved material management, corporate agility, regulatory compliance and a host of other features.

		Power plant control system software - 05/18/11 Plant Engineering, May 2011 By M. Szega, et al, PGE Power Plant Performance calculation software packages are new in the power generation business and help with power generation control, electricity grid control, and monitoring via SCADA system.

		When It Comes To Evaluating ERP, Have A Plan - 05/18/11 Manufacturing.net, April 2011 By Dylan Persaud, Eval-Source Organizations make several mistakes when evaluating software. The organization usually proceeds straight to the vendor demonstrations without a plan to get ramped up and educated within the space. The functional and technical requirements have not been gathered and the correct business process mapping has not occurred.

		Straight to the Heart - 05/18/11 Control Engineering Asia, April 2011 By Bob Gill The wireless war is not over yet, according to Yokogawa, which believes ISA 100.11a is not only a technologically superior standard to WirelessHart but also caters more widely to the requirements of end users. Registration required to read story.

		The Power of Digital - 05/18/11 Control Engineering Asia, April 2011 By Jonas Berge While device diagnostics and installation cost savings facilitated by fieldbus are well known, the digital bus technology also has the ability to make late project changes easier and less costly to implement. Registration required to read story.

		The Fieldbus Jungle -- Part II - 05/18/11 Industrial Networking, May 2011 By P. Hunter Vegas, Avid Solutions Based on Part I of this article, you might wonder if fieldbuses are worth the effort. The answer is a resounding "Yes"—in the right application. It also can be an equally resounding "No" in the wrong situation.

		Fiber--Fit for Purpose - 05/18/11 Industrial Networking, May 2011 By John Rezabek When the mission is critical, the speed, reliability and durability of fiberoptic communications are hard to beat.

		How to Make Sure Wireless Works - 05/18/11 Industrial Networking, May 2011 By Ian Verhappen The Wireless Compliance Institute (WCI) held a wireless plugfest to test device interoperability along with emerging standards. The ISA-100 Plugfest had four hosts: one system each from Yokogawa and Nivis, and two Honeywell systems.

		Automation Business: India on the Move - 05/18/11 Control, May 2011 By John Rezabek India graduates up to four times more engineers than lawyers—depending on what statistics you believe—and at a pace double the rate in the United States.

		Meditating on Disturbance Dynamics - 05/18/11 Control, May 2011 By F. Greg Shinskey There are three classes of disturbance that enter control loops from the outside: setpoint changes, load variations and noise.

		Distributed Safety Arrives - 05/18/11 Control, May 2011 By Dan Hebert Distributed safety is relatively new, and in the present litigious climate, many end users are reluctant to discuss safety systems. But the process safety market is growing rapidly. Part of this growth will come from distributed safety systems because they provide advantages over centralized safety.

		Product Lifecycle Management: Speeding Up - 05/14/11 Industrial Automation Asia, April 2011 By Ajay Verma, VP Asia Pacific South, Dassault PLM is as much a business strategy as it is a technological solution. It applies collaborative business solutions to the development of products from conception to production, and maintenance and recycling, across the extended enterprise.

		Smart Transmitters: Standardisation In Operation - 05/14/11 Industrial Automation Asia, April 2011 By Jonas Berge, Emerson Process Management Developments in device integration technologies combined with designs that are based on usability research, have resulted in a consistent look and feel among transmitters using different protocols. This makes it easy for technicians to commission, setup, calibrate, and troubleshoot this mix of transmitters.

		Accessories for Control Valves - 05/14/11 Valve Magazine, April 2011 By John De Veau While control valves are an essential part of most flow processes today, they cannot accomplish their key tasks without help from the many accessories that aid in smooth operation.

		Environmental Monitoring: Making MCERTain with Accreditation - 05/14/11 Process Industry Informer, March 2011 By Jon Murthy, UKAS Many process operators choose to use the services of a third party organisation to carry out this monitoring, but may not be aware that in certain circumstances the use of an organisation with the relevant accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 for the Monitoring Certification Scheme (MCERTS) is mandatory.

		Field Wireless Automation Solutions Based On The ISA100-11a Standard - 05/14/11 Process Industry Informer, March 2011 By Henk van der Bent, Yokogawa Europe Communication between field devices and control systems started with 4-20 mA and has evolved via hybrid communication systems such as HART and Brain, to digital communication technologies such as FOUNDATION Fieldbus and PROFIBUS, and finally to wireless communication based on the ISA100.11a standard.

		Is wireless ready for process control? - 05/14/11 Control Engineering Europe, April 2011 By Suzanne Gill Wireless is now an accepted technology for process monitoring applications. However, is it ready to take on the challenge of process control too?

		Communications equipped for the future - 05/14/11 Control Engineering Europe, April 2011 By Peter Wenzel. PI Support Center The automatic interaction of different systems and components of various manufacturers must be ensured on a continuous basis. Communication systems provide the basis for this type of interaction.

		Why Stuxnet has changed the security landscape - 05/14/11 Control Engineering Europe, May 2011 By Chris Evans, Mitsubishi UK What has changed our perception of business security and the way we deal with a malicious attack has been the experience gained from the Stuxnet malware incident--because the target of this attack was the automation system components, the point of entry was not the business level but the MES Level.

		Legalities: Not all automation standards are equal - 05/14/11 Control Engineering, May 2011 By Mark Voigtmann, Baker & Daniels One need look no further than the "standards" promulgated by organizations to see some very important distinctions—not to mention the fact that not all automation "standards" are created equal.

		Back to Basics: Internet, next version, IPv6 - 05/14/11 Control Engineering, May 2011 By Mark Hoske Industry shouldn’t panic about the next version of the Internet Protocol, version 6 (IPv6), the transition from IPv4, or the recent exhaustion of the IPv4 address pool. Take advantage of opportunities, while you can.

		From the Field - ABB Automation and Power World 2011 - 05/11/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Here are a few highlights from ABB Automation & Power World 2011. The event attracted a record number of participants, totaling more than 4,200, and featured over 400 educational workshops and hands-on training sessions, over 45 customer-presented case studies, and an exhibition of ABB and partner products.

		Overview of the Americas Market for Hard Wired Surge Suppressors - 05/05/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By David A. B. Laing, VDC Research Group VDC Research Group teamed up with Automation.com to conduct a survey on the market for power protection products including the hard wired surge suppressors often used in industrial machines and facilities. This article provides a summary of those survey results.

		Energy Optimization - Creating another Tower of Babel? - 04/25/11 Automation.com, April 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Energy has become a hot topic with vendors and standards organizations, many of which are offering and creating solutions for energy users.

		Identifying Automation System Tribbles - 04/25/11 Automation.com, April 2011 By Roy Kok How did Scotty know? How do you know when your systems are normal? Are the Dilithium crystals at their proper temperature and vibrational frequency for this Warp Speed and area of space? Could he be sure he caught every last Tribble, and none are blocking the cooling ducts to the Anti- Matter Drive?

		Vortex shedding tutorial - Part 3 - 04/24/11 What’s New in Process Technology, April 2011 By Wade Mattar and James Vignos, Foxboro In Parts 1 and 2 of this article on vortex shedding flowmeters we looked in detail at how they work and how they are constructed. In Part 3 we look at what needs to be considered in the application of vortex flowmeters.

		Part II: Diagnosing an Incorrect Measurement - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By David W. Spitzer Last month, we discussed a problem with a vortex-shedding flowmeter. The flowmeter measured correctly after its configuration was changed to reflect the physical properties of the actual liquid and the 16-inch pipe in which it was installed. Problem solved? Nope.

		From Gauges to Transmitters - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By Jesse Yoder Many different instruments are used for pressure measurement, including pressure gauges, pressure sensors, pressure transducers, and pressure transmitters. Here’s a primer.

		Low & Ultra-Low Pressure Control - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By Jeff Jennings Most engineers are comfortable working with pressures above 1 PSIG (69 mbar), but are often confused about the best way to control much lower pressures, typically expressed in inches of water column.

		Making the Case for New Technology - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By Steve Milford, Endress+Hauser This article considers the significant potential for MRO that exists among the extensive installed base of older mechanical flowmeters, where the existing flowmeter technology was once the best or only solution for a particular application, but now, for several possible reasons, it no longer is.

		The changing role of process optimization - 04/24/11 Control Engineering Europe, March 2011 By John Taylor, AspenTech The process optimisation sector has evolved from point products focusing on specific workflow parts to providing a more integrated workflow capable of managing and handling the engineering challenges of the complete manufacturing supply chain.

		Using smart instrumentation - 04/18/11 Plant Engineering, April 2011 By Craig McIntyre, Endress+Hauser All you need to know to deploy smart instruments throughout your processes, and get the highest performance available. The capabilities are there if you put them to work.

		Hannover Messe 2011 – More than 230,000 Visitors Automation.com, April 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Hannover Messe 2011 was larger than any other in the last 10 years, with more than 230,000 visitors. More than 6,500 businesses from 65 countries came to Hannover to display their solutions. The attendance numbers represent a growth of 10 to 15 percent over the comparable 2009 event.

		The Network Effect - 04/17/11 Control Engineering Asia, March 2011 By Ian Verhappen Ongoing developments in industrial network technology are enabling ever increasing levels of connectedness on and beyond the plant floor.

		Think Again: Improve processes, then automate - 04/17/11 Control Engineering, April 2011 By Mark T. Hoske Advice: Don’t upgrade automation on old processes. Get lean, fix the processes, then apply leading-edge controls and automation to optimize results.

		Future is virtual for manufacturing IT - 04/17/11 Control Engineering, April 2011 By Dennis Brandl, BR+L Consulting Future IT environments will be built on virtualized systems, and this will include the multiple IT systems used in manufacturing. This includes databases, historians, HMIs, schedulers, and even controllers that we use to run our manufacturing operations.

		The Future of Process Management - 04/17/11 Control, April 2011 By Dave Beckmann The process industry has over decades developed a "managed risk" mentality where top-level directors and vice presidents make safety decisions based on bottom-line results. And because these managers are often far removed from the field, their mandates often lead to tragic results.

		Attack of the Mutant Chicken Foot! - 04/17/11 Control, April 2011 By John Rezabek For your first fieldbus job, consider a simple "chicken foot" or "star" topology. By standardizing on six segments (~72 devices) per field junction box, your install will look and feel close to conventional, but you'll be running some bigger conduits and raceways.

		Information Wants to Be Everywhere - 04/17/11 Control, April 2011 By Nancy Bartels Vendors large and small are lining up with large-scale solutions and simple apps to access everything from KPIs to simulations via a cell phone or tablet.

		Automation appliances create interoperability - 04/17/11 Control Engineering, January 2011 By Roy Kok, AutomationSMX Within the automation space, appliances fall into many categories. Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are appliances. Single loop controllers (SLCs) are appliances, and their special functions are well known.

		How Do We Minimize Murphy Consequences in Automation? - 04/17/11 Control, April 2011 By Roy Kok, AutomationSMX In today's automation world, we are building ever more complicated automation and management systems. How do you design for Graceful Degradation? And, how do you design for a quick recovery?

		Study proves Asset Performance Management increases plant efficiencies - 04/11/11 Automation.com, April 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor The asset management study was done through Virginia Tech’s Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Survey results indicate companies that elevate the importance of APM through involvement of upper level management or organization-wide involvement tend to out-perform others based on a variety of metrics.

		Online Analytics Improves Batch Operations - 04/09/11 Chemical Processing, April 2011 By Robert Wojewodka, Lubrizol, and Dawn Marruchella, Emerson Online analytics can provide manufacturers with additional insight and benefits through greater understanding of batch processes. This should lead to an increase in the consistency of quality products as well as greater throughput through better yields. Registration required to read article.

		Industry Gets Cyber-Security Reality Check - 04/09/11 Chemical Processing, April 2011 By Seán Ottewell The emergence of the Stuxnet worm, which apparently targeted Siemens control systems at an Iranian nuclear-enrichment facility, certainly exposed serious knowledge gaps in how cyber security is implemented and maintained by process companies. Registration required to read story.

		Feedforward control enables flexible, sustainable manufacturing - 04/09/11 InTech, April 2011 By Gregory K. McMillan Feedforward provides preemptive corrective action for production rate and grade changes enabling key PID controllers to provide consistent product quality. Feedforward control can also compensate for composition, pressure, and temperature upsets before they have a significant impact on product quality.

		Commissioning for regulated and non-regulated industries - 04/09/11 InTech, April 2011 The construction, start-up, performance verification, and turnover of automated manufacturing facilities are complex endeavors. This article will compare and contrast commissioning strategies for regulated and non-regulated industries.

		Flow measurement common mistakes, corrective actions - 04/09/11 InTech, April 2011 By Rajan Batra Inaccurate flow measurements lead to poor flow and related controls, bad quality products, and incorrect fiscal and allocation measurement, which lead to poor allocation of revenues among partners, Here are common flow measurement mistakes and corrective actions.

		OPC Unified Architecture infrastructure for the future - 04/09/11 InTech, April 2011 By Thomas Burke OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) provides the automation industry a tremendous opportunity to gain efficiencies and create new solutions with the seamless interoperability of systems.

		Skid Integration Problems Solved by PLCopen Standards - 03/29/11 Automation.com, March 2011 By PLCopen North America The use of skid mounted equipment has become popular for a number of reasons but they pose some unique automation and control challenges that can be solved by using IEC 61131-3 and PLCopen standards.

		Simulating and Modeling the Virtual Plant - 03/26/11 Automation World, February 2011 By Rob Spiegel Simulation and modeling are gaining traction as tools to validate a plant’s automation system before turning it on. Simulation is particularly useful for upgrading and optimizing process plants that sometimes go years between shutdowns and start-ups.

		Demystifying real-time data acquisition solutions - 03/26/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, March 2011 By Gerhard Greeff, Bytes Systems Integration To get information, companies implement various real-time data acquisition solutions. But how do they decide which of these solutions to implement? MIS, EMI, MES and MOM – do you need them all?

		An All-or-Nothing Proposition? - 03/24/11 Flow Control, February 2011 By Grant Van Hemert When updating, many people think of a complete removal of existing equipment, and therefore, tons of money; however, technologies have been developed that can prevent or mitigate possible issues. To minimize challenges associated with an update, first decide how the migration will be accomplished, will it be done at once or over time.

		Legislating Leak Detection - 03/24/11 Flow Control, February 2011 By Jim Drago Monitoring requires the use of Method 21, with a toxic vapor analyzer and data logger, and varies with the type of equipment – monthly for pumps and agitators, quarterly for valves and closure devices on open-ended lines, and annually for piping and equipment connectors.

		DCS and PLC/SCADA – a comparison in use - 03/24/11 Control Engineering Europe, March 2011 It may surprise you to know that PLC, HMI and SCADA implementations today are consistently proving more expensive than a DCS for the same process or batch application.

		Technology Update: Why WirelessHART? - 03/24/11 Control Engineering, March 2011 By Ira Sharp, Phoenix Contact With other industrial wireless communications options available, process industry engineers may ask, ‘What is WirelessHART, and what is it good for?’

		Rapid design, prototyping of PID controllers - 03/24/11 Control Engineering, March 2011 By Arkadiy Turevskiy, et al, MathWorks Computer models can simulate processes, allowing you to design and refine PID controller action before it is implemented and deployed.

		Managing alarms using rationalization - 03/24/11 Control Engineering, March 2011 By Todd Stauffer, exida, et al A well-functioning alarm system allows the operator to run the process close to its ideal operating point and keep it running safely. The first step in designing such a system is to establish the criteria for an alarm and document it in an alarm philosophy document.

		Process engineer job satisfaction survey - 03/24/11 Control Engineering, March 2011 By Peter Welander Process engineers are stable and generally happy people who say they enjoy their work. The pay's not bad, too.

		SCADA for Surge Control - 03/24/11 Control, March 2011 By Ahmed Hafaifa, et al This paper describes tools and techniques that can and have been used to model transient flows and performance, mechanical and control responses, and time-dependent head in compressor systems.

		Eliminating the Control Valve - 03/24/11 Control, March 2011 By Dick Caro Valves are energy hogs; they stick; they're prone to mechanical failure. so why the reluctance to replace them with VFDs?

		User-Centered Design at Work - 03/24/11 Control, March 2011 By Dan Hebert Does anyone actually use UCD in process control applications, and if so what are the challenges and benefits?

		Fieldbus: Lion or Lamb? - 03/24/11 Control, March 2011 By John Rezabek How are projects complicated by fieldbus, and what can we do to transform all the scary lions of uncertainty and late changes into docile, predictable lambs?

		Implementation barriers for advanced process control applications in the power industry - 03/21/11 By Aaron Hussey Energy Tech, February 2011 The power generation industry has been slow to adopt certain advanced control applications like sequential automation, loop assessment and tuning, and advanced process control. The Electric Power Research Institute conducted a survey to identify the barriers to implementing advanced control applications and determine the requirements for implementing and sustaining these applications.

		ODVA Industrial Networks Energy Initiative - 03/20/11 Automation.com, March 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor The intent of this energy initiative is to create a comprehensive approach to the optimization of energy usage for the industrial consumer that is scalable, open and inclusive for both users and suppliers.

		Ethernet Infrastructure - Is IPv6 another Y2K? - 03/15/11 Automation.com, March 2011 ODVA is taking IPv6 seriously because it could have major implications for existing EtherNet/IP installations and product developers. This is not unique to EtherNet/IP, the change has an impact on all Ethernet devices and infrastructure including business, industrial, home, and mobile communications.

		Software Validation And Verification Governance: A Risk-Based Approach - 02/28/11 Pharmaceutical Processing, February 2011 By Valarie King-Bailey, OnShore Technology Software errors can have catastrophic results on regulatory controlled processes if the applications are not properly designed, tested and implemented. While much focus is given to validation testing, governance of the validation process is often overlooked.

		Optimizing Plant Performance Using Predictive Diagnostics - 02/28/11 Valve Magazine, Winter 2010 Advances in intelligent control instrumentation have greatly enhanced the communications between controllers and plant personnel.

		Where Valves are Used: The Food and Beverage Industry - 02/28/11 Valve Magazine, Winter 2010 During the economic crisis, the food and beverage industry suffered less than some other industries. However, it faces challenges going forward.

		Wireless Networking in the Process Industry - 02/28/11 Valve Magazine, February 2011 By Peter Cleaveland Wireless networking is gaining steadily in popularity in the process industries, driven to a large extent by its ease of use, low installation cost and flexibility.

		Achieving Higher Efficiencies & Lower Emissions - 02/28/11 Process Heating, February 2011 By Alan L. Stehman, Cannon Boiler Works Inc. More than 24,000 installed boilers operate in the 10 million BTU to 100 million BTU range. What are the trends for this important segment?

		Setting a New Standard - 02/28/11 Flow Control, January 2011 By Mark Menezes Steam is commonly used in the upstream and downstream hydrocarbon industries for steam injection and process heating. Accurate flow measurements are needed to maintain process efficiency, detect leaks, and account for consumption.

		Industrial Wireless Update – where no wires have gone before - 02/23/11 Automation.com, February 2011 While the intense debates continue over industrial wireless standards many automation professionals are applying industrial wireless solutions to achieve greater efficiency and profits for their companies.

		OPC UA is Frictionless Bridge to New Automation Architecture - 02/21/11 Automation.com, February 2011 OPC UA elevates automation systems to the level of current computing technology by leveraging web services and Internet Protocol (IP), enabling automation systems to deliver increased value.

		Working Smarter: Diagnostic Tools Cut Costs And Save Time - 02/17/11 Process Industry Informer, February 2011 By Gary Provis ,Siemens Industry Automation Intelligent diagnostics for process systems - exemplified through easy-to-use diagnostics tools - can aid speedy fault finding and rectification, and play a central role in helping companies maintain a competitive edge.

		Calibration: supporting accuracy supports the bottom line - 02/17/11 Process Industry Informer, February 2011 By Trevor Dunger, ABB Getting the best levels of performance from pressure transmitter equipment is a more involved process than many manufacturers would have you believe. This article explains the growing importance of calibration in promoting good practice and profitability.

		Spectroscopy comes out of the lab - 02/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, February 2011 By Glenn Johnson Developments in technologies for building spectroscopes and spectrometers have advanced since the first commercial infrared spectroscope was developed in the 1940s and the first FT-IR spectrometer came on the market in 1969. Today, spectrometry is moving out of the lab and into the field and the process plant.

		Don’t be misled by commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology labels - 02/17/11 InTech, February 2011 By Bill Lydon The cost savings from adopting COTS products can be significant, but evaluating automation and control COTS alternatives can, in some cases, be challenging. Careful consideration of COTS is most important when selecting new plant automation and control systems because the selection may impact plant operations.

		The underutilization of manufacturing intelligence - 02/17/11 InTech, February 2011 By John Nesi Businesses are discovering harvesting data that has been left dormant and isolated in disparate controllers, human machine interfaces, and other plant floor systems can provide vital information about overall equipment effectiveness, system uptime, energy use, and other key performance indicators.

		Crazy Like a Fox - 02/17/11 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, February 2011 By Ali Afnan, Stepchange Pharma In the small-molecule world, some groups dabble with PAT tools for manufacturing, others venture a bit farther, also applying PAT within the R&D environment, others use PAT, but keep quiet about the applications. Very few, if any, use PAT to control an entire process.

		Optimistic for '11 - 02/17/11 Control Engineering Asia, January 2011 Unbridled enthusiasm and promotions for their own companies fills this collection of predictions from 40 or so industry leaders in Asia. Every automation vendor predicts it will do well.

		Demanding Software Security Assurance - 02/17/11 Control, February 2011 By John Cusimano, exida Security Services Owners/operators are ultimately responsible for the safety and security of their facilities, but that responsibility needs to be shared with their automation equipment suppliers. These suppliers have a responsibility to ensure that their products are safe, secure and reliable.

		Fieldbus-Where's the Love? - 02/17/11 Control, February 2011 By John Rezabek To the dismay of some in the engineer/procure/construct (EPC) world, fieldbus can add complexity that was automated out of the point-to-point world decades ago. How does fieldbus bring flux and uncertainty where there used to be order?

		Are You Ready for April Showers? - 02/14/11 IMPO, February 2011 By Greg Bruce, LPS Labs What happens after the flood water recedes? How do you go about cleaning up flooded electrical equipment? How do you protect sensitive connections against future water damage? Here’s a 3 step process to get a facility back on line and protected against the next water event.

		Controls Devices (Part 1 of 3) - 02/14/11 Automated Buildings, February 2011 By Steven R. Calabrese This installment is part one of a three-part series. It’s a “quick reference” guide to temperature controls devices, covering not all but a good amount of what makes up a typical HVAC temperature control system in this day and age.

		Cloud Control - 02/14/11 Control Design, February 2011 By Jeremy Pollard The shared resources of cloud computing could--and should--change the way automation specialists use the tools they call on daily, avoiding the need to license each vendor’s software solution separately.

		Don't Neglect Energy Auditing - 02/11/11 Chemical Processing, February 2011 By Mark Rosenzweig When was the last time that your plant audited its compressed air system? Not properly monitoring compressed air and steam systems is foolish and can be costly.

		Neglect Level Control at Your Peril - 02/11/11 Chemical Processing, February 2011 By Cecil Smith, Cecil L. Smith, Inc. Part 1 of 4: Neglecting level control carries definite risks. Indeed, loss of level control has contributed to three major industrial accidents.

		Stop Loops Driving You Round the Bend - 02/11/11 Chemical Processing, February 2011 By Dirk Willard Our professors meant well. They taught us to solve the most difficult problems, not the simple ones. But process control at the plant level is fairly simple.

		Future Fieldbus Trends - 02/11/11 Industrial Networking, February 2011 By P. Hunter Vegas These predictions might be a bit less rosy (but hopefully more accurate) than those espoused in the glossy, color marketing brochures and the flashy articles written on the hottest technology du jour.

		Important Operating System Characteristics for Safe and Secure Applications - 02/11/11 Design News, February 2011 By Joe Wlad, Wind River When computing platforms are used in applications where safety or security is paramount, special requirements may need to be addressed.

		Real-time Video Adds Fourth Dimension to HMI Software - 02/11/11 Automation World, January 2011 By Craig Resnick, ARC Because it's well accepted that "seeing is believing," integrating real-time live video into human-machine interface (HMI) tools provides an excellent opportunity to maximize operator effectiveness.

		Cloud Computing—The Next Automation Wave - 02/11/11 Automation World, January 2011 By Rob Spiegel The view of cloud computing as a viable option for automation tools and applications flipped from skepticism to widespread acceptance in a couple of years. Cost was the final tipping factor that pushed plants into the cloud.

		Using wireless sensors in industrial applications - 02/07/11 Process & Control Engineering, January 2011 By Motti Gill The last few years, wired industrial sensors have become smarter and smaller. At the same time another key development has taken place: A growing interest and utilisation of wireless sensor in industrial applications.

		Revealing network threats, fears - 02/07/11 InTech, February 2011 By Eric Byres Data shows security problems arise from three common sources: proliferation of “soft” targets, multiple points of entry, and poor network segmentation. Here’s how to use ANSI/ISA-99 standards to improve control system security.

		Black armbands for APC? - 02/07/11 InTech, February 2011 By Allan Kern People often ask: “Why is advanced process control (APC) utilization low?” Or: “Why are so many manipulated variables (MVs) clamped?” These questions show progress, because many people do not recognize a “defeated” APC, much less understand what brought it about.

		Unified visual intelligence - 02/07/11 InTech, February 2011 By Tim Donaldson Real-time collaboration, visualization dashboards present information in a way users can understand quickly.

		Wireless mobile alarm implementation - 02/07/11 InTech, February 2011 By David Milne Excellence in integrated mobile alarm management requires attention to control, asset management, productivity, and regulatory issues.

		Boiler feedwater control - 02/07/11 InTech, February 2011 By G. F. (Jerry) Gilman A two element system controlling the feedwater control valve from the steam flow signal and resetting the drum level signal is able to handle some of the less difficult systems. Larger units with small storage capacity and units experiencing severe, rapid load swings, usually require three element control

		Success in energy conservation - 02/07/11 InTech, February 2011 By Troy Miller Successful energy conservation programs begin with the development of a comprehensive, long-term plan of continuous improvement. Often this step is skipped, left incomplete, done once and not revisited, or is not broadly communicated throughout an organization.

		Device Diagnostics and Asset Management - 02/07/11 Control Engineering, January 2011 By Herman Storey, Herman Storey Consulting As field devices and networks get smarter, are we getting any smarter on how we use them and put that information to work? Effective use of automated diagnostic capabilities in devices in a larger context of an asset management program can provide huge benefits in manufacturing at many levels.

		Rockwell Automation's pursuit of process control - 01/31/11 Automation.com, February 2011 I recently interviewed the two key executives leading Rockwell Automation’s process industry initiative, Som Chakraborti and Steve Pulsifer. We discussed their focus on the process markets, PlantPAx, the sales channel, Ethernet/IP, wireless, and how they compare to traditional DCS systems.

		Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) - Part 4 - Wireless in Manufacturing - 01/25/11 Automation.com, January 2011 This is the fourth article in a series about the annual Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR). Automation professionals from leading life sciences companies discussed the use of wireless technologies in manufacturing, citing specific successful examples.

		Major Automation & Control Trends 2011 - 01/25/11 Automation.com, January 2011 I am taking a risk at the beginning of the year to provide my thoughts on automation and control industry trends. I invite readers to contact me and share any other trends or expand on the trends listed. Trends include industrial Ethernet proliferation, leveraging information, remote monitoring, virtualization, mobile device usage, energy conservation and wireless implementations.

		Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) - 5 Part Article Series - 01/25/11 Automation.com, January 2011 This 5 part article series is based on the recent Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR). Automation professionals from leading life sciences companies gathered together to discuss MES, visualization, software development, system life-cycle planning, executive governance, electronic testing, wireless and more.

		Back to Basics: PID - 01/16/11 Automated Buildings, January 2011 By Nirosha Munasinghe, Open General This article examines the common principle behind control; the PID algorithm, and examines the common mistakes and assumptions used in the industry.

		Understand Safety System Tradeoffs - 01/16/11 Chemical Processing, January 2011 By Ian Verhappen, Industrial Automation Networks Many facilities may be missing an opportunity to improve safety via a fieldbus. The majority of fieldbus protocols now have an approved safety bus. In addition, many automation vendors today favor integrating the safety instrumented system (SIS) with the process control system.

		Do Your Level Best - 01/16/11 Chemical Processing, January 2011 By Dirk Willard Level control with dP transmitters appears simple but really isn't. In some cases, integral calculus is actually good for something!

		How to Hijack a Controller - 01/16/11 Control, January 2011 By Ralph Langner Even though Stuxnet as such is not a generic attack on control systems, several parts of the attack are generic, and these parts are easy to copy. With these generic attack techniques, an attacker may not only implement a similar targeted and surgical strike, but may choose to create widespread, random havoc, using any vendor's controller.

		Innovation in Industrial PCs - 01/16/11 Control, January 2011 By Jim Montague industrial PCs will never stop getting smaller, faster, more powerful and less expensive. And these ongoing changes will keep driving developers and users to deploy computers in new process applications where it would have been too difficult or costly to use them just a short time ago.

		Automation Standards Are More Like Guidelines - 01/16/11 Control, January 2011 By Jim Montague The IEC 61131-3 standard for programming PLCs is a non-standard because many of its rules are so generally stated, and because it allows so many exceptions and proprietary software extensions that its initial definitions and original promise of portability of software between devices is unfulfilled.

		Muxes and Field-Sourced Power - 01/16/11 Control, January 2011 By John Rezabek Unlike traditional remote I/O solutions, Electronic Marshalling collapses knife edge disconnects and I/O conditioning to a small module that publishes the signal to an "I/O cloud" accessible by controllers.

		Intelligent valves for smart control loops - 01/16/11 Process & Control Engineering, January 2011 By Chris Hoey With conventional centralised automation of process valves it is often difficult to meet the necessary service delivery and life cycle standards. Intelligent process valves with integrated electronic and pneumatic automation functions offer an can help reduce planning, installation and maintenance costs.

		Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) - Part 2 - Virtualization & Software Configuration Management - 01/11/11 Automation.com, January 2011 This is the second article in a series that are the result of the annual Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR). A PAR member started the discussion by relating their experience deploying Virtual Machine (VM) technology. Then the discussion turned to Software Development Environment & Configuration Management.

		Sensor and Actuator Circuits: Safety & Reliablility - 01/09/11 Industrial Automation Asia, January 2011 By Erich Fischer, E-T-A Germany The failure of the I/O field voltage not only has a devastating impact on process value acquisition, process visualisation and mandatory plant reporting, but may even bring entire field sections to a standstill.

		New Technology Keeps Projects On Time and On Budget - 01/09/11 Automation World, December 2010 By Rob Spiegel Most projects have two things in common—they break the budget and they're late. New technology tools have emerged to help project managers keep their projects from slipping off the rails.

		Automation Suppliers Strive to Boost Product Usability - 01/09/11 Automation World, December 2010 By Wes Iversen Many of today's industrial products, with their ever-growing feature sets, have become too complex and difficult to use. Vendors are beginning to take notice. Automation suppliers are stepping up their efforts to reduce complexity in their products and make them easier to use.

		PC-based control - it is time for change - 01/09/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2011 By Conrad Muller, Beckhoff Automation South Africa In many process plants, the PLC simply plays the role of an ‘interlock’ or PID code repository, with most of the system intelligence based in the external SCADA, MES or analysis software application zones.

		Will Panel Builders Soon Rule The World? - 01/09/11 Process & Control Today, January 2011 By Stuart Harvey, SoftStart UK Previously, the battle cry was always “cut costs.” But now the drive is to improve value, add functionality, integrate operations, improve performance, increase system working life, design out operating costs, cut energy use, and reduce downtime. And the humble control panel is at the heart of all the above.

		File this under: Bad habits for control engineers - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Dennis Brandl Most computer file systems are modeled on paper filing systems, even having a filing cabinet metaphor and “folder” icons as the file system interface. While this model worked in the 20th century, it is increasingly counterproductive for modern automation projects.

		Sustainable Engineering: Energy master plan reduces costs - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Jerry Carter and Zach Platsis, SSOE Group Need higher efficiency? Drop the piecemeal approach to managing energy and sustainability initiatives. An integrated energy master plan, including discrete, batch, and processing lines, helps industrial and manufacturing companies realize cost, efficiency, and operational benefits.

		Training Approaches for Using Simulators to Teach Process Control Systems - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Dr. Richard C. Ortloff Simulators are a powerful tool for training operators, but how you use them has a major effect on overall effectiveness. Don’t let technology make you forget the human factors.

		Multiple flavors of Ethernet - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Jeanine Katzel The evolution and proliferation of Ethernet has smoothed the path to integrating the automation space, enabling open protocols such as OPC to function optimally.

		Integrating Disparate Control Systems - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Jeanine Katzel Advances in open systems and network technologies are showing vendors and manufacturers alike that ‘playing nice on the same wire’ can build bridges among once-isolated islands of automation and reap benefits for everyone.

		Process control simulations adapt to growing complexities - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Javier Gutierrez, National Instruments Although simulation technology has been used in the process control industry for a number of years, the computer processing power available in today’s engineering desktop is helping engineers build better systems while reducing their overall design cost.

		Performance metrics for Industrial Ethernet Industrial Ethernet Book By James Moyne and Dawn Tilbury Industrial Ethernet is appealing for mission-critical use such as control and safety. The application context demands a fresh look at the performance issues involved. The University of Michigan's Engineering Research Centre for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems has been exploring the issue with a reconfigurable factory test bed using fully networked control, diagnostics and safety capabilities.

		Continuous Improvement in PROFINET - 01/05/11 Automation.com, January 2011 By Bill Lydon Carl Henning, Deputy Director of PI North America, and I recently discussed the automation industry, PI North America organization, and PROFINET technology developments. Here's an update on the organization, PROFIenergy, PROFINET for process control, and wireless.

		Significant Financial Gains Come with Upgrading an Aging Control System to More Modern Technology - 12/21/10 Automation.com, December 2010 By upgrading aging control systems, manufacturers and processing companies are optimizing production flow and enjoying significant gains in productivity and ROI on their control system investments.

		ASME: A modified double reheat cycle - 12/20/10 Energy Tech, December 2010 By Sven Kjaer And Frank Drinhaus A simple modification of the conventional double reheat cycle, named the Master Cycle or MC, solves superheating problems by moving the hot IP turbine bleeds to a separate turbine (which might replace the feed pump turbine) fed by steam from the first cold reheat steam line.

		Get to know the PAS 55 asset management standard - 12/18/10 Reliable Plant, November 2010 By Mike Poland, Life Cycle Engineering The new PAS 55standard will not only pertain to physical assets but to all other organizational assets as well. It will explain what to do, not how to do it, and finally allow organizations to self-declare conformity.

		The 5 biggest risks to effective asset management - 12/18/10 Reliable Plant, December 2010 By Carl March, Life Cycle Engineering There are at least five risks that primarily contribute to an organization’s failure to optimally manage their assets: 1) not knowing what they have; 2) over- or under-maintenance; 3) improper operation; 4) improper risk management; and 5) suboptimized asset management systems.

		Diagnostic Technologies Drive Smarter Turnarounds - 12/18/10 Maintenance Technology, December 2010 By Wally Vahlstrom and Jeff W. Jostad, Emerson Pre-outage testing or evaluation of essential assets yields predictive diagnostics well in advance. Better information enables the turnaround team to work smarter, avoiding those unexpected issues that cause schedule and cost overruns.

		Improving Project Success Rates through Standardization - 12/18/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, December 2010 By Fernando Portes A surprisingly small number of corporate projects actually succeed. One of the keys to reducing the risk of failure is to develop standardized best practices that can be applied to each project.

		The SCADA Future - 12/18/10 Control Engineering Asia, November 2010 Industry experts tell CE Asia of the good growth prospects ahead for SCADA systems technology in the region, but also warn of cyber security challenges that need to be addressed.

		Control Challenges Can Pinch Energy Savings - 12/18/10 Chemical Processing, December 2010 By Andrew Sloley As a process becomes more heat-integrated, control becomes more difficult. Inability to control has real costs.

		An Undeniable Impact - 12/18/10 Industrial Networking, December 2010 By Dan Hebert Ten years ago, we suffered through the multi-headed fieldbus monster, when eight different technologies were established as standards. Today, that effort seems like a rehearsal for what we're going through with multiple wireless technologies, many Ethernet protocols, several instrument buses and different device buses.

		Stuxnet: Cybersecurity Trojan horse - 12/14/10 InTech, December 2010 By Joe Weiss Much has been written about Stuxnet from many different sources and perspectives. However, there are still many misconceptions and lessons to be learned. The purpose of this article is to provide observations and recommendations for industrial control system (ICS) cybersecurity practitioners and standards organizations to consider.

		A Roadmap for a Safe and Productive Plant Automation.com, December 2010 Safety has always been a critical measure of success for industrial organizations. Aberdeen Group surveyed more than 230 manufacturing executives to understand how the industry leaders are able to improve productivity without compromising plant safety. This article will highlight the roles business processes and technology play in improving safety and productivity in industrial plants.

		Rockwell Automation Fair 2010 - Smart, Safe & Sustainable Manufacturing Automation.com, December 2010 Highlights from Automation Fair 2010 include an overview of Rockwell Automation's process control initiatives, their vision of a standard, unmodified Ethernet infrastructure, and the release of the Micro800 PLC product line, designed specifically for machine builders.

		Get closer to history with OPC - 12/12/10 What’s New in Process Technology, November 2010 By Matrikon Offline analysis of historical process data is an integral part of process optimisation and production tracking. OPC helps maximise the return on process history investments by providing a standardised mechanism for collection of real-time process data and by enabling scalable multivendor and distributed historical analysis solutions.

		Process control gets a makeover with new-generation DCS - 12/12/10 What’s New in Process Technology, December 2010 By Rockwell Automation Australia Historically, there has been a clear divide between control strategies for process and discrete applications. However, with the recent development of a new generation of DCS systems, the distinctions are now not so clear-cut.

		Control rooms set to disappear in the future - 12/12/10 Control Engineering Europe, November 2010 By Mike Babb Modern, progressive companies who use the latest communication technologies will find their large control rooms rely less and less on operators sitting at central control panels. Much of the work can be automated, and the operators sent to other areas of the plant that need special attention.

		Electronic marshalling - 12/12/10 Control Engineering Europe, December 2010 By Rune Reppenhagen, Emerson Process Management This new field wiring technique drastically reduces engineering time in process automation installations.

		Custody Transfer: Flowmeter as Cash Register - 12/12/10 Control Engineering, November 2010 By Emerie Dupuis and Gerard Hwang When bulk liquid or gas products change hands, everyone has to agree on the quantity and the product quality. This puts very special demands on instrumentation.

		Control Systems, HMI Change Management, Security - 12/12/10 Control Engineering, November 2010 By Krzysztof Pietrusewicz and Mariusz Postol Change management and security concerns have increased as human-machine interfaces have become more open and expose process data and metadata. Security precautions need to provide selective availability to control functions. OPC can help.

		Are you using the wrong control system tools? - 12/12/10 Control Engineering, November 2010 By Dennis Brandl Applying the wrong tools in control system projects can be akin to using stone knives and bearskins. Which of these five misused tools are killing your productivity?

		HMI in the Cloud: The secret SaaS - 12/12/10 InTech, December 2010 By Ramal Murali This article presents ideas on how Software as a Service (SaaS) is an essential ingredient to make Human Machine Interface “(HMI) in the Cloud” a reality.

		A postcard from the promised land of alarm management - 12/12/10 InTech, December 2010 By Nicholas Sands and Donald Dunn Once you have achieved the benefits of a well-managed alarm system, you wonder how you ever ran the plant without it. We haven’t seen a nuisance alarm or major alarm flood in months. The plant has never run so well. The weather is fine. Wish you were here.

		Wireless standards in action - 12/12/10 InTech, December 2010 By Soroush Amidi This article provides a snapshot of one of the current standards, ISA-100.11a, and boils down the key elements that make it unique in addressing user needs.

		Control System Buying Check List - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By Lysette Hunt A control system must be able to meet the needs of its application. By evaluating the technical needs, some control systems may be eliminated. Here’s a list to help to determine minimum system requirements.

		You Get the Security You're Willing to Pay For - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By Walt Boyes You have to be firm with your vendors and with your integrators, and insist on secure implementation of secure-by-design systems and devices. No caving when they tell you that will cost lots extra—or you'll get what you are willing to pay for.

		Millions Sold in Europe! - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By John Rezabek 80% of end users surveyed are upgrading their control systems only, leaving field devices "as is." One reason to replace old systems is their inability to natively interact with smart devices speaking open protocols such as HART, Foundation fieldbus or Profibus PA.

		How Can the NERC CIP Standards Be Improved? - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By Jay Abshier, Sentigy and Phil Marasco, Ison Many people familiar with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and its Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards say the standards are flawed. The requirements in the CIP standards are pretty good, but they do not address common methods of attacking a protected network.

		Top 50 Automation Vendors - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By Walt Boyes and Larry O'Brien The entire industry was hurt in 2009, and badly. From a total revenue of $87.6 billion in our last report, revenues plunged in 2009 to $77.8 billion—an incredible devaluation of more than 11% in a single year. Here’s the Top 50 autmation vendors.

		Cloud Computing Proves Essential for Engineering Automation Teams - 12/07/10 Automation.com, December 2010 Power plant management represents one of the most demanding applications for engineering automation software. Equipment from different manufacturers must be coordinated, simultaneously using several protocols. Many facilities require the use of up to a million tags, refreshed at sub-second intervals.

		Invensys OpsManage 2010: Enterprise Control System - the journey continues... Automation.com, November 2010 At Invensys OpsManage 2010, IOM expanded on their Enterprise Control System (ECS). Steve Blair defined enterprise control as understanding and manipulating the real business drivers to optimize operations from plant floor through enterprise.

		Emerson Exchange 2010 - Conquering Complexity - 11/23/10 Automation.com, November 2010 The 2010 Emerson Global Users Exchange in San Antonio, Texas was a successful event, hosting more than 2300 attendees, representing 47 different countries. Bill Lydon reviews a few of the event highlights including keynote addresses, Human Centered Design, Asset management enhancements, DeltaV product roadmap, and control over wireless.

		PACs versus PLCs - 11/21/10 Design News, November 2010 By Al Presher The line between programmable automation controllers (PACs) and traditional programmable logic controllers (PLCs) is blurring, and continues to be re-defined both by applications and a set of key network connectivity, cost and programmability issues.

		Catch Problems Before Process Shutdown - 11/21/10 Automation World, November 2010 By Rob Spiegel Plants are using diagnostics and prognostics to catch problems before they shut down the process.

		New Inventory Update Rule Reporting Heads Our Way - 11/21/10 Chemical Processing, November 2010 By Lynn Bergeson The EPA proposed important revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Update Rule (IUR). Here’s why chemical manufacturers and other stakeholders must be aware of the proposal and prepare now for its implications.

		Valves Turn-Around - 11/21/10 Control, November 2010 By Jim Montague Because they serve in the vital junctions of every process application, valves get plenty of attention in the form of upgraded designs, improved transmitters, enhanced diagnostics, better networking and new safety functions.

		We Get It - Wireless Works - 11/21/10 Control, November 2010 By John Rezabek Can anyone remember an instrument technology that was marketed with such persistence and zeal? WirelessHART products have been available since at least 2007, and today one can obtain compatible products from ABB, Endress+Hauser, Siemens, Pepperl+Fuchs, Emerson and others.

		Product Lifecycle Management in the Food Industry: No Candy Coating - 11/16/10 Automation.com, November 2010 By Thomas R. Cutler Responding quickly to market trends with profitable, successful new products is the only way to achieve success in the hyper-competitive, margin-thin food and beverage marketplace. New products that drive revenue and meet customer and retailer demands are essential (while complying with stringent regulations.) Even one failed product development initiative is too costly.

		Wastewater investments focus on control and automation - 11/15/10 European Process Engineer, November 2010 As the latest investments show, everything from water quality to leak detection depends on having the very best in automation and control technology.

		Automation solutions key to process management and optimisation - 11/15/10 European Chemical Engineer, November 2010 The latest automation solutions aimed at the chemical industry focus on reducing total cost of ownership, safety system development and delivery, improved functionality, and asset optimisation.

		Are Coriolis flowmeters a universal technology? - 11/15/10 Control Engineering, October 2010 By Jerry Stevens, Endress+Hauser Coriolis meters are not only used to measure mass flow of liquid and gas, but also to measure density, temperature, and viscosity. Using these multi-variable measurements, Coriolis meters are effective in a wide range of applications including custody transfer, API Gravity measurements, and cut analysis.

		The SCADA Future - 11/15/10 Control Engineering Asia, October 2010 Supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA for short, is already impacting the lives of millions today but there are still security challenges when it comes to integrating SCADA with today’s technology.

		Wireless Horizons - 11/15/10 Control Engineering Asia, October 2010 By Madanmohan Rao Wireless is continuing to grow in the industrial space as some of the newer technologies are more capable and secure. Choice does not always have to be accompanied by complexity in this case, especially when future-proofing is concerned.

		Emerson Executive Point of View - 11/09/10 Automation.com, November 2010 Bill Lydon talks with Steve Sonnenberg and Peter Zornio about a number of topics including business challenges, what their customers should be planning for, wireless, cloud computing, and what technologies will have the greatest impact on automation.

		Holding industrial wireless vendors to account - 11/07/10 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2010 By Brett Biondi, Elpro Technologies While wireless technology has moved well beyond simple point-to-point connectivity, the fundamental tenets of the technology remain the same. However, one shouldn’t be put off, and we don’t all need to be certified RF engineers to start making informed choices.

		Historian's demise greatly exaggerated - 11/07/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, November 2010 By Elliott Middleton, Invensys To enable the analysis of a process, it is necessary to record information regarding operating parameters and states at the time of production. This is where the plant historian becomes a useful application tool.

		Intelligent toxic gas detection - 11/07/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, November 2010 By Allen Avery, ARC Advisory Group In the wake of several high profile industrial accidents, owner/operators in South Africa’s refining, petro-chemicals, and other process industries should consider upgrading and modernising the toxic and combustible gas detection equipment installed in their mines and their plants.

		Improve SCADA operations using wireless instrumentation - 11/07/10 Process & Control Engineering, November 2010 By Hany Fouda Australia's extensive mining operations, water projects, water and waste water treatment plants and pipelines all lend themselves to using wireless to connect remote monitoring systems with centralised SCADA systems and control rooms. But not everyone is convinced.

		Industrial data now in the Cloud - 11/01/10 Automation.com, October 2010 By Bill Lydon Software Toolbox is now providing a cloud-based repository for industrial plant data which can be accessed with web-based clients. Industrial applications using cloud computing are starting to emerge. The IT world has been using cloud computing to lower ongoing support costs and provide greater flexibility.

		GMS: Performance monitoring solutions for power plants - 10/26/10 Power Engineering, October 2010 The generating utility market’s deregulation has underscored the value of stand-alone generation management systems – real-time control systems that monitor and control generation assets over a wide dispatch area, helping firms maximize the benefits of corporate control over key elements of their industry while allowing autonomous plant operation in some day-to-day functions.

		Trends in Network Protocols - 10/26/10 Automation World, October 2010 By Rob Spiegel The trend in protocols for industrial networks is moving away from vendor-specific solutions.

		Defending Against the Next Stuxnet - 10/26/10 Automation World, October 2010 By Wes Iversen Experts agree that defense in depth is the best approach to guard against future cyber attacks targeting industrial control system networks. Here's a look at two emerging technologies that may provide added tools for defense-in-depth strategies.

		FDT Adds .Net Support - 10/26/10 Automation World, October 2010 By Gary Mintchell This article takes a look at Field Device Type/Device Type Manager (FDT/DTM). The most striking difference between the two is that EDDL is text-based, while FDT is built upon Microsoft Windows.

		Operators use diagnostic data to optimize production and eliminate maintenance problems before they start - 10/21/10 Plant Services, October 2010 By Paul Studebaker Instead of predicting and planning maintenance work, condition-monitoring principles and technologies can inform operators directly, so they can make machine, process or operation adjustments, continue to run and maintain quality levels.

		Consider Discrete Event Simulation - 10/21/10 Chemical Processing, October 2010 By Dayana Cope, Eastman Chemical Contrary to what the name might suggest, discrete event simulation (DES) isn't just for "widget" manufacturing. Indeed, it has particular value in the chemical industry. Yet, chemical makers have been slow to adopt this methodology.

		Watch Out for Two-Phase Flow - 10/21/10 Chemical Processing, October 2010 By Andrew Sloley Two-phase flow can present challenges. The greatest problems occur when two-phase flow shows up unexpectedly. Elevation changes with equilibrium liquids can lead to such situations.

		Avoid Surprises During Pump Startup - 10/21/10 Chemical Processing, October 2010 By Dirk Willard A well-thought-out approach can eliminate potential problems.

		Buying high quality used process equipment - 10/21/10 European Process Engineer, October 2010 By Dylan Dyer Purchasing used process equipment and plants can save a great deal in comparison to buying new equipment which means companies can free up capital for other projects.

		IECEx Certification of Personnel Competency - 10/21/10 Oil & Gas Engineer, October 2010 After a number of years in the planning, the new IECEx Scheme for Certification of Personnel Competency is off the ground. Plant owners now have an opportunity to use a worldwide standard for judging whether or not the staff they employ to install, inspect and maintain their plant are truly competent for the purpose.

		Optimising Ethernet Performance in Manufacturing Plants - 10/20/10 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2010 By Bill Wotruba, Belden The consideration of environmental risks and the selection of suitable hardware are essential to long-term network performance and reliability.

		PLM: A Strategy Of Sustainability - 10/20/10 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2010 By Rama Tiwari, Autodesk South East Asia In a sea of increasing costs and constant change, manufacturing companies have to adopt the right practices in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) to stay afloat.

		The immersive virtual reality plant - 10/20/10 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2010 By Maurizio Rovaglio and Tobias Scheele, Invensys Operations Management Today, with continuing advances in hardware and software techniques, virtual reality (VR) is viewed as the best aid to improving multimedia training, process design, maintenance and safety, which are currently based around conventional 2D equipment views.

		Optimised paper production: Part 3 - 10/20/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2010 By Carol Jackson, OSIsoft A common strategy of mill-wide information systems in a pulp and paper company is to report production and costs to the mill’s ERP system at the end of every product run. This requires real-time measurement of manufacturing costs.

		Part 6 - How to implement MES and EMI - 10/20/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2010 By Ugan Maistry, EOH Mining and Manufacturing All that is left is to see how MES and EMI should best be implemented to meet end-user expectations, minimise risk and deliver the best value.

		Opt for innovative design partnerships - 10/20/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2010 In South Africa, there are too few qualified persons with water and wastewater plant experience to handle the growth in the utilities market.

		The Can of Worms Is Open-Now What? - 10/19/10 Control, October 2010 By John Cusimano, Exida, and Eric Byres, Byres Security Designing a good cyber defense for your SCADA or process control system is no longer an option.

		Worst Fears Realized - 10/19/10 Control, October 2010 By Nancy Bartels A scary piece of malware named Stuxnet is in town. Remember its name. Its arrival may make you want to change the way you think about control system security.

		The Straight Scoop on OPC and Security - 10/19/10 Control, October 2010 By Roy Kok So you're considering OPC for an application, and with today's concerns over security, you want to make sure your choice is a good one. Is OPC capable? In order to answer that question, we need to ask and answer a few others first.

		OPC: Standardizing Integration of Security and Energy Management - 10/19/10 Control, October 2010 By Eric Murphy Many organizations are putting intelligent infrastructure networks in place that enable them to add systems to make their operations more efficient. The key to integrating these systems, including security and energy management, is the adoption of open standards such as OPC.

		Simplifying Connections - 10/13/10 Control Engineering Asia, September 2010 By Nathan Pettus Electronic Marshalling of I/O focuses on the areas of commissioning a process automation system that are the most complex, involve many hours of labor, or that can disrupt a project the most.

		The Service Solution - 10/13/10 Control Engineering Asia, September 2010 By G Venkatesh Equipment suppliers and automation solutions providers, who not very long ago used to “supply it, install it and forget it”, are now being called on to nurture the equipment and systems they supply, all through their lifetimes.

		7 tips for an industrial Ethernet cyber security strategy - 10/13/10 Control Engineering, September 2010 By Peter Wood, GarrettCom Industrial operations are becoming more aware of their vulnerability to cyber mischief or cyber attacks. Here are seven tips that can create the foundation for a cyber security strategy.

		Control architecture, who needs it? - 10/13/10 Control Engineering, September 2010 By Dennis Brandl, BR&L Consulting Unsuccessful projects will often fail to have anyone clearly assigned to the architect role or will not have a well-defined architecture. This will not make a project successful, but lacking both will leave your project “out-of-control.”

		Integrated Controllers Grow in Power - 10/13/10 Control Engineering, September 2010 By Jeanine Katzel Rapid technology advancements in hardware and software for panel PCs and related devices are improving equipment design and performance, bringing savings in time, space, and money while maintaining a stable, reliable, and familiar work platform.

		Control engineering and information groups at odds? - 10/13/10 InTech, October 2010 By Bill Lydon, InTech Controls and IT people are tending to work closer together. According to the InTech salary survey, 47% of control engineers cooperate with their IT groups, and 8.1% of the salary survey respondents indicated the IT and engineering groups have been combined.

		Component object-based SCADA - 10/12/10 InTech, October 2010 By Steve Garbrecht Component and object-oriented software architectures have been successful for many years in the commercial computing world, but now these methods are making their way into the process control and SCADA software communities.

		Balancing security and safety with risk - 10/12/10 InTech, October 2010 By Graham Speake Process control systems have almost universally moved from being a custom development to using a Microsoft Windows platform. Malware writers have now set their sights on control system vulnerabilities and started to develop viruses.

		It’s not all about the money. Should it be? - 10/12/10 InTech, October 2010 By Rick Zabel Annual salary survey indicates job satisfaction is high among automation professionals. The average salary of all respondents combined is $84,371.

		Reducing process variability - 10/12/10 InTech, October 2010 By Joseph S. Alford Working toward “optimal” process and plant control is often mentioned as a justification for increased automation. This article discusses the value of plant automation from a different perspective—that of reducing plant operation and product variability.

		Addressing the Myths of Model Predictive Control (MPC) - 10/02/10 By Don Morrison, Honeywell Process Solutions Key misconceptions are based on the common shortcomings of traditional model predictive control: complexity of configuration, speed of execution, interpretation of noise in the system, and over-active movement of the final control element. But an intelligently implemented MPC strategy can result in increased plant efficiencies over PID.

		Optimize. Innovate. Sustain. - 09/26/10 Automation.com, September 2010 Honeywell Process Solutions India organized its annual User Meet on 30th & 31st Aug 2010 at Madh Island, Mumbai on the theme of ‘Optimize. Innovate. Sustain.’ The event saw an overwhelming participation from companies across all industry segments and focused on providing solutions to increase business performance & protect automation investments.

		When Process Safety Efforts Fail: The Risks to Corporate Executives - 09/25/10 Power Engineering, September 2010 There are few places on earth more lonely than the space occupied by a corporate executive who is potentially responsible for a process safety mishap resulting in significant injuries to property, the environment and people.

		Green Collars--Where are the Jobs? - 09/25/10 Electric Light & Power, September 2010 By Kristen Wright Where are the 5 million green-collar jobs 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged to create within 10 years? Two years into his presidency, nobody knows what qualifies, including government agencies and environmental groups.

		The Counterfeit Conundrum: Protecting Company And Customer - 09/24/10 Manufacturing.net, September 2010 By Duane Sword, vice president, Thermo Scientific Manufacturers need to be prepared to protect their brand, product and customers. Technology is needed to differentiate between legitimate products and counterfeits so that fakes can be kept out of the supply chain and out of customers’ hands.

		Natural gas quality monitoring over the Internet - No programmers required - 09/21/10 Automation.com, September 2010 By Bill Lydon The PlantGard natural gas remote monitoring device allows easy access to real-time 24/7 gas quality updates remotely through a mobile device. The unit consists of a laser device and a NI CompactRIO controller that monitors particle distribution, flow rate, and process conditions in the pipeline.

		No Time for Process Control? - 09/16/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Setember 2010 By Agnes Shanley This is the fifth year survey of readers on their automation and process control practices. Results suggest that little has changed. In fact, resistance to such FDA-supported initiatives as Quality by Design (QbD) and Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) continues to be seen.

		Don't Model in a Vacuum - 09/16/10 Chemical Processing, September 2010 By Andrew Sloley and Scott Henson Understand the limits of your data and beware of extrapolation. This point deserves endless repetition because uncritical acceptance of computer output contributes to many process problems.

		Take Advantage of Fieldbus - 09/16/10 Chemical Processing, September 2010 By Craig McIntyre, Endress+Hauser Fieldbus systems can provide tremendous benefits in terms of lower costs, increased uptime and better overall plant performance. But take care when selecting and deploying the fieldbus solution; it's often best to start small.

		Your Next Network Connection Could Be a Powerline - 09/12/10 Machine Design, August 2010 By Leland E. Teschler Goodbye to fieldbus? Maybe so, if a new generation of powerline-communication gear lives up to expectations. Smart-grid applications for power-line communications could pave the way for using the technology as a less-expensive fieldbus networking scheme.

		Find the Bottlenecks - 09/12/10 Control Design, September 2010 By Jeremy Pollard If you're going to be creating a server-based system with some clients on the floor and using any connection method, then you'll need to find the bottlenecks. So, where are the bottlenecks and the big issues?

		Alarms Simplified - 09/12/10 Control Design, September 2010 By Dan Hebert Alarm systems have progressed significantly since the days of light boxes, illuminated indicators and pushbuttons. Most advances have been due to three technologies: programmable graphics terminals, Ethernet/Internet communications and controllers with PC-like functionality.

		Graphics Lighten the Programming Load - 09/12/10 Automation World, September 2010 By James R. Koelsch Graphical tools have a life beyond the design and programming phases of a project. Because graphics allow users to see how the different function blocks or other elements of a program fit together, graphical tools are a kind of self documentation that is much easier to comprehend than ladder logic.

		Using Workflow to Bolster Plant Performance - 09/12/10 Automation World, September 2010 By Rob Spiegel Plants are using workflow processes to improve efficiency, support regulatory compliance and train new engineers.

		EDDL: Real-time Communication With Field Devices - 09/12/10 Automation World, September 2010 By Gary Mintchell People use Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) often without realizing that’s what they are using.

		Loop Tuning Grows Smarter - 09/12/10 Automation World, September 2010 By C. Kenna Amos What’s hot now in proportional-integral-derivative (PID) loop tuning? That depends on who’s asked.

		Influence of the use of fieldbus - 09/12/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, September 2010 By Paul Sikhakhane, Tongaat Hulett The 4-20mA era is coming to an end and fieldbus is at the takeover stage. Soon those who are not seeking to understand the benefits and adapting will have the change forced upon them.

		Terminal automation no longer optional - 09/12/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, September 2010 By Paul Miller, ARC Terminal automation is more important today than ever before. Nevertheless, many smaller petroleum product terminals continue to operate with a relatively low level of automation and many larger terminals operate with outdated, poorly supported automation technology and/or a hodgepodge of disconnected systems.

		Back to Basics: Closed-loop stability - 09/10/10 Control Engineering, August 2010 By Vance VanDoren Tutorial: Stability is how a control loop reduces errors between the measured process variable and its desired value or setpoint.

		Fallout from Stuxnet Continues - 09/10/10 Control, September 2010 Stuxnet is notable not only for its technical sophistication, but also for the fact that it targets industrial control systems (ICS) designed to run power plants including nuclear plants, smart grid, water systems, off-shore oil platforms, ships, other critical infrastructure. Just because Stuxnet was first discovered in a Siemens system, doesn't mean other ICSs aren't vulnerable.

		Convergence-or Not. That's the Question - 09/10/10 Control, September 2010 By Walt Boyes We have a serious problem with the adoption of wireless field devices in the process industries. Now that the Chinese WIA standard has been approved by IEC, we are very close to having four standards. The drive of the ISA100.11a team to produce a new version of ISA100.11a-2010 could actually produce a fifth standard.

		Everyone, Do Your Own Math - 09/10/10 Control, September 2010 By John Rezabek The incremental costs to add spurs to fieldbus segments make WirelessHART at best a break-even option in many circumstances.

		Simulation Breaks Out - 09/10/10 Control, September 2010 By Jim Montague Process simulations are bursting their former boundaries and storming into optimization, model-predictive control, abnormal situations management and closing in on real-time operations.

		High-End Features at Low-End Prices - 09/10/10 Control, September 2010 By Dan Hebert Inexpensive PACs and PLCs provide the features and performance of high-end PACs, PLCs and even DCSs at low-end prices.

		Cimquest INGEAR Finds Eclectic Customer Base to Assist in Automation Automation.com, September 2010 By Thomas R. Cutler I recently interviewed eight distinct companies about technology, efficiency, and automation trends. While the numerator was different, the technology solution selected by each company, the denominator, was remarkably consistent. Each of these individuals interviewed performed one act in common. Each Googled the phrase ".NET PLC driver."

		More Than 90 Percent of Damaging Lightning Storms Occur From April Through September - 08/30/10 Utility Products, August 2010 Lightning season, from April through September, is when more than 90 percent of damaging thunderstorms occur, So now is the time for companies with mission-critical equipment in rural sites to prepare for Mother Nature's onslaught.

		Rethink Reactor Temperature Control - 08/30/10 Chemical Processing, August 2010 By Andrew Sloley Over the past 20 years, development of really good valve positioner technology has created many opportunities to improve plant control. Cascade strategy offers simplicity and fast response.

		Prepare for More Safety Inspections - 08/30/10 Chemical Processing, August 2010 By Michael Hazzan and Martin Rose, AcuTech Consulting Group A recently launched enforcement program targets chemical facilities. OSHA inspectors likely will arrive unannounced at chemical plants.

		Don't Underestimate Overfilling's Risks - 08/30/10 Chemical Processing, August 2010 By Angela Summers, SIS-TECH Solutions Loss of level control has contributed to significant industrial incidents. High levels can pose serious hazards but seven simple steps can prevent them.

		Rethinking Cyber Security for Industrial Operations - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 By Robert Mick Cyber-security attacks and defenses both continue to escalate and grow in sophistication.

		Cloud Applications Save Big Dollars - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 By Rob Spiegel Plants are turning to cloud computing for energy management, predictive maintenance and supply-chain support.

		Justifying Cyber-security Expenditures - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 By Wes Iversen Here are some tips from one cyber-security program manager on what to say—and what not to say—when making your pitch to top management.

		Video Surveillance Joins Forces with HMI/SCADA - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 By Wes Iversen For applications ranging from security and safety to process monitoring and productivity improvement, adding live digital video feeds to operator control panels can pay benefits.

		Protect Your Control Networks - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 BY James R. Koelsch Control networks are way too open to cyber attack.

		Control Systems a New “Bull’s-eye” for Hackers - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 By Wes Iversen The Stuxnet worm that attacked Siemens SCADA and control systems is highly sophisticated, and should be a wake-up call for the industrial controls community.

		Suppliers Apply Web Technologies To Help Automation Users - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 By Gary Mintchell Fewer engineers and technicians working in manufacturing means less time available to travel to obtain the training required to implement, maintain and upgrade complex automation equipment.

		Too Much Process Control News - 08/26/10 Automation World, August 2010 By Gary Mintchell The general public is learning about process control this spring and summer—and that’s not a good thing. Because of the BP “Deepwater Horizon” oil rig, process control has been headline fodder for months.

		Continuous emission monitoring - 08/23/10 What’s New in Process Technology, July 2010 By Group Instrumentation The requirement for continuous emission monitors has changed significantly over the last 10 years. This has been brought about by the increase in use of flue gas treatment systems, reducing the levels of pollutant to be monitored, and environmental agencies worldwide requiring smaller processes to be monitored

		Oxygen measurement for combustion optimisation - 08/23/10 What’s New in Process Technology, August 2010 By Group Instrumentation Combustion optimisation for boilers and other combustion processes has long been an important issue with increasing fuel prices. Combustion involves the burning of fuel to generate heat. To optimise the amount of heat generated, the level of available oxygen must be controlled.

		Optimised paper production: Part 1 - 08/23/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, August 2010 By Carol Jackson, OSIsoft An infrastructure for providing mill information becomes a model for improving pulp and paper manufacturing. Technologies like ERP and MES are well known as tools to streamline business processes, but they need plant information before they can contextualise.

		Part 4 - Why MES? - 08/23/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, August 2010 By Ugan Maistry, EOH Mining and Manufacturing So far, we have looked at what information technologies are available. But the hard questions remained unanswered: why do you actually need these information technologies and what would happen if you ignored them?

		Remote monitoring and diagnostic centres - 08/23/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, August 2010 By Gerhard Greeff, Bytes Systems Integration With the advent of more reliable wide area networks and web-accessible technology, some companies have implemented or are actively pursuing implementation of Remote Monitoring and Diagnostic Centres.

		Boiler drum level control - 08/23/10 InTech, August 2010 By Jerry Gilman Drum level control is critical to good boiler operation, as well as safe boiler operation.

		Design, Install and Maintain a Reliable Network Infrastructure - 08/22/10 Plant Services, August 2010 By Sheila Kennedy As companies get more sophisticated about networking, they’ll build reliable enterprise communication networks that they can grow with.

		The safety of nuclear power - 08/13/10 HazardEx, July 2010 By Amy Hollamby Accidents related to coal and oil production such as Britain’s Piper Alpha disaster in 1988, which resulted in 167 lives being lost, and more recently the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, continue to cause significant detrimental health and environmental effects, and perhaps highlight that nuclear power is the safer option.

		Beyond Wireless: The Other New Features of HART 7.0 - 08/13/10 Control Engineering Europe, July 2010 By Michael Babb With wireless technology its most prominent advance, a great deal of interest has been generated in the user community for the latest version of HART. There are, however, other new features that give increased functionality for wired application process automation.

		Solving Process Instability - 08/13/10 Control Engineering, July 2010 By Peter Welander What are the main causes of unruly processes, and how do you fix those at the source? How do you hunt down the causes?

		High Performance Industrial Networks - 08/13/10 Control Engineering, July 2010 By Mark T. Hoske CE survey says demanding applications require high performance network protocols that are synchronized, with millisecond updates and jitter at a microsecond or less.

		Wireless? - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By Walt Boyes Wireless field devices are shipping, but adoption questions remain.

		Can Process Control Prevent Oil Well Blowouts? - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By Béla Lipták BP has a history of total ignorance of modern process control. This backwardness in process control, combined with the company's arrogance and its being in denial are major contributors to the causes of this latest BP accident.

		Getting OPC Security Under Control - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By Eric Byres, Byres Security If your company is like most, it will be a while before you can rid your plant of all traces of the DCOM-based OPC. So, until that day, you need to take a serious look at improving the security of your OPC.

		Wired or Wireless - Just DO It - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By John Rezabek If you have smart instrumentation in your facility, the time is at hand to get some value from it. You may be quite amazed by what you find, from valves that haven't gone to their requested positions in years to transmitters that are freezing or overheated.

		Honeywell makes move to capture business through SIs - 08/03/10 Automation.com, August 2010 By Bill Lydon HPS is pursuing relationships with independent system integrators (SIs) to "capture incremental business" for smaller systems in applications including specialty chemicals, food & beverage, and pharmaceuticals. This article reviews the details of the Systems Integrator Program.

		Creating a Virtual, More Efficient Plant Automation.com, August 2010 By Paul Hodge In today’s plants, operators are faced with an ever-increasing number of servers that are used to perform various functions within a facility. Each of those servers has an incremental burden around things like maintenance, space, power and cooling. Platform virtualization is a technology that allows multiple operating systems to share a single hardware server, thus decreasing maintenance and operational costs.

		Smart Grid tour educates industry and consumers - 07/27/10 Automation.com, July 2010 By Bill Lydon While the Smart Grid is going to take some time to develop, investing in energy conservation and efficiency has always made sense. Siemens Smart Grid Tour educates industry and consumers using thought-leadership panels, videos, interactive demos, and educational sessions on topics including automation, power distribution, generation, and transmission.

		Ergonomic Control Room Design Improves Operator Comfort and Safety - 07/25/10 Power Engineering, July 2010 By Vanessa Graves, Winsted Technical Interiors As the power industry makes the shift from analog to digital control systems, power utilities are redesigning their control rooms to accommodate the digital control upgrades. The new technology has made it possible for operators to access most of their controls through the monitor and keyboard.

		3 Reasons Linux Is Preferred for Control Systems - 07/20/10 Automation.com, July 2010 By Krista Duty, Inductive Automation Linux has long been on the "wishlist" for control systems. Until now, most systems have been locked-in to the Windows operating system due to reliance on classic OPC. The name of the game is changing, however, with the arrival OPC-UA. The new standard was designed for cross-platform compatibility, which makes room for Linux to gain popularity in the automated control industry.

		Industry Perspectives from Honeywell User Group 2010 - 07/20/10 Automation.com, July 2010 By Bill Lydon Review the industry perspectives, technology and solutions from HUG Americas 2010. Highlights include an overview of five megatrends identified by Norm Gilsdorf, Honeywell's commitment to legacy products, training and service, and introduction of a new RTU, safety remote IO, in-controller batch manager, and turbo machine controller. Plus, see an example of control system virtualization.

		Properly Prepare for Project Slowdown - 07/18/10 Chemical Processing, July 2010 By Nat D. Schatz, Pathfinder Once the decision to place a project on hold or into recycle is made clear, it's important to establish objectives for the near term and, in some cases, to define signposts for its restart. An effective plan maximizes value retained and enhances restart efforts.

		Software: Show Some Skepticism - 07/18/10 Chemical Processing, July 2010 By Andrew Sloley In the past two weeks alone, four examples of seriously wrong calculated results crossed my desk. Each came from standard, commercially available process simulators.

		Energy from the ground up - 07/18/10 Manufacturers’ Monthly, July 2010 By Sarah Falson Energy management systems in industrial areas have become so important that companies are now looking at incorporating these capabilities into process control and automation systems.

		Best-of-breed vs ERP - 07/18/10 Manufacturers’ Monthly, July 2010 By Rob Stummer The number of stand-alone or ‘best of breed’ software applications has grown. These software products deal with only a segment of the enterprise, inhibiting the free flow of communication, and reducing efficiencies. The more these software products proliferate, the more difficult it is to extract real-time data for reporting purposes.

		Four Ways to Enhance ESD Protection After Your Design Flunks Its ESD Test - 07/18/10 Machine Design, July 2010 By Chad Marak and Jim Colby, Silicon Protection Arrays You thought your electrostatic-discharge protection was bulletproof, yet the IC still fried in test. Now what?

		The Path to Purity - 07/18/10 Control Engineering Asia, June 2010 By Mogan Swamy Increasing demands for clean, safe drinking water coupled with higher environmental awareness are helping to drive control and instrumentation investments in the water and wastewater industry.

		Going With the Flow - 07/18/10 Control Engineering Asia, June 2010 By Nwaoha Chikezie Covers the different types of instruments available for measuring flow, and provides some troubleshooting tips for typical problems that can arise.

		Can You Specify "Or Equal" with Fieldbus? - 07/18/10 Control, July 2010 By John Rezabek Does freedom-to-choose/power-to-integrate mean that you're more comfortable specifying "or equal" when procuring fieldbus devices?

		Renewable Energy Processes, Part 2 - 07/18/10 Control, July 2010 By Béla Lipták The control system must be able to detect the loss of the grid and respond by isolating itself from the grid or by tripping offline.

		Is There a PC in Your Control Systems Future? - 07/18/10 Control, July 2010 By Dan Hebert There's no longer any technical reason why a PLC or a DCS should be more reliable than an industrial PC.

		Hunting Know-How - 07/18/10 Control, July 2010 By Jim Montague Everyone wants to gather and preserve the knowledge of veteran process control engineers. However, few know how to turn expertise into useful information that rookies can use to make wise decisions.

		How will the web influence the next generation of HMIs? Automation.com, July 2010 By Nathan Pocock, et al, OPC Foundation Thanks to OPC UA’s built in web services, corporations can now share critical data securely over mobile devices and to multiple operators via the web. This article illustrates how web services can be used to access the "cloud."

		Driving Technology and Innovation Together Automation.com, July 2010 By Bill Lydon Review the technology and innovations presented by Siemens at their recent 2010 Automation Summit, held in Charlotte, NC. Highlights include Siemens’ focus on energy, advancements in their process control offering, their industrial communications strategy and new distributed panel devices.

		Cost savings realized with Energy Management Software - 07/13/10 InTech, June 2010 By Steve Norman The monitoring of energy resources through Energy Management Software can help you understand where and when these resources are being used and can give you the knowledge to target the areas of waste or overuse.

		Pressure measurement in industrial applications - 07/13/10 InTech, June 2010 By John Van Nostrand, Endress+Hauser Today’s high tech pressure measurement techniques are far more advanced than they were in the old days of manometers, bourdon tubes, and bellows. But one thing remains the same, and that is the physics behind the measurement.

		The physics of pressure - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By Donald R. Gillum Pressure is a fundamental variable in process control systems that impacts safety, quality, and productivity.

		Temperature instrumentation problems and solutions in industrial processes - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By H.M. Hashemian This article examines some problems involving temperature sensors and offers practical ways to identify, assess, and resolve them.

		Upgrading (or updating) instrument calibration programs - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By Mike Cable Significantly improve your calibration program efficiency and compliance with a CCMS upgrade.

		Better information for better energy performance - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By Stan DeVries How should energy performance be measured? The answer depends upon the user, but most often it needs to be expressed in the context of produced product for a given part of the corporation over a specific time period.

		An inferentials update - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By Allan Kern The simplest inferentials, also known as soft sensors, is a pressure-compensated temperature, which control technique dates back to the pneumatic age. With the digital age, inferentials “went on steroids,” generally with excellent results.

		Effective Decision Support in Near-Real Time - 07/11/10 Automation World, July 2010 By Allen Avery, ARC Plant data historians are moving beyond their traditional role as tools to collect and archive data to better understand past plant performance, to becoming powerful tools that can be used to help improve real-time operations.

		Toward Successful System Integration - 07/11/10 Automation World, July 2010 By Robert Lowe, Control System Integrators Association When working with a control system integrator, a comprehensive request for proposal (RFP)—one that establishes a clear understanding of your needs and expectations—is the way to begin a job well.

		In Defense of Evolution - 07/11/10 Automation World, July 2010 By James R. Koelsch As beneficial as migrations can be, it sometimes can be burdensome, particularly in heavily regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals.

		Platform Migration: A Search for Opportunity - 07/11/10 Automation World, July 2010 By James R. Koelsch No one likes receiving those letters saying that your controls platform is so obsolete that its manufacturer will no longer be supporting it. It forces companies to ask, “What should we do about it? How do we migrate to a more up-to-date platform without ripping out wires and installing all new equipment?”

		Tuneable diode laser spectroscopy - 07/10/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2010 By Paula Hollywood, ARC Advisory Group New analysis techniques, such as tuneable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS), can improve efficiency, maximise throughput, reduce emissions and improve safety in combustion analysis applications.

		Going the short distance - 07/10/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2010 By Darvin Kaelberer, Banner Engineering Wireless technology, which is frequently used in factories and other industrial settings where I/Os must be sent from a remote area to an operator located several kilometres away, can also make sense if data only has to travel a few metres.

		IP ratings- Don’t be misled by the numbers - 07/10/10 HazardEX, July 2010 The system of IP ratings is misleading many specifiers and resulting in higher costs than are strictly necessary. The common mistake is to assume that the higher the IP rating, the better the equipment inside the enclosure will be protected against weather conditions.

		Simplify Food and Beverage Inspection with Machine Vision By Mark Lampert, Banner Engineering Vision provides a valuable snapshot of the full Food and Beverage application in process. Thus, it is able to analyze multiple features of interest at once, such as label presence and placement, and hue variations that could mean the difference between a “good” and “bad” product.

		Stop and Think! Solving Problems More Effectively Automation.com, June 2010 By Bill Lydon Leveraging the knowledge and know-how of the people in an organization is a powerful way to make improvements and solve problems. The difficulty is getting this done effectively and avoiding an ineffective committee that creates more problems. The Kepner-Tregoe processes and techniques are powerful tools to achieve better outcomes. This article explores the Kepner-Tregoe methods as a tool for automation professionals.

		Equipment modifications for substantial reductions - 06/25/10 Energy Tech, June 2010 By Ken Nolen Most power-producing facilities are 40-50 years old, making upgrades to meet current emissions and efficiency regulations often costly. Fortunately, there are fundamental design and equipment options that can result in significant emissions reductions, energy efficiency improvements and, in turn, valuable cost savings.

		Improve your chances of winning approval for improvement projects - 06/23/10 Plant Services, June 2010 By Tom Moriarty Knowing what the bean counters are looking for allows you to incorporate the numbers and draft better proposals. Better proposals increase your credibility and that increases the number of projects you get approved.

		Climate Change Still Battling Court of Public Opinion in US - 06/23/10 Building Operating Management, June 2010 By Naomi Millán Whereas in much of the rest of the world climate change is accepted as scientific fact, in the United States it is still the subject of debate. There are some who do not deny climate change, but question how it should be addressed.

		Lipstick on a Pig - 06/23/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, June 2010 By Emil W. Ciurczak No matter how we dress it up, PAT, "Product Assurance" Technology is still about control.

		Continuous Processes Find Their Flow in Pharma - 06/23/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, June 2010 By Paul Thomas Pharma’s “batch mentality” has prevailed. That may be changing. Continuous processing may be finding its flow.

		Keep Controls Network Separate From Business Network - 06/23/10 Control Design, June 2010 By Steve Perry, Barber Foods Physically separate the controls network from the business network. Minimize the number of connections between the two networks, and implement tight restrictions on the traffic across those connections.

		Server-Based Software Creates a Single Point of Failure - 06/23/10 Control Design, June 2010 By Jeremy Pollard Server-based software creates a single point of failure. A plant operator who has a problem needs to be guaranteed immediate access. If the server is down or the network has failed and the connection to that server is down, you're in trouble.

		Wireless: Handhelds Hold Sway - 06/16/10 Chemical Processing, June 2010 By Seán Ottewell Staff in the field increasingly rely on wireless handheld devices.

		Plant Security Deserves More Attention - 06/16/10 Chemical Processing, June 2010 By Mark Rosenzweig In today's world a lax approach to security is indefensible, particularly at sites that handle hazardous chemicals,but government mandates and industry self interest are fostering progress.

		Understand the New Motor Standards - 06/16/10 Chemical Processing, June 2010 By John Malinowski, Baldor Electric Regulations will require higher energy efficiency for many AC motors.

		Expand Your Plant Not Your Problems - 06/16/10 Chemical Processing, June 2010 By Dirk Willard Did you know that 18% of instruments fail on delivery and another 18% fail during testing? Careful project planning and good communications with vendors can avoid hassles.

		The role of human factors in accident prevention - 06/16/10 European Chemical Engineer, June 2010 By Sean Ottewell Human factors have always been central to accident prevention in the process industries. Now a major European safety body has published a detailed report which identifies the barriers that exist to understanding them.

		New smaller valves focus on high performance - 06/16/10 Asia-Pacific Engineer, June 2010 By Sean Ottewell As size and portability become more important for processes, demand is also growing for their valves to be smaller, lighter and better performing than ever before.

		Process Industries: Better Living Through Machine Vision - 06/16/10 Machine Vision On Line, May 2010 By Winn Hardin How machine vision is being used in the process industries.

		Manufacturing Can Be Competitive In The United States - 06/16/10 Manufacturing.net, May 2010 By John W. Kemp and Charles M. Mouranie, Houlihan Smith & Company Increased foreign competition continues to drive much of the U.S. manufacturing sector overseas to take advantage of cheap labor. However, there are still many ways to improve performance and become more competitive while keeping operations in the United States.

		The Many Faces of Quality Data - 06/16/10 Managing Automation, June 2010 By Julie Fraser Disjointed quality data leaves a company open to higher costs and higher risks. To best control quality, all of this data needs to be correlated to become useful. Vendors are battling it out to make their software the system of record for quality information.

		Look, Up in the Sky … It’s Cloud Computing! - 06/16/10 Managing Automation, June 2010 By Chris Chiappinelli An apt metaphor, the cloud remains hazy and undefined to many business leaders in manufacturing and the broader economy. Here is a primer on cloud computing’s formation and its industrial forecast.

		Integration Management: Aiming for Agility - 06/16/10 Managing Automation, June 2010 By Jeff Moad In a post-recession climate, manufacturers are focusing on plant-to-enterprise integration projects that will move them closer to the long sought-after goals of strategic decision making and real-time adaptability.

		The "George Jetson Syndrome" and the Operator of the Future - 06/16/10 Automation World, June 2010 By Larry O'Brien The operator of the future is not complacent George Jetson, with his feet up on his desk. Instead, he or she must be engaged, alert at all times and able to make critical decisions.

		Finding the Plant’s Intelligence - 06/16/10 Automation World, June 2010 By Alex Anderson Software applications and connectivity give managers insight into plant operations, enablng them to improve performance.

		Plant Video: Opening Secret Corners of the Plant - 06/16/10 Automation World, June 2010 Cameras have become an inexpensive way to view the world, and now they’re being introduced into human-machine interface/supervisory control and data acquisition (HMI/SCADA).

		Displays Put Plant Data on the Dashboard - 06/16/10 Automation World, June 2010 By Rob Spiegel While the latest visualization and display technology doesn’t always get a warm reception from older-generation operators, it does provide a greater view into plant production and health.

		Tracking, tracing and maintaining equipment in the process industries - 06/16/10 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2010 By Tony Repaci, Intermec There are a variety of technologies which can be used to effectively track assets across the processing industry, ensuring their effectiveness and maintenance. The two most widely used are barcode technology and radio frequency identification (RFID).

		What you really need to know about sample rate - 06/16/10 What’s New in Process Technology, June 2010 By Total Turnkey Solutions Everyone knows that you only need to sample at twice the frequency of your signal of interest to get good results, right? If you answered “right!” to that last statement, perhaps you should read on.

		Reaping The Benefits Of Predictive Maintenance - 06/12/10 Process & Control Today, June 2010 By Jez Palmer, Schneider Electric Managing processes and equipment through predictive maintenance presents significant benefits. With the rapid evolution of technology, companies can obtain a higher level of intelligence while simultaneously monitoring plants, reducing downtime and ultimately cutting costs.

		Don’t pay the price for skimping on safety - 06/12/10 HazardEx, June 2010 By Trevor Dunger and Stuart Nunns, ABB Quite apart from any moral considerations, skimping on safety within the oil and gas industries can be an expensive mistake. The right safety instrumentation can deliver long-term security and a lower life-time cost.

		Who is the control system expert – customer or manufacturer? - 06/12/10 Control Engineering Europe, June 2010 By David Clough, Yokogawa With modern systems having so much functionality and requiring specialist knowledge, who is the expert these days? The customer knows what he wants to achieve but maybe not the most efficient way.

		DTMs open the landscape for plant maintenance - 06/12/10 Control Engineering Europe, June 2010 By Michael Babb While fieldbus is becoming the dominant architecture of process automation, its true value for instrument diagnostics and preventative maintenance can only be realised with powerful software tools like DTM.

		Questions of Security - 06/12/10 Control Engineering Asia, May 2010 By Matthew Luallen and Steven Hamburg While the awareness of potential cyber security threats to industrial control systems has increased over the last few years, a recent survey reveals some still significant gaps in users’ defenses.

		Providing Process Safety - 06/12/10 Control Engineering Asia, May 2010 By Paul Gruhn The latest trends in safety instrumented system designs for the process industries, including safety PLCs and SIS.

		FISCO is Fortified Intrinsic Safety - 06/12/10 Control, June 2010 By Ian Verhappen More power means more devices can be connected to a single H1 Port - especially now that FNICO is part of the FISCO standard.

		Could Cyber Terrorists Attack Our Company? - 06/12/10 Control, June 2010 By John Cusimano and Eric Byres When cyber-related events cause outages and plant shutdowns—whether they were caused by accident, employee, hacker or terrorist—the first question should be, "What made our system unstable and susceptible, and what can we do to prevent it from happening again"?

		Securing SCADA and Control Networks Automation.com, June 2010 By Scott Howard, Byres Security Although Trusted Network Connect (TNC) was originally conceived for protection of IT networks, it addresses many security issues that are also encountered in industrial control and SCADA systems.

		The power of integration exemplified at ABB A&PW 2010 By Bill Lydon, Automation.com The "Connect, Learn, Succeed" theme of this event was about users forming stronger working relationships with ABB. The event brought the opportunity to connect across disciplines and apply products and knowledge - focusing on the power of integration, particularly between automation and power systems. The event attracted more than 4,000 people and offered more than 400 educational and hands-on sessions and a 100,000 sf. exhibit area.

		Meet The Flywheel: Green, Clean Energy-Storage Technology - 05/25/10 Maintenance Technology, April 2010 By Frank DeLattre, VYCON Since batteries are the weakest link in the power continuity scheme, flywheels with batteries reassure facility managers that their batteries are safeguarded against premature aging and unexpected failures.

		The ERP Umbrella - 05/25/10 IMPO, May 2010 By Anna Wells In any modern plant, communication is key. But just what level does your facility really need and, perhaps more importantly, what can you manage? ERP is quite an undertaking, and many manufacturers find even the initial steps daunting.

		Wireless Sensors In Real-Time - 05/25/10 IMPO, May 2010 By Aaron LaJoie, Electrochem Solutions Latency is an inherent trait of all wireless. Unlike a conventional analog signal, there are delays associated with the analog-to-digital conversion process, as well as radio frequency transmissions.

		Strengthen Your Cyber Security - 05/25/10 Chemical Processing, May 2010 By Andrew Ginter, Industrial Defender The most effective approach to meeting the CFATS cyber-security standard includes a comprehensive vulnerability assessment of physical and cyber aspects of a site, and layered defense-in-depth cyber security. Evaluating and addressing cyber-security issues demand deep domain-level expertise in industrial control and SCADA systems.

		Operations Management: Choose An Alarm Champion - 05/25/10 Chemical Processing, May 2010 By Lothar Lang, LyondellBasell A good way to address concerns and get ownership is to appoint an alarm champion. This person's primary responsibility is to identify and resolve outstanding alarm issues.

		The Instrumentation Cloud Brings Web-Centric Operation to Sensors - 05/25/10 Sensors, May 2010 By Marius Ghercioiu, Cores Electronic Combining RFID, analog signal conditioning, and sensors enables you to shift data analysis, monitoring, and control into the cloud.

		Top tips for boiler draft systems - 05/23/10 Power Engineering International, April 2010 By Allen Ray, Process Barron Any plant operator can optimize the efficiency of their mechanical draft fans by following a few simple steps, which will ultimately help to reduce the parasitic load on the boiler.

		Nuclear Valve Replacement Without Plant Shut-Down - 05/23/10 Power Engineering. May 2010 By Les Pierce, et al, Williamson Pumps, valves and piping systems are essential components that allow the plant to operate in a safe and efficient manner. A process referred to as “hot tapping” and stopple line plugging allows the plant to perform system alterations while the facility remains in service.

		Outage Management Continues to Improve - 05/23/10 Power Engineering. May 2010 By Nancy Spring Cut costs, optimize performance, improve safety programs: outage management teams at fossil and nuclear stations are being asked to do more with less, while still ensuring reliable power production.

		Greenhouse Gas Scorecard - 05/23/10 Power Engineering. May 2010 By Robynn Andracsek, et al Who isn’t a little confused by the rapidly evolving issues regarding greenhouse gas regulation and their impacts on the power industry? This article assesses the competing concerns.

		A Burning Concern: Combustible Dust - 05/23/10 Power, May 2010 By Bob Taylor, American Electric Power If not properly controlled, coal and coal dust can cause fires, explosions, and implosions at power plants. Strategies for promoting safer management of these combustibles include actions such as training personnel exposed to the hazards of coal and coal dust about safe handling methods.

		Forensic Engineering: A Valuable Tool in Incident Investigations - 05/23/10 Power, May 2010 By Angela Neville, JD It’s common for a power plant that has experienced a serious fire, explosion, or equipment failure to conduct an investigation. A recent development, however, is increasing use of sophisticated forensic engineering techniques when they conduct inquiries into serious incidents at power plants.

		Natural Gas Piping: It’s Time for Better Risk Control - 05/23/10 Power, May 2010 By John Puskar, CEC Combustion Safety At least 10 workers have died from natural gas piping explosions in the past 12 months. It’s time the industry understood the unique design and safety requirements for working with and purging natural gas piping.

		New technologies reduce environmental impacts of coal-fired plants - 05/23/10 International Power Engineer, May 2010 By Robert S Giglio New technological breakthroughs make it possible for new and older coal-burning power plants to produce power in an economical and environmentally responsible manner.

		Safety Systems Only The Start - 05/23/10 Automation World, May 2010 By Alex Anderson It takes more than buying a product or two to make your plant safe.

		Make Safety a Habit Throughout Your Organization - 05/23/10 Automation World, May 2010 By Gary Mintchell How can a company get employees—from the shop floor to the executive suite—to see the risks in what they do and think safety at all times?

		Consortium Reports New Findings on Alarm Rates - 05/23/10 Automation World, May 2010 By Wes Iversen New research funded by the Center for Operator Performance shows that process operators may perform better at high alarm rates when alarms are grouped by priority, rather than chronologically.

		Industrial Cyber-security Incidents Revealed - 05/23/10 Automation World, May 2010 By Wes Iversen With cyber incidents affecting control systems on the rise, a new report lays out trends seen in 2009 and makes comparisons to historical data.

		Video With Your SCADA - 05/23/10 Automation World, May 2010 By Gary Mintchell Adding live video streams with a SCADA system is an emerging trend for both security and operations. New technologies give operators an eye on the system.

		Pneumatics Integrates With Electronics - 05/23/10 Automation World, May 2010 By C. Kenna Amos Current trends for industrial pneumatics show expansion into more electronics as well as integration with them.

		System migration projects begin with strategic supplier partnerships Automation.com, May 2010 By John Boville, Schneider Electric Companies are partnering with their supplier of electrical distribution, automation and control products and solutions to ensure seamless process changeovers.

		Better management of plant alarms - 05/19/10 Energy Tech, May 2010 By Wayne Crawford and Bill Hollifield, PAS In some U.S. power plants, alarm systems designed to warn plant operators of abnormal operating conditions have become overburdened with insignificant alarms. Here’s what’s being done about it.

		Grooved pipe … then and now - 05/19/10 Energy Tech, May 2010 By Timothy Erdman World War I saw the beginnings of grooved pipe joining. The concept that was good more than 90 years ago is now being seen in an increasing number of power plants. Such systems can outperform welding.

		Outage season modifications for improved efficiency - 05/19/10 Energy Tech, May 2010 By Allen Ray Many factors drive modern plants to make process equipment changes during outage season, and two of the most common are demands for increased production and process variable changes to centrifugal fans and duct systems.

		The Road to Broadband - 05/19/10 Managing Automation, May 2010 By David R. Brousell An FCC plan to expand high-speed Internet access is already hitting bumps, but there’s too much at stake for manufacturers and the nation to not move forward.

		Automation Platforms - Getting Energy Usage in Hand - 05/19/10 Managing Automation, May 2010 By Stephanie Neil A new era is dawning in automation, in which plant floor platforms control everything from energy usage to building security.

		Controlling Valves in Hazardous Locations - 05/19/10 Machine Design, May 2010 By Kenneth J. Korane, PneuMagnetic Designers specifying solenoid valves in hazardous locations must first determine the type and level of risk through a systematic-hazard analysis. General concerns for electrical installations include fire, explosion, and shock hazards.

		Advantages of PC-Based Data Logging - 05/19/10 Machine Design, May 2010 By Robert Repas Data loggers are stand-alone instruments that measure signals, convert them to digital data, and store the data internally. Many data loggers include built-in displays and the ability to transfer the data to a PC for offline analysis, permanent storage, or report generation.

		Diagnostic Tools Are Only As Good as the Display That Operators See - 05/19/10 Control Design, May 2010 By Mike Bacidore HMI plays role in diagnostics: engineers can't troubleshoot problems without an operator interface that tells them what's wrong.

		Thin Clients Can Eliminate Software Issues - 05/19/10 Control Design, May 2010 By Jeremy Pollard Appications are installed and run from the server, and the clients just need run software such as VNC, VMware client or RDP protocol to connect to the server to use the server-based applications. The applications could range from Open Office to HMI and SCADA software.

		Exercise Control of Software Versions - 05/19/10 Control Design, May 2010 By Frank Riordan The best version-control technology does you no good if you don't have the discipline to follow it consistently.

		Nucleonic measurement - 05/15/10 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2010 By Roland Bonath, VEGA Nucleonic gauges are no longer used only for level detection and continuous level measurement under extremely difficult measuring conditions, but also for interface, density and concentration measurement in connection with toxic or abrasive liquids.

		Applying Coriolis technology to high-pressure applications - 05/15/10 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2010 By AMS Instrumentation & Calibration Over time, various Coriolis meter designs have improved and are now nearly all suitable for the ‘run-of-the-mill’ applications found in everyday processing. However, where meters are exposed to extreme applications and conditions, the differences and limitations of various designs can become noticeable.

		Level measurement with radar - 05/15/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2010 By Vega Instruments The main advantage of radar is the non-contact measuring procedure. Since the electromagnetic pulses do not need a propagation medium, process conditions in the vessel like pressure, temperature, vapour, dust and noise have less influence on the measurement. The method is suited for liquids and bulk solids.

		Part 5: What is 'IT in manufacturing' about? - 05/15/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2010 By Deon van Aardt, Wonderware Southern Africa Dynamic performance management focuses on supplying individuals the exact information they need to monitor and adjust their activities and performance in terms of the company’s profit strategy and that means stepping across the artificial boundaries of ERP, MES and automation.

		Don't Get Lost in Data Translation - 05/12/10 Industrial Networking, May 2010 By Joe Feeley When you move data between differing systems or networks, several factors influence the decision to use traditionalhardware or additional software to convert protocols.

		Search for a Single Spine - 05/12/10 Industrial Networking, May 2010 By Jim Montague Integrating controls, power, security, environmental and enterprise systems is a pain. Some network designers are pursuing a single backbone approach.

		Wireless Security and Standards Are Still Hurdles to Potential Users - 05/12/10 Industrial Networking, May 2010 By Ian Verhappen, Industrial Automation Networks It is unlikely that large-scale adoption of industrial wireless will take place until the middle of this decade. If the challenges of security and standards are not addressed, this date likely will move farther into the future.

		Wireless technology moves into industrial applications - 05/12/10 HazardEX, April 2010 By R. Stahl Wireless technology has become an everyday phenomenon in the home and office environments, but a recent trend is its foray into industrial applications. Although tried and tested standards such as WLAN and Bluetooth play a significant role here, other options are now being introduced.

		Just how open is your software? - 05/12/10 Control Engineering Europe, May 2010 By Chris Cox, Codra The expectation of a user is that an open product will offer great flexibility and allow them to fully meet their customer’s specification with one product. So just how “open” does a product need to be for this to be achieved?

		Compressor Surge Protection - 05/12/10 Control Engineering Asia, April 2010 By Jim Jacoby Correctly designed compressor controls should not only protect the compressor, they should protect the process.

		FDT for Open Access - 05/11/10 Control Engineering Asia, April 2010 By Glenn Schulz Supported by all major DCS, PLC, and instrument/device manufacturers, the FDT standard delivers on the promise of open access to device intelligence.

		Industrial Safety Disasters: Not Again-Again and Again - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By Jim Montague Safety measures and guards are still shut off, disabled and circumvented all the time, usually so operators can meet unrelenting production demands from their management. This is one of the main reasons why refineries, chemical plants and coal mines keep blowing up.

		Let's Do One for the End Users! - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By Walt Boyes We got us a wireless standards war—just like we had with fieldbus, and just like the FDT/EDDL conflict. The end user community has gotten so fed up with the wireless standard war that it spoke out vigorously at the ARC Forum/ISA100 meeting in February on behalf of a single wireless standard.

		Control Software and Renewable Energy, Part 1 - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By Béla Lipták This series of articles provides examples of the control software that needs to be developed for renewable energy processes, and compares it to traditional industrial control systems.

		Maximizing Control-Loop Performance - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By F. Greg Shinskey Tune your processes to stop giving away valuable commodities.

		IEC 61511 Implementation - The Execution Challenge - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By Tom Shephard and Dave Hansen The Safety Instrumented System (SIS) standard, IEC 61511, is driving the need for new engineering tools and Project Execution Plans (PEPs). This article describes a few of the challenges from the EPC and MAC perspective, and suggests approaches to enhance IEC 61511 execution and technical outcomes.

		Wireless Control in the Field - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By John Rezabek Users will have to exert their influence with suppliers to get control in the field implemented in WirelessHART.

		Control Systems, Oh, No...Not Again! - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By Walt Boyes The process industries have been faced with a continuing series of refinery, chemical plant, mining and even food plant disasters. These continue to happen with distressing regularity. Who's at fault? It's the culture, not the control systems

		Time For Action: When Windows Can't Protect You Automation.com, May 2010 By Torsten Rössel, Innominate Security Technologies The clock is ticking. In a few months, untold numbers of Windows 2000 systems will no longer have access to Extended Support and Security Updates, when these end in July 2010. Nor may there be adequate time for analysis and evaluation of alternatives, decision making, planning, preparation and implementation of a new operating system.

		Modeling & simulation speed process development Thomas Lange, Director of Modeling & Simulation at Proctor & Gamble, described how P&G has embraced software technology to test and refine designs and processes before committing them to the real world. P&G uses simulation and modeling across a wide range of disciplines, including product design, process design, machine design, supply chain and reliability.

		A standard grows up: The evolution of ISA's standard on alarm management - 05/02/10 InTech, April 2010 By Todd Stauffer ISA-18.2 provides a framework for the successful design, implementation, operation, and management of alarm systems. It contains guidance to help prevent and eliminate the most common alarm management problems, as well as a methodology for measuring and analyzing performance of an alarm system.

		Ethernet empowers fieldbus - 05/02/10 InTech, April 2010 By Craig McIntyre Fieldbus is a generic term for a number of digital industrial networks, including Foundation Fieldbus, HART, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, and Profibus. Many fieldbus networks are transitioning to Ethernet-based protocols for a variety of reasons.

		Implementing MES boosts profits - 05/02/10 InTech, April 2010 By Bianca Scholten Currently, several factories are replacing their 10- to 15-year-old, custom built manufacturing execution systems. An even larger amount of industrial companies have only just become aware of something called MES. They still have to convince management that MES is worth the investment.

		Pharmaceutical automation project management - 05/02/10 InTech, April 2010 By Dave Adler Numerous studies of software projects have found success rates of less than 20%. Automation professionals who find project success challenging have lots of company. There are many ways to do automation projects poorly, but just a few ways to do them correctly

		Impact Of New PHMSA Control Room Management Rules - 04/23/10 Pipeline & Gas Journal, April 2010 By Douglas H. Rothenberg, et al The Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement and Safety Act of 2006 (PIPES) mandates that the Secretary of Transportation issue regulations on control room management (CRM). The regulation require operators to design and operate their enterprise-wide SCADA to take specific account of what is needed by the controller to properly do the job.

		A guide to selecting the most appropriate pump technology - 04/23/10 European Process Engineer, April 2010 By Steve Digby, SPX Flow Technology The changing requirements in process engineering are encouraging pump manufacturers to examine current technologies with a view to developing new techniques and materials. At the same time, there is a push for more economical and efficient dosing and proportioning systems.

		Modular actuation solutions for major refineries - 04/23/10 Oil&Gas Engineer, April 2010 By Michael Herbstritt There is an expanding international client base of customers for electric actuators in the oil and gas industries. Modular design is central to the adoption of actuation technology.

		Digital Safety - 04/23/10 Power Engineering April 2010 By Nancy Spring Duke Energy Carolinas received NRC approval to replace the 1970s-era analog, solid-state control for Oconee Nuclear Station’s reactor protection system (RPS) and engineered safeguard protection system (ESPS) with digital computer-based equipment. The $250 million upgrade is the first to receive NRC approval.

		Remote Performance Monitoring Increases Efficiency - 04/23/10 Power Engineering April 2010 By Mathew Hurst, Performance Engineer, Emerson Process Management Using equipment performance monitoring technology in which mathematical routines are embedded and performance analysis of specific pieces of equipment, lagging performance that may have gone unrecognized can be revealed

		System Migration Attacks Skills Crisis Automation.com, April 2010 By Bill Lydon Daniel Tadie, Manager of Remote Energy Plants, Colorado Springs Utilities (retired) described a successful migration from a legacy DCS to a new system at Colorado Springs Utilities Birdsall power plant. I was impressed with the philosophy, methodical approach, system performance results, and significant improvements in operations.

		Bolt-On Force Sensors For Reliable Retrofit Weighing - 04/18/10 By David Johnson, Applied Measurements This weighing approach is cost effective and quick to install, causes a minimum of production down time and is ideal as a retrofitted system.

		Larger Microturbines Make Inroads In Industrial Cogeneration - 04/16/10 Plant Engineering, April 2010 If your plant needs reliable cogeneration and has use for the considerable heat output of a mid-sized microturbine, this may be a solution worth investigating. The obvious attraction is the high-efficiency use of natural gas for electric generation, heating and cooling in an installation that makes full use of the energy.

		Evaluating plant floor network convergence - 04/16/10 Plant Engineering, April 2010 By Rick Griffin, Molex Network convergence necessitates the integration of the cabling; connectivity; controllers; switches and other components; and the software interface to transmit and mine data between commercial and industrial functions.

		The Changing World of the Plant Engineer - 04/16/10 Plant Engineering, April 2010 By Bob Vavra With a growing emphasis on environmental and sustainable manufacturing, a greater need for IT functions and a still-fragile global economy, plant managers say they have more challenges facing them in the next three years.

		Find proportional, integral and derivative - 04/16/10 Plant Services, April 2010 By John A. Shaw How to use Ziegler-Nichols principles to tune PID loop controls.

		CMMS/EAM software tackles today's toughest challenges - 04/16/10 Plant Services, April 2010 By David Berger 10 key trends in the industry, including important features and functions to consider if you're contemplating the purchase of any CMMS/EAM products or services.

		Time For Action: When Windows Can't Protect You - 04/16/10 IMPO, April 2010 By Torsten Rössel The clock is ticking. In a few months, untold numbers of Windows 2000 systems will no longer have access to Extended Support and Security Updates, when these end in July 2010. Nor may there be adequate time for analysis and evaluation of alternatives, decision making, planning, preparation and implementation of a new operating system.

		Survive The Economy By Getting Leaner With ERP - 04/16/10 IMPO, April 2010 By Jim Shepard, Sr. VP of AMR Research Many dynamic and innovative mid-market companies have been so busy growing in the past that they never stopped to implement a comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. Hence, they are often constrained by the piecemeal systems they had adopted in the past.

		Eliminating Moisture In Electrical Cabinets - 04/16/10 IMPO, April 2010 By David J.Connaughton, Parker Hannifin Moisture in electrical cabinets, control panels and motor compartments can affect plant efficiency and product quality, leading to significant downtime and expensive repairs. Purging the compartment with air dried by a system using a filter and membrane provides a reliable solution with considerably lower initial and operating costs.

		Let the Seller Beware - 04/16/10 Sensors, April 2010 By Kenneth F. Stern, Synxronos Selling your sensor company? Over the years, larger companies have broadened their product portfolio by acquiring smaller sensor companies. As a prospective seller of a sensor company, it is important to understand the true value of your company to such prospective acquirers.

		How to get the most out of your ERP system - 04/16/10 Manufacturers’ Monthly, April 2010 By Matt Sheard, Microsoft Australia It’s not uncommon for manufacturers to view ERP as an endless drain on resources. In some instances, we see that the source of this is manufacturers who are unsure or unaware of how to get the most out of their existing ERP investments.

		It’s Not Easy Being Green, But You Have To Be - 04/16/10 Manufacturing.net, April 2010 By Amy Radishofski Are you green enough for your suppliers? How about for your customers? Even if you feel global warming is a farce, your customers may not.

		Wireless Workers Unchained - 04/14/10 Control, April 2010 By Dan Hebert The phone rings in the middle of the night. It's the third shift operator, telling you that there's been a process upset. Do you get out of bed, dress and drive 25 miles to the plant? No, instead you use your Blackberry and check what's happening, make a few changes to process setpoints and watch the system recover

		New Name For Existing Tools - 04/14/10 Automation World, April 2010 A new buzzword has been coined to describe the range of effects plant operators use to improve asset uptime and extend asset life: Asset performance management, or APM.

		Managing Assets For Improved Performance - 04/14/10 Automation World, April 2010 By Rob Spiegel Asset performance management (APM) has become the new buzzword for getting more out of existing equipment. The term includes everything from condition monitoring to analysis of historical data to determine when a valve may stick and cause a stoppage.

		Machine and Instrument Calibration Advances - 04/14/10 Automation World, April 2010 By C. Kenna Amos Wasting time and money represent end-users’ biggest calibration problems. That’s because the users haven’t figured out the boundaries of how long the instruments can go between calibrations.

		OPC - What are my options in 2010? By Manny Mandrusiak, OPC Foundation The OPC Foundation has been receiving a lot of email lately regarding the different technologies that are now offered in the OPC portfolio in 2010. It is very easy to see where individuals could become overwhelmed with the number of options that now exist. Here at the OPC Foundation we have taken steps to bring some clarity to the marketplace by simplifying the OPC message regarding the three core OPC technologies: OPC Classic, OPC Xi, and OPC UA.

		Understanding the IEC61131-3 programming languages - 04/08/10 What’s New in Process Technology, March 2010 IEC61131-3 identifies the five programming languages and their common abbreviations as: Ladder Diagram (LD), Instruction List (IL), Function Block Diagram (FBD), Structured Text (ST) and Sequential Function Chart (SFC). When should one be used over another? What are the benefits and disadvantages of each?

		What is 'IT in manufacturing' about? Part 4 - 04/08/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, April 2010 By Deon van Aardt, Wonderware Southern Africa Manufacturing execution systems (MES), the link between the shop floor and the top floor, is really the very heart of IT in manufacturing.

		Augmenting process automation solutions - 04/08/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, April 2010 By Larry O’Brien and Dick Hill, ARC Advisory Group What differentiates Foundation Fieldbus from Profibus PA, HART, and other process automation technologies, is the incorporation of a function block structure and other functions that make Foundation technology a complete infrastructure for process automation.

		Safety systems: are your Ex loops legitimate? Part 2 - 04/08/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, April 2010 By Andrew Ashton So we know our environment is Zone 0, we are working with a gas that will be safe with equipment rated IIC T4, we have selected ‘ia’ as a suitable protection technique. The loop equipment comprises components classified as simple apparatus and we have a pretty good idea of what the loop will look like. What comes next?

		Pulp and froth phases in gas processing - 04/08/10 PACE, April 2010 By Rob Coleman It is well recognised that successful flotation heavily depends on the pulp and froth phases. Research over the past decade has also shown that the gas phase plays an equally important role.

		Ensuring an accurate result in an analytical instrumentation system - 04/08/10 PACE, April 2010 By Doug Nordstrom and Tony Waters In many analytical instrumentation systems, the analyser does not provide an absolute measurement. Rather, it provides a relative response based on settings established during calibration, which is a critical process subject to significant error.

		Cooling equipment for hazardous areas - 04/08/10 HazardEx, March 2010 By Philip Harris, Bartec This article looks at the importance of selecting the right type of closed loop chillers, compact air conditioning units and large HVAC systems when considering installing high precision equipment in harsh climates.

		Protecting Intellectual Property - 04/08/10 Control Engineering, April 2010 By Peter Welander If a company’s knowledge is a valuable asset, how do you keep it from eroding? Can it be protected during critical times such as control system upgrades and migrations?

		10 Network Troubleshooting Tips - 04/08/10 Control Engineering, April 2010 By Mark T. Hoske Experience, coupled with good tools, enables successful industrial network troubleshooting. Here are 10 things to look for.

		Flywheels: A Power Protection Alternative - 04/08/10 Control Engineering, April 2010 By Frank DeLattre, Vycon Increasingly viewed as a dependable industrial power back up system, flywheels offer predictability, require less maintenance, have less potential environmental impact than UPS batteries, and a lower total cost of ownership

		Mechanical Engineering Career Assessment - 04/08/10 Control Engineering, April 2010 By Mark T. Hoske and Renee Robbins CE’s survey says while three-quarters of those practicing mechanical engineering are positive about their jobs, 10% advised against pursuing a mechanical engineering career. Almost half (47%) make $75,000 or more.

		Overcoming Ethernet’s limitations - 03/26/10 Plant Engineering, March 2010 By Karie Daudt, TURCK The issues with determinism, network latency and jitter are the largest concerns of applying Ethernet for industrial control networking. This is because most control networks are designed to send small amounts of data through a network more frequently than Ethernet does.

		Using weighing systems to optimize batch accuracy - 03/26/10 Plant Engineering, March 2010 By Mark Hudzinski, Avery Weigh-Tronix Electronic weight sensors paired with a multifaceted indicator can improve batch accuracy through weight-based process control, as well as track ingredient use, maintain consistent product recipes, and generate invoices with legal-for-trade accuracy.

		The next big thing in plant communication networks - 03/26/10 Plant Engineering, March 2010 By Charles Lukasik, CC-Link Partner Association The next generation of industrial Ethernet communications networks will be 1 Gbps bandwidth – 10 times faster than today’s 100 Mbps. What will this ten-fold expansion in bandwidth mean for plant operations?

		Competitive Maintenance Strategies - 03/21/10 Power, March 2010 By Dr. Robert Peltier Many consultants are prospering today by creating "new" maintenance strategies. What they’re really creating is new buzzwords. When the dust settles from all the discussions, there are only three ways to maintain a piece of equipment.

		New DCS for the Power Industry, the Siemens SPPA-T3000 Power plants need better control to respond to constantly changing operating parameters, such as fuel costs, multiple fuel tradeoffs, and widely varying power demand. Maintaining older systems becomes more costly and challenging with the obsolescence of key components, inability to increase efficiency with new technology, and price increases on replacement parts.

		DCS Migrations: Risk vs Return - 03/19/10 Industrial Automation Asia, March 2010 By Mike Vernak, Rockwell Automation, and John Bryant, Arkema Instituting a phased migration is a major step for any manufacturing system. Although replacing an old DCS system with a single, plant-wide system poses some risks, it is important to help your production team realise the potential benefits.

		A PLC by Any Other Name - 03/19/10 Control Design, March 2010 By James Ingraham The line between a PAC and a PLC remains quite blurry. When exactly is the jump made between a high-end PLC and a low-end PAC? In the end, the distinction is less about naming convention and more about application needs.

		FISCO and FNICO Are Interchangeable...for Now - 03/19/10 Control Design, March 2010 By Mike Bacidore FISCO, FNICO are like two clouds of flammable gases passing in the night.

		Appropriate Network Connectors Bring Best Service - 03/19/10 Automation World, March 2010 By C. Kenna Amos Not having the right connection devices or technologies can cripple the potential of an automation network.

		Seeing is Believing - 03/19/10 Control Engineering Asia, March 2010 By Steve Rubin, Longwatch Video feedback that closes the forgotten loop of human activity in automated plant systems makes it possible to reconstruct events for diagnostics, operator training and process improvement.

		CE is no guarantee - 03/13/10 Control Engineering Europe, March 2010 By Paul Laidler, Laidler Associates There’s a widespread belief among machine users that when they buy a new machine, all they need to do to meet their obligations under PUWER is to make sure that it bears the CE marking. But it’s not that simple.

		The future is integrated operations - 03/13/10 Control Engineering Europe, March 2010 By Colin Pearson, ABB Automation vendors, EPCs and end-users can no long ignore integrated operations. No longer is it a matter of cost whether to include integrated operations as part of the overall long term automation strategy, it’s becoming a matter of necessity.

		EDDL Team Reorganizes for FDI - 03/13/10 Control Engineering, March 2010 By Peter Welander EDDL Cooperation Team reorganizes itself to become FDI. New unified technical and functional specs scheduled for 2010. Will it turn EDDL and FDT into one common platform? No, nor is that the intent.

		Feedforward control - 03/13/10 Control Engineering, March 2010 By Vance VanDoren Here’s how to augment feedback control with feedforward control.

		Look to Valves for More Uptime - 03/13/10 Control, March 2010 By Dan Hebert Proven hardware and software are readily available to constantly monitor the health of your valves and instruments. Refocusing reliability efforts on these field assets will yield higher relative returns than dollars spent on improving the reliability of control room components.

		Surprise! Field-Based Control Beats DCS - 03/13/10 Control, March 2010 By John Rezabek What's become increasingly evident is that device-based control exploiting Foundation fieldbus function blocks exceeds DCS-based control, both in reliability and performance.

		Field Calibrators Make Everything Better - 03/13/10 Control, March 2010 By Jim Montague Users are opening their eyes to how much clearer their data is - and how much better their processes can run - with field calibrators.

		Situation Critical - 03/13/10 Control, March 2010 By Ian Nimmo, User Centered Design Services A control room environment is needed that proactively supports operator alertness, does not contribute to fatigue or distractions and supports the operators in all the tasks they have to perform. This includes non-DCS tasks such as report writing, MOC, performance improvement, training, etc.

		The growing value of a CMMS - 03/10/10 Plant Services. February 2010 By David Berger Now more than ever before, building a business case for upgrading or purchasing a new CMMS has become much easier. A CMMS can be used to maximize asset availability, reliability and performance, while minimizing total cost of ownership for every asset class across your enterprise.

		Go Lean And Green: Align The Machine - 03/10/10 Maintenance Technology, February 2010 By Bill Hillman, Ludeca Approximately 50% of vibration-based damage to rotating equipment involves misalignment issues. When machinery is well-aligned, MTBF increases and power consumption drops. Not a bad way to cut operating costs!

		Human Centered Design Supports Improved Job Performance - 03/10/10 Maintenance Technology, February 2010 By Adam Lund, Emerson Process Management The human centered design concept is aimed at identifying the information most needed by plant personnel and getting it to them in an easy-to-use format. This requires understanding the tasks frequently performed by end-users and presenting helpful information in a consistent fashion.

		Making Money with Mobile Workforce Management - 03/10/10 Pipeline & Gas Journal, February 2010 By Charles Mohrmann Mobility solutions accelerate and sustain new work process improvements and provide a framework for field workforces to execute best practices, and most major U.S. refineries are either planning to implement or have already implemented them.

		New Control Room Management Regulations Require Structured Management Approach - 03/10/10 Pipeline & Gas Journal, February 2010 By W. R. Byrd, RCP On Dec. 3, 2009, PHMSA published its final regulations for control room management (CRM). This article describes the applicability of the regulation to various types of facilities and notes key differences in the rules for gas pipelines versus liquid pipelines.

		Video Pipeline Monitoring Offers A Tool To Avoid Costly Losses - 03/10/10 Pipeline & Gas Journal, February 2010 By Steve Rubin, Longwatch Video delivers ready-to-use information, in the form of still and moving pictures, to help controllers make better decisions faster. Thus, video helps address the operational gaps in efficient and cost-effective ways.

		Alternative fuel applications ensure economic and environmental gains - 03/10/10 Energy Tech, March 2010 By Normand Bujold There are a number of innovative solutions that companies have successfully implemented to improve their energy and environmental performance. Among these solutions is the combustion of alternative fuels, such as biogas refinery fuels, hydrogen and flammable liquids, to produce usable power.

		Manage Project Risk Right - 03/10/10 Chemical Processing, February 2010 By Adnan Siddiqui, ConcepSys Solutions A formal risk-management tool and process is essential during project planning to avoid project failure due to anticipated or unanticipated events. Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA), a flexible yet powerful tool, is a good option where risks are diverse.

		Avoid the Domino Effect - 03/10/10 Chemical Processing, February 2010 By Nicholas P. Sands, DuPont, and Todd Stauffer, exida The performance of operators and the alarm system can markedly impact the quest to bolster safety and minimize unplanned downtime. Help is on the way from a new ISA standard. "Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries," ISA-18.2.

		3D digital versatility enhances design of subsea control systems - 03/10/10 Oil & Gas Engineer, February 2010 3D digital prototyping cuts time-to-market for subsea control systems. You can first draw all the equipment that has to go inside - whether it's a PC, wiring, terminals, VDUs and so on - and then assemble them in 3D so you know they will fit.

		Understanding Vibration Induced Pipework Failure - 03/10/10 Understanding Vibration Induced Pipework Failure Process Industry Informer, February 2010 By Neil Parkinson Vibration induced fatigue of process piping systems is an important and fundamental failure mechanism. The design of practical and appropriate corrective actions is important to achieve cost effective yet practical solutions.

		New Gigabyte Industrial Ethernet Open Protocol - CC-Link IE The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) announced the release of the open architecture gigabit (GB) CC-Link IE Field Network. I recently met with two members of CLPA Americas to get an update on the latest CC-Link IE standard. Chuck Lukasik is the Director of CLPA Americas and John Woznaik is their Network Specialist.

		Extracting Intelligence from Sensor Data - 02/28/10 Sensors, February 2010 By Nigel Elkan, Knowledge Vector International The challenge isn't whether it is feasible to correlate sensor data from any one sensor source with any other set of current or future sensors. The challenge is to ensure that correlated events can be anticipated.

		The new manufacturing illness: IMDS - 02/28/10 Manufacturers’ Monthly, February 2010 By Harald Rossman Whether driven by regulation, technology or customer demand, problems have become so pervasive that an identifiable organisational malaise has taken hold across several different markets, one that we have labelled Information Management Deficiency Syndrome (IMDS).

		Outsourcing Your Engineering - 02/28/10 Manufacturing.net, February 2010 By Amanda Earing Outsourcing your engineering can free up your in-house engineering department to focus on other projects, and saves time and money.

		Re-Shoring: Bringing Manufacturing Back To American Suppliers - 02/28/10 Manufacturing.net, February 2010 By Michael Collins, MPC Management Many manufacturers have begun to pull their supply chains back. They have learned that problems beyond their control like flu viruses, energy prices, earthquakes, and geopolitical disturbances are threats to their supply chains. They also now know the additional costs of unanticipated problems.

		Infrastructure Retrofits - 02/26/10 Power Engineering, February 2010 By Dan Heintzelman, GE Energy Services By simply purchasing more new plant assets doesn’t always translate to improved business or bottom-line efficiency. What may make more sense for some utilities and industrial energy suppliers is to pursue a strategy based on utilizing the best available technology to maintain and improve existing assets and infrastructure.

		Low-Cost Wireless Sensors Can Improve Monitoring in Fossil-Fueled Power Plants - 02/26/10 Power, February 2010 By Cyrus W. Taft, et al Wireless sensors have the potential in the next few years to dramatically change not only the wireless sensor landscape but also the process-monitoring landscape. Consequently, exploring the potential of wireless sensors for monitoring power plants has become important.

		How to Avoid Alarm Overload with Centralized Alarm Management - 02/26/10 Power, February 2010 By Brandon Parker, Black & Veatch The guidance document (EEMUA 191), however, is vague about applications to specific facilities, such as electric power plants. This article specifies EEMUA 191 standards and practices applicable to the electric power industry and spells out specific variations in alarming practices that are tailored for today’s power plants.

		Nontechnical Issues Affecting Digital Upgrades at Nuclear Power Plants - 02/26/10 Power, February 2010 By James H. Flowers, Southern Nuclear Operating Co Existing nuclear power plants are increasingly facing the conversion to digital instrumentation and controls technology. If you find yourself responsible for selling a digital upgrade to management, or managing its implementation, here are some important nontechnical aspects of the task to keep in mind.

		Concerns About Electromagnetic Interference in Nuclear Plants Related to Digital Upgrades - 02/26/10 Power, February 2010 By H.M. Hashemian, et al Electromagnetic compatibility concerns must be addressed to ensure safe and reliable operation of control systems. By understanding the regulatory requirements and sharing implementation experience, digital system upgrades can be installed successfully.

		Using virtual reality to design and simulate power plant performance - 02/26/10 Power Engineer, February 2010 By Sean Otewelle Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF in Magdeburg, Germany, have developed a method that visualises the processes inside energy conversion plants - including photovoltaic, wind, biogas and hydroelectric power stations.

		Simple rules to make your simulator worth the investment - 02/26/10 Power Engineer, February 2010 By GSE Systems With increasing frequency, power plants and process facilities are justifying the purchase of plant specific simulators that reflect a plant's personality thus enabling effective operator training, control system validation, and engineering evaluations.

		Field Failure Data: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - 02/25/10 Industrial Automation Asia, December 2009 By Dr William M Goble and Joseph F Siebert, Exida Consulting Instrumentation field failure data must be provided along with a full explanation of the failure event definitions, methods for data collection and methods for data analysis including all assumptions. Without this, the results can be dangerous.

		A Little Simulation Goes a Long Way - 02/25/10 Industrial Automation Asia, December 2009 By Mary-Anne Sotto, National Instruments ASEAN Simulate the design or model that was created and do an initial testing in simulation mode. This is a much preferred method since you are able to test out the capabilities of a design without incurring too much cost.

		Build vs Buy - 02/25/10 Industrial Automation Asia, December 2009 By David Pascoe, QSI Corporation Any manufacturer of complex machines or vehicles that include HMIs must face a crucial decision: should you build your own human machine interfaces or should you buy these vital components ready-made or customised from an outside source?

		What’s next for microcontrollers? - 02/22/10 Embedded Computing Design, February 2010 By Jacob Borgeson, Texas Instruments Despite what many say about software taking over the majority of the design process, developers still look to the silicon. Three emerging trends in microcontroller research are poised to open up a wide variety of applications within the next two years.

		Programmable Safety Controllers Are Slow to Gain Acceptance - 02/22/10 Control Design, February 2010 By Jim Montague It's been more than a few years since the NFPA amended its NFPA-79 regulations to allow safety and control communications on the same network, but it took longer for suppliers to release updated programmable safety controllers, and it's taking even longer for users to adopt them.

		Will Wireless Device Prices Come Down? The Vendors Respond - 02/22/10 Automation World, February 2010 By Wes Iversen People have stated that the prices on these wireless products are too high to support a large market. One user even said that the price of a wired solution is less expensive. Two vendors respond.

		Wireless Control in the Process Industries: Blasphemy or Common Sense? - 02/22/10 Automation World, February 2010 By Wes Iversen It may be controversial, but wireless technology is already being used in process control applications. How far and how fast will this trend go? Will we ever see an "all-wireless" plant?

		Multi-Core Virtualization Changes Process Controllers - 02/22/10 Automation World, February 2010 By Marty Weil Current design practice calls for three controllers: one for the sensor, one for the actuator and one to handle the HMI and network traffic. With a multi core processor, three controllers are no longer necessary.

		Network Security Demands Less Complexity - 02/22/10 Automation World, February 2010 By C. Kenna Amos As threats multiply, network security technologists rush to neutralize them.

		Modbus Still Lets Multi-Vendor Devices Communicate - 02/22/10 Industrial Networking, March 2010 By N. Lewis Bodden Modbus, the Grand Old Dame: the protocol still works for programming and data transfer between devices from different vendors.

		One Network Topology Is Not a Silver Bullet - 02/22/10 Industrial Networking, March 2010 By Ian Verhappen No one network is the right answer in every situation, which means that engineering and thought is required to determine the optimal solution.

		How Much Network Access Should You Allow? Industrial Networking, March 2010 By Jim Montague The two main questions in network security are: How closed does your network need to be? And, how open can you afford it to be?

		When COTS Isn't Good Enough - 02/22/10 Industrial Networking, March 2010 By John Rezabek Industrial-class network components can be a better choice in certain applications.

		Instrumentation as a Foundation for Profit - 02/19/10 Control, February 2010 By Julie Fraser, Cambashi Control engineers know the value of instrumenting production processes. It's about time the executives understood that, too.

		Adaptive Level Control - 02/19/10 Control, February 2010 By Greg McMillan, et al Article provides a fundamental understanding of how the speed and type of level responses varies with volume geometry, fluid density, level measurement span and flow measurement span for the general case of a vessel and the more specific case of a conical tank, and then apply adaptive control.

		Applying wireless to EtherNet/IP automation systems - Part 2 - 02/19/10 What’s New in Process Technology, February 2010 By Gary Enstad, Prosoft Technology Part 1 of this article looked at the available wireless technologies that could be used with EtherNet/IP automation networks. This part looks at what needs to be considered for running EtherNet/IP over a wireless network.

		MES and EMI - 02/19/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, February 2010 By Ugan Maistry, EOH Mining and Manufacturing Some industries do not require the full range of MES functionality while all companies will benefit from the visibility that EMI provides into their realtime performance and the ability to analyse cause-and-effect scenarios.

		IT in manufacturing: Part 2: Managing disparate information assets - 02/19/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, February 2010 By Deon van Aardt, Wonderware Southern Africa Each functional area of a manufacturing company must have access to the select information it needs from the other functional areas if all the departments are to integrate as one company rather than operating as disparate business units.

		Hand injury risks in the oil and gas industry - 02/19/10 HazardEX, January 2010 By Harry McCormack, BM Polyco Fire risks and gas explosions might be some of the dangers which come to mind when considering occupational hazards in the offshore oil and gas industry. However, there are other risks which workers face on a regular basis, which are also essential to protect against.

		Safely running motors and low voltage AC drives in dusty environments - 02/19/10 HazardEX, February 2010 To ensure safety, the use of electric motors and low voltage AC drives in areas with combustible dust is regulated by the ATEX directives; these environments can be just as hazardous as atmospheres with gas.

		Cyber security: Vendors fight back - 02/16/10 Control Engineering Europe, January 2010 There is increasing attention by control system vendors to enhance cyber security and operate better in corporate IT environments. This attention is good because cyber threats are not decreasing and, at the same time, corporate IT environments are becoming more protected.

		Intelligence at the Device - 02/16/10 Control Engineering Europe, January 2010 By Jeanine Katzel As components get smarter and more powerful, manufacturers are finding themselves managing high-performance automation and control systems whose parts are capable of monitoring themselves, diagnosing their own problems, and maybe even making a decision or two, economically and easily.

		Build a cyber security incident response plan - 02/16/10 Control Engineering Europe, January 2010 By Kevin Staggs, Honeywell Process Solutions A plan lets everyone respond properly to a control system security breach, whether it’s a failure of a critical cyber component or an intentional break.

		Model-Free Adaptive Control: Impact on the Automation Industry - 02/16/10 Control Engineering Europe, February 2010 Since its introduction to the automation industry in the late 1990s, the technology has been implemented by a number of end-users and embedded in OEM equipment by a host of process control, equipment control, and building automation vendors.

		Understanding Derivative in PID Control - 02/16/10 Control Engineering, February 2010 By Peter Welander The third factor in PID is the least understood. Derivative action can do good things, but when used improperly, it causes headaches.

		The human side of safety - 02/16/10 InTech, February 2010 By Mischa Tolsma, et al There are seven practice areas the ASM Consortium has identified as a solution framework. When applied in full, the available best practices and research will significantly reduce the likelihood of human error in the design, operate, and maintain lifecycle.

		ISA99: Charting a security standards roadmap into a risky new decade - 02/16/10 InTech, February 2010 By Charley Robinson In the past year, ISA99 has established a roadmap that calls for delivering at least 14 standards and technical reports addressing vital aspects of industrial control systems security. Work is underway in areas including system security requirements and security assurance levels, target security assurance levels for zones and conduits, compliance metrics, and patch management.

		What is OPC? It is all about the Tag By Nathan Pocock, OPC OPC is still the connectivity standard for Process Control, for ADI, a part of FDI and FDT and STILL the connectivity standard for manufacturing, and PLCs. OPC is a Unified Architecture, and OPC is an Express Interface.

		Seventh sense for fault analysis The gas/steam turbine power plant in Budong, South Korea detects faults up to an hour in advance and provides advice on how they can be avoided. Diagnostic and simulation software from InfoTeam predicts alarms and shutdowns.

		Make or Break with Project Management Project management is critical to ensuring projects are implemented correctly, on time and within budget. Good project management also communicates to your management or stakeholder that you are a professional. These are thoughts from my experience managing many projects and consulting to clients on projects. The most valuable lessons were learned when taking over projects that were in serious trouble.

		The Need for Wireless Monitoring – An Overview By Israel Radomsky, Eltav Wireless Monitoring Ltd. Israel Wireless valve monitoring technology offers reliable, autonomous, and improved process control enhancing safety, ameliorating product quality, increasing yield, and reducing costs. Here’s what’s involved, and what the standards committees are doing.

		When updating your computer security, why patch? - 01/27/10 Plant Engineering, January 2010 By Michael Bush, Rockwell Automation While the installation of a buffer zone in a manufacturing environment provides an excellent barrier to block direct attacks from the outside, no buffer zone provides a perfect security solution for your automation system. This is why you patch.

		New automation architecture puts the power at the device - 01/27/10 Plant Engineering, January 2010 By David Voynow, Schneider Electric Distributed logic is the most recent IT architectural offspring that is already moving the automation community away from a centralized logic architecture to putting just enough computing power at the mechanical prime mover – such as motor starters and drives that operate conveyors.

		Take a closer look at your alarm management system - 01/27/10 Plant Engineering, January 2010 By Alan Cone, Siemens When was the last time you really looked at your facility’s alarm management system? Is it doing the job it is supposed to do? Is it doing the job it could be doing?

		Parallel Process Simplifies Retrofit - 01/27/10 Machinery and Equipment MRO, December 2009 Installation of a parallel process involves having an equivalent control system wired to the same sensors and control devices so it can take over your automated control systems operation when the older equipment begins to fail.

		Boiler Controls: Low-Cost/No-Cost Energy Conservation - 01/27/10 Maintenance Technology, January 2010 By Gary Burger, HVACR Heritage Centre Canada The boiler installer sets up your boiler controls. As far as energy savings are concerned, however, this way of operating is the absolute pits. That's because owner/operators rarely change those original settings later on.

		Bioprocess Sensors: PAT Means Proliferation - 01/27/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, January 2010 By Paul Thomas There’s a burgeoning market out there for products that can help manufacturers monitor complex bioprocesses.

		Come Up With a Solid Estimate - 01/27/10 Chemical Processing, January 2010 By Andrew Sloley Here’s how to use geometry to figure out the amount of material in storage or equipment.

		Copenhagen – A One-Act Farce - 01/27/10 Power Technology, January 2010 By Mitch Beedie The accord has been described as a sham by developing countries and calls into question why a hundred or so world leaders turned up to Copenhagen in the first place. There was, however, one item of good news from Copenhagen. The ineffective and largely fraudulent carbon market – which has been a huge pit into which participants have thrown money – now has an uncertain future.

		Integrated modernization and prevention of damage - 01/24/10 Power Engineering International, December 2009 By H. C. Schröder, et al, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service Thermal power stations are currently riding a wave of modernization. Replacing or renewing process control systems is one option to achieving enhanced process efficiency. Be sure it meets safety requirements.

		Fingers on the pulse - 01/24/10 Nuclear Engineering International, January 2010 By Mats Ekblad and Tord Sterner A major modernization of a nuclear power plant–such as the power uprate at E.ON’s Oskarshamn 3–is difficult because it has to integrate existing parts with both replacements and add-ons while using existing documentation and administration.

		The global heat is on: preparing for a carbon-constrained world - 01/24/10 International Energy Solutions, January 2010 No longer are we asking whether there should be limitations on emissions, but when and how. Measuring carbon emissions along the value chain is now vital.

		Dynamic simulators for improved plant performance - 01/24/10 International Power Engineer, January 2010 By Niclas Krantz The benefit of using dynamic simulator technology is that it can be used through the whole project from the design phase to commissioning and training.

		Three Bugaboos to Avoid When Designing a PC into Your Application - 01/24/10 Design News, January 2010 By Franklin Flint, Dell OEM Solutions Three common "gotchas" often show up too late: Planning for the PC form factor that best fits your requirement; Considering the reliability options available to the solution; Taking into account the long-term consistent supply of the PC hardware.

		New HMI technologies in SCADA systems - 01/24/10 Process and Control Engineering, January 2010 By Eduard van Loenen, Yokogawa Web-based SCADA visualisation will bring changes in the real-time presentation of information intelligence, enabling an evolution to a much more intuitive and advanced approach in process management. It will also make it easier to adapt to and to utilise application security and deployment techniques.

		FDI Cooperation a huge move fowards, say Australian suppliers - 01/24/10 Process and Control Engineering, January 2010 By Sarah Falson According to Australian suppliers, the FDI Cooperation will be a huge move forwards for vendors, standards committees and end-users, and will save us all money in the long-run.

		Databases – The Perfect Complement to PLCs Automation.com, December 2009 By Steve Hechtman, Inductive Automation SQL and relational databases form the bridge to integrate processes, machinery and people together. Working with SQL is remarkably similar to working with PLCs and ladder logic. And that’s why the PLC programmer is best suited to implement solutions involving PLCs and relational databases.

		ERP Is Reaching The Shop Floor - 01/20/10 Automation World, January 2010 By Rob Spiegel The suppliers of enterprise resource planning systems have bolstered their MES applications to support manufacturing processes.

		Automation Innovation: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Headed - 01/20/10 Automation World, January 2010 By Gary Mintchell People whose job involves scanning new technologies in order to lead their company’s innovation efforts discuss what has had the greatest impact on automation and what they see on the horizon.

		Automation Profession Faces Transition into Complexity and Opportunity - 01/20/10 Automation World, January 2010 By Marty Weil We’re experiencing a major resource crunch in the process industries at just about every level: operators, mechanics and engineers. What to do?

		Dynamic Simulation for Emissions Regulation - 01/20/10 Control Engineering, January 2010 By Abhilash Nair, et al Dynamic simulation has become an accepted methodology to determine relief loads when the existing flare is at or over capacity. However, reductions from dynamic simulation are sometimes still not enough to offset the increased flare capacity requirements.

		Control System Lifespan: How Long is Long Enough? - 01/20/10 Control Engineering, January 2010 By Peter Welander Many control systems from the 1970s are still running. So what should your expectations be when it comes to equipment longevity?

		Control System Security Perceptions and Practices - 01/20/10 Control Engineering, January 2010 By Matthew E. Luallen and Steven E. Hamburg Nearly 200 responses were received to Control Engineering’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Security Assessment Survey. Here’s an analysis of the results.

		Control system endurance - 01/20/10 Control Engineering, January 2010 By Mark Taft, ABB A common discussion across manufacturing industries is: How long should a control system last? The right answer to this question is: As long as you need it to.

		Don’t cloud your compliance data - 01/20/10 Control Engineering, January 2010 By Dennis Brandl Cloud computing is coming! Even the best security and data integrity processes may not be enough. Make sure your company’s legal advisors are involved.

		Dealing with Undocumented Field Device Changes - 01/20/10 Control Engineering, January 2010 By David Greenfield Field device parameter alterations persist across industries despite the potentially enormous problems they can cause. The good news: fixing the problem isn’t difficult. The bad news: the options and concerns surrounding selection of the right correction method are nearly limitless.

		Computers in a Nutshell - 01/20/10 Control, January 2010 By Jim Montague Industrial PCs can take almost any form these days, but many users still need protected and enclosed hard drives, screens, keyboards and other interfaces in increasingly harsh and varied settings.

		Invest in Your Own Backyard - 01/20/10 Control, January 2010 By Paul J. Galeski Capital expenditures (Capex) may seem like discretionary costs that could be eliminated during these lean times. However, your best opportunity—with lower risk and higher returns—is to invest in your own interests in the fields of automation and enterprise integration.

		ISA-88 Works for Continuous Processes Too - 01/20/10 Control, January 2010 By Dan Hebert ISA-88 doesn't have to be strictly limited to batch processes. Most processes defined as continuous are, in fact, a hybrid of batch and continuous.

		Pumping Station Optimization - Part 2 - 01/20/10 Control, January 2010 By Béla Lipták Part 1 concentrated on describing the "personality" of the pumping process. In this installment, the author talks about the phenomenon of net positive suction head (NPSH) and multiple pump stations.

		New Guidelines for Fieldbus Systems - 01/20/10 Control, January 2010 By John Rezabek A unique—and free—document from the Fieldbus Foundation is its "AG-181 System Engineering Guidelines." Over the past six months, experienced users, who've installed massive projects worldwide, have been gathering to give the guidelines a sentence-by-sentence overhaul.

		Functional Security–Walking the Walk - 01/20/10 Control, January 2010 By Walt Boyes Fundamentally, the issue is how to make all these things actually work. From upgrades to monitoring the fence line, we have to make this stuff is as automatic as streetlights, or we won't be any safer or any more secure.

		Success Tactics from High Growth Automation Distributor Gross Automation is located in Brookfield, Wisconsin, 90 miles north of Chicago; the company sells and installs a number of control and automation products with ABB products being one of their flagship lines. I talked with Bob Gross founder of Gross Automation to learn about the company and his thoughts on the industry.

		OPC UA - New Secure, Platform-Independent Standard Offers More Value Bill Lydon recently spoke with Roy Kok of Kepware to gain a better understanding of OPC UA. It is important with new technology to thoroughly understand its advantages so you can gain value and avoid misapplying it. Kepware, founded in 1995, has a great deal of OPC knowledge and knowhow as a leading supplier of OPC software.

		Industrial Energy Management - Lower Electrical Utility Expenditures Many industrial plants are under pressure from management to reduce electricity costs. PowerIt Solutions provides software and products designed to lower electrical energy costs in industrial plants while maintaining production operations and quality at planned levels. The system uses sophisticated load shedding algorithms and real-time pricing interface to achieve savings.

		Making the Case for Continuous Processing - 01/09/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, December 2009 By Bren Kindelsperger and Delmar Schmidt Pharmaceutical manufacturers are using continuous processing but have not been quick to convert from batch to continuous processing, due to concerns about the difficulty and risk of process change. But the basic processes that are used in pharmaceutical manufacturing have been run on a continuous basis for many years in the food and chemical industries.

		Picking a DCS: Who Decides and How - 01/09/10 Control, December 2009 By Willem D. Hazenberg Purchasing a DCS system is a balance between costs, returns and risks of migration and replacement projects. The goal is to choose a supplier that offers the lowest risk in the long run and best added-value services during the DCS's life cycle.

		Consistency, Compliance, and Capacity: Improving bottom-line productivity Although modern manufacturing is often assumed to take place in the absence of manual labor and the human element, almost every manufacturing company ultimately relies on its workers contributing their knowledge, observational skills and prompt action to ensure maximum production up-time and product quality without sacrificing safety or compliance with safety, regulatory, and internal standards.

		IAEA launches ESBWR sim - 12/24/09 Nuclear Engineering International, December 2009 By Sama Bilbao y León The International Atomic Energy Agency provides PC-based nuclear power plant simulators for education and training in member states. Last month, the programme launched a simulator of GE’s ESBWR design.

		Digital I&C is safe enough - 12/24/09 Nuclear Engineering International, December 2009 By John Bickel Claims of very low failure on demand probabilities for digital I&C systems are not realistic, especially because other factors, such as human error and hardware, start to play a role. The most important common cause failures, which dwarf software errors, are listed.

		Executive Interview - Sudipta Bhattacharya, President & CEO Invensys Operations Management (IOM) By Bill Lydon, Automation.com Bhattacharya and I discuss the new organizational structure and his management philosophies. Bhattacharya is an engaging and personable man that clearly expresses the organization's mission while acknowledging that he continues to seek better answers. Bhattacharya has an interesting combination of experience and knowledge that encompasses process controls, enterprise systems, and supply chain.

		Dynamic simulators for improved plant performance - 12/18/09 European Power Engineer, December 2009 By Nicholas Krantz Simulators are very useful in engineering, but in some cases it is very hard to make models that are accurate enough. After all, a model still represents an ideal world of known circumstances. In order to represent the reality a model needs to be carefully validated. Only real tests can reveal deficiencies of a model. On the other hand, testing is not always possible due to risks of failure and high costs.

		How to Develop a Project Execution Plan - 12/18/09 Control Engineering, December 2009 By Tom Shephard, Mustang Engineering Designing and implementing advanced engineering projects, such as an advanced operator training simulator, requires meticulous planning and communications. Here’s a template for success.

		Plant design and operation - 12/18/09 Plant Engineering, December 2009 By Joseph McMullen, Invensys Operations Management Simulation software enables plant designers to view design scenarios in a virtual world without the expense, time delay and risk of testing it in the real world.

		Improving Control Valve Performance - 12/18/09 IMPO, December 2009 By Fabian C. Gonzalez, Flowserve While control valve diagnostic solutions have a great potential for improving plant profitability, realizing the full potential benefits is frequently jeopardized by solutions that fail to collect meaningful real-time diagnostic data and/or translate it into actionable maintenance advice.

		Better Operator Ergonomics Increase Plant KPIs - 12/18/09 Automation World, December 2009 By Craig Resnick It is important for process and discrete manufacturers and suppliers alike to focus on tools that improve the interaction between systems and operators, as there will be a significant shortage of operators within the next five to 10 years.

		Operator Training Simulators to the Rescue - 12/18/09 Automation World, December 2009 By Wes Iversen With baby-boomer retirements on the horizon, manufacturers are looking to OTS systems to quickly bring new process control operators up to speed. Will virtual reality-based training help attract new blood?

		Managing Large-scale Automation Projects - 12/18/09 Automation World, December 2009 By Marty Weil Large-scale automation projects are high-stakes affairs, and project management largely determines their success or failure.

		Rockwell's Process Industry Strategy - New DCS Architecture Rockwell's message to DCS users is very direct - the Logix architecture can meet all control and automation requirements from discrete to process control. The Rockwell vision is that the Logix architecture is a unified platform for all automation and control applications process users may have.

		Digital Controls Deliver Diagnostics, Maintenance and Troubleshooting Benefits - 12/15/09 Control Design, December 2009 By Mike Bacidore Are your controls digital-healthy?: The growing use of fieldbus, ethernet and wireless means more opportunities for diagnostic tools and monitoring, but how do you diagnose your digital controls?

		P&ID: A roadmap for the rest of the trip - 12/15/09 Intech, December 2009 By Thomas McAvinew An ISA standard is on the horizon for "faster, better, cheaper" P&IDs. Currently with Don Frey as chair, the ISA5.7 Committee is moving forward with the immediate task to harmonize the PIP document with the newly approved ANSI/ISA-5.1. It is anticipated that the standard will be issued in 2010.

		Fuel production enhanced with NMR - 12/15/09 Intech, December 2009 By By Paul Giammatteo, et al Online NMR offers a viable means for accurate process analysis and control on a variety of upstream and downstream refinery applications from crude feed to finished gasoline property measurements. NMR delivers real-time accuracy with proven control and economic benefits.

		Rockwell Automation Fair 2009 - Smart, Safe & Sustainable Manufacturing By Bill Lydon As usual, Rockwell Automation Fair was an impressive event with over 8,000 attendees. Rockwell's continued focus on process control punctuates their very direct message that the Logix architecture can meet all control and automation requirements from discrete to process control.

		The Real-Time Enterprise - 12/06/09 Control Engineering Asia, November 2009 By Peter Martin, Invensys The combination of real-time operations business management and real-time operations safety management provides the basis for truly effective operations. The real-time enterprise, effectively managed, reduces energy costs, increases plant safety and improves overall production while helping to achieve environmental sustainability.

		Enterprise Control System Defined - OpsManage 2009 Sudipta Bhattacharya, President & CEO Invensys Operations Management (IOM), opened OpsManage09 with his keynote presentation. Bhattacharya displayed energy, vision, conviction, and a plan that he openly shared, including the rationale for the company's new organization and business approach.

		Siemens Industry's New Automation Organization By Bill Lydon Interview with Raj Batra President, Industry Automation Division Batra was formerly vice president, Automation & Motion, for Siemens Energy & Automation. The Industry Automation division, based in Alpharetta, Ga., encompasses automation products including programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and controls for discrete and process automation.

		PAT enables process development, manufacturing - 11/24/09 Plant Engineering, November 2009 By Dennis McKinley, ABB, and Alex Brindle, NNE PharmaPlan Using a PAT system helps pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce product quality variations such as rejects, scrap and reprocessing; reduce inventory, lab testing and associated paperwork, regulatory overhead and compliance costs; and increase automation to improve operator safety and reduce human errors.

		Securing your industrial control network - 11/24/09 Plant Engineering, November 2009 By Dan Schaffer, Phoenix Contact Steps you can take to protect your control networks include setting up a firewall, segmenting the control network from the office network and taking some common-sense security steps.

		Wireless With A HART Is Catching On - 11/24/09 IMPO, November 2009 By Bob Karschnia, Emerson Process Managment It’s been two years since the WirelessHART standard was approved by some 200 member companies of the HART Communications Foundation. Successful Smart Wireless applications are now operating in more than 1,000 customer sites around the world, and as the range of available wireless products grows, end-users are finding more and more ways to apply them.

		Hacking The Industrial SCADA Network - 11/21/09 Pipeline & Gas Journal, November 2009 By Frank Dickman, RCDD Malicious hackers have discovered supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and distributed control systems (DCS) Now that inexpensive solutions are available, the security of industrial networks can no longer be ignored. With threats to industrial networks increasing in complexity and scope, decision makers need to take action before it is too late.

		Shell's Long-Time Push for Fieldbus - 11/21/09 Control, November 2009 By Jim Montague There isn't exactly a bumper crop of heroes in the fieldbus and industrial networking arenas. Consequently, though many end users and integrators are implementing digital fieldbuses these days, few, if any, have pioneered their use and pushed for their adoption as hard as Shell.

		Wireless or Fieldbus? - 11/21/09 Control, November 2009 By John Rezabek Is wireless easier to integrate with legacy systems than fieldbus? since wireless emerged as viable option, users have been pleased to find that wireless connects easily with their old system.

		Of Costs & Cable Cutting - 11/17/09 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2009 By Peter Zornio, Emerson Process Management Combining wireless with wired automation systems can save you money without sacrificing control capability or reliability.

		Manufacturing Intelligence Not a Buzzword in Manufacturing Software - 11/17/09 Automation World, November 2009 By Michael Bachelor, Bachelor Controls Manufacturing Intelligence is more a strategy or way of defining and approaching solutions to problems and opportunities. However, a well-designed strategy will use software products that can make the adherence to standards and application of specific technologies easier.

		Process Analytics Finds Process Problems - 11/17/09 Process Industry Informer, November 2009 By Jack Wilkins, Canary Labs Process Analytics and Intelligence—sometimes called Manufacturing Intelligence—has transformed the way companies produce goods, understand their manufacturing processes, and ensure a quality product in ways we could not have foreseen ten years ago.

		Video monitoring of process control and automation systems - 11/11/09 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2009 By Telvent Australia Video monitoring is a proven technology for security monitoring in many industries. So why not use video to monitor process control and automation systems? Why can’t video be another sensor? Why not use video to allow operators to see what is happening in the plant? Answer: Nobody is doing any of this, but it is certainly possible.

		Wireless: A real mesh - 11/11/09 InTech, November 2009 By Cyrus W. Taft, et al Researchers from EPRI, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Southern Company Services, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Taft Engineering set out to demonstrate the effectiveness of wireless sensors in a power plant. This article describes test results.

		Hire me, for now - 11/11/09 InTech, November 2009 By Ellen Fussell Policastro A glimmer in the unemployment tunnel could be the demand for temporary and contract staffing, which rose slightly from August to September in 2009, according to the ASA. For those starting over, this could mean you might find yourself looking more for part-time gigs, project contracts, or freelance work.

		How to Avoid Project Failure - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Vance VanDoren Automation projects don’t always go smoothly. Learn 10 signs of impending failure and 7 ways system integrators say you can stay on track.

		Driving Plant Optimization with Advanced Process Control - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Peter Welander Once largely limited to petro and chemical plants, APC use has grown. Economic more than technical issues are key motives.

		Plant Automation and Supply Chain Execution Converge - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Frank O Smith Manufacturers’ increasing integration of automation and enterprise technologies are being used for a variety of purposes, from production margin optimization to strategic energy efficiency decisions

		Batch control: What do you mean? - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Mark T. Hoske Practitioners of control engineering generally like things spelled out when they can get it, and those revising the ISA batch control standard believe their three-year revision clarifies quite a bit.

		Cyber security: Vendors fight back - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Dennis Brandl New aspects of control system software are reducing the need for manufacturing IT personnel to be security experts.

		Invensys Integrates P&F Intrinsically Safe I/O Invensys has moved from a "build everything attitude" that had been a hallmark of the company to partnering with strong suppliers in areas that are not core competencies. The tight integration with Pepperl+Fuchs for Intrinsically Safe I/O shows the Invensys commitment to best of breed partners. The solution is certified for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous environments.

		Electronic Marshalling Concept Attacks Installed Costs Emerson Process Management introduced their new Electronic Marshalling concept as part of the new DeltaV release. This is the result of Emersons new process to design products based on Human Centered Design (HCD). The design looks beyond pure technology to really understand the entire process to achieve the end goal most economically. In this case, the entire project cycle was considered using HCD concepts to think about how to streamline the process.

		Changes at ISA - A Current Volunteer Leader's Perspective - 11/06/09 by Don Frey, ISA Volunteer Leader Faced with unprecedented declines in demand for training, advertising, and exhibit space, the ISA has had to make drastic cuts in its budget for 2010. Some significant areas where cuts have been made are in the areas of professional staff, frequency of publication of InTech magazine, ISA E-News production and distribution, and future ISA EXPO offerings.

		Virtual Training & Operations The most thought-provoking demonstration at the 2009 IPS User Group Conference was the new EYEsim virtual reality system. It puts a user into a virtual plant and allows interactive operation, just as in a real plant. The user wears 3D glasses and uses a joystick to interact with the simulation. It is like playing a video game. Activities include walking through the virtual plant, checking controls, closing valves, reading gauges, and other tasks. The demonstration was complete with a simulated plant fire and the operator was guided to the shutoff valve to suppress the fire.

		An intro to infrared thermography for mechanical applications - 10/22/09 Reliable Plant, October 2009 By Harold Van De Ven and John Snell, The Snell Group While infrared imaging systems are relatively simple to use, interpreting images taken with this equipment can be far more complex and challenging. With training and experience, however, remarkable information can be extracted from an infrared camera.

		Why do steam traps fail? What can you do about it? - 10/22/09 Reliable Plant, October 2009 By Bruce Gorelick, Enercheck Systems, and Alan Bandes, UE Systems Properly functioning steam traps open to release condensate and automatically close when steam is present. Failed traps waste fuel, reduce efficiency, increase production costs and compromise the overall integrity of the steam and condensate systems. Traps should be tested on a regular basis – or the neglect may be quite costly.

		The Smart Grid: Getting smart about possibilities, challenges - 10/22/09 Plant Engineering, October 2009 By Mark Feasel, Schneider Electric One of the more important reasons for building a Smart Grid would be the proliferation of automated electrical solutions that allow integration of renewable energy resources and energy storages devices such as electric car batteries. Such a grid would have the ability to distribute electricity to wherever it’s needed, and even have the ability to store it for later use.

		Motor management in a weak economy - 10/22/09 Plant Services, October 2009 By Thomas H. Bishop When production drops in a weak economy, plant managers often try to control costs by delaying replacement or repair of failed electric motors. A better approach to motor management during slack periods is to target mission-critical equipment with a sound motor repair/replacement policy.

		Certification – how to achieve results using Infrared Thermography - 10/22/09 Maintenance World, October 2009 By Austin Dunne It is easy to buy equipment, but quite another matter to find an effective person able to provide quality data that will enhance a maintenance programme. As with many condition monitoring techniques, infrared thermography is a skilled art form that requires technician and engineeers to be educated and certified.

		The bad news has arrived: Your plant is undergoing severe curtailment/closure - 10/22/09 Maintenance World, October 2009 By Bernie Price Just as with any critical situation, a long-term strategic approach coupled with a series of medium-term tactics and detailed plans are needed. You should also consider how long the shutdown is probably going to last (guesstimate) and whether or not the plant will most likely be: (a) restarted, (b) sold as a complete unit or (c) sold piecemeal.

		Skimping on the training puts your CMMS project at risk - 10/22/09 Maintenance World, October 2009 Training for users of a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is a multiple-phase process. There are three areas of training needs. Make sure people who will operate the CMMS are familiar with computer basics and the operating system. If not, provide them with basic training so they are ready for CMMS application training.

		Choosing The Right Proportional Valve - 10/22/09 Maintenance On-Line, October 2009 Proportional valves are suited to a wide variety of applications in machinery, basic processes and simple or complex, hydro-pneumatic systems. They provide a cost effective and compact solution for controlling flow or pressure at relatively low flow rates.

		Guarding Your Pressure Relief Systems - 10/22/09 Maintenance On-Line, October 2009 Pressure relief devices are installed to help prevent a process system, or any of its components, being subjected to pressures that exceed the Max Allowable Accumulated Pressure (MAWP).

		Changing the Game: Open Data Integration for PAT - 10/22/09 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, October 2009 By Dennis McKinley, ABB Now that OPC’s Analyzer Device Integration model is reality, what can we expect?

		Is It Time for PAT to Go Green? - 10/22/09 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, October 2009 By Paul Thomas With PAT, the focus has been on monitoring Critical Quality Attributes and controlling Quality Critical Process Parameters, and to a lesser degree manufacturing efficiency. It may be time to add sustainability to the list of PAT’s objectives. PAT practitioners are beginning to take a green view of their activities.

		Automate to Get Energy Costs Under Control - 10/22/09 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, October 2009 By Martin Dittmer and Jeffrey Soplop, Rockwell Automation To remain competitive in the marketplace, pharmaceutical manufacturers must set and achieve energy objectives for usage and budget, with a focus on minimizing operational costs.

		Where Is Process Automation Headed? - 10/22/09 Chemical Processing, October 2009 By Norm Gilsdorf, Honeywell Process Solutions Six key technology trends will greatly influence how plants cope with the challenges of today and how they’ll operate by the end of the next decade: sensors, wireless, knowledge applications, convergence of IT and process control, and more.

		Becoming the Main Man - 10/22/09 Control Engineering Asia, October 2009 By G. Venkatesh Automation vendors increasingly taking on main contractor roles for large and complex installations is putting the onus on superior project management to ensure a successful implementation.

		2009 Emerson Global Users Exchange - Engaging Minds. Amazing Results. Steve Sonnenberg, Executive Vice President of Emerson Process Management, opened the conference by emphasizing the biggest challenge of attendees will be to "translate this knowledge (gained) into amazing results when you bring these ideas back home."

		Has the outsourcing tide turned? - 10/19/09 Manufacturers' Monthly, October 2009 By Alan Johnson Gradually the China equation is changing, costs are rising, and counterfeits and extended lead times continue to be problematic, with a trickle of manufacturers reversing their outsourcing decisions, opting to return some of their manufacturing in-house.

		Burning Issues For EPCs - 10/19/09 Automation World, October 2009 By Rob Spiegel There are two major challenges facing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) organizations.One is the impact of the global economic downturn and the other is the growing complexity of automation systems.

		EPCs Are Working More Closely with Automation Vendors - 10/19/09 Automation World, October 2009 By Rob Spiegel The companies building plants—engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) organizations—are planning the control system before construction begins.

		An Update on EDDL and FDT - 10/19/09 Automation World, October 2009 By Gary Mintchell EDDL stands for Electronic Device Description Language, and FDT represents Field Device Tool. These software tools play a vital role in facilitating preventive maintenance and helping to turn digital automation into a nearly plug-and-play affair.

		ASM Alarm Management Guidelines and ISA-18.2: How Do They Stack Up? - 10/19/09 Control, October 2009 By Walt Boyes The ISA Standard and the ASM Consortium guidelines both offer important information about alarm management. Although their approaches differ, they complement one another.

		ISA100.11a: Half Baked to a Schedule - 10/19/09 Control, October 2009 By Walt Boyes It isn’t enough to write a standard that excludes WirelessHART. There must be a standard, any standard, whether it works or not. If that’s what we do, shame on us.

		How's Your Fieldbus Resume? - 10/19/09 Control, October 2009 By John Rezabek If you're looking for a job or interviewing to fill a vacancy in your organization, what kind of qualifications should you be displaying to qualify for the jobs that are available? There's an excellent chance no one on the hiring team understands what you do, especially if it consists of the plant manager and the HR person.

		The seven habits of highly successful control engineers - 10/10/09 What’s New in Process Technology, September 2009 Highly successful control engineers didn’t become that way by accident. The most successful engineers develop habits that improve results and the recognition of those results.

		Coping with change - 10/10/09 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2009 By Deon van Aardt, Wonderware Southern Africa The problems manufacturers are trying to solve today are far more complex than they were 10 years ago and there is every indication that this trend will continue into the future. What has plagued industry is the ability of software to cope with change.

		Mill maintenance, it’s all in the planning - 10/10/09 Process & Control Engineering, October 2009 By Daniel Braithwaite, Outotec In an ideal world, mill maintenance would only ever take place over planned shutdowns. Whilst this ideal may never be achieved, with good planning, steps can be taken to identify potential problems early and minimise unexpected mill breakdowns, saving thousands of dollars and wasted hours in the process.

		Return on assets: To the max! - 10/10/09 InTech, October 2009 By Greg Hood and Wil Chin To enhance asset management, companies are selecting condition-monitoring solutions that are on an open database platform and have features such as standard vibration data types, the power to perform calculations, and the ability to integrate seamlessly with the plant-floor control and process systems.

		The robotized field operator - 10/10/09 InTech, October 2009 By Trond Michael Andersen, et al Oil and gas companies have started to explore broader applications where robots may also have a positive impact on productivity and efficiency. One such application is the remote operation of oil and gas fields, particularly those in hazardous environments.

		Squeeze play - 10/10/09 InTech, October 2009 By Gregory Hale InTech survey: Pressure to cut costs intensifies; salary levels remain consistent; safety knowledge is the top skill new automation professionals are missing.

		Tuning up for global standards - 10/10/09 InTech, October 2009 By Bill Fiske and Ellen Fussell Policastro Standardization should support your business strategy, otherwise, why bother? You cannot support a strategy unless you have one.

		Are your temperature sensors safe? - 10/10/09 HazardEX, October 2009 When it comes to installing temperature sensors such as thermocouples or resistance thermometers (RTDs) in hazardous areas, many companies are still making mistakes with regard to equipment certification requirements.

		The science of safe handling - 10/10/09 HazardEX, October 2009 By Ian Blackmore, Rota Val, The impact of new Machinery Regulations, Safe Handling Regulations, ATEX and the use of proactive equipment and system design to prevent product contamination and consequent loss of production.

		Is the need for local plant indication a thing of the past? - 10/10/09 Control Engineering Europe, September 2009 By Alec Robshaw, Beka Associates It would be logical to assume that the use of large local control panels full of controllers and gauges is becoming truly extinct. Good engineering practice suggests the old-school practice of ‘walking the plant’ lends a pair of eyes and ears to the process that no end of sensors and transmitters can replace.

		Integrated Safety: Has its Time Arrived? - 10/10/09 Control Engineering, October 2009 By David Greenfield Engineers, integrators, and industry representatives offer a variety of viewpoints on this hot button topic. Through all the discussion, one thing is clear: Consensus has yet to be reached.

		2009 IPS North American Client Conference: Chaos, Crisis, Clarity By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor Steve Blair, President, North America Region, Invensys Operations Management opened the conference with the theme, "Achieving Sustainable Performance" and two other speakers gave real world examples of how training and preparation brought clarity out of chaos and crisis.

		Fixed-Price Projects - 09/22/09 Control, September 2009 By Dan Hebert When you're planning a project for your process plant, one of your most important decisions is whether to execute the work on a fixed-price or a time-and-material basis. On fixed-price projects, total cost is known up-front because the bidder makes schedule and performance commitments. However, getting firm fixed-price bids is not easy, especially for smaller, multi-discipline projects

		...to Tango - 09/22/09 Control, September 2009 By Jim Montague Model-predictive control and advanced process control tools are helping users gain efficiencies and savings in their process applications. Here’s how you can boogie to the optimization beat, too.

		Process Control's Role in Nuclear Waste Handling - 09/22/09 Control, September 2009 By Béla Lipták The role of process control in nuclear safety and how it plays in reducing the risks associated with the transportation and storage of nuclear wastes.

		Control Systems, We Know What You Need - 09/22/09 Control, September 2009 By John Rezabek The supplier believes it knows better how to control the client's plant than the customer does. The supplier says, in effect, "We know what it is you want, so step aside while we give it to you." This is irksome to customers who have a fairly clear idea of how they want things done, or who want to explore some more creative solutions.

		Batch to Continuous - 09/22/09 Control, September 2009 By Dan Hebert Not all processes can be converted from batch to continuous, but for those that can the benefits are substantial. The automation challenges involved with making the switch are significant, but can be overcome. The batch manufacturers that make the switch for all or part of their processes will forge ahead, while those that remain mired in the batch world will fall behind.

		Lawyers And Computerized Maintenance Management Systems - 09/20/09 Maintenance Technology, September 2009 By Dave Bertolini, People and Processes Ever wonder what would happen if the data in a CMMS had to help defend maintenance decisions in a court of law? If only this were something out of a fictional television drama or vivid, sweat-inducing nightmare. It's not.

		Compressor Surge Control: Design And Modeling For Performance Verification - 09/20/09 Pipeline & Gas Journal, September 2009 By Marybeth Nored, et al The design of the surge-control system is more difficult than other station-control systems because of the high speed of disturbances and dynamic nature of surge. In addition, a variety of control system responses is required, depending on whether the compressor is starting up, operating in its normal operation at a low flow period, or undergoing a sudden shutdown.

		Electromechanical Switches for Pharmaceutical Process Applications - 09/20/09 Electromechanical Switches for Pharmaceutical Process Applications Pharmaceutical Processing, September 2009 By Markus Affolter, Wilbrecht LEDCO While a broad range of sensors are available for temperature and pressure control, a simple solution, like a pressure switch activating power directly without the use of an interconnected controller or electronics circuit, is often the best-and in many cases, the most cost-effective.

		Alarms: Behind the Red Screen - 09/20/09 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, September 2009 By C. Martin Hinckley, Assured Quality, Inc. When operators fail to follow or actively dismantle “andon” devices it’s usually a sign of serious systemic problems. Here’s how to prevent them from resulting in recalls or worse.

		Mothballing Requires More Than Idle Thought - 09/20/09 Chemical Processing, September 2009 By Bernie Price, Polaris Veritas 75% of idled plants or rigs eventually were reactivated in some form. The bottom line is that while it only should cost 5% or less of Plant Replacement Value (PRV) to reactivate a well-preserved unit, restarting an inadequately mothballed plant will cost 20+% of PRV. This often is a deal breaker. Here’s how to mothball a plant.

		Abandon-in-Place Must End - 09/20/09 Chemical Processing, September 2009 By Dirk Willard Plants sideline equipment and processes for weeks, months or even years. The units are isolated, or perhaps not, and allowed to rust. I've seen this at refineries, chemical and food plants, and even in municipal water-treatment facilities. This approach euphemistically is called, "abandon-in-place." Regardless of what you call it, it's a poor engineering practice.

		The OPC Connection - 09/20/09 Control Engineering Asia, September 2009 By Randy Kondor OPC UA (Unified Architecture) represents the OPC Foundation’s most recent set of specifications for process control and automation system interconnectivity. With all the expanded connectivity that the new OPC UA offers, expect a sharp increase in OPC’s penetration of plants.

		The Virtual Plant - 09/20/09 Control Engineering Asia, September 2009 By Maurizio Rovaglio and Tobias Scheele Until recently, the use of virtual reality (VR) had been limited by systems constraints. Advances in hardware processing power and software development will allow VR to be used as the interface with computer-based multimedia activities that include training, process design, maintenance and safety.

		5 Parts of ISA95 - 09/20/09 Automation World, September 2009 By Rob Spiegel The ISA95 standard is made up of five individual parts. Each part offers specific definitions to support different aspects of interfacing control systems with enterprise systems.

		ISA95 Moves Toward Global Adoption - 09/20/09 Automation World, September 2009 By Rob Spiegel More than a decade since its conception, the ISA95 standard for connecting enterprise IT to control systems is seeing use across a wide range of industries.

		Track & Trace Becomes a Critical Operations Tool for Manufacturing - 09/20/09 Automation World, September 2009 By Gary Mintchell Originally deployed for incident mitigation or avoidance, track-and-trace applications are now essential tools for achieving operational excellence.

		Plant Intelligence - 09/16/09 Industrial Automation Asia, September 2009 By Martin Ahrens and Holger Oettel, WinCC, Siemens The increasing volume of process data requires that the integration of corporate processes is both horizontal and vertical. A SCADA system meets this challenge with extended functions for web-based analyses, ad-hoc reports and characteristic value-based evaluations.

		Dynamic simulation in turbomachinery control systems - 09/13/09 Process & Control Engineering, September 2009 By Jim Jacoby and Ian Willetts, Invensys Dynamic simulation brings together controls, process and operations. The vastly improved performance of modern PCs and dynamic simulation packages have provided control systems designers and process engineers with an excellent set of capabilities for the evaluation, testing, implementation and modification of complex turbomachinery control programs in a process environment.

		The world’s going wireless, but what about our industry? - 09/13/09 Process & Control Engineering, September 2009 By Greg Ferrar, Endress+Hauser Despite the extensive marketing hype from some suppliers promoting the implementation of WirelessHart devices everywhere, the global standard for WSN is only just being finalised. Because of this, the technology is yet to be accepted for true plant control – this is still some time away.

		True control system objective - 09/13/09 InTech, September 2009 By George Buckbee and Lew Gordon It is not enough to know the performance of your control system could be better. To focus improvement efforts effectively, you must identify, quantify, and prioritize problems. You should also then be able to track and confirm the benefits of any type of corrective action.

		Are you looking forward to Windows 7? I’m not - 09/13/09 Control Engineering Europe, September 2009 By Mike Babb Windows 7 is the same old stuff, just re-arranged a little bit to make you think you’re getting ‘the latest technology.’ In the past 15 years Microsoft has done nothing new in the way of office software technology, yet they have millions believing the illusion that they have.

		Ethernet Enthusiasm: Will it Saturate the Plant? - 09/13/09 Control Engineering Europe, September 2009 Zealous Ethernet champions see the day when all instruments, actuators, and controllers are connected in one vast harmonious plant network—and, by natural extension, to the Internet. Never mind Profibus, serial communications, or 4-20 mA: they will all fade away.

		Dashboards present more than just information - 09/13/09 Control Engineering Europe, September 2009 By Christina McKeon, Infor Today's software dashboards are not your typical user interface, portal or report generated by the IT department. Three areas of dashboard evolution will impact your day-to-day manufacturing life sooner rather than later. Here's what you need to know.

		Planning Cuts Automation Project Risk - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Vance VanDoren System integrators share tips on how avoiding surprises helps them succeed. Clear communications and documentation top the list. Tools follow for project management.

		Relay Method Automates PID Loop Tuning - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Vance VanDoren The relay test can be configured to limit the amplitude of the process variable's oscillations by fixing the amplitude of the control effort's oscillations at a user-defined value. This allows the controller to force the process variable to oscillate just enough to distinguish the process's behavior from measurement noise.

		Energy Audits: Starting Point for Sustainable Production - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Doug Burns and Marcia Walker, Rockwell Automation Energy audits permit tracking all water, air, gas, electric, and steam usage in a plant to help companies reduce consumption and improve the bottom line.

		Another kind of integration - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Mark Voigtmann What is contract integration? It is, quite simply, knowing the boundaries of the "deal." It is amazing how many companies neglect this most basic of legal principles—to the point where the process may be integrated but the legal requirements are not.

		How and when to fold an IT project - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Dennis Brandl Many manufacturing IT projects do not finish, not necessarily because they failed, but because of changing requirements, changing business conditions, company mergers, or changes in products and processes. It's important to know when to fold a project, but it is equally important to know what to do when you fold a project.

		IEC 61850 Power Industry Communications Standard IEC 61850 is the new Ethernet-based international standard for communication in power generation facilities and substations. The goal of this standard is to integrate all of the protection, control, measurement, and monitoring functions within a substation, and to provide the means for high-speed substation protection applications, interlocking and intertripping. These devices are generally referred to as Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED).

		Explanations and applications of Statistical Process Control - 08/27/09 Reliable Plant, August 2009 By Mettler Toledo SPC is far more than a control chart or a mere capability index. It is a system that uses process data to describe a prototypical manufacturing process in connection with its environment. The goal of the method is to intervene in the process before tolerance violators occur, and thereby optimize the entire process.

		Get IT, engineering together on MES effort - 08/27/09 Plant Engineering, August 2009 By Bianca Scholten Traditionally, IT departments handle the ERP and other systems used in the office. The functionality in these systems belongs largely on ISA-95 Level 4. Engineers are working in a completely different world, with programming methods like ladder logic, SFC and function blocks. They’re active on ISA-95 Level 2 and lower. But who takes care of automating activities on ISA-95 Level 3; in other words, MES?

		Managing an open system - 08/27/09 Plant Engineering, August 2009 By Shawn Gold, Honeywell Process Solutions For all the benefits open systems provide, they pose significant IT challenges. End users can only rely so much on their automation suppliers for support to keep process control networks secure. The reality is that plant engineers are now responsible for increasingly complex open automation architectures and the specialized IT support functions that go along with them.

		Historian use improves process optimization - 08/27/09 Plant Engineering, August 2009 By John Leppiaho, GE Fanuc, and Derick Moolman, CSense Systems The benefits of Advanced Process Control and advanced analytics have become increasingly well established in the process industry. Through continually evolving technologies, the benefits of APC are now accessible to a much broader range of industries and users by providing mainstream tools and leveraging diverse industry experience.

		The problem with renewable energy - 08/27/09 Plant Services, August 2009 By Peter Garforth Why does it seem to be so difficult to incorporate renewable energy into manufacturing? With notable exceptions, few companies have clear renewable targets. Even fewer use renewables for a significant portion of their energy. This is changing, but exploring the potential of renewable energy often raises more questions than answers.

		10 years after - 08/27/09 Control Engineering Asia, August 2009 By Bob Gill No, not the rock band. It’s 10 years after fieldbus. For it was in 1999 when the IEC standards committee released the 61158 fieldbus standard, which initially comprised eight different protocol sets (called “types”), including Profibus and Foundation Fieldbus along with others like ControlNet, P-Net and Interbus.

		The Fieldbus Years - 08/27/09 Control Engineering Asia, August 2009 By Jonas Berge The effort to create the fieldbus standard – which was officially completed 10 years ago with the release of IEC 615118 – resulted in not one but many protocols commonly referred to as “fieldbus.” Importantly, it did produce a quantum leap in technology and major international corporations began to implement fieldbus networks

		OPC UA Redefines Automation Architectures By Bill Lydon, Automation.com The new OPC UA technology provides an efficient and secure infrastructure for communications - from sensor to business enterprise computing for all automation systems in manufacturing and process control. OPC UA leverages web services to provide a single programming paradigm in a scalable architecture that can be implemented is a range of devices - from embedded to enterprise.

		Beyond the Data Warehouse - 08/24/09 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, August 2009 By Joseph S. Rothman, Aegis Analytical It’s time to shatter the myth of one-stop process data access—dynamic mapping engines allow users easier access to both discrete and time series data.

		Energy improvement: look at the big picture for real savings - 08/24/09 International Energy Solutions, August 2009 By Russell Page, PICME There is more to saving energy than fixing steam and compressed air leaks, investing in energy efficient motors and having boiler efficiency surveys. To achieve maximum energy efficiency, a holistic approach should be taken with representatives from all departments involved.

		Ageing plant and the implications for asset integrity - 08/24/09 European Chemical Engineer, August 2009 Many assets around the world are currently operating beyond their nominal design life and require an effective asset integrity management approach to be implemented to combat the issues of ageing plant.

		Asset performance management: improving process productivity - 08/24/09 European Process Engineer, August 2009 Plant operators face ever greater challenges due to the increasing level of automation, rising diversification in product structures and the growing trend towards integrated industrial assets.

		Properly Tackle Inexperience on Project Teams - 08/24/09 Chemical Processing, August 2009 By Adnan Siddiqui, ConcepSys Solutions Put new people on the right teams and take specific steps to build know-how.

		How Does Your Control System Measure Up? - 08/24/09 Chemical Processing, August 2009 By George Buckbee, ExperTune Most sites have spent millions of dollars on control systems — an individual loop may cost upwards of $10,000 to implement when you consider expenses for engineering, sensor, wiring, controller, valve, configuration and programming. Yet, is this sizable investment paying off as well as it should?

		Profit More from Process Simulation - 08/24/09 Chemical Processing, August 2009 By Grant Stephenson, et al, Honeywell Process Solutions The financial benefits of a simulator don't have to stop at operator training. They can begin much earlier than training and continue throughout the plant's lifecycle. Unfortunately, many plants overlook uses of simulation that can improve overall safety and process reliability while reducing capital and operating costs and environmental impact.

		Please Don’t Hire Me! - 08/24/09 Chemical Processing, August 2009 By Dirk Willard Some contracts simply aren’t worth winning. Especially a client you always lose money on. Let the other guy win the contract. You can’t afford that kind of job.

		What’s the Right Blend in Automation Platforms? - 08/20/09 Managing Automation, August 2009 By Stephanie Neil Manufacturers don’t have the time or money to overhaul antiquated automation systems. It’s not an easy task for companies that have spent the past 20 years investing in a cornucopia of control, including PLCs, CNC or a DCS, on top of which they’ve built out a complex network of I/O communication modules, sensors, and software from historians to HMIs.

		Implementing Automation - 08/20/09 Machine Design, August 2009 By Richard K. Hubert, Pelco When designing automated systems, a significant challenge is getting all the information needed to best understand requirements and anticipate results. In large companies, it’s sometimes difficult to obtain information without a committee, but accurate data helps ensure a successful project.

		Optimal Trade-offs - 08/20/09 Industrial Automation Asia, August 2009 By Eduardo Gallestey ,et al, ABB Achieving energy efficiency and environmental compliance is not a problem thanks to advanced process control. State-of-the-art mathematical algorithms have been packaged to easily tackle the optimisation and control problems that were intractable just a few years ago.

		Template for Performance - 08/20/09 Industrial Automation Asia, August 2009 By Dr Otmar Lorenz and Dr Bernd-Markus Pfeiffer, Siemens Advanced Process Control (APC) methods improve the plant performance in terms of productivity, cost-effectiveness, product quality, operability, availability, usability, safety and environmental protection.

		Software License Should Be Included in Hardware Price - 08/20/09 Control Design, August 2009 By TJ McDermott, Formost Fuji You major automation companies out there should take a page from the smaller ones. Your efforts to protect your software are poorly executed, interfere with my ability to do my job and reflect poorly on what is important, which is the programming software.

		Pharmaceutical Industry Confronts Data, Change, Culture - 08/20/09 Automation World, August 2009 By C. Kenna Amos Coping with cultural change in pharmaceuticals means overcoming the challenge of how companies configure automation systems.

		Honeywell Process Solutions Embraces System Integrators Honeywell Process Solutions is pursuing relationships with independent system integrators (SI) for the "Honeywell Experion Implementers" program. I spoke with Bill Stevens, Honeywell Channel Manager, to learn more about this program. Stevens explained that the goal of the program is to "capture incremental business" for smaller systems in applications including specialty chemicals, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical.

		The application of IEEE 1588 to industrial automation - 08/16/09 What’s New in Process Technology, August 2009 By Ken Harris The IEEE 1588 standard provides a time-based control solution that can be easily adopted by the industrial control industry to distribute precision time for time-based control on the factory floor.

		Minerals processing comes of age - 08/16/09 Process & Control Engineering, July 2009 By Sarah Falson The need for automatic control of mineral processing plants requires continuous accurate measurement of process streams and can result in increased productivity, improved metal recovery, improved concentrate grades, reduced operating costs and lower product variability.

		It's in the pipes - 08/16/09 InTech, August 2009 By Kelly Doran In pipeline control centers around the world, it is not uncommon to see alarm summary screens completely filled with multiple pages of acknowledged and unacknowledged alarms. Improved alarm management will deliver quieter control rooms and better alarm flood control/avoidance.

		The myth and magic of OPC - 08/16/09 InTech, August 2009 By Patrick Dixon and Michael Velarde OLE for Process Control is a widely adopted industry standard for communication between applications in a control system: It’s a beautiful thing when it works. Unfortunately, there are times when OPC shows its uglier side.

		The Eye for Plant Operators' Eyes - 08/16/09 Control, August 2009 By Doug Rothenburg More screens are necessary as more information is displayed. The author proposes putting up six display screens instead of the traditional three.

		High Wireless - 08/16/09 Control, August 2009 By Jim Montague Most folks now believe wireless can work in their process applications. here’s how veteran users do wireless, and how you can do it too

		Safe Position Measuring - 08/14/09 Control Engineering, August 2009 By Thilo Schlicksbier, Heidenhain Stringent safety requirements, particularly as defined in the new EN ISO 13849 standard, call for position encoders with entirely new solutions for safety-related applications.

		Safe Automation - 08/14/09 Control Engineering, August 2009 By Armin Glaser, Pilz Automation The trend is moving away from exclusively centralized control structures toward decentralized, independent cell automation and the mechatronic, modular approach that this enables. However, networking several control systems must not increase the level of complexity.

		Cyber Security Lessons from Electric Utilities Industry - 08/14/09 Control Engineering, August 2009 By Frank O Smith Compliance with regulations in version 2 of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) standard becomes mandatory this year. Within it are lessons for plants and SCADA systems of all types.

		Why more decision-making data is flowing to engineers - 08/14/09 Control Engineering, August 2009 By David Greenfield The trend in manufacturing information technology has been to push plant floor data up into the enterprise systems for better decision making by corporate executives. Now, companies are having it also flow back down to the plant floor for real-time decision making by the plant floor operators and engineers

		True enterprise automation - 07/21/09 InTech, July 2009 By Peter Woodhull Manufacturing companies have been slow to adopt new technological approaches to business process management for reasons including resistance to change, cost, and fear of losing functionality in existing legacy IT systems. Service-oriented computing has the potential to combine these technologies in order to get greater control of processes that span multiple systems.

		Expertise: A continuous commodity - 07/21/09 InTech, July 2009 By Ellen Fussell Policastro Systems integrators are still strong in fragile economy; manufacturers most need expertise, partnership.

		Return on Imagination - Honeywell User Group (HUG) 2009 Honeywell Process Solutions continues to grow in a number of dimensions including: additional products, wireless, energy, PLCs, independent system integrator initiatives, and Integrated Master Automation Contractor (IMAC) focus. This year’s attendance was lower than previous years, but David Wade, Honeywell Users Group Americas Chairman, officially opened the HUG 2009 conference commenting that there were more than 50% new attendees.

		Beyond alarm management: Improving operator effectiveness - 07/19/09 Plant Engineering, July 2009 By Diego Izarra, Invensys Process Systems A properly rationalized and accessible alarm database not only improves operator effectiveness, it also has a significant impact on maintaining corporate goals for health and safety, environmental sustainability and financial performance.

		Step by step - 07/19/09 Plant Services, July 2009 By David Berger Process mapping is a technique that allows users to represent key processes graphically to more easily discuss and evaluate their effectiveness. By comparing “current state” process maps with “future state” maps, users can visualize the changes required to achieve expected savings and benefits. At a more detailed level, process maps also show how systems such as your CMMS support the process flow.

		RFPs Scorecard Make it Easier to Evaluate Facility Software Vendors - 07/19/09 Building Operating Management, July 2009 How are facility executives to find a quality software vendor amidst the clutter? What are the characteristics facility executives should look for in a long-term software partner? And, just as importantly, what red flags indicate that facility executives should run for the hills?

		Hesitation In The Drive To A Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Process: Real or Imaginary? - 07/15/09 Pharmaceutical Processing, July 2009 By Girish Malhotra, EPCOT International Should moving from a batch to a continuous process be such a monumental feat? The answer is an unequivocal no. Many companies have apprehensions about making this change because there is this inherited fear of cost and regulatory hurdles that comes with thoughts of changing after a manufacturing process is approved by regulatory agencies.

		Web 2.0 tools Conduct in Concert - 07/15/09 Control, July 2009 By Jim Montague Increased computing power is allowing colleagues to move themselves and their documents from user-located and maintained servers and software out into web-based environments on the Internet. These tools can be used by process control engineers to improve set-up, operations and maintenance of their applications and plants.

		Fixed-Price Projects - 07/15/09 Control, July 2009 By Dan Hebert On fixed-price projects, total cost is known up-front because the bidder makes schedule and performance commitments. But getting firm fixed-price bids is not easy, especially for smaller multi-discipline projects.

		Finally, Registered Hosts - 07/15/09 Control, July 2009 By John Rezabek As of this writing, four hosts—ABB Automation Products’ Industrial IT System 800xA, Emerson Process Management’s DeltaV and AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager, and Yokogawa Electric Corp.’s Centum VP and Stardom—have already passed Phase 1 of the new registered host test.

		Taking Control - 07/14/09 Industrial Automation Asia, June 2009 By Elmar Vogts, ABB Driven by technological developments in the last years, manufacturers of process automation technology are nowadays able to offer control systems with higher scalability as an alternative to PLCs in process-oriented applications.

		Addressing SIS Cyber Security; Is it First or Last? - 07/14/09 Control Engineering, July 2009 By Bob Huba and Chuck Miller, Emerson Process Management Part 2: When considering integrated control and safety systems, building a strong defense is an investment in ensuring business continuity. How should you implement the concepts?

		Service Oriented Architecture and its Impact on Automation - 07/14/09 Control Engineering, July 2009 By Dennis Brandl Service oriented architecture (SOA)—everyone seems to be talking about, teaching, selling, or implementing it, but there is also a lot of confusion about what it really is. This article is a guide to understanding what it is, how it works, and how it applies to manufacturing-related applications.

		Securing Legacy Control Systems - 07/14/09 Control Engineering, July 2009 By Peter Welander Very few of the process control platforms operating today were installed with any cyber security protection built in. Most predate wide deployment of the Internet. Can these systems be protected against today’s threats?

		Chernobyl Did Not Need To Occur - 07/14/09 Control, July 2009 By Béla Lipták Ironically, the Chernobyl accident occurred during a test run, which was conducted to improve plant safety. This accident proved once more what experienced control engineers have all learned: that a process must be understood before it can be controlled.

		As Clear As Mud! - 07/10/09 Process Industry Informer, July 2009 By Nigel Allen, Hycontrol Covers the complex process control and automation problems associated with sludge blanket level and interface monitoring within waste water treatment and allied industries.

		Intelligent Diagnostics: A Smarter Way To High Production Availability And Cut Costs - 07/10/09 Process Industry Informer, July 2009 By Gary Provis, Siemens intelligent diagnostics is not just ‘nice to have’ for companies but, nowadays, more a strategic necessity to help stay ahead of the competition.

		Boosting power plant performance with advanced process control - 07/10/09 Power Engineering International, June 2009 By Pekka Immonen, ABB Utility Automation Systems Multi-variable model predictive control (MPC) is an established technology with superior performance over traditional control strategies. Originally developed for petroleum refineries, MPC has become common in process industries. It is only recently, however, that MPC has found its way into power plant control and optimization.

		Revealing Analysis - 07/10/09 Control Engineering Asia, June 2009 By Jack Wilkins, Canary Labs Today, manufacturers use large volumes of real-time process data, generally stored in a process historian, as the foundation to drive realtime analytics and dashboards, which improve their ability to detect and react to process bottlenecks or quality issues.

		The Question of Integration - 07/10/09 Control Engineering Asia, June 2009 By Robin McCrea-Steele New digital technology now makes it feasible to integrate process control and safety instrumented functions within a common automation infrastructure. While there are undoubted benefits from integrating control and safety on the same platform, this approach can also create some adverse consequences.

		PAT Looms over Pharma - 07/09/09 Control, June 2009 By Rich Merritt Pharmaceutical manufacturers have been dragging their heels on adopting process analytical technology (PAT) techniques for years, but now the pressure is on—PAT is one stroke of a government pen away from changing from an advisory to a requirement.

		Another Major Safety Fail - 07/09/09 Control, June 2009 By Walt Boyes This summary of the recent Bhopal-like accident at the Bayer CropScience facility is scary. There’s no way to tell if the safety system would have worked, or did work, because major parts of it were turned off.

		Certainty of Outcome with Fieldbus - 07/09/09 Control, June 2009 By John Rezabek Certainty of outcome is important on any project, but delivering it isn’t free. What are some of the key areas where effort and/or investment are needed to obtain sufficient certainty of outcome for even the smallest fieldbus project?

		Multivariable Control of Distillation, Part 2 - 07/09/09 Control, June 2009 By F. Greg Shinskey Part 2 discusses relative gain analysis and the economic benefits of lowering relative gain.

		Relays Yield More Programmable Machine Control Options - 06/24/09 Control Design, June 2009 Relays might seem to be in retreat for all but the most basic control applications in the face of seemingly relentless PLC advances. Instead, relays actually are adding capabilities and encroaching into control territory formerly occupied by PLCs

		Asset performance management: improving process productivity - 06/24/09 European Process Engineer, June 2009 Plant operators face ever greater challenges due to the increasing level of automation, rising diversification in product structures and the growing trend towards integrated industrial assets.

		Professional Services Leverage Technology David Johnson, President and CEO Yokogawa Corporation of America, noted that more customers are taking advantage of the company's professional services. In this one-on-one interview, Bill Lydon asks Gary Hodgson, Yokogawa's Business Development Manager of Professional Services, to discuss how their service offerings utilize technology to improve productivity.

		Remote performance monitoring - 06/20/09 Energy Tech, June 2009 This is the second of three articles. Web-based and wireless technologies, advanced software applications and tools, automation, smart sensors and instruments with diagnostic capabilities, are all making it possible for power plant owners to do more with less.

		Plant of the Future: Whither Wireless? - 06/20/09 Chemical Processing, June 2009 By Jeff Becker, Honeywell Process Solutions Predictions made only a few years ago about the “wireless plant of the future” already are outdated. The rapid evolution and adoption of wireless technology by the process industries mean it’s very realistic to expect such plants to emerge within the next five years.

		Business Performance Management -- The New Operational Strategy - 06/20/09 Manufacturing.Net, June 2009 By Thomas Silvestri, Opus Global Group Business performance management -- the measurement and implementation of the most successful operational standard or strategy available in an industry -- can be one of the most effective tools for increasing a corporation's efficiency, productivity, and, ultimately, earnings.

		Performance Management - Looking for the Hidden Clues - 06/20/09 Managing Automation, June 2009 By Stephanie Neil Business performance management tools can help you discover much-needed operational efficiencies. But, particularly in tough times, it’s best to keep it simple.

		Conflicting Signals - 06/20/09 Managing Automation, June 2009 By Chris Chiappinelli Wireless sensors could deliver widespread value to manufacturers, if only vendors could agree on how they should be deployed within a networked context.

		The Future of Workflow Is Automated Knowledge - 06/20/09 Automation World, June 2009 By Rob Spiegel In the not-too-distant future, workflow structures may carry the knowledge that typically lives in the brains of long-time plant operations staff.

		Workflow Automation Is Ready To Change Plant Operations - 06/20/09 Automation World, June 2009 By Rob Spiegel Plants are discovering workflow tools are a handy way to turn operator knowledge into repeatable processes. In doing so, plants are creating best-practice templates that can be fine-tuned for efficiency and implemented from plant to plant.

		Alarm Management: Getting Alarms Right - 06/20/09 Automation World, June 2009 By Gary Mintchell Presenting the appropriate alarms to the appropriate person in a timely manner is one of the toughest challenges facing the automation team—especially in process industries.

		Contracting for services? Qualifications should come first - 06/16/09 Control Engineering, June 2008 By Vance VanDoren and Ron Brenke Selecting a controls engineering partner on price alone can cost you plenty. Here’s how the qualifications-based selection (QBS) process can work for you.

		Safety via Fieldbus—Hanging by a Wire? Control Engineering, June 2008 By Peter Welander Fieldbus is breaking new ground in discrete and process safety networks, a bastion of hard-wired systems. Users are drawn by promises of easier troubleshooting and maintenance.

		Uptime and the new age of safety control - 06/16/09 What’s New in Process Technology, June 2009 By Gary Milburn, Rockwell Automation Unleashed by new safety standards that embrace the latest microprocessor technologies, modern safety control systems are now intricately tied to how the plant operates — not only optimising worker safety, but improving productivity and uptime.

		Advanced Process Control – Developing A Plan For The Future - 06/16/09 Process Industry Informer, May 2009 By Dr Paul Turner, AspenTech There is now a consensus that APC needs to be easier to build and maintain. As a result, today’s vendors are being tasked with either making sophisticated capability easier to use or adopting a more practical approach to implementation.

		Training with dynamic simulation - 06/16/09 PACE, May 2009 By Neil Freeman Dynamic process simulators can take the safety onus off mining plant operators.

		Capitalize on Crisis! - Review of Yokogawa 2009 User Group Conference The Yokogawa User Group Conference had an enthusiastic group of automation professionals in attendance. In his opening remarks, Con Lau, GM Marketing of Yokogawa of America, discussed the Asian representation of crisis that is made up of two letters - danger and opportunity. “Where there is danger, there is opportunity.” People attending were looking for opportunities to improve operations and efficiency.

		Electronic Signatures and Data Quality Pharmaceutical Processing, May 2009 By John Avellanet, Cerulean Associates You will have a problem if you rely on electronic data capture, review and approval, and you are unable to prove that the person who was supposed to collect/review/approve the information was the actual person who did the collection/review/ approval.

		Improving boiler reliability through NDT Energy Tech, May 2009 Non-Destructive Testing inspections during planned outages can prevent many forced outages. A good practice is to study the history of the unit and determine where to focus the inspections in the boiler.

		Scale Back on Heat Tracing - 06/02/09 Chemical Processing, May 2009 By Andrew Sloley To prevent freeze expansion damage, plants in chilly areas generally use electricity or steam to heat trace water lines. While this addresses an obvious hazard, it also can pose pitfalls for pumps, as one plant discovered.

		Product Briefs from Hannover Messe By Bill Lydon Over 6,000 companies showed products at Hannover Messe and there are important trends that are worth noting. Here are highlights of some products that caught my interest - some due to functional sophistication and others because of their elegant simplicity.

		System Integrators Strike Back Control, May 2009 By Dan Hebert Many of the larger automation suppliers provide a wide range of services, often offered in direct competition with system integrators, ironically some of their best customers. In response and to better serve the needs of their own clients, some system integrators are striking back by developing products.

		Multivariable Control of Distillation Control, May 2009 By F. Greg Shinskey For the last two decades, model predictive control (MPC) has been promoted for multivariable processes, particularly in petroleum refineries. Yet its performance hardly justifies its promises, and economic payout is spotty at best. This article analyzes some of the factors limiting MPC performance and demonstrate how ARC systems overcome them.

		Is Wireless Process Control Ready for Prime Time? Control, May 2009 By Greg McMillan Is wireless control ready for prime time in industrial processes? Is wireless reliable, secure and fast enough for process control? Will battery life be long enough? What is the motivation other than to be part of a neat new technology?

		Changing Safety Standards Complicate Life for Manufacturers Automation World, May 2009 By Alex Anderson There is more to becoming compliant with safety standards than simply writing a request for proposal (RFP) and hiring a vendor. One of the greatest challenges with implementing safety standards in your production facility is simply knowing which standards apply to you and how.

		Integrated Safety Systems Winning Out Automation World, May 2009 By Rob Spiegel One way or another, safety is getting integrated into control systems. Sometimes, it’s a matter of simply sharing data between safety and control, but increasingly, safety and control are merging into one system. The price is higher for the control system, but that can be leveraged against reduced installation costs, lower maintenance expenses and increased uptime.

		Networked Safety: Mainstream or Marketing? - 05/24/09 Automation World, May 2009 By Greg Farnum The rollout of the Fieldbus Foundation’s FF-SIF safety protocol has sparked considerable interest and many questions about the protocol itself and about networked safety in general.

		Emerging ISA Standard Basis for Alarm Management Strategy Automation World, May 2009 By Larry O'Brien The International Society of Automation’s ISA S18.02 standard provides a much needed, standardized framework for implementing an effective and sustainable alarm management strategy in process plants.

		OPC shows signs of fragmentation Control, May 2009 By Andrew Bond, Industrial Automation Insider The possibility that that the user community could now be faced with not one, but as many as four flavors of OPC — original plain vanilla OPC DA, OPC.NET, full blown OPC UA and, of course, HOPC — should give everyone pause. Those with long enough memories should recall what happened to UNIX.

		Reconsider Start-up Controls to Avoid Boiler Deposits and Underdeposit Corrosion Power, May 2009 By Robert D. Bartholomew, Sheppard T. Powell Associates Rates of corrosion can be much greater in boilers and HRSG units during start-up than during routine operation. For that reason, consider adding contingency plans for boiler water chemistry holds in the start-up process.

		Boiler-Tuning Basics, Part II Power, May 2009 By Tim Leopold, ABB Boilers have enormous thermal mass and are relatively slow to react. Turbines are nimble and quickly answer an operator’s command. Coordinating an entire plant requires an intimate knowledge of both systems and selecting the right logic tools to bring them together.

		Putting Combustion Optimization to Work Power Engineering, May 2009 By Nancy Spring Variable conditions like coal quality, boiler cleanliness and equipment deterioration can affect a coal-fired power plant’s performance—and that’s where combustion optimization systems come in, to minimize their impact. Even small efficiency improvements can make a significant difference.

		Shutdown: New Planning Approaches For A Faster And More Economical Turnaround Process Industry Informer, May 2009 By Frank-Uwe Hess, TA Cook Consultants Large industrial plants in the chemical industry must be shut down at regular intervals to perform maintenance work in accordance with safety requirements. The whole process of shutdown and turnaround begins with switching off plant and equipment. The inspection and servicing can then be carried out and finally the plant has to be started up again.

		System Migration – Seek To Improve, Not Just Replicate Process Industry Informer, May 2009 By Ian Heathcock, Siemens Automation & Drives System migration has many different approaches, ranging from the unsophisticated ‘rip’ n’ replace’ everything stance, to the more information-led tiered approaches that can support manageable migration. Time spent highlighting the fundamental issues your business faces and then exploring the myriad of potential solutions will be time wisely invested.

		Wireless networking in plant InTech, May 2009 By Dick Caro The advantages of a mesh network are redundancy, increased total distance, and removal of the line-of-sight restriction.

		The Power of Real Time Intelligence Control Engineering, May 2009 By Frank O Smith Real time control is not just for the factory floor. It has begun to appeal to enterprise management wanting to gain competitive advantage. While very few organizations are there yet, the ones who are have the capacity to do things that have never been done before.

		Time-proportional control: more from an on/off switch Control Engineering, May 2009 By Vance VanDoren Time-proportional control, a form of pulse-width modulation, is a mathematical technique that allows a feedback controller to use an on/off or discrete actuator as if it were a continuous actuator capable of generating control efforts anywhere between 0% and 100%.

		Successful system integration in a recession: 10 tips Control Engineering, May 2009 By Dan Walser, Applied Motion Systems An economic recession may be the perfect time to upgrade plants and plan for recovery. While the sales staff works on finding new business, operations and design staff can retrofit existing machines. Here are 10 steps to success for wisely using a system integrator to help with the hard stuff.

		Addressing SIS Cyber Security: First or Last? Control Engineering, May 2009 By Bob Huba and Chuck Miller, Emerson Process Management When considering integrated control and safety systems, building a strong defense is an investment in ensuring business continuity.

		Hazardous Area Systems Control Engineering Asia, April 2009 By Jeanine Katzel The dangers involved in production and processing in explosive atmospheres may require the use of intrinsically safe (IS) devices under some circumstances, or explosion-proof enclosures in others. Which option is best for your application? When should it be wireless? What benefits does one technology hold over the other? The decision is not always simple or easy.

		Creative Control Rooms Control Engineering Asia, April 2009 By Renee Robbins Human factor engineering applied to plant control room design can help reduce errors and enable users to operate at peak efficiency.

		Securing industrial control systems against threat of cyber infection Asia-Pacific Engineer, April 2009 By Alistair Rae We are all aware of the need to protect desktop computers from viruses and other malware, but what about industrial systems? These are generally less well protected, yet a malicious attack or an infection with malware can have devastating results. Fortunately there are ways to reduce the risks.

		EDDL & FDT, Competing or Complementary? Automation World, April 2009 By Rob Spiegel EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) and FDT/DTM (Field Device Tool/Device Type Manager) are both designed to interpret intelligence from fieldbus devices. But that’s where the similarity ends. Each technology comes with its own history, its own place in the world of standards and its own manner of reading and displaying device intelligence.

		Containing Wireless Cyber Security Threats Automation World, April 2009 By Wes Iversen Electric utility operators already have their hands full in achieving compliance with mandatory federal Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards aimed at cyber security in the electric power industry. But when the use of wireless technologies is thrown into the mix, the problem gets even more complicated.

		FPGAs Turbocharge Control Design Control Design, April 2009 By Stuart McFarlane, Viewpoint Systems A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a programmable logic device capable of supporting thousands of gates. Some engineers already use FPGAs to design controls. Others have heard of FPGAs but haven’t considered using them. Every so often, it’s good to look up from what you’re doing and see what’s going on. So, first question: Why use FPGAs in the first place?

		Adroitly Manage Alarms Chemical Processing, April 2009 By Peter Andow, Honeywell Process Solutions Many plants have primarily relied on rationalization of a relatively small number of bad actors (often just the "top 10" or "top 20") — this certainly can yield good performance improvements. But rationalization of bad actors usually doesn't significantly impact subsequent alarms floods because a large number of different alarms are likely to occur.

		Getting Real About Simulation Control, April 2009 By Bob Sperber Emerging and eye-popping 3-d graphics and virtual reality technology are giving plenty of game to process control testing and training simulators integrated with offline process control systems.

		APC — Productivity Tool or Shelfware? Control, April 2009 By Dr. James Ford Advanced Process Control (APC) is a fairly mature body of engineering technology, with Model-Predictive Control (MPC) being universally accepted as the preferred APC technology for most continuous refining, chemical and petrochemical processes. Unfortunately, many installed and commissioned MPC controllers have fallen into disuse – in short, expensive APC software has turned into “shelfware.”

		Save Money. Calibrate Less? Control, April 2009 By John Rezabek Faced with diminished manpower, budgets and pressure to minimize or eliminate overtime, end users can find ways to exploit the excellent accuracy and stability of digitally integrated field devices to reduce or eliminate unnecessary calibrations rooted in decades-old instrument technology.

		The benefits of automatically controlling minerals processing plants PACE, March 2009 By Damian Connelly The need for automatic control of mineral processing plants requires continuous accurate measurement of process streams and can result in increased productivity, improved metal recovery, improved concentrate grades, reduced operating costs and lower product variability.

		Problems controlling potable water demands South African Instrumentation & Control, April 2009 SCADA and automation are critical to ensure that complicated interconnected systems remain balanced and controlled throughout the supply chain. One problem is that different suppliers manage different parts of the supply chain. Another challenge faced by the operators is the need to trust the signals the SCADA is showing, as they often have no realtime video of the site to back up the decisions they make.

		Weighing, workflow and traceability South African Instrumentation & Control, April 2009 By Andrew Ashton In the food, feeds and pharmaceutical industries, regulatory compliance means that traceability and weighing are inseparable. One of the problems that end users face is that their batching systems are not well integrated with their overall data management.

		Fast-Tracking a Control System Retrofit Power, April 2009 By Kevin Geraghty, PT Inco Indonesia Upgrading a 1970s-era generator control system to Allen Bradley ControlLogix technology in 12 days during a three-week shutdown would require careful planning and teamwork under any circumstances. The quick replacement of the governor and control system at the PT Inco smelter’s hydroelectric generation system is even more impressive because the facility is located in the middle of an Indonesian jungle.

		Large tag count SCADA systems need proper planning Control Engineering, April 2009 By Steve Carson, MultiTrode As progressive system integrators have implemented more integrated control systems, tag counts have risen significantly. Proper planning is required to build and successfully manage a system of this magnitude.

		Tomorrow has not been canceled! Report from ABB Automation & Power World 2009 Mark Taft, Group Vice President, Process Automation, Global control System Business opened with, "...it is important for us to remember that tomorrow has not been canceled." Mark's point was the conference was designed to provide a great deal of useful and actionable information that will help attendees survive and thrive in the current economy, and be prepared to take advantage of the future. Mark further noted that having a combined event encompassing automation and power is timely.

		Take Control Down a Level Chemical Processing, March 2009 By Andrew Sloley Sometimes you can design out the need for instrumentation. For example, many processes require control of liquid level. However, that doesn’t mean you must install instrumentation. Sometimes piping layout and system design alone can do the job.

		Improving protection, reducing costs Plant Services, March 2009 By Mike Lang Every maintenance professional should know how to select the proper fuse for the application. Properly selected fuses reduce the magnitude of potential arc-flash energies; improperly replaced fuses increase risks to electrical workers and your bottom line.

		Managing batch process security Plant Engineering, March 2009 By Karl Williams and Daren Moffatt, Invensys Process Systems For batch operators, the primary focus of process security has been on controlling and managing access to recipes, process operations and process change. But today batch access control should be integrated with managed enterprise security programs that mitigate potential threats from terrorists, hackers, malicious codes and other sources.

		Downturn a good time to review, improve process optimization Plant Engineering, March 2009 By Jim Cahill, Emerson Process Management Now is a good time to optimize your process. Start with control valves, which cause 30% of the problems, then improve loop tuning.

		C&I engineering tools: Part 2 - Compliance and lifecycle costs South Africa Instrumentation & Control, March 2009 By Andrew Ashton Part 1 of this article looked at collaboration and standards. Part 2 looks at resources to improve compliance and to manage lifecycle costs in automation and control:

		Intelligent device management with EDDL What’s New in Process Technology, February 2009 By Jonas Berg, Emerson Process instruments, such as radar level transmitters, are set up and calibrated in the field, and in many process industries this requirement is met by readily available handheld communication devices. EDDL is the best fit for process control; therefore, it is also used in the DCS world of integrated systems. EDDL remains independent from underlying gateways and interface cards, so one EDDL file fits all systems.

		Boosting confidence with cybersecurity certification Asia-Pacific Engineer, March 2009 By Sean Ottewell With national governments around the world pushing for increased security and users also seeking reassurance, it's no surprise that many of the major control and automation equipment manufacturers are putting their products through cybercertification regimes.

		Green energy demands help drive control and automation Asia-Pacific Engineer, March 2009 By Sean Ottewell World energy demand is expected to reach the equivalent of more than 10trillion tons of crude oil by 2010. Clearly, process automation will be one of the enablers of realising this growth in the most efficient and energy responsible way possible. Innovative technologies and solutions are important to meeting the global demands, and to enable new sources of energy to become economically feasible.

		Automation Takes On Facilities Management Automation World, March 2009 By Rob Spiegel With the drive to go green, plant managers are finding they’ve already got what they need within their production control systems to automate their facilities and trim costs.

		Clearing the Integration Hurdles Control, March 2009 By Dan Hebert Integration between plant control systems and higher level computing platforms has never been easier because of the spread of standards that define terms for data exchange among disparate computing systems. Because these technical integration hurdles are coming down, implementation costs are dropping rapidly.

		Process Automation: Harder, More Profitable Control, March 2009 By Dieter Schaudel Success in factory automation is no free ticket for success in process automation. Whoever wants to be successful at PA has to be prepared to adapt its company culture drastically and needs other associates and managers.

		Generic Batch Procedures for Flexible Manufacturing Control Engineering, March 2009 By Aaron Wood, Eli Lilly & Company Traditional full batch control creates a sequence of the entire process-specific recipe. This is fine for products you make again and again, but is not flexible enough for single-development product campaigns. Generic batch offers greater flexibility, but without the operator error pitfalls of manual procedures.

		Multivariable controllers balance competing objectives Control Engineering Europe, March 2009 By Vance VanDoren Multivariable controllers differ from traditional single-variable controllers in that they can regulate more than one process variable by using more than one actuator at once.

		Intrinsically safe design boosts reliability, safety, productivity InTech, March 2009 By Parag Shah In offshore drilling, IS technology is at the cutting edge of the design effort to address the continuous improvements in products and services that require increased-data bandwidth for real-time information and enhanced accuracy.

		The Final Element Control Engineering Asia, March 2009 By Mogan Swamy Poor product quality or plant inefficiency can often be traced back to this control valve and how it is selected and maintained. Valve specifications such as dead band, dead time and response time, amongst others, address the real dynamic performance of the valve, and this is quite critical if true process optimization is to be achieved.

		Boiler-Tuning Basics, Part I Power, March 2009 By Tim Leopold Many inexperienced engineers and technicians approach boiler tuning with a heavy hand and little insight into the inner workings of individual control loops, how highly interconnected they are with other loops in the boiler system, or what change should be expected from the physical equipment the loops are to control.

		Helping Power Plant Control Systems Achieve NERC CIP Compliance Power, March 2009 By Jonathan Pollet and Walter Sikora NERC standards require that critical cyber assets (CCAs) must be protected with an electronic security perimeter (ESP) and a six-walled physical security perimeter (PSP). Noncritical cyber assets within an ESP must receive the same protection under the standards as a CCA.

		Improving Pumping System Efficiency at Coal Plants Power Engineering, March 2009 By William C. Livoti, Baldor Electric, et al The most important indicator of the energy efficiency at a power plant is its electrical efficiency. For coal-fired power plants, improvements in efficiency depend primarily on two variables: Increasing the two steam parameters, pressure and temperature; and reducing losses in the steam water cycle.

		Applying Advanced Process Control Principles to Power Generation By Carl Hosier, Honeywell Process Solutions Many manufacturing facilities have taken to integrating plant subsystems with their DCS to maximize productivity and improve overall efficiency. Applying this same concept to power generation could help electricity and steam generators streamline production in a way that makes sense to both their pocketbooks and the regulators.

		Winning Strategies and Best Practices for Sustainable Manufacturing By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor The initial focus of the ARC Forum in Orlando was sustainable manufacturing strategies as they relate to environmental performance and resource management. Based on the recent economic downturn, the conference was expanded to address strategies for bottom line business sustainability of process and discrete manufacturing companies.

		Consider Cascade Control Chemical Processing, February 2008 By Cecil Smith, Cecil L. Smith, Inc. Proper plant operation often depends upon effective control of steam-heated shell-and-tube exchangers. Two previous articles examined control of the liquid outlet temperature using a control valve on either the steam supply or the condensate return. This article covers cascade control configurations for these two cases.

		New technology makes electric control-valve actuation a viable alternative Energy Tech, February 2009 By Chris Warnett, Rotork Traditionally, power plants have almost exclusively used pneumatically powered actuators to drive the many control valves located throughout their facilities. Major advances in electric control-valve actuator technology have been introduced that offer significant benefits.

		Video: The Next Sensor Control Engineering Asia, January 2009 By John Curtis, Longwatch With hardware, software and communications problems solved, intriguing questions come up: Why not use video to monitor process control and automation systems? Why can’t video be another sensor? Why not use video to allow operators to see what is happening in the plant? Answer: Nobody is doing any of this, but it is certainly possible.

		Pneumatic Advances Control Engineering Asia, January 2009 By Chris Parker, Parker Hannifin Improved profitability, decreased machine build times and enhanced diagnostics are all possible with today’s pneumatic valve solutions. ISO specifications 15407 and 5599 offer valve users protection against ever-changing business conditions and product obsolescence.

		Wireless Proves Its Value Power Engineering, February 2009 By John Blaney, Emerson Process Management Wireless field communication technologies are finding useful applications in the power industry. The low cost, reliability, security and ease-of-use of the newest wireless systems are increasing awareness of their possibilities in power plants, bringing about some innovative applications with excellent results.

		Applying The Heat - An Overview Of Industrial Heat Tracing Process Industry Informer, February 2009 By Neil Malone, Heat Trace Winter is almost over, so save this for next year: An introduction to heat tracing, including the various systems available and an overview of the use of heat tracing across all process industries.

		System Integrators Expand Engineering Duties Automation World, February 2009 By Rob Spiegel Systems integrators are taking a larger role in the installation and even maintenance of plant control systems. In difficult economic times, plants cut their engineering staffs. When conditions improved, engineers were not rehired. Many plants have effectively outsourced their engineering to integrators. Consequently, integrators are brought in earlier on projects and they’ve given more responsibility.

		Integrators Bridge the Gap Automation World, February 2009 By Rob Spiegel If control engineers are from Venus and information technology (IT) professionals are from Mars, the systems integrator is often the therapist who is helping to end the family dysfunction by improving communication.

		Sorting out PID Controller Differences Control Engineering, February 2009 By Vance VanDoren Variations in what controller designers consider the “standard” PID algorithm can be confusing and confound tuning efforts. With so many variations on PID algorithms in use today, when re-tuning or otherwise modifying an existing controller, the first step has to be determining exactly which kind of PID controller it is.

		State-of-the-art Control Rooms Control Engineering, February 2009 By Renee M. Robbins Contemporary control rooms show how technology and design are combining to help users—not just machines—operate at peak efficiency.

		Why Use Software Verification? Control Engineering, February 2009 By Paul Humphreys, LDRA Ltd Software development often proves far more expensive than expected. Evidence indicates that the earlier a defect is discovered in development, the less impact it has on both the timescales and cost. Developers of nonsafety critical systems can benefit from the type of rigorous standards employed within the aerospace and automotive industries.

		The great migration InTech, February 2009 By John Bryant, Arkema, and Mike Vernak, Rockwell Automation Instituting a phased migration is a major step for any manufacturing system. Although replacing an old DCS system with a single, plant-wide system poses some risks, it is important to help your production team realize the potential benefits. If executed correctly, a phased migration can offer increased productivity and a sharper competitive advantage.

		Distributed Control Technology: From Progress to Possibilities Power, February 2009 By Robert Yeager The past decade has seen an explosion of technology that has significantly altered the process control industry. The adoption of commercially available technology driven by desktop computing has allowed suppliers to focus on applications to enhance the process and deliver ever-greater value to the user.

		Optimize Your Plant Using the Latest Distributed Control System Technology Power, February 2009 By Ralph Porfilio Distributed control systems are powerful assets for new and modernized power plants. Thanks to three product generations of technology innovations, these systems now provide new benefits — including improved O&M efficiency, greater plant design flexibility, and improved process control and asset reliability — that help competitive plants advance in the game.

		Power Plant Automation: Where We Are and Where We’re Headed Power, February 2009 By Roger A. Leimbach Over the past decade, power plant control systems have evolved from DCS-centered platforms with proprietary software, to open systems using industry standard hardware and software, and then to totally integrated plant automation systems with almost unlimited connectivity and the ability to interrogate field instruments from many different manufacturers. What’s next?

		The basics of energy optimization Plant Engineering, December 2008 By Mark Price, Fluke Best practices for energy savings refers to a strategy that keeps equipment operating at maximum efficiency. It allocates staff time to regularly scheduled inspections of key equipment and systems. Here are four key areas of a facility where best practices can reduce expenses.

		A three-point approach to effective alarm management Plant Engineering, December 2008 By Michael J. Martinez, Invensys Process Systems Proper alarm management helps an operator return the monitored process to its normal operating condition. Computer-based control and operator interfaces offer flexibility and simplify adding new alarms to meet changing needs.

		Find the best path to security in wireless sensor networks Plant Engineering, December 2008 By Steve Toteda, Dust Networks In a typical refinery, the harsh environments created by the complex piping of the production facilities pose serious challenges to wireless sensor technology. These environments are often quite hostile to RF signals as well; the use of concrete, glass and steel in typical plants exacerbates the traditional RF issues of path loss, fading and multi-path.

		Operators Get More Help Chemical Processing, January 2009 By Seán Ottewell Lack of ongoing training, number of alarms, and control system graphical interfaces are the three factors most likely to impede their performance. Efforts are afoot to provide insights and tools to boost performance.

		Steam Systems: Simple Solutions Can Prompt Complex Problems Chemical Processing, January 2009 By Andrew Sloley Don’t let simple solutions grow over time into unmanageable problems. Keep in mind that eventually systems reach their limits. At that point, make a step change to improve plant operations instead of letting poor situations fester.

		Maintain the Magic And Keep Good Data Coming Chemical Processing, January 2009 By Ian Verhappen, MTL Instruments, and Frank Williams, Elpro Instruments A key part of any control system is the infrastructure that carries the signals from the field devices to the controllers. However, as the level of expected interconnectivity increases between the various systems, the degree of difficulty in maintaining them rises exponentially.

		Co-ordinate control of multiple offshore platforms Oil & Gas Engineer, January 2009 As part of an innovative technology project and with Honeywell’s Experion Process Knowledge System, Wintershall built a central control room (CCR) to help co-ordinate control of multiple offshore platforms in the North Sea, and improve operations and efficiency.

		PLCs, PACs and DCSs Can Do Windows Control, January 2009 By Rich Merritt The capability of today’s PC-based industrial computers are overcoming engineers’ resistance to “the Wal-Mart of Operating Systems.”

		Control System Migration Control, January 2009 By Nigel James Control system migration projects go better with best practices. This is not a place you want to be flying by the seat of your pants. The article offers a guideline for consistent and accurate planning and execution of control system migration projects.

		Hybrid approach to system design Control Engineering, January 2009 By C.G. Masi The age-old debate among system designers and their managers is whether to use top-down or bottom-up design techniques. Experience shows that a hybrid approach works best.

		Cyber Security Hits Home Control Engineering, January 2009 By Peter Welander If you’ve been wondering if and when you might be forced to address cyber security issues with your process control or SCADA systems, watch efforts with electric utilities. Implementations going on now could serve as models.

		Is Automated PID Tuning Dependable? Control Engineering, January 2009 By Greg Baker, Watlow Why do so many PID loops run in manual? More than 30% of all factory PID control loops are operating in manual rather than automatic mode. One reason could be that automated tuning is no guarantee of success.

		SCADA Systems: Unknown Connections Could Spell Trouble Power Engineering, November 2008 By Michael Markulec, Lumeta Corp. The complex designs, interconnected nature and extreme sensitivity of SCADA and other process control systems mandate that utility organizations implement comprehensive plans for assessing and mitigating potential network vulnerabilities and threats. To do this successfully requires development of comprehensive security risk management programs that start with gaining control over network risk.

		Alarm management as a winning strategy South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2009 By Dave Wibberley, Adroit Technologies The ultimate objective of an alarm system is to prevent, or at least minimise, physical and economic loss through operator intervention in response to the condition that was alarmed on any given process. Many alarms are simply ignored by operators because so many are either inconsequential and/or irritating.

		Mineral processing applications South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2009 By Johan van Tonder, Anglo Platinum With today’s competitive manufacturing environment, companies must look at which technology can help them deliver more quickly, cheaply and efficiently to meet their customer’s demands. MES software aims to provide operator support, production scheduling, genealogy tracking capabilities and accurate, real-time visibility into production performance.

		Control Systems and Cyber Security Control Engineering Europe, December 2008 By Karl Williams, Invensys Process Systems The security threats and vulnerabilities we see today are wide ranging, often complex, and are not always well understood, particularly what impact if any they may have on an individual system, part of a system, or production facility itself.

		Capture More Savings on an Ongoing Basis Chemical Processing, December 2008 By Gary Faagau Energy systems aren’t as complicated as most plant controls. Most of the time, there’s no worry about catalyst, reactions, or non-linear responses. However, the key variables must be known for the systems to do the right thing. Here are four systems that are sure winners.

		Stripper Bares All Chemical Processing, December 2008 By Andrew Sloley At first, the job seemed simple enough: a quick review of a water stripper to verify size and tray efficiency to make sure the unit would work. Problem: the process simulator originally used to set the heat and material balance relied on a Henry’s Law solubility approach with no allowance for pH levels.

		Optimizing plant alarm systems without compromising personnel safety, equipment protection, and plant security Energy Tech, December 2008 By Joseph A. Macdonald Implementing an effective alarm management program begins with consolidating a plant’s aging analogue plant controls into a single, modern digital control system that includes coordinated control of turbines, burners, plant logic, scrubbers, data acquisition, and performance monitoring.

		Does DCS Have a Future? Control, December 2008 By Rich Merritt An HMI/SCADA system can offer exactly the same capabilities as a DCS (except for fieldbus). An HMI/SCADA system uses the same field devices, the same Ethernet networks and the same COTS-based HMIs as a DCS. An HMI/SCADA system has the same type of software available as a DCS.

		The Wireless Hype in Process Automation Control, December 2008 By Dieter Schaudel Is wireless technoloogy all marketing hype, disseminated by compliant journalists and consultants scenting big business?

		Wireless Wisdom: What’s Your Strategy? Where’s Your Committee? Control, December 2008 By Paul Thomas A forum of wireless experts at ISA Expo 2008 turns into a cautionary consensus about the dangers of falling in love with technologies and applications that may run counter to your long-term wireless strategy and corporate goals.

		The Evolution of the Process Control Engineer Control, December 2008 By Ian Nimmo We’ve come a long way from the days when refinery operators used flaming arrows to relight their flare systems, but even bigger changes may be ahead.

		Is IT relevant to the chemicals industry? South Africa Instrumentation & Control, December 2008 By Gavin Halse Can the ¬effective use of IT add ¬significant ¬value to a chemicals business and if so how should IT be managed as a strategic resource? From experience this appears not to be the case. We still see IT and the plant systems managed separately in many chemicals companies.

		Find the low hanging fruit in your plant and automate Advanced Manufacturing, December 2008 By Chris Stergiou Identification of opportunities to automate is a high impact manufacturing activity that has the transformative effect of clearing bottlenecks and can change the basic manufacturing cost structure and improve overall profitability.

		Bridging the Gap Automation World, December 2008 By Terry Costlow For a growing number of network architects who build their fieldbuses, compatibility with Ethernet is a way of life.

		Arc flash blowout Control Engineering, December 2008 By C.G. Masi There are three strategies available to protect workers from arc flash: de-energize any electrical equipment before working on it, keep as much distance from the danger zone as possible, and wear protective clothing.

		How to Control asset maintenance PACE, November 2008 By George Buckbee George Buckbee, Expertune Most large process plants have invested millions in their control systems. Yet it is typical that more than 30% of the system is off-line at any given moment. Getting the best performance from the control system requires a structured approach to control system asset management

		Rockwell Automation Fair 2008 Review By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor As usual, the Rockwell Automation Fair was an impressive event with over 11,000 attendees and over 90 Encompass partners. This is a very successful show that creates enormous goodwill and is the most successful control show in North America. Training is becoming a big part of the event and allows users to justify the time and money to attend. Distributor travel packages also make it much easier for users to attend the event.

		Optimize Asset Lifecycle Performance through Better Asset Information Management ARC's Asset Lifecycle Management (ALM) Forum began with a keynote presentation from ARC Vice President Sid Snitkin who discussed Asset Information Management (AIM). Tom Fiske, ARC Advisory Group Senior Analyst discussed the value of modeling and simulation of manufacturing processes to improve actual results. Greg Toomey, VP Traditional Power Segment, SKF presented a case study describing an effective lifecycle maintenance program.

		Wireless & Networking Dominate ISA EXPO 2008, Product Highlights The emphasis on networked communications whether wired or wireless was visible at the event. We review the ISA Wireless Industrial Automation Standard (SP100) Committee meeting in Houston, which drew a standing-room-only crowd. Other product highlights include: PLC/Programming Learning Package, EtherNet/IP Controller, Single Board Industrial Controller, Remote Eyeballs for Wireless Reading Gauges, Quad Process Safety System, Universal Gas Transmitter and HMI Enhancements.

		The Challenges Faced by the U.S. Nuclear Industry Electric Light & Power, December 2008 By Daniel P. Krueger and Ryan P. Sather, Accenture Utilities The next wave of plants to be built will feature improvements in safety features that protect against internal plant failures and external threats. Reactors to be built are designed better and more safely, and they are expected to perform beyond current operating standards for safety and reliability.

		The Lean Advantage Control Engineering Asia, November 2008 By Filippo Focacci and David Simchi-Levi There are fewer applications of lean manufacturing in the process and hybrid industries, in part because there is not a natural fit between lean and these industries, and in part because manufacturing processes in these industries tend to be very complex. Indeed, it is difficult to adapt lean manufacturing strategies that have been implemented in discrete manufacturing to the process and hybrid industries.

		Emissions impossible Power Engineering International, November 2008 By Jeffrey Benoit, PSM Tough emissions regulations are being rolled out around the world, leaving power plant operators struggling to find technologies that will help them cope in the new regulatory environment.

		What is it worth to keep your key plant running? Power Engineering International, November 2008 By Ian Taylor, Corus Northern Engineering and Dr Steve Lacey, Schaeffler Energy and power generation companies can reduce the risks and costs associated with unforeseen breakdowns in production plant and machinery by deploying the latest condition monitoring systems and services.

		How does automation fit in and work with Lean manufacturing? Advanced Manufacturing, October 2008 By Chris Stergiou Lean manufacturing increases capacity by eliminating waste in labour, motion and processing. Capacity is also increased as the result of fewer defects and one way this is accomplished is through automation or Jidoka, also known as Autonomation.

		Efficiency Vs Safety: Tank Farm Dilemma Industrial Automation Asia, October 2008 By Warren Galbraith, DP flow, and Michael Krause, Endress+Hauser Separating tank gauging and tank shut down allows the most optimum operation and safe management of a tank farm.

		Condition Monitoring Pays Healthy Dividends Chemical Processing, November 2008 By Johan De Wever, BASF BASF’s Antwerp complex decided to implement predictive maintenance based on monitoring the condition of key assets. We periodically take vibration measurements on some 3,000 machines throughout the facility. Moving from time-based maintenance to this approach has resulted in significant cost savings because fewer unexpected equipment breakdowns occur.

		Using a system integrator vs. doing it yourself Plant Engineering, November 2008 By Ray Bachelor, Bachelor Controls For a project with potential for substantial return or savings, the cost of the systems integration resource may be small compared to the lost opportunity associated with waiting or delays caused by internal schedule conflicts.

		Control system mounting options Control Engineering, November 2008 By Michael Thompson, Timken Mounting options can be broken down into several basic categories: wall-mount, rail-mount, panel-mount, rack-mount, or cage-mount. Each type of mounting has unique attributes that designers must consider.

		What Was Old Can Be New Again Power Engineering, October 2008 By Steve Blankinship More than 600 ABB Procontrol P13 instrumentation control systems are operating worldwide—about 160 of them in the United States. The plants range from small 30 MW cogeneration facilities all the way up to utility-scale coal plants in the gigawatt-output range. I&C upgrades for Procontrol P13 Systems can be done incrementally, depending on your need.

		Strictly no admittance Power Engineering International, October 2008 By M. Braendle, et al, ABB Greater interconnection of utility automation systems provides more opportunities for breaches in IT security. The integration of IT security monitoring in the overall utility automation control structure is ABB’s response to this growing concern.

		Seven Steps to Protect Your Control System Utility Automation & Engineering, November 2008 By Justin Lowe, et al, PA Consulting Ensuring the resilience of control systems from security threats is vital to ensuring a utility’s future. Systems are at risk from cyber threats, such as hackers, viruses and worms, because of the increased use of standard IT technologies like Microsoft Windows, TCP/IP, Web technologies and wireless.

		The Evolution of Redundancy Industrial Networking, Winter 2008 By Bob Wagner To minimize downtime due to system failures most major suppliers have developed products and systems to provide redundancy in an attempt to maximize system availability. These products range from redundant power supplies and cabling schemes to redundant processor and I/O systems with automatic failover.

		Do PLCs Eliminate Need for a DCS? By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor In the past it was fairly easy to determine whether a PLC or a DCS was right for an application but in recent years this has become more difficult. It is argued that more powerful PLC products coupled with new software tools provide an integrated process control system rivaling a distributed control system (DCS) for process control applications.

		All in Real Time Industrial Automation Asia, September 2008 By Paul Yap and Leong Hon Mun , Honeywell Process Solutions SE Asia Advanced Process Control technologies such as Model Predictive Control (MPC) are commonplace in Olefins plants. Another advanced technology, on-line optimization, promises even greater benefits.

		The Power of Coordination Industrial Automation Asia, September 2008 By Pekka Immonen, et al, ABB Power Systems Due to the lack of control coordination, industrial power plants are typically not fully optimised. The purpose of a coordinated control and optimisation system is to improve plant stability and responsiveness to demand or supply disturbances, and to minimise overall fuel costs.

		Total Insight Total Control Industrial Automation Asia, September 2008 By Arasu Thanigai and Andreas Hennecke, Pepperl+Fuchs Installing an Advanced Diagnostics system for an existing fieldbus infrastructure presents a cost benefit to a process plant.

		Automation Insights Network By Rick Zabel, Publisher Automation Insights Network is a select group of controls and automation professionals who agree to help us cover news, emerging trends and technologies on various automation topics. Every two months, we will ask people in the Network to share their observations, knowledge and expertise with us. We take that information, distill it, and pass it on to our reporters and editors for use in future stories.

		Invensys...Extreme Makeover - Review from IPS User Conference By Bill Lydon, Contibuting Editor After attending the IPS North American Client Conference it is apparent that the company is reinventing itself with a clearly defined strategy. IPS's (Invensys Process Systems) view of the major challenge facing industry was summarized by Paulett Eberhart, president and CEO - "Industrial business is now a real-time business, and the only way to effectively perform in a real-time business is in REAL TIME."

		Industrial Ethernet Growth Slowed by FUD By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor The promise of Industrial Ethernet is clear: it will revolutionize manufacturing by tightly integrating control and business systems, if users can overcome their fear, uncertainty and doubt(FUD). One failure can trigger a cascade of problems and result in a significant loss of time and money. There are many issues surrounding the use of Ethernet in industrial control applications that give control engineers reasons for concern.

		Upstairs, Downstairs Control, October 2008 By Bob Sperber In the control arena, all DCS vendors either offer a historian or tie to others, and they are typically installed with a firewall above. This presents problems for OPC, but not for SOA-generation tools such as Web services and XML

		The Gaming of Modeling and Simulation Control, October 2008 By Rich Merritt Tomorrow’s control engineers are playing today’s computer games, with their realistic simulations. Will tomorrow’s process simulators and modeling software adopt game technology?

		Worth More Than a Thousand Words Control, October 2008 By Rich Merritt It’s hard to just talk about simulation. You need to see it to truly grasp the exciting possibilities it offers for process operations. Article contains links to the simulation videos.

		The Basics of Numerical Filtering Control Engineering, October 2008 By Vance VanDoren Control engineers use numerical filters to extract streams of valuable data from measurement noise and other extraneous information. Here’s how they work.

		The Business of Wireless Control Engineering Asia, September 2008 By Madanmohan Rao With increasing investment by big players and more momentum in wireless standards, the business case for wire-free industrial solutions is becoming clearer.

		Troubleshooting the Loop Control Engineering Asia, September 2008 By Fluke How to diagnose the control loop without interrupting the process and creating costly production downtime.

		Bridging the gap Intech, October 2008 By Darren L. Goodlin and Robert Rice Oftentimes the operation of the process does not include how sudden pressure or temperature changes will impact inline analyzers. Here’s how these instruments and analyzers feel the impact when a team comes up with a process control strategy that does not include them.

		Meeting NERC-CIP Requirements Power Engineering, September 2008 By Kevin Staggs, Honeywell Process Solutions As deadlines for the North American Electric Reliability Council Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC-CIP) standards approach, power plants and electric utilities must begin implementing the necessary security practices to meet the compliance requirements.

		ExperTune publishes paper on PID Configuration Errors - 10/15/08 "The Six Most Common PID Configuration Errors: How to Find and Fix Them" white paper identifies the most common PID configuration issues, and provides techniques to help find and fix these issues.

		Domino Theory Control, September 2008 By Rich Merritt For several years now, ISA88 has been accepted worldwide as a way to define recipes and control batch processes, and ISA95 is gaining more acceptance as a way to connect batch control systems to higher- level software, such as data historians and ERP. But users and vendors are beginning to discover that both ISA88 and ISA95 can be used for more than just batch.

		Getting into Discrete Control, September 2008 By Rich Merritt Part 2 of Domino Theory. ISA-88 is moving into discrete automation, too.

		Give new life to old equipment and improve performance with little outlay Advanced Manufacturing, August 2008 Every plant has one, a troublesome automated system that’s been around forever. This situation presents a dilemma: how to get more reliability and uptime from this obsolete system without investing huge amounts of money?

		ISA - Change the name to represent the industry By Rick Zabel, Automation.com The proposed name change of ISA (to "International Society of Automation") is up for a vote again during ISA Expo in Houston, October 14-16, 2008. Last year, the change was voted down, but I have yet to hear a compelling argument against the change. And there are many reasons for the change. If ISA is truly the global society of automation professionals, then its name should reflect its cause. It's time for a change!

		Efficient use and consumption of water in power generation Middle East Energy, June 2008 There is a lot of unnecessary water wastage in the production of electricity, which is of great concern in areas such as the Middle East, where water is a scarce commodity. Here’s how Wärtsilä in Finland manages its water.

		Multivariable controllers balance competing objectives Control Engineering, September 2008 By Vance VanDoren Multivariable controllers differ from traditional single-variable controllers in that they can regulate more than one process. Doing so can be difficult if each actuator effects more than one process variable, but if those interactions can be quantified, the controller can determine the control efforts required to drive all of the process variables towards their respective setpoints simultaneously.

		Upgrading Control: Migration or Evolution? Control Engineering, September 2008 By Peter Welander When a process control platform needs upgrading, the answer can be an incremental change, a system-wide rip and replace, or anything in between. Users have more options than ever.

		Sergeant at alarms InTech, September 2008 By Claire Hackney Most alarms are there to help ensure the integrity and health of operations. Some alarms are required for regulatory agencies, and some are needed for system maintenance as well as those that can only be addressed by specialty groups. Yet, the vast majority of alarms are designed for operations response.

		Communication changes in the air InTech, September 2008 By Rao Kalapatapu An evolution is taking place in the design and implementation of communication and network systems for control and operation of process industries, including chemical, petrochemical, and oil and gas plants. Communication and network system integration is inevitable, but be careful about separating them from normal IT networks.

		A path to migration InTech, September 2008 By Marjorie Ochsner and Walter Guy Wiles III For manufacturers, improving the performance and business results of Brownfield plants through control system migration has become an important strategic initiative. The typical drivers for migration projects include the impact of downtime of existing control platforms, the cost of maintaining obsolete equipment, and the need to acquire or supervise global business data.

		PROFIBUS hits new highs, PROFINET to follow? By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor This year's PTO General Assembly Meeting again was attended by an enthusiastic group of users, suppliers, and distributors that apply PROFIBUS and PROFINET technology. Michael Bryant, Executive Director, was master of ceremonies and forecasted PROFINET will be the leading Ethernet Technology for automation applications.

		Artificial Intelligence: Not Just Science Fiction Industrial Automation Asia, September 2008 By Augustine Quek Artificial intelligence can be defined as ‘the study and design of systems that perceive its environment and takes actions which maximises its chances of success.’ Not surprisingly, automation and manufacturing processes have taken advantage of AI technology to improve productivity as the industry becomes increasingly competitive.

		How Control Engineers Can Deliver the Most Value By George Buckbee, ExperTune Control Engineers are a scarce and valuable resource for process plants. When applied to the right tasks, control engineers can easily deliver 10X their annual salary in results. This paper discusses the various tasks that a control engineer typically performs, and examines ways to help focus these valuable resources on the areas that yield the greatest returns to the business.

		Product Spotlight: Micro DCS - Small to Midrange Process Control Our contributing editor, Bill Lydon, recently reviewed the newest hardware and features of the ABB Freelance control system. ABB describes Freelance as a small footprint DCS for small to medium sized plants in the process industry and for applications requiring DCS functionality in a compact system with intuitive and efficient engineering tools.

		Get Physical with Security By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor While there is a great deal of legitimate concern about cyber security, many industrial facilities may be at high risk due to poor physical security. There is a need for a comprehensive security strategy for these facilities and other critical infrastructure. Honeywell Process Solutions' industrial security initiatives go beyond cyber security to address physical plant security.

		Reduce column energy consumption Chemical Processing, August 2008 By Gary Faagau Distillation columns are one of the biggest energy users in plants, yet the efficiency of these towers can be extremely low. The column can be operated to make the necessary split at reduced energy consumption. Here are five common ways distillation columns can waste energy.

		Dealing With the ATEX Directive By Gus Elias, Moore Industries Safety compliance issues and legislation are becoming increasingly complex and detail-oriented, hence more of a burden to manufacturers. This article cannot describe all the minor differences between ATEX and other requirements, but it reviews some of the fundamental differences between North American and European requirements.

		Automation, IT Find Teamwork Pays Control Engineering, August 2008 By Jeanine Katzel Controls and information system personnel are building joint teams that are optimizing manufacturing operations in new ways. Business pressures and technology advances both enable and encourage the collaboration.

		Data deletion, or letting go is hard to do Control Engineering, August 2008 By Dennis Brandl Despite the desire to retain data, there is also an important reason to delete it. While deleting old and no-longer-relevant data can save disk storage and reduce backup requirements, the primary reason to delete data is litigation discovery cost.

		Partial Stroke Testing Control Engineering, August 2008 By Mark T. Hoske Integrating valves, systems, and processes can allow partial stroke testing (PST) of emergency shutdown valves, increasing safety and extend time between full stroke testing, thus saving money. But beware of the '7 misunderstood points’ of PST.

		Integrating Environmental Processes Control Engineering, August 2008 By Rob McGreevy, Wonderware Environmental controls are a critical part of manufacturing and can be fully integrated into larger plant-wide control systems to leverage reporting and historian capabilities.

		Here Comes Cyber Security Power Engineering, July 2008 By David Wagman If you are not fully comfortable looking at your plant in more than one way, prepare yourself. The coming months will be busy ones at virtually every power plant with a grid connection. Homeland security—in the guise of what’s known as “critical infrastructure protection”—is coming to the power generation industry.

		Historians Make a Comeback Automation World, August 2008 By C. Kenna Amos There was a time when people thought data historians would go by the wayside, but because of their ability to retain high-fidelity data in a very compressed format, we’re seeing a resurgence in historian use. We’re also seeing historians being a repository and providing real-time data manipulation.

		Plays well with others InTech, August 2008 By Ellen Fussell Policastro With the convergence of people and expertise comes technological convergence as well—all cascading into a new form of automation where the lines between engineering and IT are becoming more blurred. The key is learning just how to meld the two for the greatest manufacturing success.

		Extreme flexibility InTech, August 2008 By Frede Vinther When turning the focus toward the manufacturing of drugs and the whole supply chain and its logistics, the globalizing world and its demands for medicine will need to foster a dramatic change. The era of Big Pharma searching for blockbusters and building facilities solely to manufacture these will vanish.

		Wireless HART’s Price Point Industrial Networking, Summer 2008 By John Rezabek The HART Foundation recently approved a standard for wireless HART, and one of the benefits for end users is the ability to “access stranded diagnostics.” But what about the old-school method for extracting HART diagnostics, the HART mux?

		What Are You, Chicken? Industrial Networking, Summer 2008 By Jim Montague Users and integrators say many fieldbuses don’t function as well on the plant floor as they do in powerpoint slides. Fieldbus experts counter that digital networks deliver savings over time and that users are still just being stubborn.

		FDT vs EDDL Controvery Rages Emerson Process Experts, August 2008 By Jim Cahill Although it may be true that combining EDDL with FDT/DTM you get some benefits from both, unfortunately you also get the drawbacks of both. For example, on its own, EDDL protects the system investment because it is independent of Windows. Mix in FDT/DTM and your system no longer has this advantage.

		The Importance of using and choosing the correct signal isolators Control Engineering Europe, July 2008 In any measurement and control system there are several electrical interfacing problems that are likely to occur, all of which can be solved by incorporating the appropriate isolation between the signals.

		Global Market Compliance: A Local Approach Eases a Complicated Process By Udo Heinz & Sky Mehringer, TÜVRheinland Helping a product achieve global compliance for safety, EMC, documentation, testing and certification is a complicated and time-intensive process. To place a product in other countries, manufacturers must maneuver a complicated maze of compliance requirements.

		State of Manufacturing & Automation in the U.S. Looks Good Could it be that high fuel prices, the weak dollar and crises in the U.S. manufacturing industry are creating opportunities? Andy Chatha of ARC Advisory Group thinks so. He says the U.S. industry has suddenly become competitive on the world market, and companies are no longer moving operations overseas. Instead, many are expanding their facilities, and he predicts a boom in automation right here in the U.S.

		Succeed with condensate control Chemical Processing, July 2008 By Cecil L. Smith The steam-heated shell-and-tube heat exchanger is the workhorse of the chemical industry. Effective control of liquid outlet temperature often is crucial to plant operation. In the first article in this series, we focused on use of a control valve on the steam supply. This article examines control via a valve on the condensate

		Make the most of control system migration Chemical Processing, July 2008 By Mark Rosenzweig While some people have no qualms about discarding a model that’s a year or two old in favor of the “latest and greatest,” chemical companies and other businesses certainly can’t operate that way. So, it’s not surprising that many plants continue to rely on older equipment and systems. Indeed, in these tough economic times for the industry, it’s even harder in many cases to justify capital spending for upgrades or replacements.

		Keep operations safe Chemical Processing, July 2008 By Angela E. Summers and William H. Hearn, SIS-TECH Solutions Accidents often occur when equipment is improperly designed, installed, operated, tested and maintained. Adequate theory and standards are available to ensure safe operation of process equipment. The problem isn’t bad people and lack of competency — it’s that the systems governing equipment integrity aren’t rigorous enough to ensure the required reliability.

		Biopharmaceutical Process Control: Part Two: Process Modeling Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, June 2008 By Michael Boudreau and Gregory McMillan, Emerson Process Management First order plus dead time, high fidelity and multivariate statistical models are valuable tools for batch operation improvement. These online models can accelerate design of experiments and process design.

		Selecting an automation systems integrator is about more than cost Advanced Manufacturing, July 2008 By Chris Stergiou Once upon a time, most plants had in-house machine design departments to develop new equipment. Alas, this is no longer the case as manufacturing doctrine is driven by a strategy of outsourcing non-core competencies. This “back to basics” approach means that in-house efforts are geared to product design and development and this has created a manufacturing process knowledge gap as in-house engineers are focused on production

		IT project management in manufacturing: biggest obstacles are time and scope Advanced Manufacturing, July 2008 By Jennifer Colasanti Info-Tech recently completed in-depth research on IT Project Management. Data was collected from 51 manufacturing organizations representing a variety of company sizes. Not a single manufacturer surveyed indicated that they were “very successful” at executing projects on time. Managing scope creep was at the top of the list of challenges.

		Tools Provide Global Collaboration Automation World, July 2008 By Gary Mintchell Managing today’s manufacturing enterprise is impossible without collaboration. Most companies have employees located in facilities around the world who need to work together in real time. New technologies are required to enable widespread collaboration.

		Getting Up the Profit Hill Faster Automation World, July 2008 By Gary Mintchell The complexity of manufacturing demands study and reflection to keep production lines moving. One of the biggest challenges is finding where the problems are that cause reduced output of finished goods. Manufacturers have an array of good tools to help them implement proven operational excellence strategies.

		Don’t Rip Out Your Old Automation Just Yet Automation World, July 2008 By James R. Koelsch Tearing everything out and starting again from scratch is not always an option. Some manufacturers are devising strategies for upgrading their installed automation over time in an orderly way. One example involves PACs.

		Without a Trace Managing Automation, July 2008 By Jeff Moad OEMs are turning over more responsibility for designing, assembling, and even maintaining subsystems to suppliers in the interest of reducing lead times and sharing program risk and cost. At the same time, OEMs are demanding that suppliers provide more — and more up-to-date — information about things like what specific parts are in a given subsystem, when the parts were produced, by whom, under what conditions, and what quality tests were performed on them.

		A Holistic Approach to Safety Automation IEN, July 2008 By Dan Hornbeck, Rockwell Automation Manufacturers are focusing on safety automation solutions that keep their people safe, their machines working, and their bottom lines robust. Thanks to the holistic approach to safety automation – which emphasizes global standards, innovative technologies, trained personnel and ongoing risk assessment, all working together – manufacturers have a best practice template to implement and achieve a high level of safety.

		Fine-tuning FGD via nonlinear modeling Power Engineering International, June 2008 By Abhay Bulsari, Nonlinear Solutions & Jarmo Hagström, Helsingin Energia Nonlinear modelling has helped many industries optimize their processes, but awareness of this technique in the power generation sector is limited. Nonlinear modelling can help cut the material costs for flue gas desulphurization, as successfully demonstrated at the Hanasaari coal fired facility in Finland.

		Preventing unplanned downtime: the secure control system South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2008 By Bob Huba, Emerson Process Management One aspect of unplanned downtime that is coming into focus is that caused by breaches in control system security. The problem is best addressed by ensuring physical site security is adequate, correct system security procedures are in place and control system operators and engineers are properly trained.

		The uses and merits of process simulation South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2008 Establishing the financial gains associated with a process simulator is best achieved by quantifying the losses associated with not having one: loss of design quality, loss of operator competence and loss of production time. The long-term advantages of process simulation then become evident as investments that can save money.

		Ready for Control in the Field? Control, July 2008 By John Rezabek If you have an investment in intelligent field devices that can handle 80% of the control in your plant, why put the entire burden on your host? Users should let hosts churn away at the more demanding advanced control and optimization, and leave the day-to-day, garden-variety PID to the field devices.

		Managing Batch Processes in 2020 Control, July 2008 By Dave Harrold The handwriting is on the wall. Like it or not, where and how we manage batch processes will differ dramatically by 2020.

		Unlocking the Secret Profiles of Batch Reactors Control, July 2008 By Greg McMillan Nearly all chemical and biological reaction rates depend upon the concentrations of the reactants, and quality depends upon the resulting product and byproduct concentrations. The best kept secret of batch reactors is the concentration profiles.

		Modeling in motion Control Engineering, July 2008 By C.G. Masi The convergence of mechanical, electrical, and software engineering is changing the face of motion control design and development. This tutorial shows how.

		Integrating Asset Management and Maintenance Control Engineering, July 2008 By Bill Broussard, Emerson Process Management A goal of 80% planned maintenance is attainable when a plant asset management platform is integrated with maintenance strategy during engineering design.

		Optimizing Pump Energy Use Control Engineering, July 2008 By Robert Eckard, RSE Consulting Water treatment facilities cut greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption of electrically driven pumps through effective sizing, control, and maintenance.

		Analyzing Closed-Loop Behavior with Convolution Control Engineering, July 2008 By Vance VanDoren The second in a two-part series explaining how linear process behavior can be predicted mathematically.

		Defense in Depth Control Engineering Asia, June 2008 By Eric Byres Many companies base their plant floor/SCADA security solution on a single firewall between the business network and the control system network, believing that this firewall will be the ultimate security filter and prevent anything evil from ever getting to the control system. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

		Factory Automation: Secret's in the system InTech, July 2008 By Ellen Fussell Policastro If you are packaging pills, building automotive parts, or labeling bottles of soda, you might think your processes do not have to be as secure as a nuclear plant or chemical plant. Think again.

		Boiler water for powerful plant InTech, July 2008 By Dan Livermore, James Yarbrough, and John Connelly The reliability of the pH measurement in low ionic composition streams, such as pure water, depends largely upon the technician understanding the measurement and the factors that affect the process of obtaining an accurate measurement.

		Flirting with disaster InTech, July 2008 By Michael Carey A true disaster recovery plan needs to not only address software but also hardware and the network. It also needs to address prevention and recovery and take into account the ability to protect systems using current technology and legacy systems where replacement hardware may not be available.

		Honeywell 2008 Users Group - Heroes Gather in Phoenix By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor The 33rd annual Honeywell Users Group Conference was held June 15 - 19, 2008 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, AZ with over 700 customers in attendance. According to Honeywell Vice President/General Manager, "The conferences super hero theme, Power to Perform, highlights the heroic efforts of process industry professionals to perform well despite rising costs and resource constraints."

		Measuring Return on Automation Automation World, June 2008 By Gary Mintchell When operations managers and engineers evaluate how to improve manufacturing processes, they often look at implementing new or improved automation systems. They know the operational benefits the system is designed to bring—improved quality, less waste, reduced manpower, increased productivity, faster product changeover and the like. They may not have even thought about the larger financial ramifications to the corporation.

		Control Hydraulic Pumps and Actuators Control Design, June 2008 Q: Can we control hydraulic pumps and actuators with the same standard PLC that we use for other machine control functions, or do we need to look into more specialized hydraulic controllers? Multiple answers from industry experts.

		Peril in the pipeline InTech, June 2008 By Marshall Abrams and Joe Weiss Cyber security often focuses on the vulnerabilities of commercial off-the-shelf software and Internet access, with malicious activity as the primary concern. But more discussion is needed about control system cyber security and how its policies and countermeasures can potentially preclude or minimize the impacts of a control system cyber security event.

		Interlocking a matter of safety InTech, June 2008 By Michael Carey A common mistake when designing an automation system is to incorporate too many interlocks. Creating too many interlocks restricts the ability to operate the system when the system goes into abnormal operation.

		Advanced Alarm Management Strategy Control Engineering Europe, June 2008 White paper from Adroit Technologies explores issues with alarm overload and explains how advanced alarm management can help operators, increase efficiencies, minimize downtime and identify problem areas within a process.

		Better Manage Your Business, Your Plant Control, June 2008 In-plant wireless technology isn’t just about communicating and integrating process information flows. It’s also about enabling a broad range of business and plant management applications - some well-defined and already at work, and some as yet to be imagined.

		Think Beyond the Wire Control, June 2008 Wireless technology is not a complete replacement for wires, at least not for a while. But it is already enabling new tools that give you the freedom to solve problems you could not address cost-effectively in the purely wired world. The possibilities are limitless.

		Measure and Gather New Process Data Control, June 2008 Today, wireless is giving users low-cost access to additional measurements and process variables that were previously economically infeasible. Estimates range up to 90% savings in installation cost per measurement using wireless.

		Is PAT a Silver Bullet? Control, June 2008 By Jim Montague Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) are beginning to inject quality-by-design (QBD), model-predictive control, risk management and other well-known process control methods into long-resistant pharmaceutical applications

		Intrinsic Safety in the Digital Age Control, June 2008 By Paul Miller As fieldbus becomes the norm rather than the exception, there are many users who are demanding protection for their fieldbus networks. However, there are significant conflicts between the technique of intrinsic safety and multiple-device, multi-drop networks.

		Living With Safety Testing Control Engineering, June 2008 By Peter Welander While safety testing of instrumentation and control equipment adds cost and time-to-market for vendors, the upside for end users is more important than most realize. Those logos and stickers on all manner of equipment should remind you that much goes into keeping you, your home, and your plant safe.

		Don't judge a supplier by its name By Frank Hurtte, Contributing Author. For those of us who live and breathe the rarified vapors of technology based automation, it's pretty hard to fathom how life existed without electronic automation. Yet, it has been a short 30 years since the venerable PLC became anything more than a novelty outside of the Big 3 in Detroit. Sometime in the late 1970s, microprocessors changed our lives forever. Since those early days, the power of these tiny chips forever changed the way we think about manufacturing.

		Safety instrumented systems: shedding light on SIL South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2008 By Andrew Ashton Safety engineering principles have evolved over the past decade or so from employing a relatively formulaic and prescriptive philosophy to one which involves risk assessment and risk reduction. This risk-based approach places far more responsibility on control system engineers.

		What is OPC UA and how does it affect your world? Plant Engineering, May 2008 By Simone Massaro, ICONICS OPC-UA is an important building block that enables users to build the next generation of software automation solutions. With complete backward compatibility ensured, vendors will have much to gain – and nothing to lose – by adopting the new OPC Unified Architecture.

		HART monitors extract data from smart instruments Plant Engineering, May 2008 By Greg Feliks, Moore Industries A simple and cost effective solution for gathering HART information is to use a HART interface device. Fortunately, HART interface devices, available from several manufacturers, make acquiring HART data a fairly simple proposition. This HART data is then made available to the control system via analog signals, discrete outputs or serial communications.

		Safety systems: Perfection remains an elusive goal Plant Engineering, May 2008 By Paul Gruhn, ICS Triplex Safety Instrumented System standards are performance oriented and cover cradle-to-grave activities. While most would probably argue that the standards have proven very helpful and have led to safer systems, some problems remain elusive.

		Custom Controls Survey - Complimentary assessment, tips and tricks We are conducting a brief survey on custom controls — that is, board-level controllers used in place of standard PLCs or process controls. If you use custom controls in your automation applications, please take a minute to tell us why you use them and what challenges you face. You may be eligible to receive a complimentary controls assessment, plus tips and tricks on how to lower your control costs.

		Installing Fieldbus By Mike O’Neill, Director of MooreHawke Many automation engineers are coming face to face with real fieldbus applications for the first time. Fieldbus is a wonderful technology with many benefits, but fieldbus installation requires some additional considerations over and above normal 4-20mA projects. This article discusses some of those issues, and shows you how to deal with them.

		Regional Manufacturing Expos Prove Most Valuable By Thomas R. Cutler Deciding which conferences, webinars, and expos are worthwhile for manufacturing engineers and buyers to attend often feels like a dangerous yellow brick road, never knowing quite what to expect.

		Software Services Integrate Applications Automation World, May 2008 By Gary Mintchell Some may think the idea of manufacturing information flowing “from sensor to boardroom” may just be an unachievable dream. After all, the reality of manufacturing information is that there are a multitude of different applications that each store information in different ways and communicate using differing protocols and methods.

		How to Achieve Competent Workforce for Safety Automation World, May 2008 By Gary Mintchell Safety is a topic that is on everyone's mind. No one wants to be interviewed on television after an explosion at their plant or after a severe injury occurs.

		Do You Really Need that Separate Safety Network? Automation World, May 2008 By James R. Koelsch Why install the latest generation of safety networks? Most people would put the money saved on less wiring at the top of their list of answers.

		Blending Plant Operations with Enterprise Management Automation World, May 2008 By Rob Spiegel The war between plant operations and IT is over. Here’s a look at the major trends in information technology that are having a direct and growing impact on plant operations.

		Hydrogen-Specific Sensing for Industrial Process Control and Safety Sensors, May 2008 By Prabhu Soundarrajan, H2Scan Monitoring hydrogen in the process industries is important for both process optimization and for safety. Inline, solid-state palladium-nickel based sensors are highly selective to hydrogen, do not require oxygen to operate, and can detect hydrogen in concentrations from a few ppm to 100%.

		6 Key Mobile Adoption Drivers for the Chem Processing Industry Chem.Info, May 2008 By Joe Granda, Syclo Leading-edge organizations that have adopted mobile technology as a best practice are realizing a new level of efficiency, which is reflected in their operations and on their bottom line. Author outlines the six main benefits of mobile technology in chem. processing.

		What’s needed in process automation? Chemical Processing, May 2008 By Mark Rosenzweig A recent survey of end users by Jacobs Engineering Group provides an extensive wish list for field instrumentation, including disposable instrumentation for disposable process components; Class 1 Division 1-rated I/O modules; power-over-Ethernet instruments; and built-in control module logic, including alarming. Wish lists also cover controllers, HMI, control systems, batch, and more.

		BioProcess Control: What the Next 15 Years Will Bring Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, May 2008 By Michael Boudreau, Emerson, and Trish Benton, Broadley-James Corp. Sensors are being developed that will advance process control in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This article takes a look at the anticipated changes in bioprocess control in the upcoming years.

		Monitoring Bioprocesses Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, May 2008 By Ravindra Gudi, Honeywell Technology Solutions The fermentation process is already fraught with risk. Monitoring offers an early warning system that can ensure batch-to-batch consistency and minimize waste. An early detection of “events” such as faults or sub-optimal behavior, can lead to corrective action, when possible, to alleviate the fault or to shut down the batch to prevent depletion of expensive feed material.

		Analysing alarm and trend data: from insight to action Process On Line, May 2008 By Frost & Sullivan When analysing the cause of process disturbances or when trying to improve productivity in the process, the comparison of alarm and trend data can be quite revealing. While sophisticated analysis tools are available in data historians, an intuitive visualisation tool that sits in the SCADA system itself could give the operator the immediate ability to modify process conditions for desired results.

		ABB is powered up and running at high efficiency! By Bill Lydon The products and services shown at ABB Automation World in Houston, Texas along with the enthusiasm of the ABB employees and users would seem to explain why the company’s 1st quarter 2008 earnings beat investment analysts’ consensus by over 40%. The three-day trade show and conference ran from April 29 through May 1 in Houston, Texas. There was a great deal of energy and enthusiasm at the event which showcased ABB products, ABB services, partner products, and over 300 workshops/training sessions.

		Process Automation: Equipment, don't fail me now Intech, May 2008 By Peter Morgan Specialists in control and instrumentation were once confident to rely on their own experience and good design practice to design protection systems. Now they must adhere to a quantitative approach to designing systems deemed safety systems.

		Advances in Control Loop Optimization Control Engineering, May 2008 By Vance VanDoren Loop tuning is still a critical element of loop optimization, but thanks to recent advances in control theory and commercial software products, the control operations of an entire plant can now be optimized to maximize overall profitability, not just individual loop performance.

		PLCs and DCSs Converge Control Engineering, May 2008 By Bob Nelson and Todd Stauffer, Siemens Energy & Automation The evolution of PLC, DCS and hybrid control technologies makes it more challenging than ever for process manufacturers to select the best technology for their application. The answers to questions in seven areas can help guide you to the right choice.

		Chasing Moore’s Law – The Truth Behind the OS and CPU Upgrades for Industrial PC Users By Alan Koch, Advantech COTS electronic hardware and software have caused real problems for the industrial PC users, who benefit less and less as each operating system and CPU revision cycle passes. There may be no reason to upgrade. Probably 50% of industrial control applications would run fine on a military-grade 80486-type device using the DOS operating system.

		The Advantages of Small Form Factor HMI By Hector Lin, Advantech A modern small form factor HMI can be purchased for about the same cost as a dozen push buttons and indicator lights, providing better control, easier operator interaction, easier maintenance and support, and much greater operational utility for the same cost.

		What's in a name? by Jeff Payne, AutomationDirect PLC, DCS and PAC are a few acronyms used to describe what originally replaced relays in the late 1960s. So, what are the differences and why do we need to call them by so many different names?

		Data Analytics in Batch Operations Control, May 2008 By Robert Wojewodka and Terry Blevins Over the last 10 years, significant progress has been made in the development of technology and understanding needed to apply online statistical analytics to batch processes successfully. Integrating such tools into a process control system can provide many benefits.

		Why Is Safety So Hard? Control, May 2008 By Dan Hebert, PE Accidents and incidents occur in process plants on a too-regular basis. Why? Is the root cause incorrect and incomplete standards? Or do most accidents occur because mostly correct standards are not implemented as intended?

		Safety Life-Cycle Planning Control, May 2008 By Feng Tao, PhD; Dan Bourlet, R.E.T.; Jon Blois, PE Many industries are being pressed to improve safety for employees and the environment. Many of these industries have not been typical users of safety systems, but now want to adopt SIS to enhance process safety. But new industries often find themselves lost in the swamp of safety standards and terminology.

		Going Green Again... Control Engineering, May 2008 By Jeanine Katzel Concerns about energy efficiency and environmental practices are back and gaining momentum, so automation vendors and their customers are helping ensure that manufacturing is one of the greenest sectors of the economy.

		How Pollutants Are Formed During Combustion (And How It Affects Control Methods) Power Engineering, April 2008 By Brad Buecker, Contributing Editor During combustion in a boiler, the primary pollutants nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur oxides (SOX) and mercury tend to form predominant species, but with trace to significant concentrations of alternate compounds. Both the major and minor species have a critical impact on the selection of control methods and how the control equipment performs in operation.

		CEM gets the laser treatment Power Engineering International, April 2008 By Iain F Howieson, Cascade Technologies, UK The measurement of gases associated with industrial processing/emissions monitoring has become increasingly important as the need to improve efficiencies in process control and the introduction of legislation governing emissions have come into force. The development of the Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) has recently been harnessed to create a range of novel mid-infrared gas sensors.

		Consider the Consequences of a Cyberattack Industrial Networking, May 2008 By John Rezabek, ISP Corp. One only can assume that fear of bad press must keep most victims from publicizing or revealing any successful cyberattack. Reports of serious breaches in industry still seem to be few and far between. That we are vulnerable is hard to deny.

		SCADA and Data Collection Industrial Networking, May 2008 By Joe Roegner, SCADA technician Orange County Today, we have better computers and better methods to store data. Unfortunately, it hasn’t lived up to the promise of what the Information Age shows us is possible. Many of us are caught up in corrective maintenance of our SCADA systems and have little time to work on developing data-collection systems.

		Report Generation InTech, April 2008 By Michael Carey The true shock may hit when the software you thought would capture the specified project data does not do what you thought it would do. The solution to the problem can be to reduce report requirements, purchase a report package, or develop custom software.

		The State of Safety Control Engineering Asia, April 2008 By G Venkatesh With machine safeguarding now the fastest growing segment of the discrete manufacturing automation market, this article examines how far industrial safety has moved up corporate responsibility checklist.

		The Year of .... OPC-UA Control Engineering Asia, April 2008 The Chinese Year of the Rat also spells launch time for the long awaited OPC-UA specification, and the furry rodent actually has a lot in common with the latest version of the automation system interface standard.

		Ingredients for Success Control Engineering Asia, April 2008 By Jim Ricigliano In all areas of manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies particularly, adopting new information technologies has become serious business. Collaboration, real-time, agility and visibility are words used to describe the desired end results and how production and business processes should work..

		Alarm management life cycle provides process insight Plant Engineering, April 2008 By Prasad Pai, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms As HMI/SCADA systems transition from being visualization tools to analytical tools, alarm management systems have gained importance and are now central to the success of an effective control system.

		Drying Requires Functional Model Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, April 2008 By Emil W. Ciurczak Article reviews cases that show how PAT, mass spectroscopy, Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), are being used to change the way that drug manufacturers describe the drying process and how they are using that information to better control and optimize that process.

		Advanced Tuning Tackles the Nonlinear World Automation World, April 2008 By C. Kenna Amos In a nonlinear world, the challenge of advanced loop tuning is to keep continuous and batch processes, as well as discrete operations, functioning cleanly and productively without unplanned downtime.

		The 5 Pieces of ISA95 Automation World, April 2008 ANSI/ISA95 consists of models and terminology required for sharing plant data with manufacturing execution systems (MES) and business systems. While it’s not technically a standard, it does offer definitions that can be used as a model for plant engineers to communicate effectively with other areas of the corporation and with partners.

		Standards benefit batch SA Instrumentation & Control, April 2008 By Andrew Ashton Companies are finding that many of the ISA-88 principles for batch control can be applied in the continuous process field and in packaging automation.

		The many faces of SCADA Control, April 2008 By Paul Miller Today, SCADA is closely aligned to a DCS or specialized hybrid control system that uses open architecture platforms and today’s high-speed networking technology. These are combined with secure protocols and secure stations.

		System Integration: Break out of the box Intech, April 2008 By Michael Whitt and Ellen Fussell Policastro Even though a user has knowledgeable control system professionals on staff, they are not always capable of handling large capital projects. End users should do homework when hiring an integrator, but avoid micromanaging for best results

		Integrating PID Controllers into Automated Processes via Ethernet Sensors, April 2008 By Sean Wilkinson, Watlow Electric Ethernet's popularity in industrial applications stems from its ability to exchange information, in real time, between processing equipment and Ethernet-based management systems.

		Bridging the Gap Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, March 2008 By Agnes Shanley, Editor in Chief Despite talk of IT and process control convergence, the two functions are still disconnected from each other and from manufacturing at many pharmaceutical companies today.

		An overview of Wireless Device Adoption in the European Process Industry By Karthikeyan Balasubramaniyam, Frost & Sullivan Wireless devices are gradually entering into the European process industries. A plethora of challenges, such as proving greater reliability and security, need to be overcome if these devices are to witness higher penetration into the process industries.

		Building on the Foundation Control Engineering Asia, March 2008 By Jonas Berg, Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific Steady improvements and enhancements over the last decade together with an increasing knowledge base in the process industries have made it far easier to realize the promised benefits of Foundation fieldbus plant network technology.

		Challenges to the Wireless Future Control Engineering Asia, March 2008 By Madanmohan Rao While the wireless wave may indeed be coming, valid concerns remain over technical standards and low awareness levels amongst IT executives. CE Asia interviews Hesh Kagan of Invensys.

		Safety fieldbus in the process industries What’s New in Process Instrumentation, March 2008 By Siemens As end users discover the benefits of fieldbus with their process automation systems, many are beginning to wonder why they haven't been able to enjoy similar benefits with their safety instrumented systems (SIS).

		HPC Powering Widespread Simulation Studies Design News, February 2008 By Beth Stackpole The barriers to entry for high performance computing (HPC) continue to fall, portending big benefits for engineers looking to do virtual reality studies on design concepts or to solve problems around computational fluid dynamics or structural mechanics prior to building physical prototypes. (Warning: annoying popup occurs)

		Where Are Control Architectures Heading? Main Street Managing Automation, March 2008 By Stephanie Neil Standards-based control architectures—such as Cisco Ethernet switches, Intel processors, and Microsoft .NET Web services, to name a few--are pushing open the factory doors and driving manufacturing data out into the mainstream of enterprise activity.(Registration required)

		Getting Standards Under One Roof Managing Automation, March 2008 By Stephanie Neil Most application integration has relied on proprietary point interfaces or middleware that multiplies over time, becoming expensive to build and maintain. What many want is one language that can be spoken between the plant floor and enterprise applications. Standards groups are at work. (Registration required)

		Why, what and when to automate on the manufacturing floor Advanced Manufacturing, March 2008 By Chris Stergiou Automation’s key driver is the economic justification of the investment for that automation which has to compete with other potential investments within manufacturing, but also with other company investments internal/external for the same scarce company capital. The untimely execution of an automation strategy fails to both deliver its promised economic benefits and can increase costs.

		Take Steps to Stymie Cyber-Criminals Automation World, March 2008 By C. Kenna Amos What drives better security is manufacturing taking responsibility for itself.

		Biofuels Thrive with Automation Automation World, March 2008 By James R. Koelsch Satisfying the expected surge in demand for biofuels will require a combination of reliable automation and technologies to extract more fuel from natural resources. Smart fieldbus technology, such as Profibus, has caught on in this industry in a big way because it requires much less time and cost to install, commission and maintain.

		Building Manufacturing Efficiency Control Engineering Europe March 2008 Today, many pharmaceutical plants typically operate at somewhere around 30% efficiency, with a few world-class operations reaching the 70% range. The Pfizer facility in Puerto Rico formed a cross-functional team to focus on creating more competitive costs through implementing an OEE data gathering and reporting system.

		Connecting the Plant to the Enterprise Control Engineering Europe March 2008 By C.G. Masi Japanese industrial automation engineers are working to link the shop-floor with enterprise-level networks.

		Washing eggs with fuzzy logic Control Engineering Europe February 2008 Today, with the advent of sensors that can measure simple quantities that in the past could only be estimated by human operators, fuzzy logic shows new promise for manufacturing end users to solve common problems on the factory floor.

		Connecting control systems to the internet January 2008 Relatively few industrial control systems are currently web-enabled, even though the advantages are clear to see. However change is in the air as new technologies and new confidence reach the market.

		Instrinsic Safety Obsolete Yet? Control, March 2008 By John Rezabek The emergence of digitally integrated instruments, stricter environmental regulations and wireless access to diagnostics are converging to make “live maintenance in normally hazardous atmospheres” a rare occurrence. Shouldn’t end users ponder whether the value of an IS installation is still worth the added complexity, effort and expense?

		Just Because They Haven’t, Doesn’t Mean They Won’t Control, March 2008 By Walt Boyes Control’s editor ponders the possibilities of cyber attacks on SCADA and control systems, and suggests we work to protect them.

		Integration Operations to Enterprise Control, March 2008 By Dan Hebert Internal staff, your automation vendors, system integrators and your ERP vendor all insist they are best positioned to integrate your plant floor with your ERP system. Who is right?

		Fieldbus: Growing Globally Control Engineering, March 2008 By Peter Welander While considered mainstream technology, fieldbus adoption in process industries is still far from commonplace. The picture for users remains upbeat, but incomplete in many respects.

		Process Controllers Predict the Future Control Engineering, March 2008 By Vance J. VanDoren The Superposition Principle, which governs the behavior of all linear processes, allows feedback controllers to anticipate how processes will react to control efforts.

		Models Aid Controller Design Control Engineering, March 2008 By Vance J. VanDoren Modeling the process involves quantifying the relationship between each series of inputs applied by the controller and the resulting series of process variable measurements.

		Quantifying Cyber Security Risk Control Engineering, March 2008 By Morgan Henrie, Univ of Alaska and Paul Liddell, Alyeska Pipeline Service Basic risk analysis techniques can help you understand the cyber threats to industrial control systems and SCADA systems overseeing electric utility distribution. This step will help as you begin planning a defensive strategy.

		Building block diagrams Control Engineering, March 2008 By C.G. Masi Block-diagram visualization allows system engineers to separate needs analysis from system design, and start system-level design before finishing component-level designs.

		Know what you don’t know Intech, March 2008 By Nicholas P. Sands The demographic shift is the most urgent challenge to maintaining and improving automation and process control competency. Experts, with deep experience in a wide range of skills, are retiring from Dupont. 25% will retire with five years, and over 50% will retire within 10 years. Time to step up the urgency to address the competency challenges.

		Variable amplitude vibrator provides tighter control Intech, March 2008 Dry material usually feeds into a reactor, blender, or kiln by means of a conveyor belt. One parameter, which may be important depending upon the design philosophy used, is the natural or resonant frequency. The designer’s task is to provide uniformity so the conveyor speed can be relatively stable.

		Getting quality down PAT Intech, March 2008 By Baha Korkmaz, Arnold Martin, and Cenk Undey Using the concepts behind process analytical technology (PAT) is one effective tool to achieve better quality, especially when incorporating batch standards, such as ISA88.

		A ‘Plant with a View’ Assembly, February 2008 Today’s manufacturing execution systems (MES) allow engineers to cut through the clutter and “see” what’s really going on. By pulling data directly from the plant floor and processing it with the system’s analytic software, engineers can get a real-time snapshot of what is happening at either the workstation level or plant-wide.

		Make Controls Kaboom-Proof Control Design, March 2008 By Loren Shaum In most North American quarters, there are two schools of thought: 1. Buy explosion-proof equipment, but risk much higher control costs than might be necessary. 2. Buy more-conventional equipment and purge to keep a hazardous atmosphere away from the control devices.

		Piloting Bioreactors for Agitation Scale-Up CEP, February 2008 By Gregory T. Benz This article offers guidance on how to design appropriate experiments to measure scalable data for agitation in both aerobic and anaerobic bioreactors.

		Keep parallel pumps in line Chemical Processing, February 2008 By Andrew Sloley To increase the capacity of a unit, some plants operate pumps in parallel. However, the benefit of the second or third pump in parallel depends upon the system curve (for pressure drop) and the pump curves (for pressure supply). Understanding how load allocates between multiple pumps in parallel requires comparing the individual pump curves, as one refinery discovered.

		Rethink batch-manufacturing alarm systems Chemical Processing, February 2008 By Joseph S. Alford It’s not unusual for a manufacturing facility to average more than 1,000 alarms/month. Some of this is due to the increasing implementation of smart sensors and valves. These devices communicate a large amount of information with the host process control computer. Perhaps it’s time for an alarm remediation project.

		Isolate the noise, not the signal Plant Engineering, February 2008 By Greg Feliks, Moore Industries Some engineers think that the need for isolators and signal converters is eroding with the advent of smart instruments, isolated electronics and digital fieldbuses. However, isolators and signal converters can also be used to solve difficult or complex problems.

		Safety Instrumented System design is all about the process Plant Engineering, February 2008 By Charles M. Fialkowski, Siemens Energy & Automation Designing a single component may be viewed as a relatively simple matter – one that a single person can handle. Designing a large SIS, however, is typically beyond the ability of any single individual. Large systems require a multi-discipline team.

		Setting the scope for ISA100 standard Plant Engineering, February 2008 By Paul Sereiko, AirSprite Technologies ISA100.11a – the component of ISA100 that is involved with wireless transport of field transmitter measurements – is focused on process automation, but will not exclude factory automation or monitoring applications.

		Accessing Plant-Floor Intelligence Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, February 2008 The pharmaceutical industry is embracing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and the concept of Service-Oriented IT Architecture, with a growing number of manufacturers building platforms based on SAP or Oracle.

		Obtain the Full Capabilities of Hart Automation World, February 2008 By Ed Ladd Even though many users are beginning to understand the value of the information that resides in their Hart devices, accessing that information is the trick. 85% of the devices currently in the field are connected to legacy, analog-only I/O systems that cannot understand the encoded Hart digital information. Wireless might help.

		PACs Gain Momentum Automation World, February 2008 By Wes Iversen While not everyone likes the name, a new generation of programmable automation controllers that feature multi-domain control functionality are helping to reduce costs for a growing number of manufacturers.

		Distributed Control Systems Vendors Respond to PAC Questions Automation World, February 2008 By Wes Iversen Are PACs displacing DCSes? Here’s what four DCS vendors have to say about that.

		ISA88 Beyond Batch Automation World, February 2008 By Rob Spiegel The tenets of ISA88 are now being applied to packaging, as well as to continuous and discrete manufacturing. Companies are beginning to use the standard in areas never expected, from maintenance to machine part analyzing and equipment allocation

		The Horse with Stripes Control, February 2008 By Walt Boyes Many IT security professionals now profess to be “industrial cyber security experts” because they understand “SCADA” and have worked for years in enterprise IT and enterprise cybersecurity. But it takes more than that to function properly in the industrial controls environment.

		Time for Plant and Corporate IT to Grow Up Control, February 2008 By Charlie Gifford, 21st Century Manufacturing Solutions Subject: the bloody war zone in manufacturing operations management (MOM) systems. Neither side realizes how large and complex job it is to integrate and translate between the plant and business in real-time.

		The Status Quo Isn't Control, February 2008 By Jeffrey R. Harrow Web applications may be the next big thing in computing. Consider how web apps might enhance customer solutions: all the applications could reside and run on an always up-to-date web-based server that can access an extended information set. If it's you who provide this remote web app as a service, you can generate a continuing revenue stream! Are You Ready?

		Capital Preservation, Businesses’ Life Blood Control, February 2008 By Dave Harrold Stand before an audience of senior executives, use the word “safety” in your opening remarks, and watch the eyes begin to roll as everyone begins looking for the nearest exit. If they were called ‘instrumented capital preservation systems’ instead of safety instrumented systems, every CEO would insist the company invest in them.

		3D Does It Control Engineering, February 2008 By Renee Robbins How do control engineers help change production line capabilities quickly? Early adopters of PLM software say it’s about pushing the technological limits with 3D modeling, process simulation, and virtual commissioning.

		Integrating Enterprise and Plant IT Functions Control Engineering, February 2008 By Jim Ricigliano, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Matthew Bauer, Rockwell Automation When pharmaceutical manufacturing processes are automated there are many benefits, but implementation can demand difficult choices. Integration often brings enterprise IT onto the plant floor.

		Controllers evolve as information needs grow Control Engineering, February 2008 By Lee Lane, Rockwell Automation Controllers have evolved over the years from relay boards that automate a machine to the tag-enabled multidisciplined controllers today. As an information-enabled controller, PACs will continue to evolve along with the information systems executives find useful.

		Custody transfer in tank gauging dilemma SA Instrumentation & Control, February 2008 By Johan van Jaarveldt, Endress+Hauser Custody transfer in South Africa requires apparatus to be in accordance with a South African standard. However, there is no standard that covers custody transfer by tank gauging, needed because flowmeters are not large enough for metering the discharge from ocean-going supertankers.

		Benefits of a downtime accounting system for mining SA Instrumentation & Control, February 2008 By Dennis Cox, Citect Africa An effective manufacturing execution system (MES) that collects and organises downtime events to increase visibility and comprehension can help mining operations stay competitive.

		Use Spreadsheets to Estimate Modeling Parameters CEP, February 2008 By Thomas Co, Michigan Technological Univ. Dynamic process modeling based on non-uniformly sampled data and multiple sampling runs, even for nonlinear systems, can be performed using spreadsheet implementations of the weighted-least-squares (WLSQ) and Runge-Kutta WLSQ methods.

		The Ups and Downs of Taking the Bus: Part Two Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, January 2008 By Gary Forrest, Ph.D., Wyeth Research In Part 2 of this series, Wyeth's Gary Forrest illuminats the processes of commissioning and qualifying a new bioprocess facility's fieldbus-based process control system and addresses life cycle management issues.

		The Human Touch Control Engineering Asia, January 2008 By Charlie Masi Whether it’s designers cleverly developing products for robotic assembly or skilled workers performing intricate operations alongside sophisticated technology, the human factor is key to successful factory.

		Going Green … with Wireless Control Engineering Asia, January 2008 Industrial companies are increasingly adopting wireless sensor network (WSN) technology for green reasons, not just operational efficiency. These include reduction of the environmental impact of their processes, and optimization of energy utilization.

		The Path to Supercritical Power Control Engineering Asia, January 2008 By Charlie Menten As power generation technologies grow more sophisticated, control strategies and systems must keep pace for plant owners to take full advantage of the increased capabilities. Better control allows power generators to capitalize on the heat capture capabilities of supercritical unit designs.

		Performance Improvement for Cooling Water Systems Availability of cooling water system is critical to operation of a plant. This white paper provides an update on real-time process control technology based on corrosion measurement that provides a comprehensive understanding of unit operating condition and fouling/scaling activity in cooling water and process water systems.

		Food Automation Operations Face Increasing Rigor By Thomas R Cutler Automation is the only solution for problems in the food processing industry. Labor issues, the increasing need for traceability, food safety, and competition from low-cost global manufacturing fuel the growing trend toward increased automation in the sector.

		Make the most of automation upgrades Chemical Processing, January 2008 By John Dolenc, Emerson Process Management Many plants rely on outdated process control systems—ranging from pneumatic controllers to DCSdes installed in the 1980s—and now need to update them. However, new technology for its own sake can’t justify capital spending. You must find compelling economic reasons for modernization.

		Using XML in Automation Automation World, January 2008 By Gary Mintchell The Web standard for communicating information, the eXtensible Markup Language or XML, is more than eleven years old. Its use in automation is still in infancy, however.

		Integrated Development Environments Go Virtual, Global Automation World, January 2008 By C. Kenna Amos Expand a single-node system by a couple or more nodes, or change topologies, or connect computers to another server—and “things get complicated. Feasible remedies to these induced complexities lie with integrated-development environments (IDEs).

		A Better View of the Plant Automation World, January 2008 By Rob Spiegel New HMI tools are taking data from programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and displaying it throughout the enterprise via Web browsers. Likewise, HMI systems are sending intelligible information from the enterprise down to the shop floor.

		Energy as a Process Variable Control Engineering, January 2008 By Peter Welander While electrical energy consumption may not be quite the same as flow or pressure, optimizing it can bring huge savings in a process environment and help in efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

		Signal Conditioning for PC-Based Control Control Engineering, January 2008 By C.G. Masi Control-system designers need to pay extra attention to signal conditioning issues when using PC-based controllers. PACs and PLCs don’t have the same problems.

		Mathematics of information Control Engineering, January 2008 By Dennis Brandl Most control engineers will eventually have to build or specify a database to hold instrument data, analysis data, or production reporting data. This is the point when understanding the underlying structure and mathematics of databases becomes important.

		Convergence of IT, Automation Intech, January 2008 By Constantino Seixas Filho and Vitor Finkel Organizations remain frozen in the 1980s: IT reports to finance; Automation to maintenance. Lack of a clear definition of who is responsible for what in the organization inevitably leads to dysfunction. A united front between the two departments could lead to big manufacturing gains.

		Alarm management: realising the value What’s New in Process Technology, December 2007 The alarm system is the primary tool for identifying abnormal operations and helping plant personnel take timely, appropriate action to move the process back to operational targets. Effective alarm systems create effective operators; ineffective alarm systems pose a serious risk to safety, the environment and plant profitability.

		Online optimization of hybrid desalination plants Power Engineering International, December 2007 Optimization of desalination and power plants based on different online and offline optimization packages has been developed. The effectiveness of these packages is described through their successful implementation at the Fujairah water and power plant in the United Arab Emirates.

		Process control: Managing the modernization process Plant Engineering, January 2008 By Jack Smith When process industries face control system modernization, they also face inevitable decision opportunities. Changes can range from simple component replacements to a full-blown overhaul.

		Installing Fieldbus in Real-Life Applications January 2008 By Moore Industries Many automation engineers are coming face-to-face with real fieldbus applications for the first time. Fieldbus is a wonderful technology with many benefits, but fieldbus installation requires some additional considerations over and above normal 4-20mA projects. This in-depth white paper discusses some of those issues, and shows you how to deal with them.

		Implementing FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Networks in Hazardous Areas By Bruce Bradley, Boehringer Ingelheim Chemicals Many engineers today find themselves questioning which bus technology to implement in their facility. As if that topic isn't difficult enough to resolve, the subject is further complicated by implementing your chosen bus in a hazardous area. This white paper provides insight into the process for safely implementing FOUNDATION fieldbus in a classified area of your facility.

		Using MODBUS for Process Control and Automation MODBUS is the most popular industrial protocol being used today, for good reasons. It is simple, inexpensive, universal and easy to use. Even though MODBUS has been around for nearly 30 years, almost all major industrial instrumentation and automation equipment vendors continue to support it in new products. This white paper discusses how MODBUS works and a few clever ways it can be used in new and legacy plants.

		Build reliability in during design Chemical Processing, December 2007 By Dirk Willard Instrumentation that promises to improve reliability may not always be what they seem. You have to consider whether a site can properly maintain sophisticated instruments.

		Take equipment diagnostics to a new level Chemical Processing, December 2007 By Todd Anderson Many of the effects of machine degradation are avoidable, so being able to identify struggling equipment at an early stage is essential to renewing its productivity. Advances in performance monitoring can provide critical insights.

		Fieldbus developments improve process control system operations Oil & Gas Journal, October 2007 By Harry Wilson, MooreHawke Now that fieldbus is used in virtually all new refineries, oil and gas companies are looking beyond the older, established products and their problems to more modern fieldbus hardware solutions that promise to make installations even more reliable, productive, and efficient. This article discusses the advantages and problems with new developments in fieldbus.

		The Ups and Downs of Taking the Bus Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, December 2007 By Gary Forrest, PhD, Wyeth Research In this two-part series, Wyeth's Gary Forrest discusses the challenges and benefits of implementing fieldbus technologies at a new bioprocess development facility. Choosing between Profibus or Foundation fieldbus was a big issue.

		Solving Maintenance Headaches of Fieldbus Systems Canadian Process Equipment & Control News, June 2007 Although fieldbus systems provide many advantages to end users, they can pose several maintenance and process headaches, including installation and startup, short circuits, removing and replacing instruments, and installing intrinsically safe systems. On page 47 at link.

		Why Is Safety Information So Pricey? Control Design, January 2008 By Scott Gee Author says, “the least expensive price I was quoted for UL 508 and UL 508A was about $450 apiece, and other places wanted as much as $600 each. Why am I paying so much for these documents?”

		Meeting the Changing Needs of Manufacturers Through Advanced System Integration Practices by John Nichols, Apex Manufacturing Solutions A systems integrator not only adds value through traditional automation systems, but also by integrating control systems, quality systems, supply chain networks, enterprise documentation systems, asset management systems, business systems, and intra/internets to provide a holistic view of all aspects of a manufacturing company’s business.

		Technologies to Improve Batch-Production Profitability, Consistency, and Traceability By Patrick Martin How can manufacturers improve efficiency and increase production while maintaining regulatory compliance? Process automation solutions are one method.

		OPC-UA Averts Interface-Protocol Explosions Automation World, October 2007 By C. Kenna Amos Two principal features make OPC-UA a communication mechanism across various protocols or standards: its ability to model complex things, and the basic set of services it provides.

		Cutting the Cost of Compliance Control Engineering, September 2007 By Hank Hogan Regulatory compliance costs can be cut through the use of hardware and software, although the savings may not be direct.

		Good Control Room Alarm Management Still a Challenge CONTROL, August 2007 By Ian Nimmo Today the process industries are facing one of their biggest challenges in decades—how to resolve the issue of operator overload, human error and organizational accidents.

		Avoid blending blunders Chemical Processing, September 2007 By Tom Blackwood, Healthsite Associates Why can’t we get every blend to be the same? Because we’re dealing with discrete pieces that have physical size, electrical properties, frictional differences and surface characteristics that can change with the environment. In addition, particulate solids are neither solid nor fluid, but both.

		Waste management and Process control Process Industry Informer, September 2007 By Rahul Gaikwad, Curvaceous Software Waste in the process industry: includes by-products, evaporation, effluent, furnace loss, overfill, washings, and yield loss. Heat and other energy escaping in the environment through processes is also a form of waste. It is only through avoiding all the above and more can zero waste be achieved.

		Thermal Anchors Improve Temperature Uniformity Control Engineering, September 2007 By Mark Everly, Watlow Many processes require that a volume of material inside a container be held at a uniform temperature. Maintaining a uniform temperature in such situations requires careful analysis of all the sources of heat gain and loss, along with a strategy for temperature measurement, sensor location, and heater control.

		What cost migration? Intech, September 2007 By Christopher A. DaCosta and Ken Keiser It is difficult knowing when to act, or not react, with a system upgrade or migration. The details of each pathway are many. Here are 10 migration routes one should consider when planning and moving to newer technology.

		Cookin' Up a Fine Elixir CONTROL, September 2007 By Jim Montague End-users, system integrators and suppliers are implementing ISA-88-based solutions in many new and unexpected applications

		Faking It Isn’t All Bad CONTROL, October 2007 By Walt Boyes and Nancy Bartels Simulate or model your loop tuning, operator training, advanced process control or optimization for savings, safety and skill-building

		Integrated engineering By David Dobson and Robert Martinez, ABB The design of a process plant is a daunting task. Numerous sensors and actuators need to be installed and connected, cables must be laid and cabinets wired. The instrumentation within the plant is specified and designed by different teams. Highly complex documentation is required to keep track of all this.

		Improving PID Control with Unreliable Communications By Jianping Song, et al, Emerson Process Management This paper identifies the poor dynamic response of standard PID algorithms in the case of lost communications. It proposes an enhanced PID algorithm to improve dynamic response under these conditions. The authors evaluated the enhanced PID algorithm under several wireless scenarios.

		Third Generation Simulation Solves Process Industry Challenges By Mynah Technologies Third-generation simulation software solves the industry’s complex needs and delivers significant results with minimal risk and investment. This white paper shows how using simulation for testing and training has proven benefits for capital project execution (CAPEX) and operational excellence (OPEX) initiatives.

		Panel Mount Annunciator Proves Crucial to Plant Safety & Productivity By Darren Barratt, Omniflex (UK) Limited The purpose of an annunciator is to provide the plant operator with early warning of a problem, which allows time to take action before a situation degrades to the point where the process can no longer be controlled.

		Beyond F.U.D.: How to start securing your DCS network today By Doug Clifton - Invensys Process Systems Cyber Security is much more than a firewall; it's education, data integrity, protection of intellectual property and so forth. The worse thing you can do is wait another minute to do something to start securing your network. This white paper shows how to get started

		Recipe Management with ISA-S88 Control Engineering, July 2007 Michael Wood, Rockwell Automation One of the issues challenging batch manufacturers is the need to manage recipe development effectively with less dependency on the process engineering staff. By combining open standards with batching software, this need can be met.

		Integration across the fourth dimension Control, June 2007 By Keith Larson, VP Content, Putman Media In the heavy continuous process industries, well-evolved simulation tools exist to aid in process design, but how well do they really integrate with the mechanical design tools they feed?

		Geometry Unifies Process Control, Production Control & Alarm Management By Robin Brooks, John Wilson, Curvaceous Software Limited Geometric Process Control (GPC) combines the three key plant applications of Process Control, Production Control (i.e. Achievement of Business Objectives such as producing in-spec product, maximizing Yield or Recovery, minimizing waste and many other Key Performance Indicators) and Alarm Management. Substantial economic and safety improvements result

		Why Most ERP Vendors Stay Away from Process Manufacturing Process manufacturing is a relatively small market compared to markets such as discrete manufacturing, retail and professional services; the size of the market is commensurate with the few quality software solutions for process manufacturers, whereas discrete manufacturing, retail and professional services have hundreds of software solutions, from entry level through Tier One

		Vulnerabilities identified in SCADA systems InfoWorld, May 2007 By Matt Hines The first remotely-exploitable vulnerabilities in Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have been identified by researchers.

		The evolution of plant automation CONTROL, February 2007 By Angela Summers, founder of SIS-TECH Solutions Understanding the purpose of control and safety systems helps users ensure each is appropriately optimized. The duties of the SIS are to protect the people, environment and assets against unsafe conditions

		Letting Off Steam Intech, February 2007 By Miguel A Delgadillo and María A. Hernández Researchers present a modification of a conventional feed water three-element control strategy to solve problems of drum level control.

		The Three Faces of PID Control Engineering, March 2007 By Vance VanDoren, Ph.D., P.E. The three elements of PID control each have a distinct personality, but they can be made to work together. Loop tuning becomes easier when you understand the interactions.

		Plant to enterprise – Putting the pieces together CONTROL, March 2007 By Nancy Bartels, Managing Editor While improved technology has narrowed the gap, the pressure now is on to complete the plant-floor-to-top-floor link. But the path is a twisty one dogged by complex technical and cultural issues.

		Control of the solar-hydrogen plant CONTROL, March 2007 By Béla Lipták, PE, CONTROL Columnist Columnist Béla Lipták describes equipment and control requirements of the solar-hydrogen demo power plant and says we now are in critical need of them because the stakes are even higher.

		Control Design for CIP Systems Control Engineering, March 2007 By Barry J. Andersen, Control Systems Engineering Manager, Seiberling Associates An effective clean-in-place (CIP) system requires careful process analysis combined with control strategies matched to the task.

		Get the Most from a System Integrator Control Engineering, April 2007 By Vance J. VanDoren, Ph.D., P.E., Control Engineering Five things to ask when interviewing integrators for your next automation project—and one extra question that can save years of aggravation afterward.

		A big pill to swallow Intech, April 2007 By Ellen Fussell Policastro Designing quality into processes helps manufacturers gain an edge in FDA audits, safer products

		PAT for Pharmaceutical Cleaning Control Engineering, April 2007 By John M. Hyde, et al, JM Hyde Consulting Control and instrumentation techniques for CIP systems consistent with process analytical technologies practices can improve product quality while reducing costs.

		Fieldbus: Where do we stand? Intech, April 2007 By Richard Caro There are two choices in network selection: Use your favored supplier and their network, or use a supplier who supports your chosen network. All networks are adequate.

		Getting employee training right CONTROL, April 2007 By Dan Hebert, PE, Senior Technical Editor If you’ve ever sat through a death-by-PowerPoint training session, you know how boring and ineffective one-size-fits-none training can be. Fortunately, training by internal personnel, system integrators, and vendors is evolving to fit the needs of process control end users.

		The Great Safety Debate Managing Automation, April 2007 By Wes Iversen, Managing Editor A war of words is raging in the process control industry over the “integration” of safety and control systems. It’s a debate that has been ongoing for years, but the recent introduction of new integrated systems by several process controls vendors has lately added fuel to the fire.

		Take Mystery Out Of Control Loops Managing Automation, April 2007 By C. Kenna Amos Is advanced control-loop tuning a mystery? Some operators think so.

		Measure. Decide. Act. Applying Real-Time Feedback to Deliver Business Results By George Buckbee, P.E., ExperTune Inc. To control a business, key measures include sales, profit, productivity, and cash flow. This white paper discusses appropriate measures for control of single loops, unit operations, and entire businesses. The “right things” have a few common characteristics.

		Six Decisions You Must Get Right Before Upgrading Your Automation System By Control Systems International Automation upgrades often fail because buyers fail to make a few critical decisions early in the upgrade process. This report identifies the critical decisions you must make early and correctly in order for your upgrade project to be cost effective, achieve your goals, and reduce the risk of incorrect startup and operation

		What Happens in Plant Stays in Plant InTech, March 2007 By May Permann, et al, Idaho National Laboratory While players in automation are becoming more aware computer systems are vulnerable to cyber attack, especially those controlling our nation’s critical infrastructure, some don’t always implement control system security procedures and devices consistently and effectively. To remotely manipulate a control system, an attacker must gain access to the control system local area network (LAN), discover and understand the process, and then control the process. Researchers at INL report progress in cyber security.

		Does your Automation System have Integrity? An automation system is an essential ingredient of efficient, flexible, and reliable operations. Automation systems are heterogeneous in nature and continue to evolve in complexity. Maintaining the integrity of these systems is more challenging than ever, but is also essential for achieving operational excellence. There are numerous risks involved in not utilizing a configuration change management strategy for automation systems. These risks can easily be mitigated through a comprehensive configuration management strategy.

		Advances In Fieldbus Process Industry Informer, February, 2007 By Mike O’Neill, MooreHawke This article covers details of some of the awkward issues that fieldbus users might have to face: hazardous area choices, FISCO vs. Entity, integrating devices into systems from different manufacturers, short-circuit protection, redundant fieldbuses and fault-tolerance.

		The intrinsically safe fieldbus has arrived Chemical Processing, February 2007 By Dr. Dave Rizzo, Power PR Fieldbus has proven its merit in bringing projects online more efficiently, allowing better diagnostics, and control, and reducing maintenance costs and inventories. However, it has been limited in intrinsically safe services. At last, technology has come through once again with a solution. The capacity barrier of FISCO has now been significantly surpassed by a novel split architecture design that has already proven itself in the field.

		Production Monitoring and Data Mining –No Strip Mining Allowed! In essence, data mining is the process of sifting historical data to find data that supports a premise, or produces a pattern. The implication is that only favorable data is discovered, making the process somewhat dubious. There are a variety of ways data can be mined, including manually, or with increasingly sophisticated analysis software that includes artificial intelligence and neural network modeling tools.

		Getting the Most From Plant Assets By Rob Spiegel, Contributing Editor, Automation World An asset management system can help plants figure out that something’s about to blow before the equipment actually blows. Asset manager software applications can read device data through a fieldbus network to interpret and display the device’s problem before the device fails and shut down the process. This article shows how to accomplish asset management with Foundation Fieldbus, Hart and Profibus fieldbuses.

		Don't be Alarmed By Gary Goble, Precision Systems Engineering, and Todd Stauffer, Siemens Energy & Automation Alarm management is one of the most undervalued and underused assets of process automation. With process automation systems losing $20 billion to unplanned downtime, and with 40% of it attributed to preventable human error, alarm management has never been more important. An important factor lending itself to human errors is the cacophony of alarms, which preclude the operator's ability to respond quickly and correctly. As alarm systems become less effective, they diminish the effectiveness of the entire automation system.

		Best practices in control system migration By Dan Hebert, PE, Senior Technical Editor, CONTROL Migration from your old control system to a new one is as an inevitable as death and taxes. But, the key to minimizing the pain is to abide by the control system migration best practices listed here.

		OPC UA and bridging the chasm By Eric Murphy, Advanced Architecture System Design Engineer, Matrikon As OPC UA begins its approach to the chasm, the infrastructure is is already being laid to ensure it can successfully bridge the gap. OPC UA represents a significant step toward transforming data into information for the enterprise, but that does not mean adopters should have to take a leap of faith to achieve this.

		The DCS spirit lives on everywhere By Jim Montague, Executive Editor, CONTROL Classic distributed control systems typically remain only in high-availability refining and power applications, but their strategies and capabilities persist in descendants and today’s sophisticated networks. While the DCS industry as a whole has reached a degree of maturity, DCSes continue to evolve in some exciting and beneficial ways. These include greater field integration capabilities, increased functional distribution, and better integration with other plant- and enterprise-level systems.

		OPC Tunneling Eliminates Setup Headaches From the shop floor to the top floor, OPC is the preferred communication standard for sharing process control data at all levels of the enterprise. But as OPC pours into mainstream acceptance, integrators are finding configurations where OPC can be a hindrance to the panacea of plug-and-play application interconnectivity. The most common situation occurs when applications on different Windows domains must communicate with each other. Still, other designs call for the use of low-bandwidth or unreliable networks. It is in these setups that OPC can make use of new “tunneling” technology, which eliminates the biggest OPC headache for integrators: setting up DCOM.

		Object Oriented Programming in Control System Software Engineering Object Oriented Programming (OOP) crept into mainstream Information Technology (IT) applications by the mid 1980's. A decade later, OOP permeated Control System Software Engineering applications with many commercially available libraries and applications. The very popular incarnation of these object-based process control applications comes in the form of OPC client/server technology. These applications use OPC as the standards-based communication mechanism. OOP methodologies played a key role in the rapid adoption of the OPC technology. With widespread adoption, OPC facilitates the abstraction of control systems components such as DCSs, PLCs, process historians, and many others.

		Hierarchical State Machines in the Automation Process Often during the process of supporting, modifying or re-engineering automation software, I have found myself making the same conclusion: “This is a Hierarchical State Machine trapped in the body of a C program, struggling to get out!” It seems that many programmers tackle a problem in the A to Z approach, creating a program that is chained to the original programmer’s concept of how the process is to be automated. The result is a system that is difficult to support, suffers from instability, and is difficult to add or modify functionality. This article will introduce you to the concept of a Hierarchical State Machine (HSM) and show you how this approach works so well in software engineering for the automation industry.

		The Dynamics of Process Control How best does a process controller go about controlling the controlled variable at or very near set point at all times? Gain new insights into process control and find out how a specific process controller works.

		Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Algorithm A lot of papers, articles, and guides have been written over the recent years addressing Continuous Process Improvement (CPI). However very few address methodologies related to the improvement of the process itself, that is, the processing of the metrics used to measure the effectiveness of a process. The methodology proposed in this paper can be applied to any processes i.e. manufacturing, management, software development, financial, etc.

		Debunk plant myths about diagnostics Chemical Processing, February 2007 By George Buckbee, ExperTune, Inc. Your current control system can probably do more than you think. Everybody can agree that diagnostics are a good thing — they can identify problems early, and keep the plant running at peak performance. Learn how your existing control systems and analog instruments can deliver diagnostic capabilities, at a fraction of the cost of system or instrument replacements.

Automation.com Real-time Information for the Automation Professional May. 25, 2012

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