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Author Profile

Feature Image for Bill Lydon

Bill Lydon

Bill Lydon, an experienced industrial automation technical and business professional, is currently a consultant providing insights, facilitating thinking and coaching for digital manufacturing transformation. Lydon has 35 years of experience, including industrial, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), process control/DCS, electrical power/utility and building automation with technology and business experience ranging from design, application engineering, corporate experience, co-founder & president of a start-up company. He started his career as a designer of computer-based machine tool controls; in other positions, he applied programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and process control technology. He's trained and experienced as a group Creative Problem Solving & Value Engineering facilitator.

Working at a large company, Lydon served a two-year stint as part of a five-person task group, that designed a new generation automation system including controllers, networking and supervisory and control software. He also designed software for chiller and boiler plant optimization. Bill was the product manager for a multimillion-dollar controls and automation product line and later cofounder and president of an industrial control software company with solutions for factory and process control and automation.

208 Results Found
  • Thumbnail for Control Remains Fundamental

    Control Remains Fundamental

    Automation professionals need to take the lead in guiding management to adopt new technology or the organization will become noncompetitive. This feature originally appeared in the February 2022 issue of InTech magazine.
    By: Bill Lydon
    17 February, 2022 | 2 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Mary Ramsey Has Advanced ISA, Creating a Better Organization

    Mary Ramsey Has Advanced ISA, Creating a Better Organization

    Mary Ramsey understood that organizations need to periodically recalibrate based on member and industry needs, and she has done a great job of collaborating with staff and member volunteers to craft clear definitions of ISA guiding principles. This article was originally published in the December 2021 issue of InTech magazine.
    By: Bill Lydon
    02 February, 2022 | 2 minutes
    Sponsored By International Society of Automation (ISA)
  • Thumbnail for Automation Standards Still Need Work

    Automation Standards Still Need Work

    Has the industrial automation industry matured enough to avoid a standards war like the 1990s “Fieldbus wars?"
    By: Bill Lydon
    27 January, 2022 | 3 minutes
  • Thumbnail for AWS IoT TwinMaker Simplifies Digital Twin Implementations

    AWS IoT TwinMaker Simplifies Digital Twin Implementations

    The AWS IoT TwinMaker provides a comprehensive set of tools and services to federate, model and make use of data from any source including sensors, controllers, video, drawings, 3-D models, ERP, logistics and energy to create digital twins leveraging existing and new data sources.
    By: Bill Lydon
    26 January, 2022 | 4 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Industrial Automation Standards Convergence or Divergence?

    Industrial Automation Standards Convergence or Divergence?

    Can another standards war be avoided with exciting new industrial multivendor interoperability and plug and play standards?
    By: Bill Lydon
    19 January, 2022 | 3 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Experts Discuss Open Process Automation Issues

    Experts Discuss Open Process Automation Issues

    The Coalition for Open Process Automation (COPA) hosted a 90-minute virtual broadcast discussion and first public demonstration of the COPA QuickStart system illustrating the benefits and value of Open Process Automation based on the O-PAS standard.
    By: Bill Lydon
    10 January, 2022 | 8 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Enhancing Virtual Events

    Enhancing Virtual Events

    Informal interactions at events foster greater camaraderie in the automation community. You make long-term professional connections and friendships, and these become your personal ecosystem of automation resources. This article was originally published in the October 2021 issue of InTech magazine.
    By: Bill Lydon
    07 January, 2022 | 2 minutes
  • Thumbnail for UniversalAutomation.org Launched to Achieve Multivendor Industrial Control Program Portability

    UniversalAutomation.org Launched to Achieve Multivendor Industrial Control Program Portability

    This shared-source, not open-source, code is based on the nxtControl IEC 61499 runtime engine code donated by Schneider Electric.
    By: Bill Lydon
    14 December, 2021 | 4 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Koch Ag & Energy High Value Digitalization Deployments Leverages AWS

    Koch Ag & Energy High Value Digitalization Deployments Leverages AWS

    Dave Kroening, IT leader, and Martin Miller, data analytics leader with Koch Ag & Energy, discussed two high value digitalization applications using AWS (Amazon Web Services) including Monitron and SeeQ software in a re:Invent session.
    By: Bill Lydon
    07 December, 2021 | 3 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Rockwell Automation Expands Industrial Digitalization Scope

    Rockwell Automation Expands Industrial Digitalization Scope

    At the 2021 Rockwell Automation Fair, the company discussed the expansion of its scope to provide a full set of products and services for manufacturing business digitalization. Rockwell Automation has put together resources, creating a new business model and positioning them as the primary resource for manufacturers industrial digitalization journey, including the conceptual stage, design, deployment and operations.
    By: Bill Lydon
    01 December, 2021 | 3 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Hannover Messe 2022 Plans Focus on Digitalization and Sustainability

    Hannover Messe 2022 Plans Focus on Digitalization and Sustainability

    After two years without a physical trade fair, the organizers of Germany’s Hannover Messe 2022 focused on transformation and their next event’s themes of digitalization and sustainability.
    By: Bill Lydon
    16 November, 2021 | 3 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Rockwell Automation's OEE Approach to Achieve Industry 4.0

    Rockwell Automation's OEE Approach to Achieve Industry 4.0

    In a conversation with Rockwell Automation’s Matthew Giordano (pictured above), IS Solutions, partner manager, he described the companies scalable OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) solutions to achieve Industry 4.0 to understand “what is happening on the shop floor."
    By: Bill Lydon
    03 November, 2021 | 2 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Automation Industry Expert Insights: CODESYS Tech Talk Fall 2021

    Automation Industry Expert Insights: CODESYS Tech Talk Fall 2021

    Bill Lydon moderates an insightful roundtable discussion about industrial automation future trends and challenges during the Fall 2021 CODESYS Tech Talk and Users Conference with industry leaders and innovators.
    By: Bill Lydon
    14 October, 2021 | 10 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Event Review: Ignition Community Conference 2021

    Event Review: Ignition Community Conference 2021

    The 2021 Ignition Community Conference (ICC) was another high-energy and informative event, with the theme "Evolve to be Smarter, Faster and Stronger" supporting the Inductive Automation mission statement to create industrial software that empowers users to swiftly turn great ideas into reality by removing all technological and economic obstacles.
    By: Bill Lydon
    01 October, 2021 | 4 minutes
  • Thumbnail for SynSaber Launches Industrial Cybersecurity Edge-to-Enterprise Detection Software

    SynSaber Launches Industrial Cybersecurity Edge-to-Enterprise Detection Software

    With a focus on visibility, the company’s cyber detection software resides on embedded computer platforms named "Sabers" that function as “software sensors” monitoring cybersecurity activity.
    By: Bill Lydon
    29 September, 2021 | 2 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Rockwell Automation Embraces Cloud Based Manufacturing Business Digitalization

    Rockwell Automation Embraces Cloud Based Manufacturing Business Digitalization

    Rockwell Automation embraces cloud-based digitalization of entire manufacturing businesses with the acquisition of Plex Systems for $2.22 billion.
    By: Bill Lydon
    01 September, 2021 | 3 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Cybersecurity Investment Tax Credits

    Cybersecurity Investment Tax Credits

    The government should create cybersecurity investment tax credits for industry to stimulate more protection. This article was originally published in InTech's July/August issue.
    By: Bill Lydon
    30 August, 2021 | 2 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Building OPC UA IIoT Applications with MQTT for Bandwidth Constrained Applications

    Building OPC UA IIoT Applications with MQTT for Bandwidth Constrained Applications

    OPC UA and MQTT are open-source technologies representative of the industrial automation architectural shift toward greater flexibility and interoperability. The OPC UA IIoT Starter Kit combines them so users can create solutions for bandwidth-constrained applications.
    By: Bill Lydon
    09 August, 2021 | 3 minutes
  • Thumbnail for The Modular Production Evolution Continues with Bright Machines

    The Modular Production Evolution Continues with Bright Machines

    Bright Machines Modular Production Approach reflects growing trend of standardized machine modules to improve efficiency and profitability.
    By: Bill Lydon
    06 August, 2021 | 2 minutes
  • Thumbnail for Open Integration, ‘Digital Chain’ May Solve IIoT Device Management Challenges

    Open Integration, ‘Digital Chain’ May Solve IIoT Device Management Challenges

    The Open Integration Partner program, initiated by Endress+Hauser, seeks on simple, fast, and manufacturer-independent integration of components and devices.
    By: Bill Lydon
    13 July, 2021 | 2 minutes
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