By Bill Lydon, Editor
Dr. Peter Martin, Invensys Vice President, gave a passionate keynote by combining the elements of engineering, business, and evangelism at the ISA Automation Week 2013 conference in Nashville. Martin’s talk focused on ‘The Future of Automation’ and how automation can solve the world’s biggest challenges.
Martin is an ISA Fellow, prominent automation industry expert and was named one of Fortune magazine’s “Hero of U.S. Manufacturing” in 2002. Martin holds multiple patents including patents for real-time activity-based costing, closed-loop business control, and asset and resource modeling. In 2009, he accepted the ISA Life Achievement Award which recognized his work in integrating financial and production measures that improve the profitability and performance of industrial process plants.
He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in mathematics, a master’s degree in administration and management and a doctorate’s in both industrial engineering and biblical studies.
Martin started by explaining that he spends a lot of time looking into the future of automation. The roots of his presentation were based on his work with the Automation Federation and talking with the National Career Development Association about encouraging young people to consider careers in automation. Martin asked himself, “If I were young person, why would I consider a career in automation?” He discussed his own experiences in college during the 1960s and 1970s when a career in manufacturing and automation was natural. Today, when he talks to kids they don’t see the excitement and value in automation. He believes automation is the most important profession in the world and it is time to stand up and take credit for what automation has accomplished and what it can do in the future.
Martin suggested taking on the great challenges in the world, highlighting world hunger. He framed this by making a list of what the world needs to achieve this goal and thrive:
- Energy - mining, production, distribution
- Water - fresh water, wastewater, desalinization, distribution
- Food - fertilizer, harvest, process, store, transport
- Material goods - manufacturing, transport
- Chemicals - mining, processing, recovering, transport
- Minerals - mining, processing, recovering, transport
- Health - drug manufacturer, clean water, clean air
- Environment - sustainability, reduced emissions
Martin made the point that automation can be used to apply technology to improve outcomes in all these areas. Martin commented on specific items in the list such as water noting over half a million babies a year die because of tainted water. “That is inexcusable,” he said. By applying automation technology using energy, we can create freshwater with desalinization. In turn, by using water, fertilizer, and other technology, food can be produced anywhere.
One example is how Israel is made up of arid lands that are now used to produce food. Another example is how the application of automation technology enables 30 year old refineries to operate with 10% of the carbon emissions as compared to 30 years ago.
Big Data
Martin cited a quote by Eric Schmidt, CEO Google, “Every day we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization to 2003”. We seem to think if we store information away, we solve the problem. Albert Einstein however stated, “Information is not knowledge,” and therein is the opportunity. There is a wealth of information stored away that we have not analyzed to figure out how to solve the big problems of industry. We have the technology today to data mine the information and put it into action with automation to make improvements.
The job of automation is putting knowledge to work for industry.
Solution Orientation
Martin discussed that when he entered the industry, it was solutions oriented; and now it seems to be technology oriented. We need to move back to the solutions-oriented point of view. He asserts that a change in perspective is required. We deliver more business value than any other contributor in industry. Martin challenged the audience to prove it with action and then he emphasized the need to communicate the value being created to management.
This will elevate the understanding and profession of automation that creates wealth in safe and environmentally sound ways.
Martin believes the future of our profession is as bright as ever if we all work together to put knowledge to work and drive the great problems of the world out of existence.
