Articles and News

By Stefan Hoppe, OPC Foundation The Industrial Internet of Things – abbreviated to IIoT and known in Germany as Industrie 4.0 – is a technology trend that is the enabler of the 4th industrial revolution, and is bringing about a transformation in the way we do business.

Art in STEM is absolutely necessary for automation professionals to better appreciate process and better visualize what the future holds.

A Type X pressurization system reduces the classification within the enclosure from Division 1 to nonhazardous and, therefore, permits the use of ignition-capable equipment inside the enclosure.

The old pyramid model of control is being replaced with a new model of zones and intrazone conduits based on ISA and IEC standards.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation Robots are rapidly appearing in manufacturing facilities, but are they taking over? This article explains how automation is impacting the US manufacturing workforce.

By Craig Witt, MotionPoint Disruptive technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and machine learning get a lot of press and attention today. Yet marketers across the manufacturing sector have one of the most powerful digital transformation technologies right at their fingertips already

A tuning methodology called lambda tuning solves many of the challenges of tuning a PID controller for an integrating process. The lambda tuning method allows the user to choose the closed loop respon

By Dr. Alexander Horch, HIMA This article explains why the process industry needs to switch from passive to active defense mode for cybersecurity and what it must do to ensure plant security in the digital era.

In a P7ID diagram, a "circle" enclosed in a "square" indicates it is an instrument that has a shared display or a shared control.

Petrochemical and oil processing industries usually take advantage of advanced control platforms to improve the product quality and yield.

By Graham Smith, Curo Talent Something that isn’t talked about nearly enough is the fact that the IT sector, which, by nature, should enable remote working, hasn’t moved away from the inflexible office environment. This article explains how remote working could close the IT skills gap.

A complex process is not a complicated process with a large number of measurements and actuators. It is complex because its variables are highly coupled and correlated. As much as possible, control sh

A distillation column refers to one piece of equipment in the distillation process, which will contain several loops.

By Ramona Schindler, Siemens Industry, Inc. With the machine tool industry in flux currently, as it seeks to find its way into the digital world, the entire process chain necessitates the integration of suppliers who can respond to the needs of the industry.

Learn best practices for inspecting, testing and documenting a safety instrumented system. Explore applications for these practices in the field, including valves and simpler instruments.

By Matt Collins, ide Systems It’s essential that engineers know how to test cables effectively to ensure they are fit for purpose. This article explains what engineers should look for when testing electrical cabling.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com The interoperability of process control systems has been a largely philosophical debate, up until this point, but tangible examples of interoperabilty may soon be on their way

DCS upgrades must consider the safety, reliability, and operation of a plant. Be careful when selecting a system, so you do not fall in the frequent-migration trap.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation In the 1993 science fiction film, Jurassic Park, visitors could take a tour in an autonomous Ford Explorer that used tracks on the ground to navigate. This was a good prediction of future technological advancements, but the autonomous vehicles of today are far more advanced than the Jurassic Explorer. This article explains how autonomous vehicles are beginning to transform the manufacturing industry.

A "circle" enclosed in a "square," which indicates it is an instrument with a shared display or a shared control.