Articles and News

Even businesses with complex, energy-intensive production processes can control electricity use without compromising production. An advanced demand management system enables key strategies.

By Bill Lydon, Editor PAS has developed a new product to sync "as built" documentation with the current installed system, eliminating wasted man-hours, decreasing MTTR (Mean Time To Repair), and aiding with cyber security requirements and regulations.

By Rick Zabel, as originally published in InTech Here are the results from our 2013 salary survey of automation professionals. With an average annual salary of $106,772 in the U.S., job satisfaction has reached an all-time high of 85%. At the end of the article, the author provides a recipe for achieving the highest possible salary.

Your industrial plant or facility must have a proper defensive design so that the network, control devices & systems are cybersecurity hardened.

Use a sliding stem valve with diaphragm actuator and digital positioner whenever size and process conditions permit.

ISA Training and Education in November: Learn, Advance, Succeed

Automation offers a key competitive advantage in the dairy industry. It is time to upgrade or replace aging PLCs, drum timers and selector switches. Invest in technologies that will squeeze out 1 or 2

By Bill Lydon, Editor As Industrial Ethernet protocols have proliferated on the factory floor, IP devices have become vulnerable to cyber threats. Ironically, while the importance of cyber security protection is being emphasized, the industrial Ethernet protocol associations have no firm plans to migrate to new Ethernet standards that offer higher cyber security protection.

This article provides an overview of both protocols and discusses their key strengths and applications. It also discusses which one works best in which applications – although there is some overlap in what each can do. What’s more, they can complement each other in joint applications.

A good paycheck is nice, but if you find yourself dreading the return to work each morning it may be time to consider job options elsewhere.

Enterprise batch records expand the idea of electronic batch records to the entire manufacturing operation.

Process industries can leverage big data to realize value through compelling manufacturing use cases. Get familiar with big data terminology, technologies, and techniques.

By Bill Lydon, Editor To learn more about the Belden's Certified Industrial Network Program, I talked with Brian Oulton, Director of Initiative and Vertical Marketing at Belden. Here is a transcript of that interview.

Pipeline and inline control loops have no back mixing and hence no process time constant in the response of the outlet to changes in the inlet.

OEE is a continuous improvement program and requires a sustained commitment to produce results

Vented LVDTs can operate in temperature extremes of -65°F to +400°F (-55°C to +200°C) and operating pressures of 35 kpsi. High temperature ratings are achieved using internal materials rated for these temperatures.

ISA Training and Education in October: Learn, Advance, Succeed

Asset Management Systems Increase Reliability and Efficiency

By Bill Lydon, Editor The new high-performance CompactRIO cRIO-9068 controller has a dual core ARM processor and FPGA on the same chip that supports LabVIEW and Real-time Linux. This looks like a great platform for industrial automation applications because it incorporates control, optimization, analytics, and business enterprise interfaces.

Find a way to test any communication network prior to installation. About a week before every major DCS start-up, consider performing a “network startup.”