Articles and News

An industrial cybersecurity solution must be “secure by default,” easy to use, flexible to changing environments, self-documenting and integrate well with other defensive layers.

By Thomas R. Cutler More than 80% of large (200,000+ square foot) distribution centers throughout North America and Europe are expanding automation spending in 2013-2015. The challenges for large operations include an effective turnkey solution with superior design, increased production, and reduced costs. Automation is at the heart of these solutions.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The Honeywell system integrator initiative was launched in 2009 and has quickly become a solid program to serve small to midrange customers with Honeywell’s modular systems. There are 200 system integrators in the program with 55 of them located in the United States.

When firewall deployment is considered, relevant firewall vulnerabilities should be identified, and both compensating measures and alternatives evaluated.

One of the more frustrating problems is the kind that can only be fixed by someone else. Find a way to have that person feel the same frustration as you.

Modeling supply and return line dynamics for an electrohydraulic actuation system

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

The Best Process Control Technical Resources May Be Out of Print

By Mark Howard, Zettlex The traditional approach is to measure angular position or speed indirectly – typically inferring the shaft’s position from measurements made elsewhere. It can also be done with inductive sensors.

You might find that your automation systems are not as secure as they should be, and we have the solutions that will help you make improvements.

By Simon Dear, Cynergy3 Components When selecting a float switch for a liquid level sensing application, a number of factors need to be considered, including float switch and gasket materials, physical arrangement, electrical ratings and cable type.

Technical Expertise Across Multiple Platforms: What the Auto Dealership Taught Me the Hard Way

By Bill Lydon, Editor On May 30, 2013, I attended the grand opening of Beckhoff Automation’s new $8 million North American headquarters. The facility features a training center, an ESD-protected PC repair center, and a building automation system based on Beckhoff‘s own hardware and software.

Engineering is by definition a detail-oriented profession, but the field of automation requires almost fanatical attention to detail.

Design of controller using variable transformations for a nonlinear process with dead time

Achieving Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2 with non-redundant field devices is possible, but not always easy.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Metropolitan Solutions, a showcase created by Deutsche Messe and run concurrently with the 2013 Hannover Messe, provided a focal point for learning about the application of technology to improve cities. Real-time automation and control technologies are the logical building blocks for cities to modernize, improve safety and reliability, and provide efficient environments for people to live.

The knowledge of individuals can be openly shared environment at an industrial plant or facility is inquisitive and friendly and egos take a back seat.

By Mark Davidson, LNS Research Largely due to the misalignment of goals and objectives, a considerable number of organizations struggle to realize the full business value that manufacturing can generate. There are several steps all organizations that utilize manufacturing can take to properly and optimally align goals.

By Kevin L. Finnan The trend toward intelligent devices in remote SCADA installations would seem to put remote terminal units (RTUs) on the path to obsolescence. Instead, it illustrates the evolving value of RTUs in contemporary systems.