Articles and News

APC is any control strategy that utilizes multiple inputs and outputs to achieve higher-level control objectives and that involve functions not normally represented on P&IDs

From the clothes you wear, to the labels on a panel, to the layout and fonts on a graphic, to the look of your signature – appearance matters. There is a tremendous amount of wisdom in the expression,

Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) monitoring techniques can reveal hidden production capacity and new insights into causes of system downtime.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Schneider Electric held their Xperince event on June 4, 2013 in Washington D.C. which primarily focused on the challenges that cities face and how to solve them. Key topics included transforming energy into an asset, the smart grid, making smart cities a reality, and turning operating inefficiencies into capital investments.

Simple, Model-Based Process Control

Making yourself marketable in the automation industry takes initiative, but it is beneficial to you and the company.

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.