Articles and News

By Bill Lydon, Editor Fluke recently introduced Fluke Connect, a system which allows maintenance technicians to wirelessly transmit measurement data from their test tools to their smart phones. There is a lot of hype about the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing. To date, from what I have seen on the market, Fluke Connect is the most useful, productivity-increasing industry solution based on these technologies.

By Bill Lydon, Editor A pharmaceutical company describes how they invested in multivariate tools and were able to gain better process understanding and improve batch outcomes. In effect, they were able to transform data to actionable information.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Manufacturing Intelligence (MI) systems allow the aggregation and subsequent visualization and analysis of data to drive business decisions. Pharmaceutical companies share their companies' perspectives on MI solutions and their implementation plans.

Training courses and workshops teach control systems designers, engineers and operators various aspects of process safety and how to meet worldwide safety requirements.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The automation benchmarking survey of leading pharmaceutical companies reveals how these manufacturers are dealing with some of the latest industry trends. Topics of the survey include big data utilization, return on investment, major innovations, organizational structures, in-house vs.contract staff, automation management and challenges. How does your company compare?

On May 29, 2014, experts will discuss the challenges, problems and common mistakes involved in a process control system migration, and show how using front-end loading (FEL) practices help smooth the migration process.

The theme of Inspire 2014, May 6-8, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is how the interaction among Culture, Safety and Technology can be used to improve safety in process plants.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Emerson invested nearly $70 million in a new 282,000-square-foot Innovation Center in Round Rock, Texas. The center serves as the global headquarters for Emerson’s automation systems and project services business, which helps customers safely, reliably and profitably operate facilities in various industries.

REACH is a European Community safety and environmental regulation that deals with the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemical substances.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Pharmaceutical automation leaders from around the world gathered to discuss a number of automation challenges, including how their companies are dealing with reduced personnel and the need to support multiple technologies at multiple sites. This article highlights those conversations and addresses the automation support models and the use of managed services.

More than 70 automation and control professionals gathered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA at the inaugural ISA Food and Pharmaceuticals Industries Division (FPID) Symposium.

Classes typically are a combination of classroom and hands-on training covering various aspects of process safety, including P&ID drawings, hazard and operability (HAZOP) studies, Safety Integrity Level (SIL), Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), and similar topics.

The free workshop teaches the essential elements of Safety Instrumented Systems including how to comply with myriad safety requirements. The workshop is available in a two-day classroom in Calgary, or as a three-day webinar.

Werum is a provider of software for production control and production monitoring for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry.

The 2014 ISA FPID Symposium will be held 5-6 March 2014 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.

Endress+Hauser Group increased its net sales by approximately 7 percent to over 1.8 billion euros ($2.43 billion) in the 2013 financial year.

Through the donations of Endress+Hauser, Rockwell Automation and TriNova, Polk State College will be the new home to a $1 million, state-of-the-art PTU (Process Training Unit).

By Bill Lydon, Editor With this acquisition, Schneider Electric significantly enhanced its position to serve the process industries and now has a complete portfolio of products to serve the entire industrial and process automation industry. This article highlights a few key aspects of the integration of the two companies.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The huge installed base of automation software running on Windows XP will be vulnerable to cyber-attacks with the end of Windows XP support April 8, 2014. More than 12 years old, Windows XP is the longest supported version of Windows ever and therefore is the most used in industrial automation systems.

By Bill Lydon, Editor I recently had the opportunity to discuss Ocean Data Systems – a little company you likely have never heard of - with Roy Kok, their VP of Sales and Marketing. Their product, Dream Report, is OEMed by a number of well-known software providers. Here is a synopsis of my interview with Kok.