The goal of tasking young builders to exercise their practical and technological creativity is to expand what is humanly possible in the space, building the next generation of tech and manufacturing innovators, says Rockwell Automation.   Rockwell Automation is challenging the next generation of inventors. It’s asking future builders and makers, ages 8-17, to share […]

Manufacturing job growth has sped-up modestly in the U.S. during the past two years, but these gains have not been equal in all parts of the country, with the sector showing greater strength in western states and weakness in the northeast. That’s according to a new report from the think tank Economic Innovation Group. The […]

From Industry Week   The subscription economy is taking business by storm. Entire industries have moved to subscription-based pricing, leaving behind some of the slow movers but also giving new life to companies that were struggling. Some talk about the end of ownership and the start of usership. It is a real revolution. Industrial companies […]

  Tired of the cumbersome and tedious task of documenting DeltaV Documentation for Phase Classes, Operations and Unit Procedures? This firm has developed a framework to overcome the tedious task of documentation of batch objects from DeltaV inport/export (FHX) files. Editing these objects is slow, so Batch-A Tools developed a method to export straight to […]

Casio calculates that ‘Made in Japan’ is possible at Thai-level costs by YUMA IKESHITA, Nikkei staff writer TOKYO — Japanese manufacturers that spent decades expanding their footprints in Asia and beyond are bringing production back home, with the help of robotics and artificial intelligence.  The latest example is Casio Computer. The company is automating operations at […]

Avoid startup surprises in control system migration

by Bill Fester on November 7, 2017

in DCS, Systems

Take advantage of some cutover commissioning tips and tricks You’re ready. Installation is complete. Your distributed control system (DCS) modernization project nears its end. The control loops of the distillation column have been in manual for the last four hours to allow a hot cutover to the new DCS. The project engineering team said the […]

Most manufacturers see investments in factory connectivity not just as a means of cutting costs, but as a way to increase revenue. In fact, respondents to the Annual Manufacturing Report 2017 anticipate additional revenues of £775,000 over the next 12 months because of their investments in connectivity. Lee Sullivan, regional manager of industrial automation software […]

Submitted by Joe Weiss on Wed, 11/01/2017 – 09:24 From Control Global The 17th ICS Cyber Security Conference was held 10/23-26/17 in Atlanta. The detailed agenda can be found at www.icscybersecurityconference.com. CyberWire covered the Conference and provided daily commentary – https://thecyberwire.com/events/ics-security/safety-and-availability.html   Enclosed are my thoughts on selected issues: – This is the largest ICS […]

The greatest source of process control knowledge

by Bill Fester on October 26, 2017

in DCS

A tribute to thought leader and Control Process Automation Hall of Fame member Greg Shinskey   Home / Articles / 2017 / The greatest source of process control knowledge The greatest source of process control knowledge A tribute to thought leader and Control Process Automation Hall of Fame member Greg Shinskey The teachings and writings […]

From Control Online Submitted by Joe Weiss on Wed, 10/18/2017 – 15:21 October 13, 2017, Andy Greenberg from Wired Magazine wrote an article: “Hacking a Power Grid in Three (Not So Easy Steps)”.  The gist of the article was that it would take a significant amount of work and even then it would be difficult […]