Blog - Post List

  • Ovation Blog: Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Trends and Compliance

    Jim Cahill
    As critical infrastructure, cybersecurity remains a top concern for electrical power, water and wastewater industry companies. At the 2017 Ovation Users Group conference , Emerson’s Jaime Foose led a panel of trends in cybersecurity threats and compliance. The panel included experts from National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC)/ Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS…

  • Ovation Blog: Reliable Electrical Power and Utilities at the University of Texas

    Jim Cahill
    As a University of Texas electrical engineering graduate, it is great to hear a success story on the successful electrical load control using Emerson technology on the main campus in Austin, Texas. The campus operates an independent electrical grid but connects back to the Texas electrical grid. The utilities department has a $2.8 million operating budget. The utilities group produces 140MW of electrical power and provides…

  • Ovation Blog: Simulator Helps Drive Cultural Change Toward Operational Excellence

    Jim Cahill
    At the 2017 Ovation Users Group conference, there was a presentation by an electrical power producer on driving cultural change and operational excellence through the use of simulation in the Ovation distributed control system . The facility had a 92% capacity factor so it was basically running all the time. The facility was challenged with aging workers and losing valuable experience. They decided to commit to a formal…

  • Ovation Blog: Technology Advancements for Power, Water & Wastewater Industries

    Jim Cahill
    At the 2017 Ovation Users Group conference, Emerson’s Steve Schilling discussed the rapid changes going on in the power, water and wastewater industries and the changes in technology required to keep up with these changes. Steve opened highlighting some of the key issues worrying people in these industries—reliability, reliable integration of renewables and distributed energy resources (DER), security, aging infrastructure…

  • DeltaV Blog: DeltaV Secure Passwords: The Do’s and Don’ts

    Jim Cahill
    Author: Rick Gorskie Generally, we (carbon-based lifeforms) are terrible when it comes to selecting a secure password for our computers or software programs. This comes from not being prepared for the inevitable password question when installing new software or setting up new hardware. We panic and select something that often is way too common or easy to remember but that also means that it will be too easy for…

  • DeltaV Blog: Keeping Control Systems Current for Secure and Reliable Operation

    Jim Cahill
    As commercially available off-the-shelf operating systems and hardware came on the scene for control systems, they brought with them rapid performance improvements that translated into increase functionality and ease of use. They also brought with them the need to provide ongoing software and hardware updates to remain secure, reliable and available. In a Maintenance Technology article, Focus on Automation System Updates…

  • Ovation Blog: Comprehensive Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure

    Jim Cahill
    The electrical power generation and distribution industries, especially here in the U.S., have a long history in working to improve reliability and security. This history goes back to the establishment of the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) in the late 1960s as a response to a widespread blackout in the Northeastern U.S. NERC became the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (also NERC)…

  • DeltaV Blog: Bernard Controls Intelli+ Actuator Dev Rev 1 DeltaV and AMS Interoperability Test

    Larry Griffin
    In Emerson’s continuing commitment to open and interoperable standards, the Bernard Controls Intelli+ Actuator Dev Rev 1 has passed the rigorous and comprehensive testing of the DeltaV and AMS Stress Test labs. Using the Device Installation Kits for Emerson Products website at  http://www2.emersonprocess.com/en-US/documentation/deviceinstallkits/Pages/deviceinstallkitsearch.aspx , these fieldbus device files are now available

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Level Sensor Safety Proof Testing

    Jim Cahill
    Backing up your computer or server is a waste of time if restoring the backup fails when you need it. Good practice is to test these backups on separate test systems periodically to make sure they restore properly. Similarly, safety instrumented systems (SISs) need to assure that each safety instrumented function (SIF)/safety loop does what it’s intended to do to bring the plant to a safe state in the event of a demand…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Level Sensor Safety Proof Testing

    Jim Cahill
    Backing up your computer or server is a waste of time if restoring the backup fails when you need it. Good practice is to test these backups on separate test systems periodically to make sure they restore properly. Similarly, safety instrumented systems (SISs) need to assure that each safety instrumented function (SIF)/safety loop does what it’s intended to do to bring the plant to a safe state in the event of a demand…

  • Ovation Blog: Upcoming Ovation Users’ Group Conference

    Jim Cahill
    Two weeks from now, July 23-27 2017, will be Emerson’s Power & Water Solutions business unit’s Ovation Users’ Group conference . This year will mark its 30 th year. The Ovation Users’ Group is managed, guided, and run exclusively by its members, with Emerson’s Power & Water Solutions business unit providing financial, personnel, and product support as necessary. This conference is put together by Ovation and WDPF control…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Safety Instrumented Function Valve Selection

    Jim Cahill
    Valves are critical components inside of safety instrumented functions (SIFs) since they do the work of touching the process flows to bring the plant to a safe state in the event of a safety demand. In a Valve magazine article, How Valve Selection Can Impact SIS in Refining Applications , Emerson’s Janine McCormick describes the important criteria in finding the right valve for the required safety performance. Janine…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Remote Partial Proof Testing Level Sensors

    Jim Cahill
    For safety instrumented functions (SIFs), proof testing is the process of identifying undetected dangerous failures in the sensor, final control element and logic solver which comprise the SIF. Dangerous failures are those that could put the safety instrumented system (SIS) in a hazardous or fail-to-function state. If undetected, in the case of level measurements, this could lead to an overfill and spill, with potentially…

  • Operations Management Blog: Improving Batch Manufacturing Workflows and Recordkeeping

    Jim Cahill
    The pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing industries are challenged with errors in manual entries in the production process, getting batches right the first time, reaching final signoff for batch release, and managing the data accumulated throughout the production process. I caught up with Emerson’s Mary Sowders about some of these challenges and the way they are being addressed. Mary shared with me that the…

  • Operations Management Blog: Improving Batch Manufacturing Workflows and Recordkeeping

    Jim Cahill
    The pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing industries are challenged with errors in manual entries in the production process, getting batches right the first time, reaching final signoff for batch release, and managing the data accumulated throughout the production process. I caught up with Emerson’s Mary Sowders about some of these challenges and the way they are being addressed. Mary shared with me that the…

  • Operations Management Blog: Improving Batch Manufacturing Workflows and Recordkeeping

    Jim Cahill
    The pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing industries are challenged with errors in manual entries in the production process, getting batches right the first time, reaching final signoff for batch release, and managing the data accumulated throughout the production process. I caught up with Emerson’s Mary Sowders about some of these challenges and the way they are being addressed. Mary shared with me that the…

  • Operations Management Blog: Improving Batch Manufacturing Workflows and Recordkeeping

    Jim Cahill
    The pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing industries are challenged with errors in manual entries in the production process, getting batches right the first time, reaching final signoff for batch release, and managing the data accumulated throughout the production process. I caught up with Emerson’s Mary Sowders about some of these challenges and the way they are being addressed. Mary shared with me that the…

  • Operations Management Blog: Improving Batch Manufacturing Workflows and Recordkeeping

    Jim Cahill
    The pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing industries are challenged with errors in manual entries in the production process, getting batches right the first time, reaching final signoff for batch release, and managing the data accumulated throughout the production process. I caught up with Emerson’s Mary Sowders about some of these challenges and the way they are being addressed. Mary shared with me that the…

  • Operations Management Blog: Improving Batch Manufacturing Workflows and Recordkeeping

    Jim Cahill
    The pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing industries are challenged with errors in manual entries in the production process, getting batches right the first time, reaching final signoff for batch release, and managing the data accumulated throughout the production process. I caught up with Emerson’s Mary Sowders about some of these challenges and the way they are being addressed. Mary shared with me that the…

  • DeltaV Blog: Petya Ransomware/Malware Recommended Considerations for DeltaV Users

    Jim Cahill
    Over in the Emerson Exchange 365 global community’s DeltaV group , Emerson’s Rick Gorskie posted this update on the Petya Ramsomware / Malware cyber-attack occurring around the world. On the 27 th of June 2017, we became aware of the “ Petya ransomware/malware” (also called NotPetya) cyber-attack spreading throughout the world causing computers to be encrypted and victims to see a request for ransom on their computer…

  • DeltaV Blog: Magnetrol Model 706 Dev Rev 2 DeltaV and AMS Interoperability Test

    Larry Griffin
    In Emerson’s continuing commitment to open and interoperable standards, the Magnetrol Model 706 Dev Rev 2 has passed the rigorous and comprehensive testing of the DeltaV and AMS Stress Test labs. Using the Device Installation Kits for Emerson Products website at  http://www2.emersonprocess.com/en-US/documentation/deviceinstallkits/Pages/deviceinstallkitsearch.aspx , these fieldbus device files are now available for use

  • DeltaV Blog: Cybersecurity in the DeltaV Distributed Control System

    Jim Cahill
    Cybersecurity remains high on the list of issues for process manufacturers and producers to grapple with. In this 4:38 video, DeltaV Cybersecurity , Emerson’s Alexandre Peixoto discusses ways that cyber defenses are incorporated into the DeltaV distributed control system (DCS) . He opens describing the defense in depth strategies which includes four major focus areas: plant-level security, integrated services & support…

  • DeltaV Blog: Simplifying Pneumatic Valve Manifold Engineering and Installation

    Jim Cahill
    Wikipedia defines a solenoid valve as an: … electromechanically operated valve . The valve is controlled by an electric current through a solenoid : in the case of a two-port valve the flow is switched on or off; in the case of a three-port valve, the outflow is switched between the two outlet ports. Multiple solenoid valves can be placed together on a manifold . Pneumatic valve manifolds are used in many industries…

  • DeltaV Blog: Flowserve PMV D3 Rev 2 DeltaV and AMS Interoperability Test

    Larry Griffin
    In Emerson’s continuing commitment to open and interoperable standards, the Flowserve PMV D3 Rev 2 has passed the rigorous and comprehensive testing of the DeltaV and AMS Stress Test labs. Using the Device Installation Kits for Emerson Products website at  http://www2.emersonprocess.com/en-US/documentation/deviceinstallkits/Pages/deviceinstallkitsearch.aspx , these fieldbus device files are now available for use.

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Instrumentation Diagnostics and Safe, Reliable Operations

    Jim Cahill
    As technology has advanced in power and sophistication, its ability to self-diagnose and perform predictive diagnostics has too. In a Plant Engineering article, Using diagnostic functions to improve system safety , Emerson’s Mark Menezes shares examples of how these diagnostics are used to self-diagnose instrumentation problems as well as those in the surrounding production process. He opens highlighting the benefits…

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