Blog - Post List
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Part V: Platform for Product Support and Lifecycle Management

    We conclude our series on the 5P’s of Control System Reliability and Performance with this final P – Platform for Product Support and Lifecycle Management . A platform that combines product knowledge base, technical support, software updates, and asset lifecycle information can help you keep your control system running smoothly and reduce risk in several ways: Information sharing enables risk mitigation. A vendor…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Mitigating Shutdown, Turnaround, and Outage Issues

    Plant shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages (STOs) have never been simple, but in recent years they have become even more challenging due to labor shortages and difficulties procuring parts. My article in Processing , titled “ Rethinking shutdown, turnaround, and outage planning ,” discusses the impacts of these challenges on STO planning and execution, and it offers strategies to minimize their effects. Increasingly…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: 5Ps of Control System Reliability and Performance–Part 4: Parts & Extended Warranty

    The next P in our 5P’s series is Parts & Extended Warranty . This topic is often underestimated or even ignored, but effective Spare Parts management involves various factors that must inform your parts inventory decisions, as they can significantly affect your operating costs and uptime. We will examine these drivers and explore an integrated approach to optimize your spares. FACTORS TO CONSIDER Cost of Downtime…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Quality in Emerson Education Services Podcast

    Modern digital technologies are vital in driving manufacturing and production performance improvements. Getting the most out of these technologies requires the knowledge and skills specific to their use. Educational courses help in upskilling personnel. The quality of that education helps determine how successfully the learned skills will be applied. Emerson’s Sandra Schwarz joins me in this podcast to discuss how quality…
  • Implement & Build Blog: Ethernet-APL and Fieldbus Migration

    Emerson’s Klaus Erni and a staff member from a leading pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturer teamed up to present How Latest Ethernet Technology Helped in a Fieldbus Migration Project at the 2023 Emerson Exchange Immerse Conference. Here is their presentation abstract. Ever thought of upgrading your existing 2-wire Profibus PA Fieldbus Installation to the next level to be able to either expand the existing…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Maximizing Workforce Performance Podcast

    Getting the most out of your instrumentation and automation technologies requires a skilled workforce. Emerson Education Services has developed MyTraining , which provides courses that hone critical thinking skills and help ensure your staff keeps pace with industry innovations. The training is geared toward specific teams within your workforce and founded on rigorous IACET (International Accreditation for Continuing…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: 5Ps of Control System Reliability and Performance–Part 3: Predictive Maintenance

    In Part 2 of this series, we briefly mentioned the concept of Predictive Maintenance . We continue here with a deeper examination of its benefits, components, and considerations for its implementation. Monitoring the health of your industrial control system is vital to ensure its reliability and performance. Continuous, or at least frequent, periodic monitoring leads to early detection of potential failure points and…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Improving Control System Reliability

    Emerson’s Venkat Sekar and Emerson Impact Partner Puffer-Sweiven ’s Gary Rhodes presented Increasing System Reliability Through Consistent System Management via Guardian at the 2023 Emerson Exchange Immerse Conference. Here is their session abstract: Reliability is one of the main goals of every enterprise with production control systems. In order to reach that goal, one must identify the possible risks that can affect…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Training for New Employees and Upskilling Existing People Calls for Classroom and Hands-On Experience. Here’s How Emerson Provides It.

    I suspect that when many parents are teaching teenagers to drive, they wish for an environment where the novice can drive an actual car but without other traffic. Simulators are great, but they aren’t real cars, so what’s needed is a safe driving area where accidents can’t happen. Many process plant managers want the same thing: a training environment where classroom instruction is supplemented with actual pumps,…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Workforce Development as a Strategic Lever

    In case you missed the earlier post, Emerson Education Services Overview Podcast , here is the YouTube version of my discussion with Emerson’s Adelina Decean . We focused our discussion on the benefits of improving the skills and knowledge of your workforce to take full advantage of the automation technologies and solutions you have deployed. Give the podcast a listen and visit the Education Services section on Emerson…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Careful Valve Material Selection Prevents Premature Failures

    In refineries and petrochemical plants, frequent contact with process media can result in premature corrosion of valves and related components. To help prevent this, vendors can provide expert advice and, in some cases, lab testing to verify compatibility between wetted parts and process media. Below is a summary of our article in the August 2023 issue of Hydrocarbon Processing, titled “Select the Appropriate Construction…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Advice for Choosing a Valve Repair Company for Your Next Outage

    Choosing a valve maintenance company that you can trust is difficult. During a shutdown or outage, you want your plant back up and running as quickly and safely as possible , while staying within budget and completing reliable repairs. Here are some tips from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) on what kind of provider you should choose to protect your assets. Tip 1 – Investigate their “valve service expertise…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Emerson Education Services Overview Podcast

    Technology advances at a breathtaking pace. This advancement includes our world of automation and instrumentation. To take full advantage of the capabilities introduced by these technologies, upskilling personnel is paramount. In this Emerson Automation Experts podcast, Adelina Decean joins me to discuss the importance of this workforce development and the benefits it can deliver in improving operational performance…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Spare Parts Ordering Made Easy

    MyEmerson is a personalized digital experience that allows customers instant access to dedicated digital content and resources for their organization. Learn more about how to use order spare parts with MyAssets to efficiently manage your plant. Visit www.emerson.com/myemerson for more information or to register for an account. Here is a quick 1:12 YouTube video, Ordering Spare Parts with MyEmerson , demonstrating the…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: 5Ps of Control System Reliability and Performance–Part 2: Preventive Maintenance

    We began exploring the key elements (5P’s) of Control System reliability and performance by looking at the considerations and recommendations around Protection with Cybersecurity . Here, we continue our examination of the 5P’s with: Part II – Preventive Maintenance Preventive Maintenance sets the foundation for the availability and peak performance of industrial control systems. Establishing processes and a regular…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Designing & Specifying Process Automation Parameters to Drive Performance

    A plant’s performance can be optimized at the intersection of capital equipment, production processes, and people.  Done correctly from the start through the selection of technologies and how they are deployed can lead to higher levels of productivity, reliability, safety, and sustainability. The Industrial Impact of Process Automation Process automation has become more and more important as the bar is getting progressively…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Three Steps to Maximize Your Next Outage with a Data-Driven Valve Maintenance Strategy

    Are you asking yourself why we prioritize the same valve list over and over again for every outage? When you started as a reliability or maintenance engineer, your manager handed you a list of valves to service during each outage. You’ve been using that list repeatedly at this point and you may occasionally discover that certain valves don’t require maintenance during the outage. If you are creating your own valve list…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: The 5 P’s of Control System Reliability and Performance

    Many factors contribute to maintaining a reliable and optimally performing control system. This series will explore five essential P ’s: P rotection with Cybersecurity, P reventive Maintenance, P redictive Maintenance, P arts and Extended Warranty, and a P latform for Support and Lifecycle Updates. Collectively, these elements form a simple but powerful framework to help safeguard your control system against downtime…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Future of Automation and Control

    Over at the ISA Interchange blog , an interesting set of questions about the future appeared from the ISA Mentor Program: What do you see as changes occurring now and in the future? Today, is working from home better or worse than driving across town to a factory or office? Does that kind of change affect cost, availability, quality, schedule, stability, marketability, or some other factors? Are these changes positive…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Better Cybersecurity Increases Confidence to Outsource Data Analysis

    Plantwide digital ecosystems, such as Emerson’s Plantweb , are now enabling process and manufacturing organizations to gather more data than ever before relating to the performance, health, and status of their equipment and automation systems. However, analyzing potentially complex data can be difficult, especially if there is a lack of suitably skilled resources on-site. Many companies have therefore turned to automation…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: The Top 4 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to Improve Your Next Outage

    You just completed your outage. You are ordering pizza for the team and starting to get back to a normal shift schedule. As you’re getting back to business-as-usual, you are finishing up open items and making sure there are no issues with any of the units that were brought down for maintenance. Now, it’s been a few weeks, a month after the units are all up and running and it’s time for the post-outage review. Capturing…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Virtual Training for Sharpening Automation Skills

    To gain the benefits of modern technologies, it is important to understand their capabilities and how to best apply them. We’ll have a series of upcoming podcasts on elements of Emerson Educational Services and how it helps to help you and your peers get the most out of the automation technologies. Given the challenges with available time, travel, and expenses, virtual training has become and important way to build…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Prioritizing Sustainability Initiatives

    When it comes to driving more sustainable operations forward, how do you prioritize your actions? At the 4C Health, Safety & Environmental Conference , Emerson’s Doug White presented How to Evaluate Sustainability Options. Here is the presentation abstract: To reach greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, many state, regional and national governments have implemented or are considering implementing low-carbon fuel…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: Digital Technologies Support Safe Remote Operation of Offshore Platforms

    The ability to remotely operate offshore oil and gas platforms enables companies to minimize the number of people required on board the platform. Because less accommodation is then required, the weight of the platform can be reduced, leading to cost savings, while transporting fewer people offshore increases safety, by keeping more workers away from potential hazards, and also reduces operating costs. In an article in…
  • Emerson Automation Experts: The Future is Now for Predictive Valve Maintenance

    Saurabh Pathak , Emerson’s Digital Valve Global Marketing Director and Naman Tahan , Emerson’s Digital Valve Services Director of Engineering and Operations, recently published an article in the March 2023 issue of Processing. It is titled “ The Future is Now for Predictive Valve Maintenance ” and it describes how advances in digital valve controllers, diagnostic software, and network communications are enabling significant…