A few years ago, I was working with an internal integration group for a manufacturing company which had facilities in many domestic and international locations. One of the initiatives I had undertaken was to redevelop procedures for assessing safety hazards on automated equipment. With the planned adoption of the International Standards Organization document ISO:13849-1:2006, the older EN-954 standard was slated for retraction by the European Standards Organization. Anticipating this retraction, we needed to take another look at our own risk analysis and mitigation procedures in order to maintain complia...

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Take a look at the people in your control room: you probably see a lot of gray hair. How many of those individuals are still going to be there in another three or five years? To answer this question, we need to look at the retirement rate of the baby boomers that are now between the ages of 55 to 65. On January 1, 2011, the first baby boomers turned 65. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, dated January 30, 2008, the retirement of baby boomers will affect the overall economy and our industries until the year 2020. The industries affected most will be those that have been part of the structure of the U.S. industry buildup: steel and primary m...

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Isolating A Large Power Generating System When It’s Driving A Variable Load Creates Some Special Control Challenges

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After being involved in a number of migration projects, I’m surprised at how few of these considered taking advantage of the extra capabilities of fieldbus-based instruments, drives and positioners. This is not a new phenomenon, but it was more understandable in the early years of the technologies. To some degree the fault lies with the manufacturers. Fieldbus communication was marketed as being a way to reduce the number of wires required and the size of the cabinets required. To a great degree the real benefits of its ability to support smart instruments was a marketing afterthought, “Look at all the room you can save and, oh by the way, you get this extra information.” As a result, the typical migration project team says, “We already have all these HART instruments that give us the extra data and we’re not pulling any new wire, so why should we change?” Continue ReadingLeave a Comment

Management of change (MOC) can apply to nearly anything from organizations to projects to IT infrastructure. But does it apply to plant control systems? Considering that control systems need to change over time - process optimization drives changes in control logic and software updates occur on at least a monthly basis – the answer is: MOC is essential for plant control systems. You will make at least a handful of changes to your control systems on a monthly basis. It pays to approach these changes in a consistent manner. After all, if your SCADA system fails, your operators find themselves flying blind, without a means to control the system. If your PLC or DCS fails, plant production will come to a screeching halt. Most plants have some form of MOC process. But not every plant’s process is well-reasoned and documented – or effective. Processes range from simply “asking Joe...

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