Control – April 2024

This year’s inductees energized process control in their own unique ways

BAYER GETS RELIEF FROM PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

MORE THINGS WE DO THAT CAN'T BE DONE

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Remember when?

Ingenuity, fortitude and effort yielded process control advances

SOME of you will remember when control systems suffered issues or outright failure, and the reason was simply a mistake. Nefarious acts of cyber-criminals or agenda-driven governments weren’t even on most people’s radar. Why, no one would ever be able to bring down critical infrastructure so easily, right? Except, they could.

Likewise, some of you probably remember when instrumentation and controls were designed to network with a specific set of field devices, effectively operating in their own little world of a plant. There couldn’t be any reason for interoperability among vendors, right? Except, there was.

Also, some of you may remember when engineering was among the most attractive fields of study at many universities around the world. Surely, new students would never shun process control, and leave plants searching for deep minds in a shallow pool of candidates, right? Except, they did.

Process control is a never-ending stream of new problems to solve. Luckily, there have been many forwardthinking engineers, who showed ingenuity, creativity and resolve to push forward, and make things a bit easier and more secure, even when they stood alone in their efforts. The Process Automation Hall of Fame is filled with such problem-solvers, who advanced industry and society with their work. We’ve been honoring them for more than 20 years.

We add three more game-changers as we induct this year’s class: Joe Weiss, Marcos Peluso and Mark Darby. All three worked extensively on solving the three vital issues I noted at the beginning of this column.

I’m excited to tell their stories in this month’s cover story beginning on page 20 and featured on controlglobal.com. That’s just the beginning. Later this spring, we’ll have a special “Control Amplified” podcast with all three inductees, and look at how process control advanced through the years and made industrial operations safer and more productive. You’ll want to listen and hear their unique perspectives.

Until then, join me in congratulating the newest members of

LEN VERMILLION Editor-in-Chief lvermillion@endeavorb2b.com

"

Process control is a never-ending stream of new problems to solve."

Peace with nature: building the ’artificial forest’

How a reversible fuel cell concept can pave the path to green energy

BÉLA LIPTÁK liptakbela@aol.com

"Reestablishing the balance between energy supply and demand can be accomplished by mimicking nature’s photosynthesis process, i.e. designing and using 'artificial vegetation.'"

MY book, Controlling the future: controlling non-industrial processes to prevent climate and other disasters (ISA, 2023, bit.ly/controllingthefuture), describes the knowledge we already have about artifi cial intelligence (AI) and climate processes. It also describes the many challenges yet to be solved.

The book was intended to be a textbook. However, after it was read by a student, he put it down and murmured, "Yeah, this is the kind of stuff I would like to work on after graduation." In this and future columns, I’ll discuss some of the "stuff" students can work on to reverse trends, such as the U.S. becoming the world’s top supplier of liquefi ed natural gas (LNG). I’ll start by outlining the "artifi cial tree.”

Building blocks of green energy

A carbon-free, fully distributed, sustainable energy future requires safely matching energy needs and energy sources. Such a balance existed, initially, because people could perform only as much work as their muscles allowed. That lifestyle was followed by animal power, which was still supported by nature because nature continuously provided animals’ energy source (food furnished by vegetation). As humans moved into the Industrial Age and began using machines, the energy supply nature could continuously provide through the availability of vegetation was no longer enough, and we started to use up the energy sources (fossil fuels) that had accumulated underground over

Figure 1: During the day (red), a reversible fuel cell (RFC) generates hydrogen from excess electricity that’s not needed by the home and stores it. At night (blue), stored hydrogen is used to meet the home’s electricity needs.

ELECTROLYZER FUEL CELL

millions of years. We still use fossil fuels today.

Reestablishing nature's balance requires us to stop using fossils—an exhaustible energy source—and start using inexhaustible, clean, renewable energy sources. Jokingly, I often say we must follow the example of our stone age ancestors, who switched to bronze, not because they ran out of stone, but because bronze was better. Green energy is much better than fossil fuel energy.

Reestablishing the balance between energy supply and demand can be accomplished by mimicking nature’s photosynthesis process, i.e. designing and using "artificial vegetation." This technology uses intermittently available sunlight to make and store hydrogen, so the energy derived is continuously available.

The calculations in my book show we don’t have much more than a generation to reestablish the balance between the energy needs and supplies of our planet by planting enough "artificial forests." Global warming has already exceeded 1.5 °C and the CO2 concentration in the air isn’t just the highest it’s been in 3 million years, but is still increasing. Today, it’s at 424 ppm, which means, if CO2 wasn’t transparent, the atmosphere would be black.

The world’s energy needs increased partially because of the population

explosion of the last two centuries. The global population in 1800 was about 1 billion people, but it doubled by 1930, and today it’s at 8 billion and growing. During the same period, per capita energy consumption increased five times, and will only rise as humans become more mobile and energy demands increase in both the advanced and developing worlds.

At the same time, resources aren’t used to solve the problem, but are wasted by focusing on adaptation to help people adjust to current and future effects of climate change, instead of eliminating its causes. Money is also wasted by fighting energy wars, and subsidizing and supporting the fossil fuel industry to build new power plants, shipping ports and pipelines, as well as expanding drilling. These investments shorten the time left to convert the world to a green-energy economy.

Reversible fuel cell concept

By the time the student above retires, a reversible fuel cell (RFC) will be as common as a PC is today. It’s the key component of the artificial tree package. During the day, an RFC operates in electrolyzer mode, using solar energy that’s not needed at the time to make hydrogen (Figure 1, red path). At night, or whenever solar energy is insufficient to meet the electricity needs of the user, it switches into fuel-cell mode, reversing the direction of the hydrogen

flow to provide all or part of the electricity needed (Figure 1, blue path).

The resulting “artificial tree” package can be a net hydrogen user or a net hydrogen generator, depending on the geographic location and size of the solar collectors, and the energy needs of the user. In the case of a home, electricity produced by the RFC meets the usual needs, and supplies the split pumps that heat and cool the home, while the hydrogen can refill the tanks of cars with fuel cells.

One of the economic advantages of such a system is that electricity is locally generated and doesn’t need to be transported over long distances, which eliminates the need for an electric grid that would otherwise double the cost of electricity.

In a hydrogen economy, trucking hydrogen is bidirectional. At times of high insolation—when demand for hydrogen is less than what’s generated—excess hydrogen can be trucked to a central storage hub, so it can be used during low-insolation periods, when demand exceeds supply. The same trucks will fill “local” storage tanks, which would be placed next to homes, and are similar in size and design to those used in fuel-cell cars. About 15,000 are already operating in San Francisco and 50,000 are in use worldwide. The districts in a fully distributed energy economy will require larger or smaller, centralized hydrogen storage hubs due to their geographic locations.

Regenerative fuel cell

What I describe is only a concept today, but the seeds of it becoming reality are sprouting in the form of regenerative fuel cells. Similar to the vacuum tubes in early computers, which became the chips of today, regenerative fuel cells (Figure 2) can grow into the artificial tree package of the future. My hope is that the student at the beginning of this column will decide to become the new Oppenheimer and lead this project.

Figure 2: the regenerative fuel cell

JOHN REZABEK Contributing Editor JRezabek@ashland.com

"Maybe someday 'Gemini' will read all the manuals for us, but until then, access to a knowledgeable human is indispensable."

Overcoming complexity without AI

Hey, sometimes a knowledgeable, thoughtful human will do the trick

EMILY was trying to decipher the manual, a PDF file on a tiny optical disk that shipped with the device. The search for a PC that still had an optical drive was only the beginning of her concerns.

“NEMA 6, what's that?,” she asked, worried the new instrument wouldn’t survive long in the unceasing veil of mist around their cooling tower. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) creates ratings for enclosures, and is familiar to most specifying engineers in North America. However, NEMA 6 was uncommon, and she needed at least NEMA 4 or 4X, aware that some numerically higher ratings, e.g. NEMA 12, offer less protection.

Happily, Emily discovered NEMA 6 meant “submersible.” Indeed, this new magnetic flowmeter could even be buried in the ground or subjected to intermittent flooding, provided the installer followed the guidelines for sealing the electrical conduit entries. It was as if her specifying engineer or vendor representative gave some thought as to where this new meter was expected to function.

When soliciting proposals for a given application from multiple suppliers, a written and vendor-agnostic specification has been de rigueur, respecting a modicum of fairness in awarding a purchase order (PO). End users can drift away from this discipline, and many times a proposal is solicited and a PO is cut without such diligence—we simply don’t have the time or the people. A site may not even have an I&C specialist, such as a maintenance person, who looks after more than just instruments, or a process specialist, who is unhappily saddled with the additional responsibility. We’ve become “lean” to the point where even those who want to hire an engineer can’t find one.

Relieved her device was likely to survive the moist and sometimes icy environment, Emily looked for a place to land the wires. There were a multitude of PDFs on the tiny optical disk.

There must have been certifications and approvals for every country or region on the planet, which gave her a glimpse of the enormous effort and expense device manufacturers face when marketing their wares worldwide. There were different manuals for the meter body and the transmitter, and yet another for bussed or digital interconnections to a capable host.

Configuration instructions presented a (not uncommon) ponderous menu-map, which must be navigated to get the transmitter set up. The six pictogram keys of mysterious meaning permitted navigation through a flowchart that consumed two pages of the manual. That was for “basic” settings. Emily counted about 23 key presses to set flow direction, line frequency, full scale, units and cutoff. Such is life in the digital age!

There are YouTube videos that feature basic instruction, but Emily was fortunate that her representative composed a focused and truncated version of the manual that addressed everything needed to complete the installation in a few pages. In the current zeitgeist, where we end up relying on more distant and less accountable/responsible technical support, one wonders what the future portends.

One remedy is a growing number of Bluetooth-connected interfaces for field devices. Provided a given region supports and allows it, apps using Bluetooth to monitor and configure field devices are adaptable across many languages. Getting one’s app certified by Android and Apple isn’t a given either, and obtaining a Bluetooth-capable smartphone or tablet for use in hazardous areas is a must for many processes. Having used both methods for a little, 1/16 DIN temperature controller, I’d opt for Bluetooth wherever it’s an option.

Emily’s good fortune of a capable and available representative saved the day. Maybe someday “Gemini” will read all the manuals for us, but until then, access to a knowledgeable human is indispensable.

Growing pains of industrial networks

More powerful networks mean cybersecurity vulnerabilities must be minimized

ETHERNET Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL) products are entering the market and pushing Internet protocol (IP) networks down to field device levels. Packet-based IP networks can transmit more data than traditional sensor-level (fieldbus) networks, and offer more functions and visibility to Ethernet APL devices. Nearly all networks, including the Internet, use packet-based communications, and their vulnerabilities extend to other network layers, where they can have potentially devastating effects beyond simply needing to reformat personal devices.

Joe Weiss, managing partner at Applied Control Solutions (realtimeacs.com), and an ISA Fellow specializing in cybersecurity, has been concerned about Level 0 vulnerabilities for many years. Bringing packet-level communications further into operational technology (OT) requires appropriate cybersecurity practices, such as those defined in IEC 62443. Fortunately, organizations responsible for developing and maintaining wired and wireless sensor-level networks actively work to address security concerns at these network levels.

Several useful documents on industrial automation security are available from the Industrial Ethernet Security Harmonization Group (IESHG, bit.ly/3vrwbkC). IESHG members include major standards development organizations, such as OPC Foundation, ProfibusProfinet International, ODVA and FieldComm Group. OPC UA Security Model (IEC 62541-2) and OPC UA Role-Based Security (IEC 6254118) are both in committee draft for vote (CDV) in their development processes, and have 1Q25 publication target dates.

ISA-84, under Weiss’ guidance, also has a taskforce looking at sensor-level security.

Though it may appear that standards are stifling product launches, this isn’t the case. By the time a standard reaches CDV, it’s approximately 90% complete. And since many organizations supplying Ethernet-APL

products are also active on international standards committees, the timing of these products coming to market and security standards supporting their use are usually well-aligned.

The European Parliament of the Network and Information Security’s NIS2 directive (www.nis-2-directive.com) took effect on Jan. 16, 2023, with full compliance required by October 2027. It requires operators of public or private entities to implement appropriate security tools to protect their systems from cyberattacks, and applies to essential and important facilities, including companies operating in critical infrastructures, such as electricity/gas generation, power storage and transmission, transportation on water, roads and rails, and drinking water and wastewater facilities. It also includes digital infrastructure.

NIS2 is supported by the Cyber Resilience Act (www.european-cyber-resilience-act.com) and addresses two major areas:

1. Lack of cybersecurity of products with digital elements; and

2. Insufficient understanding and access to information by users.

Examples of products with digital elements include end devices (industrial control systems, laptops, smartphones, sensors, smart robots, routers and switches), software (firmware and operating systems) and components (computer processing units and software libraries).

Security is a two-edged sword. The same is true of the enhanced capabilities of IP-based, sensor-level networks. It will be possible to access orders of magnitude more data, and respond proactively to incidents before they can escalate to impact safety, reliability and production. However, these new capabilities come with increased complexity, including cybersecurity risks that must be managed. It’s our responsibility as automation practitioners to implement security measures in our facilities, while minimizing or hiding the associated complexities from the users of our “magic.”

IAN VERHAPPEN Solutions Architect Willowglen Systems

Ian.Verhappen@ willowglensystems.com

" Though it may appear that standards are stifling product launches, this isn’t the case."

Everyone into the green pool

Schneider Electric, Emerson, ABB and friends launch multiple, separate sustainability programs

IF it seems like everyone and their brother is undertaking sustainability projects and launching net-zero solutions, it’s a good bet they probably are. Here are some of the most recent efforts by three major process control and automation suppliers and their partners.

Schneider starts Scope 3

Schneider Electric (www.se.com) launched April 4 its “Materialize” supply chain decarbonization program to help metals and minerals companies reduce carbon emissions by their suppliers worldwide. To meet exponential demand for their products without further increasing carbon emissions, Schneider reports it’s crucial for end-user companies to decarbonize power supplies, mitigate environmental impacts of their energy-intensive processes related to these critical resources, and reduce the sector’s Scope 3 emissions, which are typically produced by companies they work with.

Materialize is a continuation of Schneider’s suite of the supply-chain decarbonization programs from its Sustainability Business consulting division, which employs supply-chain cohorts for renewable, scalable energy procurement. The program will encourage wider value chains to transition to renewable energy sources by accelerating deployment of decarbonization projects and software, and improving access for suppliers to renewable energy solutions at scale, such as power purchase agreements (PPAs).

“We’re delighted to launch Materialize as our latest collaborative program to reduce Scope 3 emissions. We have a strong track record of working with customers to meet their sustainability objectives, and this program will accelerate action in this sector,” says Barbara Frei, industrial automation EVP at Schneider Electric. “Educating suppliers in the sector’s wider value chain on the importance of their operational models in closing net-zero ambition gaps is vital for us to decarbonize the sector. Materialize will drive definitive next steps for the industry to lead the way.”

Collaborates with HyStor on green hydrogen

Schneider Electric and Hy Stor Energy (hystorenergy.com) reported Mar. 20 that they’re supporting development of Hy Stor's Mississippi Clean Hydrogen Hub (MCHH) and its broader U.S. initiative. Hy Stor produces carbon-free, renewable, hydrogen and long-duration storage. They report their partnership will solve large-scale energy and sustainability challenges needed to transition to a renewable. fossil-free energy system.

Schneider will provide Hy Stor with automation and safety products, Aveva process operation and AI optimization software, weather analysis, predictive operations, and digital energy management solutions, as well as commissioning, operational analytical tools and support. This project will fulfill Hy Stor Energy's vision of MCHH as the world’s first provider of zero-carbon hydrogen to industry, and give its customers secure, reliable, affordable, green hydrogen with no carbon footprint or methane emissions.

Partners with Mainspring on fuel-flexible microgrid

Schneider Electric and Mainspring Energy (www.mainspringenergy.com) reported Mar. 20 that they’re partnering to offer a hybrid-energy technology that combines Schneider’s EcoStruxure Microgrid software and design-build services with Mainspring’s Linear Generator. This combination is expected to provide power, fuel flexibility and energy resilience, let users generate electricity onsite, and operate in parallel to the power grid or independently when needed.

This decentralized microgrid will ensure accessible electricity to critical operations, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The novel fuel-flexibility of Mainspring’s power-generator also lets users switch dynamically without retrofit among multiple fuel options, including low- and zerocarbon fuels.

Emerson provides H2 Hauler with hydrogen mobility

To enable safe, efficient management of hydrogen terminal operations and remote monitoring, Australia-based H2 Hauler (www.h2hauler.com.au) reported March 11 that it’s picked Emerson (www.emerson.com) to provide a consolidated, integrated, hydrogen-mobility, business-management system. H2 Hauler designs, manufactures and certifies storage and distribution equipment for compressed hydrogen. Emerson will fully automate H2 Hauler’s loading and monitoring systems, manage custody transfer, and monitor trailer tube assets to enable safe, sustainable hydrogen transport.

Source: Hy Stor

“As we expand our operations in hydrogen road transport and storage manufacturing, we’re confident Emerson’s proven automation technologies and software will support not only safe storage and distribution, but vital chain-of-custody management and auditing capabilities to demonstrate the impact of this emerging industry,” says Tyson Cooney, CEO at H2 Hauler.

H2 Hauler’s hydrogen dispensing skids and trailer onboard units will be optimized with Emerson’s DeltaV PK controller, fire and gas systems, valves, actuators and regulators. Emerson will also provide a secure, cloud-based data platform to remotely view and control equipment, enabling real-time data for optimal operations.

“As demand for hydrogen accelerates across heavy-duty transportation applications, we need to safely, reliably and efficiently transport hydrogen,” says Mike Train, chief sustainability officer at Emerson. “We look forward to delivering our hydrogen mobility technologies to H2 Hauler, which is making strides in support of Australia’s mobile hydrogen infrastructure.”

ABB, Captimise decarbonize cement industry

ABB Process Automation (go.abb/processautomation) and Captimise (www.captimise.com) reported Mar. 25 that they’re extending their collaboration to drive adoption of cost-effective carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies in the cement industry.

They’re planning to develop screening, feasibility and front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies, to help cement producers identify cost-efficient carbon capture technologies covering their carbon chain from capture, liquefaction and buffer storage to transport, permanent storage and utilization. They’ll also combine ABB’s automation, electrification, instrumentation and digitalization technologies, and its expertise in cement operations, with Captimise’s CCUS know-how and experience in the U.S. and Europe.

“Our relationship with ABB has materialized on projects in different industries, and we 're exploring further opportunities for cement customers,” says Mattias Jones, CEO of Captimise. “We draw on a track-record of more than 25 live case studies with CO2 emitters across Europe and the U.S., and know we’ll be able to support operations of all sizes in cement through combined CCUS, automation and electrification technologies.”

Max Tschurtschenthaler, global business unit manager for cement at ABB Process Industries, adds, “Reducing the carbon emissions from cement manufacturing is a major challenge and a top priority for this industry. We are on a mission to make it more cost-effective. By combining our automation, electrification and digital technologies with the know-how of partners like Captimise, we can further support the cement industry in achieving their climate and net zero targets.”

Electrifying high-emission industries with Salt X

ABB and Sweden-based, green-tech supplier Salt X (www. saltxtechnology.com) agreed Mar. 12 to further develop its Electric Arc Calcination (EAC) technology. While it’s difficult to decarbonize cement, quicklime and other industries that rely on high-emission fossil fuels, EAC reportedly reinvents the high-temperature calcination process with renewable electricity that makes it possible to reach several thousand degrees Celsius and capture CO2 emitted during heating.

ABB will also become a minority shareholder in Salt X, and contribute control and electrical systems to EAC. The two companies also plan to commercialize EAC. The two companies started collaborating on EAC in 2022, and built Salt X's research and test facility (ECRC) in 2023.

“Together with a capital injection, Salt X is gaining an optimal industrial partner with experience in implementing and globally scaling up new technologies,” says Carl-Johan Linér, CEO of Salt X. “This strengthens us as a company, and enables us to progress with our growth plans. With ABB and our other partners, we can take a leading role in the electrification wave sweeping through the industrial sector.”

Boris Gabin (left), VP for Australia and New Zealand at Emerson, signs an agreement with Tyson Cooney (right), CEO of H2 Hauler, to provide integrated hydrogen mobility technologies.

Source: Emerson

NIST opens AI-focused manufacturing contest

The U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (www.NIST.gov) announced Mar. 12 an open competition for a new Manufacturing USA (www. manufacturingusa.com) institute focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve U.S. manufacturing resilience. NIST expects $70 million in federal funds will be invested in this institute over five years, with an equal or greater contribution from private and other nonfederal funding sources.

NIST has published a notice of intent (NOI) in the Federal Register (www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/13/2024-05228/manufacturing-usa-institute-competition-ai-for-resilient-manufacturing) to give potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations among industry, academia, federal laboratories, and state and local government. More information on the NOI is available at NIST's website.

“Manufacturers that use AI to improve operations and strengthen supply chains will be more productive and resilient as they compete in an increasingly crowded global

marketplace,” said Laurie Locascio, director of NIST and undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology. “We look forward to reviewing applications for a new Manufacturing USA institute that will strengthen the national economy by helping domestic manufacturers maximize the potential of AI.”

Petroperú picks Honeywell for cybersecurity

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) reported Mar. 18 that one of the largest hydrocarbon producers, refiners and distributors in Peru, Petróleos del Perú S.A. (www.petroperu.com. pe), will implement Honeywell’s cybersecurity solutions to help Petroperú strengthen the cyber-resilience of its refinery operations and accelerate its digital transformation.Petroperú’s multi-year investment with Honeywell includes access to Honeywell’s cybersecurity consulting support, managed security services and threat-detection capabilities. Honeywell will also help Petroperú further scale its operational technology (OT) cybersecurity efforts to improve visibility into potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities and threats across its systems.

SIGNALS AND INDICATORS

• The International Society of Automation (www.ISA.org) will host its second annual Operations Technology (OT) Cybersecurity Summit (otcs.isa.org) on June 18-19 in London. The two-day, two-track event will be organized around two major topics: intelligence evolution and IoT cybersecurity with panel discussions on standards and conformity assessment.

• Bühler’s (www.buhlergroup.com) reported Mar. 20 that its new Grain Innovation Center (GIC) is nearing completion in Uzwil, Switzerland. This new, 2,000-square-meter facility will replace the former Grain Technology Center (GTC) that served the milling industry since 1951, but needed modernization to keep up with market demands.

• Nozomi Networks Inc. (www.nozominetworks.com) reported Mar. 27 that it’s extended its partnership with Yokogawa Electric Corp. (www.yokogawa.com) to meet global demand for managed security services and solutions designed to holistically satisfy the unique OT and IoT cybersecurity requirements of process manufacturers.

• Motion control supplier Heidenhain Corp. (www.heidenhain. com) announced Mar. 6 that it’s acquired a new Silicon Val-

ley headquarters in Fremont, Calif. The 12,000-square-foot Manufacturing Innovation Hub will house a 6,000-squarefoot demonstration lab and office space for the company’s regional sales and support staff.

• Fortifi Food Processing Solutions (www.FortifiFoodSolutions.com), a leading platform of food processing equipment and automation solutions, reported Mar. 18 that it’s acquired Reich Thermoprozesstechnik GmbH (reich-germany. de), a leader in thermos-processing systems for red meat, fish, poultry, cheese, pet food and other food markets.

• Genuine Parts Co. (genpt.com) reported Mar. 21 that its board of directors has appointed James Howe as president of its Motion (www.motion.com) industrial business. He most recently served as Motion’s EVP and chief commercial and technology officer. Howe will continue to report to Randy Breaux, group president of GPC North America.

• Galco (galco.com) reported Mar. 19 that it’s expanding its portfolio by partnering with Balluff (www.balluff.com) that supplies sensor, identification and network solutions. The new partnership will let Galco's customers enhance operational efficiencies and productivity in automation projects.

CHRIS LITTLE Media Relations Director, VTScada by Trihedral

Overcoming custom code costs in SCADA systems

YOU'RE probably aware of the important role that supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software plays in managing automation systems used by water or power utilities, national broadcasters or scientists. You’re also likely aware of the role custom coding plays when configuring these applications for users. However, you may be less aware of the ongoing price of each line of code that, if not carefully managed, can reduce performance, reliability, and longevity of critical SCADA systems.

Control talked with Chris Little, media relations director for Trihedral Engineering Limited, to find out how systems integrators and in-house developers can create advanced SCADA solutions that aren’t limited by rapidly aging code.

Q: Why is custom code standard practice when configuring most SCADA applications?

A: For many SCADA software platforms, it’s the primary mode of configuration. It's what holds together the combination of proprietary or thirdparty components that provide the standard SCADA functionality that operators and managers need. Basic things like trending reports, remote access and hot backup failover usually need some form of hand coding to work. To be fair, many integrators like doing it this way because they’re very good at it.

Q: What are some of the hidden costs of this practice?

A: There are several, but they're all different variations on technical debt, which is the cost of future work that would be required when you choose a solution that’s easier in the short term. By writing custom code, you're creating work for yourself in the future. SCADA systems involve so much money, time

and decision-making that, once you've got one in place, you don't want to turn the hourglass over and start again from scratch.

The more technical debt you incur by writing custom code, the more work you make for yourself going forward.

Q: What’s the limitation of custom code, especially if everyone likes doing it?

A : For one, it ages badly. One of the keys to longevity for a SCADA system is the ability to regularly update the software, so you can take advantage of new features and security fixes. Many system integrators insist that, once a system is working, you should never upgrade it or the operating system it runs on. They're afraid to upgrade to a version with an important fix in it because they're afraid it will possibly break their custom code. This is why you get old, increasingly limited systems running on machines with unsupported and insecure operating systems. This can affect the scalability of your system, so it becomes a source of risk.

When an integrator needs to go back and service, troubleshoot or add to the application, it’s frustrating to look at someone else's code from 10 years ago, or even their own. People's best practices change. They get better and learn different ways of writing code. So, even if they've documented their code as they should, it can still be challenging to build reliably onto that base without breaking anything.

Q: What’s the alternative?

A: Look at built-in features out of the box. If you have a system where every piece of core functionality is installed up front with one installer, and gets upgraded with every new version, you avoid this risk. You also reduce the configuration time for each application.

Q: Does this make a big difference to the application's resilience?

A : Absolutely. Let's assume you have talented integrators, who have coded server failover dozens of times, and they're able to cut-and-paste the best version of that redundancy code each time they do a new system. It means the stability and security of the code they wrote has been tested, at most, a few dozen times, and was tested over however long those systems existed.

The cost of each line of code can affect the reliability, resilience and longevity of a SCADA system.

By making redundancy core to the SCADA product, the code not only goes through an extensive product development lifecycle, but also internal and personal testing. The way we do it with our VTScada software is, when there’s a new unreleased version, everyone in our company uses it because we want to fi nd the things that go wrong before anyone else does. We have powerful automated tests that we pound on each version, and this goes on for weeks before we let anyone touch it.

Source: Trihedral

Because they’re part of the core product, the standard features installed with VTScada are battle-hardened and have been running in the field for decades. Everybody gets to take advantage of what we've learned from every system. You can’t do that with custom code.

HEAR MORE

Listen to more of this interview on the Control Amplified podcast, available at controlglobal.com/podcasts. To learn more about VTScada and VTScada Light, at vtscada.com/start

Q: By which standard is VTScada's development measured?

A: A few years ago, VTScada’s development environment was certified as compliant with IEC's 62443-4-1, maturity level 2, “Security for industrial automation and control systems.” This is the standard that defines the secure development lifecycle requirements for products used in industrial automation and control systems.

Q: To be clear, you're not saying all custom code is bad, right?

A: Correct, and that's a great point. Every application has something about it that’s unique, some challenge, some opportunity that’s different than every other system. A chance for an integrator to do something really special that will improve the quality of work for that user. This is where custom codes come in.

Q: Why should integrators use a built-in approach?

A: You can do more in less time. There’s always pressure to get a lot of things done in a limited period of time. With VTScada's built-in features, most of these functions are builtin out of the box. You can set up two, three, four levels of server redundancy distributed across a wide area network (WAN) without writing any code.

Integrators can also support it more easily over time. VTScada has built a variety of ways to remotely support users without traveling to their sites. Many integrators can support it without having to travel 100 miles in the winter to open that client’s computer. They can do it by becoming a secure node on the Internet. They can pass VTScada ChangeSet fi les back and forth, which contain complete copies of the entire application, including builtin version control.

BY LEN VERMILLION

This year’s inductees energized process control in their own unique ways

Image Credit: Derek Chamberlain, generated with ShutterstockAI

2001

Béla Lipták

Greg McMillan

Greg Shinskey

2002

Marion“Bud” Keyes

Terry Tolliver

Harold Wade

2003

Karl Åström

Lynn Craig

Charles Cutler

2004

Terry Blevins

Thomas M. Stout

Ted Williams

2005

Richard Caro

William “Bill” Luyben

Russell Rhinehart

2006

Edgar H. Bristol II

Richard E. Morley

Wyman “Cy” Rutledge

Kathleen Waters

2007

James H. Christensen

Thomas F. Edgar

Angela Summers

2008

Vernon Travathan

William M. Hawkins

Dale E. Seborg

2009

Hans Baumann

Renzo Dallimanti

Pat Kennedy

Carroll Ryskamp

Cecil Smith

2010

Joseph S. Alford

John Gerry

Willy Wojsznis

Yutaka Wakasa

2011

John Berra

Sigurd Skogestad

Maurice Wilkins

2012

Mark Nixon

Tom Phinney

Vern Heath

2013

Dennis Brandl

John MacGregor

Peter G. Martin

Ian Verhappen

2014

Dave Emerson

Paul Murrill

2015

Don Bartusiak

Armando Corripio

James Downs

2016

Charlotta Johnsson

James Rawlings

2017

Eric Cosman

Charles Moore

2018

Thomas McAvoy

Herman Storey

2019

Nicholas Sands

Carlos Smith

2020

Penny Chen

Martin Zielinski

Duncan Mellichamp

Ian Nimmo

2021

Tom Burke

Bridget Fitzpatrick

Babatunde Ogunnaike

John Rezabek

2022

Tom Badgwell

Lorenz Biegler

Andy Chatha

Tom Marlin

Brian Ramaker

2022

Carlos Enrique Garcia

W. Harmon Ray

Tariq Samad

ENERGY is a vital resource for advancing society. The environmental energy we consume to keep our lives moving forward is generated in many ways. Likewise, the mental energy we use to advance ideas, concepts and technologies also comes in many forms. But it takes someone with know-how and initiative to get the ball rolling.

This year’s class of inductees into the 2024 Process Automation Hall of Fame “energized” process control in different ways, but each has had a tremendous impact on the industrial sector, and they did so in three vitally needed areas.

From championing control system cybersecurity to standardizing interoperable networks to cultivating and inspiring the next generation of process control engineers, they put forth efforts that may have been daunting. However, they persevered and, as engineers are known to do, figured it out.

Over the past several weeks, they talked to Control about their careers, accomplishments and thoughts on the future of process control and automation. On the following pages, we tell the stories of their past careers and catch up on their present work.

Please join us in congratulating the newest inductees. Joe Weiss is managing partner of Applied Control Solutions Inc., and an ISA99 ICS cybersecurity pioneer and blogger. Mark Darby works extensively with gas refineries and chemical processing plants. He also serves on the advisory board at Texas Tech University. Marcos Peluso served as director of development for fieldbus at Emerson.

We hope you enjoy getting to know these fabulous engineers and learning about their career journeys.

The winding river

It’s not often an engineer gets a chance to “school” a few championship-level NFL quarterbacks in an athletic competition, but then again, Joe Weiss is no slouch on the racquetball court. In fact, he’s played in his own championship—the racquetball doubles national championships. It was the early 2010s when he met then San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterbacks Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, among other players, trying their hands with the paddles at a San Jose, Calif., racquet club. He ended up giving them lessons, and the self-described “little old guy with knee pads” was the best player on the court that day.

It wasn’t Weiss’ first foray on the racquetball court with professional athletes. He had a similar experience with a few Golden State Warriors.

Not one to brag when he tells the story, Weiss simply points out they were all, “great athletes, but each sport requires some particular expertise.”

And, Weiss spent a great deal of time honing his racquetball skills and expertise, much like he has in his “day job” as managing partner at Applied Control Solutions Inc., which offers thought leadership to industry and government on control system cybersecurity and optimized control system performance. He’s also an ISA99 ICS cybersecurity pioneer, noted keynote speaker on control systems security, and (full disclosure) a regular blogger on the “Unfettered” blog at controlglobal.com. You might wonder where he found the time to get so good at racquetball?

to the details that can cause significant problems down the road (more on that later).

“That’s what I was doing in the 1970s, trying to fix this,” he says.

Unlike today, where Weiss encounters issues that turn out to be cybersecurity breaches, back then he was simply trying to correct mistakes.

Another career-shaping project at GE Nuclear was working with thermal neutron sensors in the boiling water reactors. The more water passing those sensors, the better the signal because the water “slowed down” the neutrons, so the sensors could give a flux reading, he explains. However, he encountered another seemingly small detail with big implications when GE testing showed that, if it allowed too much water to flow, the stainless-steel instrument tubes would bang on the fuel channels, which are zirconium.

It turns out, this same flow problem also became an issue at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant (three decades prior to the plant’s infamous earthquake and tsunamiinduced disaster). A junior engineer at the time, Weiss found himself on a team analyzing and correcting the problem. “That was my job, to analyze the data we were getting, and determine if the tubes were moving at their resonant frequency, which would indicate if they were moving around and banging on the fuel assemblies,” he says.

Weiss’ eventful career in instrumentation and controls is still going strong, but when he graduated college in Arizona, he had no idea he’d be where he is today. His first foray into the business was in the heart of Silicon Valley, when it was still called the “Valley of the Heart's Delight,” before it became a technology mecca. He took a job with GE Nuclear Energy (now GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy) in San Jose. “Turns out it was in instrumentation and controls, so guess what? I’m an instrumentation and controls person,” he recalls with a chuckle.

He points to two or three projects he worked on at the time that shaped his career, but admits it wasn’t a straight and narrow path through the years. “It started this kind of river I've been on ever since, but it didn't flow straight,” he says.

Weiss, like his fellow inductees to the 2024 Process Automation Hall of Fame, spent his early career working with energy, in particular, the budding nuclear energy industry in the U.S. One project he worked on was a nuclear plant simulator, which Weiss quickly realized wasn’t modeled correctly. “If you pulled a rod somewhere in the core, all the sensors would all read the same thing,” he recalls. So, his job became figuring out how to correct it. Those who know and work with him today will quickly understand his attention

The third project he remembers was determining a better way to monitor the power inside a boiling water reactor. Instead of measuring thermal neutron flux, he says, they measured gamma radiation because “we wouldn't have to worry about how much water there was or anything else, and would get a much more accurate reading.”

Weiss was also on a team that traveled to the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa to analyze it while it was operating. “We had to get dressed like we were going to the moon because we were literally inside the containment,” he recalls. “The only things between us and the reactor were those concrete and lead walls.”

Weiss’ experience working close to delicate projects set him on the path to many more notable projects. He recalls working

Joe Weiss

Joe Weiss with San Francisco 49ers (left) and at a hydropower facility in Canada

as a technical lead during Y2K, when critical industries feared systematic issues would arise from preset clocks on electronic components as the millennium changed to the 2000s.

This was among his initial work with control system cybersecurity that’s the core of his career today. “I started going to meetings on cybersecurity and almost everything I’d see had nothing to do with control systems, and each time I brought it up, I was told no one ever brought it up before,” he laments.

At the time, cybersecurity was the realm of information technology (IT) departments, leaving engineers to worry about their turbines and pumps. “It was always like a high school dance. There was IT on one side of the room and engineers on the other,” he says. “I didn’t want any part of that.”

When he started Applied Control Solutions, his goal was to take cybersecurity directly to engineering departments and “teach them what they need to know.”

He helped organize one of the first control system cybersecurity conferences. It had about 125 attendees and included three organizations that Weiss didn’t even invite. Not because he didn’t want them there, but because he didn’t know who they were [at the time] or why they’d be interested. One of those organizations was the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which was in the process of finalizing a report on the Olympic Pipeline explosion in 1999 in Bellingham, Wash., which killed three people and took out a water treatment facility. He also recalls several attendees from an Asian country, which had suffered several control system cybersecurity incidents.

He was generating interest and progress for control systems cybersecurity, and around the same time, he helped start the ISA99 ICS Cyber Security standards efforts of which he was managing director for more than 12 years.

In between these efforts, Weiss authored one book and wrote chapters in several other books. He also received patents on instrumentation, control systems and operational technology (OT) monitoring.

These days, Weiss’ winding river has led him to work, speak and write about control systems and the threats from cyber-attacks. “Where I am today, there would have been no way I could ever have told you,” he admits. But his next stop is the Process Automation Hall of Fame.

Enthusiasm for process control

It’s not hard for Mark Darby to pinpoint the moment he knew he wanted to work in process control. During his junior year in the chemical engineering department at Texas Tech University, Darby sat in a process control course and, unlike many engineering students who generally walk away from the course thinking process control isn’t what they want to do, he walked away having found his calling.

“I think it was both the professor and the idea that I could use chemical engineering principles to figure out a control strategy solution,” the Texas native says about that pivotal course.

These days, Darby not only relishes the memory of that engineering course, but has taught process control at the University of Houston to a new generation of aspiring engineers, hoping they’ll stick with it as he did. Today, he runs his own successful consultancy, developing strategies from distributed control systems (DCS) to model predictive control (MPC) for refineries and chemical processing plants. He also serves on the chemical engineering advisory board at Texas Tech.

As for his students, he says, “It’s cool to see some of the same enthusiasm I had.”

He finds it particularly exciting given the difficulties the process industries have attracting new talent to process control roles.

Darby chalks up the lack of interest by many students to a few factors, but notably the lack of professors at the university level with an industrial background, and the fact that process control courses can be taught too mathematically and a little stale. “I think that turns students off,” he laments.

Perhaps prospective process control gurus will benefit from the tales Darby can tell of his exciting career that took him to many countries around the world. He adds those trips were better because he got to experience those adventures with his wife, who is also a chemical engineer. “We actually met at a gas plant,” he says.

Mark Darby

Weiss is also an avid cyclist

Darby (left) and colleague at a Braskem facility

Darby’s road began with Setpoint, which at the time was a new company specializing in computer-based process control and monitoring solutions. He was part of a team that established the company’s European base in the Netherlands, living and working there for four years. His work also took him to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, as well as locations in South America.

Setpoint was acquired by Aspen Technology in 1997, and Darby spent seven years with the company before deciding it was time to go back to school. For the next six years, he earned his Ph.D., even though it wasn’t his initial plan.

“We’d just adopted our daughter, and while I was on a leave of absence, I decided to take a couple of graduate courses,” he says. “That ultimately led to me getting my Ph.D.”

Fashioning fieldbus

When Marcos Peluso came to the U.S. from Brazil—for a second time—at the invitation of Rosemount, his work had longlasting and game-changing effects on instrumentation and control. In the 1990s, Peluso, an electronics engineer from of Sao Paulo, Brazil, settled down in Chanhassen, Minn., having already honed his expertise working with everything from atomic energy to developing smart transmitters. However, it’s his work on developing Foundation Fieldbus that caps a brilliant career.

In fact, Peluso served as director of development for fieldbus during his time at Smar, a Brazilian company that develops, manufactures, and sells instruments, controllers, hardware and software for measuring, controlling, operating and managing maintenance assets. He also worked at Emerson’s Rosemount division, pioneering the interoperable, industrial network for real-time, distributed control. “It was an interesting experience,” Peluso says rather simply and humbly.

After he completed his degree, he decided it was time to be his own boss, and started CMiD Solutions, which provides consulting services in all areas of process control and optimization. He mainly works with clients in the same refinery and chemical process areas he did previously. He does a lot of work with distillation these days.

Starting his own business was made easier, he says, because of the extensive connections he made at Setpoint and AspenTech. Those colleagues are based all over the world, but he’s happy these days to work mainly closer to home in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

Being stateside also allows Darby and his family to take their RV out and enjoy camping. He also kept his motorcycle, and takes it out on the road for occasional trips. And, when his wheels aren’t underneath him, he still enjoys running for exercise.

As he reflects on his career, he also notes the vast changes in industry and technology over that time. Meanwhile, he has a lot more work to do and looks forward to getting out to the next plant to help them solve their process control challenges.

Of course, developing Foundation Fieldbus was no small feat, and it helped advance interoperable control systems in multiple industries and sectors around the globe. Today, its development fuels new concepts for interoperability as technology advances through digital transformation. These days, devices are managed via the Internet and up-and-coming technologies such as Ethernet-Advanced Physical Layer (APL), but the foundation of these approaches remain the same as when Peluso and his team began cultivating the then-growing trend of interoperable and standardized networking.

“It’s to have better accessibility to field device data, as well as better and more reliable connections,” he says of Foundation Fieldbus.

Initially, the group Peluso oversaw worked on controlling their company’s field instruments, but the scope grew wider, and other companies’ technologies began to take part in their processes. “We started the

Marcos Peluso

Darby with his family at Garner State Park in Texas (left) and a dude ranch in Colorado

Peluso’s work resulted in more than 30 patents

interoperability lab, where we would invite other companies to test their systems,” Peluso explains. “It was a really nice experience. We formed a really great team.”

Not one to boast of his accomplishments, Peluso understands the significance Foundation Fieldbus had on the process industries. “The control quality is much better than using the conventional methods that came prior because you have synchronization between the measurement and the actuation without having to go through all the delays you had in between,” he says. “This was proven not only in the field, but also in tests—that you can have much less variability when you do control.”

Peluso’s impact on the industry didn’t stop with fieldbus. Later, he became one of the directors of PlantWeb development for Emerson, a portfolio of industry-based solutions designed to drive performance improvement in the areas of production, reliability, safety and sustainability, particularly for companies embarking on digital transformation.

But getting to the point of leading the development of two significant technologies was a long road that took Peluso to many parts of the world with several twists and turns on his journey. Admittedly, he didn’t initially intend to work in control and instrumentation. When he graduated college in Brazil, he thought he’d become a researcher, or as he puts it, “more like a scientist.”

But fate, and job opportunities, played a hand in his career direction. Initially, he thought he’d work for a Brazilian airplane manufacturer, but instead ended up working for Brazil’s atomic energy institute. “Most of the people there were physicists,” he says of the institute. “The guy who interviewed me labeled me control and instrumentation because I was an electronics engineer, so I started working in control and instrumentation, and doing some research on nuclear reactors we had.”

Peluso worked at the institute while also working on his master’s degree. As it turns out, the institute had an agreement with an atomic energy company in San Diego, where Peluso moved for two years to work on commercial nuclear power stations. There, he worked on a new concept for a reactor.

He also spent two years in Germany, working for the nuclear power branch of Siemens. “It was a great experience because the control and instrumentation implementation was quite different than the one used in the U.S.,” he says.

After his wife became pregnant with their first child, they decided to move back to Brazil. “We wanted our child to be born close to grandparents and family,” he says.

In Brazil, he went to work with Smar, initially a provider of field services for in-steam turbines for Brazil’s sugar industry, but quickly grew to provide process control for industrial plants.

Peluso eventually made his way back the U.S. thanks to Rosemount’s invitation. Soon he was on his way to making a name for himself on the Foundation Fieldbus team in the U.S.

He spent much of his later years with Emerson with the title “distinguished technologist.” “They let me work more like an inventor and problem solver,” he explains.

Mainly, he solved problems, whether at plants or by developing instruments. “I’d go there to help troubleshoot. I still worked on the standards, further developing them,” he continues.

Peluso retired in 2019, but continued to work as a freelancer, until the COVID-19 pandemic shut much of the world down. But, he’s back at it now, and still goes to Emerson to work on projects in development as a freelance technologist.

Who knows, maybe another game-changing concept will soon find its way from his lab to the plant floor.

IT’S crucial to “care for the caregivers,” so they can keep helping patients and loved ones. In the same way, process automation systems and users may need some labor-saving automation of their own, so they can stay healthy and keep optimizing production. Today, this usually means digitalization, but it may also include streamlining systems and removing unnecessary functions.

Bayer’s 155-acre, agricultural chemicals facility in Muscatine, Iowa, was built in 1961. Located in southeast Iowa near the Mississippi River, the plant has more than 450 employees. It has eight production units with more than 19,000 field devices, including about 3,200 field assets linked to Emerson’s AMS Device Manager software, and managed by four DeltaV distributed control systems (DCSs). They’ve used DeltaV S-Series controllers in a distributed architecture with AMS Device Manager since 2008 (Figure 1).

Bayer’s hardware and networks also include about 750 control valves that interface with Fisher FieldVue ValveLink software, about 1,000 motors and related assets and nine client stations. Nearly 100% of these onsite devices interface via HART communications protocol, while about 125 use Foundation Fieldbus. The plant also uses infrared (IR) thermography routes on about 3,000 devices.

“This is a big challenge because the plant operates with only one-and-a-half to two electrical reliability technicians, which is very lean,” said Joel Holmes, senior reliability consultant at Experitec Inc. “Maintenance staff can help, but they’re not trained and certified like the technicians, so they can only do so much.” Over 20 years, the plant’s electrical reliability efforts addressed calibration, wireless, vapor sensors, AMS Device Manager, control valves, motor analysis, IR thermography, ultrasonics, fixed asset GRD and freon leak detection.

Holmes and Matt Forbis, principal product engineer at Emerson, and Derek Ybarra, maintenance and reliability system engineer at Bayer, presented “Solving the device alert puzzle during Bayer’s digital transformation journey” at the Emerson Exchange Immerse event last fall in Anaheim, Calif.

more than 450 employees. It has eight production units

more than 19,000 field devices. Of these, about 3,200 field assets are linked to Emerson’s AMS Device Manager software, and managed by four separate DeltaV distributed control systems (DCSs). They’ve used DeltaV S-Series controllers in a distributed architecture with AMS Device Manager since 2008. Source: Emerson and Bayer

Figure 1: Bayer’s 155-acre, agricultural chemicals facility in Muscatine, Iowa, has

with

Less nuisance alerts = more savings

Holmes reported that Bayer’s digitalization initiative has two objectives—preventive maintenance (PM) and predictive maintenance (PdM)—and it must achieve both to be beneficial. Its core electrical reliability and process safety principles also rely on IR thermography and motor analytics.

Consequently, Experitec and Bayer developed a “concentric” strategy that includes AMS Device Manager, AMS Device View software and AMS Trex handheld field devices running AMS ValveLink mobile software. It will also look to integrate the new AMS Data Server software with Feature Pack 2 (FP2) that was launched two or three months ago, and plans to add FP3 when it’s released in May 2024.

“The plant’s lean workforce had a hard time sifting through all the data from operations, which made it difficult to identify and track bad actors,” explained Holmes. “Much of this work had to be done manually, which meant more reactive, ‘firefighting’ events, which is in turn much less safe.”

To simplify and streamline its data collection and analysis, Bayer adopted Emerson’s optimized device description (DD) toolkit files for its components in their AMS Device Manager database and the alerts they generate. This enabled it to go from a baseline average of 150 alerts per day to about 60 alerts per day, or a 60% reduction thanks to its newly optimized alert definitions. “Over a 60-day period, we also found that 12 device types were producing 91% of all alerts, and 10 individual devices were producing 41% of all alerts,” said Holmes. “This saved the plant a lot of effort.”

See more, do more

In addition, upgrading to AMS Device Manager V14.5 with add-on Device View software improved performance in several ways when they were released two years ago:

• Device scanning that was 5-15% faster;

• Rebuilt hierarchy that was up to 75% faster;

• Concurrent performance/handshakes improved for AMS Device Manager’s plant-level applications;

• Field device integration support with user interface plugins (UIP) that talk to new devices; and

• Improved editing with templates that optimize workflows for bulk transfers, such as multivariable devices with many parameters.

“AMS Device View is a thin-client that’s easier to use because it has an audit trail for the last 20 events and provides a ‘parking lot’ for workflow projects and an overview on a web-based interface,” said Holmes. “This lets users drill down, set manufacturing information, and learn why alerts

Figure 2: Bayer and Experitec’s preventive and predictive maintenance strategy employs Emerson’s AMS Device Manager, AMS Device View software and AMS Trex handheld field devices running AMS ValveLink mobile software. AMS Device View is a thin-client with an audit trail for the last 20 events, and provides a ‘parking lot’ for workflow projects. It also delivers browserbased, device-health dashboards that can publicize data outside of Bayer’s electrical reliability group, and allow direct access to device screens for overviews, configurations, service tools and performance comparisons. Source: Emerson and Bayer

are occurring, which improves safety, availability and costs because there are fewer bad actors to assess, tasks take less time, and there’s less reactive work.” (Figure 2)

AMS Device View also makes it easier to distribute data to users so they can make better decisions. “This thin client has both view-access and write-access, which is a big help,” added Holmes. “These capabilities allow reliability personnel to be the cheerleaders they need to be to get users to learn, grow, and promote best practices. We have about 10 power users at the Muscatine plant. For our site, AMS Device View

3: Deploying AMS Device Manager allowed Bayer to establish unit-centric preventive and predictive maintenance at multiple levels, while AMS Device View software let it perform instrument analytics, identify and track bad actors and root-cause failures, and implement process workflows. This reduced alert review workflows and execution by 10 minutes per day and 90 minutes per week, increased cost avoidance savings by 67%, and saved more than $225,000 per year due to technician workflow process optimization. Source: Emerson and Bayer

empowers plant operations personnel to access device configuration attributes, diagnostic details and status alert information, which was once only available to the electrical reliability group. This is a perfect solution to embrace if your facility hasn’t yet adopted the AMS Portal application.”

Ybarra added, “Joel took the DD files and eliminated 60% of nuisance alerts This also gave our production technicians access via Device View, so we could also train them and establish standard work processes.”

Optimizations attributed to AMS Device View include:

• Reduced alert review workflows and execution by 10 minutes per day and 90 minutes per week, and enhanced visibility beyond the plant’s electrical reliability group;

• Increased cost avoidance savings by 67% by moving from reactive to proactive maintenance and related activities;

• Technician workflow process optimization saved more than $225,000 per year;

• Availability increased 24% because it’s no longer tied to a thick client; and,

• Accessibility to smart field device data increased by 80% (Figure 3)

Ybarra reported his team is excited to use the upcoming AMS Data Server. “Instead of looking for so much data on our own, we can depend on this system to make more of these checks,” said Ybarra. “This will let us catch more items and spend less time doing it. Plus, instead of having to search for details after an outage, AMS Device Manager can always be on, scanning and assessing usage, and sending active device status alerts to a list. We now have a one-stop-shop to determine asset health.”

Figure

MUX

MUX

CONTROL AMPLIFIED

The Process Automation Podcast

Control Amplified offers in-depth interviews and discussions with industry experts about important topics in the process control and automation field, going beyond Control's print and online coverage to explore underlying issues affecting users, system integrators, suppliers and others in the process industries.

Check out some of the latest episodes, including:

Coriolis technology tackling green hydrogen extremes

FEATURING EMERSON'S GENNY FULTZ AND MARC BUTTLER

Ultrasonic technology takes on hydrogen, natural gas blends

FEATURING SICK SENSOR INTELLIGENCE'S DUANE HARRIS

Asset-specific insights to transform service workflows

FEATURING EMERSON'S BRAIN FRETSCHEL

Analytics enabling next-generation OEE

FEATURING SEEQ'S JOE RECKAMP

MARCEL RAMEIL Global Offer Manager, Control Software for Foxboro DCS, Schneider Electric

THAD FROST Business Leader, Foxboro DCS, Schneider Electric

How distributed control systems bridge automation to the future

AUTOMATION is becoming increasingly open and vendor-agnostic. Likewise, field devices that must be digitalized and interoperable for reporting, maintenance, analytics and decision-making are becoming more remote and automated.

Recently, Schneider Electric’s Marcel Rameil, global offer manager for Control Software for Foxboro DCS, and Thad Frost, business leader for Foxboro DCS, talked with Control about today’s best practices for all aspects of plant automation, and how autonomous plant operations can be achieved.

Q: Thad, what are some of the challenges engineers and operators encounter today?

A: The first is the pace at which technology is changing. There are plants that turn around once every 10 years, and within those 10 years, technology could change three, four or maybe even more times.

My first job was to look at process and instrument diagrams (P&ID) and their instrument tags, and write them on paper to be loaded into the distributed control system (DCS). My second job was looking at those P&IDs and drawing process operator graphics. Today, P&IDs are automatically scanned to get I/O loading and graphics.

We also have artificial intelligence (AI), which I believe is the next industrial revolution. The speed of these changes in technology, coupled with an aging workforce and everyone being asked to do more with less, isn’t a good recipe for success.

Q: Marcel, how can an existing plant be sustained in the future?

A: First, it’s about managing obsolescence. For that, owners and operators interacting with automation must be aware of their current

situations. Transparent lifecycle workshops, with all their vendors involved, should be conducted to enable proactive planning of upgrades and migrations.

Process elements stuck in obsolete lifecycles must be prioritized for the next upgrade. Until they can be exchanged, additional perimeter protections must be implemented around those critical assets, and follow the onion (defense-in-depth) principle to protect them against malicious cyber-attacks. For example, this means using physically locked equipment, restricted access, enforced user authentications, effective and maintained endpoint protection, backup and restore philosophies, and segmented networks and conduits with restrictive firewalls.

Another aspect is virtualizing server workloads, which can help decouple aging hardware from the need to reinstall software. With a virtualized server, you can migrate from old to new hardware without service interruption.

Also, modern ways of implementing operator interfaces help when operators retire, and new operators must catch up. This can be accomplished with digital twins that help build training simulators, so new operators can learn how to handle a plant in abnormal conditions without having to introduce any danger to people, equipment or the environment.

Q: Hardware and software changes quickly. Thad, how can operators guard against software obsolescence?

A: Hopefully, in guarding against software obsolescence, you've selected a DCS vendor with a compelling vision for openness and interoperability by using standards. Ideally, this DCS vendor has also demonstrated the ability to handle software obsolescence in the past.

Select technologies that are mainstream and high volume in their markets to ensure the

longest lifecycles. Based on the existing product lifecycle information, start planning future upgrades and migrations, and work with your chosen vendors on how to get there with minimized cost, risk and plant disruption.

Q: Marcel, what are the keys to cybersecurity compliance considering the ever-evolving requirements

A: It’s about compliance, with cybersecurity built into automation products from the beginning following a standard, such as IEC 62443 that seems to be the emerging, consolidated standard for industrial cybersecurity. A vendor usually supports this standard with certifications, and in this case, the standard is supported by three dimensions of certifications. The first is the secure development lifecycle assurance (SDLA). The second is for individual modules or components, and is called the embedded device security assurance (EDSA). The third defines a reference architecture that guides users of a certain automation product to combine the components of a product into a holistic certified reference architecture. This is called system security assurance (SSA). Certification isn’t the only aspect. Cybersecurity is all about technology, people and processes, and we need to understand that attack vectors today are multifold, and studies reveal they come from inside and outside companies that run process automation equipment.

It's critical to understand all the dependencies of hardware and software to learn about different lifecycle states, and

integrate predictions from respective vendors to develop an upgrade/migration plan. Everything needs to be kept current, so that known vulnerabilities are addressed and patched, and updates can be consumed. It's also important to align IT and OT teams on a joint approach for keeping everything current. Again, operating critical elements like computers, operating systems, embedded modules and databases in an obsolete lifecycle without support from the vendor should be absolutely unacceptable, and needs to be addressed at the next possible opportunity.

Q : Marcel, how can automation knowledge in an asset be sustained?

A: It’s critical to maintain a digital twin that can be enriched with related information, such as documents, drawings or engineering artifacts, to help maintain remnants from the engineering phase of the plant's automation into its operations phase, where it can stay relevant and up to date. This also means these artifacts must be updated with each maintenance activity in the plant and, ideally, digitalize the artifacts from previous engineering efforts, so they can be brought forward.

When we talk about a digital twin, it’s certainly best to build an operator training simulator from it. A simulator is a nice feature to help new team members get up to speed on running and maintaining the plant. Modern simulators can emulate involved systems, and replicate the plant's dynamic functions in high-fidelity, including mass and energy balances and geodetic topology, piping

LISTEN UP!

For an extended version of this discussion, listen to the Control Amplified podcast available at controlglobal.com/podcasts.

geographies and/or exothermal chemical reactions. With such simulations, near-reality simulation scenarios can be set up. Operators can be exposed to fires, leaks and plant behaviors without posing physical danger to plants, products or people.

Q: Marcel, how does Foxboro DCS support industry challenges and trends we've discussed?

A: First, we introduced a new update called Control Software v8.0 at the beginning of 2024, which is based on Aveva System Platform 2023 for realtime operations, as well as its human machine interface called Aveva Managed InTouch for system platform, Aveva Historian and Aveva Application-Server. The system is designed for maximum availability and minimum downtime. There's no single point of failure, and this allows maximum profitability and minimized process disruption.

Enhancements on the upgrade let users renew firmware or fault-tolerant controllers in the plant while it’s operating. The system supports contemporary, Ethernet-based I/O infrastructure, with Ethernet/IP and OPC UA client or Profinet protocols, enabling future Ethernet-Advanced Physical Layer (APL)-based I/O topologies.

In addition, the Aveva software portfolio can bridge operations in the control room with the business decision layer on the user's enterprise level throughout software solutions for planning, reporting, dashboarding, enterprise historians and data lake applications. From engineering via operations to maintenance, it enables retention of engineering artifacts and training scenarios with real-time, digital twins and simulators. The full range of software can be a bridge between operations and the enterprise.

Part two of this series looks at the substitution of frequency for probability and omission of terms in propagation of probability

BY R. RUSSELL RHINEHART

[Part one of this series (Mar. ’24, p. 47, bit.ly/termsandcalculations) examined differences in engineering terms and calculations. Part two discusses the substitution of frequency for probability and omission of terms in probability.]

ENGINEERING ranks efficiency and practicality over scientific or mathematical perfection in calculations, especially when the idealized mathematical perfection doesn’t match how nature behaves. However, sensibility with terms and equations often leads others astray, when the situation isn’t the same as the one that justifies shortcuts. Engineers more grounded in mathematical perfection might call those sensibilities downright sloppy.

Probability

Probability is the proportion (ratio) of the number of occurrences of an event in each number of trials that could generate the event, such as a theoretically expected proportion. For example, the probability of rolling a “four” on a standard, six-sided die is 1/6 = 0.16666, which is stated as p (a four on one-dice roll) = 0.16666. This is a theoretical value based on each side of the die having the same chance of showing on top. If you roll the die 6 million times, you expect to get the event of rolling a four to happen 1 million times. Then p = 1,000,000/6,000,000 = 0.16666.

This is the ideal true value, but only if the roll is randomized and the equal likelihood expectation of any number on top is true. Slight variation on the die's dimensions or where the four is positioned when initiating the roll can make one number more favorable. The theoretical probability is an imagined reality, so it’s an estimate for reality.

However, even if all idealizations are true, you shouldn’t expect to get exactly 1/6 of the outcomes to be a four. Consider 10 rolls: 1/6 of 10 is 1.6666, and you can’t get 2/3 of an event. The outcome is either an event or not an event. Consider 600 rolls; you expect a four to emerge 100 times, but don’t be surprised if the random aspect of the trials ends with 98 times or 103 times. Nature won’t always provide the expected number.

There might not be a conceptual basis to theoretically determine the probability. In this case, you can observe

past data (trials). For example, roll the die 100 times, and count the number of times a four comes up. Maybe it's 13 or 18. The estimate of the probability from past data will be 0.13 or 0.18, but this empirical value isn’t the true probability value. It’s an estimate from a limited number of trials. Although useful, neither method to determine probability returns an exact true value.

A trial (such as a die roll) can’t be cut in half. A trial is a completed batch of procedures. Pick up the die, shake it to randomize its orientation, toss it to roll on the table, and when it comes to rest, observe the number. You can’t derive an event outcome from half a roll because such scaling impossibility leads to alternate ways to analyze probability.

Frequency

Engineers often use the term “probability” to quantify the number of events that might (or did) happen in a time or space interval, but this is a frequency or a rate, not a probability. For example, if the expectation is two events in one year, the frequency is two events per year, not the probability. One reason is probability must be between 0 and 1, inclusive.

An engineer might choose to reduce the time interval to three months, and say the expectation is 0.5 events per quarter. The resulting probability is 0.5, which is a legitimate value. However, it’s not advisable because, based on a one-week time interval, the rate is 2/52 = 0.03846. If probability is frequency, one choice makes the probability two, another 0.5, and another 0.03846. If the year is considered the trial, it can be halved; but with probability, you can’t have half of a trial. Again, events per year is not a probability. One clue that frequency is not probability is that you can divide the trial period to half a trial period.

Ideally, the Poisson distribution model converts the expected frequency of events (number of events per year, or per length, or per area) to the probability of events within that interval. The minimum number is zero, but there is no upper bound on the possible number of events. The idealization in the Poisson distribution model is that any event is wholly independent of any other event.

Use the expected or average rate or frequency (two per year, in this case) as lambda, , in a Poisson distribution

model. In the equation, P(x) = n e - /n! , n is the number of possible events in the time interval, and P(n) is the probability of that number of events. For example, if the expected rate is = two events/yr, then the probability of zero, one, two or three events is in Table 1.

Multiple trials

The expectation is that, after four coin flips (four independent trials), two will be “heads” because the probability of getting heads in any one flip is 0.5. However, there might not be any heads in the four trials, or one, two, three or four times in the set of flips.

The expected number of events scales with the number of independent trials. However, the number of possible events can’t exceed the number of trials because the limit contrasts with the unlimited number of possible events that characterizes a Poisson distribution model. The multiple independent trials and limit on the possible number of events are clues to use the binomial distribution.

The binomial distribution is: P(n N) = N!/(N-n)!n! pn qN-n

P(n N) means the probability of n number of events in N trials; p is the probability of an event in one trial; and q=1-p is the probability of no event. The model idealization is that the events are wholly independent.

There’s not only a probability of zero events in a year, but also 2, 3, 4, 5 or more events per year.

The expectation of two events per year doesn’t mean you’ll experience two events in any one year. You might not have any events, and the probability of no events in a year is 0.135. You might have four events, and the probability of four events in one year is 0.090. The probability of one event in a year is 0.271, which isn’t equal to the average frequency of two events per year.

If the expected frequency is very small, for instance if = 1 event in 100 years = 0.01/year, then the probability of two or more events in a year is vanishingly small, and the probability of one event in a year is P(1) = 0.011 e -0.01/1! = 0.099 0.01 = (Table 1).

If frequency is small, it can approximate the probability.

Since the frequency and probability estimated from past and other processes, under different management conditions, are only estimates, and since the assumption that events are truly independent (no common cause), the error on equating probability to frequency is justifi able (when frequency is small). This convenience introduces an error, but the error is negligible relative to the uncertainty of the given data and the idealization in the model, so there’s no need to use perfect analysis.

If the expectation of the number of events scales with the duration of time or magnitude of the area (if you double the time, or double the area, you expect twice as many events), then use the Poisson distribution model.

Ideally, the binomial distribution provides the probability of n number of events in N number of trials. For the coin flips, the probability of an event (heads) in a trial (a flip) is 0.5. For any of five possible outcomes, Table 2 indicates the ideal probability.

n events in N = 4 trials P(n N ) P(n N ) p = 0.5

In the limit of low probability, such as a 0.001 chance of having an event in one trial, the probability of one event in four trials is about 0.003988 0.004 = 4*0.001 = 4*p. Very small event probabilities mean the probability of an event scales with the number of trials. However, it’s not a mathematical truth.

The ‘and’ conjunction Logical “and” conjunctions and reliability gates multiply the individual event probabilities. Ideally, if the probabilities of events A and B are independent of each other:

P(A AND B) = P(A)∙P(B)

Table 1: probability of number of events per year

Table 2: the probability of n events in N trials

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For example, the probability of rolling a “three” on one die (p = 1/6) and flipping heads on a coin (p = 1/2) is 1/6*1/2 = 1/12 = 0.08333. In the context of a process reliability analysis, if frequency is substituted for probability (because it’s a small value), and there are two full-sized pumps in parallel, the process stops if both fail. If the probability of one failing is 0.02 per year, if there are no common-cause relations, and if it takes a month to repair/replace a failed pump, then the probability of both failing at the same time in a year is 0.02*0.02/12 = 0.00003333.

The ‘or’ conjunction Logical “or” conjunctions and reliability gates are a bit more complicated. One way to obtain the “or” rule is to use the equivalent “not” condition. P(NOT A) = 1-P(A). Then P(A OR B) = 1- P(NOT (A OR B)) = 1- P(NOT A AND NOT B) = 1-(1-P(A))(1-P(B)) = P(A)+P(B)-P(A)P(B). So:

P(A OR B) = P(A)+P(B)-P(A)P(B)

For example, the probability of rolling a “three” on one die (p = 1/6) or flipping heads on a coin (p = 1/2) is 1/6 + 1/2 -1/6* 1/2 = 1/12 = 0.58333.

If the individual probabilities are small, then the product P(A)P(B) will be vanishingly small, and its impact can be ignored. Also, consider the individual P(A) and P(B) values aren’t known with certainty, and the complete independence of events A and B may not be true. The uncertainty of the givens and model idealization may be much larger than the contribution of discarding P(A) P(B). Conventionally, in reliability and safety analysis (with small frequency values substituted for probability), the “or” conjunction rule is shortened to:

P(A OR B) P(A)+P(B)

Know the differences

Keep aware of the difference between probability and frequency, and the independence idealization in the calculations. You can’t have half a trial. If the statement of probability permits cutting the trial period or area in half, it’s frequency, not probability. Only use the truncated “or” model when frequency or probabilities are low.

Russ Rhinehart started his career in the process industry. After 13 years and rising to engineering supervision, he transferred to a 31-year academic career. Now “retired,” he enjoys coaching professionals through books, articles, short courses, and postings on his webite at www.r3eda.com.

Best batch recipes and ingredients

Control ’s monthly resources guide

SIMPLIFY WITH S88 SOFTWARE

This online article, “Providing flexibility in batch control” by Jeff Elliott, covers some history of the ANSI/ISA88 standard and subsequent software packages designed to carry out S88-style recipes, phases and other functions in similar ways, and achieve comparable advantages. The article shows how Valmet performs state-based control and S88 control using Phase logic and its FlexBatch software. It's at www. processingmagazine.com/processcontrol-automation/article/53072357/ providing-flexibility-in-batch-control

PROCESSING

www.processingmagazine.com

PREDICTABLE + REPEATABLE

This Control Talk column, “How to get the best batch control” by Michael Taube and Greg McMillan, shows how to achieve robust batch control applications. This includes computing batch profiles, and using batch control sequences. Taube reports that robust sequences are tolerant of perturbations, can generate predictable and repeatable behavior, require no manual intervention, and don’t overlook initialization. It's at www.controlglobal.com/ control-talk-column/article/21546030/ control-talk-how-to-get-the-bestbatch-control

CONTROL

www.controlglobal.com

STEPS AND METHODS

The online article, “Batch process control” by Shreya Gore, outlines all the essential steps for effective control, such as define and adjust parameters, set procedures, monitor variables, establish strategies, acquires and analyze data, maintain calibration, document and learn, training

and regulatory compliance. It also covers batch control methods using programmable logic controllers (PLC), distributed control systems (DCS), proportional-integrate-derivative (PID), statistical process control (SPC) and supervisory control and acquisition (SCADA). It’s at medium.com/@ shreya.gore20/batch-process-controlcb4f6638fcc5

MEDIUM

www.medium.com

PHASES AND MODULES

This 16-minute video, “What is batch processing?” by Saumil Patel, explains how batch processing differs from traditional programming, and shows how users can implement the principles of the ISA88 standard. It also covers phases concepts, equipment modules and control modules. It’s at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gUQ2zTmtcs8&t=32s

AUTOMATION BY SAUMIL PATEL tarkguru.com

JUGGLING BATCH ANALYTICS

This online article, “Understanding the basics of batch process data analytics,” advises using performance objectives to help decide what analytics method to use. These methods include monitoring a process with one set of input data using principal component analysis (PCA), modeling a process output with two data sets; batch process modeling with a twoway data table, introducing SPC, and using batch evolution and batch level models. It’s at www.sartorius.com/en/ knowledge/science-snippets/understanding-the-basics-of-batch-processdata-analytics-507206

SARTORIUS

www.sartorius.com

COMPOUNDING COW FEED

This seven-page academic paper, “PLC-based batch process control systems a cattle feed plant” by Lohit Banakar ad Veena P.N., shows how to formulate balanced rations using PLCs on a feed production line. It covers system components, recipe builder software, programming I/O and controllers, process configuration/operation and management software, and menus and screens. It’s at zenodo.org/ record/8185491/files/1806014%20

IJIRCT%20Paper.pdf

ZENODO

www.zenodo.org

DEFICIENCIES + DIFFICULTIES

This online article, “Automate your batch process—part 2” by Cecil Smith integrates a chemical engineer’s perspective with batch process automation efforts. It covers simple and complex control deficiencies, such as output tracking and difficulties added by plant equipment, as well as splitrange techniques and controllers and throughputs in a batch facility. While a lengthy preview is available, membership and a login are required. It’s at www.aiche.org/resources/publications/ cep/2015/september/automate-yourbatch-process-part-2

AICHE

www.aiche.org

BEST OF LAST TIME

This online article, “10 batch resources you need to see,” includes all the entries and links from the 2022 resource guide on batch. It’s at www. controlglobal.com/manage/batch-management/article/21438869/10-batchcontrol-resources-you-need-to-see CONTROL

www.controlglobal.com

This column is moderated by Béla Lipták, who is also the editor of the Instrument Engineers’ Handbook (5th Edition: https://www.isa.org/products/ instrument-and-automationengineers-handbook-proce).

If you have a question concerning measurement, control, optimization or automation, please send it to: liptakbela@aol.com. When you send a question, please include full name, affiliation and title.

Role of FL and XT in sizing control valves

Explaining the factors affecting pressure drop and recovery

Q: I’m an instrumentation and control engineer at Egyptian Liquefied Natural Gas (ELNG), and I’d like your help in understanding the data sheets (below) that I must use to purchase control valves.

I’m particularly interested in learning more about FL and X T

In another field on the data sheet, I have the below statement about CV.

SHABAN SEAD

Egyptian Liquefied Natural Gas, Shaban.Saad@egyptianlng.com

A1: As flowing liquid or gas approaches a control valve, the restriction causes it to accelerate. Acceleration requires energy, which must come from a drop in the static pressure upstream of the valve (P1 in Figure 1). This pressure drops as the area available for the flow decreases, until the most constrictive location is reached. This location is called the vena contracta, and the pressure at that point is noted as Pvc. After this minimum constriction, the area available to the flowing stream increases, and some of the kinetic pressure converts back into static pressure.

The difference P1 - P 2 is caused by friction, and is called the permanent pressure drop. The pressure difference P 2- - Pvc is called the amount of pressure recovery. In valves with high recovery (rotary and gate valves), the kinetic effect is greater than the friction. If the flowing material is viscous, the opposite is the case, and the pressure recovery factor (F L ) is low. Figure 1 also shows the effects of the inlet reducer and the outlet increaser effects. 32

The pressure then rises until it reaches P 2 at the outlet pressure.

FL is provided by the manufacturer and is based on the nature of the restriction the valve represents. It relates inversely to the pressure recovery—the higher it is, the lower the pressure recovery.

The XT and X TP factors in Figure 2 are provided by the valve

manufacturers. The XT factor (critical pressure drop) describes how close the compressible flow is from choking (its velocity reaching sonic velocity), which occurs when P1/PVC exceeds 2.0. The choked flow also depends on piping geometry and the thermodynamic properties of the fluid. Even if

Inlet Reducer Effect

Figure 2: This graph is used to determine the gas combined factor (XPT). The equation for the calculation is at the top. The values of Cd can be calculated as Cd = Cv/d2, where d is the nominal valve size in inches, and the inlet reducer friction coefficient (K1) as

the valves are tested, they’re seldom tested on a gas with the same thermodynamic properties as the process fluid. If the valve is installed between reducers or other fittings (as your 21in. valve probably is), the XT factor becomes the combined factor X TP that has to be established by testing. Figure 2 can also be used to determine X TP it, where Cd = Cv/d2

In connection with control valve sizing, there are a number of additional factors. They include:

FF: liquid critical pressure ration factor

FP and FLP: piping geometry factors

FR: Reynolds number factor

Y: gas expansion factors

FK: specific heats factor

Z: compressibility factor

Naturally, the sophisticated sizing method described in the Instrument Engineers’ Handbook will give you accurate results only if the data provided and the algorithm used for the calculations are both good. This isn't necessarily the case. Actually, in some cases, the user doesn’t even know what factors are considered in the sizing and how accurate they are.

BÉLA LIPTÁK liptakbela@aol.com

A2: F L is a dimensionless factor that indicates the pressure recovery downstream of the valve. It will range between 0 and 1. The higher F L means pressure recovery is lower. The F L will be determined by the manufacturer based on valve size, shape, flow rate and fluid properties. However, higher F L also indicates there is greater risk of cavitation.

X T is also a dimensionless factor that affects the pressure recovery based on valve design. A globe valve has a smoother flow transition than a butterfly valve. If you have a smaller X T, then downstream pipe length before the next flow obstruction must be longer.

RAJ SREENEVASAN principal control systems engineer binney4family@internode.on.net

Figure 1: A pressure profile through a control valve where Pvc is the vena contracta pressure. The pressure revovery factor is calculated as FL = [(P'1-P2)/(P1-Pvc)]1/2

Smaller, lighter, stronger, more accurate

Flowmeters and support components gain capabilities—and Coriolis continues to take over

SMALL CORIOLIS, RETROFITTABLE TRANSMITTER

Micro Motion G-Series compact, dual-tube, Coriolis, mass flow and density meters offer the same quality and reliability as standard designs, but in a smaller, lighter form factor. They're accom panied by the Micro Motion 4700 Coriolis transmitter with a retrofit adapter. To serve in confined spaces, G-Series has a face-to-face dimension of less than 12 in. for the 1-in. line-size model. Six lines sizes are available from ¼ in. to 3 in.

EMERSON

FOUR TUBES FOR PRECISE MEASUREMENT

Promass Q Coriolis flowmeters employ four-tube technology for precision with minimal pressure loss. New versions make it available for larger pipes than ever— up to 10 in. (DN 250)—for measuring flow rates up to 18,900 bph (2,400 t/h). In addition to mass and volumetric flow, Promass Q also records process density and temperature. It achieves tight error bands of ±0.05% for mass flow and ±0.2 kg/m³ for density.

ENDRESS+HAUSER

www.emerson.com/en-us/automation/brands/micro-motion/micromotion-g-series-coriolis-flow-meter

PVC BODY, TITANIUM ELECTRODES

www.endress.com/en/field-instruments-overview/flow-measurementproduct-overview/coriolis-flowmeter-promass-q300

IO-LINK AND BIDIRECTIONAL FLOW

GF 2581 FlowtraMag is a full-bore, plastic, inline-style, magnetic flowmeter designed for simple, reliable, high-accuracy flow measurement in short pipe runs. Its PVC body with titanium or Hastelloy C electrodes and EPDM and FKM O-rings has no moving parts, while its lightweight, robust construction (up to three times lighter than traditional, metal magmeters) permits vertical and horizontal installation without supports. It's calibration to ±1% for reading accuracy and repeatability of ±0.5%.

GF PIPING SYSTEMS www.gfps.com/us

CLAMP-ON INTEGRATES VOLUMETRIC AND %

FSZ S-Flow is an integrated, clamp-on, ultrasonic flowmeter for liquids in small pipes. It can measure fluids in pipes from 0.25 in. to 1.25 in. FSZ provides simultaneous display of volumetric flow and percentage, or temperature as an option. It’s easy to install on pipes with just four screws. FSZ integrates the flow transmitter and detector, enabling it to eliminate the need for signal cable wiring, while facilitating mounting to pipes by adopting a greaseless design.

FUJI ELECTRIC

DUK ultrasonic flowmeter offers integral temperature measurement, IO-Link, bidirectional flow capabilities, switching and batching and transmitting functions, two configurable outputs, and a digital touch screen that rotates the display in 90 increments depending on the installation position. DUK is designed for water and viscous media up to 68 cSt. It’s designed with the future in mind, offering easy onsite repair and replacement.

KOBOLD INSTRUMENTS INC. 412-788-2830; www.koboldusa.com

https://americas.fujielectric.com/s-flow

ACCURACY WITH TWIN-BENT-TUBE

Optimass 6400 Coriolis mass flowme ter employs a twin-bent-tube meter to provide performance and high accuracy in almost any application, including process control of petrochemicals, concentration measurements in food and beverage, and custody transfer filling and transport measurements. Optimass 6400 is also optimal for cryogenic media and applications involving high operating temperatures or pressures.

KROHNE

978-535-6060; us.krohne.com/en/products/flow-measurement/ flowmeters/coriolis-mass-flowmeters/optimass-6400

SIMULTANEOUS FLOW, TEMPERATURE, VOLUME

MAGNETIC SENSING FOR ACCURACY

Picomag series magneticinductive flowmeters from Endress+Hauser offer reliable measuring and monitoring of conductive liquids, such as drinking and industrial water with a minimum conductivity of 10 μS/cm. They allow simultaneous measurement of flow, temperature and volume, and provide two selectable I/O points that can be configured for analog current or voltage output, pulse or switch outputs, IO-Link connection, or status inputs for a totalizer reset.

AUTOMATIONDIRECT www.automationdirect.com/flow-sensors

FLOW/NO-FLOW, LOW-FLOW SENSOR/MONITOR

Si5010 flow sensor/monitor from ifm efector detects flows with thermal technology for flow/no flow applications, and for very low-flow applications using a low-flow block accessory. Outputs include analog flow representing 0-100% of taught flow rate, and switching outputs for flow and temperature. Si5010 also features 3 ~ 300 cm/s and 200 ~ 3000 cm/s sensing ranges, 18 V ~ 36 V inputs, and -25 °C ~ 80 °C operations.

DIGI-KEY ELECTRONICS

www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/ifm-efector-inc/ SI5010/12145896

DUAL-VALVE POSITION SENSOR WITH BEACON

Admag AXG magnetic flowmeter precisely measures fluid flows in various industrial applications. It uses advanced magnetic flow sensing technology to accurately measure flow rates of conductive liquids, including water (NSF-61), chemicals and slurries. With robust construction and a wide range of sizes, Admag AXG ensures durability and versatility. It also features seamless integration with control systems, offering real-time data monitoring and analysis.

YOKOGAWA CORP. OF AMERICA

800-888-6400; www.yokogawa.com/us

STEEL, STAINLESS AND BRASS NEEDLE VALVES

100 series needle valves from Noshok are available in zinc-nickel plated steel, electropolished stainless-steel and brass, and are 100% helium leak tested to 1 x 104 ml/s for performance and reli ability. Rated from 6,000 psi at 200 °F for brass and 10,000 psi at 200 °F for steel and stainless-steel models, they feature FKM O-ring seals and PTFE backup rings below the stem threads to protect against corrosion and galling.

GALCO www.galco.com

CUSTODY TRANSFER WITH FLOW METERING SKIDS

F31K2 dual-valve position sensors are designed for harsh, outdoor use, with a beacon that’s visible from long distances. It’s double housing provides twice the usual protection, and has a high IP rating. LEDs indicating power supply, sensor and valve conditions are integrated in F31K2’s sensor module. It’s housing is resistant to UV, temperature and corrosion. It also has IECEx and ATEX certifications for use in explosion-hazardous areas, including Ex ec/tc for Zone 2/22.

PEPPERL+FUCHS www.pepperl-fuchs.com

Flowskid600 and Flowskid600-compact flow metering systems are built around Flowsic600 or Flowsic600-XT ultrasonic gas flowmeters, but they also customize instrumentation and supervisory computing. This allows seamless integration with Sick’s Flow-X flow computer. All Flowskids are manufactured according to ISO standards and follow the latest DIN, ANSI and ASME standards.

SICK

www.sick.com/tw/en/system-solutions/flow-metering-systems/ flowskid/c/g472153

GREG MCMILLAN

Gregory K. McMillan captures the wisdom of talented leaders in process control, and adds his perspective based on more than 50 years of experience, cartoons by Ted Williams, and (web-only)

Top 10 lists. Find more of Greg's conceptual and principle-based knowledge in his Control Talk blog.

Greg welcomes comments and column suggestions at ControlTalk@ endeavorb2b.com

Improving safety performance: compliance vs. competence, part 1

Why the process industries need practical improvements in business policies, and how to do it

IN this multi-part series, Michael Taube, a principal consultant at S&D Consulting (Michael.Taube@sdconsulting.com), offers insights on stagnation in process safety performance, and where the process industries could and should make practical improvements to address opportunities. Michael, what’s happened?

MICHAEL: Over the past 40 years, we witnessed an extraordinary promulgation of safety regulations and associated “safety management systems,” which resulted in the improvement of personal and process safety performance (SP). Over the last 10-20 years, however, SP plateaued at a total recordable incident rate (TRIR) of 10-7, and significant events continue to occur and at sites with “excellent” safety records.

There’s been much published research and numerous books by researchers such as Sidney Dekker, Todd Conklin and Nancy Leveson, to name a few, which advocate an alternative approach or “new view” for improving SP. They recognize and explore such aspects as human performance, mental models, human error, organizational accidents, safety engineering and high-reliability organization (HRO) practices. The “old view” is largely based on compliance, which consists of bureaucratic paperwork and enforcement, management systems, and error or deviance tracking. The new view is based on capacity or competence embedded in and reflected by the people at the sharp end— who are involved in the most difficult or dangerous aspects of work—particularly through identifying and addressing safety issues on their own initiative.

While not advocating complete abandonment of the safety activities that got the process industries (PI) to where they are today, the new view highlights shortcomings and changes in perspective, attitude and practices

required to have measurable improvements in SP beyond the 10-7 rate. Nevertheless, the PIs have yet to embrace, much less pursue, this new perspective, and seemingly prefer to do more of the same, all while expecting the outcomes to change.

This series intends to spur introspection regarding the underlying assumptions about how SP is achieved and generate brutally honest, even heated, debate about the organizational and cultural changes—mindset, attitudes, policies and practices, and leadership philosophies throughout all levels of the PIs— which the new view proposes are required to achieve the ever-elusive goal of zero incidents. In addition to SP improvements, if/when the new view is pursued in earnest, this column expects there will be other positive business outcomes, such as improved uptime, reduced break-in work, improved schedule and cost performance in turnarounds, and fewer unplanned outages, all of which improve profit.

GREG: What is the old view?

MICHAEL: The core principle of the old view is that people are the problem, thus human error must be eliminated. We see this reflected in how SP is monitored and tracked. It consists of personal protective equipment (PPE) violations, deviance/error tracking, etc.

GREG: What is the new view?

MICHAEL: The new view explicitly recognizes that human error is normal and can’t be eliminated. The systems in which humans

Competence requires that process industry facilities and companies become “learning organizations.”

perform their work must be resilient enough to prevent errors from resulting in undesired outcomes. An integral part of the new view is competence by the boots on the ground, instead of just compliance. The people at the sharp end—the ones who do the work—are part of the solution.

To put a finer point on this, compliance has you do only what’s required by regulation (according to management dictates), while competence results in workers at the sharp end finding and fixing problems as they arise before something undesired happens. In compliance, regulations define the maximum requirement, whereas competence regulations describe minimum requirements. Compliance creates a bureaucratic exercise up the chain of command, whereas competence creates a moral responsibility down the chain of command.

GREG: How is competence attained?

MICHAEL: Competence requires that process industry facilities and companies become “learning organizations” (see Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline). PI management must understand the difference between work as imagined (how they think it’s done) versus work as it’s really done. Staff (and supervisor) training must use real-life (but simulated) training scenarios similar to other high-consequence industries, such as commercial aviation and the U.S. Navy Submarine Force.

GREG: What must change to transition to competence?

MICHAEL: First, the process industries must recognize that human error is normal and can’t be eliminated. This represents an almost seismic shift in thinking and policies around safety. Second, they must eliminate flat organizations, which created top-heavy organizations with too few boots on the ground and siloed groups or little fiefdoms. Next,

they must rebuild the organizational base/foundation (supervisors and staff) by reinvesting in and rebuilding staff training programs. These include technical fundamentals and foundations specific to the operation and hazards of the processes they work with. Also, incident/accident investigations must become organizational learning opportunities rather than “firing squads.” Management must be engaged with the workforce at a personal level—not superficially—to understand how work really gets done. Metrics, especially those tied to financial incentives, must reflect progress and performance, not activity, such as latent hazards that can be identified and corrected versus just making safety observations. Successes, such as maintenance work, turnarounds and routine work, must be debriefed, so mistakes are captured and holes and deficiencies are identified for correction. This will make the system more resilient and less susceptible to failure due to mistakes.

GREG: What’s keeping the process industries from pursuing competence?

MICHAEL: The biggest impediments to progress are fear of failure and being “outside the norm,” and fear of deviating from standard practices. Another issue is a severe lack of leadership. The process industries are burdened with a deplorable excess of management and too few true leaders. An operative expression for this is “one manages things, but leads people.” There is also the perception that we’re “good enough” or what we produce isn’t that dangerous, such as asphalt, sugar, grain or ethanol, so our facility or company doesn’t need to be a “regulated site.” For the more-bad-advice, accounting-trained managers, it’s very hard to capture a return on investment (ROI) for competency, and know why and how to spend the effort and money.

Lastly, something I realized very early in my career is that, as an industry, we spend lots of time, effort and money to ensure nothing bad happens. But this runs completely counter to how the human mind works. It’s a goal-seeking machine. The trick is to give it the right goal to pursue.

JIM MONTAGUE Executive Editor jmontague@endeavorb2b.com

"If possible, get your hands on new and unfamiliar hardware and software, and thrash around until they begin to make sense — and they will, even if it doesn’t seem possible now."

In the right light

Geology, oncology and industrial networking have common threads that can be made visible

IT’S logical to believe that knowledge increases certainty, right? Nice try. Likewise, documenting and retaining details, fitting them into larger contexts, and developing critical thinking skills to make them all work together should be the most useful of all. And it is, but only briefly. The problem is that gaining know-how about one area or activity typically opens up much larger and deeper vistas that are pretty much if not completely unknown. Illuminating one corner may reveal the rest of a room, and may even hint at the larger house and neighborhood beyond.

For instance, I used to wonder how could a thin, little river cut a big canyon? I’ve also been fascinated by oxbows, which even the smallest streams create when their flows erode and wind back far enough to cut through their previous path. More recently, on a late-afternoon flight over the western U.S., I saw the rivers with their obvious, reflective courses, but I also noticed their nearby banks contained dozens if not hundreds of old oxbows—like handfuls of cooked spaghetti coiling along either side of the present stream. This is how wider valleys are created, of course, but I couldn’t see it until I gained the right perspective. I didn’t have a super, slowmotion video of the rivers in action, but when the light was right, the topographical contrast was high enough to provide a clear fingerprint of the geology that’s actually going on.

Similarly, one illness may get cured, but it often points out half a dozen other ailments lurking off to the side that we were blissfully unaware of before confronting the first one. For example, the new American Experience documentary, “The Cancer Detectives” (www.pbs.org/video/the-cancer-detectivesgepczt), showed how early researchers improved staining of the cells on their slides, so physiological differences in their samples— and possible disease indications—would be possible to observe.

The reason I’m focusing on geology and early oncology is I believe their best practices are equally applicable to fieldbuses, Ethernet and industrial networking. As usual, I haven’t plugged them together, but I thought I’d covered them long enough to know their basic principles. I always enjoyed the explanation that buses were simply low-powered loops— like a telephone line for devices instead of people—which could use the same tiny electronic pulses to communicate. One or two twisted-pair cables visiting multiple plant-floor devices was more logical than sending pointto-point wires out to each device and back. Very logical. The world made sense.

My first wakeup call came a couple of years ago, when I was informed that the point-topoint IO-Link protocol was preferred by many plant-floor users. Counterintuitively, its easeof-use trumped any drawbacks.

Most recently, I’ve once again been researching and reporting about EthernetAdvanced Physical Layer (APL) for Control’s upcoming May issue. Its main advantage is it can be used in intrinsically safe (IS) settings, but I foolishly asked, “Isn’t regular Ethernet already low-powered enough to be used in hazardous areas?” This query has caused a tangle of yes-and-no explanations about power levels, performance profiles, ambient environmental conditions and further questions that I still haven’t sorted out yet. I’m sort of sorry I asked. However, I’m also experienced enough to know that wrestling with these details will no doubt lead to a good story.

I believe this is good advice for anyone. Be as patient as possible with big, sticky, unknown situations, but dive in gingerly to avoid injury. If possible, get your hands on new and unfamiliar hardware and software, and thrash around until they begin to make sense—and they will, even if it doesn’t seem possible now. It may even be comforting to know there’s really no other option.

Go Beyond.

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Venture beyond. Visit Emerson.com/DeltaV