Control - June 2024

Deadtime compensation: opportunities & realities

A solid plan for cybersecurity

Return of anaLoG reaLitY

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) goes backstage at the digitalization show

Process improvement is like a trapeze act. You need a trusted partner who lends a hand at the right moment.

Just as athletes rely on their teammates, we know that partnering with our customers brings the same level of support and dependability in the area of manufacturing productivity. Together, we can overcome challenges and achieve a shared goal, optimizing processes with regards to economic efficiency, safety, and environmental protection. Let’s improve together.

COVER STORY

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) goes backstage at the digitalization show by Jim Montague

LOOP CONTROL

Deadtime compensation opportunities and realities

The benefits of implementing controller integral action by using filtered positive feedback by Peter Morgan and Greg McMillan

CYBERSECURITY A solid plan for cybersecurity

Chemical manufacturer Olin follows NIST and CIS directives and adopts Armis software to build its OT/IT security platform by Jim Montague

CONTROL (USPS 4853, ISSN 1049-5541) is published 10x annually (monthly, with combined Jan/Feb and Nov/Dec) by Endeavor Business Media, LLC. 201 N. Main Street, Fifth Floor, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CONTROL, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Publisher reserves the right to reject non-qualified subscriptions. Subscription prices: U.S. ($120 per year); Canada/M exico ($250

This little instrument went to market

While automation technology buyers look to stay home

Roadmap to the future

How process control can lead the charge to sustainability

15 EXCLUSIVE

Eight I/O channels

fuel flexibility

Rosemount 802 wireless I/O transmitter enables remote monitoring and control

16 IN PROCESS

Return of analog reality

Is digitized reality always the best choice?

WITHOUT WIRES

IoT proliferation implications

More bandwidth, security and scalability required

POINT

Why measure flow?

Flow measurement is an integral part of almost every aspect of our lives

Conoco buying Marathon for $22.5 billion Rockwell plans close to 900 layoffs; DuPont will split into three public companies 35 ASK

THE EXPERTS

Control valve selection and sizing data

How to best ensure you're using reliable sizing information

37 RESOURCES

Full court pressure–and temperature, too Control's monthly resources guide

38 ROUNDUP

Motors, drives don't (just) spin wheels

Greater compactness, longevity, protections, multi-ratings and ease-of-use add efficiencies.

40

CONTROL TALK

Improving safety: compliance vs. competence, part 3

The process industry can make changes for better safety performance

42 CONTROL REPORT

IIoT is getting old

Shift from connectivity to software make IIoT fade out

CONTROL AMPLIFIED

Listen to our podcast series with the newest members of the Process Automation Hall of Fame. Find it at controlglobal.com

Fact: Touchscreen and/or display in an HMI are most likely to go out first due to wear and tear!

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Say No to all HMIs Made in China

Say No to all HMIs Made in China

C-more from AutomationDirect, Maple, Schneider, Omron, Siemens, Idec, Mitsubishi, a lot of Rockwell, all Made in China

C-more from AutomationDirect, Maple, Schneider, Omron, Siemens, Idec, Mitsubishi, a lot of Rockwell, all Made in China

* Don’t be fooled by the large American flag on AutomationDirect’s building in Georgia which is only a distribution center. ADC is owned by Koyo and their HMIs are made in China.

* Don’t be fooled by the large American flag on AutomationDirect’s building in Georgia which is only a distribution center. ADC is owned by Koyo and their HMIs are made in China. We do recognize that currently you do have to buy some products made in China but, HMI is a significant part of the cost of your control system, so why not start with buying Made in America HMIs?

We do recognize that currently you do have to buy some products made in China but, HMI is a significant part of the cost of your control system, so why not start with buying Made in America HMIs?

* Programming so EZ, that even your CEO can do it in minutes

Program this screen in less than 10 minutes

Program this screen in less than 10 minutes

Most of our competitor’s products require a 3-5 day class to learn how to program their products. Our programming language is so intuitive and so simple that the design time for the entire project is reduced to hours instead of days. http://ezautomation.net

Most of our competitor’s products require a 3-5 day class to learn how to program their products. Our programming language is so intuitive and so simple that the design time for the entire project is reduced to hours instead of days. http://ezautomation.net

* Patented On-Line Edit Saves Down Time

* Patented On-Line Edit Saves Down Time

Most studies confirm that on the average, a new HMI installation requires 5 edits in the first three months. EZAutomation/AVG is the only company on this planet that allows on-line edit of the screens without shutting down or disconnecting the HMI. This saves the user thousands of dollars in down time. http://ezautomation.net/ez7uniquefeatures

Most studies confirm that on the average, a new HMI installation requires 5 edits in the first three months. EZAutomation/AVG is the only company on this planet that allows on-line edit of the screens without shutting down or disconnecting the HMI. This saves the user thousands of dollars in down time. http://ezautomation.net/ez7uniquefeatures

* 21 Unique Features: https://www.ezautomation.net/ez7uniquefeatures Including Full Project simulation on your PC, “C level” scripting and logic expressions, Data-logging, Recipes, Emails, USBs, Free Chart recorder, Most advanced Alarm management and logging and On-Screen Recipe Edit. 1.

* 21 Unique Features: https://www.ezautomation.net/ez7uniquefeatures Including Full Project simulation on your PC, “C level” scripting and logic expressions, Data-logging, Recipes, Emails, USBs, Free Chart recorder, Most advanced Alarm management and logging and On-Screen Recipe Edit.

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This little instrument went to market

While automation technology buyers look to stay home

SUMMER is upon us, and I like a good farmer’s market. The locally grown fruits and vegetables, and the occasional handmade craft, all come together in one direct-to-consumer package that sure beats sifting through the supermarket's produce aisle. Local fruit and veggie stands are a microcosm of what’s needed in today’s global marketplace—locally grown means faster time to market (your table), direct handling of products to ensure safety (freshness) and a pretty good idea by the distributor (the farmer) of what the customers need and want at any given time.

There are also less barriers to entry with less red tape, and less chance of supply chain interruptions or security breaches standing in the way of your zucchini or blueberries. You just really need to trust the farmer.

The global marketplace seldom enjoys such convenience. Oil and gas are frequent targets for politically motivated supply disruptions. Electronics often face tariffs. Meanwhile, the growing lithium-ion battery market faces several obstacles to an efficient and trustworthy supply chain.

Process automation technologies ease the woes of the processing and manufacturing sectors to get their products to market. However, more than 80% of all automation products used in the world are manufactured in China, according to electronics manufacturer AVG/EZ Automation. In May, the Biden administration announced plans for tariff increases on goods from China (bit.ly/Section301Tariff), categorizing it as a step to accelerate technology manufacturing in the U.S. The move has created uncertainty and unpredictability on the availability and prices of those China-made automation products.

So, what’s a processor or manufacturer to do?

They, like those of us who pull our cars off the road at the sight of a sign advertising six ears of corn for $2, can seek answers closer to home without the headaches that can come with imported products. Some instrumentation manufacturers are setting up shop closer to their customers, and putting the manufacture, testing, sales and distribution all within a more local market.

Call it the roadside farmer's market of the process automation sector.

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

" Process automation technologies ease the woes of the processing and manufacturing sectors to get their products to market."

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Controlling the roadmap to the future

How we can use process control knowledge to lead the charge to sustainability

LAST November, my new book, Controlling the Future , was published by the International Society of Automation (ISA) (bit.ly/ControllingTheFuture).It describes the contributions the automation profession can make to control non-industrial processes, such as the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and global warming. The following is an excerpt of an interview with ISA about the book.

Q: Why is this textbook important?

A: We’ve entered the post-Holocene period, called the Anthropocene Epoch. In this period, life on Earth began to be altered by humans, and our influence impacts both physical and cultural environments. In our physical world, we burn through resources at an unsustainable rate. Meanwhile, in our cultural environment, we allow artificial intelligence (AI) to do all it can, rather than limiting it to only what it should. In this sense, we’ve reached a fork in the road of human evolution, and now we must decide if we’ll continue on our present path—a big dead end—or if we’ll finally take control of our future. In this book, I present a roadmap for the latter option, which will protect the only home we have, and lead us to a clean and sustainable future.

Q: What’s unique about your textbook?

A: Many books have been written about the human footprint and the changes needed to make it less harmful. These books were either written by specialists, who have unique knowledge of only some aspects of global conditions (rising sea levels, fi erce storms, deforestation, droughts or declining biodiversity) or global cultural environments. Other authors usually describe new equipment or designs that can impact these large and complex processeses. Both of these types of books are valuable, but neither

group deals with the totality of these large, multivariable processes.

My book doesn’t fit into either of these categories. I know about the total behavior of processes, which I’ve been studying for more than 50 years. Therefore, I can analyze mutivariable processes in their totality by reviewing their capacitances, inertias, accelerations, time constants, feedbacks, tipping points, integral accumulations or interactions among their component sub-processes. As such, I can determine the overall dynamic behavior (personality) of all processes, including AI or climate change.

I’m neither an alarmist nor a denier. When analyzing a process, I’m only interested in the factual data that describe the past behavior of the process to determine the controls needed to direct its future behavior.

Q: What are some key points readers can take away from this book?

A: The human factor: Humans respond quickly only if their wallets are impacted. They must not only be convinced that conversion to green energy is good, but must also be shown that the conversion creates good jobs and profits for all.

Global heat balance: The temperatures of all objects stay stable if the quantity of heat entering them is the same as the heat leaving. If we want to stop warming, it’s equally effective to reduce the heat entering our planet or increase the heat leaving it. This increase can be achieved by increasing the heat Earth reflects into space. As of today, the focus is solely on reducing heating by decarbonization (Figure 1), while the potential for cooling is neglected. My calculations show increasing the albedo of Earth (whitening the human footprint) would be as effective in reducing global warming as decarbonization.

Energy storage: The energy from most green sources is only intermittently available. It must

BÉLA LIPTÁK liptakbela@aol.com

" We’ve reached a fork in the road of human evolution, and now we must decide if we’ll continue on our present path – a big dead end – or if we’ll finally take control of our future."

be converted into continuous usage through storage. Batteries are not large enough or safe enough to meet the storage requirement, particularly if we consider that the existing grid is old and undersized, and the global electricity

load is expected to triple in a decade. Permanent and new solutions to meet the need for green energy storage are needed, and hydrogen storage is a natural solution. The salt cavern storage of green hydrogen is already functioning.

Q: Can we afford the cost of the green conversion?

A: At the end of World War II, the grant loans of the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) totaled about 5% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). They were paid back by the end of the century, resulting in a 25% rise in Europe’s GDP. Today, global GDP is about $100 trillion, and roughly 1% is needed to pay for decarbonizing our energy economy and keeping global warming from exceeding about 2 °C.

I believe this temperature limit can be met because free-market forces already support this goal. This is demonstrated by the continuing drop in the costs of renewable energy and green energy’s increasing share of the total energy mix (Figure 2).

Green energy is not only cheaper, but it’s also less dangerous and quicker to deploy than fossil fuels. In addition, fossil fuels will continue to cause even more damage due to both shortages and the coming energy wars. I’m still optimistic because public opinion is changing.

Q : What is the main conclusion of your book?

2: Global average of costs of energy (LCOE) from a variety of sources, not considering the role of subsidies. Source: Statista: OurWorldinData.org Figure 3: For the

A: The atmosphere would be black if greenhouse gases had color. The weight of the stuff we’ve already put up in the air is greater than everything we’ve ever built on the ground (Figure 3).

Similarly, my message also emphasizes that we’ve already lost one-third to two-thirds of our biodiversity. This is more than half of our coral reefs or forest areas (equaling twice the area of the U.S.). Meanwhile, ice melting has already reduced Earth’s reflectivity by 0.5W/m2. We have little more than a decade to get serious about stopping global warming, otherwise it will rise to greater than 2.5 °C, making the regions near the tropics unlivable, and producing an unstoppable wave of migration that can destroy civilization.

Figure 1: Energy consumption of nations (left) and sources (right)

Figure

Return of analog reality

Is digitized reality always the best choice?

SELF-CONTAINED pressure regulators became mechanical engineering masterpieces long before Kevin was wearing big-boy pants. They were an anomaly in the days of digital control, but still have many applications.

Clever Kevin was lackadaisical about understanding how these regulators work or why they might be the optimum choice for a given application. He likes controlling things from a distributed control system (DCS), so he was delighted to obtain funding to replace one with more contemporary instruments—a “smart” pressure transmitter and digital positioner controlling a sliding-stem control valve. But the system tripped when the downstream burner management system’s (BMS) valves were opened to light the main burner.

Sometime in the ’70s or ’80s, the stewards of continuous process control systems accepted a new paradigm—their systems could be designed to consume measurements and produce outputs at discrete intervals. The pervasive algorithm for continuous control—proportional, integral and derivative (PID)—was adapted to mimic the continuous mechanisms of pneumatic and analog electronics. As our industries deployed DCSs, we accepted the compromises brought by sampled data because (usually) it was adequate for our relatively slow processes. The vast new opportunities to use digital computational tools became essential to keep pace with our peers.

If you were around at a certain time in the past, you may have spent time in the lab with an analog computer. Students would analyze problems by connecting jumpers (big ones with banana plugs), adjusting potentiometers, and observing outputs on an oscilloscope. Behind the patch-panel, op-amps and various other filters and devices processed the signals to simulate a problem. While our vernacular often contrasts analog with digital, our forerunners used their computational machines as analogous to the physical system—an

“analog twin,” if you’ll pardon the redundancy. But it was an arduous, painstaking process. The original meaning of analog is preserved, perhaps, when we speak of digital-toanalog (D-to-A) or analog-to-digital (A-to-D). Arguably, 4-20 mA is an analog for another signal or measurement. All sensors produce an analog of the physical property they’re measuring—the Bourdon-tube pressure gauge produces motion, driving an indicator intended to be analogous to the actual process pressure. The dial thermometer, similarly, produces mechanical displacement analogous to temperature, while the thermocouple produces a small differential voltage that’s also analogous.

Consider any measurement: we’ve converted and scaled the analog signal to a numerical representation. Before the microprocessor, it was commonplace for our analog controls to interact directly with the process. A displacer in a chamber was buoyed by the liquid in a vessel, and changes were translated to a torque that exerted force on a flapper-nozzle, ultimately modulating a pneumatic output to a valve. The physical property of interest acted uninterrupted on other physical components, with no intervening translation to numerical values. The proliferation of bar graphs, trends and graphical gauges in our human-machine interface (HMI) is testimony to the idea that we drew deeper meaning from the more connected analogs than digitized numbers.

After decades of digitization, does it behoove us to reconnect with the realities of the pervasively continuous world? It’s possible that an analog computer-on-a-chip may solve some of generative AI’s power challenges. Digital control, so far, can’t match the intimately, reality-connected regulator first envisioned by William Fisher in the 1880s. As Platt mused, digitizing reality may not always be the most sensible choice.

JOHN REZABEK

Contributing Editor JRezabek@ashland.com

"After decades of digitization, does it behoove us to reconnect with the realities of the pervasively continuous world?"

Remote wireless devices connected to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) run on Tadiran bobbin-type LiSOCl2 batteries.

Our batteries offer a winning combination: a patented hybrid layer capacitor (HLC) that delivers the high pulses required for two-way wireless communications; the widest temperature range of all; and the lowest self-discharge rate (0.7% per year), enabling our cells to last up to 4 times longer than the competition.

Looking to have your remote wireless device complete a 40-year marathon? Then team up with Tadiran batteries that last a lifetime.

IoT proliferation implications

Multiplying IoT devices require more bandwidth, security and scalability

SOME claim the Internet of Things (IoT) is anything with an Internet protocol (IP) address. As a result, IoT devices range from smart thermostats and security cameras to industrial sensors and healthcare monitoring equipment. Their rapid proliferation is reshaping manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, logistics, smart buildings and cities.

Municipalities use IoT to connect traffic systems and public safety networks, and monitor utilities, creating a data-driven, urban environment. The result is enhanced city management, improved emergency response times, and lower-cost, more-responsive residential services such as identifying and repairing potholes.

However, IoT strains supporting infrastructures due to increased data traffic, security and scalability. More IoT devices require networks to accommodate added activity without compromising performance or reliability.

Because of its ubiquity and ability to meet those requirements, Wi-Fi is the normal default network for IoT, but it’s not the only option. There’s long-range, wide-area network (LoRaWAN), Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT), and cellular 4G/5G networks. And now there’s also Wi-Fi HaLow, which is defined by the IEEE 802.11ah standard, and certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance as a new IoT enabler because it provides the long-range, low-power connectivity required by today’s smart, wireless devices. Wi-Fi HaLow enables mesh access points, and backhauls to communicate over extended distances. It supports seamless communication for wireless sensor networks and other IoT devices over license-free, sub-GHz bandwidth over distances up to 1 km. It offers up to 78 Mbps capacity over short distances, with 150 Kbps achievable at the end of its range. Plus, it minimizes data collisions with its listen-before-talk capability, which allows high network utilization among multiple devices.

Wi-Fi HaLow, like other IP systems, requires stringent security protocols to combat evolving cyber-threats, including implementing and regularly updating security technologies like WPA3 authentication and AES encryption. These measures safeguard extended IoT networks, as well as the subjects of over-theair provisioning that initially connect devices to the network to start the full security cycle.

Because IoT device connections are increasing, and associated IP devices can be backdoors to a network, there are new regulations establishing minimum increases in vulnerability. A concept from Singapore of IoT devices requiring a security label is gaining traction worldwide with similar legislation being introduced in the U.S. and EU.

In April, the U.K. adopted the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act that requires smart device manufacturers to follow minimum security standards. It mandates three main requirements:

• Shipping devices with easily crackable default passwords is no longer allowed;

• Manufacturers must provide a point of contact for individuals reporting security concerns; and

• Though a minimum time frame isn’t specified, they must also clarify the minimum period that the device will receive security updates.

The prohibition against easy default passwords is the part likely to have the biggest initial impact. The act allows default passwords, but if they're easily discoverable online, they’ll run afoul of the act. The likely recourse is that manufacturers will retain a default password for initial provisioning, but as part of the process, they’ll require users to change it to something different. These won’t necessarily put any constraints on minimum length, special characters, or use any of the most common passwords based on number sequences or rows on the keyboard.

IAN

VERHAPPEN Solutions Architect Willowglen Systems Ian.Verhappen@ willowglensystems.com

"Because IoT device connections are increasing, and associated IP devices can be backdoors to a network, there are new regulations establishing minimum increases in vulnerability."

JESSE YODER Founder & President Flow Research Inc. jesse@flowresearch.com

“Just as our society would be thrown into chaos if all clocks and watches were taken away, a world without flowmeters is practically inconceivable.”

Why measure flow?

Flow measurement is an integral part of almost every aspect of our lives

WHY measure flow? This question offers some insight into the nature of flow and the need for different types of flowmeters. But if we ask a similar question about time, the answer becomes clearer.

While it’s impossible to have a universe without time, it is possible to conceive of a world without time measurement. Such a world would be chaotic because people couldn’t easily make appointments, know how long they’ve worked, or decide when to go to bed. If you want to completely disrupt society, take clocks and watches away.

Time and flow are closely related ideas. Time is hard to define, but it’s closely related to duration. We might say that time is the continuous quality of duration. Today, we measure time with clocks, but time existed before clocks. The measurement of time began with the sundial in 1500 B.C.

Today, our lives are governed by many types of mechanical or electronic clocks. The fly in this ointment is that our bodies aren’t mechanical, they’re rhythmic, like a sine wave. We don’t always get hungry at 6 p.m. or sleepy at 10:30 p.m. Our lives flow, along with our biological rhythms, and our mechanical and electronic clocks can seem more like a Procrustean bed, forcing us to fit into an unnatural pattern.

Similar to time, flow exists independent of its measurement. It’s a continuous phenomenon that’s hard to analyze. One definition of flow is “the uninterrupted motion of a fluid or a pattern of objects moving uniformly along a path in a direction.”

We measure flow because we want to know how much fluid in mass or volume is going through a pipe or down a river. That fluid can be water, other liquids, gas, air or steam. Flowmeters also measure the flow of solids such as grains, nuts and cereals.

Flow measurement is an integral part of almost every aspect of our lives. When we

fill our gas tank, a flowmeter measures how much fuel is dispensed. Flowmeters measure how much ingredients go into our food, how much water we use in our homes, and how much oil or gas we use to heat and cool them. Just as our society would be thrown into chaos if all clocks and watches were taken away, a world without flowmeters is practically inconceivable.

Flowmeters have a practical value to industrial applications. Some manufacturers in our post-pandemic world responded to rising costs by shrinking the amount of product delivered, while maintaining or even raising prices. This is popularly known as “shrinkflation,” a term coined in 2009 by Pippa Malmgren, a British economist.

Shrinkflation can occur in almost any solid or fluid product. The main reason people object to shrinkflation is the element of deception. The “new and improved” but smaller product is made to look just like the original, only it contains less than before but at the same or a higher price.

Shrinkflation is one example where precise measurement is important, but only part of a broader picture involving the need for accurate measurement. Flowmeters are part of this process. Other measurement methods include weighing with a scale or using level measurements. The measurement method chosen depends on the product, manufacturing process and available equipment. Precision and accuracy are important for making sure products are produced correctly and contain the right amount of ingredients. When flowmeters are involved, companies are likely to select the most accurate meter that’s consistent with allowable costs.

Education is our best defense against shrinkflation. Knowledge of the different types of flowmeters and how they work is the best background for selecting the right flowmeter that’s accurate, reliable and within budget.

Eight I/O channels fuel flexibility

Rosemount 802 wireless I/O transmitter enables remote monitoring and control

TO give users more of the independence that wireless promises, Emerson has released its Rosemount 802 wireless, multi-discrete, input/output (I/O) transmitter. It’s equipped with eight discrete, configurable I/O channels that can each serve as an input or an output. This flexible transmitter uses WirelessHART protocol to connect to a wireless gateway, which can link to a host, such as a higher-level control or asset management system, typically via a hardwired Ethernet connection or RS-485 serial link.

“Many users have remote operations with valve actuators and other equipment that’s been hardwired in the field for decades, and they want to use WirelessHART to control and monitor them more closely,” says Ryan Lindsey, global product manager in the Pervasive Sensing Group at Emerson. “They want to receive fully opened or closed notifications, or get alerts when something else important happens.”

Rosemount 802 builds on the legacy of the Rosemount 702 wireless, discrete, dual I/O transmitter. It debuted in 2008 with increased density and remote DC power.

“One customer had to apply four 702s per motor operated valve, which worked, but used lots of bandwidth, and was only battery-powered. Previously, proximity switches were used to check if valves were open, closed or in between,” explains Lindsey. “This user wanted eight discrete inputs for monitoring and control. They’d also done manual valve monitoring in the past, but now they and other customers needed higher-density, discrete monitoring.”

Lindsey reports Emerson packed in these capabilities by combining Rosemount 702’s form factor with technology from another Rosemount high-density wireless transmitter. This upgrade gave the transmitter the eight channels it needed without redesigning the device and its mechan ical enclosure. “Rosemount 802 fits a variety of applica tions, and it has extra features that enable collaboration within teams,” adds Lindsey.

Rosemount 802 wireless, multi-discrete, input/output transmitter simultaneously accomplishes remote monitoring and control, cuts costs, and improves safety.

Source: Emerson

“However, gaining those eight channels was the big goal because they let users configure their discrete inputs and outputs however they’re needed. They can be all discrete in, all discrete out, or any combination.”

To shield when out in the field, Rosemount 802 has environmental protections and hazardous-area approvals. It’s certified as compliant with multiple safety standards, including ATEX Zone 2 intrinsically safe (IS), USA Division 2 nonincendive and Zone 2 IS, Canada Division 2 non-incendive and Zone 2 IS, and IECEx Zone 2 IS. The transmitter’s enclosure is also NEMA 4X and IP66 rated.

“Rosemount 802 complies with all the gas groups,” adds Lindsey. “And there are many discrete temperature, pressure, level and other sensors it can tap into via wireless.”

Just as most Emerson wireless devices rely on its SmartPower modules, Rosemount 802 does, too. The modules require no wiring, provide up to seven years of maintenancefree operation, and can be quickly and easily replaced in the field. Alternatively, the transmitter can run on 10-30 VDC, external-line power. “Providing dual, native power with SmartPower or 10-30 VDC means Rosemount 802 can use a module when deployed remotely with no nearby power,” adds Lindsey. “However, motorized valves usually have local power, so Rosemount 802 can also use it when available.”

Shane Hale, global business development director in the Pervasive Sensing Group at Emerson, reports the flexibility granted by Rosemount 802’s eight I/O channels also lets users come up with innovative solutions they couldn’t consider before. This enables Rosemount 802 to cut the costs of monitoring and controlling field-based assets, which usually require in-person field visits and/or hardwired connections, while maintaining discrete I/O control and monitoring from host systems.

“The eight I/O channels can use their links to gateways and hosts to monitor safety showers, gates and doors, temperature switches or other environmental issues, or check positions of proximity sensors,” says Hale. “Monitoring on/off functions via WirelessHART and sending digital on/off signals to the field from one device like Rosemount 802 is a powerful advantage.”

For more information, visit Emerson.com/Rosemount802

Conoco buying Marathon for $22.5 billion

At least $500 million in savings expected in the first full year

CONOCOPHILLIPS Co. (www.conocophillips.com/investor) and Marathon Oil Corp. (www.marathonoil.com) reported May 29 that ConocoPhillips will acquire Marathon Oil in an all-stock transaction for $22.5 billion that includes $5.4 billion of net debt.

“This acquisition of Marathon Oil further deepens our portfolio and fits within our financial framework, adding highquality, low cost of supply inventory adjacent to our leading U.S. unconventional position,” says Ryan Lance, ConocoPhillips chairman and CEO. “Importantly, we share similar values and cultures with a focus on operating safely and responsibly to create long-term value for our shareholders.”

Lee Tillman, chairman, president and CEO at Marathon, adds, “Powered by our dedicated employees and contractors, we built a top-performing portfolio with a multi-year track record of peer-leading operational execution, strong financial results and compelling return of capital to our shareholders—all while holding true to our core values of safety and environmental excellence. ConocoPhillips is the right home to build on that legacy, offering a truly unique combination of added scale, resilience and long-term durability.

ConocoPhillips adds benefits of the acquisition include:

• Immediately accretive to ConocoPhillips on earnings, cash from operations, free cash flow and return of capital per share to shareholders.

• Delivers cost and capital synergies due to the adjacent acquired assets and a common operating philosophy. ConocoPhillips expects to achieve $500 million in savings within the first full year after closing from capital efficiencies and reduced general, administrative and operating costs.

• Lower 48 portfolio enhanced by adding complementary acreage to ConocoPhillips’ U.S. onshore portfolio, adding over 2 billion barrels of resource with an estimated average point forward cost of supply of less than $30 per barrel WTI.

Equinor picks Emerson for downhole monitoring

Norwegian energy producer Equinor (www.equinor.com) reported June 6 that it’s picked Emerson (www.emerson. com/Roxar) to provide advanced well-completion monitoring systems for its Rosebank oil-and-gas development project is located offshore from the U.K. in the North Sea.

Continuous access to pressure and temperature data from active wells is a critical requirement to operate safely, optimize production, and maintain well integrity. However,

collecting this data is challenging due to the harsh, local environment, limited onsite staff, and safety risks associated with active wells.

Emerson’s Roxar downhole-monitoring tools will provide operational insights needed to assist Equinor in maintaining high production levels, managing risk, and meeting regulatory requirements. The system will let Equinor employ advanced, oil-recovery techniques, optimize reservoir performance and verify well integrity in real time.

The Rosebank field is a key asset in the U.K.’s effort to achieve energy security. It’s estimated to contain more than 300 million barrels of recoverable oil resources. The first phase of development will utilize a refurbished, electrification-ready floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel connected to a subsea production system. Startup of the Rosebank field’s first phase is scheduled for 2026-27.

Rockwell plans close to 900 layoffs

During a Q&A session at the end of its May 8 earnings call, Rockwell Automation’s chairman and CEO, Blake Moret, acknowledged that its cost cuts for the second-half of fiscalyear (FY) 2024 will include an approximate 3% staff reduction. Because the company employs about 29,000 people, this translates to about 870 layoffs.

“Most of the reduction in force we’re looking at affects selling, general and administrative (SG&A), and that does include sales, marketing and headquarter functions,” said Moret. “I think as we look at guiding principles, we’re directing the spend to the highest-value activities geographically and from a product portfolio standpoint.”

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Despite good result in many of its usual businesses, Moret explained that Rockwell needs to reduce personnel to help offset persistently high inventories of its products—and subsequently lacking order—among machine-builder clients and other customers in the discrete and hybrid sectors it serves, such as automative, e-commerce, food and beverage, and warehouse automation.

“At a high level, our performance in Q2 was good, but I’m not happy with the reduced guidance for the full year. The impact of high inventory levels among machine builders is larger than we expected,” said Moret during the call. “Orders are still expected to return to year-over-year growth in Q3 and continue to increase during the year, but the slower ramp is impacting shipments for the second half. Consequently, we’re accelerating actions to bring costs in line with the revised outlook on current year orders, aligned with the more comprehensive program to expand margins.”

Nick Gangestad, Rockwell’s retiring CFO, added that Rockwell is expecting about $60 million in restructuring charges related to the headcount reductions in FY24’s second half. “We’ll save the $100 million in the second half of this year from accelerated actions taken now, creating a beneficial starting point for fiscal year 2025,” added Moret. “We’ll see incremental savings of $120 million next year from these actions, plus added savings from the more comprehensive program targeting sourcing, manufacturing and SG&A.”

For more information, visit events.q4inc.com/ attendee/961412450 or www.insidermonkey.com/blog/r ockwell-automation-inc-nyserok-q2-2024-earnings-calltranscript-1298899/2

DuPont will split into three public companies

DuPont (investors.dupont.com) reported May 22 that it will separate into three distinct, publicly traded companies. It plans to divide its electronics and water businesses to its shareholders in a tax-free manner, so they can focus and be more agile in their industries, while the remaining DuPont organization will continue as a diversified, industrial company. It expects to complete these separations in 18 to 24 months.

As standalone companies, each of the new companies is expected to benefit from:

• Tailoring capital allocation strategies to pursue differential, strategic growth objectives,

• Enhanced, strategic flexibility to pursue portfolio enhancing mergers and acquisitions (M&A),

• Investment profiles appealing to different investors, and

• Distinct boards of directors and management teams with leaders experienced in creating value in each industry.

While the separation transactions won’t require a shareholder vote, they must satisfy customary conditions, including final board approval, tax opinion from counsel, filing and effectiveness of Form 10 registration statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, applicable regulatory approvals and satisfactory completion of financing.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity to deliver long-term, sustainable shareholder value by creating three strong, industry-leading companies," says Ed Breen, DuPont executive chairman and CEO. "The three-way separation will unlock incremental value for shareholders and customers and also create new opportunities for employees. Critically, each company will have greater flexibility to pursue their own focused growth strategies, including portfolio enhancing M&A."

Also on May 22, DuPont added that present CFO Lori Koch will become CEO on June 1, succeeding Breen, who will continue as executive chairman. Antonella Franzen, presently CFO of the Water & Protection division, will become CFO of DuPont. Once the separations are complete, Koch and Franzen will remain in their respective positions at the new DuPont.

Overview of the three new firms

The new DuPont will be powered by materials-science and application-engineering expertise, innovation, manufacturing capabilities, and brands such as Tyvek, Kevlar and Nomex. It will also have a strong presence in healthcare end-markets, including applications for biopharma consumables, medical devices and medical packaging, and electric vehicles (EV). Finally, the company will still serve the safety, construction, aerospace and other industrial markets. The new DuPont will include existing divisions in the Water & Protection division, excluding Water Solutions, as well as most Industrial Solutions businesses including healthcare, and retained Corporate divisions including adhesives. These businesses generated net sales of approximately $6.6 billion in 2023.

Electronics will produce consumables used in semiconductor chip manufacturing, and electronic materials for signal integrity, power management and thermal management. It will include the existing Semiconductor Technologies and Interconnect Solutions business, as well as electronics-related products from Industrial Solutions. These businesses generated net sales of approximately $4.0 billion in 2023.

Water has a portfolio of water filtration and purification solutions with technologies in reverse osmosis, ion exchange and ultrafiltration. It provides components and systems that generate clean and fit-for-purpose water for users in industrial water and energy, life sciences and specialties, municipal and desalination, and residential and commercial markets. Water will include DuPont's present Water Solutions business line that generated net sales of approximately $1.5 billion in 2023.

SIGNALS AND INDICATORS

• A new Flow Research study released May 28 found that the market for vortex flowmeters totaled $380 million in 2022, with China capturing the largest revenue volume at 26.1% of the worldwide total among the eight geographic regions, followed by North America and Western Europe. The World Market for Vortex Flowmeters, 7th Edition (www.flowvortex.com), projects a 6.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2027. China and the Asia/Pacific regions are expected to experience the fastest growth in the overall market. ok

• Yokogawa Electric Corp. (www.yokogawa.com) announced June 5 that it’s acquired BaxEnergy (www.baxenergy.com), which provides renewable energy management solutions (REMS). This acquisition will let Yokogawa offer technologies that have already been accepted by power companies throughout Europe available to energy asset owners worldwide, supported by consultation on implementation and after-sales services through its global network.

• Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (www.cip.com) reported May 28 that GE Vernova's (www.gevernova. com) Onshore Wind division will install, commission and service 125 of GE’s 6.1-158 wind turbines worth more than 700 million euros at the Maestrazgo cluster of CIP’s Teruel wind project. Expected to become the largest wind farm in Spain, Teruel has an installed capacity of approximately 760 MW, and is expected to reduce CO 2 emissions by 320,000 tonnes per year.

• Weidmüller Group announced May 30 that that Randy Sadler has been named as the new president and CEO of Weidmuller USA in Richmond, Va. In his new position, Sadler will work to expand the company’s engineering and production footprint in the U.S., and fulfill Weidmuller’s “Made in USA” commitment by bringing smart industrial connectivity and Industry 4.0 solutions closer to U.S. customers.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) goes backstage at the digitalization show

JUST like every label, “The Internet of Things” is only words. Consequently, some end users, system integrators, suppliers and their process-industry partners don’t really care what it’s called, so long as it’s the fastest way to get their data where they want to go, and lets them access it when it gets there.

“In food and beverage, IIoT is used for continuous batch processes, but in the packaging fi eld, it’s used in more discrete applications. This changes what it includes and how it’s applied,” says G. Brooks-Zak, co-founder and technical lead at Outlier Automation (www.outlierautomation.com), a system integrator in Fresno, Calif., and member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA, www.controlsys.org).

“We previously had production processes, internal communications, and data storage for process and machine statistics, but then we started connecting all this equipment and delivering data to different areas, including IT-based layers for analysis. The question is what best practices can IIoT enable, what value can it bring to controls and IT, and how can it be useful to people’s jobs?”

Claudio Fayad, technology VP for systems and software at Emerson (www.emerson.com), adds, “IIoT used to be mainly about connectivity and Internet protocol (IP), but now connectivity and even cyber-secure connectivity are just expected, and Ethernet and Wi-Fi are enabling all kinds of new software apps. Users still want to tie into their processes and plants, and always-on connectivity is freeing them to think more about digital transformation, virtualization, and real-time applications and advantages of artifi cial intelligence (AI), which can enable news levels of data analysis and process optimization. IIoT just needs a common foundation, language and context, so its users can coexist and build interoperability on top. So far, this role has been filed by OPC UA, Profinet, HART-IP, MQTT and other protocols.”

Player profiles

Brooks-Zak reports there are also different maturity levels that Outlier tries to fi gure out with its clients. Even though some new Industry 4.0 and AI tools are available, users must fi rst be able to collect their basic production data, and use IIoT to relay and access it where their businesses want it,” adds Brooks-Zak. “This means controls engineers are learning more IT skills and adapting them for plants that need to maintain cybersecurity and safety. We often work with both the automation side (OT) and business-side applications (IT), but many IT departments don’t know their OT counterparts, and vice versa. The procedures and best practices on both sides often aren’t aligned, which is why IT and OT need to converge and close these gaps. The classic example is that IT wants to install software patches automatically, but OT needs them to be applied on a delayed schedule that doesn’t interfere with operations or cause safety issues.”

For example, Outlier recently worked in the research area of a large battery-production facility, which operated 20 pieces of equipment that it’s studying for use in the company’s batch processes. The initial problem was that all these devices came from different suppliers, have different PLCs, and weren’t networked and couldn’t talk to each other. The researchers were writing down batch data by hand and were having a hard time catching mistakes or knowing which batches were run.

“We needed to know what data this equipment had that might be available to our client’s team, but the engineering staff didn’t know the right language for talking to their IT team, and connecting to its virtual local area network (VLAN) to reach that information,” explains Brooks-Zak. “The rest of the facility had a common, standard network, but the equipment in the research area wasn’t connected to it, so we added Ethernet gateways and Inductive Automation’s Ignition SCADA software to collect and visualize the data. This let us establish communications via standard Industrial protocols like Ethernet/IP and Modbus TCP and the OPC UA framework where those standard protocols couldn’t be used. It allowed the production data to be stored in a standard format for users like engineers and operators to see context-based trends and start to make decisions on the data.”

In some cases, Outlier encountered devices like a heater with a basic, nonstandard controller, where data might be trapped, so it added Moxa’s Ethernet gateway. This allowed it to convert the heater’s Modbus RTU serial data to OPC UA, and approach and connect other devices on a case-by-case basis. The research area’s equipment was a mix of new and used equipment. This application was similar to overcoming the difficulties of implementing IIoT in any brownfield facility.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is quickly overtopping the banks of its traditional network connections to integrate digitalized, virtual, software-based capabilities. Here are some of the latest tools for developing those functions.

• Containers are common and/or standardized pieces of software that work as separate runtime settings. They provide the code for operating in any suitable environment. This lets programs in a container run quickly and reliably, even if they’re relocated or reproduced.

• As a language-independent, open-standard, informationinterchange fi le format, JavaScript object notation (www. JSON.org) uses readable text to send blocks of information. These include attribute-value pairs and array data types or other materials that can be serialized. JSON is a standard information format employed for asynchronous browser/server communications. Languages that enable JSON interchange include C++, C#, Java, PHP and Python.

• Produced on a low-code development platform (LCDP) or a no-code development platform (NCDP), low-code/no-code software consists of visual development settings that let users to write code with a GUI instead of manual programs.

• Node-RED (nodered.org) is low-code, visual programming software that’s free-of-charge for combining application program interfaces (API) with hardware and web services. Its browser-based editor produces JavaScript items, and helps combine fl ows with a selection of nodes, which can be delivered to its runtime with a single click. Application functions can be retained or distributed and used again.

• Defi ning rigorous rules for producing Internet services lets REpresentational state transfer (REST) serve as a software architecture for distributed hypermedia systems. When services comply with REST's six requirements, they're designated as RESTful web services (RWS), and allow web-based computing systems to interoperate.

• Unifi ed namespace (UNS) lets users gather information, integrate context and meaning, and convert it into a format that other users and systems can comprehend. UNS achieves this by dividing computing functions from content computing, and establishing a centrally located repository for data and context. In this place, other users can digest or publish data required to do jobs. UNS typically joins with MQTT Sparkplug to deliver a platform for digitalized, scalable applications.

“Some devices in the research areas had old SLC 500 PLCs, but Red Lion’s HMI reads serial data, and could also get it to the OPC UA server. Other devices had CompactLogix PLCs that could be read directly by Ignition and reported to the SCADA system, while some Siemens PLCs could engage directly with the OPC UA server, even though many of those items weren’t connected before.”

Tank levels in Texas

To prevent costly overflow spills and improve efficiency, Point Energy Partners (www.pointep.com) in Fort Worth, Texas, has replaced manual and low-tech systems at its saltwater disposal (SWD) facilities, which manage byproduct water laden with salts, hydrocarbons and industrial compounds from oil and gas production. PEP develops onshore oil and gas properties in the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, but it also operates midstream assets, and runs a large water recycling program.

The SWD sites recently needed immediate attention because manual, onsite verifi cation showed their fl owmeasurement systems were inaccurate, while their hydrostatic, head-level switches were obsolete and unreliable. These level switches were also part of an antiquated control process, which sought to maintain safe tanks levels

by toggling transfer pumps based solely on current switch status or a manual override onsite. This outdated method didn’t allow remote oversight or control, and had no SCADA system. Plus, the SWD sites couldn’t spend much on upgrades, so regular process controls weren’t feasible. However, some remediation was essential because each overspill costs PEP about $200,000.

PEP decided to use radar level sensors, which employ microwave pulses and are non-contact, so they won’t corrode due to the salty wastewater in the tanks. Radar level sensors are also unaffected by changes in liquid density, temperature or pressure, and provide better precision and durability in harsh settings. To organize more and better data from its sensors, tanks and other SWD equipment, PEP also selected Inductive Automation’s web-based Ignition SCADA software, MQTT Sparkplug B interoperability protocol, and Ignition Perspective HMI for remote monitoring (Figure 1).

To give Sparkplug B a place to run, PEP also implemented Opto 22’s compatible groov RIO edge I/O because it was also fl exible enough to turn on a contactor to run a pump, read an analog signal from the radar level sensors, or calculate fl ow from a pulse input generated by a turbine fl owmeter. Plus, Sparkplug B’s payloads would allow groov RIOs to transmit real-time tank levels, fl ow rates

Figure 1: To prevent costly overflow spills and improve efficiency, Point Energy Partners recently adopted radar level sensors at its saltwater disposal (SWD) sites in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. PEP also deployed Inductive Automation’s web-based Ignition SCADA software, MQTT Sparkplug B interoperability protocol, and Ignition Perspective HMI for remote monitoring, as well as Opto 22’s compatible groov RIO edge I/O to automate pump control and tank level management. Source: PEP and Opto 22

and totals, add pump operating states to PEP’s SCADA system, and move data between it and SWD operations. For example, relay outputs could turn pump contactors on and off based on more accurate readings from the radar level transmitters connected directly to groov RIO’s analog input channels. It also supported PEP’s many legacy pressure transmitters that use Modbus TCP protocol, and collect data that was previously stranded.

In addition, PEP is benefitting from groov RIO’s recent adoption of a CoDeSys runtime engine for further automating control functions, in its case, to automate pump control and tank level management, and eliminate overspills. PEP also uses Node-RED software running on RIO, which allows it to move data from physical I/O points, CoDeSys tags and Modbus/TCP sensors into OptoMMP registers, which are published to an Ignition-based MQTT broker.

“We only have one PLC programmer on staff. He programmed CoDeSys, but our other five technicians learned they could commission groov RIO themselves,” says Scott Adams, automation engineer at PEP. "The found that working in groov Manage and Node-RED was very accessible.”

Ethernet ease-of-use

Meanwhile, Shingo Yuki, P.Eng./M.Eng, senior process automation engineer at Jordan Engineering Inc. (www.automationgroup.ca), reports that, “We don’t have a consensus on what IIoT is because it’s not a term we use internally. We’re seeing a tangible increase in Ethernet connections, and a decline in proprietary communication protocols and networking hardware that’s less attractive to end-users. Fifteen years ago, there was lots of proprietary, coaxial cable, but now distributed I/O or anything else can run on Cat 5 or Cat 6 Ethernet cable that’s widely available.” Located in St. Catherine, Ontario, Jordan is also a CSIA member.

For instance, Yuki reports that Jordan recently helped a specialty chemicals client connect its subsystems, such as chillers, vacuums and filtration equipment, via Ethernet to an M580 PLC hot-standby system from Schneider Electric (www.se.com). “These types of Ethernet solutions were already common by 2016, but previous projects were more complex, costly and needed longer lead times because they had to use Modbus Plus or another proprietary language and specialized cabling. They worked well, but users were also beholden to their suppliers for specialized hardware,” explains Yuki. “Now, implementation is more open because we don’t have to rely on just one supplier for cabling and networking hardware, and we have more vendor options that are becoming more interoperable thanks to increasingly standardized Ethernet protocols. For example, Schneider Electric natively supports Modbus TCP and Ethernet/IP for field-device communication. Devices like variable frequency drives (VFD) can be configured to communicate with a variety of

industrial protocols like Ethernet/IP and reside on the same physical network used by remote I/O modules from R. Stahl, which streamlines network architectures.”

Free from the physical

Because IIoT has evolved beyond its early network and Internet connections to embrace a host of recently digitalized tools and software, it can provide flexible solutions to much wider audiences of users and processes.

“IIoT deployments vary by industry. For instance, manufacturers with brownfield plants and processes often employ IIoT as a stopgap against obsolescence. They use it to get real-time data from old sensors and equipment, or from applications and utilities where process controls don’t exist,” says Bruce Slusser, digital transformation practice director at Actemium-Avanceon (avanceon.com), a system integrator in Exton, Pa., that’s also a founding and certified CSIA member. “Likewise, some users may have a black-box item they can’t get on their network or integrated with their controls, and adding an IIoT sensor with Power over Ethernet (PoE) lets them tie into an edge gateway with MQTT publish-subscribe protocols. Suddenly, they know if that box is running, blocked or whatever. They’ve got the whole story of that asset, and they can add it to the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) picture of their operations.”

Once access and security are balanced, IIoT can add value by streamlining formerly cumbersome tasks, such as centerlining, which is monitoring, optimizing and maintaining process setpoints. “Each shift used to centerline manually by walking to check that gauges were at the right setpoints, and that devices were properly configured for their process,” adds Slusser. “Now, IIoT can do more of these jobs by strapping an inline sensor onto a motor, and using its Ethernet port to publish data via MQTT for its subscribers.”

Because there are so many legacy components and protocols still running in brownfield applications and facilities, Actemium-Avanceon also uses software agent programs to extract data from edge devices. These agents use application program interface (API) requests to generate responses, and parse the resulting content payloads as JavaScript object notations (JSON) that use readable text to get, put and/ or push data blocks.

“Extractors let users create entry points and pipelines to a cloud-based data operations platform,” adds Slusser. “We still have the usual I/O, PLCs and DCSs, but they’re also migrating from traditional four-wire sensors to I/O input cards that can scale and range, and provide data to PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems and historians. IIoT can bypass all of this with a single Ethernet path that doesn’t need ladder logic programming or scaling. It can send device heartbeat and health data directly from field devices to edge gateways, and use token authentication to interact with the cloud.”

Virtualization allows elbow room Emerson’s Fayad reports that giving IIoT a common foundation with more standardized physical media and connection layers will enable better data access and contextualization closer to operations, and let users optimize their devices and processes with applications in the field, on the edge, on-premises, at the business level, or in the cloud. “A solid foundation and structure will let IIoT make users aware of problems more quickly,” explains Fayad. “This will also enable the operators to keep plants running closer to their ideal capacity with smaller and more flexible adjustments.”

For example, Inter Pipeline Ltd.’s two-year-old Heartland Polymers petrochemical complex (heartlandpolymers.com/hpc) in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, is the first integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) production facility in North America. It uses low-carbon process technologies and locally sourced propane to produce and ship by rail about 525,000 tonnes of low-cost polypropylene pellets per year. The complex’s three integrated, operational units include a 102-megawatt (MW) cogeneration unit and central utility block

(CUB), PDH unit that turns propane into feedstock, and PP unit that makes polymer resins. However, to meet growing production demands, Heartland recently had to add more teams, and expand its DCS to add temporary workstations despite space limits in its control building.

Heartland and Emerson solved this problem by;

• Using spare system virtualization capacity in the complex’s DeltaV DCS;

• Expanding its thin-client network to provide more workstations;

• Acquiring thin clients from spare IT inventory, and relying on Emerson for spare testing hardware;

• Repurposing an existing telecom, fiber-optic network, and extending the thin-client network outside the control building; and

• Employing virtualization to centralize support for console and workstation management, flexibly switch workstations between zones, and quickly add new workstations quickly with no downtime.

Heartland also virtualized the system architecture of the three zones in its DeltaV, version 14.3.1, DCS. This included 18 nodes in PDH, 21 nodes in PP production, and 13 nodes in the

CUB. This mainly consisted of inserting storage area network (SAN) units and a domain controller between the plant-floor devices and the operator stations on the thin-client network, and then having the SANs and domain controller report to a Dell VRTX host server (Figure 2).

Heartland reports that virtualizing spare DCS capacity and adding thin clients let it quickly add or remove workstations; change virtual machine configurations on the fly; centralize support for DeltaV Virtual Studio software; keep DeltaV’s database safer during network and power outages; manage multiple workstations; scale up capabilities faster; reduce and minimize hardware failure risk; increase safety and security; and rapidly restore to project design.

Meanwhile, its business results included no delays in the complex’s pre-commissioning and commissioning schedule; no lost time for setting up additional testing hardware, no interferences with operations due to separate locations for commissioning and operation; achieved a partial plant startup during commissioning; and met COVID-19 protocols requirements. Finally, Heartland

Figure 2: To meet growing production demands and add more teams, two-year-old Heartland Polymers integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) complex in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, recently used spare system virtualization capacity in its DeltaV DCS, expanded its thin-client network to provide more workstations, and repurposed a fiber-optic network to extend the thin-client network outside its control building. It also added storage area network (SAN) units and a domain controller that report to a Dell VRTX host server. Source: Inter Pipeline and Emerson

Operator Stations Thin Client Network Storage Area Network (SAN)

Servers

also prevented a potential production slowdown of 1.5 Kilo tonnes per day, and avoided costs of $2.25 million CAD ($1.65 million USD) per day. Similarly, Fayad adds that consistent connectivity brought by IIoT lets users further digitalize, virtualize, and take advantage of more recently developed tools, such as Docker software containers, REpresentational state transfer (RESTful) application program interfaces (API), and MQTT publish-subscribe communications protocol. “Profibus, HART and OPC are historically local protocols that originally didn’t route through Ethernet. Today’s users need more routable protocols from the IT world, such as AMQP and MQTT aided by RESTful APIs, which can handle and secure larger volumes of data,” adds Fayad. “This isn’t ripping and replacing. It’s just adding better connections that can move more information, more frequently, and provide better context for better decisions, efficiency, optimization and profit.”

Craving context

Slusser reports that Actemium-Avanceon employs a uniform procedural architecture to establish data governance with its clients. Sensors, controllers, inspection devices and other OT hardware, along with MES, SCADA and historians, report to an Aveva Edge gateway. It’s here that software extractors create conduits for different protocols, so real-time data from the OT devices can be published to the system integrator’s DataOps platform, which can be provided by Aveva’s cloud-based Data Connect Services or Rockwell Automation’s Data Mosaix. This is where data cleansing, digital threads, model factory, descriptive, predictive and prescriptive functions are performed. It’s also where unified namespace (UNS) software separates content from computing functions, and provides centrally located storage for information and its context. Actemium-Avanceon uses Python-based

data libraries to contextualize three types of information, namely timeseries data from sensors, PLCs and other devices, structured data such as alarms and OEE results, and engineering data from diagrams, 3D models and simulations. From there, subscribers like enterprise resource planning (ERP), data lakes and warehouses, and results and visualization programs like Power Bi and Grafana can consume what Data Hub publishes.

“We’ve been pushing this DataOps model for years. Now, it’s becoming a best practice, and ActemiumAvanceon’s partners are catching up and participating in it,” adds Slusser. “Previously, all of this data cleaning, visualization and other tasks would have to be performed onsite with limited resources, which meant that manual contextualization could take hours or days. Now, we can offload these efforts to the cloud, and converge all of our OT and IT data sources. UNS makes sense of information for third-party analytics programs and other users, and this contextualization makes it available, meaningful and useful. Plus, having time-series and structured data together in DataOps on the cloud makes it far easier to identify patterns and their impact on each other across multiple variables, and train new patterns and algorithms for process and asset optimization.”

Slusser adds that ActemiumAvanceon is no longer limited to single variables at single times and single-point solutions. “For instance, a batch process has variables like mix time, continuous temperature, moisture and power, and now we can bring them all together more easily into a process model,” explains Slusser. “This let us run different scenarios, see the impact of changes like less moisture or more power, and determine if more moisture will save energy but still keep quality within limits.”

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DEADTIME compensation can be implemented by adding deadtime to the external reset feedback signal for a controller implementing integral action through filtered positive feedback.

Deadtime is detrimental and always present in the process industry, with many possible sources that can make its recognition and understanding challenging. The most notable misconceptions include the idea that deadtime compensation eliminates the effect of deadtime, disturbances are on the process output/process variable, the Smith Predictor is the solution, deadtime compensation is best reserved for deadtime dominant processes, and performance improvement requires turning on deadtime compensation.

Deadtime compensation doesn’t reduce the minimum possible peak error and integral absolute error (IAE), which is proportional to the total deadtime and total deadtime squared, respectively, as detailed in ISA-TR5.9-2023. The reduction of errors is the result of using more aggressive tuning.

Disturbances are on the process input, most notably in terms of changes in stream flows, temperature and compositions (load disturbances), and in final control element discontinuities.

Smith Predictors require modeling the open-loop gain and time constant, and a special configuration to restore the process variable and its corresponding setpoint in the operator interface. Furthermore, the performance of the Smith Predictor is typically evaluated for disturbances on the process output/process variable, resulting in optimistic predictions of

performance improvement that aren’t matched by the performance seen for unmeasured load disturbances. This fundamental deficiency is particularly problematic for lag-dominant processes. The Smith Predictor’s use on integrating processes requires a risky conversion of the integrating process gain to a process time constant and steady-state gain.

Studies by Greg Shinskey and the authors on deadtime compensation by external reset feedback (ERFB) show that, while the deadtime compensation benefits are smaller and more susceptible to problems for deadtime dominant processes, the benefits for lag-dominant processes are significant. While the reduction in peak error is negligible and the improvement in integrated error quite small for deadtime dominant processes, the improvement in performance and robustness of deadtime compensation by ERFB is impressive for lag-dominant and integrating processes. Composition and temperature control in vessels and columns, which are often critical for process capacity and efficiency, typically have a lag-dominant or integrating response. When the major source of deadtime is a transportation delay, the ERFB deadtime setting

can be readily updated based on production rate. The deadtime observed for setpoint changes can be used to adapt the ERFB setting.

Controller

The controller used in this study is shown schematically in Figure 1. It might be noted that the output limits, other than the high and low limit being specified (100% and 0%, respectively) require no additional logic to prevent integral windup, and this is a benefit of this particular implementation of integral action.

Process model

For a self-regulating process, the process is modeled as a deadtime followed by a lag. For convenience, the loop gain is assumed to be unity. The load disturbance is inserted between the deadtime and lag, though it could be equally represented as a disturbance applied to the controller output with no change in response except delaying the timing of the change in process variable (PV). In each case, the load disturbance is 10% applied at 10 sec. The practice of applying the disturbance on the PV is often adopted by academics, but has no practical

Figure 1: PID Controller implementing integral action through filtered positive feedback with provision for external reset feedback

Load disturbance controller output deadtime

Load

regulating Integrating

value except to replicate a transmitter failure. It gives a false measure of loop performance with respect to peak change in PV for an unmeasured load disturbance. For an integrating process, the load is disturbed from the initial steady state (50%) to 60% at 10 seconds.

Self-regulating process–lag dominant

In this case, process deadtime is 5 seconds and process lag is 20 seconds. For the reference case, the controller is tuned for maximum disturbance rejection, which for this lag-dominant process results in a gain of 2 seconds and reset of 15 seconds without overshoot. The reference response is shown in Figure 3, as is the response for the same disturbance when deadtime matching the process deadtime (5 seconds) is included in the ERFB signal. For the reference response, the peak change in PV is 3.7% and the IAE is 7 %sec. When matching deadtime is added in the ERFB signal, the peak change in PV is only slightly different, but the recovery is longer. The IAE increases to 108 %sec. Since the deadtime in the ERFB signal delays the integral action, the increase in the IAE is understandable; however, there’s an opportunity to re-optimize the controller tuning parameters when deadtime is included in the ERFB.

Figure 4 confirms that, with matching deadtime in the ERFB signal, the controller gain and reset can be re-optimized to provide a response for load changes that’s an improvement over what’s obtainable without deadtime in the ERFB signal. With re-optimized control parameters (Kc = 3.7 and Tc = 12 sec), the IAE is 50 %sec, and is significantly lower than what’s obtainable without deadtime in the ERFB. This assertion questions whether the performance of the proportional integral (PI) loop without deadtime compensation can be improved by further adjusting the PI control parameters, so the IAE matches that of the compensated controller. Figure 4 shows that, while the IAE for the case without deadtime compensation can be reduced to match the case with deadtime compensation, the response obtained is underdamped, and depending on the application and loop interaction, may not be acceptable.

Figure 5 compares the re-optimized response with 5 seconds of process deadtime and matching deadtime in the ERFB, with the response when the process deadtime is increased to 7.5 seconds with the same controller settings. In

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

In both cases controller gain and reset are the same

Figure 3: Reference case (no DT in ERFB) compared with case with 5 sec DT in ERFB

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

Notes:

1) gain and reset re-optimized 2) gain and reset readjusted so that IAE matches case with DT compensation

Figure 4: Reference case (no DT in ERFB) compared with case with 5 sec DT in ERFB but re-optimized controller tuning parameters

this case, the loop is oscillatory, not settling for approximately four cycles. The question is whether the effect of an increase in process deadtime is worse when deadtime is included in the ERFB and the controller settings re-optimized than the reference case without deadtime in the ERFB.

Figure 6 addresses this question, comparing the response of the reference case (when there’s no deadtime in

Figure 2: Self-regulating and Integrating process models

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

In both cases deadtime in ERFB = 5 sec

Figure 5: For re-optimized controller tuning parameters, compares response with matching deadtime in ERFB (5 sec) to that with process deadtime increased by 50% to 7.5 sec

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

In both cases process deadtime increased by 50%

Figure 6: Compares reference response with re-optimized response with DT in ERFB when, in both cases, process deadtime is increased by 50% to 7.5 sec.

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

the ERFB) to when 5 seconds deadtime is included in the ERFB and the controller is re-optimized and, in both cases, the process deadtime is increased to 7.5 seconds. While increasing the process deadtime by 50% reduces the damping on both, the effect is greater when deadtime is included in the ERFB for deadtime compensation, and may suggest adapting the ERFB deadtime.

When the deadtime compensated controller is tuned for improved performance over the uncompensated controller, robustness is reduced. This begs the question if there’s a benefit to robustness, when the deadtime-compensated controller is tuned to match the performance of the uncompensated controller. The evidence that follows (Figure 7 and Figure 8) suggests this is the case.

Stability margin equal performance–gain

Figure 7 compares responses with and without deadtime in the ERFB signal when controller gain is doubled. In both cases, the gain is initially 2.5, but the reset is adjusted to 15 sec (from 20 seconds) to approximately match the IAE for the case with deadtime compensation (77 %sec) with the case without deadtime compensation (80 %sec). This allows the stability margin to be objectively compared.

Interestingly, with deadtime compensation (and equal performance with or without deadtime compensation), doubling the gain has less effect on stability than when ERFB deadtime is zero. This may favor using deadtime in the ERFB in applications where the variability in process gain is unpredictable and gain adaptation can’t be applied.

Stability margin equal performance–process deadtime variation

When loops are initially tuned to provide equal performance, and when process deadtime is doubled (without a matching

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

Cases without deadtime compensation

7: Stability comparison for gain variation with controllers initially tuned for equal performance

Cases with deadtime compensation, Reset =15

Figure

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

Cases without deadtime compensation

change in the ERFB deadtime for the case where deadtime compensation is implemented), the stability when there is deadtime in the ERFB is noticeably better than without deadtime compensation. Similar to process gain variability, where there’s uncertainty in process deadtime, implementing deadtime compensation may be beneficial.

Adding derivative action–lag-dominant process

For a lag-dominant process, when derivative action is added without deadtime compensation, the performance of the deadtime-compensated PI controller can be matched by an optimized PID controller, and can be further improved by adding deadtime compensation to the PID controller to reduce the IAE by 56% of that for the uncompensated PI controller (Figure 9). Derivative action, often overlooked or intentionally avoided due to a reputation gained through improper implementation, should be considered the first of several options for improving loop performance.

Self-regulating process–deadtime dominant

In this case, process deadtime is 20 seconds and process lag is 5 seconds. Without deadtime in the ERFB when the loop is tuned using the Cohen-Coon method, the peak change in PV is approximately the same as it would be without control action because the deadtime is four times the process lag. The PV settles within one cycle, and overshoot is less than 10%. The IAE is 350 %sec. The reference response is shown in Figure 10, which also indicates the response for the same disturbance, when deadtime matching the process deadtime (20 seconds) is included in the ERFB signal.

In this case, the response is highly damped, not settling until more than 300 seconds has elapsed. With matching deadtime in the ERFB signal (and no change in controller tuning), the IAE is 950 %sec. This begs the question of whether response with deadtime in the ERFB signal can be better than

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

Cases with deadtime compensation, Reset =15

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

Note that all are optimized for minimum IAE without overshoot

9: Compares PI with deadtime compensation with PID with and without deadtime compensation

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

In both cases controller gain and reset are the same

Figure 10: Reference case (no DT in ERFB) compared to case with 20 sec DT in ERFB

Figure 8: Stability comparison for process deadtime variation with controllers initially tuned for equal performance

Figure

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

For case with deadtime compensation, gain and reset re-optimization

Figure 11: Reference case (no DT in ERFB) compared with case with 20-second DT in ERFB but re-optimized controller tuning parameters

without the ERFB deadtime, with a reoptimization of the control parameters.

Figure 11 confirms that with matching deadtime in the ERFB signal. The controller gain and reset can be

YOUR LEGACY SYSTEMS THRIVE

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

In both cases deadtime in ERFB = 20 sec

Figure 12: For re-optimized controller tuning parameters, compared response with matching deadtime in ERFB (20 seconds) to that with process deadtime increased by 50% to 30 seconds

re-optimized to provide a response for load changes that’s an improvement over what’s obtainable without deadtime in the ERFB signal. With re-optimized control parameters (Kc=1.1 and Tc=5sec), the IAE is 240 %sec and is significantly lower than what’s obtainable without deadtime in the ERFB.

When the compensating deadtime in the ERFB matches the process deadtime and the controller tuning parameters are optimized, the loop performs better than without deadtime compensation. However, as shown in Figure 12, this improved performance can’t be achieved without reducing robustness. Figure 12 compares the reoptimized response with 20 seconds of process deadtime and matching deadtime in the ERFB to the response when the process deadtime is increased to 30 seconds with the same controller settings. In this latter case, the loop is unstable and the amplitude diverges with time.

Referring to Figure 13, in each case, the process deadtime is increased to 30 seconds. While increasing the process deadtime by 50% reduces the stability of the uncompensated and compensated cases, the effect is much greater when deadtime is included in the ERFB for deadtime compensation. However, for the deadtime compensated case, when the deadtime in the ERFB is increased to match the process deadtime, there’s a marked improvement in the response, and the IAE (351 %sec) is significantly lower than the uncompensated controller (666 %sec) when the process deadtime increases. This suggests that adjusting one parameter at the compensated controller (ERFB deadtime) can achieve loop stability. With the uncompensated controller, controller gain and reset would require adjustment. For cases with 0 seconds and 20 seconds deadtime included in the ERFB, the load disturbance is applied at t=0 seconds instead of t=10 seconds (Figure 13).

Because optimizing the response of the uncompensated controller for a particular process deadtime will be affected by a deadtime change, it’s instructive to compare the response of the uncompensated and compensated controller with an increase in process deadtime.

Adding derivative action (deadtime-dominant process)

For a deadtime-dominant process, where the deadtime is greater than the lag time, PI performance (IAE) can only be slightly improved by adding derivative action, and can’t match

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

In each case process deadtime increased by 50% (to 30 sec)

Figure 13: Compares reference response with re-optimized response with DT in ERFB when, in both cases, process deadtime is increased by 50% to 30 sec.

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

Notes: In each case process DT = 5 sec, process lag = 5 sec

Figure 14: Compares uncompensated PI response with compensated PI and PID response when process DT equals process lag

Response comparison - Deadtime compensation

Figure 15: Compares uncompensated PI response with compensated PI and PID response for integrating process

the performance with deadtime compensation. Adding derivative action to the compensated PI controller allows some reduction in IAE, but the benefit is so small (less than 4% of IAE) that it might fall within the practical limits of optimization and be of little benefit.

Adding derivative action to the compensated controller should be considered when process deadtime is less than the lag time. Figure 14 shows that, when process deadtime is the same as lag time. it’s still beneficial to add derivative to the controller. Though the benefit is less than when derivative is added for the lag dominant process (Figure 9), it’s still significant.

Conclusions

The results indicate that, when the controller implements integral action using filtered positive feedback, and a deadtime matching the process deadtime is included in the ERFB signal, loop performance can be improved if controller tuning parameters are optimized for the deadtime compensated controller. Caution is required in applying this method of deadtime compensation because a change in process deadtime, if unaccounted for by an adjustment in the deadtime in the ERFB, can lead to instability, especially where the process is deadtime-dominant.

The automatic adjustment of the deadtime block can be set up to account for changes in loop deadtime. Deadtime is the easiest and fastest dynamic parameter to identify from changes in setpoint and superimposed pulses in the PID output. In applications where the dependence of process deadtime on plant operating conditions is well-understood, deadtime can be computed online. When the deadtime in the ERFB can be suitably adjusted, there’s a greater opportunity for performance improvement.

For both self-regulating and integrating processes, control loop stability margin is improved and is better than for the uncompensated controller, when the deadtime compensated controller is tuned more conservatively to match the performance of the uncompensated controller (equal IAE).

For loop performance improvement of lag-dominant processes, the benefit of adding derivative action should not be overlooked, either as a means of improving the response of the uncompensated controller or further improving responses of compensated controllers. When properly implemented, i.e. implemented as a filtered derivative acting on the process variable rather than error, amplifying process noise can be minimized and unwarranted action for setpoint step change can be avoided.

Peter Morgan has 40 years of experience designing control systems for the power and process industries. Greg McMillan has 50 years of experience in improving process performance by modeling, and improving PID control, measurements and control valves.

Chemical manufacturer Olin follows NIST and CIS directives, and adopts Armis software to build its OT/IT security platform

BY JIM MONTAGUE

CYBERSECURITY can seem scary and overwhelming, but it just requires performing some basic tasks, following some essential best practices, and using some helpful tools. Oh, and operations technology (OT) and information technology IT) must work together.

Mike Ehlers, global senior security manager at Olin Corp. (olin.com) in Clayton, Mo., reports that planning to deploy IT and OT cybersecurity controls begins with securing data and network footprints, and the best model for this is the wellknown, five-pillar National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, which the Center for Internet Security (www.cisecurity.org) expands into 22 "CIS controls" coverage areas and tasks (Figure 1).

“There's other ways to do this, but if you look at NIST’s model and CIS controls I believe they marry together very well,” says Ehlers. “NIST is what a cybersecurity platform should include, and CIS is how to do it.”

Ehlers presented “IT/OT cybersecurity best practices” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YeSJr_4CWk) on Feb. 6 at ARC Forum in Orlando, Fla.

Separate and segment

Ehlers reports that two of the most crucial cybersecurity tasks to do first are making sure that a company’s plant-floor OT network is sufficiently separated from its business-level IT network, and recruiting someone on staff, who can advocate for change, and help OT and IT staffers cooperate to implement secure network zones and conduits. These are shown in the equally famous, seven-layer Purdue Open System Interconnect (OSI) model (ANSI/ISA-95) for networks and control hierarchies, which recommends that communications to go through multiple firewalls between field devices, operations, enterprise and public networks.

“If OT and IT networks aren’t separated, it leaves users open to email as the largest vulnerability vector because many users may be clicking on links they shouldn’t be clicking on,

and opening attachments in phishing emails,” explains Ehlers. “This is where an industry standard like the Purdue OSI model that I certainly recommend can help users separate their OT and IT networks to securely manage their data

Ehlers adds that each cybersecurity effort must also address its “people, processes and technology” issues. These typically include developing existing personnel and/or adding managed security service providers (MSSP), developing and publishing policies and standards, and procuring tools to implement security controls.

“If you have more money in your security department budget than I do, it may be easier to hire more security staff or an MSSP,” says Ehlers. “In either case, you’ll need plenty of funding because it will have to go 24/7 and be always on."

Ehlers adds he can’t overemphasize how important it is to have a change advocate, who is crucial for supporting early and even mature cybersecurity programs. “If you're the chief information security officer (CISO) and you're responsible for cybersecurity across an entire organization, and you're only worried about the business side, that's an obvious gap,” explains Ehlers. “If you’re accountable for crossing the boundary into levels 2, 1 and 0 of the Purdue model, how are you going to implement any ideas? Are you just going to go walk into the production people one day, and say ‘Here’s the standard. Go do it’? That probably won't fly well, which is why you need that advocate. What we’ve experienced over the years is that you generally need someone in management, such as a VP on the operations side or a couple of people who understand the operations going on.”

Organize for maturity

To migrate toward and achieve greater cybersecurity, Ehlers agrees that users and organizations can start with the NIST framework’s five pillars to develop their first line of defense, but he stresses they must also use it to develop a plan that meets their unique requirements.

photo: Derek Chamberlain / Shutterstock AI

IDENTIFY

• Asset management

• Business environment

• Governance

• Risk assessment

• Risk management strategy

PROTECT

• Awareness control

• Awareness and training

• Data security

• Information protection and procedures

• Maintenance

• Protective technology

DETECT

• Anomalies and events

• Security continuous monitoring

• Detection process

RESPOND

• Response planning

• Communications

• Analysis

• Mitigation

• Improvements RECOVER

• Recovery planning

• Improvements

• Communications

Figure 1: The Center for Internet Security (CIS) expands the five parts of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework into 22 "CIS controls" coverage areas and tasks. Source: NIST and CIS

“There needs to be a mindful, thought-out plan and approach to cybersecurity, or you’re just throwing darts at a board, trying something new every year, and likely to get lost in the mire of not knowing where to start,” says Ehlers. “I think everyone knows about governance, access control, security awareness, training and monitoring, so those may be easier tasks, while others are harder to grasp. Traditional cybersecurity was driven by all the things that cyber-criminals might do and everything that might go wrong. However, CIS controls cut through this fog to focus on the fundamental and valuable actions that every enterprise should take, and consolidates them into a process that you can follow, and check off boxes as you go. In addition, they’re referenced by NIST’s framework as a recommended implementation approach, and consist of a short list of high-priority, effective, defensive, must-do, dofirst actions.”

CIS controls are applied by grouping 18 tasks in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and organizing them into three implementation groups:

• Basic consists of key controls that should be implemented in every organization for essential cyber-defense readiness, and includes inventory and control enterprise assets, inventory and control software, data protection, secure configuration of all assets, account management, access control management, continuous vulnerability management and audit log management.

• Foundational consists of technical best practices that provide clear security benefits, and includes email/web browser protections, malware defenses, data recovery, network infrastructure management, and network monitoring and defense.

• Organizational concentrates on people and processes, and includes security awareness and skills training, service provider management, application software security, incident response management and penetration testing.

Progressing from basic to foundational to organizational is how users can fully establish the NIST Cybersecurity Framework in their operations and organizations. “It’s always people, processes and technology, so what’s needed for malware defenses?” asks Ehlers. “One of the more common tasks is antivirus (AV), so you start mapping and filling in these bubbles. Once you understand it, you literally have this map in front of you that starts with the basics, and moves into the foundational and organizational. As you get going, the map begins to show up in somewhat of an importance order, and becomes a heat map of green bubbles that have been implemented, yellow bubbles that are in progress, and red bubbles that are gaps that need funding. This makes it very simple to identify and track what needs to be done.”

Build better bubbles

Ehlers adds that he and his colleagues fill in tasks in the basic foundational and organizational groups by asking what people, processes and technologies each of them requires, and developing answers for each. (Figure 2)

“For instance, if you need malware defense and an AV tool, you may also need to consider endpoint detection and response (EDR). Sometimes it’s a tool, sometimes it’s a person and a tool, and sometimes it’s a process. Sometimes a bit of all three is needed to fill in a bubble,” says Ehlers. “If all your bubbles are red, then you’re probably at high risk, but it goes down as more turn green.

“If you want to add numbers, you can add measurement vectors under each bubble,” explains Ehlers. “To measure if you have a good AV deployment, you may find you’ve got 10,000 end points and you’re deploying to 9.000 on any given day. This 90% deployment is one of the little vectors you can add to the malware defenses bubble. You can then build three or four more vectors for each bubble, and bring them all together to build a risk score you can use at your

Key controls that should be implemented in every organization for essential cyber-defense readiness

1 Inventory and control enterprise assets is getting a configuration management database (CMDB)

2 Inventory and control software has a software asset management tool

3 Data protection needs a data loss prevention (DLP) solution

4 Secure configuration of all assets has system center configurations manager (SCCM), group policy objects (GPO), organizational behavior management (OBM) firmware security (FWs) and compliance checks

5 Account management needs machine identity management (MIM) and identity management (IDM)

6 Access control management has privileged access management (PAM)

7 Continuous vulnerability management has vulnerability management discovery and prioritizing

8 Audit log management has secure information and event management (SIEM)

Technical best practices that provide clear security benefits

FOUNDATIONAL

9 Email/web browser protections has email gateways and web content management

10 Malware defenses has an AI antivirus tool, endpoint detection and response (EDR) and managed detection and response (MDR)

11 Data recovery has backups

12 Network infrastructure management is getting a network monitoring tool

13 Network monitoring and defense needs dark-web monitoring, email user-level passwords (UPL) and soundboarding software

Concentrates on people and processes

ORGANIZATIONAL

14 Security awareness and skills training has solutions in place

15 Service provider management has a managed security service provider (MSSP)

16 Application software security needs reversing engineering with static application security testing (SAST) and dynamic application security testing (DAST)

17 Incident response management runs a 24/7 security operations center (SoC) with ticketing and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) functions

18 Penetration testing uses automated and live penetration testing

Figure 2: CIS controls are applied by organizing 18 tasks in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework into three implementation groups. Users fill in tasks in the basic, foundational and organizational groups by determining what people, processes and technologies each requires. Green boxes are already implemented, yellow are in progress, and red are gap items that need funding. Source: ARC and Olin

company, and determine if you’re in the green, yellow or red. This is one way to help answer the overall ‘Are we secure?’ question. This gives my team focus and goals they can march towards every year. We’ve also presented this to our board to show we have a plan that’s underway and that we’re continuing to reduce risk. The risk meter we built based on vectors relative to out CIS controls model can show risk scores every quarter.”

Protect the OT side

To achieve similar cybersecurity gains on its OT level, Ehlers reports that Olin relies on the Purdue OSI model, maintains firewalls between its IT and OT networks, and segments its other networks, too. Its business network connects to an industrial demilitarized zone (iDMZ) at Level 3, which can only initiate contact with the OT network at Level 2 by using two-factor authentication (2FA), However, the OT network at Level 2 can initiate and push data to the iDMZ, though no Internet access is allowed.

Olin also uses NIST framework and CIS controls approaches on the OT side that are similar to those it employs on the IT side. The seven key CIS control concepts crucial for the OT side are network visibility, vulnerability management, patching cadence, antivirus/malware protection, hardware and software asset management, standard incident response, and data backup and recovery.

“The biggest takeaway is that you’ve got to have a firewall cluster between your business and OT networks. If that isn’t there you have a high risk, period, because the Internet has access to your OT side,” says Ehlers. “The other key takeaway is that you don’t allow communication to be initiated from the business network to the OT network without

two-factor authentication (2FA). In fact, you probably need two forms of 2FA, one to access your business network and another to get through the firewall, and not ones that use the same Microsoft authenticator app. If you want to push data from OT to the business, only Level 2 should initiate—and only outbound to the business, never back to OT

To gain OT network visibility and evaluate what’s happening, Ehlers adds that Olin uses passive-monitoring software from Armis (www.armis.com). It establishes a baseline of what devices and good behavioral traffic are on its networks, and quickly alerts users if anyone unexpectedly plugs in.

“This is a passive tool, so it takes in data, but there’s no longer anyone who can go to a switch port on our network and plug something in that we don’t know is there within about 15 minutes,” says Ehlers. “It can’t get baselines overnight, but it does happen quickly, and now we can get an alert if someone plugs in. We’re no longer in the position of just hoping we’re secure.”

Ehlers also encourages users to ask what’s the source of truth for servers on their networks. “Do you think it’s active directory? Are you sure your engineers aren’t building servers, and not adding them to the active directory sometimes?" asks Ehlers. “I’ll guarantee that if you ask an infrastructure team that hasn’t discussed these topics, they’ll say they know how many servers are on their network. However, I’ll bet $100 that I can prove them wrong with Armis on their network because there’s stuff being built that they have no idea about. Especially in huge companies, engineers will build and turn on a temporary server that never gets turned off, or they don’t need active directory to manage a server. Visibility is so important because it leads to vulnerability management. This is how we ensure our cybersecurity program is accurate.”

Control valve selection and sizing data

How to best ensure you're using reliable sizing information

Q: The valve-sizing software available today is powerful, and the results are correct in many cases. However, I find the best approach is to do preliminary sizing using online software, and then ask the valve manufacturer to check and confirm the correct sizing before ordering. If the supplied valve is the wrong size, the responsibility (and associated cost) is on the supplier to correct the mistake and supply the correct valve.

By doing this, I save the replacement costs, and learn what mistakes or omissions occurred in the original sizing data used in the softwarebased sizing, so we can avoid repetition in the future. What do you think are the best ways to ensure using reliable sizing information?

CHARLES PALMER process control consultant

charles101143@live.co.za

A1: The more people review the sizing data provided for an application, the better the outcome is likely to be. I’ll focus on more than just the importance of using reliable and complete information, or the fact that data for sizing is often in error or reflects only normal operating conditions. I’ll describe some of the other important considerations in the process of valve sizing and selection.

Usually, the first step is determining the required valve characteristics, which describe the relationship between flow through the valve and the value of the control signal received by the valve actuator. This relationship, if the actuator is linear (meaning that the valve Cv is proportional to the control signal), determines the valve gain—if the valve pressure drop (ΔP) is constant. The most common valve characteristics are linear, equal percentages and quick opening (Figure 1).

The goal of picking the right valve characteristics is to keep the total loop gain constant. This total gain is the product of four gains, which are the process gain

(Gp = %spam/%flow), sensor gain (Gs = %meas./%span), controller gain (Gc = %meas./%error), and valve gain (Gv = %flow/%lift). If tuned for quarter-amplitude damping, the controller gain is about 0.5, while the process gain varies as a function of the variable being controlled.

As shown in Figure 1, in a linear valve, its travel is linearly proportional with flow capacity, so the valve gain (Gv) is 1.0. In an equal percentage valve, a unit change in lift results in a flow change that’s a constant percentage of the flow occurring at that lift. Because valve gain rises as flow increases, these valve characteristics are selected for processes with the opposite gain characteristics (Gp drops when flow rises). Quick-opening valves (plug valves) have the opposite characteristics; their gain rises with flow.

To specify the correct valve characteristics for a particular application, I consider the ratio of the pressure drop ratios in such a way that, if the maximum pressure drop is less than twice the minimum, I use linear valves for flow, level and pressure control

This column is moderated by Béla Lipták, who also edits the Instrument and Automation Engineers’ Handbook, 5th edition , and authored the recently published textbook, Controlling the Future , which focuses on controlling of AI and climate processes. If you have a question about measurement, control, optimization or automation, please send it to liptakbela@aol.com When you send a question, please include your full name, job title and company or organization affiliation.

Figure 1: The most common valve characteristics

Figure 2: Increased process system drop ( Ps) decreases gain and rangeability, and increases controllable minimum flow through control valves. Note that the minimum "controllable" flow increases as D c drops.

(except for the control of vapor pressure or liquid pressure, where equal percentage is the best choice). For heat transfer controls—the case in most temperature control loops—equal percentage valves are also recommended, which compensates for the drop in process gain as the load rises, while its own gain increases as the load rises. For square root-type flow loops, my recommendation is quick opening. If the maximum pressure drop is more than twice the minimum, I use linear valves for orifice flow and equal percentage for all others.

The above approach to pairing controlled variable and valve characteristics is correct if the process fluid isn’t flashing, cavitating or approaching sonic velocity (choked flow). If it does, the selection becomes more complex, and the reader should refer to my handbook for details.

Valve rangeability is the ratio between maximum and minimum controllable flow through the valve. For manufacturers, it’s usually 50:1 for equal percentage, 33:1 for linear and 20:1 for equal percentage valves, with a minimum controllable flow (not leakage, but controllable) down to about 2%. These values are correct if the pump is variable speed, or if they’re constant speed but have to overcome mostly elevation and only a little pipe friction. In that case, the distortion coefficient (Dc in Figure 2) is nearly 1.0.

If on top of elevation, the pump must overcome pipe friction, so Dc drops and valve rangeability does, too. For example, at a Dc of 0.1, an equal percentage valve becomes linear, and its rangeability can drop from 50 to 10.

For this reason, and to keep the valve characteristics constant, I often recommend switching constant speed pumps to variable speed.

BÉLA LIPTÁK

A 2: I agree with Charles’ comments because generic, valve-sizing software may be good for training/instructional purposes and will probably give reasonably good results, but the models it uses might not exactly match the valve attributes of a particular vendor. There are also diverse auxiliary issues that would be involved with valve and assembly selection. These details would include chatter in near-closed conditions and rangeability if there’s an equal percentage-type trim, choked flow or cavitation. Associated auxiliary choices include actuator size, expandercontractor in the assembly, dual trims, etc.

R. RUSSELL RHINEHART emeritus professor

Oklahoma State University rrr@okstate.edu

Full-court pressure–and temperature, too

Control ’s monthly resources guide

HYDROSTATIC+DIFFERENTIAL

This classic, five-minute video, “Pressure measurement” by Endress+Hauser, covers history, operating modes, hydrostatic measurement, and differential pressure measurement. Its computer animations make it much easier to understand these principles. It’s at www.youtube. com/watch?v=EY1iF6Pvq98

HESCO www.hesconet.com

STRANDED DATA SEARCH

This online article, “Pressure and temperature instrumentation best practices,” shows how data needs drive technical requirements; how to find stranded information; how the NE107 standard can simplify organization; and what to do with data once it’s been liberated. It’s at www.yokogawa. com/us/library/resources/media-publications/intech-article-pressure-temp YOKOGAWA www.yokogawa.com

LAWS, UNITS, METHODS, PERFORMANCE

This 10-page whitepaper, “Basics of ascertaining effective pressure and temperature measurement” by Brian Cleary of Emerson, covers many fundamentals, including the Ideal Gas Law, measurement units, methods, installation issues, performance comparisons and other related topics. It’s at asgmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/009.pdf

AMERICAN SCHOOL OF GAS MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY www.asgmt.com

SENSOR, TRANDUCER, TRASNSMITTER, SWITCH

This eight-minute video, “Pressure

sensor, transducer and transmitter explained/application of each,” defines each of these elements, compares their technical characteristics, and shows how they’re applied. It’s at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=DVq10SGKHMU. It’s linked to a second video, “What is a pressure sensor?,” that covers how they function, calibration, common types, controls and other aspects. It's at www. youtube.com/watch?v=iru8tRwS7Yc

REALPARS www.realpars.com

HOW TO GET STEAMED

This online article, “Pressure control applications,” details common, streanrelated applications for direct operating, pilot operated, pneumatic, electric and electropneumatic pressure control systems, including the advantages and disadvantages of each control method. It also describes many of the advantages, disadvantages and applications of each option. It’s also linked to similar articles on temperature, level and control. They start at www.spiraxsarco. com/learn-about-steam/control-applications/pressure-control-applications

SPIRAX SARCO www.spiraxsarco.com

GRAPHS AND MORE GRAPHS

Illustrated by many graphs, this online article, “Temperature controllers,” covers definitions, principles, configurations, methods and categories. Each section has multiple graphic elements, which make its essential concepts easier to understand. There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the text. It’s at www.ia.omron.com/ support/guide/53/introduction.html

OMRON www.omtron.com

BOOK OF WHY AND HOW

This webpage, “Temperature controller basics handbook," delivers a introduces the reasons why temperature controllers are needed, how they function, common proceses, operational devices and types, and other controller aspects. It's published by Danaher's Industrial Controls Group and its Process Automation, Measurement and Sensing division. The page is at www. instrumart.com/pages/283/temperature-controller-basics-handbook

INSTRUMART www.instrumart.com

NIST ON NICE CONTROLLERS

This online article, “Process controllers (temperature, pressure, etc), summarizes the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) views on controllers from the perspective of its National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). It covers basic interactions, sensors and control loops. It’s at www.nist.gov/ncnr/nicesoftware/ nice-help/devices/process-controllerstemperature-pressure-etc NIST www.nist.gov

BEST FROM THE PAST

An earlier version of this article, “Temperature and pressure don’t stress,” includes a link to Emerson’s classic “Engineer’s guide to industrial temperature measurement,” as well as referrals to many other educational materials from Endress+Hauser, Omega Engineering, Lesman and others. It’s at www.controlglobal.com/ measure/pressure/article/11311984/ resource-guide-temperature-andpressure-dont-stress CONTROL www.controlglobal.com

Motors, drives don’t (just) spin wheels

Greater compactness, longevity, protections, multi-ratings and ease-of-use generate new efficiencies

OVERSIZED BEARINGS ENABLE SEVERE DUTY

EQP Global SD severe-duty motors from Toshiba are designed to withstand severe conditions. These inverterduty motors feature oversized, 300-series bearings for maximum motor longevity. EQP SD motors are available in 230/460 VAC voltages, sizes from ¼ hp up to 100 hp, and speeds of 1,200, 1,800 and 3,600 rpm. The NEMA premium efficiency motors are made of heavy-duty, cast-iron, and are rated for hazardous locations up to Class I, Division 2, Groups, A, B, C, and D.

AUTOMATIONDIRECT

www.automationdirect.com/ac-motor

NEMA SUPER-PREMIUM IN AC INDUCTION

DIRECT-DRIVE, ELECTRIC CYLINDERS

AA3000 direct-drive, electric-cylinder series is expanding.

AA3123 produces 5,300 N peak force, 1,300 N continuous force and 0.28 m/s maximum speed, while its variant delivers 2,650 N peak force, 650 N continuous force and 0.56 m/s maximum speed. Likewise, AA3133 produces 12,500 N peak force, 2,800 N continuous force and 0.12 m/s maximum speed, while its variant delivers 6,000 N peak force, 1,400 N continuous force and 0.24 m/s maximum speed.

BECKHOFF AUTOMATION w ww.beckhoff.com/aa3100

COMPACT, MULTI-RATED AC DRIVE

Frenic-Ace drive uses components with lifespans of 10 years or more, and comes standard with a three-year warranty, while providing compact, powerful, multi-rated specification solutions for AC drive applications.

Frenic-Ace offers advanced integration capabilities, including applied power ratings, sensor-less dynamic torque vector control, PM synchronous motor control, two-channel, onboard RS485 communication port, and user-customizable logic.

FUJI ELECTRIC americas.fujielectric.com/products/vfd-inverters-ac-drives/frenic-ace

Baldor-Reliance SP4 motors achieve NEMA’s super premium efficiency rating in a standard AC induction motor design that operates across the line as a standalone unit, independent of a variable speed drive (VSD). When paired with a VSD, even higher efficiency levels are attainable. SP4 intends to reduce motor losses by an average of 20%, while maintaining the simplicity, form, fit and function of today’s installed base of AC induction motors.

ABB

new.abb.com/motors-generators/sp4

AC DRIVES FOR 5-HP APPLICATIONS

Commander S series AC drives from Control Techniques are optimized for 5-HP and less applications. With NFC technology standard, these drives are designed for easy installation and operation. Commander S can be commissioned, monitored, diagnosed and supported via the Marshal software app. Designed for repeat builds, they can be programmed while still in the box. Commander S also features linear V to F, square to F, and resistance compensation control modes.

GALCO

www.galco.com

STEPPER DRIVE WITH POSITION CONTROL

P80360 stepper drive with closedloop position control has real-time position correction and programming via an intuitive GUI. It uses stepless control for smooth, quiet motion and optimal performance. P80360 can be used with all stepper motors with phase current up to 3.0 Arms. It also holds CE, RoHS and REACH certifications. In addition to open-loop stall detection, P80360 can track load positions via encoder feedback, and automatically correct for overshoot or undershoot.

KOLLMORGEN CORP. www.kollmorgen.com/en-us/products/drives/stepper/p8000

ALL-IN-ONE SERVO DRIVE, MOTOR, ENCODER

MDX+ low-voltage systems integrate a servo drive, motor and encoder into a compact package that’s at least 20% smaller than standalone solutions, but still provides accurate positioning and control. Versions with 100/200/400/550 W power outputs are available. MDX+ supports pulse train-based control methods (pulse/ direction, CW/CCW, encoder following), RS-485, CANopen and EtherCAT protocols. Packages with electromagnetic brakes are available to meet safety requirements.

ProComSol, Ltd is a leader in the design and manufacture of advanced, cost-effective, and reliable HART and FF communication products for the Process Control marketplace. +1 216 221 1550 sales@procomsol.com Convert your mobile device into a full featured HART or FF communicator. A modern replacement for expensive hand-helds

APPLIED MOTION PRODUCTS

www.applied-motion.com

BATTERY-POWERED, CABLELESS DRUM PUMP

Equipped with a brushless DC motor, B3 battery-powered drum pump has an output of 320 watts, which provides a delivery rate of up to 180 liters per minute and a delivery head of 11.8 meters water column. It can transfer up to 5,800 liters on one charge, and runs at 70 dB (A), which is reported to be quieter than a vacuum cleaner. It can combine with components, including a 1.2 kg motor with removable battery, pump tube with several versions, a hose and a dosing gun.

LUTZ PUMPEN GMBH www.lutz-pumpen.de/en

NON-CONTACT VOLTAGE MEAUREMENT

377 FC and 378 FC non-contact, voltage true-RMS, AC/DC clamp meters minimize shock risk by making accurate, non-contact voltage measurements without test leads. They use Field-Sense technology for faster and safer testing without touching live conductors. These clamp meters also have an iFlex flexible current probe that can measure AC current as high as 2,500 A, even in tight spaces. FLUKE CORP. www.fluke.com/en-us/product/electrical-testing/ clamp-meters/378-fc

Improving safety performance: compliance vs. competence, part 3

The process industry can make changes for better safety performance

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

GREG: We continue this series of discussions with Michael Taube, principal consultant at S&D Consulting in Houston, to gain insights and critical details for making improvements in process safety, which can address the issue of the plateaued total recordable incident rate (TRIR).

Michael, given all that we covered in our last article (May ’24, p. 40, bit.ly/improvingsafetypart2), what’s the starting point for pursuing the “new view” of safety?

Michael: There’s considerable published research and reviews of high-reliability organizations (HRO) that the process industries should emulate. HROs invest in people first. They recognize that safety (personnel, process and environment) depends heavily on individuals creating safe outcomes by asking the right questions. HROs understand operators, maintainers and supervisors (the ones at the sharp end of the process) create safety by making observations with a purpose—looking for abnormal or deficient conditions. To do it successfully, people must be knowledgeable, competent and proficient, and know what “right” looks like. Investments are made in front-line workers and supervisors with heavy emphasis on the technical fundamentals specific to the hazards of their processes.

Two HROs, commercial aviation and the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP), provide strong examples. They both conduct intensive and realistic training for those at the sharp end, emphasizing abnormal condition responses. Appropriate operator response becomes ingrained— they’ve seen each situation (or something similar) before and know what to do. As stated by retired U.S. Navy submarine commanders Bob Koonce and Matthew DiGeronimo in their book, Extreme operational excellence: applying the U.S. nuclear submarine culture to your organization (Sandman Books, 2016,

bit.ly/ExtremeOperationalExcellence), “The cumulative impact of each member of the organization learning to think critically about what they’re doing at any given time provides massive returns on the investment spent in developing those critical thinking skills.”

Adm. H. G. Rickover, often called the “father of the nuclear navy,” held several core principles. One was “defense in depth,” which wasn’t only about physical layers of protection, but also about the knowledge of those doing the work. His philosophy was that systems can never replace the ability, capability, foresight and insight of a qualified and experienced human. Many safety approaches are rife with holes and gaps because they can’t anticipate every possible scenario. The failures of these systems come down to people. Too few are experienced, and too few are trained and qualified.

Greg: What else makes HROs successful?

Michael: We also previously touched on hiring practices. HROs take a different approach to hiring. Getting into the program is easy, but staying requires work. HROs don’t look for the perfect fit or to hire only the best. While they have certain minimum entry criteria, the real emphasis is on finding people who will put in the effort to gain knowledge and understanding regardless of abilities, talents or skills. They eliminate those unwilling to put in the work. Thus, the process industries must stop searching for unicorns, and retool their recruiting philosophy to find people with potential and train them.

Greg: What other areas must be addressed?

Michael: The dominant business philosophy of today is still “Theory X” described by social psychologist Douglas McGregor in the 1960s. Management assumes that workers are too

GREG MCMILLAN

lazy, unmotivated and uncaring to take action, or alter their behaviors to achieve the business’ objectives, and they respond only to monetary incentives. Research shows that monetary incentives are poor motivators for affecting business and safety outcomes. Yet, process industry management continues to use this theory to affect safety. This approach is further compounded by the concept of shareholder value, which compels management to reduce headcounts and cut investment in workers. This is, of course, the very antithesis of HRO practices.

Research also demonstrates that people respond far more enthusiastically and effectively to intrinsic motivations—being part of a worthy cause, recognized for good work or being part of a high-performing team—rather than purely extrinsic ones such as money. Management must ask why is this company (or industry) worthy of someone’s time and energy? If the answer has anything to do with money, including retirement benefits, healthcare, etc, then they’ve missed the mark.

This is often overlooked when considering what makes HROs successful. It’s not about the money. It’s about belonging to something bigger than oneself. People want to be part of an organization that’s recognized for excellence.

Greg: What are the biggest hurdles that process industry management must overcome to become an HRO?

Michael: The first step is to admit what you are, which requires an honest self-assessment to recognize what assumptions one has and why. Then, one must challenge those assumptions and validate them objectively. Objectivity is the big challenge since we’re all victims of cognitive, cultural and educational biases. Consequently, we must make a concerted effort to recognize and overcome these biases.

One of the biggest biases is that other people are the problem. This bias relieves us of responsibility, but all problems are leadership problems. Before one can lead others, one must lead oneself. So, to address the problems, challenges and frustrations one encounters, one must first take responsibility for oneself and what one does and doesn’t do. Hence, the requirement for a self-assessment.

This is why the process industry's managers must first take responsibility for their choices and decisions, including those of their predecessors. This is where real leadership reveals itself. The continued promulgation of “do more with less” has decimated the boots on the ground, and quality and improvements will continue to suffer until this philosophy is reversed.

Greg: What other paradigm shifts are needed to gain safety improvements?

Michael: Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines, once said, “Our business is people. We just happen to fly airplanes.” It was this

mindset that made Southwest Airlines successful. The process industries, on the other hand, take the position that “the business of business is business,” which views people as costs to minimize, and pursues shortterm profit objectives over long-term business sustainment. Ironically, the culture Kelleher created has been slowly eroded by this same attitude. We also see similar attitudes being revealed by Boeing’s management, and the inexorable outcomes now coming into public view.

The base of the organizational pyramid has eroded, and the structure above is crushing what little foundation remains. The process industries must rebuild their foundation—people. Specifically, these are the people who do the work that makes the business productive, such as operators, engineers and craft labor (construction and maintenance). Until concerted, consistent and committed investment is made to rebuild the foundation, we’ll continue to witness unprecedented safety events, though they’ll be viewed as predictable after the fact.

JIM MONTAGUE Executive Editor jmontague@endeavorb2b.com

“At times of rapid technical change like this, when many of us don’t understand nearly as much as we should, it’s even more crucial to have clear, concise, specific and un-hyped explanations.”

IIoT is getting old

The shift from connectivity to software tools makes the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) invisible

I’M no expert, but I’ve learned plenty from the people I’ve interviewed and the stories I’ve put together. I remember a good deal, too, though it’s largely involuntary and mostly randomaccess. Think of it as a clunky, editorial data acquisition (DAQ) system and historian.

Now, what I’ve retained are bits and pieces leftover from the overly broad topics that Control covers. And, month after month, and year after year, some underlying threads emerge, and it’s possible to see how they influence and alter what’s happening to them.

For instance, Ethernet was an unproven novelty on the plant-floor just a few years ago, so we covered its nuts and bolts to help potential users get familiar with it. Now, Ethernet is everywhere, all the time, so there’s less need to cover it because almost everyone is well-aware of what it can do and how to use it. The exceptions are new wrinkles like Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer (APL), which also need some explaining (see last month’s cover article “What can Ethernet-APL do for you?,” May ’24 p. 20, www.controlglobal.com/network/industrial-networks/article/55041008/ what-can-ethernet-apl-do-for-you)

The same goes for wireless, OPC UA, and the older fieldbus protocols. Over time, users integrated what they needed, an left alone what they didn’t, so there’s less urgency to cover them further. They’re old news, taken for granted, and increasingly invisible, even as they continue to perform vital functions. As I’ve said before, what support technology or personnel don’t feel unseen until something breaks down, and the squeals of inconvenience go up from all sides?

I believe the Industrial Internet of Things (IioT) is entering this phase. It used to be all about connectivity hardware and Internet protocol (IP), but lately it seems to be shifting into software and programming, using tools like Docker containers, Java script object notation (JSON), Node-RED and others. No doubt

because IIoT’s physical infrastructures is increasingly well-established, sources that used to mention these software tools only in passing or as aspirations can now make them the center of their focus, activities and input.

This underscores the snapshot character of most publications. We obviously can’t cover what’s unknown; we can cover what’s starting to be revealed, and hopefully help it along; but too much repetition and rehash is pointless.

Maybe the downside of the news-you-canuse ethos is it can’t easily identify and provide more subtle contexts about longer-term issues. However, more sophisticated interpretations of topics like IIoT, sustainability, data analytics and cybersecurity is just what they need to develop useful insights and lessons.

Because they’re so life-the-universe-andeverything to begin with, the tentacles of these topics already get into each other’s business. But, ever since software-driven digitalization broke through most of the remaining silos between them, the spaces where they overlap are starting to outnumber their dwindling distinctions. They’re like a batch of cinnamon rolls stuck together in one big pan. For example, I know when I ask someone about IIoT, they’re more than likely to start talking about data analytics.

At times of rapid technical change like this, when many of us don’t understand nearly as much as we should, it’s even more crucial to have clear, concise, specific and un-hyped explanations of what we need to learn. It could be just me, but I’ve found that I have to be very persistent to politely demand and obtain answers that are more likely to make a difference to someone else. However, I also believe it’s worth it because I get the details I need, but I’ve been told by some sources I’ve grilled that good questions help their understanding, too. You can tell the people you annoy, as I do, that I may be a pest, but at least I’m a professional pest.

Go Beyond.

Emerson’s DeltaV™ Automation Platform provides contextualized data and unique, actionable insights so you can improve production and embrace the future of innovation—with certainty. Venture beyond. Visit Emerson.com/DeltaV