A supplement to PLANT ENGINEERING Supplement Periodicals Publication and Controlto Engineering magazines
Protect Your People and Plant for Less Best value in light curtain columns and mirrors
PROTECTIVE COLUMNS STARTING AT
$383.00 (YXC-0985-F00)
LIGHT CURTAIN MIRRORS STARTING AT
$412.00 (YXC-1185-M23)
Contrinex Light Curtain Protective Columns and Mirror Columns Mirrors for Contrinex safety light curtains can allow a single pair of light curtains to protect several sides of a machine. Heights are available from 1,185mm to 2,216mm. Protective columns help prevent light curtain damage and misalignment from accidental contact. Baseplates allow for mounting and beam alignment. Protective column heights are available from 965mm to 2,020mm.
Light Curtain Control Relays
Light Curtain Protective Columns • Automatically bounces back after physical shock or vibration. • Robust baseplate allows radial and vertical alignment. • Solid aluminum profile
Light Curtain Mirror Columns • Multi-sided safeguarding of danger zones • Robust protective profile • 10% reduction of operating distance for mirror
Also Available Light Curtains
Features
Safety Mats
Research, price, buy at:
www.automationdirect.com/ light-curtain-columns
Order Today, Ships Fast! * See our Web site for details and restrictions. © Copyright 2020 AutomationDirect, Cumming, GA USA. All rights reserved.
1-800-633-0405
the #1 value in automation
INSIGHTS
Upgrading HMIs and change management
T
Jack Smith Editor
he cover story in this issue of AppliedAutomation examines implementing high-performance human-machine interface graphics when embarking on a hardware and software upgrade project for greater control of manufacturing processes and systems. The authors wrote, “The move to highperformance HMIs will help improve an operator’s ability to manage operations effectively and increase response time to alarms and other abnormal situations.” Early HMI graphics introduced inconsistencies in color and alarms and tended to cause operator confusion. However, the authors say HMI standardization changed this: “Establishing graphics standards upfront is key to overcoming these design issues. They help guide the entire process and overall company vision. It all comes down to situational awareness, which the International Society of Automation’s ISA-101 standard defines as ‘The relationship between the operator’s understanding
of the plant’s condition and its actual condition at any given time.’ High-performance HMI graphics will enhance situational awareness, making anomalies within the system easily recognizable.” According to the authors, the other tools and issues to consider include alarm management, visualization tools and read-only remote access. The other story in this issue explores ways companies approach organizational change management as it applies to remote operations. The author wrote, “In many cases, the infrastructure required to support a move to reduced onsite staffing or a move to remote operation may be in place. It is unlikely that the same level of process safety and reliability can be achieved without meaningful effort and cost. Significant staffing changes must include a serious evaluation of organizational change management and the understanding that current operational reliability is more a case of luck than excellence in organizational design.”
Engineering is personal. So is the way you use information. CFE Media delivers a world of knowledge to you.
Personally.
CFE Media is home to some of the most trusted names in the business. To do your job better each day, you need a trusted source of information:
CFE Media — Content for Engineers
www.cfemedia.com
CFE_General_HalfHorizontal.indd 1
2/9/2017 2:25:34 PM
Stressed out? Juggling too many motion control projects while trying to keep up with new technology can be overwhelming! It’s time to contact an automation specialist at SEW-EURODRIVE for help. Using the latest innovation, we provide a complete package from start to finish, including expertise, project planning, components, software, commissioning, and worldwide support. So relax . . . we got this!
seweurodrive.com / 864-439-7537
Contents
A6
A6 How to upgrade to a high-performance HMI When beginning a hardware and software upgrade project, look to implement high-performance humanmachine interface graphics for greater control of manufacturing processes and systems Is the control center manned 24x7?
YES
END
NO
END
NO
END
YES
A10 Control your move to remote operations
Unmanned and/or does staff leave the control center? YES
Non-recoverable incident possible?
Successful companies manage change in an open environment by understanding the structure of the operations team, the contributions of the staff and the systems required to support them across all modes of operation
YES
Is the staff alerted remotely to issues? Redesign
N0 YES
N0
A10
Is the alert system reliability acceptable YES END
ON THE COVER A new industrial age is upon us and with it comes a wave of innovative technology such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). These leading-edge technologies add value to businesses and create safer work environments. Evolving to a newly implemented high-performance HMI platform opens the door to improved access to critical data, increased operator response time to alarms and other abnormal situations and greater flexibility leveraging innovative technologies. Courtesy: Maverick Technologies
PUBLICATION SALES
PUBLICATION SERVICES 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite 325, Downers Grove, IL 60515 Phone: 630-571-4070 Fax: 630-214-4504 Email: customerservice@cfemedia.com
NORTHEAST
Richard A. Groth Jr. n Jim Langhenry
n Paul Brouch
Co-Founder and Publisher, CFE Media jlanghenry@cfemedia.com
Director of Operations pbrouch@cfemedia.com
n Steve Rourke
n Rick Ellis
Co-Founder, CFE Media srourke@cfemedia.com
Audience Management Director rellis@cfemedia.com
n Patrick Lynch
n Michael Rotz
VP of CFE Technology plynch@cfetechnology.com
Print Production Manager mike.rotz@frycomm.com
CONTENT SPECIALISTS/EDITORIAL
774-277-7266 Fax: 508-590-0432 rgroth@cfemedia.com
SOUTHEAST
Karen Cira 704-523-5466 Fax: 630-214-4504
VP OF SALES
n Jack Smith
n Amanda Pelliccione
Editor 630-907-1622 jsmith@cfemedia.com
Director of Research 978-302-3463 apelliccione@cfemedia.com
Matt Waddell 312-961-6840 mwaddell@cfemedia.com
n Mark Hoske Content Manager Mobile: 847-830-3215 mhoske@cfemedia.com
n Emily Guenther Director of Interactive Media 630-571-4070 x2220 eguenther@cfemedia.com
n Michael Smith Creative Director msmith@cfemedia.com
INSIDE SALES
Diane Houghton AppliedAutomation is published bimonthly by CFE Media and is mailed as a supplement with Control Engineering and Plant Engineering magazines. Copyright 2019 by CFE Media LLC. All rights reserved. Editorial offices are located at 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite 325, Downers Grove, IL 60515. Phone 630-571-4070.
508-298-9021 dhoughton@cfemedia.com
Applied Automation June 2020
•
A5
C O V E R S T O RY
How to upgrade to a high-performance HMI When beginning a hardware and software upgrade project, look to implement high-performance human-machine interface graphics for greater control of manufacturing processes and systems By Brian Bolton and Eric Rector M a v e r i c k Te c h n o l o g i e s
A
new industrial age is upon us and with it comes a wave of innovative technology such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). These leading-edge technologies are adding value to businesses and, even more important, are creating safer work environments. The manufacturing sector is beginning to embrace this next level of automation to improve their processes and upgrade or replace their outdated control systems and software. For many, it is a great opportunity to innovate and not replicate their systems and software. To leverage the latest technology and ensure manufacturing processes continue to run smoothly, attention should be paid to the human-machine interface (HMI), which is a tool operators use on a daily basis. HMI graphics are used in every aspect of a process control system and are key to getting critical data to the right people at the right time. The move to high-performance HMIs will help improve an operator’s ability to manage operations effectively and increase response time to alarms and other abnormal situations. Depending on its size and scope, high-performance HMI upgrade can be fraught with challenges and may require a significant investment in time and resources. However, the benefits realized from high-performance HMI far outweigh the upfront investment.
Early HMI design issues One of the greatest challenges in upgrading legacy HMI revolves around the existing design and converting the screens to a new or different format. In the early days, when control systems became sophisticated enough to have real-time process control graphics, personnel were tasked with developing the graphics (see Figure 1). In most cases, they created them using piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) and came up with their own set of best practices, trying to determine what “good” looked like. It worked for the most part.
A6 • June 2020
Applied Automation
Over the years, however, facilities may have had multiple personnel involved in creating their HMI graphics, which introduced inconsistencies in color and alarms. The graphics sported eye-catching colors but tended to cause operator confusion, making it difficult to see at a glance whether a process was running well or poorly. In addition, graphics were organized by pages, like a book with tabs. Some pages had customizable dropdown lists and others had lists with links to the graphics requiring the operator to select a back button to change displays. Some designs tended to be too simplistic while others were very complex. These displays can be overwhelming for someone not familiar with the overall look and process. In a sense, low-performance HMI (LP-HMI) graphics were established and many are still in use today. Poorlydesigned HMIs, along with poorly-configured process alarming, have often been cited as significant contributors to major industrial accidents.
HMI standardization Establishing graphics standards upfront is key to overcoming these design issues. They help guide the entire process and overall company vision. Today’s high-performance HMI software takes a multilayered approach. Its standards guidelines were created to optimize the end user experience and encourage creating a graphics hierarchy to help establish a sensible graphics flow. With high-performance HMI, information (data) is presented in a way that there is no question as to whether conditions are good or bad. Operators can use multilevel hierarchy displays to navigate quickly to a screen or drill down to an even more detailed display. Dashboards contain an overview with buttons or links that open graphics for more detail on specific areas in a facility.
Operator buy-in for high-performance HMIs Prior to implementing an high-performance HMI upgrade, it is critical to get operator buy-in. Real resistance comes when trying to implement anything that isn’t pulled from existing layouts or piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs). Operators are comfortable with their traditional graphics and tend to follow the old mindset: “Make it look exactly like the screens that are there.”
Figure 1: An example of a non-high-performance HMI graphic. Courtesy: Maverick Technologies
They are familiar with the old-style drawing layout challenges. The resistance to change is understandable. For many facilities, operators and engineers have invested a lot of time in how their legacy HMI screens are driven from menus or alarms. They want any new screens to fit the same scheme. Some facilities also have extensive database-driven layouts and object locations, which means it’s not always easy bringing the two together. Overcoming change starts with proper upfront planning, preparation and training. Understanding the process and how the graphics and objects work is key before starting to fully design screens. Take the time needed to train personnel and start slowly to build some small screens and devices simulated with test programmable logic controller (PLC) code. This process should be basic and quick. Manufacturers can leverage high-performance HMI to develop screen groups, identify common scenarios that need common devices shown and determine how alarms will interact based on various situations. Through upfront testing and training, operators can see first-hand how the high-performance HMI software’s multilevel navigation features help optimize and improve processes quickly and more reliably, as well as mitigate safety risks. Finally, involving operators from the start and getting their input makes them a part of the process and lowers resistance to change.
Situational awareness It is important, and possibly the difference between success and failure, to remember a few key points when planning and implementing high-performance HMI. Personnel often struggle with: • Too many screens • Input/output (I/O) overload • Massive amounts of alarms. Also note HMI graphics at the process control level are intended to have the look and feel of a control panel.
HMI graphics at the process control level are intended to have the look and feel of a control panel. Operators should see the graphics as the means to operate the process, as well as providing the capability to monitor what they are controlling. It all comes down to situational awareness, which the International Society of Automation’s ISA-101 standard defines as “The relationship between the operator’s understanding of the plant’s condition and its actual condition at any given time.” High-performance HMI graphics will enhance situational awareness, making anomalies within the system easily recognizable. For example, a tank with a HI Level or Hi Hi Level would be recognized at a glance even after the alarm has been presented.
HMI storyboarding A trained facilitator should lead key engineers and operators in a storyboarding session, which is a design process to help define, develop and organize a visual representation of the new high-performance HMI graphics layout and hierarchy. Navigation between graphics must be intuitive and instinctive (see Figure 2). This tends to be a multistep process and requires several days for a typical operating console in a manufacturing facility.
Applied Automation June 2020
•
A7
C O V E R S T O RY Once the storyboard is developed, the entire process will help identify the type and number of graphics required. It also reduces extraneous information and graphics on the displays. This is a great opportunity to involve key personnel and get their input.
Other HMI tools and considerations Other tools and issues to consider include alarm management, visualization tools and read-only remote access. Alarm management. HMI software and alarm management go hand in hand. The standards and importance of alarm management have inspired improvements in HMI software. Alarm management standards (e.g., ANSI/ ISA-18.2) have been developed to address issues with nuisance alarms, alarm floods, alarm tolerances, stagnant alarms and more. Poor alarm systems can be just as bad as not having an alarm system at all.
Poor alarm systems can be just as bad as not having an alarm system at all. Vendor-supplied data historian tools now can be configured to include alarming in the tools. Using alarm management software outside the process control network allows the alarm monitoring responsibilities to be dispersed to personnel who are not working directly in the process control areas. For alarms involving non-process critical details, notifications can help the operators focus on the process and more critical alarms. Visualization tools. Since facility decision makers are spread out among various departments, having access to the process control HMI graphics requires additional process control terminals. However, it is not a safe or efficient practice to use these terminals outside the process area. Instead, using process data historians to capture and record process control data in real time permits this information to be shared and visualized outside the process control network. Many vendors such as Rockwell Automation, OSIsoft, Wonderware and AspenTech now offer visualization tools packaged with their data historians. These visualization tools allow most of the same functionality of the highperformance HMI graphics tools, making them available to decision makers. Some of the visualization tools are even more complex and offer greater functionality. In fact, some visualization tools available use HTML5, which allows scalability to the graphics, making them available on just about any device. Being able to create HMI graphics using process control data in real time allows for greater visibility throughout the organization. Read-only remote access. Many of these vendors also
A8 • June 2020
Applied Automation
offer toolsets that can be used to create graphic displays that are near-exact replicas of the process control systems’ HMI graphics. This allows decision makers outside the process control network the ability to see in real time what the operators are monitoring and seeing. Essentially, this extends the process control graphics in a “read-only” format to the desktops or laptops of anyone within the organization without fear of the process being affected in any way. This read-only view also ensures anyone using the visualization tools for monitoring a process will always have the right version of the graphic. Currently, with the proper credentials and an internetconnected device, decision makers can look at process control graphics and data from just about anywhere with hand-held devices. For example, R&D facilities are now able to use and monitor graphics outside the process control network as new products, batches or processes are introduced to the manufacturing floor. For years, having R&D involved with new startups required travel to the actual location, adding significant cost to the development process. Eliminating the danger of altering or controlling a process removes all threats of accidental or intentional manipulations within the process control system. With proper security applied to the replicated graphics, remote personnel will not be able to make changes to the graphic files.
Getting started With any high-performance HMI or overall system and software upgrade project, manufacturers must weigh their strategic investment options and plan early to avoid incurring significant cost. Hardware and software upgrade projects require a holistic view and careful, upfront planning that includes long-term costs, maintenance and sustaining services as part of the overall strategy. Before getting started, consider the following: • Determine where the facility is in terms of automation and process control hardware and software. Understanding the facility’s current capabilities is key to future planning. There may be some cases where the current process capabilities are adequate but not future proof. • Close consideration must be given to whether the hardware is compatible with the current process control software and the updated software. Hardware must be flexible enough to support future software upgrades. In some cases, HMI software may contain improvements and features that would require significant updates to the process control system graphics. For facilities where the HMI graphics have never been updated to high-performance HMI, a control system upgrade project is a good time to implement the software, identify-
ing any potential system compatibility issues in the early planning stages. • An automation investment is not a one time and done thing. Hardware being used within the process control system can and will break down and must be replaced. New equipment will likely be too advanced to just install in place of the old equipment. Having a plan or a schedule to continuously improve the process control hardware and software to stay as current as possible will prevent the potential for major issues down the road, keeping costs under control. • Don’t wait. The longer companies wait to upgrade their process control system hardware and software, the project will be that much more complicated and expensive. Today’s hardware and software continue to evolve with improvements and changes and do not show any signs of slowing down. Carefully choose the direction and vendor that meets the facility’s immediate needs and maintains backwards compatibility. High-performance HMI upgrade projects can be complicated and take a lot of time and resources to design and develop. • Turn to hardware and software vendors in addition to the personnel closest to the processes to assist in defining a project. For businesses that lack available resources to implement this type of project, consider consulting an unbiased third-party automation solutions provider who specializes in designing, developing, building, implementing and sustaining systems and high-performance HMI graphics no matter the type of process control system or software used.
Final HMI thoughts HMI graphics have come a long way from the initial automation projects. It is important to recognize that graphics from 15 to 20 years ago are out of date.
Figure 2: A typical storyboard for an oil refinery crude unit operating console. Courtesy: Maverick Technologies
Planning and implementing high-performance HMI project upgrades will drive improvements in efficiency and effectiveness for everyone from the operator to the decision makers. When beginning a hardware and software upgrade project, look to implement high-performance HMI graphics for greater control of manufacturing processes and systems. There is no doubt technology and the need to visualize what is going on in manufacturing processes will continue to evolve over time. As machines get smarter and AI continues to improve, the industry will see additional changes taking place with high-performance HMI graphics. A trained workforce that can keep graphics within standards guidelines and ensure their relevancy over time will be essential to success. Brian E. Bolton is a consultant for Maverick Technologies. He has more than 35 years of experience in chemical manufacturing, including more than 20 years involved with the OSIsoft PI Suite of Applications, quality assurance, continuous improvement and data analysis. Eric Rector is a solutions architect at Maverick Technologies, a leading platform-independent automation solutions provider offering industrial automation, strategic manufacturing and enterprise integration services for the process industries. Maverick Technologies is a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) and a CFE Media content partner.
Applied Automation June 2020
•
A9
R E M O T E O P E R AT I O N S
Control your move to remote operations Successful companies manage change in an open environment by understanding the structure of the operations team, the contributions of the staff and the systems required to support them across all modes of operation Bridget Fitzpatrick, Wo o d
I
n many cases, the infrastructure required to support a move to reduced onsite staffing or a move to remote operation may already be in place. Reducing onsite staff has increased focus in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The initial knee-jerk philosophy may be to ensure “the same level” of process safety and reliability is maintained across this transition. It is unlikely the same level of process safety and reliability can be achieved without meaningful effort and cost. Significant staffing changes must include a serious evaluation of organizational change management and the understanding that current operational reliability is more a case of luck than excellence in organizational design.
The history of organizational change management Many early industrial accidents that led to regulations that now manage the process industry identified issues around change management. One type of change that repeatedly emerged were changes to the organization. This led to the development of the management of organizational change concept (MOOC). If you Google MOOC, you are likely to get more hits for “massive open online courses” than “management of organizational change.” Back in the early days of process safety, MOOC was a common term, and most companies had standards and checklists for this type of change. Today, the better search term is likely to be “organizational change management” (OCM). In the U.K., the HSE website has a wealth of information, as does the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) site in the U.S., among others.
Why MOOC? One reason why organizational change is difficult is because organizations are not well documented or perhaps even well understood. Changes to the organization have obvious (hard) and more subtle or hidden (soft) aspects. CCPS suggests a seven “S” model, which includes:
A10 • June 2020
Applied Automation
• Hard aspects: Structure, staff, skills and systems • Soft aspects: Strategy, style and shared values. CCPS and HSE books and reports have sound starting points with draft policies, guidance on safety reviews and myriad checklists. Developing customized checklists that use local terminology and focus on these seven dimensions can be effective.
A warning about checklists A wealth of supporting materials is available, but they must be used with caution. Consider the flowchart in Figure 1 for assessing a change in staffing. Stepping through a checklist without due consideration may result in an ineffective result. Some of the publicly available checklists for the scope of Figure 1 are more than a dozen pages long and still fail to consider much beyond basic staffing and the reliability of alerting systems. Several famous process safety incidents have had some of the same elements that can be traced back to organizational change management. Two of the common root causes are: 1) not understanding the real functions and roles that staff undertake, and 2) not understanding the manual tasks (both monitoring and intervention) required to avoid impacts. In simple terms, the organization may not have a complete picture of who does what, and what needs to be done.
Stories from incidents The classic example of staffing changes resulting in an incident is the Esso Longford gas explosion in 1998 that interrupted the public natural gas supply in Australia. One item cited was the engineering staff had moved to a location around 100 miles away, which impacted the level of interaction between the engineering and operations teams and affected the degree of engineering involvement for day-to-day operations. This was a complex cascade of events, but it is worth a review. Bottom line: Many methods exist for staffing design, though no one method is cited as the best practice and commonly cited options are complex. For a MOOC change, it may be easy to fall into the trap of a staffing study and redesign. This may be warranted, depending on
performance. However, it is more important to focus on the effect of the change to staffing to ensure a smooth transition and not jump into a total redesign.
Is the control center manned 24x7?
Experience suggests the following dimensions be reviewed for impact.
• Personnel qualifications and training -One method to ensure the end state team has equivalent capabilities is to brainstorm the qualifications of the current team. This will highlight any areas where the end-state team may need additional training. • Unique staff experience and skills -This is one area that may result in the most pain as the changes are rolled out. This is prominent when roles move to a rotational support basis. -This can be captured by storytelling around major historical upsets. This will highlight areas where manual intervention may warrant additional automation, where additional cameras are required or where a shared on-site resource across different operating areas may be needed.
END
NO
END
NO
END
YES
Dimensions of impact
• Personnel roles and responsibilities -A common overlooked item is staffing to support emergency operations. If too many personnel are moved remotely, the emergency team staffing and backfill plans may need to be adjusted. -Another overlooked aspect of this is the frequency of on-call status in a changed team setting. Being on-call is a burden that must be recognized and managed. -In many cases, the experience and skills of the current staff may exceed the base job descriptions. Backfilling with different people or allowing roles to rotate through a team will highlight the benefits present. -Just acknowledging the excess skills and accepting the impending loss is not the best approach. Specific plans to provide access to other resources or tools will be important to manage the performance level.
YES
Unmanned and/or does staff leave the control center? YES
Non-recoverable incident possible? YES
Is the staff alerted remotely to issues? Redesign
N0 YES
N0
Is the alert system reliability acceptable YES
Figure 1: Oversimplified view of change in control center staffing. Courtesy: Wood
END
-Discussing the best days will highlight support needs for optimization of quality and efficiency.
• Critical tasks and procedures -In many cases, existing job descriptions may not fully capture the critical tasks and procedures. A simple brainstorming session, augmented with scanning checklists, will supplement the existing scope.
• Resources and tools needed under new design -It is unlikely no new resources or tools will be required to meet the target performance. New resources and tools can include anything from low cost tweaks to new automation. -Some of the most effective tools support easy communication between teams that are no longer co-located in general as well as at shift handover. To be most effective, teams need to be continuously learning and managing their knowledge transfer systems.
• Impacts across all modes of operation -Storytelling around the best and worst days of operation is an effective method to derive this information. -Staff that has participated in process design and safety reviews may remember reasoning for redundancies. -Long tenure staff will remember failures and action plans from the failures. -Brainstorming across modes of operation may result in adding emergency operating procedures and human-machine interface (HMI) support that may divert an impact.
• Impacted policies and standards -Any significant change will result in either real or apparent impacts to policies and standards. It is important to walk through a review and hear the teams’ concerns. -An important consideration is a clear and open discussion of any items impacting compensation. -Any significant change will result in either real or apparent impacts to authority, responsibility and accountability. If the authority to operate, and the responsibility for performance and clear targeted
Applied Automation June 2020
• A11
MITIGATE
UPSET
Add alerts
Unrecoverable incident while remote
Add Shared site cameras staff
MITIGATE
CONTROL
CAUSE
Field data
CONTROL
Add Shared site automation staff
IMPACT
Production loss
MITIGATE
CONTROL
CAUSE
Manual action
CONTROL
R E M O T E O P E R AT I O N S
Add alerts
Add trip
IMPACT
Equipment damage
Figure 2: Bow-tie visualization method. Courtesy: Wood
metrics are not established, it is unlikely the team will be successful.
MOOC methods and visualization Most MOOC studies have relied on what-if scenarios, impact checklists and brainstorming. Using these tools can be effective if the scope of deliberation is broad enough and is facilitated in an open environment. Perhaps the best tool to help visualize the status is the bow-tie method, which is often used in safety studies. Bowties are constructed with “causes” on the left and “impacts” on the right with control and mitigation elements aligned with each entry (see Figure 2). In this example, the causes (or threats) and impacts (or consequences) related to an “unrecoverable incident while remote” is shown. Example upsets are shown on the left and impacts on the right. Preventable controls are shown between the causes and the unrecoverable event in the center. Mitigation barriers are shown between the unrecoverable event and the impacts. It can be effective to brainstorm in a general structure, where items that control or mitigate are grouped with existing and new ideas. Easy to use software exists for bowties, but simple Visio or Microsoft Excel tools also can be leveraged. Try to not let the use of the tools slow the brainstorming or add too much complexity early in the development of the ultimate recommendations. Example presentative controls to consider include adding: • Automation to additional field devices for remote actuation • Critical spares • New instruments for items not monitored or for redundancy (this could include cameras or acoustic monitoring devices for situational awareness) • Updated critical standard operating procedures (SOPs) • Roving onsite staff to provide some site staffing (maybe a drone)
A12 • June 2020
Applied Automation
• Additional preventive maintenance (PM) • Artificial intelligence (AI) for reliability. The example mitigation barriers include: • Recognition of the existing safety instrumented system (SIS) • Adding trips or shedding systems • Adding critical SOPs • Adding alerts for remote intervention.
Looking ahead Change is the road to the future. The most successful companies are ones that seek change and manage it in an open environment. To do so, the organization must understand the structure of the entire operations team, the planned and unique contributions of the staff, their skills and the systems required to support them across all modes of operation. This must be managed with a strategic vision, cultural style and shared values and goals. It is not easy, but with a focus on details, it is not even close to impossible. Bridget Fitzpatrick is the global technical lead for process automation at Wood. She has an MBA in technology management from the University of Phoenix and a SB in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is active in supporting the Open Process Automation Forum standards work. She sits on the ISA Standards and Practices Board as managing director for the ISA 18 (Alarm Management) committee. She is one of the U.S. experts on the IEC61499 committee. She is also an ISA Fellow. Wood is a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) and a CFE Media content partner.
A DV E R T I S E M E N T
AutomationDirect The company provides online tutorial videos through their web store at www.automationdirect.com as well as their YouTube channel. A Customer Forum provides peer support on technical and application questions.
Company headquarters located just north of Atlanta, GA
A well-recognized name in the industrial automation market, AutomationDirect provides quality products with FREE award-winning in-house sales and technical support. AutomationDirect provides customers with quick order and delivery through an online store and toll-free number. Prices on most products are well below the industry average and a 30-day money-back guarantee is offered on nearly all items. With tens of thousands of part listings, new products include the Productivity1000 PLC, the Do-more BRX PLC and the DURApulse GS4 AC drive. These products represent many years of design and development by AutomationDirect’s own engineering team as well as their strategic partners. The company also offers motors, sensors, pushbuttons, enclosures, circuit protection, cut-to-length cable, pneumatic supplies and more. The state-of-the-art headquarters facility near Atlanta is designed throughout for maximum performance. The majority of items are in-stock and ready for immediate shipping; orders over $49 ship for FREE. Some exclusions apply.
AutomationDirect’s customer support team has been rated top-notch by its customers. For 15 years straight, the Tech Support team was voted by readers of Control Design magazine as the best in service and support for various products. And, their own customer surveys consistently rank the company’s service as better than other suppliers.
Orders ship quickly from our state-of-the-art warehouse
For an in-depth look at products offered, visit: www.automationdirect.com.
1-800-633-0405 | AutomationDirect.com
A DV E R T I S E M E N T
Technology Updates and Automation Expertise from SEW-EURODRIVE
SEW-EURODRIVE — Much More Than Gearmotors Our team of (MAXOLUTIONS) automation engineers provides the expertise, project planning, software, commissioning, and worldwide support for your most challenging motion control projects. They can serve as a valuable extension of your engineering team, reducing the stress and demanding workload.
MOVIGEAR® and MOVI-C® for Decentralized Installations MOVIGEAR is the mechatronic drive system that combines the gear unit, IE4 motor, and electronics in one compact unit. Recent updates include fully integrated Ethernet/IP communications and digital motor integration. This advanced single-cable technology carries power, feedback information, and control signals along a single hybrid cable between decentralized devices. MOVI-C modular automation system is a one-software, one-hardware, automation platform that combines fully integrated components, control electronics and software.
Our experts provide a solution of perfectly matched SEW components that work together seamlessly — because we designed them that way!
Complete Drive Maintenance and Management SEW-EURODRIVE now offers a full complement of drive maintenance and management services. Our CDM® Maintenance Management service provides a 24/7 online portal as well as a complete overview of your drive components, the condition of your units, drive usage, and service details. Plus, our new on-site Pick-Up Box Service will free up your maintenance team for other tasks. Just place your drives that need repair in the supplied box and we’ll handle the pick-up and return of your units.
About SEW-EURODRIVE Engineering excellence and customer responsiveness distinguish SEW-EURODRIVE, a leading manufacturer of integrated power transmission and motion control systems. SEW-EURODRIVE sets the global standard for high performance and rugged reliability in the toughest operating conditions. With global headquarters in Germany, its U.S. operations include a state-of-the-art manufacturing center, five regional assembly plants, more than 63 technical sales offices and hundreds of distributors and support specialists. This enables SEW-EURODRIVE to provide local manufacturing, service and support, coast-to-coast and around the world.
P: 864-439-7537 F: 864-439-7830 www.seweurodrive.com
SECUR ITY BUILTIN
MOVE SECURELY INTO THE CLOUD DIRECT FIELD TO CLOUD CONNECTION • • • •
IIoT-ready with Sparkplug, native MQTT and TLS encryption Built-in VPN and Firewall for increased network security Run Docker Containers in parallel with PLC logic Interface with existing controls via onboard fieldbus gateways
www.wago.us/IIoT
Less means more!
Focused on the essentials: the new i500 Slim design, scalable functionality, and extremely user-friendly. The groundbreaking i500 is size-optimized and allows for zeroclearance mounting, saving valuable cabinet space. And thanks to the innovative interface options, it’s easy to commission in minimal time. The best thing of all is that the modular structure adapts to different production configurations in no time at all. Less does mean more! Visit us at www.Lenze.com.
As easy as that.