Keynote by Emerson's Peter Zornio kicks off MCAA 2013 Industry Forum

The Measurement, Control and Automation Association (MCAA) kicked off its annual Industry Forum today at the Monte Carlo hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The more than 200 attendees -- primarily from instrumentation manufacturers, distributors and rep organizations -- set a new attendance record, according to Marianne Gatten, conference chairwoman, and director of strategic planning and business development for Micro Motion. MCAA member companies gather at the Industry Forum each year to learn about the trends shaping the business of process automation and to share best practices. 

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ICS Cyber Security is still not understood by the IT community - and it is hurting critical infrastructure

May 8, 2013 Cheri McGuire, Symantec's Vice President, Global Government Affairs & Cybersecurity Policy testified to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism hearing. She stated: "In my testimony today, I will provide the Subcommittee with our latest analysis of the threat landscape as detailed in the just-released Symantec Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR), Volume 18. Last year, we saw a significant increase in targeted attacks - up 42 percent from 2011, and it is almost certain that this trend will continue in the coming years.

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HART/IP

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The Difference Between Process Control & Management

According to Webster control is “to exercise restraining or directing influence over” whereas manage is “to exercise executive, administrative, and supervisory direction of”.  Subtle but distinctly different.  While process control may be necessary to ensure safety and proper operation it is process management that makes money for t

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Fundamentals of Process Modeling for ISA Certification of Automation Professionals (CAP) Tips

Here are the new sections on process modeling fundamentals for the next edition of the Guide to the Automation Book of Knowledge that is the primary resource for the ISA Certification of Automation Professionals (CAP) Program. The following includes text that may not fit into the page allocation for Chapter 12 on process modeling.  

12.1 Fundamentals

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Electric Power Utilities Are Not as Cyber Secure As They Say They Are

An Orderly Strategic Advance to the Rearward: The Cybersecurity of Electric Power Utilities Depend on How You Count It More...

The Ethernet vs. Fieldbus Cage Match

Industrial Ethernet Is Faster, Can Use Standard Wireless and Has More Topology Options More...

AspenTech Breaking New Ground in Simulation, Model-Based Control

Resurgent Software Maker Showcases Innovations at OPTIMIZE 2013 More...

Relief Valve Blowdown Rings; D/P and Straight Runs

Readers Ask: When It Comes to Safety Relief Valves, What Is Best? Using Two Blowdown Rings or Ones? and Can We a Transmitter Be Installed Above Pipe Taps? More...

Our Control Experts Deal with Process Dynamics

McMillan and Weiner Ask James Beall How He Approaches the Challenge of Intertwined Problems That Have Evaded Solution. See What He Had to Say More...

Free Your Mind with OPC HDA ... and the Rest Will Follow

How Do I Access the Data Files/Tables on Your HDA Historian? More...

Creative Computing for Control

PC-Based Control Is Taking Over in a Variety of New and Upcoming Process Industry Applications. Here Are Some of the Most Innovative Solutions More...

Control Room Designs Revolutionize Work Environments

See How Control Rooms Were Originally Designed and How Differently They Are Designed Today More...

Fieldbus is Dead! Long Live Fieldbus!

The Competing Communications Technology That Presumably Will Replace All These Buses, Including Process Fieldbuses, Is Ethernet More...

Bringing the Lincoln Paper Mill Back from the Dead

Lincoln Paper Wasn't Even a Zombie Company. It Was Dead. Closed. Kaput. Then New Owners Brought in Multivariable Testing to Help Resurrect It Through a Top-to-Bottom Revamp of Procedures, Processes and Plant Culture More...