Susan-SchmittLP
Susan-SchmittLP
Susan-SchmittLP
Susan-SchmittLP
Susan-SchmittLP

Live from Automation Fair 2017

Nov. 17, 2017
The editors of Control, Control Design, and Smart Industry are on site at Automation Fair to bring you the breaking news and best sessions from this world class event.

Headlines from Nov. 17

Talent shortage drives diversity initiatives

"The war for talent is going to get even more challenging," says Rockwell Automation's Susan Schmitt, who explained how the company's search for talent has also driven its inclusion and diversity initiatives. Read more.

Automation Fair bolsters #HoustonStrong

Show attendees pitched in to pack 8,000 Thanksgiving meal kits for Houston area residents affected by flooding. Rockwell Automation, through the United Way, bought 40 tons of non-perishable staples to the convention center. Read more.

Instant analytics aid in production optimization

Rockwell Automation demonstrated three major advances in analytics under the umbrella of its FactoryTalk software offering, including Project Scio, a broader analytics effort currently under development. Read more.

EPC Forum: Save with unified power and automation

By putting packaged systems together on unmodified Ethernet, the Integrated Power & Automation offering from Rockwell Automation can register 90% savings on integration costs. Read more.

 

Paper Forum: Desperately seeking nano-sensors

Real-time, in situ analysis of tiny particles are needed to advance nanocellulose manufacturing. "The problem is we are only looking at a small, nano-size sample from a 150,000-gallon tank of the finished material." Read more.

 

 

 

Chemical Forum: Project planning means profit

Seeking process improvement opportunities during a project's definition and design stages—and performing opportunity assessments—can pay off handsomely later for little or no cost. Read more.

Headlines from Nov. 16

Oilfield solution integrates assets

Rockwell Automation's ConnectedProduction solution reduces the time to production, lowers costs and helps oil & gas producers thrive. "Imagine that quality of data across hundreds of assets, thousands of times, with no need for data cleaning." Read more.

 

OEM Forum: Built for speed and agility

Consumer trends continue to direct requirements for packaging machines. "The value of the system is when the customer needs flexibility and has high changeover frequency," says Didier Saussereau, product manager at Gebo Cermex. Read more.

STEM booth sparks future engineers

"Too often, kids are told to stop asking 'why,' and they do—even though it's probably the most important engineering question of all." Rockwell Automation's Jay Flores on the importance of nurturing the future generations of technical professionals. Read more.

Power Forum: Modernization without interruption

Upgrading five different manufacturers' control systems to Rockwell Automation systems improved a power generation facility's process and production support. Read more.

Run analytics where they make most sense

Rockwell Automation's Paula Puess explained how scalability is the next big this week in Houston. "You don't want to always send your data up to the cloud and back." Read more.

Water Forum: El Paso upgrades to PlantPAx DCS

Facilities shouldn't wait to reap the benefits of the modern DCS. "I used to say that in DCS vs. PLC, the DCS rules, but 10 years ago, I saw vast improvements from Rockwell Automation." Read more.

Headlines from Nov. 15

 

Industrial automation: The next generation

Rockwell Automation's "Innovations" booth features new technologies under development for potential release. Included are mixed reality applications delivered via Micosoft HoloLens headsets and new design tools that easily extract key machine parameters from Studio 5000. Read more.

F&B Forum: Modern controls, more French fries

Kraft Heinz plant moves beyond outdated controllers and surpasses project goals."We're thinking our payback will be less than 2 years, and our throughput increase will be 10.4%, more than double the project goal of 5%." Read more.

 

Cybersecurity services for the life of your plant

"Pre-engineered solutions can help users get their networks installed faster, as well as implement best practices for cybersecurity." Rockwell Automation's Sherman Joshua explained the range of cybersecurity capabilities the company offers at this week's Automation Fair. Read more.

 

Wellsite controls take heat, deliver safety

Oil and gas specialist Frames integrates PlantPAx DCS and AADvance for safe control of wellhead equipment in the Sahara desert. "The client was concerned about uptime. We need high reliability to meet production requirements." Read more.

 

Get to the core of safety and productivity

Proper safety system methods, tools, design and analysis address the risk while providing value in productivity. "More use than expected can reduce product life and may affect the overall reliability of a safety system." Read more.

O&G Forum: ARC lifts well performance

How do you recover when your industry's revenue drops by half—as oil and gas producers experienced when prices plummeted from $120 per barrel to $60 and less in recent years? End users, including ARC, detailed a variety of ways. Read more.

Headlines from Nov. 14

Rockwell Automation leading with heart

Blake Moret shared highlights of his first 18 months as CEO at this week's Automation Perspectives media event in Houston as well as how the company will move forward and face what he calls manufacturing's "existential threat." Read more. 

 

Veteran skills vs. industry needs

Rockwell Automation and ManPowerGroup partner to train veterans for advanced manufacturing opportunities. "Declines in the number of manufacturing jobs but steadily increasing output, we saw a plateau in employment and productivity in the last four years." Read more.

New data combos offer deeper insights

Data orchestration and mixed reality are key digital transformation investments at Rockwell Automation. "We're on a mission to combine our understanding of market needs, our technology and our domain expertise." Read more.

 

Batch plant retains top-tier client

DuPont facility saves customer and wins new business by automating blending operations with Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Batch, eProcedure and Material Manager. Read more. 

 

Schlumberger finds efficiency in data

"We have reduced the time it takes to plan and engineer a well in half." Schlumberger's Gavin Rennick on how data can improve exploration and production efficiency. Read more.

 

PlantPAx DCS fulfills goals for LBC

Organic growth left multiple tank terminal facilities with poor reliability, security concerns and a hodgepodge of black boxes. The cure was a clear vision, executed by a strong partnership. Read more.

Headlines from Nov. 13

The Connected Enterprise animates

John Genovesi of Rockwell Automation explains how the company is helping its customers capture their share of the $4 trillion digitalization opportunity. Read more.

How to stem a pandemic in 3 steps

iBio turns plants into bioreactors to develop vaccine proteins through production, infiltration and purification. "Agroinfiltration is where the magic happens." Read more.

An early look at PlantPAx 4.5

Rockwell Automation's Jason Wright (left) and Kris Dornan gave PSUG attendees a sneak peek at the new capabilities to expect in PlantPAx release 4.5. Read more.

How to select a greenfield DCS

Total cost of ownership, platform functionality and local expertise lead to the biotech facility to choose PlantPAx DCS. "We didn't have any standards or preconceived notions," said Aaron Conant. Read more.

Smooth vegetable oil automation

Desmet Ballestra implemented PlantPAx to simplify and streamline libraries of HMI and process objects, showcasing the advantages of using a DCS approach to develop logic and operator displays. Read more.

When a web of controllers unravels

A project to upgrade Phillips 66' automation system at the finish process terminal in Pasadena, Texas, involved the truck rack and pipelines for 21 tanks storing 3.2 million barrels of gasoline, diesel, biodiesel and ethanol. Read more.