After a long day covering all the events at Emerson Exchange in mid-May, I happened to glance out my hotel room window, and I saw a tiny, solitary figure walking along the roof of San Antonio’s convention center or one of its neighboring buildings. He was no doubt an HVAC technician tending to a rooftop unit, which was likely keeping everyone comfy in the structures below.
Pretty routine, but I was intrigued because he stopped midway to where he was apparently going, doubled back as if he’d forgotten some tool or device he needed, and returned a few minutes later. We’ve all been there, of course. I think I’ve spent half my career and life backtracking to complete various professional and personal tasks. More recently, I’ve even caught myself doing the well-known “why did I come into this room?”
In any case, he appeared to be a good stand-in for all the faithful individuals out in the fields, down on the plant-floors, up on roofs or elsewhere that Control covers all the time. I suppose it’s no accident that everyone I get to interview and write about is directly or closely involved in establishing, managing and maintaining the essential systems, services and products that keep much of the modern world spinning. Not that society knows it, however, because they’re routinely, if not completely, taken for granted until something breaks down and they’re unavailable.
Naturally, there have always been countless large and small group meetings in the process industries, and even more as remote gatherings ballooned during COVID-19. However, the image of one or two technicians installing servicing or replacing transmitters or other components, surrounded by pipelines and tanks, is probably the most prevalent and iconic in the process industries—just like the cowboy and horse on the prairie or the astronaut and flag on the moon.
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Too sentimental? Possibly. I’m well-aware and often reminded about the financial priorities of trade publishing and promotions. Despite that, I’ve always pushed to give readers and viewers as much “news they can” and other truthful content as possible, and I’ve come to realize that a certain amount of sentiment accompanies those efforts. Don’t tell anyone, but as I tend to believe I work more for the readers than I do for whoever signs the checks.
Plus, as the process and other industries rapidly digitalize—and as more operations and engineering roles become even further disconnected and unaware of each other—I think another one of my primary jobs is trying to preserve some overall familiarity and appreciation for them. They may even serve as instructive reintroductions during eventual breakdowns.
Just as conscientious teachers required many of us to learn basic mathematical principles before allowing us to use calculators, it’s likely useful to know how the servers supporting our cloud-computing and AI tools function, just in case they may need help getting restored later. At times like that, it’s good to be on a first-name basis with whoever is on the roof.
