Blog - Post List

  • PAC Systems & Industrial Computing Blog: Smart Way for Mining Operations to Automate–Think at the Edge

    Jim Cahill
    Like so many industries, mining and metals enterprises are going through huge changes. I recently connected with Emerson’s Thishen Naidoo , a heavy industries marketing leader for the machine automation solutions portfolio. Here is our exchange ...

  • DeltaV Blog: Advanced Process Control for Mining Comminution and Separation

    Jim Cahill
    As commodity prices surge in these inflationary times, mining activity continues to increase. Miners can increase their throughput, efficiency, and sustainability by applying advanced process control in their operations. In a North American Mining article, Optimizing all the variables related to comminution and separation requires sophisticated control strategies , Emerson’s David Harrach teamed with Devin Marshman from…

  • DeltaV Blog: Faster Tech Transfer Unlocks Speed to Market

    Jim Cahill
    The rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccine has created a dramatic shift in the way the public and life sciences organizations view the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. In a recent Q&A with Pharma Manufacturing , Nathan Pettus , president of Emerson’s process systems and solutions business, shared how a move toward more flexibility and modularity in the industry is cutting tech transfer times to drive improved speed…

  • DeltaV Blog: Improving Production, Safety and Reliability in Midstream Lithium Production

    Jim Cahill
    In our continuing series on the lithium supply chain from mining through battery production , we look at the midstream process where the battery cathode, anode and electrolytes are produced. We explored ways to improve production quality in a post, Improving Quality in Midstream Lithium Production . Today, we’ll look at production optimization, safety, and reliability. One of the challenges expressed by lithium battery…

  • DeltaV Blog: Embedded Tools Drive Better Loop Tuning

    Jim Cahill
    Properly tuned loops are critical to efficient, effective plant performance. However, constant changes in the plant environment mean that proportional-integral-derivative (PID) tuning cannot be a set-and-forget procedure. This poses a problem for many modern plants, as few have the deep bench of experienced personnel they used to. When loops need tuning, that often means other critical tasks must be put on hold. Today…

  • DeltaV Blog: Improving Quality in Midstream Lithium Production

    Jim Cahill
    In an earlier post, Solving Battery Production Growth Challenges , we touched on the upstream, midstream, and downstream production from lithium mining to lithium battery production. Today, we’ll focus on the midstream production process. Again, Sung Heon Lee and I collaborated on the content of this post. The midstream part of the lithium value chain involves manufacturing the Cathode, Anode, Electrolyte, and Separator…

  • DeltaV Blog: Role of Automation in Achieving Environmental Sustainability

    Jim Cahill
    When we think about new large-scale decarbonisation projects in the UK, the focus will be on the coastal manufacturing and power generation clusters. Carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) will be a critical element of decarbonisation, together with the transition to low carbon energy sources. Covering industries in Teesside and Humberside, the `East Coast Cluster’ is one of the first projects to be selected for…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: The Benefits of Continuous Corrosion Monitoring Over Periodic Manual Inspection

    Jim Cahill
    Whilst manual inspection remains a valuable tool for measuring the plant health, this blog post explains the benefits of continuous monitoring over periodic inspection.  Turning corrosion and erosion data to into true process insights Uncontrolled corrosion and material degradation undeniably leads to hefty safety, environmental, reliability, and operational consequences. Standards, developed by the American Petroleum…

  • Operations Management Blog: Ready to Own your Virtualization Infrastructure?

    Jim Cahill
    Over the last decade or so we’ve seen rack after rack of servers disappear as organizations have embraced virtualization technology. Not only does moving to a virtualized backbone reduce equipment footprint, but it also dramatically reduces energy usage to help plants improve their sustainability and efficiency. However, virtualized systems are often complex, making them difficult for operational technology (OT) teams…

  • DeltaV Blog: Ready to Own your Virtualization Infrastructure?

    Jim Cahill
    Over the last decade or so we’ve seen rack after rack of servers disappear as organizations have embraced virtualization technology. Not only does moving to a virtualized backbone reduce equipment footprint, but it also dramatically reduces energy usage to help plants improve their sustainability and efficiency. However, virtualized systems are often complex, making them difficult for operational technology (OT) teams…

  • DeltaV Blog: Anytime, Anywhere Simulation and Engineering via the Cloud

    Jim Cahill
    In the last five years, simulation technologies have been a critical tool used to drive digital transformation of automated processes. In simulated environments, organizations can provide comprehensive training for personnel and test new control configurations without the safety and production risks of accessing real-world equipment. Many organizations are also turning to collaborative engineering tools to leverage…

  • DeltaV Blog: Solving Battery Production Growth Challenges

    Jim Cahill
    Sung Heon Lee and I collaborated on the content in this post. Although Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have received a lot of media attention in the past couple of years, they were first commercialized by Sony in 1991. Since then, these batteries have enabled many technological advances. Without it, our lives would look very different today. Li-ion batteries have shaped how we communicate and work – through mobile devices…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Safety Loop Redundant Solenoids for Exercise and Testing

    Jim Cahill
    Solenoid valves are often found in safety instrumented functions (SIFs) to release pneumatic pressure holding safety valves open or open depending on the application. Redundancy of these valves enables greater reliability and online proof testing. In a Process Industry Informer article, Redundant Solenoid Valve Architecture Improves Safety and Reliability , Emerson’s Mike Howells describes the importance of these valves…

  • DeltaV Blog: Mining Process Optimization

    Jim Cahill
    Wouldn’t it be great if a production process kept the same performance over time? Unfortunately, the dynamics change as the assets wear and production rates vary. Production performance consultants work to adjust the tuning and control strategies to address these changes and maintain optimum performance. One of Emerson’s Principle Consultants, Lou Heavner , was recently asked a series of questions about process optimization…

  • PAC Systems & Industrial Computing Blog: Safety Components for Machine Automation

    Jim Cahill
    In this video, Machine Safety | Fluid Control & Pneumatics Mobile Event , Emerson’s Wolf Gerecke explains how our cost-effective solutions keep workers safer, simplify safety systems, improve machine functionality, and maximize productivity....

  • DeltaV Blog: Process Alarm and Event Data in Non-Traditional Cloud-Based Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Note from Jim Cahill : Our team at Emerson Impact Partner, Spartan Controls , recently worked with a major oil & gas client to implement this use case of bring DeltaV Alarms & Events data to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud using Emerson’s Plantweb Optics platform —a holistic data management platform unifying Operational Technology (OT) data into actionable information. Background The data available in OT including…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Valve Reliability in Safety Instrumented Functions

    Jim Cahill
    The three key components in a safety instrumented function (SIF)—sensor, logic solver and final element—each have their own probabilities of how they will perform, or not perform, when called upon to bring the process to a safe state. Of these three components, the final element is more like to fail on demand due to its role in touching the process and mechanically operating. In a Hydrocarbon Engineering article, Improving…

  • Operations Management Blog: Industrial Software Enables Performance Gains

    Jim Cahill
    The 18 th edition of Innovations in Process Automation from the Emerson European team is now available. It’s also available in German , Spanish , French and Italian . This edition highlights some prime examples of Emerson’s industrial software capabilities and explains how these capabilities are helping manufacturers and producers to achieve significant performance gains. The articles in this edition include: Emerson…

  • DeltaV Blog: Improve Speed to Market with Closed-Loop Process Control using Spectral PAT

    Jim Cahill
    We have witnessed an incredible change the last few years in how life sciences manufacturers deliver treatments . Today’s focus is on fast results, and that means products patients rely on cannot sit on shelves for weeks or months waiting on quality validation. In a recent article in Pharmaceutical Processing World , Emerson’s Bob Lenich and Bruce Greenwald explored a strategy plants are using to digitally transform…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: How Industrial Facilities Are Prioritizing Safety with Advanced Location Technology

    Jim Cahill
    Safety has always been a top priority for industrial facilities, but varying safety regulations, personnel training obstacles, and high implementation costs have presented challenges in creating more encompassing safety programs. From housing complex process equipment to hazardous materials, industrial facilities present unique challenges and more barriers to implementation, preventing these facilities from advancing…

  • Ovation Blog: Driving Electrical Power Grid Sustainability

    Jim Cahill
    Let’s wind down this week with a look at the growing complexity in electrical power generation and distribution networks. Advancing technology plays an important role in managing this complexity for grid resiliency and reliability. This 3-minute YouTube video, Emerson Sustainable Grid Solutions shares ways that grids with unpredictable renewable energy can be transformed into predictable, reliable power through real…

  • DeltaV Blog: Take Better Control of Security with Integrated Patch Management

    Jim Cahill
    These days it seems as if we are hearing about new cybersecurity threats to industrial operations nearly every month. Whether it is a ransomware attack, an outage due to malware, or an attack via a new, unanticipated vector, the risks associated with a cyberattack can be immense. As I’ve written about in the past, there are steps you can take to better secure your control systems to prevent intrusion. One key step is…

  • DeltaV Blog: MTP Unlocks Faster Integration for Smoother Capital Projects

    Jim Cahill
    Because automation is typically on the critical path of any capital project, delays in integration can have significant impacts on project timelines and costs. One of the most common areas where integrating equipment can delay project completion and startup is with intelligent devices (IDs). In a recent article in Chemical Processing , Emerson’s Juan Carlos Bravo addressed this issue and explained how Module Type Package…

  • Safety Instrumented Systems Blog: Chemical Industry Solutions for Safety Performance Improvements

    Jim Cahill
    We often highlight how advancements in technology enable digital transformation initiatives to drive improvements in production, reliability and sustainability. But what about safety? In an AIChE recorded webinar, Digital Innovations for Improving Safety in Chemical Plants , Emerson’s Michael Machuca and Marty McDonough highlight was to drive safety improvements for this important industry. Michael and Marty discussed…

  • DeltaV Blog: Defense-in-depth Approach Helps Prevent Unauthorized Changes in Safety Logic

    Jim Cahill
    One of the main concerns from users of process safety systems is how to effectively protect the SIS against unauthorized changes of the safety logic. The traditional protection approach is based on a key switch on the safety PLC; before somebody can alter the safety logic, the key switch must be placed in the proper position. While the key switch approach enforces physical presence before the safety logic can be modified…

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