Control Amplified: The process automation podcast

Li-ion battery market working with process control

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are becoming more prevalent as electrification takes hold of energy and transportation sectors. The manufacturing of these batteries requires a production and distribution process model that can keep up with the growing demand.

Control spoke with Kenny Marks, Lithium and Battery Business Development Manager at Emerson, to get a sense of the challenges that customers encounter and innovative automation solutions that can help increase speed to market and help ensure reliable project execution.

Insights from 2024 Process Automation Hall of Fame inductee Mark Darby

Mark Darby works extensively with gas refineries and chemical processing plants. He also serves on the advisory board at Texas Tech University.

2024 Process Automation Hall of Fame inductee Marcos Peluso shares insights

Marcos Peluso served as director of development for fieldbus at Emerson. Peluso worked on many projects over the years, but his work on developing Foundation Fieldbus is the capstone to a stellar career.

A conversation with 2024 Process Automation Hall of Fame inductee Joe Weiss

Joe Weiss is managing partner of Applied Control Solutions Inc., and an ISA99 ICS cybersecurity pioneer and blogger.

Facing aging code and advancing SCADA solutions

You're probably aware of the important role that supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software plays in managing automation systems used by water or power utilities, national broadcasters or scientists. You’re also likely aware of the role custom coding plays when configuring these applications for users. However, you may be less aware of the ongoing price of each line of code that, if not carefully managed, can reduce performance, reliability, and longevity of critical SCADA systems.

Control talked with Chris Little, media relations director for Trihedral Engineering Limited, to find out how systems integrators and in-house developers can create advanced SCADA solutions that aren’t limited by rapidly aging code.

How can distributed control systems catapult automation into the future?

Automation is becoming increasingly open and vendor-agnostic. Likewise, field devices that must be digitalized and interoperable for reporting, maintenance, analytics and decision-making are becoming more remote and automated.

Recently, Schneider Electric’s Marcel Rameil, global offer manager for Control Software for Foxboro DCS, and Thad Frost, business leader for Foxboro DCS, talked with Control about today’s best practices for all aspects of plant automation, and how autonomous plant operations can be achieved.

Solutions Spotlight: The current state of smart manufacturing

In this episode of Control Amplified, group publisher Keith Larson speaks to Gerry Abbey, manager of analysts, relations and insights at Rockwell Automation, about Rockwell's ninth annual State of Smart Manufacturing report.

SCADA and IoT connectivity with Proface

Tom Reiter has more than 35 years of application and engineering expertise in the electronics and automation industry. He has been with Schneider Electric and Pro-face for more than 10 years as a sales and product application engineer focusing on digital factory and HMI solutions. His knowledge of programming, device connectivity, and customer solution development has been crafted throughout his experiences in the field and customer interactions. With a lifetime of experience, he can look at any situation and provide a unique, thoughtful, well-rounded solution. His inspiration comes from the excitement of seeing automation in practice and thrives on the challenge of exceeding customer needs.

The challenges of LPG tank gauging and how to overcome them

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a hydrocarbon gas consisting primarily of propane, butane, or a mixture of both. Because it produces lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional solid fuels, there's increasing demand for LPG across the world. In fact, some governments have implemented policies and initiatives to promote the use of LPG to reduce air pollution and improve public health. This increased demand puts the onus on storage terminals to use their capacity as efficiently as possible, by optimizing inventory management and safety. This can be achieved by integrating non-contacting radar level gauges into tank gauging systems.

Control’s editor-in-chief, Len Vermillion, spoke with Tomas Hasselgren, manager of global business development at Emerson, about the challenges of LPG tank gauging, and the benefits that can be achieved by using non-contacting radar level gauges rather than traditional level measurement technology.

How to upgrade plant operations by embracing open automation

Upgrading the operations of a plant most likely involves automation. Software-centric open automation streamlines operations while increasing collaboration and productivity in industrial environments. So, what’s the true value of open automation to industry? To get the answer, Control’s editor-in-chief, Len Vermillion, talked to Domenico Napoli, future offers leader for process automation at Schneider Electric, during a recent episode of the Control Amplified podcast.