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input #2 at [Link]/information
© 2018, PTC Inc. (PTC). All rights reserved.
input #3 at [Link]/information
 Vol. 65
Number 9

SEPTEMBER 2018

ANSWERS
16 | Manufacturing in the cloud with services
18 | Cloud-based software for industry
21 | How much control goes to the cloud?
23 | Engineering Leaders Under 40
31 | Wireless propagation help
33 | Wireless IIoT gateway design
35 | Self-organizing vs. managed wireless

16 INSIDE PROCESS
P1 | Skid integration of batching
COVER IMAGE: Automation and control systems must be more flexible and agile. An
on-process production system for remote SCADA applications where the user wants
to monitor and/or control geographically dispersed assets. A virtual engineering plant
provides an off-process way to develop, test, and validate the process control system. P5 | Bigger story of autotuning
It helps process or control engineers improve or add to an existing SCADA or control
system. Courtesy: Honeywell Process Solutions

INNOVATIONS
INSIGHTS NEW PRODUCTS FOR ENGINEERS
5 | Research: Controllers 44 | Multi-loop controller has a touchscreen;
6 | Legalities: Five ways to avoid litigation Positive displacement piston pump; Linear
voice coil motor; Plug-and-play sensor,
8 | Technology Update: Understand network software; Modbus flow totalizer
security: public key encryption and
industrial automation 46 | Digital dc/dc controllers have pulse
width modulation; Linear motion drives;
NEWS Motorized lead screw actuator
12 | Move past customized vendor equip- BACK TO BASICS
ment; Winery automation in north-
east Israel; AI use for machine vision 48 | Ladder logic simulation

13 | Wireless group expands IoT network, ONLINE EXTRAS

improves power and energy costs;
Online headlines Make digital transformation sustainable
Testbeds for smart mobile technology

14 | Think Again: Digital advantage Robotics’ role grows in industry

for design, automation TSN: Evolution for industrial systems

CONTROL ENGINEERING (ISSN 0010-8049, Vol. 65, No. 9, GST #123397457) is published 12x per year, Monthly by CFE Media, LLC, 3010 Highland Parkway, Suite #325 Downers Grove, IL 60515. Jim Langhenry, Group
Publisher/Co-Founder; Steve Rourke CEO/COO/Co-Founder. CONTROL ENGINEERING copyright 2018 by CFE Media, LLC. All rights reserved. CONTROL ENGINEERING is a registered trademark of CFE Media, LLC used under
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[Link] CONTROL ENGINEERING September 2018 • 3

 Keep Your Instrument Processes
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 HMI software,
hardware purchases INSIGHTS
RESEARCH
Don't Bound to existing
know agreements,
standards

7%
2018 PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLERS STUDY:
33%
Five industrial
60% controller findings

T
he Control Engineering 2018 Pro- installation (53%), and an operations/
Not grammable Controller Software engineering upgrade (40%).
restricted & Hardware Study showed what
end users expect and how they 4. Cybersecurity: 71% of respondents
One-third of end users are bound purchase or specify industrial controller reported that their companies restrict
to existing purchase agreements or software and hardware. access to controllers in an effort to pro-
tect these devices; 55% have increased
company standards when buying
1. Usage of industrial control- password protection procedures.
HMI/SCADA software or hardware. ler software, hardware: Programmable
Source: Control Engineering 2018 controller software or hardware is most 5. Looking ahead: 82% of end users
HMI Software & Hardware Study commonly used for continuous manu- expect to buy industrial controller software
facturing (24%), discrete and continuous or hardware in the next 12 months; end
manufacturing (23%), or continuous and users expect to use/purchase an average of

$10,091:
batch manufacturing purposes (20%). 21 industrial controllers in this time. ce
The average
non-salary (bonus, profit sharing, 2. Applications: 63% of end users View additional findings at
already use industrial controllers to help [Link]/2018ControllersReport.
etc.) compensation received by
with remote monitoring tasks; anoth- Amanda Pelliccione is the research director
end users in 2017. Source: Control er 54% use these products for mainte- at CFE Media, apelliccione@[Link].
Engineering 2018 Career & Salary nance, 41% for simulations, and 25% as
Study a mobile interface for alarming.

3. Justifications: The top situations

M More
RESEARCH
Control Engineering covers several research

75%
in which end users purchase new indus- topics each year.
of end users’ indus- trial controller software and/or hardware All reports are available at
trial controllers use the 4-20 mA/0- are an automation upgrade (68%), a new [Link]/ce-research

10 V dc communications protocol.
Source: Control Engineering 2018 Annual spend on controller hardware, software
Programmable Controllers Study
18%
Less than $10,000
15%

71% of end users agree

that accurate positioning is highly
$10,000 to $39,999
22%
22%
important when evaluating servo
and/or stepper drives. Source: 28%
$40,000 to $199,999
Control Engineering 2017 Motor 25%
Drives Study 13%
$200,000 to $499,999
16%
More research 8% 2017 Average $157,678
$500,000 or more
Control Engineering covers several 10% 2018 Average $183,746
research topics each year.
All reports are available at Over the past 12 months, the average respondent’s company was estimated
[Link]/ce-research. to have been spent $184,000 on industrial controller software and hardware—
an increase of 17% over 2017 data. Source: Control Engineering

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEERING September 2018 • 5

 INSIGHTS
LEGALITIES
Brian Clifford, Faegre Baker Daniels

Avoid engineering litigation 5 ways

Remember, it could be worse: To avoid engineering-related litigation, consider
these five alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

A
n actual or threatened claim by a cus- review board (DRB) is a panel (generally) made up of
tomer is always bad news, but the good industry professionals and established at the start of
news is very few disputes rise to the a large-scale, long-term project. The DRB can make
level where a court battle makes much timely (either non-binding or binding at the parties’
sense. But system integrators know option) decisions on all claims that may arise during
long-term success and growth means that, eventually, the complex project. Since it is unbiased and expe-
some disputes will arise that need to be resolved. rienced in the relevant field, its decisions are often
A customer may have an issue with the quality of accepted by the parties as a fair resolution of the
work performed, or may quarrel over whether call- dispute.
back services should be billed at normal support rates 4. Mediation: Professional mediators—who are
or should be covered by a warranty. A subcontractor often, but not always, attorneys—have long been suc-
or supplier may object to delivery requirements or cessful in getting parties to bridge the gap between
schedules, or may contest the scope of work included positions and in resolving claims through volun-
in a fixed-price order. There may be unpaid amounts tary settlement. Usually through a process of shut-
that seemed to be properly invoiced. tle diplomacy, mediators can point out the strengths

‘
and weaknesses in each of the parties’ arguments in a
confidential setting in an effort to reach a mutually-
A fresh set of eyes can break through agreeable resolution.
5. Arbitration: Arbitration is not too different
the emotional frustration associated with from litigation. It involves appointing a person or a

’
panel—commonly attorneys with experience in liti-
many disagreements. gation in the relevant field—that the parties agree is
empowered to make a binding decision on a claim.
When a disagreement must be settled, several Arbitration rulings generally can be enforced like a
mechanisms can be used to keep everyone away from court order and are not appealable.
the courthouse: Compared to litigation, arbitration has the advan-
1. Direct negotiations: When the project team tage of being more customizable—the parties can
members have reached an impasse, a solution can agree in advance to procedural rules and can appoint
often be found by escalating the discussions to the an arbitrator who knows their businesses. A judge, on
executive level. A fresh set of eyes can break through the other hand, may have to handle a criminal trial or
the emotional frustration associated with many dis- a custody dispute in the morning before turning their
agreements. The executives may have a better oppor- attention to your case in the afternoon.
tunity to take “the long view” of the parties’ business The advantages of arbitration come at a cost—arbi-

M More
INSIGHTS
relationship and their strategic vision for the
future—not just one invoice or one deliverable.
2. Initial decision-maker: For long-term
trators do not work for free, and the time, money, and
effort expended in going through the arbitration pro-
cess can be very similar to litigation.
KEYWORD: Arbitration projects, it can make sense to appoint a neutral Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms have
Alternative dispute third-party at the start of the work. This person successfully resolved many disputes before the parties
resolution: binding or not. can give the parties a quick, unbiased decision truly “made a federal case” out of an issue. To avoid
Taking a wider view often on their respective positions in the event of a the question of “what happens next” after a dispute
can be an option. future dispute. Choosing someone with expe- arises, include language in the project agreement that
CONSIDER THIS rience in the control systems industry can save sets out a specific dispute resolution process, perhaps
Do your contracts name time and allow for a more credible early deci- using one of these options. ce
ways to avoid litigation? sion. If either party is unhappy with the deter-
ONLINE mination of the initial decision-maker, more Brian Clifford is a partner in the automation and
More legalities? Search formal proceedings can be initiated. robotics practice of Faegre Baker Daniels. Edited by
search “Faegre” at 3. Dispute review boards: A take-off on Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control Engineering,
[Link]. the initial decision-maker concept, a dispute CFE Media, mhoske@[Link].

6 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

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INSIGHTS
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Nate Kay, PE, MartinCSI

Understand network security:

Public key encryption and
industrial automation
Remove unnecessary fear; take a proactive approach to industrial network security.

P
ublic key encryption is used for internet lic key (which he gives to Alice). Bob next takes the
security and is being used increasingly in public key and the empty, unlocked safe and sends
industrial automation applications. them both to Alice. Alice puts her letter in the safe
Most people are familiar with encryp- and then uses the public key, that Bob sent, to lock
tion, which essentially involves scrambling the safe. Alice mails the safe back to Bob, and Bob
data and making meaningful data appear as a ran- uses his private key to unlock the safe and read the
dom sequence of bits, bytes, or characters. letter. Suppose someone makes a copy of the public
It is a simple process by which data is encrypted, key that Bob sent to Alice. He cannot unlock the safe
transmitted, and then decrypted using a shared pri- and read the letter. The public key that Bob gives to
vate key. Because the same key is used to both encrypt Alice can only be used to lock the safe, not unlock it.
and decrypt the data, this is referred to as symmet-
ric key cryptography. Also, since the key is kept hid- Authentication alternatives
den from the public, it also is known as private key Alice can securely send her letter to Bob regard-
encryption. less of who has access to the public key. What if
Why not use such a simple and secure method? Charlie intercepts the public key and unlocked safe
Because there is a problem with this model. Both and pretends to be Alice so that he can send Bob
the sender and receiver must share a copy of the key. counterfeit information? This is where another
If they are far apart, say halfway around the world, benefit of public key encryption comes into play,
exchanging keys will be difficult. authentication.
Of course, the sender could “mail” the receiver Bob created the private and public keys. How-
a copy of the key, but then someone could intercept ever, to illustrate how authentication works, let’s
that key, make a copy for themselves and start “spy- take a new example. Bob still creates a private key
ing” on the conversation. This is where public key and a public key. However, Alice also creates her
encryption comes into play. own private key and public key. Next, Bob and Alice
exchange their public keys. Alice sends her pub-
Public key encryption lic key to Bob, who sends his public key to Alice. As
To explain public key encryption, consider the before, Bob sends the unlocked safe to Alice. Alice

M More
INSIGHTS
example of a letter and a safe.
Let’s pretend Alice wants to send Bob
a secure letter. She could lock the letter in
places her letter in the safe and locks it using the
public key that Bob provided.
However, this time, Alice does something else.
KEYWORDS: a safe and send the locked safe to Bob. Bob She also takes her own lock, applies it to the safe and
Encryption, cybersecurity could then unlock the safe and read the let- locks it using a private key she created. Alice then
Public key encryption is ter. This is essentially symmetric (private key) mails the safe back to Bob. This time, before Bob
helping industrial automation. encryption. However, how can Alice and Bob unlocks the safe with his private key, he first takes the
Tutorial explains how it securely share a copy of the key? public key that Alice sent to him and tries to remove
works. Is there a way Alice can securely send her the lock Alice applied. If Bob can use the public key
ONLINE EXTRA letter to Bob without exchanging a copy of to remove the lock, which Alice applied and locked
See 2 more diagrams, the key? Sort of. The solution involves cre- using her private key, then Bob knows the letter came
Footnotes 1-3. ating two keys, a public key which is used from Alice. This process is called authentication. The
CONSIDER THIS only to lock the safe and a private key used lock that Alice applied to the safe can be thought of
How are your industrial
to unlock the safe. Continuing the example, as the signature (see Figure).
network communications Bob takes the unlocked safe and creates two More industrial automation equipment is incorpo-
protected? keys, a private key (that he keeps) and a pub- rating public key encryption. Additionally, many web

8 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

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 INSIGHTS
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

‘
Public key encryption helps when
it comes to selecting secure devices

’
and configuring them.

browser-based SCADA systems are starting to incorporate HTTPS

web page support, which also is based on public key encryption.

Selecting equipment
In the real world how do we create public key cryptography?
One method is related to an interesting and very difficult prob-
lem in mathematics, factoring large numbers into prime numbers.
As an example, consider the following simple encryption
algorithm: m e mod N = c (1)
In this equation m is the message to be encrypted, e is the
public key used to encrypt the message, N is the product of two
prime numbers (N = P1 * P2 ), and c is the encrypted message. In Figure: Digital signatures use the private key to encrypt
our example Bob selects prime integers P1 and P2, multiplies these specific data, which is authenticated with the public key.
to calculate N. He also selects the public key e. Bob then sends Courtesy: MartinCSI
e and N to Alice, although he keeps P1 and P2 to himself. Alice
plugs in her message m as well as the numbers Bob sent, e and
N, into the above equations to generate her encrypted message c, which she sends back to Bob. Once Bob receives the encrypted
message c from Alice he just needs to decrypt it using the fol-
lowing equation: c d mod N = m to get the original message back.
In this equation, instead of using the public key e that he sent
to Alice he uses his private key d to decrypt the message. If Bob,
and only Bob, can figure out what d is, then this will work. It just
so happens that d can be computed using Euler’s totient func-
tion φ(N), where d * e = k φN + 1(2) The important property of
Euler’s totient function φ(N) is that it’s what is called a trap door
function. What this means for our example is that it is easy to
calculate φ(P1 * P2) provided P1 and P2 are known, but it is very
difficult to calculate φ(N), if P1 and P2 are not known, but N is. (3)
Someone seeking to decrypt the message may consider tak-
ing N (since N is public information that Bob already sent to
Alice), factoring N into the two prime numbers P1 and P2 and then
decrypting the message. However, it’s very time-consuming to
factor a large number N into prime numbers. In fact, it’s so diffi-
cult it is not even practical to solve using super computers. This is
where the real power behind public key cryptography lies. Bob can
multiple P1 * P2 to generate the number N which Alice can use to
encrypt the message. But it doesn’t matter if N is known publicly.
Decrypting the message also requires knowledge of P1 and P2. Bob
kept those numbers private.

Stay secure
An understanding of public key encryption also helps when it
comes to selecting secure devices and configuring them. Under-
standing security helps separate out unnecessary fear. Instead, a
more proactive approach can be taken to network security. ce

input #7 at [Link]/information Nate Kay is a project manager with MartinCSI. Edited by Kevin
Parker, IIoT for Engineers content manager, kparker@[Link].

10 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING

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INSIGHTS
NEWS

Move past customized vendor equipment

A key cause of the high costs, detailed This historical process, however, is not Procurement saves 30 to 50%
and lengthy processes, and the large num- necessary to deliver the necessary goods. Developing completely standard solu-
ber of resources involved in procurement Eliminating the costly and time-con- tions with key suppliers can reduce the
is the customization of vendor standard suming customization steps requires every cost of the equipment by 30%, reduce the
equipment. This requires detailed spec- user to sit down with their key suppli- cost of the necessary engineering by 50%,
ifications; lengthy request for quota- ers to agree on a set of requirements for and shorten the delivery of the equipment
tion (RFQ) packages; unique proposals design, quality assurance and quality con- by 30 to 40%. The investment of time and
from every bidding supplier; detailed and trol (QA/QC), and documentation that resources by the users and the suppliers
lengthy proposal reviews; new designs will become the standard for each supplier. one time outside of a project to develop the
developed by the suppliers; multiple recy- This can include each supplier designing standard vendor solutions will result in sig-
cle of drawings for review and approval by new requirements or the users accepting nificant savings on every project.
the engineering-procurement-construction differences from their historical require-
(EPC) contractor and the users; modified ments. This “standardization” process can Sandy Vasser is retired from ExxonMobil.
manufacturing processes; frequent factory consume a lot of time of the users and their Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content man-
inspections; and lengthy factory acceptance suppliers, but it is done once and not on ager, Control Engineering, CFE Media,
tests (FATs) witnessed by the owners and every project. mhoske@[Link]
EPC contractors. Agreeing on a standard package of fea-
While the process has been followed for tures and options with each supplier and
decades and works by delivering the equip- equipment can be bid and ordered with
ment specified, it also consumes a lot of completed datasheets and eliminates the Artificial intelligence
time and resources, which incurs signifi- need for lengthy specifications. This leads
cant costs and extends the time for delivery to a much simpler and more streamlined for machine vision
of the equipment. system for all parties. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology
is making its way into vision applications
in a wide range of industries, expanding on
Winery automation in northeast Israel existing capabilities and opening new pos-
sibilities in machine vision.

B
ottle filling is part of the packaging process in this wine bottling line A primary reason for AI use in machine
at Golan Heights Winery (GHW) in Katzrin, Golan Heights, Israel. The vision systems is the rise of the Industrial
tour of the facility featured the winemaking process from aging the Internet of Things (IIoT). The IIoT features
wines in barrels in a computer-controlled temperature environment to an machine-to-machine communication in an
automated bottling line. Various brands of packaging systems—a Keber bot- automated environment dependent upon
tling machine, a Kosme adhesive labeler, ABB ac variable-speed drives for machine vision to identify a wide range of
objects within the factory and throughout
powering the conveyor line, and a Yaskawa Motoman robot palletizer—were
the process of the flow of goods.
evident in the plant layout. Image courtesy: Frank J. Bartos AI can be used in numerous ways along
with vision systems. As mentioned above,
inspection applications are some of the first
jobs that AI has been profitable in, specif-
ically when leveraging machine learning
algorithms for defect detection and classi-
fication. The cost of acquiring and label-
ing large datasets has decreased in the past
few years due to advances in IIoT, mak-
ing machine learning more accessible than
ever for inspection applications. AI also is
used in vision systems is for continuous
improvement in recognition applications.

This article originally appeared on the AIA

website. The AIA is a part of the Associa-
tion for Advancing Automation (A3), a
CFE Media content partner. Edited by Chris
Vavra, production editor, Control Engineer-
ing, cvavra@[Link].

12 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

 Digital edition? Click on headlines for more details.
See news daily at [Link]/news

Wireless group expands IoT network, improves power

The Zigbee Alliance announced a connect products across buildings, cities, applications ranging from home security
certification program designed to cre- and homes. and automation, to smart metering and
ate new business opportunities for mem- The network specification also pro- connected lighting.
bers and make it easy for new entrants to vides key advantages including longer
join the growing ecosystem of certified range, reduced power consumption, and - Edited from a Zigbee Alliance press
products that work with major consumer lower operating costs for low-data-rate release by CFE Media.
and commercial Internet of Things (IoT)
platforms. The program permits mem-
bers and non-members to adopt, sell, and

Rugged Precision
market certified products under their
own brand while maintaining those prod-
ucts’ certified status. The program offers
an avenue to implement certified prod-
ucts from alliance participant and mem- The MAQ®20 Industrial
ber companies, and then market those Data Acquisition & Control System
products under their own brand.
The alliance also announced Zigbee
PRO 2017 mesh networking technol-
ogy, which is designed to connect and
facilitate interoperability between smart
devices. Zigbee PRO is the underlying
network technology that supports full-
stack interoperable devices certified under
Zigbee 3.0. It is capable of operating in two
ISM frequency bands simultaneously: sub-
GHz 800-900 MHz for regional require-
ments and 2.4 GHz for global acceptance.
This dual-band option enables flexibil-
ity and design choice for manufacturers,
municipalities, and consumers wanting to

Headlines
online
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effective storage for renewable power Signal Integrity, Compact Design
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navigation
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• Up to 384 Channels in 19”
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machine learning to speed drug
development • Application Software from $250
 How IoT and automation will transform • ±0.035% Accuracy
how industries function
 Automation group selects executive • 1500Vrms Channel-to-Bus
director Isolation
 Top 5 Control Engineering articles Aug. • PID Software Control
20-26 - Up to 32 Loops with ReDAQ® Shape
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how industries function
See relevant posts daily at
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September 2018 • 13 input #9 at [Link]/information

INSIGHTS
THINK AGAIN ®

3010 Highland Parkway, Suite 325, Downers Grove,

IL 60515. 630-571-4070, Fax 630-214-4504

Digital advantages Content Specialists/Editorial

Mark T. Hoske, Content Manager
630-571-4070, x2227, MHoske@[Link]

for design, automation Jack Smith, Content Manager

630-571-4070, x2230, JSmith@[Link]
Kevin Parker, Senior Contributing Editor, IIoT, OGE
630-571-4070, x2228, KParker@[Link]
Digitalization benefits include speed to market, flexibility, Emily Guenther, Associate Content Manager
630-571-4070, x2229, eguenther@[Link]
efficiency, consistent quality, cybersecurity, and lower lifecycle costs. Amanda Pelliccione, Director of Research
978-302-3463, APelliccione@[Link]

D
Chris Vavra, Production Editor
igital technologies are helping of production processes offline prior to CVavra@[Link]

companies in industrial sectors start of construction, analysis of process

Contributing Content Specialists
to gain wider edge over com- data, and preemptive fault detection in Suzanne Gill, Control Engineering Europe
petitors, explained Raj Batra, product lines. [Link]@[Link]
president of the digital factory division Ekaterina Kosareva, Control Engineering Russia
[Link]@[Link]
of Siemens USA, at the Siemens Automa- Digitalization examples Seweryn Scibior, Control Engineering Poland
tion Summit event in June. Batra, speak- Examples of digitalization providing [Link]@[Link]
ing to attendees from discrete and process competitive advantages include: Lukáš Smelík, Control Engineering Czech Republic
[Link]@[Link]
industries, recognized Ann Cooney, head Hendrick Motorsports has 36 product
Aileen Jin, Control Engineering China
of the process automation division of Sie- launches a year, one for each NASCAR aileenjin@[Link]
mens USA, early in his com- race. Expediting the innovation
ments. He also noted the process is key because with an Editorial Advisory Board
[Link]/EAB
generational diversity among open garage policy, new ideas Doug Bell, president, InterConnecting Automation,
attendees, there to evolve and only remain new for a cou- [Link]
do better at their jobs, and ple of weeks. Data mining and David Bishop, president and a founder
thanked end-users for guid- information sharing across the Matrix Technologies, [Link]
Daniel E. Capano, president, Diversified Technical Services Inc.
ing more than 50 user confer- shop produces answers, beyond of Stamford, CT, [Link]/in/daniel-capano-7b886bb0
ence sessions. data, with nearly every compo- Frank Lamb, founder and owner
The focus on digitalization Mark T. Hoske, nent subject to finite element Automation Consulting LLC, [Link]

in this decade follows atten- Content Manager analysis. Joe Martin, president and founder
Martin Control Systems, [Link]
tion to automation and design Food and beverage appli- Rick Pierro, president and co-founder
and engineering over the prior cations need a higher level of Superior Controls, [Link]

two decades, Batra explained. Creating a flexibility to address greater demands Mark Voigtmann, partner, automation practice lead
Faegre Baker Daniels, [Link]
digital twin in the value chain drives flex- for wider product variant diversity, while
ibility, expands efficiency and quality, and maintaining a consistently high stan- CFE Media Contributor
lowers time to market across process, dis- dard of quality. Holistic plant simula- Guidelines Overview
crete, and hybrid industries. tions enable faster commissioning and Content For Engineers. That’s what CFE Media
stands for, and what CFE Media is all about –
Combining the real world with the vir- new data transparency enables consis- engineers sharing with their peers. We welcome
tual world, through seamless integration tently high-quality products. When brew- content submissions for all interested parties in
engineering. We will use those materials online, on
of automation and software is complex, ing and packaging 240 million cases of our website, in print and in newsletters to keep
Batra said, but there’s a lot to gain by put- Corona and Modelo beer per year (part of engineers informed about the products, solutions
and industry trends.
ting design and manufacturing environ- Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev), [Link]/contribute explains how
ments on a common digital model. consistency is key. to submit press releases, products, images and
graphics, bylined feature articles, case studies, white
While the automotive industry is Chemical industry applications need papers, and other media.
leading, others also are improving prod- more flexibility and smaller batches. * Content should focus on helping engineers solve
problems. Articles that are commercial or are critical
ucts, production, and performance. Ben- Merck, the oldest pharmaceutical com- of other products or organizations will be rejected.
efits include shorter times to market, pany, dating to 1668, wants to be first (Technology discussions and comparative tables may
be accepted if non-promotional and if contributor
fewer prototypes with simulation, end- in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) corroborates information with sources cited.)
to-end data management, program- materials for displays. In a smart auto- * If the content meets criteria noted in guidelines,
expect to see it first on our Websites. Content for our
ming of automation systems, simulation mation test lab, modules dock like a e-newsletters comes from content already available on
space station to quickly enable plug- our Websites. All content for print also will be online.
All content that appears in our print magazines will
and-produce applications.
M More
INSIGHTS
[Link]/webcasts
Think again about how digitaliza-
tion benefits can be applied: Speed to
market, flexibility, efficiency, consistent
appear as space permits, and we will indicate in print
if more content from that article is available online.
* Deadlines for feature articles intended for the print
magazines are at least two months in advance of the
publication date. Again, it is best to discuss all feature
articles with the appropriate content manager prior to
[Link]/CE-research quality, cybersecurity, and lower lifecy- submission.
[Link]/DigitalReports cle costs. ce Learn more at: [Link]/contribute

14 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

 The
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ANSWERS
COVER STORY: CLOUD
Goran Novkovic, MESA

Manufacturing in the cloud

Overcome challenges and maximize cloud computing benefits
by understanding different cloud service models and their risks.

C
loud computing is revolutionizing the puting services, manufacturing organizations must
way manufacturing organizations are ensure that CSPs are trustworthy and are doing every-
implementing information systems and thing possible to protect data and software applica-
using critical assets. It promises better tions of the manufacturing organizations. CSP has to
and more efficient use of resources and be carefully selected based on well-defined business
virtually unlimited scalability and greater flexibility— requirements. Adopting manufacturing organizations
at an attractive cost. Adopting cloud computing mod- must be confident that the services outsourced to the
els carries a number of technical and business risks. CSP, including important assets, will not be disrupted
Risks are not new. Every manufacturing organization and compromised. Even a small cloud incident can
already has its own risk management methodology. negatively impact a manufacturing organization.
The manufacturing organizations should ana-
lyze the negative impacts of things with a business CSP expectations
impact analysis (BIA), which represents the system- Cloud service models have different controls and
atic process of determining and evaluating the poten- security risks that are related to critical data assets and
tial effects of an interruption to a business software applications in the cloud. Models include:
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): With an IaaS
M More
ANSWERS
operation. A manufacturing organization
should do a BIA as part of a cloud service
adoption process.
model, the CSP provides an underlying infrastruc-
ture (computational capabilities, storage, and network
KEYWORDS: Cloud computing Those putting data and software management) and the manufacturing organization
Types of cloud service models application into the cloud place a certain uses these resources to manage its data and software
Expectations and risks level of trust to cloud service providers applications. An IaaS provides the greatest control
(CSPs). Manufacturing organizations can over resources and presents the lowest security risk for
CONSIDER THIS
lose some control over critical assets, and the manufacturing organization.
What cloud service model
would pose the least amount of there is risk associated with that. To miti- Platform as a service (PaaS): With a PaaS model,
risk to an organization? gate risk, all security requirements must the CSP provides the infrastructure and the applica-
be clearly defined, analyzed, and com- tion development platform. The manufacturing orga-
ONLINE
municated to ensure that if assets move nization has fewer infrastructure elements to manage
Read more on cloud computing
at [Link] to the cloud, they adhere to applicable and retains control over some system administration.
See the series, Manufacturing in laws and regulations. This reduces the responsibility of the manufactur-
the Cloud at [Link] For widespread adoption of cloud com- ing organization, but translates into less control over
resources, and thus creates a higher security risk to
the organization.
Software as a service (SaaS): Using a SaaS model,
the CSP controls the infrastructure and development
platforms, and controls over administering the soft-
ware applications. Even so, manufacturing organiza-
tions still may be responsible for securing the data
that are produced by SaaS applications. Although this
may help manufacturing organizations reduce costs
and speed time to market, a SaaS model is associated
with the least control over resources and the highest
risk for the organization. ce

Goran Novkovic is a member of MESA, a CFE Media

content partner. Novkovic has a formal education in
electrical engineering and project management and has
a master’s degree in information technology. Edited by
Cloud service models vary in amount of control and risk available to Emily Guenther, associate content manager, Control
the organization involved. Courtesy: MESA Engineering, CFE Media, eguenther@[Link].

16 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

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ANSWERS
COVER STORY: CLOUD
Chad McGraw, Honeywell

Cloud-based software
for industrial applications
Choosing cloud-based software or a combined approach with an
on-site strategy may result in cost savings, improved operational efficiencies,
and enhanced security.

A
growing number of technology suppli- cloud or on-site—to unauthorized access. (On-site
ers are offering cloud-based software architectures also frequently are called on premises
for automation, control, and instru- or on prem for short.)
mentation applications. It remains the
responsibility of end users to decide Rise of cloud computing
where automation software should reside. Should Significant benefits associated with cloud com-
they “own” the software in a traditional sense, or puting such as:
does software-as-a-service (SaaS) or platform-as-
a-service (PaaS) make more sense for particular • The availability of a standardized develop-
applications? ment and test/simulation environments
Many industrial control systems (ICSs) run for cuts costs for setting up and configuring the
30 or more years with minimal changes to hardware infrastructure.
or software. The use of Ethernet, in various medi- • The flexible use of distributed engineering
ums, for plant networks have the potential to expose resources permits multi-project and multi-
automation systems in any location—whether in the user configuration, independent of location.
• The freedom to focus on core competencies
in running the assets while reducing on-site
physical footprint, hardware, software and
maintenance.
• Expertise available for keeping the system up
to date, and applying the right cybersecurity
solutions to keep it safe and protect intellec-
tual property.
• A demand-oriented pricing model reduces
investment costs to the actual use.

A growing number of manufacturers are tapping

the potential of cloud computing—including SaaS
and PaaS—for design and operation of ICSs.

Growth of Saas, PaaS services

SaaS is a software distribution model in which
the developer hosts applications and makes them
available to customers over the internet. Incorpo-
rating SaaS in the process control world means add-
ing data collection, integration, and/or distribution
Cover image, bottom, figure 1: Honeywell’s Open Virtual Engineer- capabilities beyond the limits of most existing in-
ing Platform (Open VEP) provides an off-process way to develop, house systems.
test, and validate an Experion PKS process control system. It helps SaaS can expand access to plant data, which
process or control engineers improve or add to an existing SCADA supports real-time monitoring of processes. It also
or control system. Graphics courtesy: Honeywell Process Solutions delivers Big Data needed to drive predictive main-

18 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

tenance programs. It enables facility-wide or enter-
prise-wide visibility of real-time key performance
indicators (KPIs) and dashboards, which focus
attention to what’s important, and otherwise lever-
age the value of new or existing supervisory control
and data acquisition (SCADA) investments.
When properly implemented, SaaS can mean
significant cost savings over the traditional
approach of software ownership. This cloud service
model offers minimized hardware and software
setup costs even as it delivers redundancy and high Cover image, top, figure 2: Automation and control systems must be
availability, which allows maintenance on running more flexible and agile. Honeywell Process Solutions Experion Ele-
applications. End users are freed of managing and vate is an on-process production system for remote SCADA applica-
controlling the underlying information technolo- tions where the user wants to monitor and/or control geographically
gy (IT) infrastructure. Security, networking, com- dispersed assets.
puting, and all software licenses are packaged into a
monthly or annual fee, eliminating or greatly reduc- (Open VEP) or as SCADA software optimized to
ing capital expenditures (CapEx). Instead, there is a provide enterprise-level reliability and security to
one-time cost to access any desired services. Orga- monitor and control widely distributed assets.
nizations pay for what they use and often have the Putting such software into a data center with
flexibility to add or delete services as needed. direct high-speed connectivity to the telecoms and
Another benefit of SaaS is the automation ser- internet enables high-speed and reliable connec-
vices provider usually includes updates software tivity to all remote devices and visualization of the
applications. The provider will work with the cus- overall business.
tomer to coordinate the installation of appropriate
software release updates and patches to all installed Cloud-based SCADA systems
software, as appropriate to the applicationn and The traditional approach to SCADA has been
ensure they function correctly. The provider takes wholly owned and on-site, requiring dedicated sup-
on this added responsibility because it helps when port staff with heavy capital and operational expen-
customers use the newest software to lower support ditures (OpEx). These costs cover security and
costs while improving security. firewalls, networking equipment, as well as physical
PaaS is ideal for efficiently providing program- computer servers and software. However, the on-
ming environments and developer tools to industri- site approach offers limited flexibility and ties up
al organizations that develop and test software and valuable resources better used elsewhere. Perhaps
database applications. It provides a complete and more importantly, these on-site solutions need to be
centralized development environment that is acces- updated every 4 to 5 years. Migrating existing solu-
sible on demand.
Some cloud-based environments will include
sophisticated simulation environments for fully
tions to new hardware is often more difficult than
the initial installation—especially if they were not
initially virtualized.
M More
ANSWERS
testing project applications before moving them To help customers meet operational and busi- KEYWORDS: Software-
to the production system. Software and database ness challenges, leading automation suppliers have as-a-Service (SaaS),
Platform-as-a-Service
applications can be custom applications industri- developed SCADA software for a hosted cloud envi- (PaaS), cloud, SCADA
al organizations have used in the past, but are now ronment. New cloud-based SCADA systems repre- Benefits of implementing
deploying on virtual machines (VMs) in the cloud. sent the natural progression of software in the era of cloud-based software for
They also can be applications built from scratch in the IIoT. Locating functionality in the cloud means industrial applications
the cloud using the platform and tools provided by end users can move from a capital model to a pre- Factors to consider
the automation service provider. dictable OpEx model. They can have a functioning when choosing on-site or
cloud-based software
In some cases, the same software can be used SCADA system within days.
Growth of cloud
for SaaS and PaaS applications. Control and pro- computing for industrial
cess engineers might use a PaaS model to develop Implementing a cloud service model facilities.
the application and SaaS for their production envi- Manufacturers must ask if it makes sense to
CONSIDER THIS
ronment. For instance, automation, process control, move part of the control and monitoring software
Would an on-site, cloud-
and SCADA software, traditionally only offered in to a cloud environment, or if it should remain on- based, or combined
the customer’s facility, are available as an off-pro- site. Implementing a cloud service model might not strategy help optimize
cess development and simulation environment be imperative for organizations with one production your facility’s operations?

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 19

ANSWERS
COVER STORY: CLOUD

cloud-based solution to be hosted within their geo-

graphical region. But, if it is necessary to monitor
assets that are widely or globally distributed, it may
make sense to use several cloud strategies with fail-
over from one location to another.
As cloud computing continues to gain popular-
ity, major automation suppliers are offering cloud
hosting and on-site control software. One reason
for having both is to comply with regulations and
meet critical data needs. There are pros and cons to
each approach.
Customers can partner with an automation tech-
nology vendor to choose the right path based on
operations and business requirements. The overall
strategy might be a mix overall. Automation knowl-
edge and experience is crucial to making the best
decision for the company.
Perhaps the greatest opportunity for cloud tech-
nology is remote monitoring for enterprise oper-
Figure 3: Global access: Honeywell’s PaaS can be accessed anywhere, ations. For instance, a cloud solution employing
on an automation system at any release, configuration, and size, with SaaS is appropriate when corporate management
security, firewalls, networking, and licenses, to cut architecting, hard- wants to monitor the status of all plant locations
ware and software purchase, and maintenance. and remote assets. This approach provides one set
of dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs),
and other reporting capabilities to help understand
site. However, manufacturers with multiple facilities the situation across the enterprise. It enables a con-
can collect data from different locations as part of an sistent view of the current situation and allows data
overall cloud approach. Some manufacturers might from hundreds of facilities to be aggregated and
deploy it as a supervisory system to visualize the cur- presented in a visual graphic to direct the attention
rent status of the company’s priorities to coordinate of stakeholders throughout the organization and
resources and make better enterprise-level decisions. help them make better decisions.
Traditional on-site hosting has the advantage
of speed and simplicity. The cost of a remote ser- Layered cybersecurity strategies
vices license also is eliminated. On the other hand, Despite concerns about the security of cloud-
cloud hosting allows for increased collaboration and hosted data for the industrial plant environment,
anywhere access to control data without having to major technology providers have deployed rigor-
manage software licenses on individual computers. ous defense-in-depth strategies to protect software
Employees can do their jobs from anywhere, yet still deep within multiple layers of physical and cyberse-
be secured to their unique scope of responsibility. curity. This gives security experts time to recognize
Others can see progress done on a particular project and eliminate intrusions before they impact crucial
so they can continue working on the current version. control assets.
The flexibility of using distributed engineering Flexible solutions incorporating additional fire-
resources facilitates breaking the automation task up walls and advanced encryption to maintain secure
between specialists focusing on their areas of exper- access to the customer’s control infrastructure
tise; regardless of location. Companies can great- and intellectual property also can be developed to
ly reduce travel costs while by enabling personnel enhance security.
to work remotely to bring new products to market Industrial organizations can now use the same
more quickly. This also allows experts to be involved software—on-site or in the cloud—to realize all
in supporting any facility to reduce downtime while the benefits for control or automation applications.
building consistency across multiple facilities. Cloud service models offer significant advantages
The cloud versus on-site decision often hinges for collaboration and mobile access, but the end user
on what is being controlled and where it is located. must consider specific requirements when choosing
There is a growing need for employees to be coordi- a control software or platform approach. ce
nated in their work processes, as opposed to oper-
ating autonomously with software on their own Chad McGraw is the hosted solutions marketing
computers—often with poorly orchestrated backups manager/open VEP product manager, Honeywell.
of critical programming. Manufacturers running Edited by Emily Guenther, associate content manager,
facilities in one state or country will likely want their CFE Media, eguenther@[Link].

20 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

ANSWERS
COVER STORY: CLOUD
Bob McIlvride, Skkynet Cloud Systems Inc.

Control in the cloud: How much?

Cloud computing is gaining ground as industrial plants become
more efficient, but it’s important to recognize where computing is
needed and where it should be taking place.

M
any process engineers would be the viewpoint of an IIoT cloud, the
happy to apply the mantra “What edge is often considered to be the
happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” border of the industrial system, such
principle to their systems, mean- as the gateway that connects to the
ing, “What happens in opera- cloud. From within an industrial con-
tions stays in operations.” To process engineers, all trol system itself, the edge could be a
automation, control, and instrumentation applica- device, like a sensor, actuator, or per-
tions should stay in the plant. It’s more reliable and haps a remote terminal unit (RTU)
secure that way. And that’s the way it was until a few out in the field that collects data from
years ago. A shift is taking place. a number of devices. However, the
In a drive for efficiency and having a competitive edge is defined, the idea is if process-
advantage, companies are turning to cloud computing ing power is inserted there, a lot of
as a way to gather production data, crunch the num- time and money can be saved by fil-
bers, and feed selected results to management, to ana- tering, conditioning, and aggregating
lysts, to suppliers, to vendors, and in some cases, back data before it is passed on to the next
to the plant. Call it the Industrial Internet of Things level of analysis.
(IIoT), Industrie 4.0, or enhanced supervisory control Everything doesn’t have to be done
and data acquisition (SCADA), but the digital trans- in the cloud. In fact, most automa- Figure 1: How much control
formation of industrial production is well underway. tion engineers would agree it’s bet- should go to the cloud? All
Because this radically departs from the way ter to put computing power where graphics courtesy: Skkynet
things have been for decades, many questions arise it is needed. Local computing keeps Cloud Systems Inc.
like: What about security? Are the connections reli- responses closer to real-time, cuts
able? Isn’t this just what we’ve always been doing, bandwidth, and reduces the uncer-
with a new name? tainties of network connections. Consider these four
As companies move beyond the pilot stage and areas where processing can take place:
begin to implement full-scale IIoT and Industrie 4.0 1. Device: Adding computing power at the device
systems, another question often coming up is: How level can help reduce the amount of data that needs
much control goes to the cloud? Or, how much data to be sent to the plant’s upstream applications and
processing should be done in the cloud (Figure 1)? the cloud by filtering or conditioning the data at
the source. In addition, processing at the device can
M More
ANSWERS
Cloud computing for industrial systems abstract the data from the different field protocols into KEYWORDS: cloud
Some cloud-computing proponents assert that a common protocol. This means upstream applica- computing, industrial
the more computing that can be done in the cloud, tions do not need to know the specific protocols of the analytics
the better. However, that approach does consider field devices providing them with information, which Cloud computing for
industrial systems
the realities of industrial control systems (ICSs). It makes the data available to a wider range of clients.
would be foolhardy to attempt low-level or time-sen- 2. Plant: Traditionally, this is where most industrial Areas where computing
power takes place for
sitive control from the cloud, as well as most types computing has taken place, with SCADA and human- industrial systems.
of supervisory control. The security, latency, and machine interface (HMI) systems providing super-
reliability of an internet connection can’t match an visory control and visualization. Now, to satisfy new CONSIDER THIS
in-plant network. Also, the volume and rate of data requirements, these systems are increasingly being How does your facility
balance and analyze data
pouring in from a typical industrial system would used to create metadata, such as device status, connec- at each step to optimize
consume enormous amounts of cloud resources, tion status, and system health scores, as well as target operations?
resulting in a much higher cost. production tracking. ONLINE
One of the latest trends in cloud computing isn’t 3. Gateway: Computing at the gateway is an Read more about cloud
in the cloud at all, but at the edge. Edge computing effective way to apply the cost savings of data reduc- computing online at
can mean different things to different people. From tion and conditioning to established infrastructure [Link].

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 21

ANSWERS
COVER STORY: CLOUD

that may not be able to support added es is done at the source, cloud computing
computing resources themselves. If an resources can be used more effectively to
organization doesn’t want to disrupt the aggregate data from multiple locations,
legacy system, adding data processing at store and analyze the data, and present it in
the point where the data leaves the plant a form best suited to the client needs.
makes sense (Figure 2). The latest generation of IIoT cloud
4. Cloud: When proper steps to reduce, services also provides secure, bidirec-
manage, and enhance the quality of the tional connections, which allows the
data from plant systems and remote devic- cloud to send data and analytics back

Figure 2: Balance the data load at

each step of the process.

to authorized end users at any location.

Not all cloud services offer this, but the
benefits can be significant. Cloud servic-
es can store data on a scale that can’t be
matched by in-house systems. Combin-
ing that with a broad range of cloud ana-
lytics shows how integrating plant data
and cloud services can enhance process
knowledge and guidance.

Control, cloud services

Making the most of the new era of
cloud services for industrial control will
depend on how the cloud data needs
to be managed and the data that needs
to be received from the cloud. Apply-
ing resources at the appropriate level to
condition and optimize the data sent to
the cloud will reduce costs and generate
a quicker round-trip time for analytical
data supplied back to the plant. Abstract-
ing the data from multiple source proto-
cols will make it available to more client
applications in the plant and in the cloud.
The days of “what happens in the
plant stays in the plant” are numbered.
Driving process data into the cloud and
getting meaningful answers back is the
goal of many integration projects. Balanc-
ing the data load at each step in the pro-
cess seems to be the key to a successful
implementation and adding edge com-
puting where it is needed will pull things
together. ce

Bob McIlvride is director of communica-

tions at Skkynet Cloud Systems Inc., a CSIA
member. The CSIA is a CFE Media content
partner. Edited by Emily Guenther, associ-
ate content manager, Control Engineering,
CFE Media, eguenther@[Link].

22 • September 2018
input #11 at [Link]/information
 In a class by themselves
An educated, diverse group have remarkable
achievements beyond manufacturing
By McKenzie Burns, Production Coordinator; Amanda Pelliccione,
Research Director; and Bob Vavra, Content Manager

T
he 2018 CFE Media Engineering Kyle Shipp, the MEP coordinator for
Leaders Under 40 are in a class DPR Construction in Morrisville, N.C.,
by themselves, but they also have served two tours of duty in Iraq, is a staff
plenty of experience in a class. sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, and
These 30 manufacturing profes- the senior vice-commander of his local
sionals are by far the best educated group VFW Post.
we’ve recognized since the program Sheikh Rafik Manihar Ahmed is a con-
began almost a decade ago. They’ve taken trol systems engineer and innovation cat-
that formal education and turned it into alyst for Fluor Daniel India Pvt. Ltd. in
groundbreaking improvements on their Gururam, India, and the only member of
plant floor and in patented product development. The seven this year’s Engineering Leaders Under 40 group from outside
women and 23 men honored this year range in age from 25 to North America. Besides his professional skills, his involve-
39. All have university degrees, including several from foreign ment in improving health care in his region led to his dona-
institutions. More than half have a master’s degree, and two tion of O+ blood platelets to help save the life of a 15-year-old
have PhDs. Their degrees include 10 in mechanical engineer- girl who was about to undergo surgery. He did this even
ing, seven in chemical engineering, and two each in industrial though the donation caused him to break his fast during the
engineering and electrical engineering. holy season of Ramadan.
The 2018 Engineering Leaders Under 40 class also has a “I will keep the fast later to compensate, but human life
wide range of capabilities outside the manufacturing plant that can’t be compensated,” he said.
add to their resumes. Two of this year’s group contributed in More remarkable stories follow.
ways that transcend engineering and manufacturing. Meet the 2018 Engineering Leaders Under 40.

Sandesh Amberkar, 36 Jon Breen, 31

Principal Process Engineer Founder
GS Engineering & Construction, Breen Machine Automation
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Services LLC, Madison, WI,
BE Chemical Engineering, United States
Mumbai University Institute of MS Mechanical Engineering,
Chemical Technology University of Wisconsin-Madison

S A
andesh was recognized as upcoming talent and promoted fter graduating Summa
as lead level process engineer at the age of 30. Considered Cum Laude in the Honors
a team player, good motivator, and trusted leader, he has Program from University
already handled a team of 15 process engineers. In 2016, he of Wisconsin-Stout, Jon attained a Master’s degree in mechani-
was recognized as a best process engineer. Sandesh feels that cal engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has
being a chemical engineer in EPC industry helps in his pro- more than 10 years of experience with various manufacturers,
cess engineering, but in other aspects of his career as well. OEMs, and engineers from across the world. Jon chose a career
FUN FACT: Sandesh enjoys touring different countries in engineering because he enjoys exploring and creating solu-
and recently took time to travel to Seoul, South Korean, and tions to real problems, and he’s enjoyed working with people
Muscat, Oman. in industry to improve their automation. Now in its third year
of operation, Jon created Breen Machine Automation Services,
offering fast, friendly, and tailored automation solutions to the
 See more details in images and profiles at global manufacturing industries.
[Link]/EngineeringLeaders FUN FACT: In his spare time, Jon enjoys engineering
biological systems in the yard (gardening).

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 23

Nathan Butler, 27 Raniel Camacho,
Controls Engineer PE, 33
RedViking, Plymouth, MI, Project Manager
United States
San Francisco International
BS Electrical Engineering, Airport (SFO), San Francisco, CA,
Kettering University United States

N
BS Mechanical Engineering,
athan tried a lot of differ- California Polytechnic State
ent things when he was University, San Luis Obispo
younger, but quickly picked

G
up on his talent for mathemat- rowing up, Raniel enjoyed
ics. He has led the software development and integration playing with LEGOs because he loved being creative and
of the two largest inductively powered automated guided building things. As he got older, Raniel realized engi-
vehicles (AGVs) conveyers in the world and led a group neering would allow him to do just that on a larger scale while
of eight controls engineers during the integration of four helping people in his community. While at SFO, he has been
AGV assembly lines across the U.S. and Canada. Quickly assigned projects such as a major upgrade to all utility meters
becoming the go-to engineer in the group, he has shown and consolidation of multiple building management systems
incredible talent at resolving complex issues. Nathan also is across the airport. Raniel has been a part of a 2-person team to
assionate about electronic design and microcontroller pro- create, develop, and implement SFO’s $76 million energy man-
gramming; he’s created an RGB/HSV LED light controller agement control system project and co-developed planning,
and used it to teach his two-year-old daughter her colors. design, and construction aspects to upgrade, integrate and stan-
FUN FACT: Nathan has been working on programma- dardize gas, water, electricity, and building management sys-
ble logic controller (PLC) software programming and has tems in more than 100 SFO buildings into one system.
about a dozen modular blocks of code. FUN FACT: Raniel is an active volunteer at Habitat for
Humanity, an organization that helps build homes for low-
income families in his community.

Christopher Adam Cleary, 26

Christie, 36 Automation and Controls
Refinery Process Control Technician
Lead — GEOS NA & SA Crofter’s Organic, Parry Sound,
Ontario, Canada
Cargill Inc., Wayzata, MN,
United States AAS Electrical Engineering
Technology, Conestoga College
BS Chemical & Process Engineer-

O
ing, University of the West Indies,
St. Augustine ver his career, Adam has
MS Chemical Engineering, been recognized as not
Virginia Tech only a very skilled elec-
PhD Chemical Engineering, Virginia Tech trical and controls engineering technologist, but also a
very dedicated team player. His calm demeanor helps to

W
ith more than 15 years of experience in process systems critically analyze issues during high-pressure settings,
engineering and process control, Chris has been able helping him conquer challenges that arise. In college,
to apply his expertise across a broad range of industries Adam was selected as a representative for a controls and
including mineral refining, metals trading, agricultural food automation industry showcase. In the past two years, he
processing, and biological control systems. At Cargill, Chris has been the only constant employee at Crofter’s through
has developed best-practice control strategies for standardizing their electrical and controls development projects. Adam’s
vegetable oil processing operations across the company’s global involvement has been critical to projects such as imple-
fleet of oil refineries. Chris was responsible for the evaluation, mentation of wastewater treatment plan controls, install-
procurement, and deployment of a continuous control-loop ing new equipment supplied from outside companies, and
performance monitoring solution at more than 40 Cargill man- developing controls systems for cooking and auxiliary
ufacturing sites. equipment.
FUN FACT: Chris, a native of Jamaica, loved exploring the FUN FACT: Adam was selected to represent his college
island’s mountains, beaches, and other wonders, as a youngster. class at a controls and automation industry showcase.

24 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

Nick Clute, 35 Vryan Constantino,
Business Development 30
Manager Lead Engineer
Turck, Minneapolis, MN, Panacea Technologies Inc.,
United States Montgomeryville, PA, United States
BS Electrical Engineering, BS Chemical Engineering, Mapua
Kettering University Institute of Technology, Philippines

N
BS Chemistry, Mapua Institute of
ick chose a career in con- Technology, Philippines
trols engineering because BS Biotechnology, Mapua Institute
of his curiosity to find of Technology, Philippines
solutions. He excels at viewing a customer’s challenge as

F
part of an entire system and understanding the impact that or Vryan, the original plan was to major in accounting.
one change can have on other areas. Specific to the auto- Instead, he ended up triple majoring in Chemistry, Chem-
motive industry, Nick was involved in developing radio fre- ical Engineering, and Biotechnology. During his career,
quency identification bolt tags, programming AGVs, and when Vryan saw a need to better automate operating system
implementing field logic controllers using a programming patches to prevent malware attacks, he took it upon himself
environment to improve control processes. His engineering to build what is now the Panacea Update Manager, a first-of-
contributions extend into his community. He volunteered its-kind standalone Microsoft Patch Manager that supports
as one of the first ISO auditors for Turck and also has been cross-compatibility between multiple automation systems.
instrumental in introducing training programs and commu- He has helped develop alarm standards in the industrial
nication tools to help sales reps and employees better under- gases space that were used to contextualize, justify, and track
stand company offerings. alarms leading to better informed operators and safer plants.
FUN FACT: Nick is very involved in volunteering for the FUN FACT: Vryan is a big foodie and makes it a point to
activities his children participate in and has since become try a local dish wherever he goes.
the rookie director for the local racing club.

Nicole Dyess, 35 Kyle Elam, 32

Director, Client Solutions Process Engineer
ValuD Consulting & Motors@Work, 3M, Quapaw, OK, United States
Dallas, TX, United States MS Chemical Engineering,
BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Oklahoma

K
North Carolina State University
MS Mechanical Engineering, yle loves being a chemical
North Carolina State University engineer because it is a per-
MPA, University of North Carolina fect combination of creative
thinking, science, technology,

N
icole showed an aptitude and math. During his under-
for science at math at an early age and has a passion for grad, he led and assisted projects on microwave-assisted syn-
the environment. She began her career at Advanced Ener- thesis and siderophores. As a graduate student, he led and
gy by testing motors, consulting with OEMs on motor design, assisted projects on biofuels, primarily focused on the pro-
and identifying motor management best practices for the U.S. duction of diesel fuels from natural plant oils. He works as a
Department of Energy. In 2003, she received a Young Consul- 3M process engineer, developing, supporting and/or directing
tant Award from the American Council of Engineering Com- projects throughout the 3M Quapaw facility. He was a lead
panies’ NC chapter for her work at Advanced Energy. Later on, process designer on a large $25 million safety and plant opti-
she managed statewide energy efficiency programs for the NC mization capital project. In 2017, he was given the Pollution
Energy Office (NCEO). In 2012, the U.S. Environmental Pro- Prevention Pays award for LSS, and nominated for both the
tection Agency bestowed NCEO with “Leadership in Housing” 3M Process Improvement & Maintenance Conscious Engi-
and “Excellence in Brand Promotion” awards for Nicole’s pro- neering awards. In that same year, Kyle and his wife started
grams. The constant in Nicole’s diverse career is a passion for a garden that covers more than 2,000 sq ft. In just a year, the
finding energy savings for her employers and clients. garden project is expanding into composting, rain collection,
FUN FACT: As a DIY-er, Nicole uses her engineering expe- canning, and raised garden beds.
rience to help her husband, John, with full-gut house remodels. FUN FACT: Kyle enjoys rebuilding classic cars.

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 25

Vincent Nate Fossell, 39
Errichiello, 25 Senior Project Manager
Process Lead Interstates Control Systems Inc.,
Sioux Center, IA, United States
Ingredion, Bedford Park, IL,
United States BS Civil & Environmental
Engineering, South Dakota State
BS Chemical Engineering,
University
University of Illinois at Chicago
MS Engineering, Emphasis in Civil

G
rowing up with two engi- and Environmental Engineering,
neers for parents, Vince South Dakota State University
felt destined to become

N
one himself. In school, Vince was a Division I swimmer at ate’s career began after college when a mentor told him
University of Illinois at Chicago for four years while com- the best engineers can communicate, manage projects,
pleting his degree in Chemical Engineering. He also earned solve problems, and transfer information efficiently. Since
the 2015 McCormack Outstanding Senior award. Only then, Nate has become a mentor himself, helping teams focus
three years out of school, he has been promoted twice to a on what is needed to need and exceed client expectations.
process lead position and continues to tackle any problem While at Interstates, he helped the project management team
he comes across. He is presently working on his Lean Six in refining processes and has been involved in helping improve
Sigma Black Belt project targeting 30% reduction in pack- overall client experience. He has worked to become Project
er supply shortages due to poor flowability of the upstream Management Professional certified with the Project Manage-
hydrate dextrose supply, increasing margins by $980,000 ment Institute and is actively involved with the local chapter.
per year Nate has led several internal task forces to improve Inter-
FUN FACT: Vince enjoys weightlifting and in the past state’s internal process, such as the new functional specification
year accomplished a sumo deadlift exceeding 500 lbs. development process.
FUN FACT: Nate loves being active outdoors, primarily
enjoying hunting and fishing.

William Kidd, 32 Niranjan

Mechanical Team Lead Kulkarni, 37
RedViking, Plymouth, MI, Director, Operations
United States Improvement
BS Mechanical Engineering, CRB, Medford, MA, United States
Cornell University
BS Mechanical Engineering,

B
University of Mumbai
ill has been considered
MS Industrial Engineering,
instrumental in the ris-
Binghamton University
ing success of RedViking
PhD Industrial Engineering,
over the past 5 years. He and his Binghamton University
team have developed groundbreaking technical advancements
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
that are changing the powertrain test system and jet engine

N
industries, including the most powerful helicopter transmis- iranjan has more than 10 years of experience in construc-
sion test stand in the industry with over 17,000 hp of capacity tion and design industries supported by knowledge in
and a rotor head connection that can test every torque, thrust, operations improvement for pharmaceutical, chemical,
shear, and moment that a transmission would see in flight. He food and beverage, semiconductor, and financial industries.
has also been instrumental in the development of a dual input After starting as CRB’s first industrial engineer, Niranjan leads
planetary gear set that varies the drivetrain gear ratio, enabling a group several industrial and process engineers. Other accom-
one flexible four-square test stand to test five helicopter trans- plishments include increasing annual revenue for an active
missions. Bill recently took on the role of Mechanical Team pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer by $8 million, capital
Leader and made an immediate impact by leading his team to cost avoidance exceeding $15 for an oral solid dosage manufac-
successful execution of their projects with proper planning, turer, and developing a strategic plan and increasing revenue
tracking, and reporting on all projects within his group. by $10 million annually for a ready-to-eat food producer.
FUN FACT: For the past three years, Bill has been creating FUN FACT: Niranjan is working on a script that he
wood and metal artwork and furniture at a local makerspace. hopes will become a movie one day.

26 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

Catsy Lam, 37 Devon MacNeill
Material Sciences Guglietta, 31
Technical Leader Project Engineer
Victaulic, Easton, PA, Applied Control Engineering Inc.,
United States Newark, DE, United States
BS Chemical Engineering, BS Chemical Engineering,
Polytechnic Institute of New York University of Maryland
University

D
MS Chemical Engineering, evon began her career
Lehigh University interning at NASA God-
dard Space Flight Center,

C
atsy has always had a passion for innovation. Being where she validated aerosol data from MODIS satellite instru-
born and raised in Hong Kong has given Catsy a unique ment through analytical comparisons with ground-truth data,
understanding of cultural diversity, competitive chal- determined factors affecting aerosol data, and corrected for bias
lenges, and continuous improvement. During her 13 years with neural networks and support vector machines. Devon has
with Victaulic, Catsy has been looked at as one of the com- an associated publication titled: Machine Learning and Bias Cor-
pany’s most valued engineers. In her current role, she serves rection of MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth (IEEE Geoscience and
as a technical leader in developing sealing materials including Remote Sensing Letters, Vol. 6. No. 4., October 2009), which
elastomers, thermoplastics, engineering polymers and poly- won the 2010 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
mer composites for Victaulic piping solutions used world- Letters Prize Paper award. She strives to use existing infrastruc-
wide. Her recent success includes developing a proprietary ture to improve system data integrity, reduce project expenses,
fire-resistant gasket for maritime and oil and gas markets. and deliver high-quality control systems. Devon’s technical skills
According to her manager, she is dependable and self-driven, make her a positive role model for younger engineers.
putting her a step ahead of everyone else. FUN FACT: Devon hiked the 32.5 mile, 9,510 ft elevation
FUN FACT: Catsy has been working with her husband to gain Pemigewasset Loop in New Hampshire over three days
design an energy efficient custom home. while fighting unpredictable weather.

Sheikh Rafik Manihar Sean Murphy, 36

Ahmed, 26 Engineer
Control Systems Engineer Applied Control Engineering Inc.,
& Innovation Catalyst Danbury, CT, United States

Fluor Daniel, New Delhi, India BS Chemical Engineering,

University of Delaware
AAS Innovation Management,

S
Erasmus, University Rotterdam
ean became a chemical engi-
BE Electronics & Instrumentation,
neer after being inspired by
Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand
Technical University his grandfather. He has since
completed control system proj-

S
heikh Rafik Manihar Ahmed has supported instrumen- ects on Honeywell, Siemens, DeltaV, Rockwell Automation, and
tation engineering across the oil, gas, and petrochemical Bailey Controls in a wide range of industries, including power
industries. As Fluor’s New Delhi office Innovation Cata- generation, pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, prisons, and
lyst, he leads a team to improve project execution. He is deeply food and beverage. Sean uses these skills to help his compa-
involved in plant digitization and was honored by 2018 Design ny acquire new customers in a competitive marketplace. Sean
Thinking Personality of the Year Award and also a finalist for is a leader at the office in Danbury, CT. Due to the small office
India’s Innovator Under 35 in 2018. During a workshop, he put space, having Sean’s “Swiss Army knife” abilities allows the
his safety training and knowledge to use when a short circuit office entrance into new regional industries and clients when
prompted a fire at the hotel where he was staying. Being certi- opportunities arise. Sean takes it upon himself to train new
fied in first aid, he saved his own life as well as many others who employees in the technical aspects of being a process control
were staying with him in the same hotel. In June 2018, Ahmed engineer. Young engineers learn from Sean how to configure
saved the life of a 15-year-old girl by breaking his Ramadan fast new application software and what their roles and responsibili-
to donate his O+ blood platelets for her heart surgery. ties are in the automation industry.
FUN FACT: Ahmed chose engineering as a path to help FUN FACT: Sean loves participating in volleyball leagues
solve complex problems and best impact people’s lives. and tournaments.

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 27

Steven Murray, 29 Paulina Olesinska, 28
Engineering Manager Engineering Lab Manager
Dennis Group, Duluth, GA, Victaulic, Easton, PA,
United States United States

P
BS Industrial Engineering,
Georgia Institute of Technology aulina is always listen-
ing to what is being said,

S
teven began his career at which helps her arrive at
Dennis Group as a Pack- solutions faster than most. She
aging Engineer and has is currently working on her
quickly risen through the second master’s degree and
ranks. In fact, he was the fastest engineer in the office to has authored a patent and served as a secondary author for
be promoted to project manager. His multi-discipline engi- another. Within the company, Paulina has worked closely
neering expertise has been further expanded to include with the Victaulic Intelligent Roll Grooving tool and has
processing, packaging, material handling, and building augmented its features. She also has had the opportunity to
utilities. He has been the sole engineering resource cov- mentor three interns, which has been incredibly reward-
ering all disciplines concurrently executing multiple $20 ing. She hopes to impress upon others that she is an engi-
million capital projects. In 2016, he received employee of neer at heart (thus her passion for creating new ideas) who
the year award from the company. Steven designed and is always looking to shape the next big innovation, which
installed high-speed ready-to-eat cereal packaging systems can only be done through clever outside-of-the-box think-
across four sites for one food processing company. Steven ing and collaboration with others.
has managed multi-disciplinary architectural and engineer- FUN FACT: Paulina enjoys working on her house as
ing studies for complete brownfield and greenfield food well as gardening in her spare time.
processing facility designs.
FUN FACT: Steven has been to 42 of the 50 states.

Adwait Palsule, 39 Ryan Queen, 36

Project Manager R&D Sr. Mechanical
Panacea Technologies Inc.,
Engineer of Advanced
Montgomeryville, PA, United States Technology
BS Industrial Engineering, Veermata Siemens, Norwood, OH,
Jijabai Technological Institute United States
MS Computer Integrated BS Mechanical Engineering,
Manufacturing, Rochester Institute The Ohio State University
of Technology

R
yan’s patented ideas on tech-

A
dwait embodies everything nologies like high-speed yet
it means to be an engineering leader. He showcases prob- low-vibration motors have allowed the industry to real-
lem-solving skills, technical know-how, and strong work ize higher process efficiencies and provide a greener plant envi-
ethic. Adwait helped develop the OpenBIO system at Pana- ronment. He is also a strong advocate of engineering through
cea, which won a 2018 innovator award. He helped develop and his participation in global technical conferences such as IEEE-
implement a process analytical technology system for a phar- PCIC. Ryan holds one patent, has two pending patents, and has
maceutical company that would feed real-time data back into two disclosed inventions. As an active IEEE member, he has
the process control system for real time parameter changes to written two technical papers for the IEEE-PCIC conference,
improve batch quality and product purity. Adwait’s passion for and his work on projects has been recognized in magazines
automation extends into home. He was one of the first people in like Plant Engineering. He is a member of the Siemens Global
the United States to install an automatic lawn mower at home. Network of Competency (NOC) and contributes to the Rotor
The mower, which he named Trevor, became a cornerstone of Dynamics & Noise and Machine Vibration groups. Ryan also
his home automation hobby after having made upgrades to his leads and supports the U.S.-based NOC for Rotor Dynamics
lighting, speaker, and garage door systems. and Finite Element Analysis groups.
FUN FACT: After moving to the United States, Adwait FUN FACT: Ryan enjoys spending time with his family
became a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan. and volunteers at the YMCA as a soccer coach.

28 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

Ramona Schindler, 30 James Shaw, 38
Digitalization Business Founder & Managing
Development Manager Director
for Machine Tools Fastway Engineering LLC, Chicago, IL,
Siemens Industry Inc., Elk Grove United States
Village, IL, United States BS Mechanical Engineering,
BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh
Friedrich-Alexander University MBA, F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business | Babson College
of Erlangen-Nuremberg

J
MS Mechanical Engineering, im runs Fastway Engineering, a two-pronged business pro-
Friedrich-Alexander University of viding world class computer-aided design/computer-aided
Erlangen-Nuremberg engineering (CAD/CAE_ training and in-demand CAD/
CAE consulting services. The training arm of Fastway helps

R
amona is responsible for pioneering work in the area of engineering teams of all sizes stay competitive by teaching pow-
digitalization for machine tool builders. She has an active erful and profitable finite element analysis (FEA) skills to all
patent on “Digitalization: Data analytics for technologi- levels of employees. Jim has more than 16 years of high-level
cal workflow steps” in the area of big data and analytics. She engineering experience and is a leading expert in the applica-
is a part of “Women in Engineering” group, a named “Future tion of CAD, FEA, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
Maker” for Siemens and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree As a trainer and consultant, Jim has enriched the careers and
in mathematics to widen her knowledge in data analytics. capacities of hundreds of students and raised the bottom line
Ramona spent a year in South Korea working on a project for of dozens of companies. At the helm of his own company, Jim
the South Korean government that explored what digitaliza- provides training and consulting services for Fortune 500 com-
tion means for global and local users. There, she contributed panies, mid- and small-sized engineering firms, academic insti-
to the development of the global aspect of the project for the tutions, and CAD/CAE software companies.
machine tool builders. FUN FACT: Jim is an avid motorsports fan and active sup-
FUN FACT: Ramona tutors students in math. porter of the Formula SAE Collegiate Design competition.

Robert Shields, Kyle Shipp, 34

PE, 32 MEP Coordinator
Performance Engineer 3 DPR Construction, Morrisville,
NC, United States
Lakeland Electric, Lakeland, FL,
United States MS Manufacturing,
Kettering University
BS Mechanical Engineering,

K
University of South Florida
yle started building and
MS Mechanical Engineering,
University of South Florida programming robots in
high school and has pro-

R
obert had in interest in gressed steadily into leading
STEM activities from a young age. His work on McIntosh an automation group at a construction company. Current-
Unit 3, allowing it to burn lower quality coals, yet maxi- ly, he manages a control system scope for 2.5 million sq ft
mize efficiency, helped save 100 jobs and saved ratepayers more of data center space in multiple states. In addition, Kyle has
than $10 million. Bobby began post-college career 2011 as an led control system design-assist effort for new-build 2.8
entry level performance engineer and has since become a Per- million sq ft corporate headquarters, developed and com-
formance Engineer 3, and earned his Professional Engineering missioned control systems for data centers throughout
license. He received a Process Improvement Award Level 1 and North America, and trains co-workers on automation con-
Level 2 for projects that have saved the rate payers more than cepts in formal classes and project specific cases. Outside of
$200,000. He is responsible for tuning and optimizing the com- work, Kyle serves as the senior vice commander of a VFW
bustion of the boiler post outage. Bobby received an award for Post to support local veterans. He also serves on the town
his work during the outage work in 2016. Work in tuning McIn- planning board to help direct future development. Kyle is
tosh Unit 3 has been key to allowing it to burn lower quality actively pursuing a green-certification for a renovation on a
coals, saving more than $12 million in fuel costs. 100-year-old house to prove it can be done.
FUN FACT: Bobby enjoys mountain biking and often FUN FACT: Kyle was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army
rides with his 3-year-old son. Reserve with two deployments to Iraq.

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 29

Mary Frances Justin Sturek, 37
Stotler, 33 Manager of Continuous
Project Manager Improvement
Dennis Group, Duluth, GA, The Raymond Corp.
United States Greene, NY, United States
MBA, Duquesne University BS Business Management, HRM,
MS Sustainability, Duquesne Binghamton University
University MS Systems Science, Binghamton

S
University
ince becoming Dennis
Executive MBA, Binghamton
Group’s first sustainabil- University
ity hire in 2012, Mary Frances has started and grown the

J
department, which now is a source of new revenue streams ustin believes in sharing his passion for the profession
for the company. She is currently managing one of the largest with local youth and has participated in numerous Man-
projects in the company’s history—a $190 million greenfield ufacturing Day events at The Raymond Corp. As man-
bakery facility. Mary Frances is LEED AP BD+C and O+M cer- ager of continuous improvement and a Lean Six Sigma Black
tified and now oversees a group of LEED accredited profession- Belt, Justin manages the strategic plan of the Toyota Pro-
als. While they were originally aiming for LEED Silver, Sabra duction System (TPS) initiative. He facilitated and advised
earned the distinction of being the first LEED Gold Certified 10 continuous improvement initiatives focused on creating
New Construction facility in the state of Virginia. Mary Frances standardized work for installation and scheduled mainte-
is overseeing a new 430,000 sq ft facility for the J.M. Smucker nance processes for more than 2,500 technicians. The average
Co., which will double the capacity to produce frozen sandwich results reduced cycle time by 30% and resulted in $2.7 million
line. This $190 million facility is pursuing LEED certification. in savings. There has been a 50% reduction in defects, 30%
Mary Frances loves the opportunity to demonstrate that doing reduction of backlog work, and more than 1,500 kaizens sub-
good and doing well aren’t mutually exclusive. mitted for savings of $1.4 million.
FUN FACT: Mary Frances’ honeymoon was in Egypt. FUN FACT: Justin enjoys running marathons.

Thomas J. (TJ) Liz Walls, 39

Swistro Jr., 34 Head of Research &
Industrial Engineering Development
Manager/CI One Energy Enterprises LLC,
Findlay, OH, United States
Albea Metals America Inc. (AMA),
Watertown, CT, United States MS Mechanical Engineering,
University of Massachusetts Amherst
MBA, University of Hartford

T L
J has more than 10 years of iz has worked on a wide
manufacturing and indus- range of engineering topics,
trial engineering experi- including software design
ence and has used those skills to spearheaded a number of and development; turbine blade, tower, and foundation loads
projects for AMA including the robotic loading of aluminum measurement using strain gauges; and wind measurement
lipstick caps on to anodizing racks, the automation of silk campaigns. Her combination of programming skills and
screened aluminum jar covers, and repurposing a robot to development of a new wind flow modeling algorithm led to
auto load plastic jars into a silk-screening machine. In addi- her creation of Continuum, a wind flow modeling software
tion to the success of these projects, TJ also has undertaken used around the world. For her work, Liz was recognized as
the role of maintenance manager for AMA’s three facilities. one of Windpower’s 2016 Innovators of the Year. She played
He is focused on several new projects that will help improve a role in the development and testing of Vaisala’s Triton
AMA’s overall productivity, the largest of which is the refur- SODAR and has presented several podium and poster pre-
bishment of a 22-year-old anodizing line. This major project sentations at AWEA conferences. In addition, Liz co-founded
will require new mechanical, electrical, and software infra- Cancalia Engineering & Consulting LLC in 2014, which was
structure improvements on a running production line, which then acquired by One Energy at the end of 2016.
cannot be shut down for an extended period of time. FUN FACT: To date, Liz has completed six half mara-
FUN FACT: TJ is an avid off-road motorcycle racer. thons, one marathon, a sprint triathlon, numerous 5Ks, and,
soon, a Spartan race.

30 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

ANSWERS
WIRELESS SETUP
Daniel E. Capano, Gannett Fleming Engineers and Architects

Wireless propagation tips

Reliability wireless controls depends in part on the type of wireless signal trans-
mission and potential obstructions and impairments during the design process.

O
ne of the most important factors in will cause a degradation of the signal strength and
designing a wireless system is how intermittent impairment. Signal behavior will differ
the radio frequency (RF) signals will based upon antenna polarization: a vertically polar-
propagate between the transmitter ized signal encountering an object in the first Fresnel
and receiver. A clear line of sight (LOS) Zone will invert and arrive at the antenna out of phase,
between two end points is the desired goal, but this is degrading the signal. The opposite will happen with
impractical, particularly in an industrial setting. Rural a horizontally polarized signal. The distance between
areas present unique seasonal problems that affect the link endpoints and the wavelength of the transmit-
propagation. Non-LOS (NLOS) and beyond-LOS ted signal determines the area of the Fresnel Zone.
(BLOS) are other cases of propagation that can be suc-
cessfully dealt with to provide a robust and secure link. Ground, water RF reflections
The next impairment to LOS are the reflections
Visual LOS versus radio LOS from the ground or water local to the transmitter. The
Line of sight is exactly what it states; the transmit- reflections from what is essentially a ground plane
ter can see the receiver, or at least, the antennas of cause multipath interference and degrade the signal.
each can see each other. It is the visual line of sight. In short range microwave transmission, the multipath
The shortest signal wavelength is several thousand phenomenon is dealt with by using diversity antennas
times longer than the longest optical wavelength. This and complex algorithms to combine or reject signals
means a visually clear LOS does not necessarily trans- based on whether they are received in or out of phase
late into radio LOS, and vice versa. (constructive and destructive multipath). For longer-
To achieve a reliable RF link, careful planning, range links, raising antenna height is the most com-
including a radio path study must be performed, along mon way to deal with reflections from the ground
with an informed selection of equipment and antenna plane. Signal quality improvement is “height gain.”
locations. The transmitter may use an omnidirection-
al antenna that is transmitting in all directions. The
receiving antenna also may be an omni, but in many
Earth, atmosphere
One other parameter affecting LOS propagation is
M More
ANSWERS
cases, and to increase the likelihood of receiving a the Earth’s curvature. The rule of thumb is a transmit- KEYWORDS: Industrial
usable signal, a directional antenna may be used. ter at sea level has a LOS of seven miles if unobstruct- wireless, wireless
propagation, RF
For a dedicated link between two points—a point- ed, which is referred to as an “Earth bulge.” Another
Wireless reliability
to-point link will use a directional antenna to narrow factor is the effect of atmosphere on propagation. depends on
the beam-width to avoid interference and increase Since the signal does not travel at a uniform height understanding signal
the effective strength of the signals. All of these fac- above the Earth, the effects of varying atmospher- propagation.
tors must be considered prior to final system design. ic conditions will affect LOS. The most pronounced Radio path study early
Designers also should be aware of several possible effect of declining atmospheric pressure is the signal can save resources
later.
impairments. will be bent toward the Earth, effectively increasing
propagation by a factor of around 4/3, or about 15%. CONSIDER THIS
Fresnel Zone Understanding signal
The first possible impairment is the Fresnel Zone Wireless obstructions propagation can save
money in a wireless
(pronounced Fren-nel), which is a football-shaped NLOS describes a link without a clear line-of-sight. control implementation.
area between the two tapered link end points that Obstructions are in the path of the link or within the
must be kept clear of obstructions to ensure a qual- first Fresnel Zone. The effect of an obstruction in a ONLINE
ity link. Area of concern here is the first Fresnel Zone; NLOS situation can range from negligible to complete This article online has
more about dealing with
technically the area is a “prolate ellipsoid” that sur- obstruction. Radio waves are considered “plane waves” NLOS/BLOS.
rounds the transmitter and receiver and the area in that the magnetic and electric fields propagate in [Link]
between them. two distinct planes perpendicular to each other. Plane See wireless tutorials:
Obstructions in the first Fresnel Zone are not nec- waves are affected by obstructions in several ways and [Link]/
essarily in the LOS between the end points, but they the effect is dependent upon wavelength. blogs

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 31

ANSWERS
WIRELESS SETUP

Obstructions fall into three broad categories: study. This study is done by specialists who use a vari-
Smaller than the incident wavelength, the same size as ety of resources to accurately map the path between
the incident wavelength, and larger than the incident endpoints to determine the best path, the Fresnel
wavelength. When an obstruction is smaller than the Zone obstructions and their effect on propagation,
incident wavelength, there is negligible, if any, interfer- the need for, and location of, any ancillary equipment
ence. When an obstruction is the same size as the inci- such as repeaters, the required signal strength at the
dent wavelength, the plane wave will diffract around transmitter, and receiver sensitivity.
and through it with minor attenuation. The report typically contains visual depictions
If an obstruction is larger than the incident wave- of the path on a topographic map and identifies any
length, the signal will be obstructed to varying degrees potential obstructions. When designing a link, it is
depending upon the obstruction’s materials and their advisable to contact the local building department
electrical characteristics. to determine if any new high-rise buildings for other
towers are being planned for the area within the path.
BLOS, beyond NLOS Planning for a communication system cannot be
BLOS propagation is a special case of NLOS often done on the fly or by putting components together
encountered in very long-distance communication without a plan or professional guidance. As with most
links blocked by Earth bulge, terrain, or other obstruc- things, one dollar spent on proper planning will save
tions. Methods for overcoming these conditions use many dollars later. ce
the same technology to achieve stable communication
links. The most common method for medium to long- Daniel E. Capano is senior project manager with Gan-
range links are passive and active repeaters, which nett Fleming Engineers and Architects, based in New
receive the signal from the originating transmitter and York City. He is also the vice-chairman of the Stamford
repeat it to increase range. Water Pollution Control Authority (SWPCA) and chairs
the SWPCA Technical Committee. Capano is a member
Do a radio path study of the Control Engineering Editorial Advisory Board.
The first step in determining the quality of the Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control
linkEngineering
SEA-17063 August Control betweenHalf
the endpoints
[Link] is to [Link]
1 7/24/2017 conduct
a radio path
AM Engineering, CFE Media, mhoske@[Link].

Push the Edge

What’s your biggest challenge?
Compliance? Efficiency?
Prevention? Productivity?
Chances are, SeaConnect hardware coupled
with SeaCloud software can reinvent your
challenge as an opportunity, providing
continuous, secure connection, control and data.
So give us a call, and find out what SeaConnect
can do for you.

input #12 at [Link]/information

ANSWERS
WIRELESS
Paul Dillien, High Tech Marketing

Wireless IIoT gateway design

Software-defined radio (SDR) hardware and open-source programming
software provides an alternative to proprietary wireless communications
systems, helping improve Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) networks.

D
espite many discussions about how the mable radio frequency (FPRF) device and a field-pro-
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will grammable gate array (FPGA) chip. The board plugs
change factory automation, no unify- into a suitable processor, which would typically be a
ing technology exists to connect vari- PC unit, via a USB 3.0 connector or PCIe interface.
ous “things” together, which results in A processor running Linux can be enabled with
incompatibility among systems. Connections among open source apps from the SoapySDR project,
disparate industrial wireless standards can be made which can be used “as is” or modified to provide
with open-source software-defined radio (SDR) tech- the exact requirements. Open-source Ubuntu-based
nologies. Compatibility issues can be best illustrated apps are available for GSM and LoRa, with an active
by looking at IIoT, an application subset where perva- eco-system working on a raft of new applications.
sive connectivity offers significant benefits. A leading Hardware designers can use the Intel FPGA on the
communications equipment vendor estimated over board to encode and decode the data for the various
90% of industrial machinery is not currently con- wireless standards; open-source software is becom-
nected to any network. ing available. The FPGA also could be used to
encrypt the data to avoid transmitting “in the clear.”
Incompatible wireless standards Open-source material’s major advantage is func-
The primary barrier to greater interconnectivity is tionality can be modified to match application needs.
the likelihood that multiple vendors supply machinery Documentation allows the software designer to
on most sites. Each vendor is likely to have a differ- understand code operation. In addition, forums and
ent approach to adopting IIoT, which includes wireless blogs can answer many frequently asked questions,
for maximum flexibility, but without interoperability and the open-source community can help sort out
among standards among wireless links and proto-
cols. These include Wi-Fi, NB-IoT (also called Cat-
NB1), LTE MTC Cat M1, Long Range (LoRa), Sigfox,
Ingenu, WirelessHART, Weightless, 2G in the form
of Extended coverage GSM IoT (EC-GSM-IoT), 3G,
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and ZigBee.
Each technology has advantages and limits and
the use case may dictate the selection. Low Power
Wide Area Networking (LPWAN) schemes, such as
LoRa, NB-IoT, and Sigfox, are better suited to longer
range links with low data rates, while radio access via
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are very popular, but the range
is limited. A new Wi-Fi variant called HaLow is being
added to the mix. It uses IP packets and lower fre-
quencies that give greater range and penetration.
Incompatible systems are a drawback for any fac-
tory information technology (IT) department seek-
ing to move to Industrie 4.0, as it might require
multiple hubs and gateways to collect and collate
data for analysis.
An SDR can support a vast range of wireless tech-
nologies, is compact, programmable, open source, full Figure shows the LimeSDR software-defined radio board block dia-
duplex, and “app-enabled,” meaning it can be config- gram. LimeSuite is free open-source software to program LimeSDR
ured after downloading code from an app store. boards. The graphical-user-interface (GUI)-driven design environment
Such a radio requires a means to communicate and allows control over radio-frequency (RF) chip functions, such as band-
a controller, such as a dual transceiver field program- width and frequency. Courtesy: Lime Microsystems

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 33

ANSWERS
WIRELESS

issues and answer questions. A software tions of code operation, which can form connections to set the required wireless
engineer might start by downloading the the starting point for the new design. standard. Downloads onto the board can
LoRa files and then enhance the system on Free open-source software is used to be performed in real time and the system
the SDR to support other technologies. program SDR. The graphical-user-inter- performance can be checked with hard-
Options are available for modifying the face (GUI)-driven design environment ware-in-the-loop (HIL). When RF design
system. SoapySDR supports a vendor neu- allows control over aspects of the RF chip, is final, the FPRF settings can be saved for
tral support library where a designer can such as the bandwidth or frequency. use in the final system.
access C++ APIs, C wrappers, and Python This is achieved using the FPGA to load
bindings. Data includes detailed explana- data via the serial peripheral interface (SPI) Control logic in FPGA
The control logic for the SDR is han-
dled in the FPGA, and commands can be
downloaded into the module via the USB

Have a Problem a
port. FPGA functions can be modified, a
task previously allocated to the hardware

Cabled Switch Can’t Solve?

design team with specialized skills needed
for device design. This is recognized as one
of the biggest barriers to wider adoption of
FPGAs in electronics by the vendors. As a
... a Steute Wireless switch could be a solution. result, they have made significant efforts
to simplify design flows to the software or
non-specialist community.
The IIoT is integral to the drive to
higher levels of industrial automation, and
wireless connectivity must hold a place in
the overall IIoT strategy. Some options
exploit unlicensed spectrum LPWANs
while others might deploy emerging cel-
lular standards. It is unlikely one wireless
communication technology will cover all
requirements, which creates the need for
a configurable gateway designed to cover
many options. Open-source SDR hard-
ware and software communications pro-
vides an alternative to proprietary wireless
communications systems. ce

Paul Dillien is a consultant with High Tech

Marketing. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, con-
tent manager, Control Engineering, CFE
Media, mhoske@[Link].
Problem: Manufacturer wanted to eliminate the electrical power cables to the
pushbutton controlling “on-off” flow of materials on a hand-held
dispensing nozzle. Cables were subject to damage due to
constant flexing.
Solution: Steute provided a rugged, wireless, battery-less pushbutton switch
M More
ANSWERS
KEYWORDS: Industrial wireless, gateway
to replace the previously used cabled pushbutton. The wireless
pushbutton generates its own energy to send control signals to a Software-defined radio (SDR) can
Receiver (located in the system control cabinet). The Receiver’s communicate among wireless standards that
output relay responds to the pushbutton’s commands to turn the are not interoperable.
material flow ”on” and “off” Elimination of electrical wiring greatly Open-source tools and apps ease
reduced downtime due to cable damage. communications programming.
CONSIDER THIS
What’s your problem? Among applications, how are industrial
Call to discuss a possible solution. wireless protocols exchanging data?
ONLINE
If reading from the digital edition, click on
the headline for more resources.
Creating Industrial-Grade Switch Solutions without Cables [Link]/magazine
See related system integrator capabilities:
(800) 927-6298 [Link]/us E-Mail: switches-sensors@[Link] [Link]/Global-SI-Database.

input #13 at [Link]/information

34 • September 2018
ANSWERS
WIRELESS CONTROL
Kinichi Kitano, Yokogawa

Self-organizing
versus managed industrial
wireless networks
ISA 100.11a and WirelessHART standards reflect contrasting attitudes toward
network management and these standards impact operational effectiveness.

A
plant or facility considering a wireless and techniques of traditional HART for wired
network to connect field devices, such instrumentation and applied them using wireless
as instruments and actuators, to control communication.
and monitoring systems has two main WirelessHART has a self-organizing capabil-
wireless protocol choices: ANSI/ISA ity so the devices on a network can automatically
100.11a and WirelessHART. Both were adopted by determine how to communicate with each other to
the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) exchange data. An individual instrument’s transmitter
as global standards (IEC 62734- Wireless communi- can send data to neighboring devices, which will pick
cation network and communication profiles and IEC up and pass the data on to one another until it gets to
62591-Industrial networks- Wireless communication the gateway. This causes some latency, but it’s usual-
network and communication profiles, respectively) ly a minor consideration. The self-organization capa-
and have been used for about a decade. bilities of the network are dynamic and adjustments
The two approaches have many similarities. (For can be made on-the-fly in response to changing con-
example, they use the same low-power IEEE 802.15.4 ditions. The technology works and has benefits, but
radio. WirelessHART’s mesh is a self-healing and self- challenges exist:
organized network. ISA100.11a is also self-healing,
and each node can have redundant paths, with users • Making WirelessHART self-managing elimi-
specifying these paths to organize the network. How-
ever, the ways in which the networks are organized
differ significantly. Much hinges on the way the net-
nates most tools for external management.
The network creates its own communication
paths, and there is no mechanism to override
M More
ANSWERS
works form communication paths and use meshing them manually. KEYWORDS:
WirelessHART,
technology, which governs how individual field devic- ISA100.11a
es communicate bi-directionally with each other. • The self-organizing characteristic of Wire- The self-organization
lessHART means scalability can become an capabilities of a
WirelessHART self organizes issue. Any gateway will have a maximum WirelessHART network
Both protocols came out of the early 2000s number of devices it can handle (up to 100 Implementing a
when automation technologies for process manu- devices, for example). Self-organizing does ISA100.11a wireless
facturing were undergoing significant changes. The not always mean self-optimizing. It can find instrumentation network
fieldbus wars of the earlier decade had subsided, a communication path for a given device WirelessHART and
ISA100.11a wireless
leaving the impression on many automation suppli- with enough working radio links, but that network capabilities.
ers that if a technology was too complex to operate, communication path is not necessarily the
it could reduce the commercial viability in spite of most-direct path. Network designers can CONSIDER THIS: Which
type of wireless network
its technical advantages. use diagnostic tools to see how devices are would be the most
WirelessHART came on the market promising communicating, but WirelessHART has no beneficial to implement with
simplicity and fast setup, perhaps hoping to avoid means to direct which devices talk to which a particular application?
the main complaints related to Foundation Field- others. If less-than-optimal paths form, the ONLINE:
bus and Profibus PA: they were too complicated to mechanism to create new paths requires Read more online about
easily implement by typical industrial plant per- placing other devices in the network to allow industrial wireless networks
sonnel. WirelessHART adopted many of the tools the network to form better paths. Adding at [Link].

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 35

 ANSWERS
WIRELESS CONTROL

‘Software can
identify where
pinch points
have formed
and can be Figure 1: Routers placed between the individual instruments and the gateway help manage data
traffic and minimize dependence on meshing. All graphics courtesy: Yokogawa
set to warn
human operators more devices does not necessarily clear up adversely affected. Third, a wireless device that
bottlenecks or reduce the number of hops a is a pinch point will consume additional power
of their signal has to make to reach a gateway. to transmit the increased message load. This is

’
especially significant in battery-powered devic-
existence. • The network’s capability to adjust itself as es (resulting in decreased battery life) or devices
needed provides an attack surface for cyber dependent on energy scavenging (e.g. a solar-
invaders to try and exploit. For example, the powered device).
“wormhole” attack aims specifically at ad-hoc “Pinch points occur due to a variety of cir-
networks, and it can disrupt normal com- cumstances. For example, pinch points can be
munication paths even if the attacker has not the result of poor network design or installa-
compromised any hosts or broken any encryp- tion, of a constantly changing RF environment,
tion. There are defensive techniques and suc- changes in the physical space in which the net-
cessfully carrying off an attack is not easy, but work is located (which impacts the RF environ-
networks depending on mesh communication ment), and of wireless devices being taken out
have this critical weakness. of service.”
WirelessHART network analysis tools can mon-
• The physical layout of a network can cause it itor communication paths along with the status
to create communication paths which tend of the member devices, such as battery condition.
to depend on a small number of strategically The software can identify where pinch points have
placed nodes, with data from a large number formed and can be set to warn human operators of
of devices passing through these nodes. These their existence. Unfortunately, the network can’t
“pinch points” can place a heavy burden on do anything about correcting the situation because
those strategic nodes such that if one is lost the solution invariably involves adding or moving
due to battery failure or some other disruption devices to establish more favorable communication
to the path, major parts of the network may paths. Somebody has to rearrange things until the
be cut off. network can find its own solution or add another
gateway in a different location and possibly subdi-
The patent for WirelessHART acknowledges vide the network.
the potential for these pinch points and their likely
effects: Managed versus self-organizing
“First, the wireless devices that have to com- The ISA100 standards committee was formed to
municate through the pinch point may have prepare a family of standards for wireless commu-
decreased communication reliability. Second, nication used in industrial automation applications.
bandwidth for the wireless devices that have ISA100 Working Group 3 was responsible for the
to communicate through the pinch point may development of ISA100.11a, and products have been
be limited, and network performance may be shipping under the ISA100 Wireless brand since 2013.

36 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

 The larger standard writing effort started with
the notion that networks supporting complex
manufacturing environments had to cover more
than just field devices and instrumentation. The
standard’s creators also believed that obtaining
maximum performance and security should out-
weigh oversimplification. Some network planning
and management would be necessary to deliver
the performance and control desired by serious
users. This would have to be accomplished with-
out the usability problems that hampered fieldbus
adoption.
An ISA100.11a wireless instrumentation net-
work can be set up to use self-organizing mesh net-
working much like WirelessHART, but it is not the
only option. There are more tools and techniques Figure 2: Effective router placement can make communication on
available, and a user can choose the best approach both ends of the network more reliable.
for a given application and plant environment.
Simple planning and thought during the design
phase of implementing ISA100.11a will go a long ed antennas, if there is no clear line of sight to the
way to improving all the radio links the network router, the antenna may have to be moved clear
depends on. Understanding basic signal propaga- of the obstructions. Moreover, since the individ-
tion should guide device and antenna placement, ual instrument is trying to reach a specific point,
avoiding the difficulties common to complex plant directional antennas can be used to increase signal
installations full of steel tanks and structures, and strength substantially.
avoiding the downsides of mesh networking. Engineers and technicians working with net-
Rather than setting up large groups of devices all work management tools establish these commu-
trying to reach the same gateway directly, ISA100.11a nication links, which once established, generally
can use routers as relay points (Figure 1), and these remain static over time since the equipment itself
collect data from individual wireless instruments, stays in one place. There can be disruptions, such
and then data goes to the gateway. Routers are simply as a truck blocking a radio link, but networks nor-
wireless transmitters, such as a temperature transmit- mally do not require constant readjustment. A
ter, configured to communicate positively with the well-deployed ISA100.11a network using these
gateway. methods can remain stable for years. A weak
This avoids sending signals among multiple field device may need its antenna moved, which isn’t
devices, which slows down data movement and difficult to do.
increases power consumption for each device. By The ISA100 family of wireless standards was
implementing ISA100.11a this way, meshing is used built on concepts suited for process plant environ-
only when needed as a means to solve network dis- ments. From the ground up, it was made to work
ruptions, rather than constantly for every device’s in refineries, chemical plants and other challenging
communications. situations. It also covered many forms of wireless
Since meshing is not happening constantly, communication beyond instrumentation.
a field instrument with a very slow refresh rate, WirelessHART, on the other hand, chose to pur-
such as a level indicator on a large tank, can sleep sue a much shorter development effort by adopting
for long periods of time. This will conserve power and adapting existing technology. While avoiding
rather than being constantly active and communi- “reinventing the wheel” is often a sensible approach,
cating with other devices. If significant network dis- in this case, a technology designed to form ad-hoc
ruptions break the link between a field instrument networks under constantly changing conditions
and its primary router, the device will automatically presents challenges in some situations.
contact a secondary router. Choosing which wireless network to implement
into a facility is critical, and the better choice for a
Wireless network implementation given situation will depend on many variables. ce
The most effective practice places routers in
high positions where there is a clear line of sight to Kinichi Kitano is a senior engineer in Yokogawa’s
the gateway, coupled with the ability to look down New Field Development Center. Edited by Emily
to the individual devices (Figure 2). While most Guenther, associate content manager, Control Engi-
wireless field instruments have integrally-mount- neering, CFE Media, eguenther@[Link].

[Link] CONTROL ENGINEEERING September 2018 • 37

ANSWERS
INSIDE PROCESS
Robbie Peoples, Cross Co.

Four guidelines for

successful skid integration
of batching operations
Successful skid integration for batch manufacturing operations can be
challenging. Following best practices, such as standardized communications
and defining status feedback, can make the process a much smoother one.

N
ew processes, or the expansion of capacity, on demand. On the other hand, OEM skid
existing processes, typically include equipment that is chained together or act as a puzzle
original equipment manufacturer piece in a much larger process requires additional
(OEM) skids. Skid mounted equip- coordination of the upstream and downstream units
ment can provide a faster implemen- to achieve efficient equipment utilization.
tation time versus conventional process system Most skid equipment comes complete with
building from scratch. its own dedicated processor, input/output (I/O),
Skid equipment can provide fast deploy- and are generally designed to operate inde-
ment with a high-quality cost-effective pendently. Meaning, they operate without
solution for utility and main process- anticipation of upstream feeds or down-
ing functions. The integration of stream demands. Often, the operation
skid equipment can be simplified of the overall process is forced to work
if there is minimal interaction around the OEM functional charac-
with the overall pro- teristics. In many circumstances, the

M More
ANSWERS
cessing system. In this
case, only data collec-
tion or minimal interaction
operating attributes of the OEM skids
are a direct result of the system pro-
gramming and not a limitation of the
KEYWORDS: batching
operations, equipment are required to work with the equipment capabilities. Meaning, OEM
manufacturer (OEM) skids main distributed control system (DCS) skid equipment is not built to act as a
Operating modes of remote or supervisory control and data acquisi- true slave or servant to the overall process coordi-
equipment can be tricky if tion (SCADA) system. However, seam- nator or master controller.
boundaries are not clearly less integration of the skid equipment The independent operating philosophy of OEM
defined.
into an overall process can be challeng- skids is generally a result of commodity selling of
Standardizing operating states
allows for a mechanism to handle
ing. Tight integration of skid equipment the canned packages. Changes to an existing oper-
the difficult part of a batch, which into processing activities such as batch- ating function represent a risk to the supplier and
is the exception condition. ing operations requires a much deeper they are generally reluctant to augment system
Status feedback is an essential level of cohesive interaction to achieve a functions upon request. Integration of skid packag-
part of efficient operations high level of process efficiency. es into a true batching system is inherently difficult
between two different systems. because most skid packages are not programmed
Communications between Skid integration for batch using the ISA S88.01: Batch Control standards.
systems can be achieved in a
very efficient manner by using The primary challenge of integrating Most skid programs are comprised of ladder
single integer value designations. a third-party system into a process is that logic that was originally built to provide multiple
upstream and downstream operations processing options. This allows one system soft-
CONSIDER THIS
must be coordinated and share a cohesive ware application to cover a multitude of process-
Are original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) skids operating philosophy. Typically, utility ing options. Ladder logic can be designed to follow
successfully integrated into your system equipment skids simply provide programming standards but it does require some
operations? the desired functions at a designed additional effort to do so. Not using industry stan-

P1 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

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ANSWERS
INSIDE PROCESS

dard programming practices, over-complicating exception condition happens, it will be very diffi-
the application with multiple processing functions cult to detect and/or troubleshoot without having
that are not being used, and a risk-averse supplier to go out to the equipment’s local human-machine
can make it very difficult to seamlessly integrate interface (HMI) to determine the issue.
the system into an overall batching solution. This creates delays in operation, increasing the
batch cycle time, reduction in equipment utiliza-
Integration for batching operations tion, and reducing the overall operating efficiency.
The integrating of OEM skid equipment into an A slave OEM system can be tightly integrated into
overall batch management system requires a clear- an overall master processing system by following
ly defined level of coordination between the slave four simple guidelines:
and master (DCS or SCADA) systems. Simple com-
mands to the slave system do not provide the oper- • Allocate the operating modes
ator with a visual representation of the system. If • Follow the standard operating states
everything works perfectly, a simple master com- • Define status feedback
mand to the slave system will suffice. But when an • Standardize communications.

The design should synchronize two pieces of

‘
equipment by defining an agreed upon meth-
Operating modes of od of interactions. A flexible batch architecture
includes a respective isolation between different
remote equipment can be functions, which standardizes how they inter-
face with other functions. This type of definition
allows for the equipment entities to operate inde-
tricky if boundaries are not pendently and promotes the reuse of a base code
of functions. The reuse of code reduces overall

’
clearly defined. engineering time as well as minimizes the possi-
bilities of human error.

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1. Allocate the operating modes The communications can be very sim-
Operating modes of remote equip- plistic, using one word for commands to
ment can be tricky if boundaries are not the slave system and providing a status
clearly defined. Can an operator make word coming from the slave system. The
changes to the equipment locally if the general command status can be common
control variables have been commanded to follow the operating mode and states.
remotely from an overall recipe? Should However, additional parameters or
the recipe go to a hold state when a spe- system variables may need to be written
cific operating status changes? These are down to the slave programmable logic
just a few questions that should be con- controller (PLC) as a result of an over-
sidered when integrating remote equip- all recipe setting in the main system.
ment. The interface rules and operating Standardizing on the communication
philosophy between the master and slave types for remote or third-party equip-
system should be clearly defined to pro- ment make the control system more eas-
vide a continuous and uniform interface ily maintained and expanded over the
between the two systems. lifecycle. Development of the commu-
nication standards for remote interfac-
2. Follow the standard operating states es must be designed broad enough to fit
Standardizing operating states allows application types, but specific enough
for a mechanism to handle the diffi- have value.
cult part of a batch, which is the excep-
tion condition. An exception condition The solution: Standards
can be defined as an event that occurs The integration of slave or remote sys-
outside of the normal or desired behav- tems can be challenging, but standardized
ior of the process. Handling, process- interfaces make the process more easily
ing, and recovering from these types of managed. Two out of the four guidelines
conditions is a critical element of batch identified above are clearly defined with-
production. Not only is exception han- in the ISA S88.01 standards. The status
dling important for process safety, but it feedback and packaging of the commu-
is essential for product quality and criti- nication data between the systems can be
cal to achieving a high level of operating defined to cover all third-party solutions.
efficiency. Programming exceptions can A common interface design promotes a
represent up to 70% of the programming consistent coordinated effort across the
effort and must be considered a goal in system that allows for easy maintenance
the batch design process. and expansion.
The common interfaces should be
3. Define status feedback documented in a design deliverable pro-
Status feedback is an essential part vided as a user requirement specification
of efficient operations between two sys- (URS) to OEM vendors to meet the stan-
tems. This information should be struc- dards. This will ensure the remote system
tured and defined for modes, operating programming complies with the expect-
states, and error conditions as well. The ed operations. Standardizing the inter-
representation of the standard modes and actions to include exception conditions
states should be common across all equip- shall provide a system that is more eas-
ment but the error conditions should be ily operated and maintained to achieve a
specific to each piece of equipment. Spe- high level of operating efficiency. ce
cific error feedback from a slave or remote
system can provide operations a visual
indication of the current condition. Error
states also can be used to detect preventive
actions to increase equipment utilization
and boost the overall operating efficiency Robbie Peoples is integration manag-
of the system. er at Cross Co. This article originally
appeared on Cross Co. online. Cross Co.
4. Standardize communications is a CFE Media content partner. Edit-
Communications between systems can ed by Emily Guenther, associate content
be achieved in a very efficient manner by manager, Control Engineering, CFE
using single integer value designations. Media, eguenther@[Link].
input #16 at [Link]/information
CONTROL ENGINEERING September 2018 • P4
ANSWERS
INSIDE PROCESS: FEEDBACK
Allan Kern, APC Performance LLC

Pros and cons

of autotuning—the big story
Autotuning is still not a one-size-fits-all solution.

T
he historic challenges of single-loop tun- engineering tasks, are more like recurring mainte-
ing, the limited success of autotuning, nance in practice. That is the long-held reality of
and the modern difficulties of model- loop tuning, and has now emerged as the reality of
based control share the same root cause. model-based control, too.
Control Engineering published a two- Two common solutions, unfortunately, prom-
part series on autotuning: “Pros and cons of auto- ise not to solve these problems. One is the idea of
tuning control: Part 1” in the June 2018 issue and an average model or average tuning. While this
“Pros and cons of autotuning control: Part 2” in the is probably the best strategy, it obviously has not
August 2018 issue. These are excellent and infor- solved the problem beyond where we are today. The
mative articles, and while they make the second idea is autotuning or adaptive modeling,
M More
ANSWERS
correct conclusions, they miss one of the
main implications. The story of autotun-
which are potentially more problematic than aver-
aging, because they basically tune for today, which
KEYWORDS: Advanced process ing reveals this lesson. may or may not be appropriate tomorrow.
control, autotuning As the articles rightly conclude, auto- In the vernacular, process gains change. Many, if
Single-loop tuning, autotuning, tuning is “still no panacea,” and as they not most, gains change frequently or even dynami-
and model-based control share rightly suspect, “Perhaps the most sig- cally due to everyday disturbances and changes in
the same root cause. nificant challenge is an unpredictable process conditions. That retuning and remodeling
Single-loop tuning and or nonlinear process.” An unpredict- remain as commonplace as they do, plus the limited
multivariable control modeling are
able process is one where the actual success of autotuning, testify to this. It also is com-
more like recurring maintenance
because there are too many process response differs from the pre- mon sense to people who have spent years trouble-
unpredictable variables. identified response upon which the tun- shooting process control performance. Ultimately,
Model averaging remains the ing or model is based. This turns out to autotuning cannot solve this problem. Users should
best practice along with reliable be true for most processes, which is why look at the emergence of adaptive modeling, which
feedback control, conservative autotuning has achieved limited success is attempting to do the same thing on a much larger
tuning, and very selective use of
feedforward. despite a number of industry attempts. scale, with a critical eye.
Where the actual process response var- Modern computer-based tools did not solve
CONSIDER THIS ies poses a fundamental conundrum for this dilemma, as we expected, but confirmed it, as
Are model averaging, reliable tuning and modeling. we should have known. Going forward, tuning and
feedback control, conservative
tuning, and very selective use This explains why single-loop tun- modeling need to re-orient themselves to the idea
of feedforward best practices in ing and multivariable control model- that fixed models are the exception, not the rule.
your plant? ing, which in theory should be one-time Model averaging remains the best practice along
with reliable feedback control, conservative tun-
ing, and very selective use of feedforward—only
where necessary to avoid hard constraints, or war-
ranted to capture large earnings—because every
feedforward model comes with a reliability and
maintenance cost. This is the best strategy going
forward for both single-loop and multivariable
control. ce

The analogy of a passenger plane changing altitude illustrates why Allan Kern is owner and president of APC
operational performance criteria is more appropriate for industrial Performance LLC. Edited by Jack Smith, con-
process operation than traditional error minimization. Courtesy: APC tent manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media,
Performance LLC jsmith@[Link].

P5 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

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INNOVATIONS See more New Products for Engineers.
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NEW PRODUCTS FOR ENGINEERS

Multi-loop controller has a touchcreen

Future Design Controls’ MCT4 is a ¼ DIN multi-loop controller with a 4.3-in. color touch screen user
interface. The MCT4, which can be used for up to three proportional-integral-derivative (PID) loops, also
features a paperless recorder, trend and data file viewer, email/text messaging on alarm, remote access,
Modbus serial and TCP/IP communication, and file transfer via USB. The MCT4 is designed to provide
control for applications in various industries including semiconductor, automotive, heat treating, packag-
ing, food and beverage, chemical, and others where control, monitoring, and/or data logging is required.
Future Design Controls, [Link] Input #200 at [Link]/information

Shape memory alloy positive displacement piston pump

Kinitics Automation’s KPP05 Piston Pump is a shape memory alloy-based positive displacement pump that uses pro-
prietary technology to deliver a precision stroke. Driven by the company’s KLA05 Linear Actuator, the prod-
uct requires only ac or dc electrical power to operate and allows for displacement or pressure
control when additional sensors are used. The KPP05 Piston Pump is compatible with a wide
range of fluids and provides a high pressure-to-size ratio. The KPP05 Piston Pump may also
be configured with alternate bore sizes when higher pressures or displacements are required.
Applications for the KPP05 include acting as a master cylinder for brake and clutch control,
a hydraulic pump for grippers and clamps, and as a precision metering pump.
Kinitics Automation, [Link] Input #201 at [Link]/information

Linear voice coil motor, high Plug-and-play

force-to-size ratio sensor includes software
Moticont’s GVCM-051-089-05S06 Linear ExpressSense’s MINX sensor system
Voice Coil Motor has a high force-to- is a plug-and-play sensor featuring
size ratio with 5.5 lb (24.6 N) contin- sensors and software to automati-
uous force and 17.5 lb (77.7 N) of peak cally generate control charts for dis-
force with a housing measuring just 2-in. dia. play in any web browser. Five built-in
x 3.50-in. long. The stroke of the motor is 2.75- sensors support the most common
in. (69.9 mm) and the precision ground shaft has preventive maintenance, process con-
an internal thread. The housing has threaded mount- trol, and automation tasks: optical
ing holes for easy integration into current and future event counting; shock or vibration limit detection and event count-
applications. This brushless actuator is ideal for appli- ing; ambient temperature measurement; ambient humidity measure-
cations such as assembly equipment, work holding and ment; remote temperature measurement; and limit detection or event
clamping, laser machining and drilling, scanners, and counting. It also allows the user to connect a user-supplied sensor to
laser beam steering and filtering. The Moticont’s GVCM- the 5V analog input. Programmable triggers generate e-mail or text
051-089-05S06 linear voice coil motor can also be ordered alerts when thresholds are reached, or can control equipment with
as a complete plug-and-play system including a controller. the external output.
Moticont, [Link] ExpressSense, [Link]
Input #202 at [Link]/information Input #203 at [Link]/information

Modbus flow totalizer, configurable for volume and time settings

SignalFire’s ModQ Sentry is a Modbus flow totalizer that interfaces with pulse-type inductive turbine
and other flowmeters to provide instantaneous flow rates, accumulated totals, and status informa-
tion. Units are configurable for volume and time settings and offer options to configure the K factor to
match the turbine. Powered by an internal lithium battery for standalone operations or an external 6 to
36 Vdc power source, the ModQ Sentry provides a local display along with a Modbus RS485 data port
to integrate with PLC/SCADA and distributed control systems (DCSs). The ModQ Sentry maintains
an internal 30-day log of daily flow totals for historical analysis or backup storage. The ModQ is ideal
for data management of turbine flowmeters in new and retrofit installations for a variety of industrial
applications such as oil and gas, metals and mining, water and wastewater, chemical, power, food and
beverage, pulp and paper, aerospace, and pharmaceutical.
SignalFire, [Link]-fi[Link] Input #204 at [Link]/information

44 • September 2018 CONTROL ENGINEERING [Link]

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[Link] CONTROL ENGINEERING September 2018 • 45

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Digital dc/dc controllers have pulse width modulation

Renesas Electronics’ ISL68300 and 68301 digital dc/dc controllers are designed to provide
single output point-of-load (POL) conversions for field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),
network processors, general purpose system rails, and more. The ISL68300 has integrated
MOSFET drivers and the ISL68301 has pulse width modulation (PWM) output. Both are
designed to simplify designing power supplies for data center, wired and wireless com-
munications, and factory automation equipment. The ISL68300 can drive discrete exter-
nal MOSFETs directly while the ISL68301 pairs with smart power stages. Both controllers
implement Renesas’ digital ChargeMode control modulation.
Renesas Electronics, [Link] Input #205 at [Link]/information

Linear motion drives Motorized lead screw

Nanotec’s LGA28 and LGA42 series of actuator
captive linear actuators measure 28mm Thomson Industries expanded its line
and 42mm, respectively, and are designed of stepper motor linear actuators with a
to be suitable particularly for use in small motorized lead screw actuator (MLA). It provides compa-
installation spaces that demand exact positioning. They nies with high-precision, shorter-stroke applications relief from the cost,
offer very low backlash as well as high thrust and ten- time, and maintenance worries related to designing and building exter-
sile force. The integrated linear guide with movable nally guided systems. The line eliminates the need for external guidance
polygon profile makes high-precision feeding possi- by surrounding the shaft with an aluminum cover tube with molded
ble without additional mechanical components. Both internal splines that lock onto the nut to keep it from turning. It has an
series can be ordered in various lengths, with different integrated bushing to withstand small radial and moment loads. It is best-
windings, and optionally with an encoder. The electri- suited for space-constrained, force-sensitive applications requiring short-
cal connection is made using an integrated connector. er strokes that must be repeated with high precision.
Nanotec, [Link] Thomson Industries Inc. [Link]
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[Link] CONTROL ENGINEERING September 2018 • 47

INNOVATIONS
BACK TO BASICS
Frank Lamb, Automation Consulting LLC

Ladder logic simulation

Using simulation for ladder logic allows users to test advanced situations that otherwise wouldn’t
be possible, reducing potential costs and hazards for users.

I
n a basic programmable logic controller (PLC) Z Axis Lowered sensor usually would be activated
training class, pushbuttons and pilot lights automatically. Since this is not a real solenoid valve
built into a trainer are used to complete exer- driving an air cylinder with a sensor on it, we need
cises, usually to illustrate the use of different to simulate the sensor being made.
instructions on the PLC software platform.
Advanced classes concentrate more on the tech- Timer circuit, memory bit
niques used in programming such as auto sequences, This timer circuit does the job nicely. Notice
part tracking, and other system functions. that a memory bit needs to be used to simulate the
Making all elements of a properly organized pro- input. Input memory bits also can be used in the auto
gram operate together can be a daunting task. Differ- sequence to step from one sequence state to the next.
ent types of routines relate to each other. Contacts that The EnableOut bit is used in case a fault needs to be
represent the state of a machine or sequence are easy simulated. If the bit is disabled, it is as if the output
enough to test. Internal memory bits indicate things activated but the input was never detected. The fault
like auto/manual mode, autocycle, and even faults. timer will time out and latch a fault condition.
Inputs and outputs, however, are a different story. Also notice that a “latch” or “set” bit is used for
In a larger machine or system, they the input. This is especially important for solenoid

M More
INNOVATIONS
represent a lot of different types of
sensors or output devices. With the
trainers that are often used in train-
valves that are turned off when the sequence pro-
ceeds to the next step. When the output goes off,
the simulated sensor will stay active.
KEYWORDS: Ladder logic, simulation ing classes, there are not enough It is best to put all of the simulation rungs in
Using simulation in ladder logic can buttons, switches, and pilot lights a separate routine. If the program is designed for
allow programmers and users to test
inputs and outputs before they’re to substitute for real-world devices. training and a real machine, the simulation rou-
implemented. Also, input devices such as buttons, tine can be removed or disabled later. Simulated
Simulation also allows programmers switches, and potentiometers don’t I/O also can be replaced later with the real stuff.
to test some of the more critical code react automatically in real-time to With analog values, a timer is used for the sim-
before deploying it on a machine. sequences and output commands. ulation. In this case, the tank level will increment
GO ONLINE Here, a simulation routine can by five every 20 ms. Both the timer value and the
Read this story online at be useful. With the appropriate out- tank level addend can be adjusted to achieve the
[Link] for more stories put logic the inputs and outputs are desired result. There is more conditioning that
about ladder logic from the author. “aliased” to memory bits rather than should be done to simulate a real tank, but the
CONSIDER THIS real-world input/output (I/O). Figure shows the general idea. To drain the tank,
Which applications would benefit If the Z-Axis_Lower_SV output use a subtract instruction. This also can be used
most from ladder logic simulation? is activated in a real machine, the to test proportional-integral-derivative (PID)
instructions.
Real equipment often is not available during
the design phase of a project. Simulation allows
programmers to test some of the more criti-
cal code before deploying it on a machine. With
a human-machine interface (HMI), program-
mers even can visualize the process via animated
objects. ce

Frank Lamb is the founder of Automation Consulting

LLC, and is on the Control Engineering Editorial Advi-
sory Board. This article originally appeared on Automa-
tion Primer’s blog. Automation Primer is a CFE Media
Figure: Both the timer value and the tank level addend can be content partner. Edited by Chris Vavra, production edi-
adjusted to achieve the desired result. tor, Control Engineering, cvavra@[Link].

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