Blog

How to Cultivate a Safety Culture Within Industrial Work Spaces

By Guest Blogger Ralph Goodman, Lock and Security Expert In order to foster a culture of safety in an industrial workspace, it is important to consider both employee protection and general physical security. It takes quite a lot of consideration and planning to know what it will take to make workers safe. From there it…
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Products vs. Solutions Part 2

By Guest Blogger Patrick Bunn In my last post, I shared a story about my experience researching different fitness trackers. I talked about how the chief complaint regarding the two products I researched centered on the lack of sufficient customer service. I stated that in the end I didn’t purchase either product. Why? Because having a…
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Products vs. Solutions

by Guest Blogger Patrick Bunn Recently my wife asked for a new fitness tracking device. She has been so happy with the device I gave her that she has indirectly convinced me that I should get one as well. I began doing some research to find which device would be the best fit for me….
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Shop Team Implements Improvements

In the spirit of innovation and continuous improvement, our shop established a team tasked with looking at ways to make the panel shop more productive. Starting in January, the team looked at all aspects of operations with an eye toward changes that would improve safety or quality, or provide a monetary payback. Over the months…
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Four Steps of Basic SCADA Troubleshooting

by Guest Blogger Andrew Green This post in the second installment in a series on SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) and the art of troubleshooting. The idea is to provide information on a term that traditionally frightens users and make them aware of common problems, ready solutions, and how to avoid downtime as a…
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Purpose and Values

Purpose To provide automation products bundled with quality engineering and construction services that contribute the most long-term value for customers and society. Core Values 1. Trust We become worthy of trust by doing what is right; we act with integrity and honesty in all situations. We treat others with respect, knowing all people are created…
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Understanding Your SCADA System Components

By Guest Blogger Andrew Green SCADA  systems are easily classified as one of the greatest data acquisition methods to have ever been invented. The ability to gather data from various distances, translate to a user-friendly format, and combine the points into a viable action plan is extraordinary. Ultimately, SCADA enables anyone to measure process performance and…
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Mesh Radio: What is it?

Mesh Network representation As an emerging technology, mesh radio (one approach to creating wireless mesh networks) offers end users a self-forming and self-healing reliable network that eliminates single points of failure. Each node in the network recognizes the other nodes and can shift which node is accessed based on availability. The ability for transmission to…
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The Path to Modernization, Part 1

Extracted from our Modernization seminar, conducted in March 2016 Why Modernize Your Control Systems? Statistically speaking, it is likely that your existing control system is part of the $22 billion in control systems that are nearing the end of their useful lives, most of them more than 20 years old. Taking into account the number…
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What is a Partner?

By Guest Blogger Greg Graves After working for a large automation manufacturer for 20+ years, I probably got into the habit of using the word “partner” a little too often. I will admit that it was kind of drilled into me, but after transitioning into a role with a large system integrator, I have learned…
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Cyber Security: Everyone’s Job

What isCyber Security? Cybersecurity refers to the technologies and processes designed to protect computers, networks, and data from unauthorized access, vulnerabilities, and attacks delivered via the Internet by cyber criminals and mischief makers. The most common of these attacks come not at the point of firewalls but at the weakest link, employees, and the attacks…
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Industrial IT & Networks, Part III

Network security By guest blogger Chris Roberts This discussion will be about security of your industrial controls network.  This is a constantly changing area of technology as new vulnerabilities are exposed and new hacking techniques are learned.  I will discuss some specific security topics as they relate to Industrial IT. There are many layers used to…
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