On August 27th, 2019, SpaceX launched its Starhopper rocket prototype 150 meters above the plains of south Texas and then landed it gently on an adjacent landing pad. (You can read more and watch the video here) This was another successful step forward for SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s goal of reaching Mars. However, August 27th…
DetailsIf you’ve spent time around control systems, you’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase “tags” used. After all, tags are an integral part of a control program. And controllers (PLCs, DCS, etc.). And operator interfaces (HMIs). And historians. And a whole host of other pieces of a control system. With all these tags floating around, it can…
DetailsIn December 2016, nearly a fifth of Kiev, Ukraine was thrown into darkness due to a power outage. Power was back in an hour, and disaster was averted. Or so it seemed. Over the next few months, researchers discovered that malware had attacked the system’s SCADA network and overloaded it, shutting the system down. This…
DetailsIf you’ve been following along with your SCADA Basics series, you’ve learned the components of a SCADA system, as well as how to choose your telemetry communication method. We understand, though, that not everyone is looking to get a new system. Many of you already have SCADA systems, and your challenge is keeping them online.…
DetailsSo, you need a SCADA system. Or perhaps you have an unreliable system that’s in need of an upgrade. Maybe you’re just curious about what’s out there. Whatever brings you to this post, if you’re thinking through a SCADA system, few decisions you make will be more important than the telemetry communication technology you choose.…
DetailsHow do you manage a network of remote substations without letting the cost sink you? This was the question that faced power and natural gas companies in the early 1900s. The eventual solution to this problem created the foundation for automation as we know it: SCADA. SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. At…
DetailsBy Greg Graves In my role, I get to talk to customers about what went well on projects and what could have been done better. In most of these conversations, I’m trying to figure out what we did that created the result, whether good or bad. Recently, one of our new customers explained to me…
DetailsRecently, we worked with a client suffering from substantial downtime issues primarily due to I/O failures. They had a redundant PLC system, and though it hadn’t malfunctioned, it was at end-of-life, so they contracted us to modernize their entire plant. As part of that process, they asked whether they should continue to use a redundant…
DetailsBy Greg Graves, VP of Sales and Marketing Did you know that Kodak invented the digital camera in 1975? By 1989, they’d created the first DSLR camera. However, they refused to sell it because they were afraid it would cannibalize their film business. The problem is that Kodak fundamentally misunderstood the value they provided…
DetailsBy Greg Graves, VP of Sales and Marketing I started to call this post, “Leelon Loves Wastewater”, but that wasn’t quite it. I changed it to “Leelon Loves the Wastewater Industry”, but that didn’t sit right either. The truth is, Leelon Scott loves people who happen to work in the wastewater industry. Colin Powell…
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