In a Control Engineering Europe article, Looking into the future of control systems, Emerson’s Bob Halgren shares his thoughts on where process control systems are headed in this era of Industry 4.0 and digital transformations.
Bob opens noting the changes over the past couple of decades in control systems from proprietary workstations and networks to the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) PCs, operating systems, and networking protocols.
Just in the past 5 years:
…these PCs have been virtualised, so the footprint is a lot smaller, while physical hardware remains at the core of the control system, software and how users interact and engineer within the software, is now more critical.
The focus on ease of use has been needed:
…to make it possible for the data to be turned into analytics and process insight to enable better decision making.
The advancements in capability and power of smart phones and tablets has makes:
…the control system accessible from anywhere via smart devices. Mobile displays, operator interfaces, and user experience tools that enhance how people interact and see the plant have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of plant operations.
Read the article for Bob’s thoughts on how the developing shortage of experienced engineers is causing a shift to embed this expertise in software, embed simulation and integrated more sensing from the Internet of Things.
Join us next week at the Emerson Exchange conference in San Antonio, Texas to catch Bob’s presentations on the DeltaV Platform Product Roadmap and PK Controller – Standalone & Merging: What’s different and how do I merge? Some additional DeltaV-related sessions that you may find of interest include:
- Is Your DeltaV System Healthy? System Health Monitoring has the Answer!
- Control Performance in the Cloud – Results of an Emerson Connected Service Trial at a Refinery
- An advanced Human-Centered Design (HCD) Analog Input faceplate with trending, events, & diagnostics
- Avoiding the Workstation Crisis! How Thin Clients and Virtualization Saved the Day!
- Improving Safety and Control Reliability – Best Practices for Leveraging DeltaV and DeltaV SIS Data
- Improving Operation Effectiveness with DeltaV-CCC Smart Gateway
