As the 2012 ISA President, I am gratified to report that ISA will enter the new year as a more capable, industry-significant, globally engaged, and member-focused organization. We’ve made real headway in 2012, building on our visionary strategic plan, and making the sound decisions that position our Society for long-term growth and success. While some [...]
This tip seems obvious, yet some of the biggest project failures I have witnessed were a result of the team not understanding the process, and programming what they thought was correct. The folly of this approach was usually not discovered until late in the project (possibly during start-up). At that point, recovery of the schedule [...]
It’s a question we love to ask our kids and our grandkids – and sometimes, the answers we get will make us laugh for years. Sometimes, though, the answer provides a glimpse into a future that we can help that child build. Sometimes, it’s the glimmer of a passion, an aptitude – a career that they will someday [...]
I was really happy to read about this latest development with the Automation Federation and ISA’s STEM efforts with high school students. They are stepping out and finding a way to reach younger minds to develop more engineers in the profession. Here’s what they are doing: The Automation Federation, in participating in a ground-breaking partnership [...]
I earned a degree in engineering physics, a now-defunct program at Kansas University created for nuclear submarine captains. Doing double duty, I took the required courses for a physics degree, plus 32 hours of engineering electives. With job offers from aerospace, chemical, and communication companies, I chose the chemical company because the campus was impressive, [...]
One of the things I’ve learned being part of ISA is that there is always something going on. So every so often, I’m going to publish the happenings of ISA. If anyone would like to submit something to include in my periodic roundup, please send me an email. First up… As part of National Engineers [...]
ISA announced today the sessions of its Energy Track at ISA Automation Week 2011: Technology and Solutions Event. The conference will take place in Mobile, Alabama, USA, 17-20 October 2011, at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center. The Energy Track offers a spectrum of presentations on recent advances in automation for buildings, industrial plants and [...]
Advanced control applications are not in widespread use in the power industry. Why? Successful applications exist, but it takes work and education. You’ll need to study the technology and published experiences, work closely with and rely on technology vendors, and plan properly for success, short and long term. At the last ISA Power Industry (POWID) [...]
In trying to decided on a blog topic, I thought of the spreadsheet we did in our Applying Motor Controls and Drives class last week for showing the voltage and hertz relationship. We then used the chart wizard and selected a scatter point type of chart. I then started thinking about the calibration sheet we do [...]
