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Tour the drive at: usa.siemens.com/ perfectharmony

Energy-efficiency Increased process control and reduced energy waste > 0.95 power factor No need for input harmonic filters

www.controleng.com
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Because downtime is not an option.

SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY delivers uptime, all the time.
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When you have a city of three million people relying on you for power, shutdowns are serious business. When youre on a rig anchored 20 miles offshore without a speck of land in sight, service calls arent simple. And when hazardous chemicals keep you on your toes anytime youre on the clock, uptime is everything. Operating conditions will never be perfect but at least your drives can be.

Siemens equipped the SINAMICS Perfect Harmony drive with 50+ patented technologies proven to increase the dependability of critical processes. Its the only drive available today that features Advanced Cell Bypass, and its modularity provides a scalable solution that achieves 99.99% availability. With more than 10,000 drives sold, SINAMICS Perfect Harmony is the No. 1 selling drive in the world because its the most trusted.
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200,000 hours MTBF

Answers for industry.

JANUARY 2014

Vol. 61 Number 1

C OV E R I N G C O N T R O L , I N S T R U M E N TAT I O N , A N D A U TO M AT I O N S YS T E M S W O R L D W I D E

42

32
Features
32 36 42 47

36

Making digital forensics a critical part of your cyber security defenses

Do you know your ICSs well enough to recognize when something is happening that shouldnt be? That knowledge is critical to your defensive strategy, and represents the biggest advantage you have over attackers.

Wireless networks can save money and speed turnarounds

Wireless networks can be as reliable as wired ones, and can empower workers to handle tasks they otherwise could not.

Robotic control alternatives

As robotic controls advance in capabilities, other options have been emerging for control, including use of open control software with multiple vendors robots, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and other non-robotic controllers.

How to hire, retain engineering talent

Six tips on hiring and retaining top engineering talent include using a skills database to engage employees and filling the skills gap.

CONTROL ENGINEERING (ISSN 0010-8049, Vol. 61, No. 1, GST #123397457) is published 12x per year, Monthly by CFE Media, LLC, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Jim Langhenry, Group Publisher /Co-Founder; Steve Rourke CEO/COO/Co-Founder. CONTROL ENGINEERING copyright 2014 by CFE Media, LLC. All rights reserved. CONTROL ENGINEERING is a registered trademark of CFE Media, LLC used under license. Periodicals postage paid at Oak Brook, IL 60523 and additional mailing offices. Circulation records are maintained at CFE Media, LLC, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Telephone: 630/571-4070 x2220. E-mail: customerservice@cfemedia.com. Postmaster: send address changes to CONTROL ENGINEERING, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40685520. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Email: customerservice@cfemedia.com. Rates for nonqualified subscriptions, including all issues: USA, $150/yr; Canada/Mexico, $180/yr (includes 7% GST, GST#123397457); International air delivery $325/yr. Except for special issues where price changes are indicated, single copies are available for $30.00 US and $35.00 foreign. Please address all subscription mail to CONTROL ENGINEERING, 1111 W. 22nd Street, Suite #250, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Printed in the USA. CFE Media, LLC does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material contained herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever.

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

simply. better.

Innovations to make your team more exible and efcient.

Experion PKS Orion employs a distinctive portfolio of scalable capabilities for innovative project execution and system management. Experion SCADAs superior HMI radically simplies engineering and operations over thousands of assets. Our SCADA solution provides equipment based conguration with minimal effort, automatically generated displays, pan and zoom interaction, dashboard style presentation and task based lters that focus the operators attention on whats important. Honeywell leads the way in utilizing process knowledge, making your team more exible and efcient.

www.honeywellprocess.com/pks
input #3 at www.controleng.com/information

Come see the new Experion PKS Orion at the 2013 Honeywell Users Group EMEA in Nice. Register today.
2013 Honeywell International, Inc. All right reserved.

Spend the Least Get the Most

MAQ20 Industrial Data Acquisition & Control System

Dataforths 3rd Generation DAQ System Sets New Standards

Signal integrity: Ensured by 1500Vrms isolation between field-side and system-side wiring plus per channel isolation in many modules Compact design: One communication module + 1 to 24 I/O modules = up to 384 channels; interface and power provided by the system backbone Application software: - IPEmotion: Advanced, intuitive, versatile; provides cutting-edge control, mathematical functions, and represents the next step in test & measurement - ReDAQ Shape: Out-of-the-box and easy-to-use; an effective way to configure and customize the system for specific application requirements

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JANUARY 2014

C OV E R I N G C O N T R O L , I N S T R U M E N TAT I O N , A N D A U TO M AT I O N S YS T E M S W O R L D W I D E

Inside Process
Starts after p. 48. If not, see www.controleng.com/archives for January.

P1

Supplementing lab analysis with inline measurements

Reduce production downtime, off-spec product, and time-consuming manual grab sampling in food plants with inline instrumentation.

P6

Keys to achieving high accuracy and reliability in temperature measurement

The final result of your temperature measurement will depend on the interaction of all the devices and connections between the sensor and control system.

P10

Multi-touch improves data analysis

Multi-touch technologies have rapidly moved from the commercial to the industrial sector where they are being used to enhance data analysis.

PRODUCT EXCLUSIVE

departments
8 Think Again
Control Engineering predictions for 2014

24 Machine Safety
13 terms to know for compliance with functional safety, ISO 13849-1

10 Apps for Engineers

Parts and pricing, voltage measurements, mechanical formulas

26 News
Diversity; rising salaries; college robotics competitions; acquisitions; more

12 Product Exclusive
Draw wire encoders from Kbler PRODUCTS

61 Products
Subminiature switches; vibration sensors, safety controllers; rotary encoders; more

14 60th Anniversary
Happy 60th, Control Engineering! Issues from 60, 30, and 15 years ago.

64 Back to Basics
Model-based control, dead times, lag times

16 Technology Update
Why you need data-rich controllers

18 Technology Update
4 ways OEM customers benefit by consolidating

20 International
DART and the promise of high power with intrinsic safety

www.controleng.com

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 5

JANUARY

www.controleng.com

Trending

New Products

Control Systems

Process Manufacturing Discrete Manufacturing

System Integration

Networking & Security

Info Management

Education & Training

Webcast: Were we just hacked? Applying digital forensic techniques for your industrial control systems
Companies that have had their industrial networks attacked from the outside usually dont realize it at all. Robert M. Lee and Matthew E. Luallen will discuss how you can analyze and document your systems well enough to perform incident response and learn from those attacks. www.controleng.com/webcasts

Control Engineering digital edition extras

Now with each new issue, the digital edition of Control Engineering features extra content that isnt included in the print issues. See what youre missing at www.controleng.com/digitaledition

Editorial research
Control Engineering conducts quarterly editorial research studies on various industry topics. Access the following full reports at: www.controleng.com/ce-research

More learning, less surfing

Exclusive blogs at www.controleng.com/blogs Real World Engineering: Good vs. poor documentation: Dont be that guy Machine Safety: Machine Safety: OSHAs top 10 cited violations for 2013 Pillar to Post: Asset management using diagnostics when it really counts Join the discussions at www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1967039 What are the main communication protocols in motor control & drives? Should design and consulting engineers have prior extensive field experience? See exclusive content in our digital edition at www.controleng.com/index.php?id=7989 Strategies for secure automation, Ethernet networks Gigabit Industrial Ethernet networks and tunneling processes to increase quality, reduce costs

Cyber security System integration Information integration

Education and training

On-demand Videos Upcoming and on-demand Webcasts Online training center Case studies130+ all in one place
on dozens of topics

Topic-specific e-newsletters
Start your subscriptions at www.controleng.com/newsletters Process and Advanced Control: Understanding optimizers Energy Automation: Take charge of your energy bills Weekly News: PMI jumps again to new high for the year Information Control: Drowning in data, starved for information Machine Control: Applying automation to baked goods production Safety and Security: Classified-area control panels

Useful eGuides on many topics Control Engineering research reports

Services available
Visit our events and awards page to learn about the latest Control Engineering events and awards programs, including the soon-to-be-announced Engineers Choice Awards for 2014.

Events and awards

Point, click, watch

VIDEO: Automation and control system integration, project management advice
Representatives of the winners of the Control Engineering 2014 System Integrator of the Year competition provide project management advice to customers and other system integrators in a video interview. www.controleng.com/videos

Site search engine

Find content from Control Engineering magazines from 1997 to the present.

Electronic newsletters

Keep current with the latest information and news with electronic newsletters.

System Integrator Guide

Consult our listing of more than 2,300 automation system integrators. You can find a specific company or run a seven-way multi-parameter search.

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Precision, and Flexibility

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Lowering cost, increasing productivity, and shortening design times are just some of the challenges industrial engineers face. The graphical system design approach combines productive software and recongurable I/O (RIO) hardware to help you meet these challenges. This off-the-shelf platform, customizable to solve any control and monitoring application, integrates motion, vision, and I/O with a single software development environment to build complex industrial systems faster.

NI LabVIEW system design software offers ultimate exibility through FPGA programming, simplies code reuse, and helps you program the way you thinkgraphically.

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2013 National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 12125

input #5 at www.controleng.com/information

editorial

THINK AGAIN
Control Engineering predictions for 2014

1111 W. 22nd St. Suite 250, Oak Brook, IL 60523 630-571-4070, Fax 630-214-4504

10 predictions follow for Control Engineering subscribers in 2014.

630-571-4070, x2214, MHoske@CFEMedia.com Mark T. Hoske, Content Manager Peter Welander, Welander, Content Manager Peter Content Manager 630-571-4070, x2214, MHoske@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, 630-571-4070, x2213, x2213, PWelander@CFEMedia.com PWelander@CFEMedia.com Peter Welander, Content Manager Bob Vavra, Vavra, Content Content Manager Manager Bob PWelander@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, x2212, x2212, BVavra@CFEMedia.com BVavra@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, Jordan Schultz, Associate Content Manager Amara Content Manager Amara Rozgus, Rozgus, Content Manager 630-571-4070, x2213, jschultz@CFEmedia.com 630-571-4070, x2211, x2211, ARozgus@CFEMedia.com ARozgus@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, Amanda McLeman, Project Manager Amanda McLeman, Project Manager Amanda McLeman, Project Manager 630-571-4070, x2209, AMcLeman@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, 630-571-4070, x2209, x2209, AMcLeman@CFEMedia.com AMcleman@CFEMedia.com Chris Vavra, Content Specialist Ben Taylor, Project Manager Chris Vavra, Content Specialist CVavra@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070 630-571-4070,x2219, x2219,BTaylor@CFEMedia.com CVavra@CFEMedia.com Chris Vavra, Content Specialist Contributing Content Specialists Brittany Merchut, Content Specialist CVavra@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, x2220, Frank J. Bartos, P.E., BMerchut@CFEMedia.com braunbart@sbcglobal.net Contributing Content Specialists Ben Taylor, Project Manager 630-571-4070 x2219, Jeanine jkatzel@sbcglobal.net Frank J. Katzel, Bartos, P.E., BTaylor@CFEMedia.com braunbart@sbcglobal.net Vance VanDoren, Ph.D., P.E., Contributing Content Specialists controleng@msn.com Jeanine Frank J. Katzel, Bartos,jkatzel@sbcglobal.net P.E., Suzanne Gill, European Editor Vance VanDoren, Ph.D., P.E., braunbart@sbcglobal.net suzanne.gill@imlgroup.co.uk controleng@msn.com Jeanine Katzel jkatzel@sbcglobal.net Ekaterina Kosareva, Control Engineering Russia Suzanne Gill, European Vance VanDoren Ph.D.,Editor P.E., ekaterina.kosareva@fsmedia.ru suzanne.gill@imlgroup.co.uk controleng@msn.com Marek Kelman, Poland Editor-in-Chief Ekaterina Kosareva, Control Engineering Russia Suzanne Gill, European Editor marek.kelman@utrzymanieruchu.pl ekaterina.kosareva@fsmedia.ru suzanne.gill@imlgroup.co.uk Luk Smelk , Czech Editor-in-Chief Marek Kelman, Poland Editor-in-Chief Ekaterina Kosareva, Control Engineering Russia lukas.smelik@trademedia.us marek.kelman@utrzymanieruchu.pl ekaterina.kosareva@fsmedia.ru Andy Zhu, Control Engineering China Luk Smelk , Czech Editor-in-Chief Marek Kelman, Poland Editor-in-Chief andyzhu@cechina.cn lukas.smelik@trademedia.us marek.kelman@utrzymanieruchu.pl

Content Content Specialists/Editorial Specialists/Editorial Mark T. Content Mark T. Hoske, Hoske, Content Manager Manager Content Specialists/Editorial 630-571-4070, x2214, MHoske@CFEMedia.com

en Control Engineering predic6. Use more mobile machine interfaces tions for 2014 follow. May Control with secure web-based software, allowEngineerings 60th anniversary ing tablets, smartphones, and PCs to create year propel you and your organiza- greater efficiencies in getting information to tion to new heights. This year, not necessar- where it needs to be and when. ily in this order, more subscribers will use 7. Integrate disparate systems, ensuring automation, control, and instrumentation information flows through the supply chain, products, software, and networks to: improving security and quality during the 1. Secure control systems and con- product life cycle. nected networks using industry based best 8. Design for reuse. A little more time up practices, ceasing to ignore threats as if front, separating functions in logical ways, can cyber security threats do not ensure that intellectual property is pertain to them. preserved and can be replicated 2. Integrate the latest safety and upgraded as needed, in autobest practices into automation mation, controls, instrumentation, designs and culture, doing risk networking, and human-machine th assessments and applying the interface (HMI) software. latest local, national, and inter9. Streamline processes and national standards to minimize apply automation, including ANNIVERSARY risk and ensure compliance. This robotics, to increase throughput, includes safe-speed zones when boost quality, and lower overall humans enter traditional high-speed robots costs. Applying the latest automation to and lower speed and inertia robots that can tired processes seldom maximizes return operate next to humans without traditional on investment. ROI is better when applied guards in many cases. to lean processes where all the stakeholders 3. Optimize energy use by measuring, participate in the upgrade. looking at systems (beyond just compo10. Read, view, learn from the global nents), and applying instrumentation and resources of Control Engineering available human-machine interfaces to involve and at www.controleng.com to be more profiteducate users about energy use. Plants and able in 2014. Think again about sharing other facilities will power down various your success stories, lessons learned, and processes as practical for additional savings. other advice with your peers. Learn how at 4. Seek more places to apply closed www.controleng.com/contribute ce loop control, finding and closing control Go Online loops that are open or set on manual, and seeking additional places that could ben- Add your Control Engineering resolutions using the efit from fully automated controls, moving comment section at the bottom of this posted artimore analysis and optimization in-line in cle at www.controleng.com/archives. What are you real time. going to do in 2014, why, and what are the antici5. Measure more processes by applying pated benefits? See related links to the articles and more sensors and vision systems, connect- issues you found most valuable in 2013. ing to smarter and faster logic devices wirelessly and with industrial Ethernet where it makes sense, communicating with actuators Mark T. Hoske, Content Manager to close the control loop, optimizing along MHoske@CFEMedia.com the way.

Trudy Executive Assistant, Elena Moeller-Younger, Marketing Manager Steve Kelly, Rourke, Co-Founder, CFE Media 630-571-4070, x2205, 773-815-3795, 630-571-4070, EMYounger@CFEMedia.com x2204, TKelly@CFEMedia.com SRourke@CFEMedia.com Elena Moeller-Younger, Marketing Manager Kristen Nimmo, Marketing Coordinator Trudy Kelly, Executive Assistant, 773-815-3795, EMYounger@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, 630-571-4070, x2215, x2205, KNimmo@CFEMedia.com TKelly@CFEMedia.com Kristen Nimmo, Marketing Coordinator Michael Smith, Creative Director Elena Moeller-Younger, Marketing Manager 630-571-4070, 630-779-8910, MSmith@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, x2215, x2215; KNimmo@CFEMedia.com EMYounger@CFEMedia.com Michael Smith, Creative Paul Brouch, Director of Director Operations Michael Smith, Creative Director 630-779-8910, MSmith@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, PBrouch@CFEMedia.com 630-779-8910, x2208, MSmith@CFEMedia.com Paul of Operations Michael Rotz,Director PrintProduction Production Manager Paul Brouch, Brouch, Web Manager 630-571-4070, x2208, PBrouch@CFEMedia.com 717-766-0211 717-506-7238 630-571-4070,x4207, x2208,Fax: PBrouch@CFEMedia.com mike.rotz@frycomm.com Michael Michael Rotz, Rotz, Print Print Production Production Manager Manager 717-766-0211 x4207, 717-506-7238 Maria Bartell, Account Director 717-766-0211 x4207, Fax: Fax: 717-506-7238 mike.rotz@frycomm.com Infogroup Targeting Solutions mike.rotz@frycomm.com 847-378-2275, maria.bartell@infogroup.com Maria Maria Bartell, Bartell, Account Account Director Director Infogroup Rick Ellis,Targeting AudienceSolutions Management Director Infogroup Targeting Solutions 847-378-2275, maria.bartell@infogroup.com 303-246-1250, REllis@CFEMedia.com 847-378-2275, maria.bartell@infogroup.com Rick Audience Letters to the editorManagement Rick Ellis, Ellis, Audience Management Director Director 303-246-1250, REllis@CFEMedia.com Please us your opinions to Phone: e-mail 303-246-1250; REllis@CFEMedia.com MHoske@CFEMedia.com or fax us at 630-214-4504. Letters to Letters should to the the editor editor Letters include name, company, and address, Please e-mail us your opinions to Please e-mail us your opinions to and may be edited for space fax and clarity. MHoske@CFEMedia.com MHoske@CFEMedia.com or or fax us us at at 630-214-4504. 630-214-4504. Letters Information Letters should should include include name, name, company, company, and and address, address, and may be for and For Media Kit or Editorial Calendar, and a may be edited edited for space space and clarity. clarity. email Trudy Kelly at TKelly@CFEMedia.com. Information Information For For a a Media Media Kit Kit or or Editorial Editorial Calendar, Calendar, Reprints email email Trudy Trudy Kelly Kelly at at TKelly@CFEMedia.com. TKelly@CFEMedia.com. For custom reprints or electronic usage, contact: Reprints Reprints Wrights Media Nick Iademarco For custom reprints electronic usage, contact: For custom reprints or or ext. electronic Phone: 877-652-5295 102 usage, contact: Wrights Media Media Nick Nick Iademarco Iademarco Wrights Email: niademarco@wrightsmedia.com Phone: 877-652-5295 877-652-5295 ext. ext. 102 102 Phone: Email: niademarco@wrightsmedia.com niademarco@wrightsmedia.com Publication Sales Email:

Andy Zhu, Control Engineering China Luk Smelk , Czech Editor-in-Chief Publication Services andyzhu@cechina.cn lukas.smelik@trademedia.us Jim Langhenry, Co-Founder/Publisher, CFE Media Publication Services 630-571-4070, x2203; JLanghenry@CFEMedia.com Andy Zhu, Control Engineering China andyzhu@cechina.cn Jim Langhenry, Co-Founder/Publisher, Steve Rourke, Co-Founder, CFE Media CFE Media 630-571-4070, x2203; JLanghenry@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, x2204, SRourke@CFEMedia.com Publication Services Steve Rourke, Co-Founder, CFE Media CFE Media Trudy Kelly, Executive Assistant, Jim Langhenry, Co-Founder/Publisher, 630-571-4070, x2205, x2204, TKelly@CFEMedia.com SRourke@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070, 630-571-4070, x2203; JLanghenry@CFEMedia.com

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Patrick Lynch, AL,Sales FL, GA, MI, TN Publication Publication Sales 630-571-4070 x2210 PLynch@CFEMedia.com Patrick Lynch, AL, Patrick Lynch, AL, FL, FL, GA, GA, MI, MI, TN TN Bailey Rice, Midwest 630-571-4070 x2210 PLynch@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070 x2210 PLynch@CFEMedia.com 630-571-4070 x2206 BRice@CFEMedia.com Bailey Bailey Rice, Rice, Midwest Midwest 630-571-4070 x2206 BRice@CFEMedia.com Iris Seibert, West Coast 630-571-4070 x2206 BRice@CFEMedia.com 858-270-3753 ISeibert@CFEMedia.com Iris Iris Seibert, Seibert, West West Coast Coast Julie Timbol, East Coast 858-270-3753 ISeibert@CFEMedia.com 858-270-3753 ISeibert@CFEMedia.com 978-929-9495 JTimbol@CFEMedia.com Julie Timbol, East East Coast Coast Julie Timbol, Stuart Smith, International 978-929-9495 JTimbol@CFEMedia.com 978-929-9495 JTimbol@CFEMedia.com Tel. +44 208 464 5577 stuart.smith@ssm.co.uk Stuart Smith, International Stuart Smith, International Tel. +44 208 464 5577 stuart.smith@ssm.co.uk Tel. +44 208 464 5577 stuart.smith@ssm.co.uk

Success Story

Automation Unleashed
When a leader in automated systems for the aerospace industry needed a feature-rich Industrial Ethernet standard to network their AGVs, they chose PROFINET.

Fori Automation: Detroit, Michigan

I needed to combine motion, safety, and wireless. PROFINET does that.

Greg Stegner, Controls Project Leader

To learn more, read the complete application story at www.us.pronet.com. Or, simply scan the QR code.
input #6 at www.controleng.com/information

apps for

ENGINEERS

www.controleng.com/AppsForEngineers

Parts and pricing, voltage measurements, mechanical formulas

CFE Medias Apps for Engineers is an interactive directory of more than 170 engineering-related applications for Android and iOS operation systems, created by various companies. This month, gain access to a CTC controller, a parts and pricing app, wireless voltage measurements, and mechanical formulas. www.controleng.com/AppsForEngineers CTC qMon iOS 5.0+

Cost: Free Company: Control Technology Corp. Company Website: www.ctc-control.com

The CTC qMon app gives users access to their automation systems, locally and remotely. With the app, users can monitor and congure CTC controllers and connect wirelessly to any CTC automation controller. The app can also write values to the controller, and from there users are able to set outputs, numeric registers, and ags.

JLG Mobile iOS 4.0+

Cost: Free Company: JLG Industries Inc. Company Website: www.jlg.com

JLGs apps offer a multitude of services to help users maximize their return on investment. The JLG Mobile iPad app provides key web-based functions right on a mobile device. With this app, users can check parts availability and pricing, track order status, and access serial number specic information.

NI cDAQ-9191 Data Display Android 2.2, iOS 5.0

Cost: Free Company: National Instruments Company Website: www.ni.com

The NI cDAQ-9191 Data Display allows users to wirelessly take voltage measurements using Android or Apple mobile devices. With the app you can choose simulated device to evaluate the app with hardware and congure the number of samples, sampling rate, and channels to acquire.

Mechanical Engineer iOS 4.0+

Cost: $5.99 Company: MultiEducator Inc. Company Website: www.multieducator.net/

The Mechanical Engineer app contains over 300 mechanical engineering formulas and 300 conversion formulas covering 70 areas. They include: actuators bearings, belts, boilers, brakes, clutches, elevators, gears, uid power, heat transfer, internal combustion, kinetic energy, metalworking, plates, plumbs, power plants, refrigeration, shaft springs, vehicle drives, and more.

10

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

From Off-The-Board to On-The-Board, Get On Board With Allied!

Check out our interactive PCB Product Finder! alliedelec.com/PCB

We have what you need in interconnect, passives, semiconductors, and more.

1.800.433.5700
input #7 at www.controleng.com/information
Allied Electronics, Inc 2014. Allied Electronics and the Allied Electronics logo are trademarks of Allied Electronics, Inc. An Electrocomponents Company.

product

EXCLUSIVES

Robust, reliable, and costeffective draw wire encoders

Instead of costly and complicated mounting options, the new draw wire encoders from Kbler find the balance between price and performance.

input #8 at www.controleng.com/information

nstead of costly and complicated mounting options, effective automation solutions can be both economical and simple. With its new series of mobile and robust draw wire encoders, Kbler builds the perfect bridge between price and performance. Made of stainless steel, the new A30, A41, and B75 encoders allow absolute and incremental position measurement. Depending on the model, they measure lengths between 0.6 m and 3 m with speeds between 0.8 and 1 meter per second. Especially intended for applications in mobile automation, conveyor technology, woodworking machinery, and municipal vehicles, these costeffective linear sensors are reliable and long-lasting. Their simple, space-saving installation and sturdy zinc die-cast housing make these draw wire encoders a basic solution for a wide range of length, travel, and position measuring tasks. These new systems are available with analogue sensors and incremental or absolute encoders. In related news, Kbler released its new Sendix 7000 encoders (not shown) with ATEX and international IECEx approval. Meeting strict protection standards, the line is waterproof, reduces explosion hazard risk, and protects against shock, vibration, and extreme temperatures. The encoders also feature both SSI and fieldbus interfaces.ce -Edited by Jordan M. Schultz, associate content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering, jschultz@cfemedia.com

Go Online
www.controleng.com/archives December includes links to each product for more information, or browse all products at www.controleng.com/products.
12

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING

In a world driven by more and more complicated technology, you can simplify your job by pairing a Baldor motor with an ACB drive. Every ACB drive is based on proven ABB technology and innovation, providing easyto-use plain language interfaces so you can quickly add superior reliability and performance to your motor and drive applications. Plus, weve created a mobile app to make the job of matching the right ACB drive with the right Baldor motor easier than ever wherever you are. Keep it simple with reliable, high performance Baldor motors and ACB drives. baldor.com 479-646-4711

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input #9 at www.controleng.com/information

2013 Baldor Electric Company

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History 60 - 30 - 15 years ago

-Jordan M. Schultz, associate content manager, CFE Media, edited the excerpts to fit this page.

60th Anniversary
Education is our limit

Happy 60th, Control Engineering! Help us celebrate by looking at issues from 60, 30, and 15 years ago. Control Engineering magazine first published in September 1954. This monthly column in 2014 will review coverage in issues 60 (or 59), 30, and 15 years ago. While technologies have progressed since then, topics below (education, factory automation, mergers and globalization) remain relevant today.

JANUARY 1955

Education is the key variable in the management problems incident to the growing industrial application of instrumentation and automatic control. The rate of exploiting automatic controls is directly proportional to the rate at which people are trained to understand, design, and service them. We hear that employees displaced by automatic control will be educated to intellectually superior jobs. This supposes that they are eager to upgrade themselves. But even though they recognize the need to develop higher technical ability, will they allocate spare time to education? We refuse to presume that all men are farseeing and ambitious. Training has to be made inexpensive, attractive, and alive. Present it as an opportunity for improved livingnot as a tedious duty. Offer training through our technical societies. At present the societies build training sessions around educational centers. This is too limited an outlook. It leaves large areas unserved and dodges the responsibility of coordination at a national level.

th
ANNIVERSARY

JANUARY 1984

Training has to be made inexpensive, attractive, and alive. Present it as an opportunity for improved livingnot as a tedious duty.

Factory automation is a buzz word whose real meaning usually gets lost in the shuffle as it expands to include an ever increasing number of functions and concepts. The control engineer occupies a key position in its structure. No one else can put all the pieces together. While factory automation is an ideal goal, the control engineer given the task of making it a reality must overcome many real obstacles in a less than ideal environment. Just defining factory automation can be a problem. The concept was previously confined to the plant floor, but is now stretched so far as to encompass the CAD and CAE design tools and other off-line activities including such nonengineering functions as order entry and inventory control. The concept of factory automation has been pushed so far that some believe that automated business would be a more appropriate term.

Factory automation: Control engineers take it one step at a time

JANUARY 1999

Anybody out there not merging? Reasons for the latest flare-up of merger mania are as plentiful as the actual deals, but studying these conglomerations reveals a few overarching motivations. Global competitive strength, one-stop-shopping for customers, wider and deeper distribution, better software development ability, economies of scale, and worldwide partnering and problem-solving abilities are among primary benefits. The biggest companies have been globalizing for years, but this trend is coming to a head and culminating now, says Andy Chatha, President of Automation Research Corp. (Dedham, Mass.). This isnt happening only in control and automation. Companies in every industry are merging to compete globally. I think in every industry were eventually going to have six or less major players worldwide, though new niches will continue to merge too.

Mergers prepare companies for global arena, software evolution

Go Online
www.controleng.com/archives January See the Control Engineering history page. See additional historical links online and more information about each of these excerpts See more from 1955, including the cover image

14

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

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input #10 at www.controleng.com/information

2013 Magnetrol International, Incorporated

technology

UPDATE

Why you need data-rich controllers

anufacturing operations are becoming more flexible, more connected, and more dynamic. As more changes are made on more complicated production lines, heavily documented program code code with descriptions, comments, extended tag properties, etc.becomes more crucial. Flexible production lines create more complicated paths for application code to sort through and follow, making documentation more important. Giving commissioning or maintenance engineers immediate access to heavily documented program code helps them get systems up and running more quickly, keep them running more smoothly, and conduct more efficient changeovers. Emerging programmable automation controllers (PACs) have more space for documentation storage. The expansion of nonvolatile storage within the controller enables programs, comments, and extended-tag properties to all live in the controller. More nonvolatile storage (separate from the more expensive execution memory that performs complex error checking and error correction) has the potential to save manufacturers time during changeovers, reduce downtime, and mitigate risk when commissioning a line or performing maintenance. Program project files, which contain comments and extended tag information, are traditionally stored on one or more PCs that may or may not be at the same location where the application runs. PACs with expandRockwell Automation now includes ed memory capacity enable such additional non-volatile memory space critical information to now be stored in its latest controller models, separate on the controller in a centralized and from execution memory, which can be hardened location. This can improve used to store project rung comments, commissioning and maintenance. historical tag data, controller diagFor commissioning, having projnostics, and data for other advanced ect files and program in a central features. This storage ability enhances location allows multiple engineers to enterprise collaboration by providing change project files in the same projmachine-users with the historical data ect. Few, if any, systems are commisthey need at the machine level. In sioned without modifications to some terms of execution memory, Controlarea of machine code. In many cases, Logix controllers use enhanced SDRAM multiple developers need to work on memory technology. Additional storage the same controller code at system is available via various sizes of Secure startup. Everyone is making changes Digital (SD) cards. Courtesy: Rockwell and updating documentation simultaAutomation neously. Keeping project documenta-

Extended storage memory for project files enables faster commissioning, less downtime.

tion at the destination of the project, in the PAC, allows engineers to access the same code and files whether they are working on the plant floor, on a computer in an office, or even connected remotely via virtual private network (VPN). With project files in a central location, no one has to manage the compilation of changes or worry that someones updates might not have made it into the final version. Each contributor can see everyones changes at run time as they are occurring. Comments, descriptions, and extended-tag properties update dynamically on each workstation.
Less troublesome troubleshooting

Central data makes maintenance easier because all code and the comments explaining each line of code are in one location and available. If the maintenance engineer gets a human-machine interface (HMI) alarm at 3 a.m. stating prox fault and cannot access the computer with the original project files, all that can be seen is the program code. The engineer will either have to wake people or spend time struggling through code to decipher functions rung by rung. With the documentation in controller storage memory, comments can be immediately pulled up to find code and direct the engineer to the device at the root of the alarm. As an aging workforce migrates toward retirement, having this data on the controller will make life easier for less experienced staff. Extended PAC memory can also be used to help streamline communications between the PAC and HMIs. With more nonvolatile memory in the PAC, tags and the properties of devices and programming elements can now live in the PAC and be delivered to the HMI only when needed. Extended PAC memory can improve energy efficiency and sustainability. Making application or documentation changes to a running PAC automatically updates the nonvolatile extended memory storage area. This relieves most PAC energy storage requirements should they lose power. ce - David Rapini is a product manager at Rockwell Automation. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

Go Online
See www.controleng.com/products. Read this article at www.controleng.com/archives January for more info.

16

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Request a TIA Portal Trial License

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input #11 at www.controleng.com/information

Answers for industry.

Engineering is personal.
So is the way you use information. CFE Media delivers a world of knowledge to you. Personally.
To do your job better each day, you need a trusted source of information: CFE Media Content For Engineers. CFE Media is home to three of the most trusted names in the business:

technology

UPDATE

4 ways OEM customers benefit by consolidating

To reduce costs, improve reliability, and streamline the manufacturing process, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers may seek one vendor that can support parts manufacturers from the initial design process through final delivery.

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here is a new kind of relationship between parts suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In the past, most parts suppliers only designed and developed the various parts and components that were needed for OEM customers. In todays competitive markets, that is not enough. Parts manufacturers need to do more. If possible, a vendor should partner with its OEM customers, working with them from the initial design process through final delivery. Here are four advantages For temperature and humidity sensing of working closely with one supplier: 1. The procurement and design pro- applications, Honeywell develops and cesses become more efficient when one supplies this HumidIcon module that vendor can supply a wide range of com- combines two sensors into one package, ponent variants, such as inputs and out- providing a smaller size and eliminating puts, different types and sizes of sensor the need for designing in the components required for processing the signals packaging, power supplies, etc. 2. Since all components from the between the two sensors. The additional same supplier should function seam- intelligence is already included in the lessly, the need for additional testing, module package. Courtesy: Honeywell re-engineering, and re-certification Sensing and Control becomes obsolete. Working with a variety of different suppliers, each with firm- develop and supply customized modules, specific ordering and supply protocols, providing a wide range of performance, can be complicated. Often OEMs need to size, and I/O options. This is the new buy a specific component from one sup- best practice for medical and industrial plier before they can specify the associ- device development and manufacturing, ated components and parts from another. reducing costs and improving product 3. A single part number for pur- design efficiency. ce - Valerie Rothermal-Nelson is a chasing, manufacturing, and tracking simplifies the product qualification senior global product marketing manand manufacturing processes. Potential ager at Honeywell Sensing and Control. points of failure decrease when a tested Edited by Jordan M. Schultz, associate and warranted subassembly eliminates content manager, CFE Media, Control much of the engineering to integrate Engineering, jschultz@cfemedia.com. components from various suppliers. 4. The component supplier and OEM can collaborate across the design process Go Online as needed. Often the component sup- www.controleng.com/products plier is able to provide technical exper- http://sensing.honeywell.com/valueadd tise to the OEMs design engineers and

18

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Working Together in Harmony

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INTERNATIONAL

DART and the promise of high power with intrinsic safety

Dynamic Arc Recognition and Termination (DART) technology is set to become an IEC standard after first hitting the headlines in 2008, with the promise of making higher power possible in hazardous areas. Suzanne Gill, Control Engineering Europe, explains the latest.

I
Pepperl+Fuchs Dynamic Arc Recognition and Termination (DART) technology achieves higher usable power levels while continuing to provide Ex i (intrinsic safety) explosion protection for Zone 1 hazardous areas. The technology will be considered in Part 39 of the IEC 60079 standard in spring 2014. Courtesy: Pepperl+Fuchs

Go Online
DART and the promise of high power with intrinsic safety appeared Dec. 17 at www.controlengeurope.com and was edited for use in for use in the Control Engineering North American edition. At www.controleng.com/ international also read: Updated alarm management guidelines from EEMUA.
20

ntrinsic safety (IS), the protection technique that ensures the safe operation of electrical equipment in hazardous areas by limiting the energy available for ignition, is well known as being the safest method for spark prevention in hazardous areas. In 2008, at the Hannover Messe, Pepperl+Fuchs first introduced its alternative solutionthe Dynamic Arc Recognition and Termination (DART) technology, which offered the promise of making more power available through dynamic spark protection and promising to lift this power limitation. DART technology achieves higher usable power levels while continuing to provide Ex i (intrinsic safety) explosion protection for Zone 1 hazardous areas. It offers features such as simplified and maintenance-free installation technology and access to circuits without a hot work permit. These benefits have been possible only at extremely low effective power levels, resulting in intrinsic safety finding its most common application in instrumentation for process automation. In 2008, the National Metrology Institute of Germany (PTB) and Pepperl+Fuchs brought together a consortium of 15 interested companies. Since its launch in 2008, a work group consisting of 13 companies and headed by the National Metrology Institute of Germany (PTB) has defined the interoperability and proof of explosion protection for DART. Part 39 of the IEC 60079 standard is currently being drawn up on this basis as a technical specification, and the final draft should be available in the spring of 2014 when it will be presented to the IEC for coordination. It is hoped that, with a standard to describe DART technology, manufacturers can implement DART technology into their products, making many applications in the hazardous area safer and more convenient or easier to handle. To recap, DART technology is based on the idea that a spark transmits a very characteristic signal on the cable. This signal can be reliably detected and disabled at the source and at every consumer. Operating current and voltage can be much higher. DART technology intervenes at the exact moment when the electrical energy in

a spark is converted into heat. The entire process takes a few microseconds. The distance between the source and the spark is an important factor in timing as the spark signal spreads at a finite rate through the cable. The rated power depends on the cable distance. The second crucial variable is the load current that DART must interrupt.
DART Fieldbus

The testing procedure devised by PTB to certify DART Fieldbus was double-checked and confirmed by a second institution, and it is now certified in line with IEC 60079-11 intrinsic safety according to ATEX and IECEx rules. As a result, the DART Power Hub and DART Segment Protector form part of the FieldConnex product line. These devices are components of the fieldbus infrastructure that form the connection between the control system and the field device via Foundation fieldbus H1 and Profibus PA protocolsbut now with the addition of an intrinsically safe high-power trunk. To ensure the technology worked in reallive situations, experts with prior experience of developing Fieldbus Intrinsically Safe Concept (FISCO) were on the teams at both PTB and Pepperl+Fuchs to ensure focus on user-friendliness. With DART Fieldbus, the segment is planned and the explosion protection is validated in one step. Conditions include: A topology featuring a trunk and spurs must be used; fieldbus cable type A shall be used; and the trunk may measure up to 1000 m in length. Together with the DART Power Hub/Segment Couplers, up to four DART Segment Protectors can be connected to the trunk at any point along its length. Using the Segment Checker planning software, the planner can check the voltage levels with just a few mouse clicks. The correct functioning of the segment and explosion protection compatibility can be guaranteed in advance. The software is free: www.segmentchecker.com. Read more in this article online. ce - Suzanne Gill is editor of Control Engineering Europe. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

MONTH 2013 JANUARY 2014 CONTROL CONTROL ENGINEERING ENGINEERING www.controleng.com www.controleng.com

input #13 at www.controleng.com/information

IT & engineering

INSIGHT

Serialization, where automation and IT collide

If your company has a serialization project, or is starting one, to prevent counterfeits, ensure the manufacturing IT and automation groups are involved early in the project.

Dennis Brandl President of BR&L Consulting

Serialization is an IT project and an automation project, requiring that automation and IT work together.

erialization can help prevent counterfeits but requires that automation and IT work together. Counterfeits are everywhere, from watches on the street corner to apparent high-end clothing sold from the back of trucks. Counterfeits hurt manufacturers profits and can harm their reputation, but when counterfeits invade food, pharmaceutical, and mechanical device markets, they also can affect health and safety. Most people are aware of the dangers of counterfeit drugs that cause thousands of deaths per year. Food counterfeiting also results in multiple deaths due to contaminated ingredients, such as fake vodka with bleach and high levels of methanol, and engine oil in olive oil. Mechanical device counterfeits can also be deadly when they are used in automobiles, trucks, ships, airplanes, turbines, and rotating machinery. For example, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India has reported that up to 20% of all road accidents that occur in India are due to counterfeit auto parts. Considering the health and safety risks due to counterfeiting, it is no wonder that serialization is becoming either a regulatory requirement or a tool to reduce liability risk. Serialization is defined as the labeling of each salable unit with a globally unique semi-random identification (ID) so that the unit can be tracked and counterfeits can be identified. Serialization is an IT project because the business must assign and record the unique IDs and make them available to regulatory authorities and supply chain partners. Serialization is also an automation project because the unique IDs are attached to devices at the back end of production lines or the front end of packaging lines. Serialization projects are where automation and IT are forced to work together. Many companies are implementing serialization as an IT project with little or no concern for how the IDs will actually be applied to the devices. ERP vendors provide serialization systems that can be used to create unique, semi-random IDs; associate the IDs with specific production sites, products, and material lots; and share the

information with supply chain partners. A typical implementation will periodically assign a set of numbers to a product and download the numbers to a shop floor system. When production and packaging is complete, the shop floor system will send back the specific lot numbers and product IDs assigned to the serialization IDs. The shop floor systems will also send back the lists of unused and scrapped IDs.
ID integration

Unique identification

Usually the IT department hands off the serialization project when the IDs are sent to the shop floor systems, but that is often where automations problems occur. Implementing serialization in production or packaging usually involves physical integration of the existing automated production or packaging line with the labeling and verification equipment. Often there is an MES (manufacturing execution system) that receives the IDs from the ERP system and makes them available to each production or packaging lines labeling and verification system. The MES then collects the used and unused IDs and periodically sends these back up to the ERP system. Automation and IT collide in serialization projects when companies consider them to be only IT projects, without allocating time and effort to the shop floor part of the project. If the IT organization or management thinks that serialization is just adding printers in production lines, then the project will end up late and over budget. If your company has a serialization project, or is starting one, make sure the manufacturing IT and automation groups are involved early in the project. Only with automation and IT working together will your serialization project be a success and protect your customers. ce - Dennis Brandl is president of BR&L Consulting in Cary, N.C. His firm focuses on manufacturing IT.

Go Online
At www.controleng.com/archives, find more under this headline. At www.controleng.com search related topics.

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JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

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machine

SAFETY

13 terms to know for compliance with functional safety, ISO 13849-1

Knowing these 13 machine safety terms will help in efforts to comply with the international standard, ISO 13849-1: 2006, Safety of machinery, Safety-related parts of the control system.

S
J.B. Titus, CFSE, Certified Functional Safety Expert (CFSE)

The goal is to derive a Performance Level (PLa, b, c, d or e) that equals or exceeds a PL required (PLr) for each safety function.

Go Online
www.controleng.com/blogs See more of this post, link to more about the standards mentioned, and add your best practice thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations for any company considering evolving to complying with ISO 13849-1 for functional safety.
24

ince the international community passed ISO 13849-1: 2006, Safety of machinery, Safety-related parts of the control system, many large companies have become early adopters of the new quantitative approach for designing machine control systems. In so doing technical design personnel have had to learn several new terms required for compliance with the new standard. ISO 13849-1 enables all safety-related control circuits (electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic) to be designed for designated safety functions to meet ascertained performance levels for mitigating a hazard level to an acceptable level. To achieve high reliability levels for each safety function, the complete circuit (SRP/CS) must be designed using algorithms. These algorithms account for all components and devices in a safety-related circuit using these variable terms and the look-up charts and graphs in the standard. The actual process is far more detailed; the goal is to derive a Performance Level (PLa, b, c, d or e) that equals or exceeds a PL required (PLr) for each safety function. The required terms are: 1. B10D value: number of switching operations on which 10% of the sample fails. Suppliers provide this value for their components because its required to calculate the overall performance level for a safety circuit. B10D only applies to the dangerous failures of the considered component and the value is usually given for a lifetime of 10 years. 2. CCF: Common Cause Failure. A CCF is generally when a single failure or condition affects the operation of multiple devices that would otherwise be considered independent. 3. DC: Diagnostic Coverage involves the combination of both hardware and software and testing of the related diagnostics. Diagnostic coverage is the ratio of the probability of detected dangerous failures to the probability of all dangerous failures. 4. DCavg: Diagnostic Coverage average is

the average diagnostic coverage for the above. 5. SRP/CS: Safety-Related Parts of a Control System refers to all safety-related control elements regardless of the type of technology (electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, etc.), for all kinds of machinery. It does not specify safety functions or performance levels. 6. Designated Architecture: Predetermined structure of an SRP/CS. When designing the SPR/CS, select the safety system architecture. ISO 13849-1 leads you through this process for the architecture and determining the PLr (Performance Level required) for each safety function. 7. MTBF: Mean Time Between Failure. This value should be provided by the component supplier and represents the mean time between two failures for that component. 8. MTTFd: Mean Time to Fail dangerous is the same as above except that this value is only concerned with dangerous failures. 9. PFH: Probability of Failure per Hour also should be provided by the component supplier and represents the probability of failure per hour for that component to help detect random hardware safety integrity. 10. PFHd: Probability of Failure per Hour dangerous is the same as above except that this value is only concerned with dangerous failures. 11. PL: Performance Level is the ability of SRP/CS to operate a safety function and reliably achieve it (PLa, PLb, PLc, PLd, or PLe). 12. PLr: Performance Level required. The result of determining the designated architecture is to, in part, determine the performance level required for a safety function. 13. SIL: Safety Integrity Level has been used by safety component, device manufacturers and in the process industries when designing safety systems and circuits. IEC 61508 requires it. ce - J.B. Titus, Certified Functional Safety Expert (CFSE), writes the Control Engineering Machine Safety Blog. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

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industry

NEWS
ing students from African-American and Latino communities to succeed in even the top university engineering schools. This program is patterned after a similar program Hill helped develop in Detroit, DAPCEP. It has been very successful and helped produce countless engineers. In eight or nine years, Hill hopes it will be much the same in Chicago, he says. There are ways for people in our professions to help ChiS&E. Its a very modest program and gets a lot of bang from every buck. In the video, Hill explains the kind of help hes seeking. Youll also see how deeply committed parents and teachers are to the program. And the kids really like it too. In a few years they may be applying for jobs at your company, Hill suggested, and you will want to hire them. Peter Welander, pwelander@cfemedia.com

Building diversity in the engineering profession

From time to time weve talked about the demographic time bomb the engineering profession faces: an aging workforce and too few people pursuing a vocation in it. For those wringing their hands about the future, heres a bit of good news: Meet Kenneth Hill, who is dedicated to bringing new communities into engineering and taking the responsibility to make it happen. He founded the Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program (ChiS&E). The little engineers program enriches math and science curriculum to build a solid education foundation for young students to prepare them for a college or university engineering track. Hill has been building ChiS&E to help develop kids from educationally underserved communities. Beginning in kindergarten, the programs educate students about engineering, teaching different problem solving and critical

Go to www.controleng.com/videos to view Kenneth Hill, organizers, and the little engineers themselves chat about ChiS&E and the valuable skills they are teaching and learning.

thinking techniques. So far in ChiS&E, the oldest groupthe first class of kindergartenersis now in fifth grade. Since the program has added a new grade level each year, it will eventually be a comprehensive K-12 curriculum, position-

U.S. college team places in national robotics competition

The Worcester Polytechnic Institutes (WPI) Atlas Robot for Nonconventional Emergency Response (WARNER) competed against 16 robotics teams from around the world. The robotics challenge was inspired by the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, in March 2011. After the meltdown, the affected area was too hazardous for people to enter, so each team in the competition was charged with developing humanoid robots that could help respond to such a disaster. The robots were asked to complete eight specific autonomous and semi-autonomous tasks, including clearing debris and climbing a ladder. Teams were awarded a maximum of four points for each completed task for a total of 32 points. WPIs team earned 11 points. WARNER, which stood at 6 ft 2 in and weighed 330 lb, drove a Polaris Ranger XP 900 250 ft in 6 minutes faster than any other team. As a result, the institutes team received the Best in Task Vehicle Award during the awards ceremony following the event. The driving task was one of the most demanding from a testing standpoint, and our team really did an outstanding job, said Matt DeDonato, the team leader. We couldnt be happier for the effort the team put forth
26

on that task and throughout the competition. DeDonato attributed the driving to strong testing and simulation during the earlier Virtual Robotics Challenge. The driving task was considered key because first responders must program robots to first get to a disaster scene before they embark on other tasks. Gill Pratt, a Dynamics Research Corp. program manager, said the government will now enter into contract negotiations with the top eight teams to fund them for next years DARPA Robotics Finals in December 2014. Assuming those contract negotiations are successful and funds are available, those would be the eight that move forward, Pratt said. In addition to the driving challenge, WARNER participated in two additional mobility tasks, earning two points for climbing a ladder and two points for traversing terrain covered with cinder blocks. Finishing in first place, the Japan-based SCHAFT earned 27 points, followed by IHMC Robotics with 20 points, Tartan Rescue with 18 points, MIT with 16 points, RoboSimian with 14 points, and Team TRACLabs with 11 points. Although WPI tied with Team TRACLabs, the WPI squad finished one place lower because WARNER required more human interventions during the tasks.

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Siemens to acquire Tesis PLMware

The agreement includes the acquisition of Munich-based Tesis PLMware GmbH and its U.S. business. Tesis PLMware aims to help customers reduce IT costs and improve efficiency through integrating Siemens Teamcenter software with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other enterprise applications, such as manufacturing execution system (MES), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM) software. Tesis PLMware will, after closing, be assigned to Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division. The terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed. With the acquisition of Tesis PLMware, a partner of Siemens PLM Software since 1992, Siemens is aiming to help its customers assimilate the Teamcenter PLM portfolio into global product development and manufacturing environments. Siemens is committed to delivering best-in-class solutions that help our customers, and the next generation of manufacturers, efficiently bring innovative products to market, said Chuck Grindstaff, president and CEO, Siemens PLM Software. With the acquisition of Tesis PLMware, Siemens is further expanding its portfolio of industry software, helping with customers integration into enterprise software, Grindstaff said. Tesis PLMware, a member of the Tesis group, was founded in 1988 as a consultancy and software company that aims to help medium and large manufacturing companies create integrated PLM landscapes and highly efficient product development processes.

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Koch Industries completes Molex acquisition

Koch Industries Inc. has completed its $7.2 billion acquisition of Molex Inc., a global electronic components company. The acquisition was finalized through the merger of Koch Industries wholly owned subsidiary, Koch Connectors Inc., with and into Molex. As a result of the merger, Molex is now an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., retaining its name and headquarters in Lisle, Ill. The company will continue to be operated by its current management team. Under the merger agreement, all of the outstanding shares of Molex, including the common stock, the Class A common stock, and the Class B common stock, were converted into a right to receive $38.50 per share in cash, plus an adjustment of $0.18 per share representing a pro rata portion of the regular quarterly cash dividend. As a result of the merger, Molex shares will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, the London Stock Exchange, or any other securities exchange. Molex will file a Certification on Form 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), to suspend Molexs reporting obligations under Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 27

Portable Data Logger

OM-SQ2010 $1575

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input #15 at www.controleng.com/information

industry

NEWS

Engineering firm salaries continue to increase

Engineers in the U.S. design professions and construction trades are seeing base salaries go up in 2014, according to an industry survey. Produced in partnership with the American Council of Engineering Companies state member organizations, ZweigWhites 2014 Salary Surveys of Engineering Firms breaks down data by location, industry, and job role. Different compilations are offered in three regions across U.S.. In the Northeast and South Atlantic, the survey demonstrates that engineering firms have increased salaries on average for entry-level staff, project engineers, project managers, department managers, and principals in the civil engineering, structural engineering, and environmental disciplines. Department managers, environmental engineers, and scientist principals saw the biggest increases. Firms in the Central region raised salaries as well. Project managers in the environmental engineering discipline received the most notable increases; the median base salary grew more than 17% from 2013 to 2014. Principals in the environmental discipline also saw median salary increases of 12.7% over the same period. The median salary for project managers at structural engineering firms grew from $81,640 in 2013 to $90,000 in 2014, more than 10%. Although the salaries of principals in the Mountain and Pacific region remained among the highest in the U.S., base salary level increases were hard to find, and some positions

even experienced drops in pay. In this region, project managers in the structural engineering discipline saw small decreases, and the median salary for project managers in the environmental discipline saw decreases of 11.36% from 2013 to 2014.

2014 FIRST Robotics Competition contestants learn this years robot task
Strict rules, limited resources, time crunch, and stiff competition. High school robotics teams are about to learn the tasks their robots must complete to win the 2014 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). The 22-year-old, weeks-long contest is a varsity sport that allows students to become real-world engineers. The sponsoring organization, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), is a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring young people to learn science, technology, and engineering skills through mentoring, scholarship, and competitive programs, like FRC. This year, more than 3,100 FRC teams will meet at local kickoff parties for the unveiling of the tasks their robots must complete to win. In competitions past, teams have developed tele-operated robots that maneuver on lunar-like surfaces, toss Frisbees, shoot basketballs, kick soccer balls, and climb jungle gyms. The kickoff parties mark the beginning of a six-week design and build season that leads up to a series of elimination competitions. At the events, teams gather to compare notes, exchange ideas, make friends, and find mentors. But most importantly, competitors pick up their Kit of Partsthe approximately 2,000 basic parts needed to build the robots tele-operated drive base. Upon finalizing their design and build, competitors pack and seal their robots only to be opened at local, regional, and state contests. This year, the competition season culminates in St. Louis, Mo., April 23-26, at the Edward Jones Dome where the best 650 FRC teams gather for the FIRST Championship.

Ametek acquires power management system and UPS provider

Ametek Inc. has acquired Powervar, a provider of power management systems and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, for approximately $128 million. Headquartered in Waukegan, Ill., the privately held company has annual sales of approximately $70 million, Ametek said. Powervars transformer-based power conditioners and UPS systems serve a wide range of end markets, including medical, life sciences, and industrial. Its products feature a unique isolation transformer technology that provides quality power and protection. Powervar joins Ametek as part of its Electronic Instruments Group (EIG), a provider of advanced monitoring, testing, calibrating, and display instruments with 2012 sales of $1.9 billion.

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NEWS
Emerson agrees to acquire SPX Co.s minority interest in EGS Electrical Group
Emerson announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire SPX Corporations 44.5% minority interest in EGS Electrical Group, giving it full ownership of the business. Emerson and SPX have jointly held the business since 1997. Emerson was responsible for operational management and consolidation of results in its Industrial Automation segment. EGS is a global manufacturer of electrical products for commercial, industrial, hazardous, and adverse environments for the oil, gas, and chemical markets. The transaction is expected to close within two months, subject to required regulatory approvals. EGS sales and earnings will continue to be consolidated in the Industrial Automation segment, while SPXs noncontrolling interest in earnings of EGS will cease. The purchase price will be $571 million.

CALENDAR 2014
Automation, control, and instrumentation events, conferences, and training in 2014 include: Robotics Industry Forum, AIA and MCA Business Conference, Jan. 22-24, Orlando www.robotics.org/events ARC Industry Forum, Feb. 10-13, Orlando www.arcweb.com SPS-Industrial Automation Fair, March 3-5, Guangzhou, China www.spsinchina.com/en/ InterPhex, March 18-20, New York www.interphex.com ESC Design West, March 31-April 3, San Jose, Calif. www.ubmdesign.com Hannover Messe, April 7-11, Hannover, Germany www.hannovermesse.com AIA Vision Show, April 15-17, Boston www.visiononline.org CSIA Executive Conference, April 23-26, San Diego www.controlsys.org Windpower, May 5-8, Las Vegas www.windpowerexpo.org/2014 Offshore Technology Conference & Exhibition, SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers), May 5-8, Houston www.otcnet.org Honeywell Users Group Americas Symposium, June 1-6, San Antonio, Texas www.honeywellusersgroup.com NFPA Conference & Expo, June 9-12, Las Vegas, Nev. www.nfpa.org/conference RSTechED from Rockwell Automation, June 15-20, Orlando, Fla. www.rsteched.com Sensors Expo, June 24-26, Rosemont, Ill. (Chicago) www.sensorsexpo.com Siemens Summit, June 23-26, Orlando, Fla. www.industry.usa.siemens.com/automation/us/en/summit IMTS, Sept. 8-13, Chicago www.imts.com IANA Global Automation & Manufacturing Summit at IMTS, Sept. 10, Chicago www.imts.com/iana/ Emerson Global Users Exchange, Oct. 6-10, Orlando, Fla. www.emersonexchange.org Solar Power International, Oct. 20-24, Las Vegas www.solarpowerinternational.com Control Engineering Webcast Schedule, see: www.controleng.com/webcast

Machine vision sales jump 23% in 3rd quarter

Total machine vision sales in North America climbed 23% compared with the third quarter of 2012, according to new statistics from AIA, a machine vision trade group. Total machine vision sales include sales of machine vision systems and components. The machine vision systems category, which includes application-specific machine vision systems (ASMV) and smart cameras, continued driving overall growth with a 25% increase over third quarter 2012. Sales of machine vision components were also up in third quarter 2013, growing 10%. Cameras, lighting, and imaging boards all increased from third quarter 2012, while optics and software decreased mildly. We are happy to see the machine vision market in North America continue its growth this year, said Jeff Burnstein, AIA president. We have now seen three consecutive quarters of growth, and with manufacturing indicators in North America remaining strong into the fourth quarter, we are optimistic about what the year-end results will show. Sentiment from industry experts is mixed regarding machine vision sales heading into next year, said Alex Shikany, AIAs director of market analysis. For machine vision components, 71% of industry experts believe we will see an increase in sales over the next six months. However, nearly three quarters of the experts expect total system sales to be flat.

HMI display design guidelines book released

The Abnormal Situation Management (ASM) Consortium has released a second edition of its display design guidelines: Effective Console Operator HMI Design Practices. This best practices guidelines book is based on the ASM Consortiums many years of research in the prevention, mitigation, and management of abnormal situations. Effective Console Operator HMI Design Practices is written for individuals who establish or assist in establishing company HMI standards, style guides, and information displays accessed by console operators through their control system workstations. The new edition has revised and consolidated the number of guidelines to a total of 64, compared to 81 guidelines in the previous edition, and more than 50% of the guidelines are revised. In addition, the new edition contains a new section on HMI design philosophy and a new appendix summarizing results from an HMI design case study. New display design examples are included in the new guidelines book, including 28 new figures and 43 revised figures, for the benefit of HMI design engineers.
www.controleng.com

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 29

Using Logic Solvers in Tank Overfill Protection Systems

Tina Lockhart | Senior Director Engineering, Moore Industries
A tank overfill protection system is a critical Safety Instrumented System (SIS) that provides automated overfill control during the containment of dangerous substances. If the level in a tank rises above set limits, it automatically shuts off the input feed to the tank by isolating the pump and closing the input valve. This SIS is made up of multiple components which all must function in order for the control loop to work. One of the key instruments in the loop is the logic solver, which acts as the decision maker and decides when to initiate the final element to make the process safe if the need arises. Many people believe that the logic solver in a tank overfill protection system must be part of a safety PLC. In many cases, a discrete logic device for each loop is sufficient. A single-loop logic solver avoids the complications and expense of a programmable solution while achieving a key objective of functional safety by minimizing the complexity of safety-related functionality. Reducing the complexity of the architecture also reduces the cost of hardware and software while making the entire functional safety system easier to manage without the need for dedicated specialists. This white paper addresses the possibilities available to the SIS designer of a tank overfill protection system when using a single-loop logic solver. It features examples of straightforward system topologies and their associated Safety Integrity Level (SIL) calculations along with step-by-step procedures to help define and evaluate an SIS for a specific application. By reading this white paper youll have a better understanding of when and why a single-loop logic solver is the right choice for your tank overfill protection system. Register to download the paper at: www.controleng.com/index.php?id=10501
Shown left: STA Safety Trip Alarm Special Acknowledgement: Thanks to Mr. Paul Reeve for assisting Moore Industries with this Logic Solver white paper. Mr. Reeve is an accomplished functional safety consultant and trainer and can be reached by visiting www.silmetric.com.

www.miinet.com
input #16 at www.controleng.com/information

Absolute encoder evolution: Three Absolute Advantages for OEMs

Mandee Liberty | Encoder Product Specialist , SICK, Inc.

In the past, the type of absolute encoders on the market was limited, the resolution was low and the price was high. The evolution of absolute encoders has been driven by changing application demands and new communication platforms. Today, advancements in highly precise positioning capabilities and communication network technology saves costs, simplifies systems, and increases flexibility for OEMs and end users alike.
Register to download the paper:

http://www.controleng.com/index.php?id=10607

This white paper outlines the absolute encoder evolution and the three absolute advantages for OEMs: diagnose problems before they occur; increase speed for motion applications; and simplify your network. Learn how advancements in absolute encoders can create process improvements for your applications.

E-mail: mandee.liberty@sick.com 800-325-7425 www.sickusa.com

input #17 at www.controleng.com/information

cover story

Making

digital forensics
a critical part of your cyber security defenses
Do you know your ICSs well enough to recognize when something is happening that shouldnt be? That knowledge is critical to your defensive strategy, and represents the biggest advantage you have over attackers. Key concepts
Determining how attackers are breaking into your industrial networks is difficult without an intimate knowledge of your network architecture. The ability to recognize when something is wrong depends on understanding what normal is. The knowledge you have of your own systems is key to maintaining your defenses.

sing digital forensic techniques with your industrial control systems (ICSs) and their networks is a hugely powerful defensive tool, yet it is one of the least understood concepts in cyber security. When people hear the term digital forensics, they often think of TV shows like CSI and assume it is a practice used solely for criminal investigations in a reactive mode. Nothing could be further from the truth. Digital forensics is a key component to defense, no different than mechanical, electrical, and chemical studies. When your people understand how the concepts work, they will lead to a higher level of reliability. Digital forensics is a branch of forensic science that focuses on the digital domain. It includes fields such as computer forensics, network forensics, and mobile forensics. It is a fairly new field in relation to other sciences and engineering; thus it is important to attempt to understand the topic more fully. Forensic science is a method of gathering and examining information. Its all about formulating a question and searching for an answer. When that thought process is applied to digital forensics, the focus is not simply on malicious activity and network break-ins but also on understanding general system and network activity and why certain events happen. The process and science of digital forensics leads to a better understanding of the operating environment and what constitutes normal. Imagine a simple example: Say the data historian did not collect commands sent from the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisi-

tion) server to the RTU (remote terminal unit). Why not? Is there malicious activity going on within a network? Are there network abnormalities, failures, or misconfigurations that could lead to costly mistakes? These are questions well suited for digital forensic investigations. With the increasingly interconnected nature of ICS environments, there are bound to be network and device configuration issues. There are also going to be malicious actors that break into networks to cause havoc or steal sensitive data. Verizons 2013 Data Breach Investigation Report showed that of the 47,000+ network intrusions observed in the past year, 20% involved manufacturing, transportation, and utilities. Of those intrusions, 66% took months or years to discover. Attackers, especially those who do not fully understand the unique nature of control systems, can cause significant damage with months to access sensitive networks. In reality, though, there has been and there will continue to be a lot of hype around cyber threats. Determining how much security is enough security is an ongoing decision that can take time and money away from core business operations. The costs associated with defending against threats are high while yielding limited returns. At the same time, one of the benefits of digital forensics is that the same steps needed to enable it are those that asset owners must take to ensure the reliability of operations. In this way digital forensics can be a force multiplier, or a mechanism to serve as an increase in revenue instead of just a business detractor. To realize these benefits, it is crucial to have processes and procedures in place to identify the

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Understanding your network is an advantage a defender has that an attacker should never have. The fact that only people within your company know your networks and your attacker doesnt is the single most important aspect of defense.
appropriate personnel in your organization or to know who to call outside your organization. The Verizon report mentioned above also cited that 69% of breaches were spotted by an external party with only 9% being identified by internal resources.
First key step

Using digital forensics effectively requires that you understand your own networks. Once that is firmly in hand, it is easier to spot intrusions and reduces the need for outside teams. Additionally, if outside digital forensic investigators are needed, a solid understanding of your network and where your critical data exists will drastically reduce the time, and thus cost, associated with an investigation. Understanding your network is the one aspect of digital defense a defender has that an attacker should never have. The fact that only the people within your company know the details of your networks and your attacker doesnt is the single most important aspect of defense. The full knowledge of your network, what is on it, and how it operates is the foun-

dation for all network security including digital forensics. When forensic teams attempt to identify and track down issues in the network, malicious or not, their hardest and most timeconsuming job is often identifying how the network looks and what devices exist. In the conventional IT world, usually an investigator only needs to have knowledge of MS Windows- and Linux-based systems, as well as a variety of web applications and servers. Although this can be a challenge, there are plenty of tools and well-rehearsed methodologies in place for acquiring evidence and mapping out the network. For ICS-related investigations, compiling that information can be an incredibly daunting task to identify and understand all the different RTUs, historians, PLCs, embedded devices, HMI workstations, and other assets that are not considered traditional IT equipment. Additionally, viable forensic tools are not as common for ICS devices and networks. As automated as many plants are, identification of all those ICS assets often only exists in spreadsheets, blueprints, and paper logs. This information is usually mainwww.controleng.com

Webcast
n Watch a webcast on this topic, and other cyber security subjects at www.controleng.com/webcasts n Youll gain new skills and PDHs in the process, and theyre all free.

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 33

cover story

tained more for logistics and compliance reasons than for understanding the network. If a team of analysts wants to see how these devices are connected, they usually have to follow the wires and fiber connecting the devices. As wireless communication paths proliferate, that job is even harder. This is not the position you want to be in when an incident occurs and time is of the essence.

When asset owners and ICS team members invest the time to understand their network environment, it benefits operations in numerous ways. As previously mentioned, mapping out the networks and identifying devices that operate on them is a huge help to digital forensic teams. In addition, it enables operators and engineers to take part in the digital forensic process. With a better view into the network, the

Steps to get the process started

Step
Map out your ICS network

Description
Discover and diagram the architecture and components of your ICS cyber assets

Tools, tactics, and tips

If possible, perform this during an ICS maintenance period; otherwise, look but do not touch and never run an active tool that can impact ICS scan rates like NMAP on an ICS network Invest in knee padsYoull have to crawl around and follow cables under desks Perform a physical walk-through and take lots of notes Retrieve ARP tables from routers/firewalls and MAC address tables from switches Perform a detailed assessment of the protocols used and how they are used (e.g., protocol reads/writes, forces, scans) The goal is to reduce your cyber attack surface to the minimum without impacting safety and reliability To determine the necessity of a cyber asset, ask questions such as: n Is this cyber asset necessary for normal and/or emergency operations? n Can this cyber asset impact direct control or operational decisions? n Do I have manual procedures to operate if this cyber asset becomes unavailable? The trusted connections are of both a physical and cyber nature; they could be a firewall permit rule or a laptop/storage media carried between the business and ICS networks Protect design documentation, blueprints, points/tags information, critical asset and access lists

Understand differences between enterprise network/business operations and core ICS operations

Proper segmentation of systems between the ICS network and other networks of less trust is very important. This is also true for SCADA field sites that are subject to a lower physical trust than a plant or control center.

Trusted ICS interconnections

Some connections to areas of reduced trust will be necessary; understand how you will protect data exiting the ICS as well as assure the validity of data arriving into the ICS Identify your critical assets and most sensitive data; this is where forensic experts will want to look first and this is what youll want to ensure they protect Enable forensic evidence capabilities to monitor ICS activities

Critical assets and sensitive data

Sensor enablement

Network device logs: switch, router, firewall, VPN Historian event analysis DCS/SCADA/DB/OPC/engineering WS/HMI traditional operating system logs (Windows, Linux, etc.) ICS protocol monitoring (controller interactions, I/O events, administrative functions) Physical security Personnel training for operational security Ensure all staff, vendors, and contractors are properly trained on the modifications of their job tasks necessary to address security sufficiently, and how each new security control works and should be used; include a value proposition in each individuals performance review Inventory/baseline systems, configurations, firmware backups, recovery procedures, and their lifecycle storage locations Incorporate procedures to routinely back up and test ICS devices

Training and train each other

Training is useful but be sure to enable your personnel to train each other; a great example is sending personnel to training and having them come back and teach/train others with what they learned Understand, document, and ensure the protection of backups such as PLC logic backups; would you be able to identify if a backup is compromised? Attackers always try to ensure persistence on a network and compromising backups is a standard tactic.

ICS backups

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people who run operations can quickly identify things that are out of place. Users of the network can begin thinking like investigators and ask questions when they see odd things happening: n Why are there new devices on the network that are not documented? n Should that internal device be communicating and sending data offsite to a foreign location? n The latency and connectivity loss of that device is higher than expected. Is it about to fail? Individuals who know what is supposed to be happening can identify when things arent living up to their expected behavior. Every user on the network becomes a sensor monitoring network health. But this doesnt happen without the right understanding and knowledge. Getting your people trained is a major step toward a proactive approach to security and reliability. What steps should you take to protect your environment better, enable greater system reliability, and prepare for digital forensics? The most critical step is to inventory the cyber security skill sets of the individuals involved within the daily operations, emergency management, engineering, IT, and management of the control environment and business office. This skill analysis is a tactical step to understand where there are sufficient skills and gaps that need to be filled. The U.S. DHS report, Homeland Security Advisory Council: Cyber Skills Task Force Report, pertaining to skills assessment performed at a national level, may help you understand how to perform this internally. Working with your own HR department, regardless of its size, is a good start as you try to understand who can do what. This list of resources will be necessary in forming your cyber incident response capability, whether in-house or outsourced. The second critical step is to identify what mechanism is being used to protect your sensitive information. If there is no mechanism, create one. As you learn about digital assets and document their interactions, you will develop a baseline of information that will need to be protected. Consider how you will protect it when it is stored, how you will determine who you share it with, how it will be communicated to others, and how those recipients will handle it. With the understanding that you have achieved the first two requirements, the next task is to identify what is needed to establish a detection and response capability at your site. It is important to recognize that each of the steps that we will outline includes its own challenges. To keep this article focused, we are only giving you the overview. A few of the necessary steps are listed in the table.

Individuals who know what is supposed to be happening can identify when things arent living up to their expected behavior. Every user becomes a sensor monitoring network health.
Digital forensics in an ICS environment is an emerging field. There is much research to be done into tools, processes, and methodologies that can better enable the ICS community to face modern-day challenges. However, it is not necessary to wait for advancements to take advantage of the already established benefits. Documenting a firm baseline of your ICS environment that is readily retrievable and can be used as a reference during a suspected incident is required to assure timely recovery. Cyber and information technology operate your ICS environment. They cannot be decoupled from the larger business environment as they currently define a large success factor of a modern competitive enterprise. Forensics and incident response mean planning for the worst and hoping for the best. They mean creating methodologies and understanding that is critical to your critical assets. The digital battlefield is growing, and the expertise to zero-in on industrial targets is expanding. The time to assure that you have the knowledge necessary to respond appropriately in the midst in a cyber attack has never been greater, and the knowledge to help you do it is expanding rapidly. ce Robert M. Lee is a co-founder of Dragos Security LLC, a cyber security company that develops tools and research to enable the industrial control system community. He is also an active-duty U.S. Air Force cyberspace operations officer. Matthew E. Luallen is a cyber security columnist for Control Engineering. He is also a cofounder of Dragos Security LLC, and Cybati.
www.controleng.com

Go Online
https://cybati.org http://dragossecurity.org www.us-cert.gov http://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/ Read more on cyber security at www.controleng.com/archives: Plausible deniability is not a security strategy, Dec. 2013 Cyber security experiment reveals threats to industrial systems, Oct. 2013

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 35

wireless workers

Wireless networks can save money and speed turnarounds

Wireless networks can be as reliable as wired ones, and can empower workers to handle tasks they otherwise could not. Key concepts
Wireless networks can allow operators to perform control-room functions anywhere in the plant In a plant context, there is usually more than one kind of wireless network to cover all needed functionalities Wireless networks can provide a major cyber attack surface if not deployed with sufficient thought to security

oday refineries and other process plants have to run as close to 100% of the time as possible in order to maximize their capital assets, and downtime must be minimized. Of course things eventually do wear out, so periodic shutdowns for maintenance and improvements will always be necessary. The challenge is to make them as short and productive as possible. This article will discuss ways to use todays wireless technology to maximize efficiency, minimize downtime, and leverage existing resources, especially during shutdowns. One of the biggest burdens during any plant shutdown that involves changes to control equipment is doing loop checks prior to restart. Its vital to make sure a valve does not open when told to close, and vice versa, which makes this a critical-path item that translates directly into

dollars. The process is burdensome because it requires two people: a worker in the field with a portable radio to watch each valve to make sure it responds correctly when commanded, and a control room operator to send signals to the valve and watch the display to see what happens.
Enter the mobile worker

The wireless worker or mobile worker concept has spread into many businesses, in many cases with workers using their own mobile devices, including laptops, smartphones, tablets, and so on. The trend is seen most often among socalled road warriors, who want to keep contact with their companies while traveling, or at least try for the ultimate in telecommuting, and use Wi-Fi hotspots, email, or whatever to maintain contact. They can place orders, track their time, and exchange information with clients.

Fig. 1: A portable device can make it possible to take the control room into the field. Illustrations courtesy: Emerson Process Management
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JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Fig. 2: A mobile worker in the plant can be provided with a tablet or other handheld device, perhaps based on the Panasonic Toughbook (right). Such devices are designed for industrial environments more than consumer versions.

It would be very helpful to allow plant workers to do the same thing so they could, in effect, take the control room into the field. Using a wireless connection, the mobile worker would be able to not only view a control room display but actually assume the role of an operator, using a remote asset management client with access to such maintenance procedures as calibration, configuration, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and device documentation (Fig. 1). The worker would have access to all the records, documentation, and loop narratives for each device. Having the ability to take the control room out in the field is a tremendous asset in terms of freeing the people in the control room to do other things. Crews working in the plant do not have to tie up everybodys time with just mindlessly stroking a valve; they can go out and do it and see it at the same time. Applying the mobile worker concept to a process plant means equipping the field worker with a portable device that connects wirelessly, generally via wireless Ethernet, to the control room and gives that worker direct access to the control system display, but with the reliability and security of a wired connection. The equipment used is provided by the company, not the individual, and can be a tablet or other handheld device, typically a hardened laptop or tablet computer (Fig. 2.). This is a considerable advance over previous remote DCS client methods that used intranet or Internet connections and required the mobile worker to plug into a plant local area network. The system can also be set up to allow a control room operator to see what the worker in the field sees. This can even extend to video, if the field worker has the equipment to do it. Such a system can also be used for personnel and asset tracking, which is useful for safety, and for safety mustering. If a person doesnt move within a certain time (perhaps having fallen or been overcome in some way), the system could set off an alarm. This can pay for itself in the first or second turnaround. And the good news is, many plants already have wireless systems installed, so no new communications infrastructure would be required. And even if such a system is not in place, the investment is moderate compared to a refinery being down for an extra day.
Installing a mobile worker system

salesman uses to contact the office is a recipe for failure. If a road warrior loses contact with his or her base, it is an inconvenience but does not stop all work. If a field worker controlling loops in a process plant loses communication, even for a few minutes, everything can grind to a halt. Security is another issue. Wireless security is probably not a top concern for the average road warrior, but it is vital in a process plant. Most plants have two types of networks: a wireless field network and a wireless plant network (WPN), each with unique technical requirements. They are frequently used together, with the WPN carrying the field network traffic (which has a very small bandwidth requirement) as highest-priority traffic (Fig. 3).
Wireless field networks

Trying to connect a field worker using the same networking techniques that a traveling

A wireless field network is used for process applications such as measurement, sensing, control, and diagnostics. It connects field devices at ISA95 level 0, generally in a selforganizing mesh configuration, using message forwarding and communicating to higher levels via a gateway. Messages are generally short. Such systems are often deployed without an extensive site survey. The field network most likely to be found in plants considering the use of mobile workers is WirelessHART as defined by IEC 62591, with radios compliant with IEEE 802.15.4. There are other protocols that offer similar capabilities. Components of the field network include wireless field devices, gateways that connect to the host via a high-speed backbone or other existing plant network, and a network manager, which may be integrated into the gateway, host application, or process automation controller. WirelessHART supports the full range of process monitoring and control applications, including equipment and process monitoring; environmental monitoring, energy management, regulatory compliance; asset managewww.controleng.com

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 37

wireless workers

Fig. 3: Wireless field networks and a wireless plant networks are frequently used together, with the WPN carrying the field network traffic (which has a very small bandwidth requirement) as highest-priority traffic. Such characteristics have to be built into the network architecture.

include such traffic as streaming video. Its important to note that WPNs use a set of protocols that were developed by the IT community, not industrial networking designers with knowledge of process plant operations. A professional site assessment is critical to the successful implementation of a WPN. This generally requires engineers to visit the plant to conduct an RF FEED (radio frequency frontend engineering design), determine access point locations, and collect other on-site information. This is followed by system architecture design; based on the site survey result and the plants requirements, engineers design the overall system architecture, including the network infrastructure and the appropriate applications. This is followed by the network design and planning process, which creates a detailed network infrastructure. The last step is physical network installation management and system commissioning.
Keeping wireless systems secure

ment, predictive maintenance, advanced diagnostics, and closed loop control.

Wireless plant networks

WPNs are often implemented using Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11-2007) and are used for applications like video, mobile worker, location tracking, field data backhaul, and control network bridging, each with its own characteristics and requirements. Messages can be much longer than those of a wireless field network, and may

A frequent question raised when wireless networks are discussed is, what about security? Cant someone outside the plant monitor the signals and gather intelligence on plant activities, production rates, and so on? And what about hacking? If an intruder can get into the system to monitor it, cant he also make changes? What if someone changes setpoints to cause a shutdown or even a catastrophe? Thats where modern security comes in. Wireless field networks and WPNs are different: field networks use mesh architecture that is

Table1: Threats and mitigations

WIPS
Denial of service MAC spoofing Man in the middle Ad-hoc wireless bridge Rogue apps Cracking tools Non-802.11 attacks Client ad hoc connections Network reconnaissance Authentication & encryption cracking Impersonation attempts

Authentication

Data integrity

Encryption

WCS

Client agent

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

n n n n n n n n n

n n n n

Source: Peterson, Neil, WirelessHART & Wi-Fi Security, presented at 2012 Emerson Global Users Exchange 38

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Fig. 4: Technical measures to protect a WPN include a wireless intrusion prevention system (wIPS), a wireless control system (WCS), and a firewall.

generally considered secure thanks to a series of critical features: n Channel hopping on top of the standard direct-sequence spread spectrum. This makes the system inherently resistant to jamming attacks. n AES-128 encryption (NIST/IEEE compliant) for all communications within the device mesh network and the gateway. At this point AES-128 can be considered secure against all expected attacks. n Individual device session keys to ensure end-to-end message authenticity, data integrity, receipt validation, and secrecy through data encryption. This makes eavesdropping almost impossible. n Hop-by-hop CRC (cyclical redundancy check) and MIC (message integrity code) calculations to ensure message authentication and verification as to source and receiver of communications. This blocks man-in-the-middle (backdoor) attacks. n Devices must have a join key pre-configured on the device. This can be either a common join key per WFN, or optionally an individual join key per device. This prevents replay (or delay) attacks. n White listing with individual join keys gives devices explicit permission to join the network via the gateway/network manager via an ACL entry, which also includes their globally unique HART address.
Breaking into device networks

While the WirelessHART field network is itself secure, the host gateway by which it connects to the host may use a wired connection or a WPN. For a gateway connected to the host via Ethernet (particularly if the gateway is in an unsecured location), the best choice is to install a firewall in a secure location on the plant side of the wire. For a gateway connected via a WPN, there are additional considerations.
Security for WPNs

In general, although an unauthorized person might be able to detect that wireless communication exists on a wireless field network, he would be unable to gain access, eavesdrop, or otherwise disrupt the device-level network.

WPNs generally use Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.112007) and are more vulnerable to attack than are wireless field networks. There are plenty of warnings and horror stories about Wi-Fi networks being hacked, and in fact it wasnt long after Wi-Fi first appeared that wardriving traveling about with a laptop, PDA, or smartphone, often connected to a homemade high gain antenna, in an effort to find unsecured Wi-Fi networksbecame popular. There are multiple types of threat vectors by which the illintentioned can attack a WPN, including rogue access points, ad-hoc wireless bridges, man-inthe-middle (e.g., evil twin, honey pot app, MAC spoofing, etc.) attacks, denial of service (DoS) attacks, jamming (also considered DoS), reconnaissance, and cracking. Securing against these threats requires both administrative and technical measures. Administrative measures include managing identities such as assigning and terminating privileges as each employees situation changes, authentication, authorization, and accounting. Authentication ensures that a person is who he or she claims to be. It can be done using a shared secret arrangement or the IEEE 802.1x extensible authentication protocol (EAP). Authorization determines what a person is allowed to
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The main reasons for unsecured networks are human factors, poorly formulated policy, poor configuration, bad assumptions, not understanding the problem, and failure to stay up-to-date.

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 39

wireless workers

Go Online
http://ergon.com/refining-marketing www.emersonprocess.com/wireless Read more about worker mobility at www.controleng.com/archives The dark side of mobility, July, 2012

do, while accounting monitors what each person does and when, while monitoring attempts to perform unauthorized actions. Technical measures include a wireless intrusion prevention system (wIPS), a wireless control system (WCS), and a firewall (Fig. 4). A wIPS is a system to monitor the wireless network and the RF signals in the open air. Its purpose is to detect suspicious clients or access points. The WCS is the graphical tool that allows the administrator to configure and manage the entire wireless network easily by allowing network managers to design, control, and monitor enterprise wireless networks from a single location, simplifying operations. It oversees a series of WLAN controllers. This software provides network management including diagnostics and troubleshooting tools to keep the network running smoothly. A firewall should be installed at each network level to serve as a belt-and-suspenders measure to ensure only traffic meant for each network level is routed through. The table summarizes common plant network threats and strategies to mitigate them.

It is not difficult to secure a WPN, yet unsecured installations certainly exist. In a presentation at Emersons 2012 Global Users Exchange, Neil Peterson, Emersons wireless plant solution marketing manager, suggested the main reasons for unsecured networks are human factors, poorly formulated policy (or none at all), poor configuration, bad assumptions, lack of understanding of the problem, and failure to stay up-to-date. The latest encryption algorithm, Peterson points out, cannot make up for poor business processes. Wireless networks, at both field level and plant level, can have multiple benefits. Wireless field networks allow field devices to be installed in places where wired devices could not be economically justified, or in some cases installed at all. Wireless plant networks make it possible to speed up plant restarts, and give field operators the ability to perform actions that previously could be done only in the control room. They also allow for personnel tracking and much more. But to make such a network worthwhile it must be installed with care, and with close attention to security. ce Steve Elwart, PE, PhD, is director of systems engineering, Ergon Refining, Inc., and he thanks Neil Peterson for contributions to this article.

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digital edition

EXCLUSIVE

www.controleng.com/DigitalEdition

DE-1 Top Control Engineering articles for 2013

System integration, salary and career survey, PID and advanced control, controller selection, and cyber security were among top Control Engineering stories for 2013, based on online traffic.

DE-5 Gigabit Industrial Ethernet: networks and tunneling processes to increase quality, reduce costs

Removing the communication bottleneck improves automated machinery precision by adding extra capacity, collecting more data, and better monitoring diagnostic information.

DE-7 Strategies for secure automation, Ethernet networks

Ethernet networks provide plants with an open environment that connects local and remote plant devices with management tools, but open networks come at a cost: security. Several strategies can foster openness while promoting safety and cyber security.

DE-9 Hiring and retaining engineering talent

Tips on hiring and retaining top engineering talent follow, including how technology can improve automation recruiting and retention as well as using internships to augment the engineering talent pool.

Go to www.controleng.com/digitaledition today!

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CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 41

digital edition

EXCLUSIVE

Top Control Engineering articles for 2013

Award winning Control Engineering products, system integration, salary and career survey, PID and advanced control, cyber security, human machine interface of the future, optimization, sensing, motor sizing and efficiency, PLC programming, and motion control were among top 25 Control Engineering stories for 2013, based on online traffic. See the titles and description of each article below. Link online to each article, including 20 more mostread articles in 2013 that were posted prior to 2013.

eading Control Engineering articles in 2013 covered Control Engineering Engineers Choice Award related products, system integration, salary survey and career advice, PID and advanced control, cyber security measures, human machine interface of the future, process optimization, temperature sensing, motor sizing and efficiency, PLC programming cost savings, and motion control. These were among top 25 Control Engineering stories for 2013, based on online traffic. With this article online, link directly to each article, below. A word about the tyranny of the calendar: Because articles posted later in 2013 have less chance of showing up in this ranking, we also have included the 20 most-read articles posted prior to 2013. Articles help those involved with controls, automation, and instrumentation to be more useful and more valuable to those they serve. Share the knowledge: Email this link or individual articles to your peers. Is your article here? If not, why not? Share your automation, controls, or instrumentation tutorial, success story, lessons learned, or technology trends article with Control Engineering print and digital editions (in six regions and five languages), newsletters, in our content syndi-

cation service, and via discussions in our social media outlets; learn how here: www.controleng.com/ contribute. Also search top control engineering articles here www.controleng.com for a month tally of the most read online. Top 25 articles read during 2013, among those posted during 2013

2013

1. Control Engineering Engineers Choice Awards Review the finalists, winners, and honorable mentions from 2012; see the finalists for 2014. The 2014 winners will be announced in the February North American edition. Beyond seeing which products were voted as Engineers Choice winners, the collection of finalists provides some of the most-useful products to advance automation, control, and instrumentation productivity. 2. Evolving PID tuning rules March 13

A brief history, starting with the earliest PID controllers to the most recent developments. There is more continuity than you might expect.

3. System Integrator Giants of 2013 June The 100 firms on the System Integrator Giants list represent the largest system integrators of 2013, among the companies listed in the Control Engineering Automation Integrator Guide. In the survey, system integrator revenue is defined as automation integration services minus the cost of all off-the-shelf products:

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DECEMBER 2013 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

hardware, software, and equipment. The system integrators who responded to this survey provided information about engineering specialties, industries served, products integrated, associations/affiliations, and challenges from their industry.

How do you expect your base annual salary compensation to change in 2013?
Increase 4% to 6% Increase more than 6% Decrease

13%

4% 3% 27%

4. Control Engineering salary and career survey, 2013 March 25 Average annual base salary was $92,918 among respondents to the 2013 Control Engineering salary and career survey, with 70% expecting an increase and average bonus of $10,486. Best skills to get ahead are engineering skills, project management skills, communication and presentation skills, and computer skills. Other career advice follows. 5. PID math demystified, part 1 May 6 Youve seen the equations, but have you thought about how those elements work together? Part 1: The basic concepts and proportional control. 6. PLC vs. PAC Feb. 4 These technologies continue to evolve, making differences harder to distinguish. Here are some thoughts on what does what, and how to choose between a PLC and a PAC for your next application. 7. Fundamentals of lambda tuning April 16 Understanding a particularly conservative PID controller design technique.
Youve see the equations, but have you thought about how those elements work together? Part 2: Adding integral and derivative to the mix.

53%
Stay the same Increase 1% to 3%

11. Optimizing strategy for boiler drum level control This process sensing optimization article looks at strategies for making better measurements, specifically with level control. Avoid trips and maximize steam output by reviewing control equipment, strategy, and tuning. 12. Temperature sensors: Make the right choice, RTD vs. TC June 25 When you need a temperature measurement, one of the most basic decisions is choosing which kind of sensor to deploy. The application should guide your decision. 13. How to size servo motors: Advanced inertia calculations July 18 Inside Machines: To properly select the appropriate servo motor for a motion control application, find the inertia of the load being rotated. Applications where the center of rotation is on a different axis than the center of mass can lead to some challenging inertial calculations. 14. How to lower PLC software costs April 5 PLC vendors make much more profit from software licenses than they do selling hardware. Smart shopping can avoid some of those fees. Advice for lowering PLC licensing fees follows. 15. New approaches for remote I/O installations Nov. 13 New modular I/O technologies increase your options for communication with field instrumentation and devices. These are particularly useful when longer distances are involved.
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8. PID math demystified, part 2 May 13

9. Cyber security experiment reveals threats to industrial systems Oct. 4 A recent report shows how honey pots designed to look like municipal water utility networks attract many hackers. Security experts offer their analysis of the findings and suggest how they could influence your defensive strategies. 10. The HMI of the future will look very familiar July 7 HMI/SCADA applications enable companies to benefit from commercial off-the-shelf technologies adapted for industrial automation to lower costs and improve operations. See video.

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2013 DE-2

digital edition

EXCLUSIVE
practices are spreading from oil and gas and other energy-related industries to broader process industry applications. Heres basic advice on how to make more sense of the numbers and acronyms.

22. Wonderware owner Invensys acquires InduSoft Oct. 24 With the InduSoft acquisition, Invensys (currently with a recommended offer from Schneider Electric to be acquired) further expands human-machine interface (HMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) offerings for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sector. Invensys owns Wonderware HMI software, Foxboro, Triconex, SimSci-Esscor, and Avantis brands. Video: How InduSoft and Wonderware work together, added on Oct. 24.
rescue elevator March 18 Application Update: At the Statue of Liberty, the new fast, efficient rescue elevator features a smooth ride to the top, ensured by a motor drive, to improve safety, emergency access, and evacuation for the crown jewel of U.S. statues and tourist destinations. More on derivative control Oct. 21 Consider how a PD controller would work, without an integral function. Would you ever want to use that approach?

16. Motion control: Statue of Liberty

23. Safety and control in collaborative robotics Aug. 6 Robotics technology is moving at the speed of light, and the standards process is struggling to keep up. New types of collaborative robots can be safely implemented: Do a risk assessment, work with experienced suppliers, and get involved with standards development. 24. Commercial tablets get industrial enclosures March 25 Making tablets rugged: Industrial-grade environmental protection can help ruggedize and protect Apple iPad, Google Android, and other tablet computers. 25. Is ZigBee vs. Z-wave the wrong battle? An analysts insight into up and coming smart home technologies May 6 A new report from IHS projects the adoption 13 connectivity technologies in the home. ce
- Compiled by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

17. PID math demystified, part 3:

18. Transformer efficiency: Minimizing transformer losses June 12 Matching a transformer to its anticipated load is a critical aspect of reducing energy consumption. 19. IT vs. OT: Bridging the divide Traditional IT is moving more onto the plant floor. OT will have to accept a greater level of integration. Is that a problem or an opportunity? 20. Selecting the right SCADA technology Oct. 11 Modern SCADA technologies offer choices that satisfy functionality and security requirements while improving performance for remote users. 21. Understanding SIS industry standards May 14 Process safety standards and
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Gigabit Industrial Ethernet: networks and tunneling processes to increase quality, reduce costs
Technology Update: Removing the communication bottleneck improves automated machinery precision by adding extra capacity, collecting more data, and bettermonitoring diagnostic information.

n an era when connected devices, machines, and processes are enabling information transparency, information must be accessible throughout manufacturing environments and Gigabit Ethernet can help. Over the past decade, manufacturers have leveraged officegrade network technology and infrastructures in manufacturing. Automated equipment processes information at millisecondoften sub millisecondspeeds. Special considerations need to be made to ensure that manufacturing assets have access to the information they require while providing enough bandwidth to support an everincreasing need for data aggregation for process and production analysis. Networks in the manufacturing environment are subject to rugged environments. Truly industrial networks use cables and con-

CC-Link IE enables the mixing of network topologies for the most efficient use of the network infrastructure. Courtesy: Mitsubishi Electric
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nectors designed specifically for these applications. And media redundancy and rapid fault recovery are essential in an industrial application to ensure the manufacturing process is safe and operating reliably. Further, industrial networks should be isolated from enterprise network traffic and should have mechanisms that ensure quality of service that prioritizes network traffic. To ensure reliability, now a critical part of manufacturing processes, the network should have less overhead than the typical TCP/IP protocol Ethernet that has been used in the past. Traditional fieldbus network technology, Ethernet (10 Mb), and even Fast Ethernet (100 Mb) technologies cannot handle the data transmission requirements of most of todays networked equipment. But starting around the turn of the millennium, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mb) began to be used in critical enterprise IT environments, and a Gigabit Industrial Ethernet option was soon also available for use in manufacturing environments. Then in 2007, the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) launched CC-Link IE (Industrial Ethernet). An open Gigabit Industrial Ethernet network specifically designed for the manufacturing environment, CC-Link IE has grown steadily in popularity because of its unprecedented level of performance and reliability. CC-Link IE, designed to address the most common industrial networking challenges, has become a proven technology that provides the bandwidth needed to handle large amounts of data while ensuring the highest level of reliability and data integrity. Most installations do not have the wherewithal to implement a Gigabit Industrial Ethernet entirely across the manufacturing environment. Traditional fieldbus, Ethernet,

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

and even Fast Ethernet networks have already been installed. However, using CC-Link IE Gigabit Industrial Ethernet for transferring large amounts of information between slower network technologies can be an option to improve network performance. This type of communication scheme, called Gigabit Industrial Ethernet Tunneling, can decrease network latency. Essentially, Gigabit Industrial Ethernet Tunneling works by connecting two independent slower and/or older TCP/IP Ethernet networks using Gigabit Industrial Ethernet. Two previously independent TCP/IP Ethernet networks (of the same variety) can now communicate with one another via a CC-Link IE Gigabit Industrial Ethernet network backbone. CCLink IE completely encapsulates the TCP/ IP Ethernet message within the data packet of its normal communications, which then allows two or more TCP/IP Ethernet networks to share information. Other devices directly on the CC-Link IE Gigabit Industrial Ethernet network are not affected by these TCP/IP Ethernet encapsulated messages because of the greater bandwidth of the Gigabit Industrial Ethernet network and the quality of service mechanisms that are leveraged.
Bandwidth bottleneck

A wide selection of Gigabit Industrial Ethernet products, including controllers, network bridging devices, and enterprise connectivity appliances, is available to directly connect to CC-Link IE and integrate legacy network technologies. Courtesy: Mitsubishi Electric

To meet the informational requirements of todays production facilities, manufacturers need to take steps to overcome the bandwidth bottleneck that exists in the network architecture among automated machinery. A good way to begin is to:

Consider the implementation of a Gigabit Industrial Ethernet backbone. CC-Link IE provides two network media options (fiber or twisted pair copper). Isolate manufacturing and enterprise networks using VLANs to segment the two network environments. Choose a network topology that best serves your application requirements. CC-Link IE allows mixing of network topologies that offer the most flexibility. Identify where bridges need to be installed to encapsulate the TCP/IP Ethernet messages from legacy TCP/IP Ethernet networks onto the Gigabit Industrial Ethernet network. Choose products that natively reside on a Gigabit Industrial Ethernet network as specifications are developed for new machines or as the controls on existing machinery are upgraded.

Whether trying to improve end-product quality, add extra capacity, collect more data, or monitor diagnostic information, facilities will find following these steps can help ensure that manufacturing assets are communicating optimally. ce -Jeanine Katzel, Control Engineering. Information for this article was provided by Sloan Zupan, senior product manager, Mitsubishi Electric and John Wozniak, networking specialist, CLPA Americas. Edited by Jordan M. Schultz, content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering, jschultz@cfemedia.com.

Go Online
www.mitsubishielectric.com www.cc-linkamerica.org www.controleng.com/archives January has links in this article to: - Building an integration strategy - 7 reasons to a consider a non-Ethernet industrial network -NYC Tunnel boring
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digital edition

EXCLUSIVE

Strategies for secure automation, Ethernet networks

Network Security: Ethernet networks provide plants with an open environment that connects local and remote plant devices with management tools, but open networks come at a cost: security. Several strategies can foster openness while promoting safety and cyber security. Key concepts
Ethernet networks in a plant must include security technologies and procedures. Plant environments should employ IT-level cyber security tools. Maintain network security while allowing local and remote authenticated access.

he introduction of Ethernet to the plant floor provides an open architecture, connecting plant devices and management tools from most anywhere. But there is a trade-off: network security. Ethernet networks function much like home Web connections, relying on the Internet to operate properly. Plants must take steps to protect connected automation systems from the same threats that face personal computers, such as hackers, worms, and Trojans. To overcome these challenges, the plant environment should employ the same cyber security tools that its IT counterparts use. Such tactics must maintain network security while allowing local and remote authenticated access. Doing so enables even faraway administrators to handle tasks such as configuration and diagnostics, initialization of nodes, and gaining access to on-board Web and FTP servers. Finding balance between openness and security, the following strategies can help create an automation environment that can communicate with other networks and be managed locally and remotely while, at the same time, remaining safe and secure.
First line of defense: Firewalls

using pre-determined filter rules. For example, if an internal node sends data to an external target device, the firewall will dynamically allow the response packet for a limited period. After the time window has expired, the firewall will block the traffic again.
NAT and NAPT

Firewallsone of the oldest cyber security toolsare still a crucial piece of the network puzzle. A firewall sits between the internal and external networks, ensuring only legitimate traffic passes between them. In an industrial environment, firewalls protect cells that often include several Ethernetattached automation devices, such as Industrial PCs and PLCs. To protect them, companies can install one security module with one Ethernet connection that traffics between the automation and larger networks according to the firewall rules established for the device. To ensure all traffic is legitimate, stateful packet inspection firewalls protect the network

Network address translation (NAT) is an automation security technology that is implemented in devices rather than the network. NAT hides the devices IP address on the internal network from those on external networks. Instead, it presents a generic public IP address to external-facing nodes, translating that address to the established internal network address. More complicated yet, network address and port translation (NAPT) further encrypts NAT by adding a port number. Only one IP address is presented to public networks. Behind that, packets are addressed to particular devices by adding port numbers. A NAPT table, typically residing on a router, maps private IP address ports to the public IP address ports. If a device from the external network wants to send a packet to an internal device, it uses the security devices public address with a specified port as the destination. This IP address is then translated by the router to the assigned private IP address and its appropriate port. The source address in the data packets IP header remains unchanged. But since the sending address is in a different subnet than the receiving address, responses must go through the router, which forwards it to the external device, protecting the internal devices actual IP address from public view. Virtual private networks (VPNs) are another way to secure networks. A VPN is an encrypted tunnel formed by security devices at each end of the connection. To connect with one another, the remote devices generate digital certificates

Building secure tunnels with VPNs

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JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

that act as identification. The certificates also tion between two sites that, depending on conpermit the devices to share encrypted data over figuration, allows users at each site to access the established network. resources at another. In a VPN environment, security modules This setup requires a module at each locause digital certificates to create VPNs with two tion to create the encrypted VPN tunnel. A basic configurations: bridging and routing. firewall can also be used to provide access conBridging mode enables devices to com- trol, enabling access to certain users but not to municate securely in a flat networkone in others. which all devices are directly connected to one Point-to-point VPN: A point-to-point VPN another. This configuration can be advantageous allows users access to plant devices from any when the connections are physically distant or Internet connection. This could be advantageous when data must pass through an unsecure net- for working-from-home administrators who work section. Bridging is often used for com- must troubleshoot a device, for example. munication types that This setup requires a cannot be routed and that module at the target locaDifferent levels of may not necessarily be in tion and security client authorization can allow the same subnet. software, which runs on Routing mode creates the administrators lapplant managers to use the a VPN between devictop or desktop. The client firewall to establish devicees on separate subnets. allows the administrator Much like NAPT, the to establish an encrypted specific access for remote router, operating at Layer VPN connection with users, limiting users only to 3 of the open systems any site that has the interconnection (OSI) module. With the proper the device for which they model, sends packets to permissions, the administhe appropriate destinatrator can log in to whatare authorized. tion address. The packet ever device is necessary. travels over an encrypted VPN tunnel, making Multipoint VPN connections: If administhe communications secure even over a public trators are responsible for more than one site, network such as the Internet. plants can establish a central module that connects each of the remote sites over a VPN. Sample cases Instead of establishing many individual VPN These security tools can be configured to connections, the administrator can then piggyplant-specific environments, taking both open back the connection from the central module. access and security into account. Here are some This can benefit service engineers, for examexamples in practice: ple, who spend much of their time traveling. User-specific firewall: When automation With one connection to the central site, they can contractors, for example, are away from the now easily and securely access any other site as plant, user-specific firewall rules can enable needed, saving valuable time in the process. ce remote access, allowing for administration and -Tim Pitterling, product marketing managtroubleshooting. By establishing different levels of authorization, plant managers can also er, Siemens Industry Sector. Edited by Jordan use the firewall to establish device-specific M. Schultz, CFE Media, Control Engineering, access for remote users, limiting users only to jschultz@cfemedia.com. the device for which they are authorized. To connect to the modules IP address, the contractor creates a username and password Go Online and logs in under those credentials. According www.controleng.com/archives January: read this article to established permissions, the network will be for a link to a video and article: New managed cyber available for a specific amount of time before security service offering launched for protecting industhe connection is lost. The user can renew the trial control system environments connection at any time according to the plants www.siemens.com/industrialsecurity firewall rules. Site-to-site VPN: If a company has a cenConsider this... tral site and a number of satellite facilities, a Are your security technologies and procedures applied to site-to-site VPN might be more appropriate. A industrial networks, as well? site-to-site VPN is a secure encrypted connec-

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digital edition

EXCLUSIVE

Hiring and retaining engineering talent

Tips on hiring and retaining top engineering talent follow, including how technology can improve automation recruiting and retention as well as using internships to augment the engineering talent pool. See related articles on pages 47 and 48.

Using technology to improve automation recruiting, retention

Hiring tips: Recruiting engineering talent is difficult. These tips can help recruit, hire, and retain engineering talent. Key concepts
Introduce students to industrial technology early. When hiring, favor applicants who are early adopters. Tout your use of advanced technologies.

erhaps the greatest challenge in recruiting, hiring, and retaining engineering personnel is attracting qualified talent from a limited pool of candidates. Business leaders, recruiters, and hiring managers in the fields of manufacturing and automation must help ensure that the industry is promoting our brand of engineering so prospective talent see that careers in automation and manufacturing technology are rewarding and exciting. Students should be introduced to industrial technology at an early age to help shape positive perceptions of the industry. For example, opening in 2014, the new Alexandria High School in Alexandria, Minn., will house a state-of-the-art technology and engineering lab that ramps up its science and technology curriculum and fosters students interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. Investing in a manufacturing and technology-focused curriculum in high schools will increase students opportunities to create education and career paths in industrial technology. Automation vendors should donate equipment and money to technical schools and programs, as well as time and resources to create a meaningful presence that nurtures students learning and success in and out of the classroom. Engineering internships are another great way to connect students learning in the classroom to meaningful

work in an environment that drives their purpose and leads to an improved college experience. Of course, this also puts the next generation of industrial engineers in a much better position to succeed in the job market. When hiring engineering talent, favor applicants who are early adopters of technology. Doing so creates engineering teams with little fear of innovative technologies. Be mindful of personalities and how specific technical skill sets can build a stronger pool of diverse talent. Its no secret that after talent has been hired, retaining that talent is essential to the success of a company. Losing an employee too soon after investing in recruiting, hiring, and training is a hidden cost associated with heavy turnover. Keeping engineering employees challenged on the job engages them in their work while supporting continuing education and training. New industrial manufacturing products and evolving technologies create an environment for exciting challenges and meaningful work that create a sense of pride in engineering employees.
Convergence helps

Automation hiring

For some automation companies, this means pushing the convergence of automation and computer science and information technology (IT) technologies, and PC-based controls. New automation tools and connected solutions include the availability of object-oriented extensions of IEC 61131-3 programming languages, increased use

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JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

Recruitment, internships introduce manufacturings value

he industry workforce shortage is in part due to the misperceptions associated with manufacturing facilities and manufacturing jobs in todays society. Organizations need to work more closely with students and promote the benefits, work environment, work variety, and career opportunities available within the manufacturing industry. Through involvement in local schools, internships, or a leadership development program, students and current employees can grow and develop a career with the organization. Three points of advice follow. 1. Recruit a pool of talented individuals by engaging in partnerships with local schools to gain more insight into the student body and become more visible to students. Participate in various activities with local high schools and post-secondary education institutionsuniversities, community colleges, and tech schools. Participate in a variety of different school programs, including classroom presentations, speaking engagements, and local campus career fairs. Offer students on-site tours of

facilities to help reverse some of the misconceptions surrounding the industry by providing real hands-on experience at a manufacturing plant. 2. Increase visibility with students with an internship program for the operations and engineering services areas of the organization. Encourage students to network and look for future opportunities for subsequent years. 3. Hire the best interns for a two-year leadership development program in which participants rotate positions every six months, expanding opportunities and learning experiences. At the end of the two-year program, support each participant in finding a role somewhere in the organization, in his or her individual area of interest. - Karen Lusher is human resources manager, operations and engineering services, Rockwell Automation. Go Online: Read more from Lusher on developing engineering students. Search Karen Lusher at www.controleng.com.

of C/C++ in automation, simulation software integration, and other capabilities. These apply directly to forward-looking visions of manufacturing technology, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0. Its widely reported that engineering talent is limited. The key then is to ask why. Automation vendors, machine builders, end users, and manufacturers need qualified engineering talent to succeed. To address this challenge, the industrial engineering community must work harder to introduce young students to emerging technologies, which will create engineering candidates with the most applicable set of knowledge and skills. Devoting more time and resources to involving youth in engineering will deliver stronger talent among future candidates and greater retention. ce - Nathan Eisel is technical support manager, Beckhoff Automation. Edited by Mark T. Hoske and Jordan Schultz, CFE Media, Control Engineering.

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www.controleng.com/archives January, read this article online to link to the 2013 Control Engineering salary survey and related career advice. www.beckhoffautomation.com

Convergence of newer automation technologies can attract engineering talent: Beckhoff Automation encourages the convergence of automation and computer science/IT technologies, a PC-based control development called eXtended Automation. New eXtended Automation tools and connected solutions include the availability of object-oriented extensions of IEC 61131-3 for programming, increased use of C/C++ in automation, and integration of Matlab and Simulink from MathWorks. Courtesy: Beckhoff Automation

Consider this...
Approach hiring and retention like an automation or controls project; more time spent earlier can result in time savings and greater benefits later on.
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CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 DE-10

open robotic control

Robotic control
alternatives
As robotic controls advance in capabilities, other options have been emerging for control, including use of open control software with multiple vendors robots, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and other non-robotic controllers.

Robots should be doing more than 2 or 3 tasks

If tools arent enabling more flexibility in use and expansion of robotics, then we need better tools. Thats whats behind the ROS-Industrial effort from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). How does setting up a factory in a day sound? Key concepts
Robots from various manufacturers can use the same software PLCs and PACs can control robots Structure code for faster setup, reuse, and upgrades

A good step in that direction is BRIDE, said Edwards. BRIDE is a compound, multi-lingual acronym, standing for BRIC (German: best practices in robotics) and IDE (integrated development environment). BRIDE provides a framework for meta-model definition and transformation in the Eclipse platform, using the BRICS component model. At present, it supports Orocos and ROS.
Easier robotic toolchain

obots should be easier to use for more applications, and SwRI established ROSIndustrial, an open source industrial robotic software and working group, to broaden the application of robotics and increase robotic interoperability. ROS stands for robotic operating system. A Dec. 5 quarterly community meeting discussed the general direction of the ROS-Industrial program, reviewed new robotic technologies, and publicized the work and the needs of the community. Shaun Edwards, SwRI senior research engineer, robotics and automation engineering section, said robots should be doing more than two or three tasks, referring to the slide using Robotic Industries Association (RIA) statistics. The ROS-Industrial program goal is to broaden robotics into other applications with standard robotic interfaces and extended capabilities of the Robot Operating System (ROS), he said. Two YouTube videos help explain efforts; see links below. Citing statistics from July, Edwards said contributors to the program include more than 30 developers and bug finders, and for the approximately 100,000 lines of code, 27% are comments, showing that its well-documented code. What we want is to limit the number of skills needed to program ROS-Industrial.

Alexander Bubeck, project manager for industrial engineering in the Fraunhofer IPA robotics group, described BRIDE as a toolchain for model-based software development. Current challenges in software for industrial and service robotics include lack of reuse and need to create more understandable code, promoting wider use of standards and best practices; shorten learning curves; speed releases of the next version; and allow distributed development. ROS did a great job in lowering the learning curve for robotic programming, but adding model-driven engineering would streamline efforts, Bubeck said. Software engineering for robotics would be better served by creating a model-driven engineering (MDE) component framework with layers, from components at the bottom to model of classes, meta models (currently served by UML, unified modeling language, and above that a meta-meta-model layer (theory). Purpose is to separate concerns such as computation, communication, coordination, and configuration in programming, eventually allowing investments in code to be portable among manufacturers, he suggested. [Example: Some manufacturers offer software libraries, but software components that describe the same functions cannot be reused across platforms and must be rebuilt. Imagine how much more expensive building a house

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JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

To lower time, effort, and cost, an integrated tool chain is needed to develop, test, install, and deploy robotic software components.
would be if lumber, pipes, wires, windows, and appliances were all engineered with custom specifications for each house.] Error handling will be integrated into the next version, Bubeck added. Other news about related work in progress from those presenting: Eric Marcil, senior project engineer, Yaskawa America Inc., Motoman Robotic Division, said that his companys interface to ROS released earlier this year will be updated to include the Motoman dual arm robot, with release expected in the first half of 2015. Joe Spanier, automation engineer at Caterpillar Inc., seeks easier point creation in MoveIt!, a ROS application for motion planning. Also useful, Spanier said, would be more ROS drivers, for laser scanners for instance, which would save time by eliminating the need for touch sensing in robotic welding applications. Jason Michel Lambert, research office, robotics and automation, with Canadas National Research Council, is working with ROS in relation to hardware in the loop and fast prototyping. He expressed interest in a real-time interface and is working with Kuka and Comau robots to bring ROS closer to plant-floor applications. Gijs vd Hoorn, researcher, Delft Robotics Institute, Technical University Delft, The Netherlands, that Delft supports the Fanuc stacks, MoveIt! configurations, and kinematic plug-ins. Future efforts will include improving the Fanuc driver, and expanding support to additional manufacturers and input/output (IO) devices. With joint torque and tool force feedback, supported by some robots, ROS would work with more applications assembly and grinding.
Factory in a day

Florian Weisshardt, Fraunhofer IPA, described the Factory-in-a-Day effort from the European Union, now with more than 18 partners, and more than 8 million Euro budget. The project goal is to develop technologies and business models to reduce factory installation time and related costs from months to one day. Possible

timeline follows. First, analyze workflow, then design custom components for the job, and print 3D components. At 8 a.m. ship everything to the factory. 10 a.m. unload and begin self calibration. 12 p.m. Instruct and teach. 4 p.m. finished. To lower time, effort, and cost, an integrated tool chain is needed to develop, test, install, and deploy robotic software components. A working prototype is planned for June and a first prototype in October, with an October 2015 target for the final version, Weisshardt said. Brian ONeil, a postdoctoral research associate with Los Alamos National Laboratory, seeks to advance automated assembly situations where parts are not fixed ahead of time or when parts are not perfect. Simon Jansen, representing a team of three at Alten Mechatronics, www.alten.nl is working on a graphical user interface to make ROS usable for industrial operators beyond ROS developers, with release expected early in 2014. Kelsey Hawkins, a robotics PhD student at Georgia Tech, is working on a driver for Universal Robot that would allow the robot to operate using a faster control loop, 125 Hz. ROS provides an interface to manage the new control loop wrapper, without the need to bring down the robot to test the new controllers. Shaun Edwards, SwRI, said those taking a survey in October have prompted better ROSIndustrial tutorials, documentation, training materials, and code review. Clay Flanagan, manager of robotics and automation section of SWRI, thanked participants. - Mark T. Hoske, content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com.
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Robots arent adapting to other tasks, as the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) statistics suggest. ROS-Industrial hopes to ease that challenge by standardizing robotic interfaces to promote development of hardware agnostic software that can more easily be applied to new applications. Courtesy: RIA, ROS-Industrial

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www.controleng.com/archives See this article online for links to more about ROS-Industrial and two ROS-Industrial videos on YouTube: - What can ROS do? - 1 year montage

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 43

open robotic control

PLC-based vs. proprietary robotic controls

For facilities that already use programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for other machine control functions, integrating robotic control into a PLC may be a wiser choice than relying on the controller provided by the robot manufacturer. Key concepts
PLC-based robotic controls can lower overall cost of ownership, unifying control. Programming, training, and communications can be easier. Some robot manufacturers do not allow PLC control.

manage, maintain, and operate robotic systems. PLC controls further streamline operations with: Common programming controls (software, cables, etc.) Common software interfaces Common program backup/restore methodology Common program documentation.
Simplified robot control interface

eres what to consider. As more manufacturing facilities and distribution centers discover the benefits of robotic material handling solutions, they must decide how best to control the robot. While robot original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) offer their own tightly integrated controller, recent developments have enabled control by a programmable logic controller, or PLC. For facilities that already use PLC-based controls for other machine control functions, integrating robotic control into a PLC may be a wiser choice than relying on an OEM proprietary controller.
Speaking robot just got easier

Most engineers and technicians already understand PLCs and therefore can read and troubleshoot a PLC-based robot system without learning a proprietary OEM control language. While operators still need to understand how robots operate, leveraging existing PLC knowledge greatly reduces training time required to

Robotic material handling solutions are often complex systems that integrate robotic equipment with nonrobotic systems. Common system components can include infeed and discharge conveyors, pallet dispensers, and transfer cars. Since PLCs typically control nonrobotic system components, robotic controllers must interface to the system controller, handshaking data, and interlocks to achieve desired functionality. Depending on the complexity of the application, interfacing different control modules can pose quite a challenge. However, consolidating control over robots and other system components into the same PLC eliminates the interface point between separate control systems, greatly reducing system complexity. For example, one controller can handle multiple processes and equipment with the same hardware and software platform, reducing integration and development costs for OEMs and lifecycle costs for end users. PLC-based robotic controllers use the same control architecture as other facility machinery, enabling one point of control over traditional automation equipment and robots. Robot controls use the same drawing nomenclature (wire number, draw numbering, etc.) as other hardware in the same control panel, reducing control system design complexity. Additional benefits of common controls architecture include: Simplified troubleshooting and maintenance Reduced panel footprint Simplified training Common spare parts Common part numbering scheme. The bulk of proprietary OEM controllers input/output (I/O) communications involve interfacing the robotic controller with the PLC. However, PLC-based robotic controls eliminate this extra communication and instead directly interface with the I/O of the robot, an operation as simple as any other I/O communication in the control system. In addition to simplifying I/O communication, PLC-based robotic con-

Shared control architecture

Easier robotic communications

A common control system for the robot and nearby control functions enables easier upgrades and maintenance, and reduces total cost of ownership. Here an Alvey robotic palletizing cell from Intelligrated operates with nearby conveyors. Courtesy: Intelligrated
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The Alvey 950 series hybrid palletizer from Intelligrated comes standard with an integrated control system that allows the palletizer and its robotic arms to operate from one PLC. Courtesy: Intelligrated

trols enable operators to use hardware, I/O, and communications protocols available to the PLC, rather than those from the OEM controller. Since PLC-based robotic controls support a wider range of I/O hardware and communications protocols than OEM controllers do, they more easily accommodate and integrate with more system control applications.
A common interface

control design, resulting in a lower total cost of ownership.

More compatibility, robot choices

With PLC-based robotic controls, the human machine interface (HMI) is consistent through the system and the teach pendent is no longer the primary interface with the robot controller. The alarm system, fault recording, data monitoring, and all other functions available to the HMI now directly interface with the robot controller. Unique faults and custom operations also can be added and changed directly to the robot controller. The HMI interface allows for a much greater application-specific focus and a considerably more agile structure with simplified operator training.

Lower maintenance, upgrade costs

Manufacturing facilities integrate many types of machinery and typically favor PLC-based controls for equipment such as fillers, packers, palletizers, wrappers, and conveyors. If each OEM supplies a unique control scheme, the integrated system may be functional but a nightmare to maintain and upgrade. For this reason, most manufacturing facility requests for proposal (RFPs) place boundaries on the controllers and hardware OEMs can use. A common control system enables easier upgrades and maintenance, and reduces total cost of ownership. In this respect, integrating the robot controller with the PLC-based control system saves end users additional costs of a unique robotic

Due to the specialized nature of OEM robot controllers and related training requirements, many operations that already use industrial robots prefer to stick with the facilitys incumbent robot brand. This often deters companies from selecting the best-fit robot model due to unwillingness to support multiple robot brands or interface different OEM controls. Since PLCbased robotic controllers can be common across multiple brands, end users are no longer locked in to their initial robot brand when selecting future solutions. PLC-based robotic controls introduce a new set of decisions for robotic integrators. Despite certain advantages, system integrators and others can see that PLC-based controls are not always the best choice. Robot-intensive environments, such as the automotive industry, may be unlikely to switch from OEM controllers due to a large install base and highly specialized application requirements. Furthermore, some robot OEMs do not offer a way of provisioning a PLC-based controller. When making a robotic controller decision, operations must consider availability, functionality, and cost. In facilities with a sizeable installed base of PLC machine controls for the robot to interface with, the technical staffs familiarity with PLC controls over a unique OEM controller can significantly affect operational and support costs. A reputable certified robotic integrator will work to provide a best-fit final solution, whether PLC- or OEM-based. - Matt Wicks is vice president, systems engineering-manufacturing systems, Intelligrated; edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com.
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Consider this...
How could one less control environment benefit robotic workcell integration?

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 45

open robotic control

Industrial PCs ease robotics integration

Hardware and software advancements, such as multi-core processors and industrial Ethernet fieldbus technology, are enabling engineers to integrate costeffective robotic solutions with motion control, communications, and human-machine interfaces. Key concepts
Open-control hardware and software have made implementing costeffective robotic solutions easier Robotics integration leads to cost savings and, in turn, higher performance robotics. Powerful Industrial PCs now control robotics and other functions simultaneously. Advanced networks increase robotic effectiveness through high-speed communication and diagnostics.

dding open-control hardware and software to the convergence of well-known controls principles makes it possible to create machine designs that feature seamlessly integrated robots. This results in game-changing advantages for machine builders and manufacturers and the ability to integrate robot technology into more applications, including those that are traditionally among the most cost-sensitive. The cost-saving benefits that make this possible include: reduced wiring, network and software platforms that are shared with the overall machine automation system, and a significantly reduced machine footprint. This has led to higher performance mechatronic and robotic solutions, including product packaging with variable product flow and complex material handling lines. Previously, most machine control architectures that integrated robotics used independent robot controllers to implement the kinematics.

These typically required separate programming from the general machine control and the specific engineered communication infrastructure, with special profiles for each application. Today, however, robotics and other motion control can be operated by industrial PCs (IPC) and programmed in the same software environment. Modern multi-core processors, which are now standard in many IPCs, are able to control all automated elements on a machine, especially where intense robot dexterity and speed is required by the application. Only minimum CPU processing power is required for robotic kinematics, leaving ample reserves for other functions, such as measurement, condition monitoring, vision systems, rich multimedia for documentation, and training and tutorial materials. In fact, it is possible to easily run two or more delta robots on the same controller and to coordinate the motion between multiple robots and auxiliary axes by electronic gearing, CAM tables, G-code, and most other standard motion technology. Another enabling technology that brings robot equipment to a wide range of applications is the broad acceptance of industrial Ethernet fieldbus technology, such as EtherCAT. This network has become a globally accepted standard in the realm of robotics that allows faster integration of kinematic solutions into machinery. In addition to microsecond-level communication speeds and high precision, EtherCAT also brings diagnostics functionality without having to add layers in hardware or software. For example, EtherCAT can automatically detect system line breaks enabling faster problem resolution while running network communications through a flexible data processing mechanism known as processing on the fly. All EtherCAT devices on a network can receive and process data independently, without requiring a higher level device to poll the network. ce - Matt Lecheler, Motion Specialist, Beckhoff Automation; edited by Jordan Schultz, associate content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering, jschultz@cfemedia.com.

This robot arm used in a welding application implemented by Houston-based ARC Specialties uses a CX1010 Embedded PC and TwinCAT NC PTP software from Beckhoff Automation to cost-effectively control a Fanuc ArcMate M710IC-50 robot and nearby machine, positioning six EtherCAT-networked servo axes while controlling the welding and assembly processes and the synchronization of the robot programs. Courtesy: Beckhoff Automation
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JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

hiring and retention

How to hire, retain engineering talent

Tips on hiring and retaining top engineering talent include using a skills database to engage employees and filling the skills gap. See more tips online.

6 tips to hire, retain top engineering talent

According to the 2013, Manpower Talent Shortage Survey (by the Manpower Group), engineering is the second most difficult profile to fill, after skilled trades. Six tips provide help.

2. Showcase cutting-edge technology

When recruiting, ensure you articulate the technologies that new trainees will be exposed to. It is also a good idea to reinforce the technological advancements that you have made. If you have a creative thinking culture in your company, make sure that your new engineering trainees know about it. Engineers are trained to be analytical thinkers and problem solvers. Positions that will allow them to apply their creative skills and come up with innovative solutions are highly desirable to them.

Key concepts
Hire and retain top engineering talent. Use best practices in searching, hiring, and retaining talent. Use the best outlets to find talent.

3. Encourage creative thinking

echnology is advancing at a quick pace and, now more than ever, there is a need for skilled engineers. But recruiting the best talent available is not easy. Many countries are battling high unemployment rates, but hiring for engineering positions has not slowed down. Employers struggle to find suitable candidates for engineering positions, and the demand is growing. Some companies are even expecting to lose 60% of their engineering workforce to retirement in the next 10 years. So how do you get the best engineering talent on board? Here are a few things that good candidates look for in prospective employers and how you can tap into their aspirations to get them to work with you. Below are traits you should look for in talent, questions to ask them, and how to retain top talent.

4. Reinforce opportunities for advancement

Like any other profession, engineers want to work for companies in which they can grow and advance to higher positions. You do not have to promise them the moon, but you can certainly promise them opportunities to enhance their knowledge, influence, and involvement.

5. Stress how the engineers work will help the bottom line

1. Tips to get high quality engineering

You should define what your company stands for. Write down a purpose for your organization. You do not have to be different, but you must show focus. Good prospective employees will quickly buy-in to a company that shows that it has a vision. Try to generate enthusiasm for your companys mission. This will accelerate the interview process and improve the retention rate.
candidates

Engineers want their work to make a difference, and they want to be part of projects and departments that impact bottom lines and drive organizational objectives. You can talk about this when you are interviewing them.
good benefits

6. Pay new employees well; give them

It is a buyers market out there, for top-notch engineering graduates. Good compensation and benefits will go a long way in attracting the right talent. Some companies also offer their employees flexible working hours. See if you can offer something like that to your staff.
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hiring and retention

Keep the following qualities in mind when seeking and interviewing engineering candidates. Ambition: You want people beside you who will share your hunger for success. Initiative: Look for self-starters. You would want people who can organize their work and go about it, without being told what to do or needing constant supervision. Commitment: An individual who will stick to his or her work even when the going gets tough or a person who is willing to go the extra mile for himself and his company is an asset to any company.

Skills gaps in engineering youth? Ask yourself 5 questions

common gripe that I hear from senior engineers is that todays generation feels entitled, lacks critical thinking skills, and does not take the time necessary to perform tasks. How fair is it, then, to dismiss the millennial generation without taking a long, hard look in the mirror? Before dismissing the next generation, ask yourself five important questions: 1. Am I making myself available? 2. Am I actively mentoring? 3. Are we a distraction, sending a barrage of e-mail and requests, thus preventing others from concentrating? 4. If the newer engineers have weaknesses, what are we doing to address them? 5. Have I taken the time to try to see the world from their perspective? In our office, some of the best and brightest engineers are younger than 30. However, many of them have had little opportunity to research or present technical topics in front of a group. This is a clear weakness and impacts their future ability to meet clients and give solid technical presentations. Recognizing that we needed to give them opportunities to develop, we set up a junior engineers meeting every month. This forum is run by the junior engineers; senior engineers and managers are not allowed. A new person organizes the meeting each month, sets the agenda, and presents a technical topic. While certainly not perfect, this is one example of the type of action that can be taken to mitigate a known deficit. - Brian P. Martin is PDX electrical discipline manager at CH2M Hill.

Employees leave for many reasons. Most of the time, the reason is not money. When you understand why employees leave, you can use the information to change and reduce turnover. The most important reasons why people may leave a company are: Not receiving recognition in the company and career is not progressing; Management has not kept its promises; Relationship with supervisors and coworkers has deteriorated; and unable to fit into the company culture. Not recognizing what is important to employees can translate into job dissatisfaction, voluntary turnover, and lower productivity. Know that employees want to feel valued. They want good compensation, they want to be challenged on the job, they want their work to be meaningful, and they want work-life balance. If you can provide these, attrition rates will drastically reduce. Hiring and retaining top engineering talent can benefit the bottom line. Use the best outlets to find talent, entice employees with a rewarding culture, and deploy the best practices in the workplace to reap the benefits. ce - Tom Reddon is a forklift specialist for National Forklift Exchange. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

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www.controleng.com/archives January with this article see more advice on job portals for engineering positions. Also Control Engineering manages a LinkedIn group with a job board. Link atop www.controleng.com. www.nfe-lifts.com www.controleng.com/archives January and in the digital edition exclusive section, read: Using technology to improve automation recruiting, retention Recruitment, internships introduce manufacturings value

Develop a skills database to engage employees in continual learning

raining is not an event, but is itself a process. Companies must continually work to develop talent over time, from one level to the next. While learning the technology and gaining hands-on experience are important, its also important to include leadership guidance in talent development programs. In addition to automation topics, training should include soft skills such as client interaction, conflict resolution, career advancement, and project management. Developing automation talent requires more than a significant investment; it also requires commitment. One way to leverage both commitment and investment is to maintain records. For example, maintaining a skills database that indexes trainees by industry, process, platform knowledge, and competency can help companies identify the right engineers for each job or project, track skills development over time, and identify areas for potential cross training. If someone is skilled in one particular technology, it might make sense for him to go to the next level of that technol

ogy, or it might make more sense for him to shift educational focus to a similar technology, making himself more versatile, said Chad Harper, director of technology at Maverick, an organization that has developed a process-focused program called Maverick University. With our skills database, we can make those decisions more easily because all the information on each employees level is at our fingertips. Having a skills database can also enhance the performance review process and motivate employees to expand their overall knowledge base. Recently, human resource (HR) departments have begun to encourage employees to work closely with their managers throughout the year, and touch base regularly about their performance on recent projects and their progress toward their development goals. - Mike Gavin is director of performance excellence at Maverick Technologies. Go Online: Read more from Gavin on talent development.

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inside process

Supplementing lab analysis with inline measurements

Reduce production downtime, off-spec product, and time-consuming manual grab sampling in food plants with inline instrumentation.

ood plant managers are faced with many challenges today, not the least of which is ensuring product quality. Depending on the product being made, they may have to meet the requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Union (EU), and an alphabet soup of other agencies and regulations, including cGMP, GFSI, ISO, HACCP, SQF, SID, etc. These regulations specify proper ingredients, chemical and biological hazards, procedures, and sanitary conditions. Food plant managers also have to meet the expectations of consumers for proper taste and texture. For example, the pH of certain products is critical, because it can affect taste as well as food safety. When adding citric acid to jams, beverages, and other products for acidification, pH must be carefully controlled. On top of the obvious food safety and product quality challenges, a plant manager also needs to address operational issues and goals such as: Product loss reductions Variability in raw materials Resource conservation, such as energy and water reductions Loss of qualified operators and maintenance people Need to reduce operating and maintenance budgets, and Preparation and management of documentation for internal and external audits.

control room. Operators and maintenance personnel then make adjustments and corrections to improve control of the process, or to make repairs when required. The challenge with relying on lab analysis is that its not done in real time, its time consuming, its labor intensive, and it has possibility for manual errors. If it takes 30 minutes to grab a sample and analyze it, then the result represents where the process was 30 minutes ago not where it is now. The result could be a spoiled batch. If the measurement had been done inline, a sudden deviation would be detected instantly, allowing for an immediate corrective action that could save the batch. Many types of inline analyzers are available and can be used for online quality control to supplement or replace laboratory testing, speed up measurements, enable immediate corrective actions, and automate the parts of a quality control system.
Inline analyzers

Key concepts
Evaluating the quality of food and beverage production has traditionally depended on lab analysis. Many of the same analyzer technologies used in labs have now been adapted for online use in a plant environment. Certain types of process instruments, such as Coriolis flowmeters, can perform specific analysis tasks.

Currently, food plants typically rely on laboratory analysis (Fig. 1) of samples collected manually to ensure product quality at various points in a process. Lab technicians periodically take a grab sample, hurry back to the lab for a quick analysis, and communicate the result to the

Inline analyzers are not available for every type of measurement in the food industry, but are available for many common measurements now being performed in labs. Table 1 lists typical measurements available with inline instruments. Using inline analyzers helps manage many issues. For example, the amount of disinfectant used on a hydro cooker for canned food needs to be controlled closely to ensure food safety, as overdosing can cause corrosion and waste of chemicals, while too little can compromise food safety. One plant previously monitored disinfectant by taking grab samples to a lab for analysis twice an hour. Inline analyzers were installed to measure free chlorine, pH, and conductivity of the
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inside process

disinfectant. Real-time measurement saved $13,000 annually in disinfectant costs by eliminating overdosing. These measurements allowed the automation system to add makeup water based on measured values, saving on heat energy and water usage, and producing less wastewater. The inline analyzers also eliminated the need to send a lab worker to the hydro cooker two times an hour to take grab samples. The bottom line was a payback period of just seven months. In a similar example of how inline analyzers can cut expenses, a cheese plant performed five clean-inFigure 1: Taking samples from the process place (CIP) operations per for analysis in the plants lab is the tried-andday. The chemicals cost true method for ensuring quality control. Its $1,771 for a 30-gal drum, also expensive and not a real-time measureand the plant used three to ment. Graphics courtesy Endress+Hauser four drums per month. The plant installed an optical-phase separation sensor that used visible and near-infrared wavelengths of light to perform tests for product loss detection, interface detection, suspended solids, and turbidity measurements. By measuring phase separation between whey, water, and CIP detergent in the line, operators were able to determine when the prerinse and CIP was complete, instead of relying on lab measurements and timing. Each CIP cycle was reduced by 15 minutes, and the plant cut CIP chemical consumption by 32%. The cost savings were $5,300 in the first three months on chemicals alone, plus savings from reduced energy and water use. The plant also increased equipment availability for processing by more than one hour per day. Inline analyzers are nothing new, of course. Many of these measurements have been available for several years and are used for traditional process control applications. Whats new Figure 2: today is increased reliability, along with new A Coriolis features and capabilities: flowmeter Improved reliability: Experiences in the winstalled in a real world with traditional analyzers have been bypass line, such as mixed. Trying to apply equipment designed for Endress+Hausers Prouse in the lab directly in a process usually led to mass 83I, measures disappointments. Washdown, high temperatures, viscosity of the batter as aggressive cleaning chemicals, and other enviits being mixed. ronmental factors often resulted in equipment
P2

failures and maintenance nightmares. These problems have been rectified by designing analyzers and other inline instrumentation from the ground up for use on the plant floor and in the field. Seamless integration: Traditionally, instruments were analog devices with a single 4-20 mA output. Today, the availability of digital outputs such as EtherNet/IP, Profibus, Foundation fieldbus, and HART is making integration of information into automation and information systems very easy, and also allowing multiple parameters to be obtained from a single device. For example, a Coriolis flowmeter can provide mass flow, volume flow, multiple totalizer values, density, viscosity, and temperature measurements along with diagnostic information over one set of wires (or wireless). These digital protocols also help improve accuracy by eliminating A/D conversions and loss of resolution during signal transmission in an analog 4-20 mA signal. Simplified calibration: With expanding digital sensor technologies, the lab can now take responsibility for calibration of quality-related measurements. For example, to calibrate a pH sensor in the past, calibration equipment had to be brought into the plant. Today, this calibration can be done in the lab in a controlled environment, and the pre-calibrated sensors can be easily placed in operation. E+Hs Memosens and other similar technologies make this possible for pH, DO, conductivity, turbidity, chlorine, and many other parameters. Hygienic design: One of the limiting factors for inline quality monitoring has been the lack of instruments meeting hygienic design requirements and resistant to thermal processing and CIP chemicals. Today, most instruments meet EHEDG or 3-A sanitary standards and are designed for use in the food industry. An example is pH measurement, which most people associate with glass sensorsa big problem in food processing as glass sensors can break and end up as foreign objects in the final product. Now there are reliable non-glass pH sensors that meet food processing requirements.
Coriolis flowmeter provides multiple measurements

A single Coriolis flowmeter can measure a number of parameters simultaneously, often eliminating the need for multiple instruments. Their highly accurate measurement of mass flow and density (up to 0.05% on mass flow and 0.0005 g/cm3 for density) makes Coriolis ideal for many process control applications. Often overlooked by many instrument and

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tic information in combination with a downstream control valve to automatically increase back pressure during start-up, and then gradually decrease back pressure once the air is gone from the system.
Getting started

Figure 3: Diagnostics in a Coriolis flowmeter can determine if entrained air is present (purple trace in the figure). This data can be used as an operator alarm and to help during setup.

process engineers is the ability of Coriolis flowmeters to be used for quality control. For example, the flowmeters density function can be used to measure Brix and Plato values to ensure the quality of the ingredients being used. The viscosity option provides continuous measurement to minimize off-spec product between lab measurements. One food plant installed a Coriolis flowmeter (Figure 2) in a continuous bypass line of a batter mixing tank. The batter, consisting of flour, water, and additives, is mixed until the correct viscosity is reached, and then pumped to the production tank for processing. The resulting savings in ingredients and the improvement in product quality paid for the installation in less than six months.
Instrument diagnostics detect problems

The first step is to evaluate all the lab measurements and determine what can be replaced or supplemented with inline instrumentation. The goal is to help the lab focus on the final and critical food safety and quality measurements, while the instrumentation is used for real-time operations. Considerations here include: How much time is being spent taking manual grab samples? How much time is being spent running lab analyses? How many workers are needed for these tasks? How quickly does manual sampling detect process changes? How much do the delays in obtaining manual results affect product costs?

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Diagnostics enhance measurements by alerting operators to abnormal process conditions or upsets. For example, entrained air in the line can cause process problems. An operator needs to know if external air is being drawn in through a leaking seal, a cavitating pump, or an empty balance tank, because air in the process can affect product quality. A Coriolis flowmeter does not operate properly with large amounts of entrained air, so it has diagnostics to detect this condition. In an E+H Coriolis meter, a diagnostic value shows that tube oscillation is in a good range, indicating no entrained air. If air appears in the line, the diagnostic value will change (Figure 3), setting off an alarm to the operator. The same function can be used to improve accuracy when starting from an empty line. The automation system can use the diagnos-

The hydro cooker application discussed earlier is a good example of a plant that saved workers time by eliminating two grab samples per hour, and then saved on disinfectant chemical costs with timelier inline analysis. The next step is asking which of the inline measurements would benefit a particular process. For example, dissolved oxygen measurements in brewing, wine, and juice production minimize oxidation of the product. Measuring the Brix of tomato paste can help control the amount of paste to be added during cutting. Viscosity measurements can improve the product consistency of batter coating for beans, onions, meat, poultry, and other products. Inline process analyzers cannot replace all the functions of a modern lab in a food plant, as certain measurements cant yet be reliably made by inline analyzers and instruments. However, modern inline process analyzers and instruments can reliably replace or supplement many of the measurements traditionally made in a lab. Moving from offline to inline measurements cuts labor costs by eliminating manual sampling and analysis, and it adds consistency by automating the measurement process. Inline measurement delivers results in real time, allowing automation systems to adjust process parameters continually to optimize quality and increase throughput. ce Ola Wesstrom is food and beverage industry manager for Endress+Hauser.

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Nothing affects productivity as dramatically as essential equipment downtime. Industry analysts estimate that downtime costs factories at least 5 percent of their productive capacity, with many factories losing as much as 20 percent of their productivity. And while most manufacturers have comprehensive equipment maintenance and service programs in place to minimize downtime and quickly restore equipment to service when downtimes do occur, the vast majority of manufacturers pay much less attention to a problem that, according to Electric Power and Light Magazine, causes 30-40 percent of business downtime: power quality fluctuations. Power is the lifeblood of manufacturing. In fact, industrial operations consume about one half of all electricity generated worldwide, largely due to the massive and constantly moving mechanical operations that take place in plants in the form of industrial motors, pumps and fans. However the integration of sensitive electronics into most logic assemblies has made the circuitry (and therefore productivity) of the equipment that drives industrial automation much more susceptible to power quality fluctuations. Power quality fluctuations take many forms, including sags, brownouts and overages, and over the course of time they take an enormous toll on productivity. A single voltage dip lasting only 100 milliseconds a relatively common occurrence on our aging and stressed power grid can have the same effect on an industrial process as a power outage lasting several minutes or more. Collectively, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the U.S. economy loses more than $120 billion in productivity every year to poor power quality and reliability. The causes of power fluctuations are both numerous and commonplace in most businesses, with an estimated 80 percent of the fluctuations caused by events inside the facility, which could include the powering on or off of a large piece of equipment, improper wiring, faulty connections and more. While, power fluctuations happen multiple times a day they typically dont attract much attention or fanfare. And with the equipment that powers the productivity of industry so vulnerable to such relatively commonplace occurrences, it seems clear that the time has come to pay much closer attention to power anomalies. Surprisingly, in an era when advanced metrics are available for virtually every process and machine on the plant floor, power quality has largely remained a mystery. Recent advances in power quality management technology, however, make it much easier for plant operators, engineers, and control panel builders to monitor, manage, and mitigate fluctuations in power quality. Powerful intelligent asset management solutions can now be hardwired into industrial equipment (or control panels) to proactively monitor the inflow of power, smooth out sags and surges, and ensure a consistent flow of high-quality power to the equipment that powers productivity and profitability. Intelligent asset management solutions, like those developed by Innovolt, deploy microprocessor-based protection technology along with SaaS functionality that, when combined, deliver monitoring, management and analytics that collectively enable comprehensive protection, proactive service, longer mean time between failures, and, ultimately, much higher productivity.

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Keys to achieving high accuracy and reliability in temperature measurement

The final result of your temperature measurement will depend on the interaction of all the devices and connections between the sensor and control system. Key concepts
All devices in your temperature measurement chain will affect the overall accuracy and reliability. The accuracy of all devices needs to be similar or you could be wasting money. Devices such as transmitters can offer features to make the task easier and more reliable.

emperature is the most widely measured variable in process industries and is often a critical factor in industrial processing. If you have been following this article series, you know that the very simple concept of measuring a temperature can be surprisingly difficult to implement effectively. If a temperature measurement is not accurate, repeatable, and reliable for any reason, it can have a detrimental effect on such things as process efficiency, energy consumption, product quality, and possibly process safety. Even a small measurement error can be disruptive or very costly in some processes. Pharmaceutical processing is an example where an inaccurate temperature measurement might ruin a batch of an active ingredient product worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Another example

is in a safety loop where poor performance could be costly, deadly, or both. An example might be a process that can go exothermic and possibly explode if temperature is not measured and controlled accurately. These examples emphasize that each measurement system needs to be evaluated carefully and engineered to satisfy the requirements of the process.
Finding where weak links hide in the measurement chain

Accuracy vs. repeatability

Repeatable NOT accurate

Repeatable AND accurate

Figure 1: Accuracy of a temperature measurement system is the degree of closeness of the measurement of a temperature to that temperatures actual (true) value. Repeatability, is the degree to which repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the same results. An ideal measurement is both accurate and repeatable. All illustrations courtesy: Emerson Process Management
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Measurements are typically made using a sensor, usually a TC (thermocouple) or an RTD (resistance temperature detector), and a signal conditioning circuit (either a transmitter or a channel of an input card to a DCS or PLC) to amplify the sensors low level (ohm or mV) signal to a more robust 4-20 mA current signal or a digital signal such as when using a fieldbus. These components, when combined with a field connection head and thermowell, are referred to as a temperature measurement system or assembly. Articles in this series have considered these individually, but now its important to consider the larger integration. Systems are available to meet a variety of measurement accuracy and stability requirements. Some applications just look at trends, and absolute accuracy is not very important. It is enough to know if the temperature is deviating from an ideal value, even though that specific value might not be known precisely. On the other hand, others may have huge financial impact due to temperature measurement errors. Examples include off-spec production that may require reprocessing, a nuisance process shut down requiring an expensive process restart, reduced production rates, and frequent recalibration costs. As an insight, the accuracy potential of a

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Total system accuracy (+ C)

high-accuracy system is orders of magnitude more accurate than a loosely designed system. Over- or under-design of your system could be a very expensive oversight. A system that is more accurate than necessary simply adds complexity and cost.
Determine system requirements

Sytem accuracy comparison at 150 C

Standard sensor
1.0 0.75 0.5 0.25 Total system*: High accuracy transmitter: + 0.10 C + 1.05 C Standard sensor:

+ 1.05 C

To the new or inexperienced engineer it may seem like a daunting task to select the proper temperature measurement system for an application. To design a reliable temperature measurement system, a series of questions needs to be answered to understand the application thoroughly. As a result of this, the best choice of system components can be made including the thermowell, sensor, and signal conditioning device. Performance requirements of the measurement must also be determined. Operating conditions during start-up, steady-state, and potential abnormal conditions must all be considered. As with any task, a logical and methodical approach usually begins with understanding the performance and physical requirements of the measurement application: Review process P&IDs Compare diagrams to the actual installation Evaluate possible mounting locations Consult with process, mechanical, and environmental engineers during the component selection, and Plan scope and schedule with project managers. This kind of method will usually lead to the best path to follow for a well-engineered solution.

Sensor with CVD option

Total system*:

High accuracy transmitter: + 0.10 C + 0.18 C Sensor with CVD:

+ 0.21 C

Standard sensor

Sensor with CVD constants

*Total system accuracy= (transmitter accuracy)2 + (sensor accuracy)2

Figure 2: One way to quantify the stack-up of errors is to use a total probable error (TPE) calculation. This analyzes the probable error of the transmitter and sensor system, based on anticipated installation conditions..

100%

Loss of measurement risk

75%

50%

Reduction

65%

25% Hot Backup feature 0% Dual-element sensor

Reduction Hot Backup feature Two single sensors

80%

Identify measurement performance factors

Temperature measurement system performance is influenced by a number of factors in reporting process temperature measurements. The most significant of these are defined and explained below. Accuracy of a temperature measurement system is the degree of closeness of the measurement of a temperature to that temperatures actual (true) value. Repeatability of a measurement system, also called precision, is the degree to which repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the same results. As an example, an instrument could present the same value for temperature every time (under the same measurement conditions), but the value is offset from the cor-

Figure 3: With a dual sensor system, the transmitter can be programmed to switch the transmitter input automatically from the primary sensor to the secondary sensor should the primary sensor fail. This feature allows the assembly to maintain measurement continuity.

rect value. This is repeatable but not accurate. An ideal measurement is both accurate and repeatable (Figure 1). Stability refers to the transmitters ability to avoid drift in order to maintain accuracy over time. It is related to the sensors measurement signal, which can be influenced by humidity and prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures. Stability is maintained by using reference elements in the transmitter, against which the sensor input is compared. The leading transmitter manufacturers, to improve accuracy and stability, fully characterize every transmitter over its entire temperature range to compensate for the temperawww.controleng.com

CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 P7

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Figure 4: When two sensors are operating in parallel and connected to the same transmitter, the transmitter can be programmed to compare the two sensor readings and notify the control system if the readings begin to diverge due to degradation of one of the sensors that is causing its measurement signal to drift away from the actual value.

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ture-dependency of the digital-to-analog converter (D/A) and the analog-to-digital converter (A/D). Stability of a transmitter is often stated in terms of percent of the reading or the expected maximum change in measured temperature in degrees C or F over a specified amount of time for each sensor type. Data is typically given in year intervals such as one, two, or five years. Typical examples from a high-end transmitter are: RTDs: 0.25% of reading, or 0.25 C (0.45 F) for five years, whichever is greater. TCs: 0.5% of reading, or 0.5 C (0.9 F) for five years, whichever is greater. The stability specifications here refer to the transmitter performance and do not include the sensor itself. A well-made RTD is generally considered to be highly stable and will not degrade significantly over time. However, even a well-made TC will degrade measurably over time and much more quickly at high temperatures. The critical lesson from all this discussion is that your design must recognize the performance of the entire measurement system, not just the transmitter or sensor. One way to quantify the stack-up of errors is to use a total probable error (TPE) calculation. This analyzes the probable error of the transmitter and sensor system, based on anticipated installation conditions. The compoP8

nents of this calculation include the root sum square of the transmitter and sensor accuracy effects (Figure 2).
Durability and reliability create confidence

It is reasonable to assume that a durable device or system will be reliable. You can depend on it to perform its intended function. Just as you would expect a durable battery in your car to reliably start the engine and run the accessories under all reasonable conditions, you would expect a durable temperature measurement system to perform under its specified conditions. Confidence is built upon a history of reliable performance. In designing a temperature measurement system, each component should be selected to provide the reliability demanded of an application. For example, if dealing with a high-precision measurement requirement, you would not select a sensor that has an excessive drift expectation. If your environment is electrically noisy, you would not use a transmitter that did not offer intelligent filtering capability. Likewise, in a high-velocity flow application, you would not select a thermowell without performing wake frequency calculations. The common element is that you must understand the process to know what the most critical requirements are.

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Maximizing accuracy and reliability

When selecting transmitters, there are many features and options that can work together to build confidence in your readings: Intelligent filteringIn most plant environments, electrical surges from lightning or other static discharge are common as are power surges and dips from your local grid. There can be other hostile conditions caused by vibration, high humidity, extreme ambient temperatures, corrosive atmospheres, and so on, that can adversely affect transmitter performance. Fortunately, high-quality manufacturers have design features and configuration options that address these issues and help provide a reliable temperature measurement. Transmittersensor matching All RTD sensors have inherent inaccuracies or offsets from an ideal theoretical performance curve. Transmitter-sensor matching can create precise compensation for these inaccuracies. Some transmitters offer this as a built-in function using a Callendar-Van Dusen (CVD) equation program. This equation describes the relationship between resistance and temperature of specific RTDs. The matching process allows the user to enter four sensor-specific CVD constants into the transmitter. The transmitter solves the equation

to match the transmitter to that specific sensor, thus providing outstanding accuracy. Accuracy improvement for sensor matching is typically 7:1 and system accuracies of 0.025 F ( 0.014 C) are possible. Hot device switchoverWith a dual sensor system, the transmitter can be programmed to switch the transmitter input automatically from the primary sensor to the secondary sensor should the primary sensor fail. This feature allows the assembly to maintain measurement continuity (Figure 3). Sensor drift detectionWhen two sensors are operating in parallel and connected to the same transmitter, the transmitter can be programmed to compare the two sensor readings and notify the control system if the readings begin to diverge due to degradation of one of the sensors that is causing its measurement signal to drift away from the actual value (Figure 4). Regardless of the hostile conditions that might exist at the point of measurement, a properly specified temperature measurement system configured with options and features as described above can go a long way to ensure that an accurate and reliable measurement is continually reported to the receiving system. ce David Anderson is a senior marketing engineer for Emerson Process Management.

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This is the fourth part of this temperature series. Read the earlier installments at www.controleng.com/archives: Make the right choice: RTD vs. TC, July 2013 Taking the mystery out of thermowell selection, Sept. 2013 The long and short of connecting sensors to control rooms, Nov. 2013 To learn more about measuring temperature in process manufacturing applications, go to www.rosemount.com/tempguide and order a free copy of The Engineers Guide to Industrial Temperature Measurement. www.emersonprocess.com Subscribe to the Process Instrumenation & Sensors Monthly eNewsletter at www.controleng.com/newsletters
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Multi-touch improves data analysis

Multi-touch technologies have rapidly moved from the commercial to the industrial sector where they are being used to enhance data analysis. Key concepts
Multi-touch techniques can be much faster than traditional methods for manipulation and analysis of large amounts of data. These techniques minimize the need for training given the familiarity users have gained using consumer electronic devices.

ulti-touch technology is rapidly migrating from smartphones and tablet computers to industrial automation. One of the main reasons for this trend is that recent studies suggest that an operator accustomed to the technique can manipulate information on a screen much faster than when using a conventional keyboard and mouse combination. In addition, multi-touch technology has almost universal familiarity due to all those devices (Figure 1). Therefore, little or no training is required to introduce multi-touch to resulting in quick adoption and immediate gains in productivity and effectiveness. One of the main responsibilities of plant operators and other personnel is data analysis, and this discussion will show how multi-touch technologies can be used to improve the performance of this and related tasks.

Single-touch cant keep pace

One of the main ways that manufacturing data is viewed and analyzed is through data acquisition and control systems. These systems use color graphical displays to allow plant personnel to view process data and control equipment or processes. Modern data acquisition and control systems replace old recording technologies such as pen and ink chart recorders, or supplement the functions of plant-wide automation systems. The latest products can save months or even years of historical data within the device. Operators can view and study this data without having to use a separate PC and special software. Although data measurement and recording techniques have improved dramatically over the years, producing greater amounts of useful data, analysis techniques and operator interface technologies havent fully kept pace. Traditional screen navigation techniques such as a mouse and keyboard have proven to be an inefficient way to view and analyze large amounts of data. Touchscreens have been used for many years now and are an improvement, but most employ single-point technologies that only allow an operator to touch and manipulate a single screen object. In many cases, a single touch will then activate a function or select a menu to move to a more detailed screen, with multiple touches often required for even relatively simple tasks. Although a well-designed touchscreen interface allows for faster direct-selection of menu icons and other items than is possible with a mouse and keyboard, systems that produce a large amount of historical data still require the operator to constantly tap or touch a screen control to navigate to an area of interest. But a better method is at hand, and is now available in leading data acquisition systems and other related products. Some studies have characterized multitouch screen manipulation as three times faster than with a keyboard and pointing device. This

Multi-touch takes charge

Figure 1: Multi-touch technologies are migrating from smartphones and touch pads to data acquisition and other systems in industrial automation applications, greatly increasing productivity. Photos courtesy: Yokogawa
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JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

allows operators and other plant personnel to find, view, and analyze the data of interest much more quickly. These and other benefits of multitouch for data analysis are listed in Table 1 and described in detail below. A two-point touchscreen supports swipe and pinch operations. With a single finger, an operator can swipe a trend screen and traverse across the horizontal time scale (Figure 2). He or she can then use two fingers compress or expand the time scale (Figure 3). This allows trend data to be examined quickly in an overview fashion, and then investigated in detail. An operator can also rapidly scroll through historical trend text-based data by swiping the screen, in the same manner that he or she would scroll rapidly through a contact list on a smartphone. In many cases, this is a much faster way of finding data than the traditional method of typing letters or numbers and performing a search function. As a matter of fact, the entire user experience with a multi-touch product suddenly becomes very familiar since operators are already interfacing to their smartphones and tablet devices in much the same manner. This reduces the learning curve required to master the operation of a new data acquisition product, while at the same time encouraging the use of features tailored around optimal touchscreen navigation. Finally, multitouch imparts a fun-factor to routine tasks and operations, increasing operator involvement and productivity. But as with all new technologies, there are some caveats that must be examined prior to implementation.
Garbage in, garbage out

Best results in terms of high productivity and ease-of-use will continue to be found through a judicious combination of multi-touch and single-touch technologies, so both should be supported, as in the following application examples.
Bringing multitouch to life

Figure 2: Using a multi-touch swipe operation, an operator can quickly scroll through a trend screen to examine and analyze large amounts of historical data.

Any data being analyzed must be accurate, reliable, and trusted. Once trusted data is available, it must be delivered to the viewing device at intervals frequent enough for meaningful analysis. Large amounts of data also need to be stored and easily compared to current operations as this greatly improves analysis. Poorly executed application software written to use multi-touch techniques will cause problems for users. Operators will approach an application with expectations of how it is supposed to work. If it doesnt perform the way they expect, users will lose engagement quickly. Although multi-touch improves the productivity of many operation interactions, singletouch on-screen keyboards and pointing devices still have their place. For example, scrolling through a list of up to hundreds of variables is generally faster with multi-touch, but searching a database with thousands of entries will usually be quicker with traditional type and search.

A practical example of the advantages of multi-touch and other technologies for data analysis is a panel-mount data acquisition station (Figure 4). It measures process signals with high accuracy and repeatability, and provides clear visualization of this data to operators. Abundant and secure local data storage is a must for future data review and analysis. Last but not least, the station must support easy data transfer to the PC environment, so that data can be permanently stored and further analyzed. The most advanced data acquisition stations are fully integrated devices offering a long list of premium functionality such as modular universal inputs, SD card flash memory, and USB portable media support, topped off with a very familiarfeeling touchscreen operator interface. Intuitive color graphics present information clearly, with single- and multi-touch operations available for all settings and data display navigation. Operators can watch a single overview screen showing all channel data, and then touch any channel in an alarm condition to jump to a more informative trend screen. On this real-time trend screen, a simple swipe will replay recent historical trend data leading up to the alarm, during, and after the event, with min/max data indicated. Another touch and swipe action takes the operator to deeper historical data. This performance is a requirement for many applications, made easier thanks to multi-touch technology. The full depth of trend history, including hours, days, or even months, is now available. Add standard Ethernet connectivity that allows data monitoring using a Web browser, e-mail messaging, and other convenience functions
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Figure 3: Two-finger pinch operation allows trend data to be quickly examined in detail with pinch in, or on an overview basis with pinch out.

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Figure 4: Modern panel-mount data acquisition stations takes advantage of multi-touch and other technologies to enable operators to quickly view and analyze large amounts of data.

and these advanced data acquisition platforms offer a very powerful alternative to complex software-based data acquisition platforms employing older single-touch screen interactions. In one application in a heattreat shop, a paper trend chart captured data that proved furnace temperatures were in specification during each product heat cycle. Operators would handwrite batch and other text information on the chart, associating each product batch with the temperature data. To improve operator productivity, a digital recording system with a touchscreen was installed to acquire, store, and produce secure, tamper-resistant data files containing traceable batch and temperature data. Data input is now performed with greater speed and accuracy, and an audit trail links the responsible operator with the batch record. Multi-touch technology has enabled smartphones and handheld tablets to change the way people communicate, navigate the Internet, and

interact with the countless applications they use on an everyday basis. It has brought the same level of convenience and intuitive feel to specialized data acquisition and control products. Clever design of plant data acquisition and other systems that takes full advantage of multitouch technology, and the deployment of specialized apps in smartphones and tablets that support these products, are changing the way operators interact with and interpret plant information. ce Steve Byrom is data acquisition product manager for Yokogawa Corporation of America.

Table 1: Benefits of multi-touch for data analysis

1. Three times faster than with a keyboard and a pointing device 2. Panning quickly locates the area of interest on a graph or chart 3. Pinching allows quick zoom-in on data of interest 4. Pinching to zoom out gives quick perspective on a longer time horizon 5. Operators can handwrite notes on a trend display

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Sealed subminiature switches designed for valves, actuators
Crouzet Switches sealed V5 sub-subminiature microswitches are designed in applications where compact size and high sealing levels are needed. The switches feature IP67/ IP69K protection as well as multidirectional actuation at angles up to 45 deg. They have a maximum 4 A 250 V ac rating and are able to operate in harsh temperature conditions. The sealed V5 sub-subminiature microswitches are designed for valves and actuators as well low-voltage electrical equipment. They can also be used for seatbelt detection and joystick controls.
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Smart camera system for vision-guided robotics

ABB Robotics Integrated Vision is a powerful smart camera system that makes vision-guided robotics applications faster and easier to deploy. Using 2D vision guidance, it allows manufacturers to: track products more accurately, improve supply chain management, improve quality, troubleshoot challenging lines and processes, and signicantly expand their use of robotic automation. ABB Integrated Vision features sophisticated imaging technologies such as the patented PatMax algorithm for advanced part location. The result is robust inspection, defect detection, guidance, alignment, and measurement, all critical to ensuring that manufactured products meet the highest quality standards. www.abb.com/robotics
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Wireless vibration sensors

Parker Hannins wireless vibration sensors attach easily to machinery to monitor vibration and temperature in even the most difcult-to-reach locations. The sensors wirelessly transmit the full dynamic vibration spectrum and temperature data to a local server or the cloud via a receiver/ gateway. From there, data is imported into a Vibration Monitoring System designed to trend, assess, and monitor machine health quickly and accurately. Parkers wireless vibration sensors can be congured to transmit data based upon a user-selected time interval. Specic monitoring bands can be used to set alarm thresholds and create notications. Parkers wireless vibration sensors are engineered to last up to seven years on a 3.6 V lithium ion battery.
Parker Hannifin Corp.

ABB Robotics

www.parker.com

Input #206 at www.controleng.com/information

X-ray detector and sensor

Teledyne Dalsas Xineos-1515 at X-ray detector is designed for real-time, low-dose medical diagnostics. The Xineos-1515 features Teledyne Dalsas next generation CMOS image sensor technology and has high sensitivity and high dynamic range operational modes from a single detector. The detector features a pixel with 99m resolution and a switchable saturation dose where X-ray technicians can choose between high sensitivity and extended dynamic range depending on the requirements of the procedure. The extended eld of view allows surgical teams a wider and more comprehensive overview of an operating scene. This high-speed, low-power detector is capable of real-time (30 fps) imaging without the need for forced air or liquid coolers. It is designed for xed as well as mobile interventional C-arms, uoroscopy and 3D orthopedic imaging systems.
Teledyne Dalsa

www.dalsa.com

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CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 61

software &

PRODUCTS
Netzers new rotary electric encoder
Netzers new encoders structure provides mounting tolerance, which obviates the need for internal ball bearings. The lack of bearings and components, such as exible couplers, glass discs, light sources, and detectors, along with low power consumption make the DS-25 encoder less likely to fail. The internally shielded encoder includes an electric eld generator, a eld receiver, a sinusoidal-shaped dielectric rotor, and processing electronics. The output signals of the DS-25 Electric Encoder are analog sine and cosine, representing the rotation angle, incremental, or absolute position. The DS-25 is well suited for demanding applications such as aerospace, medical, instrumentation, and automation.
Netzer

SICK launches Flexi Loop safety controller node

The Flexi Loop, which is part of SICKs safety controller family, uses a single cable with an M12 plug to connect e-stops, sensors, switches, lamps, pushbuttons, and interlocks. The companys Flexi Soft safety controllers can support up to eight Flexi Loops, enabling a total of 256 switches. As a result, the Flexi Loop requires minimal wiring effort, which can potentially reduce costs and speed up conguration time. The Flexi Loop can cascade up to 32 safety switches and OSSD safety sensors onto one loop independent of the manufacturer. This modular safety concept integrates common eldbuses. Diagnostic data about each of the sensors connected to the loop can be shared through these gateways, which can help troubleshoot problems and reduce machine downtime.
SICK Sensor Intelligence

www.sick.com

www.netzerprecision.com
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Place your Classified, Literature

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Go to www.controleng.com and visit the online training center in the media library.

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Control Engineering

AD INDEX
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Content For Engineers. Thats what CFE Media stands for, and what CFE Media is all about engineers sharing with their peers. We welcome content submissions for all interested parties in engineering. We will use those materials online, on our website, in print and in newsletters to keep engineers informed about the products, solutions and industry trends. www.controleng.com/contribute explains how to submit press releases, products, images and graphics, bylined feature articles, case studies, white papers, and other media. * Content should focus on helping engineers solve problems. Articles that are commercial in nature or that are critical of other products or organizations will be rejected. (Technology discussions and comparative tables may be accepted if non-promotional and if contributor corroborates information with sources cited.) * If the content meets criteria noted in guidelines, expect to see it first on our Websites. Content for our e-newsletters comes from content already available on our Websites. All content for print also will be online. All content that appears in our print magazines will 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 submission. Learn more at: www.controleng.com/contribute

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CONTROL ENGINEERING JANUARY 2014 63

back to

BASICS

Model-based control, dead times, lag times

Composition control is critical for economical operation of distillation columns. Model-based control techniques prevent purity problems associated with dead and lag times.

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or precise composition control, on-stream process analyzers often are employed to measure composition of the critical product, such as distillation columns, among the most common unit operations for separation and purification in process industries. The purity of product streams is critical for economical operation of the column. Modern control techniques have been developed to utilize analyzer measurements from gas chromatographs (GCs) for closed-loop, distillation column product composition control. For example, consider the depropanizer shown in the accompanying figure. Well assume that the key product quality variable is the isobutane (i-C4) content of the propane (overhead) product, which is being measured by an on-line GC. Maintaining i-C4 content just below its maximum specification limit maximizes propane recovery. The reflux flow is adjusted in cascade from a tray temperature controller, indirectly maintaining propane product composition. The operator then adjusts the tray temperature setpoint based upon feedback from the analyzer.

In practice, the tray temperature control may not work properly. The most common reason is dead and lag times between change in reflux flow and their impact on temperature. However, utilizing advanced regulatory control (ARC) techniques, such as feedforward, this cascade can work. The next step is to implement a process identification model (PIM) and close the loop between the analyzer and tray temperature controller. The PIM should be time adjusted for the tray temperature and analyzer reading. In the case of this depropanizer, a simple dead time and lag transfer function adequately delayed the temperature so that it lined up with the composition. Analysis of trend data indicated that a dead time of 34.5 minutes and lag time of 14 minutes provided a suitable match between the two variables. We can relate the delayed tray temperature to the product composition with a simple, generally linear model:
(Temperature) delayed = K * (Composition) + Bias

A key product variable in this depropanizer is iso-butane. Reflux flow is adjusted by a tray temperature controller to maintain iso-butane purity. Courtesy: Maverick Technologies
64

Each time a new analyzer reading comes in and is validated, the controller uses the equation in two steps: It predicts the product composition based on the delayed actual temperature and then compares it with the analyzer results. Based on the error calculated from the difference of these measures, rules are used to determine a new equation bias. The equation is then inverted to calculate the new temperature controller setpoint, which is downloaded to the temperature controller. Note that control action is taken only when a new reading comes in from the GC. This technique works well when there is an intermediate control variable, such as a tray temperature (inferential of composition), that can be correlated in time with the analyzer reading. Since feedback from the analyzer is model-based, there are no inherent shortcomings associated with the long dead time and lag, unlike conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback control. ce Jim Ford is a process control consultant at Maverick Technologies.

JANUARY 2014 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com

EXPERIENCE
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