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 JULY 2017 • VOLUME 30 • NUMBER 7

28
COVER STORY

Mobility rises above

Soaring freedom is inspiring users to expand
their range—and even take flight.
by Jim Montague

37
SALARY SURVEY

Steady as she goes

Compensation has stagnated. Will the calm persist,
or are rising winds in the offing?
Features
by Nancy Bartels

WEB EXCLUSIVE

Hydrocarbon leak detection

Wireless sensors sound the alarm if fluids reach retention
ponds.
by Patrick Vieira, VEGASE Controle
www.controlglobal.com/articles/2017/hydrocarbon-leak-detection-in-
tank-farms

CONTROL (ISSN 1049-5541) is published monthly by PUTMAN MEDIA COMPANY (also publishers of CONTROL DESIGN, CHEMICAL PROCESSING, FOOD PROCESSING, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING, PLANT SERVICES and
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www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 7

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 CONTENTS

Departments

11 EDITOR’S PAGE 44
Fresh air
Amazing things can happen when we
have to go beyond the status quo.

12 CONTROL ONLINE
Our most recent, valuable and popular
offerings at ControlGlobal.com

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14 FEEDBACK 44 ASK THE EXPERTS
OPA Forum can make standards; Hydrogen mass flow
Cybersecurity isn’t O&M How can we measure H2 for custody
transfer? Must we cut into the pipe?
16 LESSONS LEARNED
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Optimization of cooling systems 46 ROUNDUP Flowmeter
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through optimization. that used to require bulky handhelds RUGGED &
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Fresh air
Amazing things can happen when we have to go beyond the status quo.
MY family has several older cars built before
1994, when automakers switched the refriger-
ant in air conditioning (A/C) systems to R-134a
because Freon R-12 is among the chlorofluoro-
carbons banned by the 1989 Montreal Protocol
to prevent further damage to Earth’s ozone layer.
Earlier cars can be retrofitted to use R-134a, but
R-12 is readily available and my R-12 cars have
remained R-12.
But this year, when I asked about service for a
recently-acquired 1963 Studebaker Avanti, my lo-
cal shop told me it no longer recharges R-12 sys-
tems. The Avanti sat for 20 years and the A/C was
completely empty. I have the certification to buy
R-12 and the equipment to evacuate, leak-test
and charge systems, so I can properly fill it with
R-12. But at about $3 per ounce and 48 ounces
to fill an Avanti, R-12 is expensive. If the system
then doesn’t work properly, I have to pay the shop
to remove and recycle it, so I can make repairs,
and then buy more. So, I searched the web to re-
view the conversion options.
Googling “Studebaker R-134a conversion”
gives you a trip back through time to the birth of
Internet forums and the mindsets of mid-1990s
owners and mechanics who were not at all happy
about being enlisted to help save the environment.
Comments range from rants about how “heavy”
R-12 molecules can’t possibly reach the ozone
layer and pseudoscientific rebuttals to the chemis-
try of ozone depletion to “I just use propane, don’t
smoke, and plan to avoid accidents.”
Despite widespread grousing and some folks'
willingness to screw the EPA, the law and their
cars, the Montreal Protocol was an apparent suc-
cess: the hole in the ozone layer is shrinking and
automotive A/C systems work better than ever.
I’d argue that we see a similar effect for emis-
sions regulations that led to fuel injection; fuel
efficiency requirements that are spurring lighter
designs, turbocharging and direct injection; and
greenhouse gas concerns that are pushing us
away from fossil fuels and toward electric vehicles.
Say what you will about the soundness, impor-
www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 11
EDITOR’S PAGE
tance and morality of the reasons, the simple fact
that we stop doing what we’re used to doing and
have to look for a better way lets us apply new
knowledge, materials and methods that often lead
to very significant improvements.
And opportunities for those ready to seize
them. You may not love Elon Musk any more than
you love Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Gates
or Jobs, but you have to appreciate the range and
scale of their aspirations and accomplishments.
For example, Musk recently vowed to build
a 100 MW, 129 MWh lithium ion battery-based
power storage facility in South Australia within
100 days of signing the contract, adding that if his PAUL STUDEBAKER
company, Tesla, fails to meet the deadline, the fa- Editor in Chief
cility would be free of charge (that’s not a pun). pstudebaker@putman.net
On July 7, South Australian Premier Jay Weath-
erill announced that a deal had been struck. Tes-
la’s megabattery will be paired with the Hornsdale
Googling “Studebaker
Wind Farm, which is being built near Jamestown
R-134a conversion” gives
in the state’s mid-north region. The launch date is
you a trip back through
expected to be in December this year.
time to the birth of
The facility will be made up of thousands
Internet forums and the
of Tesla car batteries packed into hundreds of
mindsets of mid-1990s
refrigerator-sized units spread across a field. Com-
owners and mechanics,
bined, they will be able to power 30,000 homes.
who were not at all
Musk says it will cost him $50 million or more if
happy about being
he can't install it within the 100-day agreement
enlisted to help save
Many other locations have been identified
the environment.
around the world where grid-scale battery storage
is needed to stabilize renewable energy.
In its day, an Avanti cost more than twice as
much as an ordinary car. Its high-compression
289 cubic-inch V-8 with its hot cam and Carter
AFB four-barrel carburetor was rated at 289 hp,
and would push its 3,200-pound curb weight
from zero to 60 in about 9.5 seconds. Today, the
Tesla Model S targets a similar market and clocks
0-60 in as little as 2.3 seconds, which is faster
than the fastest fossil-fueled production Porsche.
That’s progress.
 CONTROL ONLINE
WHITE PAPERS
Blogs & News
Fixes for deadly deadband
While there are some cases where
deadband is helpful, in most applica-
tions the effect is extremely detrimen-
tal and confusing. Hear Greg McMil-
lan’s thoughts in his latest blog post.
www.controlglobal.com/blogs/con-
troltalkblog/fixes-for-deadly-
deadband
Inability to correlate network
anomalies to process conditions
leads to denial-of-service or worse
Joe Weiss: "Since network monitoring
programs can only interrogate network
packets, any changes to process sens-
ing before they become packets can't
be detected by network monitoring
solutions."
www.controlglobal.com/blogs/unfet-
tered/inability-to-correlate-
network-anomalies-to-process-
conditions-leads-to-self-inflicted-
denial-of-service-or-worse
Live from Rockwell Automation
TechED 2017
The editors of Control and Control
Design bring you the latest news and
actionable intelligence from the Rock-
well Automation TechED 2017 event.
Read our coverage here.
www.controlglobal.com/
industrynews/2017/live-from-rockwell-
automation-teched-2017
E-NEWSLETTERS
ControlGlobal E-News
Multimedia Alerts
White Paper Alerts
Go to www.controlglobal.com and
follow instructions to register for our
free weekly e-newsletters.
12 • JULY 2017
2017 State of Technology Report
on temperature and pressure
measurement
SPECIAL REPORT
This anthology of recent coverage from Control magazine and Con-
trolGlobal.com highlights recent developments in temperature and
pressure measurement, and includes a resource guide to web-hosted
papers, programs, videos and other educational materials on the topic,
including “Taming temperature and pressure,” “Secrets to good vessel
temperature and pH control,” “Living on the edge with surge control,”
and more. STATE OF TECHNOLOGY 2017
TEMPERATURE
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MEASUREMENT
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mation off the critical path. Join us on Aug. 23.
http://info.controlglobal.com/smart-i/o-revolutionize-project-execution
Profiting from the IIoT
Industrial organizations are relying on the Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT) to deliver trillions of dollars in business value by driving innovation in
operational efficiency, business management, safety and security. Fulfill- Profiting from
the IIoT
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Author: Dr. Peter G. Martin
devices, regulating them effectively, and optimizing operations around
them. Providing part of the solution is a new breed of controller, which will
be a key automation component for the IIoT. Read the new whitepaper at
http://info.controlglobal.com/white-paper-2017-profiting-from-iiot_cn schneider-electric.com
Calibrating pressure instrumentation TECHNOLOGY REPORT
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FEEDBACK
OPA Forum can make standards
In “Finding the gaps” (Control, May ’17, p.
22, www.controlglobal.com/articles/2017/
the-open-process-automation-initiative-
presents-predictable-challenges-in-io-sys-
tems), the assertion that the Open Process
Automation Forum is "is not a standards-
developing body, which means they will
either have to adopt existing standards or
work with another standards-developing
organization such as ISA, FM or UL to cre-
ate any required documents” is inaccurate.
Existing standards are adopted where
they are fit for purpose. But the objec-
tive is for the Open Process Automation
Forum (www.opengroup.org/open-pro-
cess-automation), a Forum of The Open
Group (www.opengroup.org), to publish
this "standard of standards" on its own be-
half. (A list of members is at http://reports.
opengroup.org/membership_report_OPA_
Forum.pdf.) Furthermore, The Open Group
operates as a publisher of consensus in-
dustry standards and also is a recognized
PAS submitter to ISO if de jure standard-
ization is needed.
LOREN BAYNES, THE OPEN GROUP
l.baynes@opengroup.org
Cybersecurity isn’t O&M
Joe Weiss’ recent “Unfettered” blog post
on the responsibility gap between cyberse-
curity and operations (www.controlglobal.
com/blogs/unfettered/the-continuing-
cyber-security-gap-between-it-security-
operations-and-maintenance-o-and-m-
organizations) mentioned a lot of great
points. I think industrial control system
(ICS) cybersecurity is a separate discipline
not so easily added to the existing tasks
of operations and maintenance (O&M) or
the ICS admin. It is a task in a fast-moving
world that requires a wide range of skills
and a steep learning curve—this is not the
typical O & M culture, which is driven by
today's issues, rather than by next week's
threat. If you add as a consideration that
most plants have a very small team of peo-
ple responsible for ICS (often one or two),
then it's up to the personal effort of one or
two employees how well cybersecurity is
addressed.
14 • JULY 2017
DESIGN FOR
SIS RELIA
BILIT Y
T CONDITION
GE OF ASSE
TAKE CHAR
INVISIBILIT
Y OF PROC
ESS CONT
ROL
CAN WE CONT
ROL THE
CLIMATE?
Does this mean we have to rely on IT
to fill the gap? I don't think so. IT certainly
has some experience that's essential, but
they lack the ICS skills that are at minimum
just as essential as understanding the vari-
ous technical security functions available
for protecting an ICS.
I believe that the present focus on
network security is not enough to protect
ICS. For example, I've seen many systems
where classic OPC connections were
protected by OPC firewalls, but the OPC
server side controlled read/write authoriza-
tions server-wide, so allowing a write to a
specific tagname.parameter would autho-
rize a write to any tagname.parameter. This
is not exactly good security, though at net-
work level all seems to be fine. This type
of knowledge is not known by IT people,
even if they've made the effort to follow
the SANS training. To be a good indus-
trial cybersecurity engineer, you need to
understand the target in all its dimensions:
process engineering, process automation
systems, IT infrastructure, and cybersecu-
rity technology and operations.
To protect against cyber crime, with its
primarily generic attacks, protecting the IT
infrastructure might be enough, but pro-
tecting industry against targeted attacks
requires a much wider skillset. This skillset
is only available to specialist teams with
a mix of people bringing together all this
knowledge.
SINCLAIR KOELEMIJ
sinclair.koelemij@gmail.com
1501 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 400N
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
In Memory of Julie Cappelletti-Lange,
Vice President 1984-2012
EDITORIAL TEAM
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219-878-6094
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Four Ozzie awards for graphics excellence
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 LESSONS LEARNED
Optimization of cooling systems
One of the few processes whose efficiency can be doubled through optimization.
IN recent months, I discussed some non-industrial
processes, such as control of the economy or cli-
mate change, automation of smart cars, the risks
of cyber terrorism, the potentials and limitations of
artificial intelligence, etc. Now, I'll return to some
more traditional topics, focusing on control and op-
timization of industrial processes. The first process
I'll discuss is optimization of cooling syatems.
There are few processes whose efficiency can be
doubled through optimization, but cooling sytems
are one of them. The coefficients of performance of
unoptimized cooling systems are between 2.5 and
3.5, meaning that one unit of energy can remove 2.5
BÉLA LIPTÁK to 3.5 units of energy from a process. Optimization
liptakbela@aol.com can double this coefficient to 6 or 7.
Most cooling systems consist of four heat trans-
fer steps. Heat is first passed from the process
to chilled water, then from chilled water to Freon,
Lowering the ΔP across then from Freon to cooling tower water, and finally
the users reduces the from cooling tower water to ambient air.
yearly pump operating In each step, heat is transported by fluids that are
cost by approximately kept in motion by electric motors (M1 on fan, M2
50 cents per gpm for on compressor, M3 and M4 on pumps, as shown in
each psid. Figure 1). The cost of operating the whole system is
the sum of the costs of operating these four motors.
If we call the total saving 100%, 60% of that is ob-
tained by optimizing the compressor, 15% by each
of the two pumping stations, and 10% by the cooling
tower fans. Savings can be estimated as:
• 1.0 °F reduction in cooling tower approach
(A0) reduces the operating cost by 1.0%.
• 1.0 °F reduction in cooling tower water tem-
perature (Tctws) reduces the yearly cost of
chiller operation (M2) by 3.0%.
• Each °F reduction in chiller ΔT reduces the
yearly cost of chiller operation (M2) by 1.5%.
• Yearly pumping costs are reduced by about
$0.5/GPM for each PSID.
Optimizing cooling tower fan operation: The
"approach" of a cooling tower is the measure of
how closely the cooling tower water temperature
(Tctws) approaches the wet bulb temperature (Twb),
which is the air temperature at 100% humidity. An
increase in approach results in an increase in water
16 • JULY 2017
transportation cost and a decrease in the approach
results in a decrease in the air transportation cost.
The optimum approach (ΔT) is determined by col-
lecting the total operating cost of both the tower's
fans and pumps, and setting the setpoint of TIC-1
in Figure 1 to the approach (A0) that corresponds
to that minimum cost value on that curve. TIC-1 is
then configured to control the fan speed.
Optimizing the cooling tower pump operation:
The "range" of the cooling tower is the difference
between the water temperatures entering and leav-
ing the tower, and the optimum range (R0) is the
temperature difference (Tctws - Tctwr) that corresponds
to the optimum approach (A0) that results in the
minimum cost of both the pump and fan operation.
The setpoint of TIC-2 in Figure 1 is Tctwr, and TIC-2
manipulates the speeds of the cooling tower pumps.
Optimizing the chiller compressor operation:
The yearly operating cost of a chiller is reduced
by about 1.5% for each 1 °F (0.6°C) reduction in
the temperature difference across this heat pump.
To minimize this difference, both the chilled water
supply temperature (Tchws) and the return tempera-
ture (Tchwr), must also be maximized.
Figure 1 shows how Tchws is maximized by the
TIC-3 controller, which manipulates the speed
of the chiller compressor. The setpoint of TIC-3
is set by the valve position controller (VPC-1),
which keeps increasing the TIC-3 setpoint until
the opening of the most open control valve, which
is serving the highest process load, and rises to
90%. If the opening of even the most open valve
is less than 90%, the TIC-3 setpoint is increased,
and if the opening exceeds 90%, its setpoint is re-
duced. This is called load-following control.
Optimizing the chilled water pumping opera-
tion: The combined cost of operating the chilled
water pumps and the chiller compressor itself (M4
+ M3) is a function of the temperature drop across
the evaporator (Tchwr - Tchws). Because an increase in
this ΔT decreases compressor operating costs (suc-
tion pressure rises) while it also decreases pumping
costs (the higher the ΔT the less water needs to be
pumped), the aim of this optimization strategy is to
www.controlglobal.com
8FSF
PO
CPBSE
LESSONS LEARNED

M1 Approach (A) = Tctws – Twb

SP = Twb + A0 Range (R) = Tctwr – Tctws
TIC
1
DA Cooling > or TY – high signal selector
Air at Twb SP = Tctws + R0
tower A0 – optimum approach
CTWP – cooling tower water pump
M2 TIC CHWP – chilled water pump
2
CTWP DA DA – direct acting
Tctws Tctwr
ER – external reset
Freon liquid Tc < < FSHL – high/low flow switch
Freon vapor
Condenser SP Integral only HLL – high/low limit
TIC HLL
Let-down valve M3 1 PDIC – pressure difference indicating controller
DA 3 VPC Setpoint 90%
Compressor 1 PSH – high pressure switch
TT RA RA – reverse acting
1 Chilled water supply R0 – optimum range
Te SP – setpoint
Evaporator TY Twb – wet bulb temperature
< < Integral 1
Tctws – cooling tower water supply temperature
PDIC SP HLL VPC only TCV Other Tchwr – cooling tower water return temperature
FSHL P1 1 2 2 SP = 95% 1 user
3 valve Tc – Freon temperature in condenser
RA
PSH Feedback (ER) DA FC openings Te – Freon temperature in evaporator
1 TCV – temperature control valve
TIC
4 DA TIC – temperature indicating controller
Start TT – temperature transmitter
Stop Cooled VPC – valve position controller
Typical
process process
M4 fluid cooler
FSL CHWP Tchwr
2 Chilled water return

TYPICAL COOLING SYSTEM

Figure 1: Cooling systems consume energy at the motors M1, M2, M3 and M4 driving fans, pumps and compressors. (For other equipment con-
figurations refer to Chapter 8.13 in Volume 2 of the Instrument Engineers’ Handbook.)

maximize this ΔT. This is the case in Figure 1, where, from reaching the manipulated variable.
The ΔT will be maximum when the VPC-1 is set at 90% and VPC-2 at 95%. This is the case during startup, when the
chilled water flow rate is the minimum. Therefore, when the most open valve is controller is switched to manual, when
As the chilled water temperature (Tchws) is less than 90% open, VPC-2 will lower high and/or low limits are placed on the
already controlled, this ΔT will be maxi- the setpoint of PDIC-1, and VPC-1 will controller output, or in case of "selec-
mized when Tchwr is maximum. This goal increase the setpoint of TIC-3. When the tive control" (when the controller is not
can be reached by measuring the open- opening of the most open valve exceeds selected for control or when the output of
ing of the most open chilled water valve 90% (but has not yet reached 95%), a cascade master is blocked because the
in Figure 1 and, if it is not yet 90% open, VPC-1 will slowly start lowering the set- loop has been switched to slave control).
further open it. This increase in open- point of TIC-3, while VPC-2 will continue To prevent this "integral wind-up," the
ing can be obtained by lowering the ΔP to lower the setpoint of PDIC-1. feedback to the integral mode is taken
across the process users (lowering the If VPC-1 did not lower the TIC setpoint from an unblocked signal, such as the
setpoint of PDIC-1). This lowering of the sufficiently (or if the lowering was not fast valve opening or the measurement signal.
ΔP across the users reduces the yearly enough) and the most-open valve reaches This is called "external reset."
pump operating cost (M4) by approxi- 95% opening, VPC-2 will take fast correc- In Figure 1, the load-following controls
mately 50 cents per gpm for each psid. tive action by quickly raising the setpoint of VPC-1 and VPC-2 will be stable only if
The setpoints of the two valve position of PDIC-1. Thus, no user valve will ever be they're integral-only, with their integral time
controllers (VPC-1 and VPC-2) will deter- allowed to open fully and go out of control. settings adjusted to about tenfold of the
mine if these adjustments are to occur Naturally, this will only be the case if the integrals of their cascade slaves (TIC-3 and
in sequence or simultaneously. If both pumps and chillers are sized correctly (to PDIC-1), which are usually several minutes.
setpoints are adjusted to be the same, be capable of meeting the load) and the This is needed to keep the optimization
simultaneous action will result. But, if VPCs are correctly tuned. loops stable when the selected valve open-
one adjustment is economically more Tuning, limits and external resets: ing signal is either cycling or noisy. The
advantageous or safer than the other, the The integral (also called "reset") control high/low limits (HLL-1 and HLL-2) on the
setpoint of the corresponding VPC should mode integrates past errors, and there- setpoints of the slave controllers serve to
be set lower than the other. fore, its output will saturate if it’s blocked keep them within safe limits.

18 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com

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 ON THE BUS
Can things of yore deliver gold?
The benefits of upgrading to get more information may easily justify the cost.
FOLLOWING a brief “swoop-down” to quickly
remedy some process equipment issues, a plant
experienced erratic behavior of a critical valve—
critical because it provided surge control for a
large compressor. No one was comfortable pro-
ceeding with the startup with this valve behaving
erratically. Manual control was out of the question,
and the plant manager put the startup on hold.
The controls technician saw no obvious cause,
but he remembered a tip from witnessing a factory
technician performing a rebuild during a recent
shutdown. The factory techs routinely replaced
a pneumatic relay—a small component that’s ef-
JOHN REZABEK fectively an amplifier for the positioner’s current-
Contributing Editor to-pneumatic (I/P) converter. He removed the
JRezabek@ashland.com existing relay and found the culprit: water droplets
could be seen on the gasket surface of the relay.
After blowing out the air supply piping and replac-
Positioners are designed ing the positioner’s supply regulator (airset) with
and manufactured to one that included a filter, he installed a new relay
function in all manner and reassembled the instrument. The erratic be-
of harsh and hazardous havior was gone, and the startup proceeded.
environments...but most This positioner was a recent-vintage, fieldbus
aren't designed to work digital valve controller (DVC). But like all position-
underwater. ers used on air-actuated valves, it has at its heart
a flapper-nozzle I/P converter. Positioners are de-
signed and manufactured to function in all man-
ner of harsh and hazardous environments—ex-
treme heat and cold, explosive atmospheres, even
in driving rain or hose down—but most aren’t de-
signed to work underwater, and all function best
with clean, dry instrument air.
At a recent conference, Fisher Controls DVC
specialist Sean Raymond told us an easy majority
of the troubleshooting calls he gets are revealed
to have wet instrument air as their root cause.
“There’s a nine-thousandths orifice in the I/P con-
verter—it doesn’t take much water to screw it up,”
Raymond said. The orifice is tiny because instru-
ment air isn’t free, and lower demand can matter
in a total-cost-of-ownership comparison. It’s also a
concern where natural gas has to be used in lieu
of air and low emissions are a priority.
The “power budget” of the positioner is also
20 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com
important, especially for those who rely on a 4-20
mA signal—any digital diagnostics, algorithms
or memory has to function on low current (less
than 4 mA). So, the I/P converter is designed to
be energy-efficient as well. A larger orifice in the
flapper-nozzle means more power is consumed
in analog circuitry and less is available for device
(“thing”) intelligence and memory.
Silicon for processors and memory has made
great strides in the 30-plus years since the first
products were introduced. But wherever the mi-
croprocessor world interacts with the physical
world, we have transducers, like the I/P converter
with its 0.009-in. orifice. No matter how magical
our silicon gets, it still needs mechanical, electro-
pneumatic converters and actuators to move a
valve and affect the process.
If, like us, you have a population of smart po-
sitioners from around 1999, how much more ca-
pable are the positioners you would specify today?
These days, we’re pondering what things we might
want to connect to the Internet or the cloud. Like
panning for grains of gold among the silt and ef-
fluvium coming from our many generations of mi-
croprocessor-based devices, we must be choosy
about what things we monitor. We want to detect
the beginnings of malfunctions that delay the
plant startup, or cause instability and shutdowns.
For the facility’s most critical valves, should you
merely add a HART multiplexor or a wireless
adapter to a vintage positioner? When over 50% of
issues can arise from moisture in the instrument
air, it might make more sense to replace the entire
device with one that can routinely detect impend-
ing degradation in the mechanical “circuitry.”
For the plant whose startup was delayed, the
cost of lost production would have paid for a
dozen of the jazziest, feature-laden positioners,
and the software to monitor them. Operations and
maintenance organizations shouldn’t assume that
they can merely connect our “things” from the
last century and reap the benefits—sometimes a
device upgrade, perhaps even a protocol upgrade,
is required, and is easily justified.
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 WITHOUT WIRES
Wireless flowmeter woes
Innovations in energy conversion and storage promise to open up our options.
THOUGH wireless sensor networks are growing
in use and adoption, one area where there aren't
many options is flow measurement. Before get-
ting too excited, let me explain. Yes, the ubiqui-
tous orifice plate is still the most extensively used
measurement technique, and yes, because it uses
a differential pressure (DP) transmitter that's avail-
able with wireless technology, flow restriction is a
viable wireless measurement technique. But it's
only one of a broad range of available flow mea-
surement technologies used by industry. We also
know (as evidenced by the range of different flow
measurement technologies) there are many argu-
IAN VERHAPPEN ments to be made that there are better technolo-
Senior Project Manager, gies than orifice-based flow, for a wide variety of
Automation, CIMA+ reasons, including pressure drop and accuracy.
Ian.Verhappen@cima.ca So, it’s unfortunate that we're unable to use them
as a complete wireless solution.
Most other flow measurement technologies
require more power than a DP flowmeter. Since
One option along with power is presently the Achilles’ heel when it
better energy storage is comes to wireless sensor networks (WSNs), we
to find ways the sensor have a problem. I see power as the main reason
can be a source of for the limited range of wireless flow measurement
supplemental power, options. Other than DP, there are some wireless
without negatively rotating paddle meters on the market, but these
affecting the units still require an external (i.e. battery) power
measurement. source, tend to be focused on the water/utilities
industry, and aren't using one of the standard
WSN protocols, so they generally will not integrate
well with other devices in our facilities.
Another challenge with certain flowmeters is
that some technologies send their signal as a
pulse output rather than analog. If we're trans-
mitting as a digital signal, this shouldn't be a
problem, other than if it's necessary to convert
to analog at the receiving end, the receiver must
have the capability to manage the pulse-to-flow
calibration factor. If the field device is configured
by output pulses, then the more logical option
would be to digitize the signal at the field end,
requiring modification of the device firmware—a
necessity anyway to be compliant with the chosen
protocol(s).
22 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com
The problem, therefore, returns to one of
power, or more accurately, the lack thereof.
However, there is hope, as I recently learned
via an article in my smart phone’s newsfeed, sug-
gesting that, as a result of improvements in energy
storage in the next decade, electric vehicles will
be lower-cost than combustion-based engines.
Whether or not you believe the lifecycle cost anal-
ysis of electric vs. combustion, the important part
is that applications in the commercial/consumer
market such as these will drive the technology.
Then, because of the large-scale production, the
same developments will be able to transfer to in-
dustry, including the automation sector to address
our relatively minor energy storage challenge.
One option along with better energy storage
is to find ways that the sensor can be a source
of supplemental power, without negatively af-
fecting the measurement. Flowmeters such as
ultrasonic, magnetic or Coriolis, where the meter
needs to drive a signal into the fluid and measure
a response, aren't likely candidates to also supply
energy to the signal-generating circuitry. However,
measurement techniques that use another form of
mechanical energy to generate the sensed signal,
such as vortex, turbine, paddle or nutating disc,
for example, might be able to use the associated
vibration or frequency to at least supplement or
reduce the energy draw from the primary energy-
storage system. Bearing in mind that the technol-
ogy being used for micro and nano machines may
be transferrable to this challenge and consider-
ing I'm a chemical engineer, it will take someone
more brilliant to see if this is even feasible. What's
impossible today may be commonplace tomorrow,
largely because of advances such as we're already
seeing in fields such as energy storage.
We may be experiencing a shortage of wire-
less flow measurement options today. However,
I'm confident that over the next couple of years,
a significant number of new choices will be avail-
able, thus reducing our flow measurement woes in
those difficult to reach and measure locations we
all have in our facilities.
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IN PROCESS
HUG connects plants, users to IIoT future
Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017 highlights solutions to help users benefit from the Industrial Internet
of Things (IIoT) right now.
WHAT will take to get you into the Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT) today? Multiple useful answers to that question were pro-
vided to more than 1,300 attendees at the 42nd annual Honey-
well Users Group (HUG) Americas 2017 in San Antonio, Texas.
The conference by Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) focused
on delivering Honeywell's Connected Plant strategy for helping
process engineers and their organizations join in and profit from
IIoT-based connections and solutions.
"Challenges facing manufacturers and plant operators today
haven't dramatically changed in the last 40 years," said Vimal
Kapur, president of HPS. "Safety, efficiency, reliability, productiv-
ity and security continue to drive innovation across industries.
What's changed is our ability to better address these challenges.
Today, we can leverage the power of the Internet to employ a
broader range of data to transform operations. At Honeywell,
we call it the Connected Plant. Manufacturers are looking to
increase production from existing assets while managing finite
investment dollars. Connected Plant can help them do it.”
Kapur reported that Honeywell’s efforts to support Internet-
empowered capabilities and its product releases over the next
18 months will center on five technologies: virtualization, the
cloud, connected plant, digitalization and virtual reality.
Cloud aids human connections
One way Honeywell is leveraging virtual and cloud technologies
is with Experion Elevate, a cloud-based SCADA application that
eliminates needs for an on-site data center and backup system.
GROUP HUG CONNECTS USERS
“Connecting people is the most critical leg to make the Connected
Plant vision into reality,” said Vimal Kapur, president, HPS, at the
opening of Honeywell Users Group Americas 2017.
24 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com
“It takes a few weeks to deploy, instead of 8-10 months,” said
Kapur. Experion Elevate moves capital expenditures (CapEx)
to operating expenses (OpEx), and it’s flexible. Users can start
small, and add and delete as equipment and needs change. “It’s
secure, because the software is always updated,” he added. “It’s
a fundamentally different way to do this.”
A second cloud-based application by HPS is Uniformance
Connected Historian, which handles historian and analytical
capabilities. “Will process control move to the cloud? Maybe,
maybe not,” said Kapur. “But Experion Elevate and Uniformance
Connected Historian are here today and are much better, so why
not use them?”
Just as connected process control lets experts improve plant
reliability and leverage process licensors, and just as connected
assets allow plants to work with equipment OEMs to optimize
and improve equipment reliability, Kapur stated that connected
people let organizations use the Internet to understand compe-
tence, analyze skill gaps, and provide training. “We understand
needs analysis—the competency requirements of an operator or
technician,” said Kapur. “How can we know their skill levels, do
a gap analysis, and provide the most effective training? We can
use plant data in real time to determine individual competency
and do training intervention, online and customized for different
roles rapidly and using virtual reality, to raise skill levels. Con-
necting people is the most critical leg to make the Connected
Plant vision into reality.”
Connected processes, assets and people products are now in
applications such as heat-exchanger monitoring, shift handover
and vessel lifecycle, and Kapur added that Honeywell will re-
lease additional applications during 2017-18.
In conjunction with the Connected Plant, HUG visitors took in
many of Honeywell’s other new industrial automation technolo-
gies, including:
• LEAP for Operations extends Honeywell's Lean Execution of
Automation Projects (LEAP) efficiency principles to optimize,
simplify and run ongoing operations more efficiently;
• Honeywell Trace documentation and change management
software to reduce configuration errors, improve trouble-
shooting, reduce unplanned shutdowns, and improve audit-
ing and regulatory compliance; and
• Secure Media Exchange (SMX) program to reduce cyberse-
curity risks and operational disruption by monitoring, pro-
tecting and logging use of removable media such as USBs.
For more detailed coverage of Honeywell User Group 2017, visit
www.controlglobal.com/industrynews/2017/live-from-2017-honey-
well-users-group-americas
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IN PROCESS

Digitalization drives Siemens Summit

The mash-up of software, IT, the Internet
and other digital technologies with real-
world, plant-floor equipment, applications
and manufacturing systems is causing
plenty of upheaval in most industries.
However, these earth-shaking forces can
be reined in and successfully managed,
and some of the main resources for doing
it were at the Siemens Automation Summit
2017 on June 26-29 at the Waldorf Astoria
Resort in Boca Raton, Fla. The three-day
user conference featured keynote ad-
dresses, more than 50 end user presenta-
tions, training workshops product exhibits.
"The focus on digitalization has never
been stronger," said Raj Batra, president,
Siemens Digital Factory USA (www.sie-
mens.com/businesses/us/en/digital-factory.
htm), during his opening keynote address.
"When we bought UGS Corp. in 2007,
people wondered how its software would
contribute to what we do. Now, everyone
knows that they've got to embrace digitali-
zation, and for Siemens, this meant billions
in investment in devices and software to
bring the virtual and physical worlds to-
gether to deliver true business value."
Scalability fuels value
However, Batra explained the difficult part
of extracting value from digitalization is that
return on investment (ROI) must be pro- ONES + ZEROES = VALUE
duced quickly. To help its customers navi- "Time to market is the most important
gate this disruptive environment, Siemens driver in business today, and digitalizing an
recently organized its multi-faceted Digital organization's value chain is key to staying
Enterprise program. This strategy optimizes competitive," said Raj Batra, president,
a company's value chain with Siemens in- Siemens Digital Factory USA, at the opening
dustrial software and automation portfolios, of Siemens Automation Summit 2017.

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MODEL 3100
MODEL 987 The Model 3100 is a
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The Model 987 is a pneumatic control designed to vent the tank
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26 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com

 IN PROCESS

communications, security and services, cautomated.com) in Sterling Heights, of the fuselages of Boeing 777 aircraft.
and helps users transition from integrated Mich., designed, installed and main- This robotic system was commis-
engineering to integrated operations. tains the Boeing FAUB cradle-control sioned at Kuka Aerospace, and is sup-
"Luckily, digitalization is a very scal- system to reduce manual riveting and ported by Intec at Boeing's headquar-
able world, so participants can start cradle manipulation during assembly ters in Everett, Wash.
small, and quickly work up to bigger en-
terprises," added Batra. "Time to market
is the most important driver in business
today, and so digitalizing and integrat-
ing an organization's entire value chain is
key to staying competitive. We do this by
making a digital twin of that value chain,
and use it to create the most holistic ap-
proach and solution for our customers."

Award-winning digital
During his keynote address, Batra also
announced the recipients of Siemens'
12th annual Customer Recognition Excel-
lence Awards. The four winners are:
• Tenaris Bay City (www.tenaris.com)
just completed a $1.8-billion, auto-
mated seamless pipe manufacturing
facility in Bay City, Texas, which em-
ployed all aspects of Siemens' Totally
Integrated Automation (TIA) portal,
Integrated Drive Systems (IDS) and To-
tally Integrated Power (TIP) solutions.
The 1.2-million-sq-ft facility includes
a hot rolling mill, heat treatment and
finishing processes, and has a produc-
tion capacity of 600,000 tons.
• Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. (www.
janssen.com/us) in Titusville, N.J.,
transitioned from traditional batch to
continuous manufacturing, installed a
Simatic PCS7-based line control and
SCADA (LC&S) system at its Janssen-
Ortho plant in Gurabo, Puerto Rico,
and secured the first U.S. Food and
Drug Administration approval for con-
version from batch to continuous for
its Prezista medicine for treating HIV.
• Shaw Industries Group (https://
shawfloors.com) reports that its new,
700,000-sq-ft, carpet-tile plant in
Adairsville, Ga., became its first major
installation to use safety PLCs and safe
communications to I/O and drives,
which saved on wiring/installation, and
delivered improved diagnostics.
• Intec Automated Controls (www.inte-

www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 27

IF you can't see the forest for all the
trees, it's time get up above those trees.
Because the need to know what's go-
ing on in process applications always
demands more data and finer resolution
from more places, one useful indicator
just sparks the desire for more. That's
why, after process control engineers and
other plant-floor professionals gain mo-
bile tools and software, they still want to
accelerate and diversify their capabilities
even further, and extend them to new lo-
cations and applications.
"We had one user with a telescope
pointed at a level instrument on an el-
evated water tower across town, which
he used regularly until we added a su-
pervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) system and radio," says Robert
Touchton, chief design officer at MR Sys-
tems (www.mrsystems.com), a CSIA-cer-
tified system integrator in Norcross, Ga.
"He even kept the telescope for awhile
during the transition period."
Similarly, when human-machine inter-
face (HMI) and SCADA systems gained
Ethernet and Internet networking that let
them move out of the control room, and
bring data in and send instructions out via
handheld interfaces, tablet PCs and smart
phones, it was logical and probably in-
evitable that they'd keep going. Recently,
they've been going beyond fixed wireless
devices to take to the skies with multi-
rotor drones, also known as unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAV), which are typically
equipped with cameras, video recorders,
laser or radar measuring instruments, and
other support devices.
"We use drones because they can give
us more information about sites," says
MR's Touchton. "We'd already been doing
3D renderings of facilities, but drones can
add a lot of data because many water/
wastewater plants don't have any aerial
pictures, which can help them orient and
place equipment during design and instal-
lation, or show, for example, where special
mounting brackets need to be installed."
Information on the move
In the past, if the proverbial mountain of
data couldn't come to its users, then they'd
have to go to the information. However,
some recent mobility solutions are loosen-
ing up the constraints of that old reality,
and just as often putting "wheels" on data
and bringing information back to users.
"Mobility can be transformative be-
cause it gives more data to the right
individuals, brings in transparency and
visibility to show what's going on, lets
managers see from a high level how ef-
ficiently their operations and facilities are
running, and lets users interact with each
other more effectively," says John Lee,
manager of the Manufacturing Systems
and Solutions division at Matrix Technolo-
gies (www.matrixti.com), a CSIA-certified
system integrator, this time in Maumee,
Ohio. "Mobility can assist maintenance
rounds, data collection and commission-
ing. Where users previously gathered
information on Excel spreadsheets and
sampled, audited and validated it, mo-
bile devices let them collect and analyze
data much closer to real-time for almost
immediate feedback and distribution to
other users. In one large refinery where
we worked with thousands of instru-
ments, mobility enabled better mainte-
nance accuracy, less errors due to man-
ual entry, and immediate and thorough
data tracking."
To aid these efforts, Lee reports that
Matrix produces software for tablet PCs
and other mobile tools that queries opera-
tors for their one- or four-hour checks, data
reads and log entries for their processes,
and asks dynamic questions based on the
different shifts peculiar to each applica-
tion. "As production workflows get more
digitized, mobility can help enforce them,
and make sure that standardized, required
steps and action sequences are per-
formed, tracked and followed up," he adds.
"This also gives users better analytics about
operations per day, overall process perfor-
mance, or how long future installations or
other changes will take."
Eric Lauber, project engineer at Matrix,
adds that mobile interfaces also make it
easier for users to employ metadata—or
information about other data collec-
tions—to improve their decisions. "Previ-
ously, we might know how many process
inspections were made for scheduling
and staffing," he says. "But now, we ac-
cess central data repositories with mo-
bile devices, put that data into histori-
cal and future contexts, compare the
performance of different sequences and
teams, gain insights and find bottlenecks
we couldn't expect to know about before,
and make adjustments for individual ap-
plications and clients."
HMIs everywhere
Not surprisingly, mobility these days
often means proliferating interfaces in

MOBILITY Defined, tailored, protected mobility

Eric Lauber, project engineer at Matrix Technologies (www.matrixti.com), a CSIA-certified
system integrator in Maumee, Ohio, reports that, "Mobility means different things. Within

RISES
a plant, it can mean not being tied to a particular station, and being able to move around.
Soaring freedom Or, it can mean not being in a plant at all, and accessing applications via tablet PCs and
is inspiring users mobile phones off-premises. More recently, some of those tablets can be rated for Class I,
to expand their Div. 2 safety environments, or comply with non-intrinsically safe (IS) requirements, which are

ABOVE
range—and even often needed in food processing and petrochemical facilities. The point is, each situation is
unique, and we have to ask questions to learn what each one needs."
to take flight.
Before buying and installing mobility devices, Lauber explains, it's important for users to
by Jim Montague
ask and answer several questions:
• In what operational area are mobile devices going to be used?
• What restrictions exist in those areas?
• What safety levels are required?
• How durable must mobile devices be to be viable in those settings?
• If durability is unavoidably limited, how many spare devices will likely be needed?
"If you're going to use mobile devices in tank fields and other outdoor applications, they'll
also have to deal with inclement weather and need protection," says John Lee, depart-
ment manager of the Manufacturing Systems and Solutions division at Matrix. "These are
the same questions we have to answer for cabinets, panels, electronic components and any
other equipment in those environments."
Lauber explains, "It may turn out that a mobile device requires a hot work permit to be used.
In these scenarios, its use must be treated like welding or similar actions. Some recent consumer
devices, like the Galaxy Note 7 mobile phone, are known to catch fire, so devices need to be tested
and certified for use in industrial areas."
Lee adds that Matrix has always interviewed clients and onsite stakeholders about their
business needs, pain points and what they're trying to accomplish before trying to standardize
their work processes and further digitize their applications, and that mobility is a logical add-
on to this process.
"If a customer wants to start using iPads, then we also talk about security because home
use is different than the proper execution, requirements, solutions, safety and protecting intel-
lectual property needed in manufacturing," he explains. "If staff wants to take tablet PCs home
28 • JULY 2017 from work, is critical information going with it? There's a lot to be gained with mobility, but us-
ers have to follow sensible procedures and best practices."
 Convert Your Mobile
Device into a HART
Communicator … with
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HART-based Products
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MOBILE PROCESS INTERFACES
new sizes and formats, putting more cameras, monitors and eyeballs
in the field or close to it, and sometimes supplementing displays with
virtual- and/or augmented-reality overlays containing useful support
information.

...On the Go! To manage increasing demands on their water/wastewater, trans-

portation, environmental and renewable power systems more ef-

C ONNECT 씮 C ONFIGURE 씮 D OCUMENT ficiently, Carson City Public Works (www.carson.org/government/

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departments-g-z/public-works) recently deployed several mobile and
virtualization technologies. The utility daily purifies and delivers more
than 22 million gallons of water and recycles 6.9 million gallons of
wastewater, controls solar plants that generate 748,000 kwh per year,
and manages the municipality's truck fleet and traffic signals.
New technologies adopted include iPads and smart phones that
allow the utility's operators and managers to increase their remote
monitoring capabilities across three Nevada counties. The devices
were integrated with Wonderware SCADA software that Carson City
has used since 1992, and with its Wonderware InTouch HMI software,
both from Schneider Electric (www.schneider-electric.com). Remote
operations were brought to the mobile interfaces by implementing the
Wonderware Mobile Reporting application with SmartGlance software,
which makes their information, key performance indicators (KPIs) and
Wonderware Historian data easy to read and manipulate using smart
phone screen navigation (Figure 1).
“SmartGlance gives our staff instant access to KPIs and process
information on their iPads and smart phones, which increases situ-
ational awareness and allows us to be more efficient,” says Darren
Schulz, deputy director at Carson City Public Works.
James Jacklett, electrical/signal supervisor at Carson City Public
Works, adds that, "Integrating with Wonderware also gives us real-time
status indications, alarm notifications and communications historization
for effective monitoring of our transportation, power and water systems,
providing better operational readiness.”
So far, Schulz and Jacklett say their Wonderware-enabled iPads
and smart phones have reduced operations staff hours by 15% due to
drive-time savings, and allowed the department's more than 120 staff-
ers to transition their workweek schedules from five eight-hour days to
four 10-hour days.
Likewise, when Prima Frutta (www.primafrutta.com) in Linden, Ca-
lif., sought to revamp its cherry production line in 2015 to make it the
world's largest by increasing throughput 50% without increasing staff,
it enlisted Industrial Automation Group (IAG, www.automationgroup.
com), a CSIA-certified system integrator in Modesto, Calif., to help with
the upgrade and expand its existing implementation of Ignition SCADA
software from Inductive Automation (https://inductiveautomation.com)
to the new cherry line. Ignition lets Prima Frutta to share line data with
10 managers and 900 workers via more than 120 screens scattered
throughout the facility.
“Every second counts, so it's very important to provide data to our
staff on the plant floor,” says Tom Augello, production manager at
Prima Frutta. “If a change is coming, whether it’s in size, quality or va-
riety, our people have a very short time to react, so we put that infor-
mation up, flash alerts or use different colors to make sure everyone

30 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com

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MOBILE PROCESS INTERFACES
sees it. The large productivity increase we’ve seen with Ignition
is from these added screens.”
Beyond its larger, fixed monitors, Prima Frutta uses 10 tablet
PCs from Dell to directly control the cherry line. The tablets have
stationary holders, but they can also be carried around the plant
for full SCADA with Ignition and networking via four wireless ac-
cess points from Moxa (www.moxa.com).
Jason Kieffer, project manager at IAG, reports that Prima Frutta
could have used industrially hardened tablet PCs, but chose less
costly, consumer-grade tablets because they’re easy to replace if
needed, and were easy to implement with Ignition. IAG also mim-
icked Prima Frutta's existing servers by building a digital twin of
them at IAG's office, which let the integrator develop the new appli-
cation in its native environment, and accelerated its installation and
accuracy. “It was so quick. Within two hours of pulling a tablet out
of the box, we were running the application on it," says Kieffer. "We
were really surprised at how quickly it went.”
Greg Sinigaglia, production manager at Prima Frutta, con-
firmed that using Ignition on the tablets and larger monitors
saves time and money. “Let’s take grading of the fruit as an ex-
ample,” says Sinigaglia. “Before, we had to walk down and look
at the quality and see what the sorters were doing. Now, with Ig-
nition, we have all this information displayed on screens. There’s
no more running around from spot to spot.”
Simplicity = usability
Just like a hiker with a lighter backpack, mobility in process fa-
cilities is greatly aided by newer tools that are simpler and lighter,
which allows them to be used more frequently. For instance,
Kice Industries (www.kice.com) in Wichita, Kan., designs and
builds industrial air systems for the flour milling, biofuels, food
and energy industries, and staff in its system integration division
always welcome better ways to migrate large distributed control
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32 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com
ALWAYS-ON AWARENESS
Figure 1: Operators and managers at Carson City Public Works use iPads
and smart phones with Wonderware by Schneider Electric's SCADA, HMI
and SmartGlace software to improve operational awareness and efficiency
of their water/wastewater, solar power and transportation applications,
and save 15% on drive-time hours. Source: Schneider Electric
systems (DCS), building panels, and implementing numerous
valves, instruments and other components.
"We just installed a good-sized biofuel project with 600-700
instruments and valves, and expanded another biofuel plant with
1,200-1,400 instruments and valves, and we thought there had
to be a better way than the outdated, 15-pound, $6,000-$7,000
handheld we'd been using to program, test and commission HART
valves, check instruments and do loop checks," says Peter Love, se-
nior systems engineer for automation at Kice. "Eventually, we came
across DevComDroid smart device communicator from ProComSol
(https://procomsol.com), which costs $1,000-$2,000, and includes
a Bluetooth HART modem and app for doing complete HART de-
vice configurations with an Android smart phone."
DevComDroid uses registered device description (DD) files
from the FieldComm Group (https://fieldcommgroup.org) for
complete access to all features of a HART device. All members
of Kice's onsite teams can use it, including electricians, field
commissioning staff and plant DCS operators.
"The main advantage for everyone is that DevComDroid is a
lot less weight because all we're carrying is an Android smart
phone and the 2 x 3 x 3 in. modem in our pockets. This porta-
bility means we can have it with us at all times, and use it more
often," explains Love. "Also, the battery on the old communicator
only lasted two or three hours, so we had to haul a spare around.
DevComDroid lasts as long as our smart phone battery, which is
usually all day. The modem also has wire leads that allow it to be
clipped to a scissor lift, or otherwise brought close to an instru-
ment, while we make changes from a safe distance. With the old
communicator, we'd have to be right at the device."
Beyond the benefit that HART data appears the same on a smart
phone as it does on the older communicator, Love adds it's easier
to apply software updates to DevComDroid and store information by
just plugging in the smart phone. "A multivariable flow transmitter
has a commissioning process, so you have to backup data from the
communicator to a PC. However, most communicators have been
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MOBILE PROCESS INTERFACES
UP, UP AND UAV
Figure 2: MR Systems uses its Phantom 3
quad-copter 4K camera with 1,920 x 1,080 pixels to
fly at less than 300-400 feet and conduct surveys
for wireless/radio installations. The drone can stay
up for about 30 minutes on one battery charge, and
can travel at up to 50 mph. Source: DJI
limited in how much configuration data they could store—maybe
100 procedures—so active-stop and storage operations were
needed to free space," says Love. "With smart phones and tablet
PCs, we have far more data storage available, and transfers are
easier to file servers, other PCs and the cloud. Plus, we can backup
configurations, store them a PDF documents, and email them. With
the old communicator, we also had to deal with complex file formats
and proprietary software to handle configurations.
"In all, I think we've saved 25-30% on our commissioning
time based on what we do all day, added portability and bat-
tery life, and the fact that we can do more by having our smart
phones with us all the time. Plus, an old communicator can't
email you at 1 a.m., but a smart phone can do it. Also, a lot of
system integration work is done remotely these days, so we're
also saving on travel and achieving a better quality of life."
Stay safe out there
Beyond keeping networks and communications secure, many
users and suppliers stress that effective mobility tools must also
be employed to keep users and applications safe, often by con-
tinuously monitoring their locations.
To keep better track of its remote workers, for example, pump
and valve supplier KSB Industrial Services (www.ksb.com) re-
cently adopted Spot LLC's (www.findmespot.com) Tracker device
with satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) chip to keep
track of staffers servicing equipment in remote areas where there
are often no cellular signals. Usually employed by backpack-
ers, Tracker was configured by KSB to transmit GPS data in XML
format. Next, Inductive's FactorySQL software collects the XML
SKY-HIGH SURVEYING
Figure 3: E&C firm IATEC used a DJI Inspire 1 UAV with 12-megapixel Zenmuse X3 camera con-
trolled by Pix4Dcapture flight-planning software and compatible DJI SDK software to conduct an
aerial, photogrammetric survey of a Petrobras-UTGCA gas-treatment plant in Brazil, fly automatic that DJI's drones can travel at up to 50 mph.
routes in 10 areas, and capture 2,588 images of the 750,000-sq-m plant in just three days.
Source: IATEC and Pix4D
34 • JULY 2017
data into an SQL database, and pre-
pares it for use by Inductive's FactoryPMI software,
which can create dynamic applications for analyzing
lone worker whereabouts. KSB calls this solution its
Personnel On Site Tracking System (POSTs). It's now
set up on KSB’s servers, and users only have to pay
$100 per GPS unit and $80 per month for unlimited
monitoring, alerts and reports.
To protect mobile users wherever they're located, Jason
Schexnayder, sales director for the ecom division of Pepperl+Fuchs
(www.pepperl-fuchs.com), reports it recently launched the world's
first explosion-proof tablet PC approved for use in Zone 1/Div. 1 and
Zone 2/Div. 2 settings. Developed in cooperation with Samsung,
Tab-Ex 01 can retrieve data in real time, interact with remote ex-
perts and backend systems, and use optional cameras to capture
and respond to maintenance errors and other issues.
"All kinds of technologies related to mobility, such as Blue-
tooth, RFID, tablet PCs, smart phones, cameras, WiFi and cel-
lular, are combining to provide more data and enable better de-
cisions," says Schexnayder. "However, if you need redundancy,
then you're going to need at least a couple of them."
Driven to drones
Though remote-controlled, multi-prop, miniature helicopters or
drones for exploring and monitoring process applications may
seem exotic, some plants report they've been used for years to
examine equipment in especially inaccessible locations, such as
towers and remote pipelines and cables. Instead of using cranes
or building scaffolding to reach the top of a flare stack with no
ladder, for example, they simply fly a drone to the top, and use
its high-resolution video camera to gather detailed equipment
health data and wear-and-tear status. Similarly, power compa-
nies have long used full-size helicopters to let technicians check
power lines, and many of them now use drones, too.
Touchton reports that MR has employed drones for about a
year in more than 10 projects. It often helps conduct surveys for
wireless/radio installations, which means it's no longer necessary
for MR to bring in and raise a tower. The
system integrator typically uses a Phantom
3 quad-copter from DJI (www.dji.com) with
4K (four times high-definition) camera with
1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which costs about
$1,500, though overall UAV prices have
been dropping recently (Figure 2).
MR's drone usually flies at less than
300-400 feet, and can stay up for about 30
minutes on one battery charge. Though the
system integrator doesn't race its drones
like many recreational users, Touchton adds
These drones usually operate at a maximum
distance of three miles, but Touchton reports
www.controlglobal.com

that adding an amplifier to MR's has given it a range of up to 20
miles. [A video showing how MR uses drones to develop SCADA
graphics is at www.mrsystems.com/videos.]
"At height, the 4K camera's real-time feed shows the operator
where the drone is, and lets us zoom in but still maintain resolu-
tion, so we can see what's happening," he explains. "The drone
is controlled by an app on an iPad, and it can be guided manu-
ally, or it can execute a predefined flight. We're using it mostly for
video surveys of projects, so we're not using it to help assist any
operations yet, though it could be used for that purpose."
However, as MR's operators gain experience with their Phan-
tom 3 drone and its controls, the applications where it can be
applied will almost certainly multiply. For example, a drone with
a tether and power cable could remain aloft 24/7, and serve in
place of a tower. "For now, we just want to rent a laser or radar
unit for the drone, put it in the middle of a room or facility, let it
scan, and automatically pull readings into 3D Max software to
generate renderings. This would let us scan and measure build-
ings that we usually have to measure and model manually."
Touchton's advice to other potential drone users is to buy or
rent an affordable model, practice with it, and learn where it
www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 35
MOBILE PROCESS INTERFACES
might be most useful in their own projects and applications. "My
eight- and 11-year-old kids have flown ours, and even I haven't
crashed yet," he adds. "One of our other operators did crash re-
cently, but all we had to do was replace a rotor."
Likewise, IATEC Plant Solutions, an engineering and construc-
tion firm in Sao Paulo, Brazil, recently used a DJI Inspire 1 UAV
with 12-megapixel Zenmuse X3 camera controlled by Pix4Dcap-
ture flight-planning software and compatible DJI SDK software to
conduct an aerial, photogrammetric survey of a large Petrobras-
UTGCA gas-treatment plant in Brazil. The survey was needed to
update 3D models, drawings and databases of the plant, but the
job needed to be done without costly laser scanning or a risky,
time-consuming visual inspection (Figure 3).
"Using telemetry data from GPS and GloNaSS satellite sys-
tems, Pix4Dcapture's app allowed Inspire to automatically fly
routes optimized for mapping," stated IATEC's Luciano Araujo
and Henrique Marques. "In just three days, Inspire 1 captured
2,588 grid-based nadir and free-flight oblique images in 10 sub-
sections of the 750,000-sq-m plant, and stitched them together
with Pix4Dmapper software, which is compatible with IATEC's
CAD/CAE software and configuration settings."
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Connected Industrial © 2017 Honeywell International Inc.

Steady as she goes
The picture of the process industry and the people who work in it has changed little
over the past three years. Will the calm last, or are rising winds in the offing?
by Nancy Bartels
AT first glance, the results of Control’s 2017 Salary Survey look
like a movie we’ve all seen several times already. The typical pro-
cess engineer has gotten a little grayer, is a bit nearer to retire-
ment, has more educational and managerial experience, and is
earning a bit more, but with a few notable exceptions, he’s much
the same guy he always was and confronting the same issues
and conditions as in the past.
Unlike the wide-angle view of last year’s reporting where
we reflected on changes over the entire 25-year history of the
survey, this year we’ve narrowed the focus to cover only the
last three years, and this narrower view shows remarkably little
change. But the answers to some questions reflect, however
obliquely, that this calm can’t last forever. Like every other indus-
try, process automation is only one major political shift of wind,
economic downturn, technological breakthrough (here’s looking
at you, Internet), or natural disaster away from a seismic shift
that will change everything.
But let’s look at the remarkably stable results first.
Process Automation Engineer, V.2017
The average age of the respondents to our survey is 48.5, three
years younger than in 2016. Chances are, he’s a guy. This year
92.0% are men. The closest women have come to cracking the
10% mark was 2015, when their percentage was 9.8%.
He’s also a college guy. Forty-nine percent have a four-year
degree. An additional 23% have advanced degrees. A little over
half (53.3%) are trained as electrical or chemical engineers.
This number is virtually unchanged over the past three years.
However, he’s not a licensed P.E. Only 24.6% of our respondents
are certified in this way. But, the past three years show a slow
growth, up from 19.8% in 2015.
One way to account for this is, on average, those without the
P.E. certification earn $4,100 a year more ($93,000) than those
with one ($89,300). That suggests the possibility that the engineer
most interested in the technical nitty-gritty is not as interested in
the managerial track, which tends to offer greater earnings.
Another possibility was raised by one of our respondents, who
is looking for a “more focused professional group qualification
for controls engineers. We work with engineering firms that have
P.E.s on staff that just don’t have the experience or knowledge to
www.controlglobal.com
SALARY SURVEY
design for today’s control systems.” Apparently, ISA’s new certifi-
cation programs, Certified Automation Professional and Certified
Control Systems Technician, haven’t yet made sufficient inroads
into industry consciousness to make much of a difference, at
least in the mind of one respondent.
The 2017 process automation professional probably works
in one of three areas: production and plant operations (18.8%);
engineering, design and construction (39.2%); or plant mainte-
nance (13.6%).
Another 6.8% are in corporate management—another set of
numbers largely unchanged from past years.
No matter what field he works in, our average respondent
works hard for the money. Three-fourths (75.9%) of those sur-
veyed say they work 40-60 hours a week, down 3% from 2015.
Another 18.1% say they work more. A little over three-quarters
(76.7%) don’t get paid for overtime. This is another set of num-
bers virtually unchanged over the past three years.
Also, 62% are U.S. citizens, widely scattered across the
country, which is 13 points from the 2015 numbers. In the U.S.,
Texas has the most process automation professionals, with
12.7%. The drop in the U.S. number almost certainly reflects
Control’s growing overseas readership, the growing process in-
dustries in other countries, and the more international footprint
of many major industry players.
Show us the money
While the pay scale in process automation doesn’t put its engi-
neers in the storied 1% class, the money overall is quite good.
The average annual gross pay across the industry is $93,400,
down a mere $620 from last year’s $94,020. The detailed
breakdown for 2017 is shown below. Those making more than
$60,000 per year have increased from 73.4% in 2015 to 78.9%
now. This number is probably reflective of an aging workforce
with more accumulated seniority. At the same time, we must re-
member that this number is an average. We received more than
one comment to the effect that management was “stingy” with
wages and benefits. One respondent complained that he hadn’t
had a raise in years, and another suggested that his company
paid less than any of the similar companies in the area.
It should be noted that these numbers are a reflection of the
JULY 2017 • 37
 Under $30K
More than $140K
$31 to $40K 3.5%
SALARY SURVEY 8.0%
14.3%
$41 to $50K 3.2%

$51 to $60K
6.5%
$121 to
$61 15.2% $140K
6.3%
to $70K
age, educational background, seniority, and managerial posi- company, a way get a raise to people without seeming to give
tion of those responding. A little over 65% of our respondents them one, something 9.3%you’re entitled to for putting up with all the
$71
are over 45. About 41% have been with their current company hassle, etc.toWhatever
$80K your view of bonuses, everybody likes to
15.6%
more than 10 years. Almost three-fourths (72.0%) have at least a get one. This is another 7.8%area where the picture remains
$101 to remark-
10.4% $120K
four-year college degree,
Figure 1: andWhat
38.4% haveannual
is your more than
gross10salary?
years of ably steady over$81 time.
to $90K The only ripple in this pond is the 9%
supervisory experience. drop in the number of people$91 receiving
to $100K a bonus is 2016, which
No matter how much is in theUnder pay$30K
packet now, how much more rebounded to nearly 2015 levels this year.
More than $140K
is in it now compared to last
$31 to $40K year is an important benchmark.
3.5%
8.0% Figure 1: What is your annual gross salary?
The multi-year$41comparison
to $50K 3.2% of this benchmark 14.3% in Control’s survey Jobs with benefits
remains fairly steady. Last year showed a small uptick of 3.9% However,
Figuregross
2: How pay,much
raisesdid
andyour
Under bonuses
$30K salaryare only partlast
increase of the com-
year?
(87.3%) from $51 to $60K
2015 (83.9%) 6.5%in those who received raises. In 2017, pensation package.
$31 to $40KThe benefits a company offers
3.5%
More than $140Kthe
fill out
$121 to 8.0% that remains relatively un-
82.7% of respondents reported a raise of $4,000 or less, virtually
15.2% $140K
picture. Thisto is
None $41 another set of features
$50K 3.2% 24.8% 14.3%
$61 6.3%
unchanged overtothe $70Klast three years. Just a hair under a full quarter changed over time. Here are the numbers for the “Big 14” benefits
> $1K 17.3%
(24.1%) reported no raise at all. The complete breakdown for 2017 $51 to $60K
in 2017, which are relatively
6.5% unchanged from the previous two. Flex
is Figure 3. 9.3% $2-$4K
time has grown from being available to 26.2% of respondents $121in
40.6% to
$71
15.6% flat over $61 15.2% $140K
to $80K
Raises as a percentage of salary also have remained 2015 to 32.5% now.
$5-$7K Family leave is a new category we added this
6.3%
7.8% $101 to to $70K10.4%
the last three years. This year, the number 10.4% of people getting year; a surprising 27.4% say it’s available to them.
$120K $8-$10K 2.4%
raises of less than 11% $81 toof
$90K
their salary is 69.1%, up four points According to 9.3%
our respondents, that catch-all category “other”
$71
from the 65% of the previous two years. $91 to $100K $11-$15K 1.3%
includes everything from comp time, a housing
to $80K 15.6%
allowance and fit-
7.8%
ness 1.3%with bonuses for performance to a daily$101
tracking
$16-$20K mealto and,
10.4% $120K
Bonus! $81 to $90K
in one case, “a wife.” That last raises some interesting questions.
$21-$25K 0.6%
The corporate equivalent of your gold star in the first grade, Does one have to take the wife along $91 to $100K
if one leaves the company,
Figure < $25K 1.3%
payback for a job2:well
How much
done didespecially
or an your salary increase
good year forlast year?
your and depending on the answer, is that an incentive to stay or leave?
0 10 20 30 40
None 24.8%

> $1K Figure 1: What

17.3% is your annual gross salary? Figure 2: How much did your salary increase last year?

$2-$4K 40.6%
Under $30K None 24.8%
$5-$7K More than $140K
$31 to 10.4%
$40K 3.5%
8.0% > $1K 17.3%
$8-$10K$41 to 2.4%
$50K 3.2% 14.3%
$2-$4K
Figure 3: Did You get a raise?
40.6%
$11-$15K $511.3%
to $60K
6.5% $5-$7K 10.4%
$16-$20K 1.3% $121 to
15.2% $140K $8-$10K 2.4%
$61 6.3% 0 10 20
$21-$25K 0.6%
to $70K 66.1% 66.1%
$11-$15K 1.3% 57.1%
Yes Yes
< $25K 1.3% 9.3% Yes
$71 $16-$20K 1.3%
0 to $80K 10 20 15.6%
30 40
7.8% $21-$25K 0.6%
$101 to
10.4% $120K 2015 2016 2017
$81 to $90K < $25K 1.3%
$91 to $100K 0 10 20 30 40
100

80

Figure 3: Did You get a raise? 60 salary did the bonus represent?
Figure 4: What percentage of your
Figure 2: How much did your salary increase last year? 40
Less than 2% 18.9% 20.0% 21.1%
20
None 24.8% 2%-5% 26.6% 23.5% 22.3%
Figure 3:0 Did You get a raise?
> $1K 66.1% 17.3% 66.1% 6-10% 20.1% 21.5% 25.7%
57.1%
Yes Yes 33.1%
$2-$4K Yes 40.6% 11-15% 18.5% 15.0%
15.9% 42.9%
33.9%
$5-$7K 10.4% More than 15% 18.7% 16.5% 15.9%
66.1% 66.1%
2017 2015 57.1%
2016 2017
$8-$10K 2015
2.4% 2016 Yes Yes
Yes
$11-$15K 1.3%

$16-$20K 1.3% 2017

38 • JULY 2017 2015 2016 www.controlglobal.com
0 10 20
$21-$25K 0.6%
Figure 4: What percentage of your salary did the bonus represent?
 SALARY SURVEY

Play dates
No matter how much you love what you do, time away is good
for mind and body. As Figure 6 shows, better than three-fourths
FIgure 5: Benefits
of our respondents get three or more weeks of vacation every
year. The numbers for 2015 and 2016 are virtually identical. This Medical 90.2%

year shows a 6.5% drop to 79.9% from 86.4% the year before, Dental 72.8%
which may be reflective of the number reaching retirement age Life insurance 75.5%
and a corresponding drop in the number of those qualified for Disability 61.9%
that big four-week-plus vacation. Pension 31.6%
While these numbers look good on paper, the real issue is 401K 60.6%
whether people actually take the time they’re entitled to. Ameri- Tuition reimbursement 41.9%
cans are notorious for not using their vacation time. According to Stock options 14.3%
New Equipment Digest, a survey by Project: Time Off finds that Profit sharing 19.2%
more than half of those surveyed did not take all the vacation Car 12.9%
time to which they were entitled. They were entitled to 22.6 paid Flex time 32.5%
vacation days, but took only 16.8 of them. That’s just a bit more Family leave 27.4%
than a five-day work week given back to The Man.
Telecommuting 15.6%
It’s a trend that has grown appreciably since 1993. We’ve
Other 3.3%
never asked the question directly, but every year in the free-form
0 20 40 60 80 100
comments section, we find people complaining that they’re too

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www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 39

 Car
Flex time 12.9%15.6%
Telecommuting 32.5%
Flex time 32.5%
Family leaveOther 27.4%
3.3%
0 20 40 60 80 100
Family leave
SALARY SURVEY
Telecommuting 15.6% 0 27.4% 20 40 60 80 100
Telecommuting 15.6%
Other 3.3%
Other 3.3% 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
1.8% 10.7% 23.3% 34.6%
Figure
0 6: How
20 much
40 vacation
60 do 80
you get?
100 1.5%
1.5% 10.2% 21.3% 30.3%
1.8%
31.5% 1.8% 10.7% 34.6%
Figure 6: How much vacation do you get? companies, 38.3% of respondents 1.5%
said their company was hir- 23.3%
10.7% 34.6%
22.8%
Figure 6: How much vacation do you get?
25.6% 1.8%
1.5% 1.5% 10.2% 23.3%
21.3% 30.3%
ing, the best number in the last three 1.8%
14.9% 1.5% years, up a full 14.1%
1.8%
10.2% from21.3% 30.3%
31.5% 2016 and 5.6% from 2015.
3.2% 1.9%
22.8% 31.5% 25.6%
14.9% 22.8% 25.6% Comments in the “other” category reflect a largely unchanged
0 1 Week 2 Weeks 3 Weeks 4 Weeks More
14.9% picture. “Flat” and “steady” are frequently used terms. Others
3.2% 1.9% than 4
3.2% 1.9% indicate a mixed bag between a slow, modest improvement in
0 1 Week 2 Weeks 3 Weeks 4 Weeks More the picture and an equally modest retraction shown by “slowed
0 1 Week 2 Weeks 3 Weeks 4 Weeks than
More4
Figure 7: Are you happy in your work? than 4 hiring, slowed raises,” although one respondent ominously re-
2015 2016 2017 ported “everybody’s quitting.”
35

Figure 7: Are you happy in your work? Job security, certainly

30
25 a factor in a happy workplace, has in-
Figure 7: Are you happy in your work? 20

Yes 2015 creased this year. In 2017, 15 61.5% of our respondents say they’re
2016 2017 35 10

2015 2016 2017 not concerned about 30

35
25
their
5
0 job security, up 4.6% from 2016 and
30
20

Yes 73.0% 79.1% 79.0% a little higher than 1525202015’s 60.5% unworried respondents.
10
Yes 15
5
10
0
No 73.0%3.3% 79.1%
1.8% 79.0%
2.1% So what’s different?
5
0

73.0% 79.1% 79.0% If everything seems to be more or less smooth sailing, what’s the
No problem? Shouldn’t we just kick back and enjoy it? The truth is,
Sometimes 3.3% 1.8% 2.1%
No 3.3% 1.8% 2.1% there are some storm clouds on the horizon. They’ve been there
23.7% 19.1% 18.9%
for some time, but in the eyes ofAD:our Use pie chart for Q 38. Call outs are below.
respondents, too many
Sometimes Figure 8: The Economy Effect
Sometimes companies in the process automation industries are apparently
23.7% 19.1% 18.9%
23.7% 19.1% 18.9% ignoring them. Most of theseAD: Use piehave
clouds chart for
to Qdo38.with
Call outs
ourare below.
aging
Figure
AD: Use pie 8: for
chart TheQEconomy Effect
38. Call outs are below.
workforce and strategies in place (or not)8: to
Figure Thecompensate
Economy Effect for the
Figure 8: How is the current economy affecting your company?
departure of so many talented and experienced people.
10.2% promotions Looking at the numbers, in 2017, according to our survey, 53.0%
19.9% layoffs
Figure 8: How is the current economy affecting yourand raises
company? of respondents said their company was facing a shortfall of employ-
0 20 40 60

Figure 8: How is the current economy affecting your company?

10.2% promotions ees because of attrition by retirement or other reasons. That’s down
19.9% layoffs andpromotions
10.2% raises
19.9% layoffs only slightly from 2015’s 55.3%. T ​ his year, respondents say approxi-
0 20 40 60 80
and raises 0 20 40 60 80

38.2% hiring 19.2% more 12.5% other mately 10.0% of their workforce is expected to retire in the next two
overtime
to five years. That’s up from 5% in 2015.
38.2% hiring 19.2% more 12.5% other And yet, all too often, according to comments from our re-
overworked 38.2%tohiring
take time off, even if they’re overtime
19.2% more
entitled to12.5%it. It’s not un-
other spondents, companies don’t have plans to replace them. They
overtime
reasonable to. assume that the numbers in the process automation report that their companies rely on the usual collection of com-
industry are like those in the general working population. mon recruitment strategies: print and online advertising, employ-
. ment and recruitment agencies, networking and a scattershot
Is it worth . the hassle? of plans for reaching out to young people to encourage them to
One set of questions we ask every year is the level of job satis- Print or pursue engineering careers. They visit high schools and colleges,
online advertising 44.1%
faction our respondents experience. The cluster asks whether participate in STEM activities, hold open houses for interested 38.5%
Linked In, Facebook, or other social media
they’re happy in the automation profession, whether they’d young people and offer internships and/or co-op programs. But
Visits to local high schools, community colleges, and local Printcolleges
or onlineandadvertising
universities 32.4% 44.1%
recommend it as a career to their children, and what providesPrint or online notadvertising
one of these strategies commands more than the38.5% 44.1%44.1%for
Holding open-house events Linked teachers,
In, Facebook, or other social media
the most job satisfaction. Thisand tours for local
is another area students,
where
Linkedthe In, answer
parents,
Facebook, or other
and the and
print
social
community.
online advertising. Next
media
11.5%in popularity is having 38.5%either
Visits to local high schools, community colleges, and local colleges and universities 32.4%
Sponsoring local STEM programs,
remains more or less stable over time. Six percent more of our such as FIRST Robotics in local schools. 15.9%
internships or participating in other co-op programs
Visits to local high schools, community colleges, and local colleges and universities 32.4% at 40.2%.
Holding open-house
respondents say they’reevents and tours
happy for local
in their workstudents,
now teachers,
than
Participating said parents,
in orso in andlocal
coaching the STEM
community.
often the case with 11.5%
As isprograms our12.5%
surveys, the “other” category is re-
Holding open-house events and tours for local students, teachers, parents, and the community. 11.5%
2015. However,
Helping developgiven that the numbers
Sponsoring
process control localand
and STEM for 2016curriculum
programs,
automation and
such this year
as FIRST
at Robotics
local invealing.
localand
high schools “None”
schools. 6.9% 15.9%
colleges and “no strategy” are not uncommon remarks. So
Sponsoring 15.9%
are virtually unchanged, maybelocal
more STEM programs,
people weresuch
Participatingjust in
as
had
or
FIRSTa Robotics
coaching local
inislocal
STEM
schools. not trying to hire,” “no
“company
programs 12.5%
6.4%
present plans to hire, develop or
Teaching process control and automation at localhigh schools and colleges
bad year in 2015. Almost 82% would alsoParticipating recommend in or coaching local STEM
process attractprograms
future employees"6.9% and12.5%
the repressive “unfortunately, man-
Helping develop process control and and automation curriculum Offering at internships
local high schools
and/or and colleges
co-op programs 40.2%
automation as aprocess
Helping develop careercontrol
for their children,
and and another
automation number
curriculum that’s
at local high schools agement doesn’t grasp the
and colleges 6.9%state of the situation.”
Teaching process control and automation at localhigh schools and colleges 6.4% 14.5%
remained stable overTeaching the years, andcontrol
the top Other
process andreason
automationfor liking the schools and
at localhigh Of course,
colleges inertia and/or
6.4% obliviousness are not the only possible
Offering internships and/or co-op programs 40.2%
job remains the love of dealing with technical challenges. That explanations. Some 0 12% of 10our respondents
20 30 in the40.2%
fall 40
lucky cat- 50
Offering internships and/or co-op programs
number continues to hover in the 40-45% range. Other 14.5%
egory of expecting to lose less than 10% of their workforce in the
Other 14.5%
The fact that the economy as reflected in our industry is doing next two to five0 years. Furthermore,
10 20 companies 30 are facing 40 a slowly
50
better may also be making for a cheerier outlook on work in gen- growing economy 0 at best,10 and are20reluctant30to hire or40even replace 50

eral. When asked how the current economy was affecting their workers now. The number of comments we’ve seen over the past

40 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com

Figure 9: How long is your company’s apprenticeship

60
program for new operators or engineers?
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 Teaching process control and automation at localhigh schools and colleges
Offering internships and/or co-op programs
SALARY SURVEY
Figure 9: How long is your company’s apprenticeship
program for new operators or engineers?
58.3%
17.1% 14.3%
4.5% 5.8%
No 1 year 1+ to 3+ years Length
program or less >3 years varies
few years complaining of having to do more work with fewer peo-
ple, and the number reporting work weeks of more than 40 hours
or complaining that they’re too overworked to take vacations would
support that. For some companies, at least, the strategy seems to
be not to replace leaving employees unless there’s no other op-
tion. How long that strategy will be effective remains to be seen.
The replacements
Then there's the fact that internships and apprenticeships are
expensive to develop and administer, and developing a process
control engineer, even one with good basic training in engineer-
ing, takes years, not weeks. According to this year's survey,
nearly 60% of companies offer no training at all, and only 18.8%
offer a program on longer than a year (Figure 9).
In our additional comments section, veterans have a thing or
two to say about this state of affairs. They’re very worried about
the lack of training. One respondent said, “The focus definitely
seems less toward developing in-house expertise. This is across
the board—operations engineers, process control/automation
engineers, etc. There is little focus/drive to have new engineers
master their craft in any one area prior to moving on or mov-
ing up.” Another explains, “Two years is too little to effectively
train someone to take over my job. Five years is more appropri-
ate.” A third respondent concurs, and adds, “It takes control
systems engineers about three to five years just to get intimately
acquainted with the technologies used by a site, much less the
time it takes to effectively exercise the skillset required.”
One respondent warns, “[Management is] also unaware of
how they’re setting the company up for failure by not develop-
ing new people to fill the shoes of those that will retire in the next
five to 10 years.” And there’s this grim warning, “I don’t see the
company being able to continue doing what we do in another 10
years once everyone hits retirement age.”
But there’s another strategy for filling in the gaps that’s been
in place for several years, and it’s one that’s a continuing sore
point for our respondents—outsourcing. One respondent says,
“The company is continuing to outsource more and more en-
gineering roles to India and China. Many process, design and
engineering roles are now performed remotely from Asia without
42 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com
6.4%
40.2%
Other 14.5%
0 10 20 30 40 50
stepping foot into the facilities.”
In 2017, 64.9% of companies outsourced some work, a number
unchanged over the past three years. The amount individual com-
panies do hasn’t changed much either. It stands a decimal point 60
above or below 53% consistently. The number of companies doing
50
more outsourcing than in the past has fluctuated between 25.0%
and 30.0% over the last three years. The 2017 number was 28.6%. 40
There is an added wrinkle to the outsourcing strategy that’s
30
also unpopular with many respondents. One person in that
“other” category explains that, “The company just uses the 20
H-1B visa program. All local initiatives ended once the visa laws
10
were changed a few years ago.” This ploy is unpopular because
many local engineers feel that these workers are given prefer-0
ence because they’ll work for less money, and that the foreign
workers aren’t as well trained as locally grown talent. Although,
in fairness, the veterans are less than impressed with the skills of
many of them as well.
One cloud on this horizon is a possible/probable change in
government immigration policy. Stricter controls on ​H-1B ​visas
and other regulations could put an end to or at least severely re-
strict this corporate strategy. Whether that means that outsourc-
ing to overseas workers will decline, or moving entire plants over-
seas will grow, or whether companies will find another way out of
0 10 20 3
their difficulty, remains to be seen.
There is a final factor that may be influencing corporate reluc-
tance to grapple with the retirement bubble: the Industrial Internet
of Things (IIoT). This is the first year we’ve asked about IIoT in our
survey, and as of now, 44.1% of those surveyed say their company
is embracing the technology. That’s a big number for a field that’s
famously conservative about adopting new technologies that might
disrupt carefully tuned processes, especially for one whose useful-
ness is still debated and whose actual scope isn’t entirely clear.
After all, what does the term actually cover? Robotics? Arti-
ficial Intelligence? Self-repairing machines? Machines that can
learn? What will its implementation mean for highly regulated
environments? Is it even feasible in certain areas? Will it be the
kind of game changer its big brother, the Internet, was? Or will it,
in the end, be as much marketing hype and wishful thinking as a
seismic change in the way the industry works?
The answers remains unclear. They’re beginning to come in,
but the picture is still out of focus. However, in the short term, it
may be another justification some companies have for not seri-
ously addressing the retirement bubble. Why worry about the
shortfall if the machines themselves can take over the work?
But given the slowness of many in the sector to respond to
the demographic problem, even though its shape and scope has
been clear enough for at least a decade, the question is, will it
respond any more quickly to what could be another major dis-
ruption to the industry.
Objects on the horizon are closer than they appear.
Nancy Bartels is the former managing editor of​Control.
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www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 43

 ASK THE EXPERTS

Hydrogen mass flow

How can we measure hydrogen for custody transfer? Must we cut into the pipe?

This column is moderated Q: My aromatic plant consumes hydrogen during on, ultrasonic meters is 3-5% FS, which is no good.
by Béla Lipták startup. A dedicated line supplies hydrogen to If your flow rate is fairly constant (within, say, 2:1)
(http://belaliptakpe.com/), the plant. I would like to install an instrument to and the measurement variation is mostly due to den-
automation and safety measure the mass flow of the gas for billing pur- sity changes, you can add a nuclear densitometer to
consultant and editor of the poses. What kind of flow measurement technol- the clamp-on unit, and expect to get a ±5% AR ac-
Instrument and Automation ogy should be used? curacy over a 2:1 range.
Engineers’ Handbook Since the plant is in operation, the hydrogen Keep in mind that hydrogen gas usually con-
(IAEH). If you have an line should not be cut. So I'm looking for a mass tains some air, which is 14 times heavier than hy-
automation-related question flowmeter that does not require cutting the line. drogen. So, if it's not measured and corrected for,
for this column, write to On the other hand, clamp-on devices I’ve seen the mass flow measurement it will read high.
liptakbela@aol.com. don't have enough accuracy for billing purposes. The importance of hydrogen flow measure-
G.F. HEKMAT ment is increasing. Some expect that, in a couple
hekmatgh@gmail.com of generations, our present fossil-nuclear energy
economy will be replaced by a solar-hydrogen
A: The short answer is that clamp-on sensors are one. They believe our energy source will become
not suited for accounting applications. For that, you solar energy, and it will be stored and transported
need an in-line instrument, such as a Coriolis flow- in hydrogen. Whether this will happen or not, we
meter, with accuracy better than ±0.5% of actual don’t know, but we do know the market for hydro-
reading (AR) over a 100:1 range, or a thermal mass gen flowmeters is already rising. One of the newer
flowmeter with accuracy of ±1% AR to ±2% full applications is in the fuel cell industry, which
scale (FS) over a 5:1 range. The accuracy of clamp- serves both electric cars and solar homes, where
it provides electricity during the night. Fuel cells
Electric current operate by generating electricity, while oxidizing
hydrogen into water (Figure 1).
The specific energy of a kilogram of hydrogen
Fuel in e- Air in
(143 MJ/kg) is three times higher than that of
e-
gasoline (46.9 MJ/kg). The cost of a kilogram of
e- H2O hydrogen is around $5, and it is expected to level
e- off at $2-4. In electric cars, hydrogen is stored in
H+
H2 fuel tanks at around 10,000 psig (700 barg). One
O2 kilogram of hydrogen can provide the same driv-
H+ ing range as one gallon (3.79 liters) of gasoline. In
Unused
Excess gases fuel cell-operated electric cars, the fuel tanks can
fuel H2O out contain 5 kilograms of hydrogen, which can give a
driving range of up to 600 kilometers (375 miles).
Refueling at hydrogen fuel stations takes about 5
Anode Cathode
Electrolyte minutes.
In the U.S., the National Institute of Standards
FUEL CELL-POWERED ELECTRIC CAR and Technology (NIST) specifies the accuracy
Figure 1: The importance of hydrogen flow measure- requirements for the measurement of gasoline at
ment is increasing and the market for hydrogen fuel pumps. They usually use piston-type positive-
flowmeters is rising due to applications such as displacement pumps having ±0.3% AR accuracy,
the infrastructure for electric vehicles powered by meaning that the actal volume of a 10-gallon pur-
hydrogen fuel cells. chase could vary between 9.97 gallons and 10.03

44 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com

 ASK THE EXPERTS

gallons at the delivery temperature of the gasoline.

For hydrogen, NIST mandates that filling stations (Figure 2)
selling the fuel be able to dole out the gas at least at ±2% AR ac-
curacy (20 grams per kilogram). In addition, NIST Handbook 44,
which has been adopted by all states, stipulates that hydrogen will
be sold by the kilogram. A modified version of this requirement
(S&T Item 339-2) has widened the current accuracy tolerances,
and it's not yet entirely clear what the final numbers will be. In
short, this area of standardization is still in the development stage
and our process control profession can contribute to helping to get
it right.
As of today, the number of hydrogen fueling stations in the world
is reported to be 760, including 35 in the U.S. (32 in Catifornia),
but these numbers are increasing very fast. Building these stations HYDROGEN FUEL STATION
is expensive (about $1 million each) and their refueling precision is Figure 2: NIST mandates that filling stations selling the fuel be able
debatable. While the pumps usually display the sales as accurate to dole out hydrogen with at least at ±2% actual reading (AR) ac-
to within ±0.01 kg, I'm not sure if they really are. When refueling, curacy (20 grams per kilogram). The pumps usually display the sales
the hydrogen is charged into the car's storage tanks, which are as being accurate to within ±0.01 kg (10 grams).
designed to hold the gas at 10,000 psig (700 barg). The availability
of such high-pressure mass flowmeters is limited, but they do exist
and their accuracy ranges from better than 0.5% AR to about 2%
FS (Figure 3).
Naturally, one could also use the ideal gas law (PV = mRT)
to determine the mass of hydrogen in the fuel tank at any one
time (m = PV/RT), where m = mass, P = absolute pressure, V =
volume of the fuel tank, R = the gas constant and T = absolute
temperature. Using this method would also be feasible because,
if the tank is being refilled with pure hydrogen, the tank volume
and the gas constant are known (V and R) and the hydrogen
pressure and temperature (P and T) can be accurately mea-
sured. To my knowledge, this method of mass flow measurement HIGH-PRESSURE MASS FLOWMETERS
has not yet been used, but it could. Figure 3: Examples of high-pressure mass flowmeters include a
BÉLA LIPTÁK Coriolis mass flowmeter by Heinrichs Messtechnik GmbH (left), and a
liptakbela@aol.com thermal mass flowmeter by Bronkhorst (right).

A: While there are many flowmeters that are capable of mea-
suring hydrogen gas, only the Coriolis flowmeter corrects for
density variations resulting from both temperature and pressure
changes. All other flow measurements are volumetric, and must
be corrected for variations in pressure and temperature. Coriolis
is the only technology sufficiently accurate to be used in custody
transfer operations, such as your application.
DICK CARO
RCaro@CMC.us
A: I recommend that you consider a Coriolis mass flow meter
for this application. For additional details and technical guide-
lines, please see www2.emersonprocess.com/siteadmincenter/
PM%20Micro%20Motion%20Documents/Hydrogen-Gas-Bene-
fits-WP-00539.pdf.
RAJ BINNEY
binney4family@internode.on.net
A: I concur with Bela – use Coriolis. Note, however, the extreme
sensitivity of hydrogen measurements to the presence of any
contaminants. One percent of, for instance, oxygen is equal to
8% hydrogen. You can't rely on the Coriolis meter to determine
the mixture density/composition as you could in liquid phase. So
if you're purchasing 95% hydrogen on the basis of its hydrogen
content, most of your measurement is the contaminants. This is
a matter that hydrogen producers have traditionally been careful
to conceal in their contracts.
IAN H. GIBSON
gibs0108@optusnet.com.au
A: You can definitely use a Coriolis mass flowmeter. Check with
Micro Motion. I've used it for measuring flow as low as 8 gm/ hr
hydrogen for gas-phase polymerisation reactors.
DEBASIS GUHA
Debasis_guha71@yahoo.com

www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 45

ROUNDUP
Calibration road trip
Many process instruments are gaining a take-out menu of calibration functions that used to be done solely
by calibrators, and traveling with them into the field.
PRESSURE, VACUUM PUMP
PGC calibration pump can generate pres-
sure and vacuum in the range of -0.95
to 35 bar, which is -13.7 to 510 psi. The
pump has a pressure/vacuum selector,
so users can quickly go between positive
pressure and vacuum. A fine adjustment
is provided to accurately adjust generated
pressure or vacuum. PGC comes in a car-
rying case with a dedicated 40 bar/580
psi pressure T-hose set and conical pressure connectors suited
for use with Beamex calibrators.
BEAMEX
770-951-1927; www.beamex.com
MULTI-PURPOSE TOOL FOR PRESSURE
Fluke 729 automatic pressure calibra-
tor automatically generates precise test
pressures; improves calibration integrity
by compensating for leaks; and auto-
matically documents the calibration
process for compliance and regulatory
demands. The 729 features automatic
pressure generation to 300 psi; calibra-
tion documentation with templates;
HART communications; measurement of mA signals on trans-
mitter outputs; and sourcing and simulation of mA signals.
FLUKE CORP.
800-44-FLUKE (443-5853); www.fluke.com/729
GAUGE GIVES REMINDERS
XP2i intrinsically safe, digital pressure
test gauges notify users when their cali-
bration is about to expire. Using Crystal
Engineering’s free ConFigXP software,
XP2i can be programmed to alert users
before, on or after its calibration due
date. Users can even select the type
of alert, from a start-up warning to a
continuous warning that prevents users
from operating it. XP2i has three alert options: gauge startup,
always, and alternate with reading.
CRYSTAL ENGINEERING, A UNIT OF AMETEK
805-595-5477; www.crystalengineering.net
46 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com
WEB-BASED CALIBRATION DISPLAY
AMS Device Manager V13.5 software has
AMS Device View intuitive, web-based
interface with mobile-friendly dashboards
that provide an overview of device health
and calibration status from anywhere with
an Internet link to AMS Device Manager.
It also supports definition of device test
schemes, calibration scheduling and cali-
bration data management. Test schemes
are defined by calibration interval, test
point and accuracy needs, and set-up/clean-up instructions.
EMERSON AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS
www.emerson.com/ams
VERIFICATION EASES CALIBRATION
Heartbeat Technology onboard di-
agnostic and instrument verification
system, when added to Micropilot
FMR5X free-space radar and FMP5X
Levelflex guided radar level transmit-
ters, reduces the need for calibrations
by comparing internal components
with their reference values to deter-
mine device status. Verification pro-
duces a pass or fail statement, and generates a report in compli-
ance with quality, safety and regulatory requirements.
ENDRESS+HAUSER
www.yourlevelexperts.com/heartbeat
MODULAR SENSORS DO CALIBRATIONS
Because of its modular sensors,
meriGauge plus digital pressure
gauge lets users buy only the pres-
sure ranges they need. Its 10 small,
interchangeable Smart Sensors (15
psi to 3,000 psi) each contain their
own calibrations. meriGauge plus
has a large, two-line display with a
backlit digital readout, and guar-
antees accuracy of ±0.02% of full scale plus 0.005% of reading
from -10 °C to 50 °C and from 0% to 110% of range.
MERIAM PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES
216-281-1100; www.meriam.com

Opening minds about controllers
Part 2: Cases where it's better or easier to use model predictive control instead of PID.
GREG: In part 1 (Control, June ’17, p. 55, www.con-
trolglobal.com/articles/2017/opening-minds-about-
controllers-part-1), we started with a discussion of
how to tune your PID with Mark Darby, principal at
CMiD Solutions and part-time lecturer at the Uni-
versity of Houston, who also greatly expanded my
horizon on model predictive control (MPC) in our
column, “Model predictive control—past, present
and future” (Control, Feb. ’13, p. 55, www.control-
global.com/articles/2013/mcmillan-weiner-mpc-
past-present-future). Here we discuss in more detail
with Mark what MPC can do that PID could not do
as well or as easily. Experts like Greg Shinskey and
his protégé Sigifredo Nino can get extraordinarily
more out of a PID than the average user, particularly
for challenging multivariable applications, as seen
in “Distilled analysis of interaction” (Control, Aug.
’14, p. 63, www.controlglobal.com/articles/2014/
distilled-analysis-of-interaction). ISA Mentor Program
resources, such as Michel Ruel, can also achieve
much more with PID than most practitioners as seen
in Michel’s many articles, starting for me with “Show
me the money, part 1” (Control, Nov. ’09, p. 55,
www.controlglobal.com/articles/2009/Money0911).
STAN: What trends do you see in the use of ad-
vanced process control?
MARK: We continue to see widespread use of
MPC, although with a variable success rate across
the industry. Continuing enhancements from the
technology suppliers have been in the areas of
closed-loop plant testing and model identifica-
tion. With the current shortages of knowledgeable
staff, which will only get worse with the retiring of
baby boomers, we're starting to see technology
suppliers enhancing their MPC products to help
guide inexperienced users to the right decisions.
Embedded MPC capability in the DCS is allowing
MPC to be used instead of customized advanced
regulatory approaches for smaller applications.
Real-time optimization (RTO) has not lived up to
its promise. Only a few large companies have the
skills to develop and maintain large RTO applica-
www.controlglobal.com
CONTROL TALK
tions with the traditional general rigorous use of
open equations to find and attain steady-state
optimums. What we see are more small, targeted
and simplified approaches to RTO.
GREG: The ability to try out a small MPC built into
the DCS without the need for a special license or
interface has led to more and more applications.
These newer MPC provide much tighter control than
the previous PID because of the ability to address
compound responses and to identify and include
disturbance variables in the model. The existing PID
loop tuning was challenging due to slow, complex
response and the dynamic compensation of a feed-
forward missing due to software that couldn't readily GREG MCMILLAN
compute the required lead-lag and deadtime. STAN WEINER, PE
MARK: I think it’s helpful to think in terms of two va- Greg McMillan and Stan Weiner
rieties of MPC applications: 1) the process unit appli- bring their wits and more than 66
cations, consisting of several unit operations, with an years of process control experience
objective of production maximization or energy mini- to bear on your questions, com-
mization and 2) a standalone or targeted application ments and problems.
that's addressing a challenging control problem with
complex dynamics and/or interactions. Write to them at
controltalk@putman.net.
STAN: Why does MPC do better than PID on pro-
cesses with complex responses often due to dis-
turbance variables and recycle effects?
MARK: Leaving aside the multivariable advantages,
MPC, with its flexible model form, can better con-
trol complex process responses than PID, due to its
limited structure. Note that this assumes the iden-
tification software can identify sufficiently accurate
higher-order models. Higher-order effects include
inverse response, lead effect and compound re-
sponse caused by an embedded recycle in the
process. The MPC will explicitly consider a predic-
tion of the model over the prediction horizon, and
will include the predictive effect of all manipulated
variables plus the contribution from disturbance
variables. Consider, for example, MPC control of
an inverse response, with a predictive horizon that
extends to steady state. The MPC will anticipate the
JULY 2017 • 47
CONTROL TALK
inverse response and not correct in the
wrong direction as a PID would.
GREG: For a simple combination of an
early first- or second-order exponential
response followed by a slow integrator,
like we'd see in a temperature loop on
a heat exchanger in a recirculation on
a vessel, we could tune the PID for the
early response. We could also include the
vessel temperature (heat exchanger input
temperature) as a feedforward variable,
but this understanding is generally miss-
ing. Secondary lags can be compensated
for to a large degree by derivative action.
A lag can be added to the controlled vari-
able via a filter to compensate for a small
lead. What we can't handle well with a PID
is an irregular response, like inverse re-
sponse in boiler drum level control, which
must rely more on a feedforward, such as
steam flow in three-element control.
STAN: What are the pros and cons of
making the MPC bigger to include more
than a single unit operation?
MARK: MPC size is dictated by process
interactions and expected constraints.
Larger controllers typically arise when
Does the real world meet graduates' expectations? See the "Top 10 advertisements and advise-
ments" at www.controlglobal.com/articles/2017/opening-minds-about-controllers-part-2.
48 • JULY 2017
the plantwide objective is maximum pro-
duction and limiting constraints lie at the
back-end of the plant. By expanding the
MPC to include a series of unit opera-
tions, you can greatly expand optimiza-
tion, improve constraint handling, and
provide a more coordinated solution.
However, the condition of the matrix can
become challenging. Fortunately, tech-
niques exist that can detect and repair
the ill conditioning.
STAN: How well does an MPC handle
unmeasured load disturbances?
MARK: The traditional bias correction for
unmeasured load disturbances on the
process input doesn't do as well as a PID
for lag-dominant processes where the
PID gain and rate time settings are large.
This limitation can often be mitigated by
adding feedforward disturbances or by
incorporating DCS PID temperature loops
as manipulated variables in the MPC. We
can switch to modeling the MPC process
as an integrator, so the correction of the
slope can provide action similar to what
a PID can do. However, due to the way
integrators are often treated in MPC, this
uses up a degree of freedom (to balance
the integrating variable at steady state).
Some MPCs include additional options for
handling unmeasured disturbances that
can address error originating from a load
disturbance on the process input.
GREG: A PID can provide deadtime
compensation either via a Smith Predic-
tor or the simple insertion of a deadtime
block in the external reset feedback,
as explained in “Common automation
myths debunked” (Control, April ’17, p.
42, www.controlglobal.com/articles/2017/
common-automation-myths-debunked).
MARK: A few MPCs allow a variable
deadtime. In general, though, a change
in deadtime requires a reformulation of
the matrix, making frequent changes
impractical. This would be a nice feature
for an MPC to have as it would allow, for
example, deadtime to be expressed as a
function of throughput.
STAN: Do you see a trend to seek the
MPC to directly manipulate a control valve
rather than a flow controller?
MARK: Direct manipulation of a control
valve is normally done when either typical
operation or the optimal steady state is at
or near fully open or closed valve position.
In these situations, it can make sense to
“open” the DCS loop and directly manipu-
late the controller output. This approach
may require signal characterization for lin-
earization, and assumes good positioner
tuning, minimal stiction and backlash and
an 86% response time that's not signifi-
cantly dependent on step size. Backlash
can be addressed to some degree by us-
ing a lead-lag on the valve signal. When
stiction or backlash is present, it's advis-
able to incorporate a minimum move limit
in the MPC output. Adaptive approaches
that adjust the controller output to PV
model have also been applied.
GREG: These requirements on valve re-
sponse are important in PID control as well,
but often aren't met due to an emphasis on
tight shutoff and low cost.
www.controlglobal.com
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www.controlglobal.com JULY 2017 • 49

 CONTROL REPORT
Be your own reporter
Don't wait for editors and publications. Just pick an intriguing topic to research
and go to town.
ONE problem that irritates me no end is when we
can't run one of Control's regular departments.
This month it was the popular Resources column,
which I enjoy researching and compiling because
it gives readers a concentrated dose of educa-
tional items, whitepapers, videos and other mate-
rials on a different topic each month.
Of course, I know can run an unlimited amount
of articles and other materials online, but I was
also thinking of an alternative and more flexible
solution. Dear readers, do some of your own re-
search and reporting.
Seriously, don't wait for me or some other outlet
JIM MONTAGUE to come up with something that sounds interest-
Executive Editor ing, but is all too often half-baked. You can do
jmontague@putman.net a fine job on your own. After all, if this was that
well-known rocket science or brain surgery, I'd
be scanning the want ads, I mean, posting my re-
Before you hit search, sumé on LinkedIn.
take a minute and really Just pick an intriguing topic and go to town.
think about what you're Of course, I know everyone can Google what-
after. Just a few ever. However, there are a few subtle investigation
representative words methods that I think can make many research ef-
that are likely to appear forts more productive.
in the material you're First, I've found that simple, two- to four-word
seeking can be a big phrases tend to yield better search results. Bool-
help in finding useful ean search methods are nothing new, but it's im-
results. portant to avoid long, unspecific descriptions with
unneeded words. They typically generate huge
and bad results.
So, before you hit search, my advice is take
a minute and really think about what you're af-
ter. Just a few representative or relatively unique
words that are likely to appear in the material
you're seeking—maybe a slightly unusual name or
technical concept—can be a big help in turning
up useful results. Don't just search for "flowme-
ter." Search for "flowmeter" and "pipe diameters"
or "turbidity" or something else.
Second, quality search methods aside, you
must also be willing to wade through a lot of balo-
ney. With a little practice, you can usually tell in a
second or two if most citations hold any promise.
Third, dive into the websites of individual com-
50 • JULY 2017 www.controlglobal.com
panies and organizations. These can be painfully
slow because many apparently haven't devoted
sufficient resources to bandwidth. However, they
may also have useful materials that don't readily
show up in general web searches, possibly be-
cause they're also not working on search engine
optimization (SEO) or promoting their content
more widely. Still, everyone seems to be writing
white papers and shooting videos, and many are
useful and worth seeking.
Fourth, don't neglect newer search and content
venues like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Insta-
gram and others. Many chatrooms of old or their
descendants are still active, but they've been
joined by a host of more dynamic content-sharing
applications and communities with unique voices
and equally interesting materials.
Fifth, make some phone calls. The young folks
have informed me that calling is rude, at least if it
isn't prefaced by a text or email query. However,
I've also found that even digital content only goes
so far, and following up with some real people
and pointed questions can generate some excel-
lent answers. I may just be unlucky, but email
responses are typically wishy-washy and unspe-
cific. Phone calls have much better give-and-take,
and if someone isn't answering a question, you
can say, "Excuse me, but you're not answering
the question" Plus, when I'm done asking sources
what they know, I can finish up by asking who
they know. I call this the "human bibliography."
Sixth, examine your initial results, refine your
terms, and search again. You know, lather, rinse
and repeat, if desired.
Finally, beyond researching editorial and tech-
nical topics, these basic inquiry steps can be
used in all areas of life to assist yourself, your
family and your community. One reporter friend
of mine was hit with brain stem cancer many
years ago, but he approached it like another story,
found one of the early providers of Gamma Knife
treatments in the Chicago area, and is still on
Facebook as of a couple days ago. How's that for
reporting?
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