Dennis Brandl

Tips on determining what is IT, OT

Engineering and IT Insight: Companies looking to determine what are information technology (IT) organizations and operations technology (OT) organizations should be focused on what the systems do rather than what they are to solve potential conflicts. See related article topic: IT, OT teams need to work together.

A new architecture for control systems being developed

Engineering and IT Insight: ExxonMobil is working to define a new architecture for distributed control systems (DCSs) by creating a system made up of programmable devices and distributed control nodes (DCNs) that can collective execute multiple layers of control strategies.

Manufacturing operations management maturity starts when drama ends

Engineering and IT Insight: MESA International’s Manufacturing Operations Management Capability Maturity Model (MOM-CMM) is designed to improve operational processes by evaluating how the people involved in operations handle normal and abnormal situations in a variety of settings.

Smart manufacturing is not a thing; it’s a convergence of things

Smart manufacturing is a convergence of capabilities from multiple areas to enhance productivity. Smart manufacturing is where smart business processes converge with smart operational processes, smart equipment, and smart product definitions.

Manufacturing organizations need a succession plan

Engineering and IT insight for career succession planning: Manufacturing companies need to have more than one engineer who can bridge the gap between automation and information technology (IT) to keep things moving smoothly in case that one engineer departs.

Manufacturing software development: Bigger is not always better

Manufacturing and IT insight: More lines of code in a software development project do not mean that a project will be successful; there is more to effective software development than just a sophisticated programming package. Software tools without proper programming training for the right people only lead to major headaches down the road for everyone.

Why manufacturing software should be tested before updates

Engineering and IT Insight: The way Microsoft is updating its Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, the ball is out of the user’s court. Instead, Microsoft has installed an automated ball machine that fires when it wants, even if the user isn’t ready. This new update scheme may wreak havoc for many mission-critical systems. Read this to know “why I should test” and why “Disable automatic updates.”

Industrial cyber security: It’s best to learn from the mistakes of others

Engineering and IT Insight: When we don’t learn from past mistakes, we are forced to repeat them, and true to form, it has happened again. An outsourced IT department–unaware of the manufacturing elements of IT–recently shutdown production in a multi-billion dollar manufacturing company.

The long goodbye to Microsoft Windows XP Embedded

Microsoft’s extended support for Windows XP Embedded ends on January 12, 2016, and those using the system after the expiration date need to take stock of their situation with a complete system inventory to assess the systems’ support availability and where upgrades are really needed.

Information integration and IIoT Webcast: Questions answered

More answers about information integration and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the topic of a Dec. 3 Webcast, are provided by a system integrator and automation standards expert. Answers to more audience questions cover infrastructure, adoption and benefits, security, and networks and information integration. IIoT progress also requires effective policies, procedures, and training.