Top 5 Control Engineering articles July 23-29

Articles about MES, managing IoT implementations, comparing ladder logic and object-oriented programming, IIoT effectiveness, and ladder logic's future role in automation were Control Engineering’s five most clicked articles from July 23-29, 2018. Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Chris Vavra July 30, 2018

The top 5 most read articles online, from Jul. 23-29 for Control Engineering covered MES, managing IoT implementations, comparing ladder logic and object-oriented programming, IIoT effectiveness, and ladder logic’s future role in automation. Links to each article below.

1. MES: Eating the elephant

Corporate manufacturing leaders know they have some amount of error, waste, and inefficiency in their operations. Manufacturing execution systems (MES) can eradicate these productivity barriers.

2. How to manage IoT implementations

Evaluating the current state of the organization is key to understanding where and how to start implementing an Internet of Things (IoT) solution.

3. Comparing ladder logic and object-oriented programming

Cover story: Many young automation professionals are comfortable with object-oriented programming (OOP), but ladder logic remains the standard for industrial automation applications. See advantages and disadvantages of OOP and ladder logic.

4. Case study: IIoT effectiveness on the plant floor

Create and collect machine and sensor data to augment overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and determine machine efficiency.

5. Ladder logic’s future role in automation

Nine considerations when selecting a programming language. Ladder logic is favored by manufacturers in discrete industries, but as technology and automation evolve, its usefulness compared to other IEC 61131-3 programming languages and PC programming depends on application complexity and other factors.

The list was developed using CFE Media’s web analytics for stories viewed on controleng.com, Jul. 23-29, for articles published within the last two months.

Chris Vavra, production editor, CFE Media, cvavra@cfemedia.com.


Author Bio: Chris Vavra is web content manager for CFE Media and Technology.