Two senior ARC Advisory Group analysts with more than 50 years of combined industry experience will be presenting on three key automation-related topics at the third ISA Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) Conference at the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi on May 26 and 27, 2015. These topics address: justifying investments in automation security, managing automation system obsolescence, and strategies for effectively deploying wireless technology in the process industries.
Securing Automation
Director of Consulting, Peter Reynolds, will speak on best practices for securing automation systems in industrial plants, a key, “top of mind” topic in many industrial plants and facilities today. Since appropriate counter-measures often require considerable effort and capital investment, Mr. Reynolds’ presentation also addresses approaches for justifying both the effort and expense required to effectively secure automation hardware and software.
“While the threat of security breaches to industrial control systems is increasing due in large part to today’s widespread use of Internet and other commercial technologies in modern automation, ARC has found that many organizations are still reluctant to take action. This is partly because cyber security efforts have been difficult to justify and programs and projects difficult to fund. But to be able to take advantage of new approaches, such as the Industrial Internet of Things, to unlock previously stranded data to create value, reduce costs, and improve both safety and availability; appropriate security mechanisms must first be put in place,” Mr. Reynolds commented.
Peter Reynolds has more than 24 years of professional experience in process control, advanced automation applications, and information technology in the downstream oil refining industry. Prior to joining ARC, he served as Strategic Planning Manager for Automation and IT at Irving Oil, which operates Canada’s largest refinery.
Managing Automation System Obsolescence
Recent ARC Industry Forums have included both day-long workshops on automation obsolescence and presentations in which end users have shared their experiences managing the lifecycle of their older process control and safety systems. Presenter Harry Forbes and other senior ARC analysts also regularly consult with end users from major automation users on this important topic. In this ISA presentation, Mr. Forbes will discuss ARC’s takeaways from these activities and discuss system obsolescence issues in the context of ARC’s Collaborative Process Automation System (CPAS) vision, including how new user requirements and emerging technologies will impact future process automation systems and applications. According to Mr. Forbes, “There’s no single ‘silver bullet’ for managing system obsolescence, but our ongoing research has uncovered a number of different approaches that appear to work quite well.”
Wireless Technology in the Process Industries
As anyone who has recently stepped into an industrial plant knows, industrial wireless technology and applications are proliferating at a rapid pace. ARC Advisory Group recently conducted a survey of over 300 professionals engaged with wireless technology in the process industries. Associated research also included a series of in-depth interviews with domain experts from a cross-section of process industries, both upstream and downstream, plus a comprehensive market outlook study for technology suppliers.
Based on these data, Harry Forbes, a noted expert on industrial networking, will present ARC’s current view on the industrial wireless technology market and several recommended strategies for end users to realize value from wireless technology in both new and existing plants.
Harry Forbes, Research Director at ARC, has 30 years of experience in automation, power generation, energy management, modeling and simulation, advanced control and optimization, and industrial networking. Prior to ARC, Mr. Forbes served in a variety of marketing and engineering roles at Invensys, SimSci-Esscor, Foxboro, and Detroit Edison Company.