Control Amplified

Control editor in chief Len Vermillion and Joe Weiss - managing partner of Applied Control Solutions Inc., ISA99 ICS cybersecurity pioneer, 2024 Process Automation Hall of Fame honoree and Unfettered blog author - sit down for a discussion on cybersecurity. What should everyone know about cybersecurity? And what can we do to represent cybersecurity appropriately?

In the first Control Amplified podcast of 2025, wireless technology expert Ian Verhappen joins Len Vermillion for a discussion on the past, present and future of wireless technology for industrial operations. Among their topics are the fast advances and usage of wireless in industrial plants, why Wi-Fi advancement enables more efficient operations, the growing influence of Bluetooth Low Energy on...

In this final episode of 2024, Control’s editor in chief, Len Vermillion and Jesse Yoder discuss the future of flowmeters in renewable energy application. Climate change is almost universally recognized by governments worldwide, and many large corporations make combating climate change a priority. Reducing reliance on fossil fuels and substituting renewable energy in their place is chief among the...

Editor in chief Len Vermillion calls upon executive editor Jim Montague, who wrote a very informative cover story for the November issue of Control on cybersecurity with a series featuring seven systems integrators, now on Control Global. Len will read the first of that series to get a taste for where Jim’s reporting is going and what engineers can learn about the ever-important topic of OT cybers...

In this episode of Control Amplified, editor in chief Len Vermillion runs down highlights from the Safety and Risk Conference at the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M University and Aveva World 2024 in Paris.

Len Vermillion and the rest of the Control team was in Houston for Yokogawa’s YNOW users’ conference during the week of Oct. 28. He came away with five key points that were made throughout the conference, topics that found their way into several sessions that were on the tops of people’s minds.

It’s already been three years since Emerson unveiled the concept of Boundless Automation as its future vision of operational technology architecture at Emerson Exchange 2021 in Nashville. How has the automation landscape evolved since then? Joining Control publisher Keith Larson for a wide-ranging discussion on AI, sustainability, Boundless Automation and a bit of a preview of next spring’s Emerso...

Resilience, the ability to carry on in the face of adversity, is a hot topic among those who manage industrial systems. Automatic server failover is an important building block for making automation systems resilient. Not long ago, this was a luxury only large systems could afford. With increased accountability and advances in technology, industrial users of every size are now obliged to consider...

In this episode of Control Amplified, written by Ajinomoto's Meg Lashier and Control Station's Ziair DeLeon, editor in chief Len Vermillion shares how Ajinomoto amped up production with technology investments.

Len Vermillion talks about something that’s been on the tongues of many for a couple of years now, but it seems to really be heating up again now that digitalization and remote operations are in the forefront of everyone’s minds, and that is Ethernet-APL.

In this episode of Control Amplified, editor-in-chief Len Vermillion discusses flow measurement in the second half of a two-part series.

In this episode of Control Amplified, editor-in-chief Len Vermillion discusses flow measurement in the first half of a two-part series.

In this episode of the Control Amplified podcast, publisher Keith Larson talks with Shalab “Shalli” Kumar, founder and chairman of EZAutomation.

The classic economic definition of the total cost of ownership (TCO) is the purchase price of an asset plus its operating costs over the asset’s lifespan. While this may be relatively easy to calculate for hard goods like a piece of machinery, the cost factors for soft goods, such as SCADA software, are more complicated to ascertain due to their wide range of features and licensing models. Control...

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are becoming more prevalent as electrification takes hold of energy and transportation sectors. The manufacturing of these batteries requires a production and distribution process model that can keep up with the growing demand. Control spoke with Kenny Marks, Lithium and Battery Business Development Manager at Emerson, to get a sense of the challenges that customers...

Mark Darby works extensively with gas refineries and chemical processing plants. He also serves on the advisory board at Texas Tech University.

Marcos Peluso served as director of development for fieldbus at Emerson. Peluso worked on many projects over the years, but his work on developing Foundation Fieldbus is the capstone to a stellar career.

Joe Weiss is managing partner of Applied Control Solutions Inc., and an ISA99 ICS cybersecurity pioneer and blogger.

You're probably aware of the important role that supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software plays in managing automation systems used by water or power utilities, national broadcasters or scientists. You’re also likely aware of the role custom coding plays when configuring these applications for users. However, you may be less aware of the ongoing price of each line of code that, if...

Automation is becoming increasingly open and vendor-agnostic. Likewise, field devices that must be digitalized and interoperable for reporting, maintenance, analytics and decision-making are becoming more remote and automated. Recently, Schneider Electric’s Marcel Rameil, global offer manager for Control Software for Foxboro DCS, and Thad Frost, business leader for Foxboro DCS, talked with Control...

In this episode of Control Amplified, group publisher Keith Larson speaks to Gerry Abbey, manager of analysts, relations and insights at Rockwell Automation, about Rockwell's ninth annual State of Smart Manufacturing report.

Tom Reiter has more than 35 years of application and engineering expertise in the electronics and automation industry. He has been with Schneider Electric and Pro-face for more than 10 years as a sales and product application engineer focusing on digital factory and HMI solutions. His knowledge of programming, device connectivity, and customer solution development has been crafted throughout his e...

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a hydrocarbon gas consisting primarily of propane, butane, or a mixture of both. Because it produces lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional solid fuels, there's increasing demand for LPG across the world. In fact, some governments have implemented policies and initiatives to promote the use of LPG to reduce air pollution and improve public health. This inc...

Upgrading the operations of a plant most likely involves automation. Software-centric open automation streamlines operations while increasing collaboration and productivity in industrial environments. So, what’s the true value of open automation to industry? To get the answer, Control’s editor-in-chief, Len Vermillion, talked to Domenico Napoli, future offers leader for process automation at Schne...

Coriolis meters have many benefits and advantages for process industry applications. Coriolis technology continues to gain popularity with operators because it offers a more direct approach to flow measurement than traditional flowmeters. Control’s editor-in-chief, Len Vermillion, asked Thomas Sautier, director of sensor product management at Emerson, about the innovative capabilities of Coriolis...