Factory Field Notes

Wireless PLC Access during commissioning lets you program and troubleshoot a controller from a laptop without running an Ethernet cable across the plant floor. This video shows the field method and the disciplined alternative. Most PLCs do not connect wirelessly out of the box, so field teams reach for an inexpensive travel router to close the gap. Subscribe for more field grounded guidance on OT...

In-House vs Contractor is the call every engineering manager eventually faces on aging control systems, and this field Q&A works through when to keep the work internal and when to bring in outside help. Vladimir Romanov answers six real questions from the field, from a Siemens ET 200SP retrofit to buggy PLC software, HMI design, and hiring for automation roles. If you lead an automation or eng...

Industrial automation Q&A on the skills shift every controls team is feeling, plus a cautionary Rockwell quality story, a TIA Portal version trap, and honest career advice. This episode answers five of the most upvoted questions from the r/PLC community. Vladimir Romanov, founder of Joltek, answers each one as someone who has hired, mentored, and built automation teams. If you manage engineers...

Industrial automation careers reward the people who treat skill building like a capital investment, not a hobby. This Q&A breaks down how to grow in controls, SCADA, and MES, how to break into the field without an engineering degree, and how to think about which skills actually pay. Vladimir Romanov, founder of Joltek, answers real questions from the community as someone who has hired, mentore...

This obsolete ControlLogix has been running a whole production line for over a decade, the power supply just failed, and nobody will approve the modernization. In this Q&A I work through five real questions from the community, and the one that hits hardest is the nightmare cabinet: a dusty, ten foot high enclosure built around a controller that ended support years ago. If you program, wire, co...

Allen-Bradley vs Siemens is rarely a pure technology decision, and this field Q&A breaks down why region, hiring, support networks, and vendor lock-in usually decide your PLC standard long before specs do. If you own a platform decision, this gives you the real reasoning to defend it upward. Most managers inherit a control system standard rather than choose one from a clean sheet. A plant accu...

This PLC and Automation Q&A answers six field questions on engineer burnout, IT/OT skill pressure, Studio 5000 bitwise AND, and the 2026 entry level job market. Every question maps to a decision an engineering manager is already navigating: retention, training, IT and OT scope, and how to hire and evaluate junior talent. Subscribe for analysis of engineering team dynamics, capital planning, an...

The Rockwell State of Smart Manufacturing Report 2026 is the most cited smart manufacturing study of the year. This executive review pulls apart which findings hold up on the plant floor. Rockwell Automation surveyed 1,560 decision makers across 17 countries for the eleventh annual edition, with 62 percent holding spend authority. Subscribe for executive analysis of industry research, capital allo...

Industrial automation Q&A: a consultant answers six of the most consequential career and modernization questions facing engineers and managers in manufacturing today. Real questions, no vendor pitch, no oversimplified answers. From legacy PLC migration to the polymath trap, this episode walks through the operating decisions quietly shaping plant floors across the country right now. Subscribe f...

PLC programming Q&A walks through five r/PLC community questions on free simulators, browser IDEs, physical trainers, automation careers, and project complexity. This first episode pulls the most discussed questions from r/PLC, PLCtalk, control.com, and automation subreddits, then answers each with the perspective a working controls engineer would give. Subscribe to follow the rest of the seri...