Mathematical Models help find spill values, material savings http://www.controleng.com/single-article/mathematical-models-help-find-process-s... PostedFriday, April 8,2016 at 2:28 PM More accurate material deliveries are obtained when the control system compensates for lag in the control and other effects by instructing a delivery to shut down just prior to reaching the target amount. The difficult question is, "How early?" This value is sometimes called a "pre-act value" or a "spill value." Read More
Service and Industrial Manufacturing Systems http://bit.ly/1MChbh2 PostedWednesday, March 23,2016 at 11:28 AM The idea of remote support for industrial manufacturing systems is not new. The IIoT and the convergence of IT and OT are providing better platform technology than has ever before been at our disposal. How might we exploit today’s technology more fully? Read More
The Case for Embedding Standards and Best Practices http://www.automationworld.com/case-embedding-standards-and-best-practices PostedWednesday, February 17,2016 at 10:03 AM Why should we keep industry standards, best practices, and experience in the hands of control system engineers? Why can’t we give a much wider group of practitioners the tools they need to do the job, while guiding them with embedded engineering experience? Read More
ECS is Integrator of the Year! http://www.controleng.com/single-article/ecs-solutions-inc-evansville-ind/fd49c3... PostedWednesday, February 17,2016 at 9:57 AM ECS Solutions was selected by the editors of Control Engineering and Plant Engineering magazines as Integrator of the Year in the below $10M gross revenue category. President Timothy S. Matheny states, "We are both proud and humbled by this award. Proud, for the recognition of our repeated success and humble as we assume the challenge of continuing to live up to this prestigious award, being one of the best of the best." Read More
Batch control blasts off http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2015/batch-blasts-off/ PostedTuesday, December 15,2015 at 2:51 PM One especially useful part of S88 is its decoupling of device control models from recipe control models, which makes it simpler and easier to reuse programming code and templates, adjust applications and build new systems. Read More
Modular Batch Flexibility Brings Unforeseen Benefits http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2013/otto-matheny-modular-batch/ PostedTuesday, December 15,2015 at 2:43 PM One of the key benefits of a control system based on the ISA-88 standard is modularity. Modularity begets flexibility. A flexible process control system brings unforeseen benefits throughout its useful lifetime. Even simple systems can benefit from a modular, flexible control system. Read More
Solutions for improving yield are within reach http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/94515-solutions-for-improving-yield-a... PostedTuesday, December 15,2015 at 2:38 PM You add up the mass of raw materials your facility consumes each day, look at the products it's made, and the numbers just don't balance—until you look at skids of rework and a dumpster topped off with the day's malformed products and/or damaged packages. What went wrong and how do you get a handle on it? Read More
Plant automation: Finding the right fit http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/94774-plant-automation-finding-the-ri... PostedTuesday, December 15,2015 at 1:56 PM Do what makes sense when installing automation in your facility, considering your budget and business goals. Read More
[Article] Ergonomics: Creating a Culture of Safety http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/94652-ergonomics-creating-a-culture-o... PostedFriday, November 13,2015 at 11:15 AM Machine guarding and other types of safeguards won’t protect plant workers if they circumvent them or place themselves in harm’s way. Read More
[Case Study] Pinnacle Foods: Overcoming an Accelerated Schedule While Building Ongoing Value http://info.ecssolutions.com/hubfs/Case_Studies/Pinnacle_Foods_Full_Case_Study_.... PostedFriday, November 13,2015 at 10:40 AM Pinnacle Foods’ plan to reinvigorate the iconic Wish-Bone® brand of salad dressings acquired from food giant Unilever included deploying a fully automated, paperless manufacturing process.Getting a new process up and running in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible presented a great enough challenge. ECS Solutions worked with Pinnacle to raise the bar even further— delivering a highly automated solution agile enough to produce new products Pinnacle could only imagine and agile enough to enable Pinnacle to increase process effectiveness over the long term. ECS’ approach to total process automation (TPA), with its focus on delivering value at every stage of the process-system lifecycle, made it possible to realize the full vision of a facility that would consistently deliver the highest-quality products at the lowest possible cost. Read More