Articles by : Dave Blaida, PE

• Matrix Technologies Named 2020 System Integrator of the Year

  Matrix Technologies Named 2020 System Integrator of the Year We are proud to announce that Matrix Technologies has been selected as the 2020 System Integrator of the Year by the editors of Control Engineering and Plant Engineering. Matrix is the only company to win this prestigious award four times. In 2008 and 2012, …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Control Engineering / Control Systems Engineer / Integrator / Integrator of the Year / System Integration / Automation Integration / Improvement / Quality /

• A 5-step approach to IIoT success

  Successful network implementation starts with assessment of system and operations. by: Nils Buecker, Belden Reducing downtime, cutting costs and maintaining competitive advantages in production have always been primary goals for engineers. The onset of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will not change these obje …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Automation / Big Data / Downtime / IIoT / Maintenance / Technology /

• The framework for process intelligence and improvement

  How to bridge the gap between the shop floor and the top floor by integrating process control systems with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other business systems. by: Alex Marcy, Corso Systems Planning the process control system The first step companies usually take when integrating data from their organization …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Automation Pyramid / Control Engineering / Enterprise Resource Planning / ERP / Integration / Oil and Gas Engineering / Process Control System / Process Information / Process Intelligence / Statistical Process Control /

• A Retrospective on 35 Years in Automation

  A Retrospective on 35 Years in Automation Having recently celebrated my 60th birthday, as well as 30 years with Matrix Technologies, I thought the readers might just be willing to indulge me in a bit of reminiscing about the changes I’ve seen in the automation business. Depending on your perspective, you may say, “ …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Industrial Automation Engineering / Legacy Upgrades / Manufacturing Operations Management / Manufacturing Process Control / PLC / Upgrade / GE / IBM / Microsoft / Modicon / Modvue /

• Tips on determining what is IT, OT

  Tips on determining what is IT, OT Engineering and IT Insight: Companies looking to determine what are information technology (IT) organizations and operations technology (OT) organizations should be focused on what the systems do rather than what they are to solve potential conflicts. by: Dennis Brandl The continuing …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Budgets / Control Engineering / Engineering and IT Insight / Information Technology / Manufacturing 4.0 / Manufacturing IT / Operations Technology / Smart Manufacturing / Planning /

• The benefits of calculating ROI to measure a facility’s performance objectives

  The benefits of calculating ROI to measure a facility’s performance objectives For automation, return on investment (ROI) is more important than total cost of ownership (TCO). When making a capital investment in automation, companies need to determine value based on the solution’s impact on facility performance …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Automation / Control Engineering / Distributed Control System / Emerson / Facility Performance / Facility Solution / Manufacturing Automation Solutions / Mitigating Downtime / ROI / TCO / Improvement / Upgrade /

• Converting Old PLC Code: Benefits and Pitfalls

  Converting Old PLC Code: Benefits and Pitfalls Sounds great, doesn’t it? Buy the new programmable logic controller (PLC) equipment, run the old PLC code through a translator program, and the new system is up and running. Now to give credit where credit is due, very few people would actually believe a control system u …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Automation Integration / Control System Upgrade / Conversion / CPU / Industrial Automation Engineering / Manufacturing Operations Management / Manufacturing Process Control / PLC / Source Code / Planning / Upgrades /

• SCADA remains relevant for industrial automation

  SCADA remains relevant for industrial automation Embedded workflow, engineering model support, and auto-discoverable assets are among the technologies keeping SCADA alive. by: Kevin Paker Placing computer power onto “edge devices” as near to production as possible is a goal hotly pursued in today’s in …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Distributed Control System / Edge Devices / Industrial Automation Engineering / Oil and Gas Engineering / PLC / Process Control System / ABB / Rockwell Automation / SCADA /

• Turning Big Data insights into bigger solutions

  Energy forum attendees offer blueprints for using Big Data analytics to drive operational efficiencies, cut costs, boosting production, and improving worker productivity. by: Sidney Hill Jr. Over the years, the tools used to perform this data collection and analysis have become more sophisticated. Generally, the new t …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Analytics / Big Data / Business Optimization / Cloud / Data Analysis / Data Collection / Data Mining / Data Tools / Digital Technology / Halliburton / Hess Corporation / IT / Oil & Gas / Oil and Gas Engineering / Operational Efficiency / Performance Improvements / Predictive Modeling Tool / Prescriptive Analytics / Software Programs / TIBCO Energy Forum / TIBCO Technology / Well Performance Tools / Data Management /

• What comes after digitization?

  What comes after digitization? by: Bob Vavra, CFE Media As the oil and gas industry embraces the idea of the “digital oilfield” discussed in October, it’s important to note that there already is a lot of digital information floating around out there. We’ve had sensors and data screens for years; …Read More
  Dave Blaida, PE / Digital Oilfield / IIoT / Industrial Internet of Things / Oil and Gas Engineering /