News & Knowledge

We’re your source for automation news. Keep up with the latest industry updates and E Tech employee spotlights, as well as tips and guidance from our manufacturing experts.

| August 30, 2023

Four Big Benefits of a Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) Study

When building a new facility-wide automation system or a control system upgrade, the planning stage is perhaps the most important part; it creates the foundation for the entire project. In-depth planning can set you up for success, where poor planning can make the design/build process fraught with issues. You wouldn’t build a house without blueprints, a survey or using licensed contractors, right? In any project, without the upfront evaluation and design you could encounter a number of issues that have the potential to negatively impact the project, and the field of industrial automation is no difference. So, why would you begin engineering, procurement and construction without a Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study? Short answer: you wouldn’t…..or at least, shouldn’t. What is a FEED Study in an Automation Engineering Project? A FEED study is designed to assist in producing all necessary technical documentation, validating hardware and software specifications, and accurately defining project scope. It should be performed before the design phase of the project. A FEED study typically includes: Project definition: Setting the project’s objectives, scope and constraints Process design: Defining the process that will be used to produce the new/upgrade system Product selection: Deciding which equipment and software would create the ideal process automation solution Cost estimation: Predicting the total cost of the project, including capital costs, operating costs and contingency costs Schedule development: Creating a schedule for the project, including milestones and deliverables. Why is a FEED Study Important in Project Planning? The FEED Study is an important step in the project development process because it helps to ensure that the project (1) is feasible, (2) can be completed within budget and (3) can be delivered on-schedule. These studies also help identify any potential risks to the project, which allows you to develop mitigation strategies ahead of time. There are … Continued

| August 29, 2023

Proactively Protecting Against Cyber Threats

Secure Your Company with a Cybersecure Control System Cybersecurity continues to gain more and more momentum in manufacturing, and for good reason. Some of these facilities can be responsible for millions, sometimes billions of dollars in business, quickly gaining attention and unfortunately becoming a target for a cyberattack if not properly secured. At a time when manufacturing facilities tend to be one of the most impacted by the decline in available workforce, the need for more flexibility in production capabilities takes precedence over most other initiatives. The rush to connect available assets for consolidated control and monitoring, and integrating their data collection and analysis will sometimes push decision makers to leap before they look. Not always considering any of the following, or lack thereof, may become an active threat without proper planning: Increasing IT/OT Convergence: Industry 4.0 & improving plant efficiency is a major driver for this convergence trend. Organizations see improved efficiency as a worthwhile end goal, but it does come with an expanding OT attack surface. High-Profile Incidents: Noteworthy OT/ICS cyberattacks over the last several years have proved how easily these high-profile OT systems can be broken into causing real concern. Some examples are the Stuxnet worm, the Ukraine power grid attack, and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. These examples show that OT/ICS incidents affect more than the targeted organizations. Nation-State Threats: Nation-state actors have shown interest in targeting critical infrastructure and industrial sectors as part of cyber espionage or cyber warfare efforts. Ransomware and Monetization: Ransomware attacks have evolved to target critical infrastructure and manufacturing facilities. These attacks have led to large downtime windows for the target organizations. Regulatory and Compliance Frameworks: Governments and regulatory bodies are recognizing the need to establish cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure sectors. Compliance requirements and guidelines are being developed to ensure the security of OT and ICS systems. Supply … Continued

| August 18, 2023

How to Ensure Useful Data Extraction from a PI Historian System

Data is an ever-present and growing benchmark in all industries. However, sometimes it may feel like it’s cloaked in mystery. There’s often a question of, why is collecting process data important? You then start to go down the rabbit hole trying to answer…..How do you get data out of your equipment? How do you decide what to collect? After assessing the previous questions, how do you test, and if necessary, validate that all of that data is being collected as expected? Understanding a holistic approach to data collection and validation from an AVEVA PI Historian System can help provide a high-level, big picture understanding to the importance of process data. With more than 10 years’ experience as a group engineering manager, Matt Martin has a depth of experience with integrating AVEVA PI Systems within sites of various sizes – here’s what I’ve learned: Why is the Importance of Data Increasing? The “why” question is the easiest one to answer. Everyone can agree that in the era of modern manufacturing, extracting data from your manufacturing processes is critical to a business’s success and ability to grow. This includes every level of production and management: Provides the operator at the plant floor level the ability to adjust and better control the manufacturing process on the fly Allows engineers better insight into trends and behaviors of the overall process to improve designs from both a throughput and efficiency standpoint Produces KPIs (key performance indicators) for managers and executives to assist in their decision making Having large representative data sets is becoming even more important with the advent of AI and more specifically machine learning. Allowing these technologies access to your systems data helps identify patterns, overall system behavior, and correlations that were previously near impossible for the human eye to uncover. Now, How … Continued

| August 17, 2023

Kate Van Kirk Promoted to Director of Business Process

Congratulations to Kate Van Kirk. Kate was recently promoted to Director of Business Process. Kate has been with E Tech Group since 2017. In 2020, she moved from Life Sciences to Corporate and played a significant role in several company initiatives including the migration to Zoho-Intacct booking synchronization, the Project Forecast Tool, and the implementation of the Resource Management Tool. “Kate will continue to play a major part in working collaboratively with stakeholders across the Company to bring additional tools to E Tech Group, improve existing tools, streamline workflow processes, and implement best practices,” said Vice President of Operations Gary Powell. Congratulations to Kate on a well-deserved promotion and thank you for the dedication to E Tech Group and our operations team!