One of the items in the industrial automation news this week was Foxboro’s 100th anniversary.  A lot of history there, and I’m sure I must have come across one of the original control systems on a site visit or two J   Seriously though, I joke about companies having antique control systems in place, but how many of your sites have some dusty relics still on active duty?  Many of the original proprietary systems where fairly simple, designed for a harsh environment and did the job very well.  There are still many legacy systems in service, and many companies are looking to eek out as much life from them as they can.   Some of MatrikonOPC’s most popular servers are for legacy DCS systems like Foxboro AW50, Fisher-Rosemount RNI and Bailey INFI-90.  And new servers are still being written like the GE Mark V and the Honeywell TDC3000.  Why just this week the Fisher-Provox Direct server was released.  Seems to me there are a lot of folk hanging on to what is working for them.

On the other hand, Everything Old is New Again as they say.  All these systems have migration paths to shiny new models, which are typically more PC integrated and targeting Enterprise Integration.  Even OPC UA would be considered the next generation of connectivity.   With all the OPC UA news and the flurry of activity around the OPC UA SDK releases, it’s clear that there are plenty of folks looking to move on to the next great thing too.

For all those out there with legacy DCS systems installed, what’s the plan with respect to OPC?  Will the hardware be migrated up to the latest vendor version and assume that OPC is part of the new system?  Will the legacy stuff be connected into newer systems using the OPC we know and love today?  Or are people out there looking for native OPC UA servers to bridge the old and shiny new in one big step?

A lot of chatter about the Honeywell HUG in the industrial automation blogs this week.  Most of the talk is about their wireless offerings, the UOP simulation stuff, and the Safety and Batch integration in the newest release of Experion PKS.  Surprisingly there is no mention of their OPC offerings in the Experion system.  I wonder which release will incorporate the OPC UA specifications?  Of course there are plenty of systems out there using the tried and true OPC DA server, or going direct to the DCS with other OPC Servers for TPS.

An upcoming user group conference that definitely WILL be talking about OPC is the MatrikonOPC User Group Asia-Pacific and Australia 2008, being held in Singapore on July 29^th.  This free, one-day event will host several speakers, including Tom Burke.  If you’re in the area, don’t miss the opportunity to share your OPC experience with other users.  Learn what works, what doesn’t and learn the best practices others have implemented.

In today’s world of web-conferencing, virtual meetings, and soaring travel costs, I wonder how they affect user groups.  What do you prefer?  The week long extravaganza?  One-day of focused and intimate attention? Or maybe the traveling exiderdome? What’s your company’s preference?

Is it just me, or is OPC gaining a whole lot of momentum in building automation and energy management applications?  I’ve posted before on Green Data Centers and how some big companies are getting more serious about energy management.  For example for IBM’s Project Big Green initiative the company has committed $1 billion per year to deliver technologies that help customers increase energy efficiency in their data centers and physical plants.  Recently IBM has announced new software designed to help customers reduce costs associated with power and cooling.   IBM is combining the new energy management software with partner solutions to provide customers with a comprehensive view of energy consumption across the enterprise — not just in data centers but also in non-IT assets such as air conditioning equipment, power distribution units, lighting, and security systems.  The press release specifically talks about OPC interfaces to enable raw data flow into ITM energy management software from third party systems and building automation devices such as heating and air conditioning, lighting and fire and security alarms.

In response to a posting on OPC being used in major building automation projects, I got a comment about the Mori Tower project.   The new headquarters at Mori Tower in central Tokyo, occupies 11.6 hectares, and is one of the largest redevelopment projects undertaken in Japan. One of the key objectives was to implement a flexible system for centralized monitoring and control of multiple facilities.  As the Mori Tower has significant numbers of areas to be controlled, it was decided to choose an open method of communications based on the OPC standard.  Good choice    This particular article talks about accessing Citect with OPC, but of course you can always directly access the building automation systems as well.

With summer getting into full swing, the long weekends approaching, and both the thermometers and prices at the pump soaring, now’s a real good time to think about solutions to save.

There has been a lot of focus lately on providing system integrators with more tools, services and training on OPC topics.  As OPC becomes more prevalent and systems grow in size and complexity more and more system integrators and distributors are implementing OPC systems. 

I’ve blogged before on the new OPC Foundation membership option is called the SI&D category.  The SI&D membership is intended to provide a mechanism to facilitate the system integrators and distributors being able to design, develop and certify custom software.

OPC vendors also recognize that integrators have to deal with various suppliers of automation applications like PLCs, DCSs, sensors, end devices, production equipment, safety systems, etc. Project implementers know that even though data connectivity is a small part of the project scope, it can be a huge project risk due to the inherent difficulty of establishing multi-vendor communications.   Some vendors now offer more than just a wide selection of OPC connectivity to integrators.  Partnerships like the MatrikonOPC Integrator Program offer data connectivity services like: initial communication architecture design, connectivity software options and implementation support and training.

Programs such as these are a response the belief that end-users expect that system integrators should increase their proficiency of the use of the OPC technology. I’d like to hear your thoughts on system integrators.  From the integrators: Will you become an SI&D member? Do you see value in partnering with vendors with OPC expertise?  From the end-users: Does SI&D membership or participation in an Integrator Program affect who you would choose as the system integrator on your next project?