I am currently doing a search for individuals with strong Process Safety Analysis (PHA) or Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) experience in either the petrochemical, refining, paper or power industries. There are a series of opening available, in locations around the country. Travel may be considerable, but it may be possible to office from home […]
Pharmaceutical
IT compliance today requires a paradigm shift from a project-specific engagement to a comprehensive, centralized compliance program. In the past, Computer System Validation (CSV) in the life sciences was focused on software validation and infrastructure and computing platform qualification for systems that supported FDA-regulated activities and records. Today, organizations are increasingly focusing on overall, […]
To achieve best overall plant operation, it is often necessary to coordinate the operation of equipment in multiple process areas. In Chapter 16 of Control Loop Foundation – Batch and Continuous Processes, some examples are given where multi-loop techniques may be effectively used for such coordination. One of the examples from this chapter is power […]
21 CFR Part 11 might really be called the Data Integrity Act. Here is a high-level look at what is needed to ensure compliance. By John Avellanet, Cerulean Associates, LLC Data integrity is critical to regulatory compliance, and the fundamental reason for 21 CFR Part 11. This article outlines and summarizes strategies and requirements. […]
New Web portal to include searchable database The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it is disclosing more information about inspections and court actions, and now has a web portal on its enforcement activities as part of Phase II of the agency’s Transparency Initiative. These actions are being taken to make FDA’s enforcement […]
IT can help create a secure network connection to the industrial plant floor. It can be ideal for a machine builder to monitor and connect to a piece of equipment in a plant remotely. However, how many machine builders have tried to cross that invisible barrier? As soon as you mention you want to open […]
A continuous chemical reactor process is characterized by the continuous feed of two or more chemical reactants and a continuous output flow of product. To achieve the desired product specifications, the proportions of each reactant must be tightly maintained at a target value using ratio control. The chemical reaction that occurs within the reactor is […]
Just Like Distributed Control, Distributed Safety Is Coming Soon to a Process Plant Near You, Maybe Your Own In the beginning, all control was distributed in the field near each particular process. Much of this control was manual, with islands of pneumatic-based automation. Then came the inaptly named “distributed control system,” which was, in […]
As mentioned in my previous blogs on the book Control Loop Foundation – Batch and Continuous Processes, the application examples included in Chapter 16 illustrate the various ways single loop and multi-loop control techniques may be used automate plant control. The second workshop exercise in this chapter allows the reader to explore the different features […]
The control systems commonly used in the process industry are based on the single-loop and multi-loop techniques described in Control Loop Foundation – Batch and Continuous Processes. Some combination of these techniques is often required to meet product specification and plant throughput targets. The application examples included in Chapter 16 of Control Loop Foundation are […]