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Digital Transformation
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Bill Lydon
Bill Lydon, an experienced industrial automation technical and business professional, is currently a consultant providing insights, facilitating thinking and coaching for digital manufacturing transformation. Lydon has 35 years of experience, including industrial, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), process control/DCS, electrical power/utility and building automation with technology and business experience ranging from design, application engineering, corporate experience, co-founder & president of a start-up company. He started his career as a designer of computer-based machine tool controls; in other positions, he applied programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and process control technology. He's trained and experienced as a group Creative Problem Solving & Value Engineering facilitator.
Working at a large company, Lydon served a two-year stint as part of a five-person task group, that designed a new generation automation system including controllers, networking and supervisory and control software. He also designed software for chiller and boiler plant optimization. Bill was the product manager for a multimillion-dollar controls and automation product line and later cofounder and president of an industrial control software company with solutions for factory and process control and automation.
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How the Internet of Things Impacts Manufacturing
Dramatic advancements in technology are driving the Internet of Things, creating more tools for industrial automation and the process industries.By: Bill Lydon18 March, 2019 | 9 minutes -
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Hannover Messe 2019 Preview: Digital Networking Humans & Machines in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
During a January preview for the event, over 120 journalists, including yours truly, gathered for presentations and discussions from the Hannover Messe team, and over 40 exhibitors, expanding on the topics and technologies that so many will experienceBy: Bill Lydon26 February, 2019 | 5 minutes -
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Bill’s Top 10 Automation & Control Trends for 2019 – Accelerating Change & Reaching the Tipping Point
The pace of technological change in the automation industry seems to be accelerating as we head into 2019, driven by innovations developed for Internet of Things and general computing.By: Bill Lydon29 January, 2019 | 23 minutes -
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What is Open Source & Why Should You Care?
Lydon brings more than 10 years of writing and editing expertise to Automation.com, plus more than 25 years of experience designing and applying technology in the automation and controls industry. Lydon started his career as a designer of computer-based machine tool controls; in other positions, he applied programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and process control technology. In addition to working at various large companies (e.g., Sundstrand, Johnson Controls, and Wago), Lydon served a two-year stint as part of a five-person task group, where he designed controls, automation systems, and software for chiller and boiler plant optimization. He was also a product manager for a multimillion-dollar controls and automation product line and president of an industrial control software company.By: Bill Lydon10 December, 2018 | 5 minutes -
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How Programming Standards Improve Automation and Controls
IEC 61131-3 software standards improve the quality of applications and the efficiency of building applications. Structured modular software improves the reuse of applications.By: Bill Lydon26 November, 2018 | 7 minutes -
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Redefine and Transform How You Execute Automation Projects
Improving on what has always been done can only result in incremental improvements at best or continued complications. We have to redefine and transform how we execute automation projects.By: Bill Lydon03 September, 2018 | 3 minutes -
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Industry 4.0 Make to Order Manufacturing at Valpak, Who Would Have Guessed?
I was impressed by a tour of the Valpak Manufacturing Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, hosted by Siemens, which is a great example of a company applying Industry 4.0 make to order manufacturing concepts.By: Bill Lydon15 August, 2018 | 3 minutes -
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How Industry 4.0 and Digitization Improves Manufacturing Responsiveness, Quality, and Efficiency
Automation is essential to the implementation of Industry 4.0 and IoT strategies as manufacturers realize low labor rates are no longer a winning strategy.By: Bill Lydon18 June, 2018 | 11 minutes -
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How to Leverage the ISA Ecosystem to Advance Your Career in Industrial Automation
The automation industry is experiencing rapid changes and challenges; the diversity of ISA members is a great resource of experience, ideas, and know-how.By: Bill Lydon13 June, 2018 | 3 minutes -
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Digital Factory Comes into Focus at Hannover Messe 2018
Resembling more a bustling city than a trade fair, the 71st Hannover Messe was very busy and chock full of energy and innovation this year, with over 200,000 attendees from 75 countries. Focusing on the theme 'Integrated Industry – Connect & Collaborate', the Digital Factory was front and center.By: Bill Lydon22 May, 2018 | 8 minutes -
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How to Optimize Application Engineering to Keep Projects on Time and on Budget
Customization of products that deviate from vendor and industry standards leads to a number of problems on projects. Engineering and as-built documentation costs can increase because of the deviationBy: Bill Lydon26 March, 2018 | 3 minutes -
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2018 HANNOVER MESSE & CeMAT to see Industry 4.0 meeting Logistics 4.0
From April 23-27, 2018, HANNOVER MESSE and CeMAT will run concurrently with a particular emphasis on integration in supply chain and manufacturing. The theme -'Integrated Industry – Connect & Collaborate' - encompasses the range of Industry 4.0 technology, thinking, and creative applicationsBy: Bill Lydon13 March, 2018 | 5 minutes -
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Bill’s Top 10 Automation & Control Trends for 2018 - A Year of Technology Driven Change
After another busy year talking to a wide range of users, suppliers and industry consultants, and attending over 20 industry conferences and related events, I have another year’s worth of informed insights to share on the latest trends that will shape automation in 2018.By: Bill Lydon30 January, 2018 | 20 minutes -
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The Push for Industrial Cyber Security Standards: A Look at Underwriters Laboratory Efforts
By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com While industrial automation suppliers can claim products are cybersecure it is hard to prove. Standards and certification, like electrical and safety device requirements, today for cybersecurity are one such way for companies to illustrate that proof.By: Bill Lydon06 November, 2017 | 4 minutes -
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Insights on the Impact of Industry 4.0 for Process Automation
Of the technology trends that I have observed in recent years, few developments have been more exciting than Industry 4.0 for Process Automation. But what does Industry 4.0 mean for your facility?By: Bill Lydon17 October, 2017 | 4 minutes -
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Should STEM Education Programs Include the Arts?
The author argues the expansion of STEM programs in schools.By: Bill Lydon28 August, 2017 | 3 minutes -
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Automation Professionals Are Catalysts for Change in Manufacturing
As manufacturing marches on, automation professionals find themselves in the best position to improve the industry.By: Bill Lydon10 July, 2017 | 3 minutes -
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Hannover Fair 2017: Integrated Industry Empowers World Competition
The 2017 Hannover Fair taught us one thing above all others. Manufacturing winners and losers will be defined by their understanding and application of Industry 4.0 and IoT solutions.By: Bill Lydon19 June, 2017 | 7 minutes -
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Successful Automation Engineers Build Relationships and Collaborate
Learn and share knowledge via discussion groups, articles, user group meetings, ISA meetings, Web meetings, and trade events.By: Bill Lydon22 March, 2017 | 2 minutes -
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The IoT Impact on Business Models: What Should Manufacturers Do First?
The availability of many new technologies has provided the building blocks for dramatic changes in the manufacturing industry. Is your business model set to keep up?By: Bill Lydon20 March, 2017 | 5 minutes -
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Is the Internet of Things Creating Unfocused Urgency to Monitor Everything?
The hyper-focus on IoT is creating an unfocused urgency monitor everything, which could lead to over instrumenting automation systems & creating data noise.By: Bill Lydon11 January, 2017 | 2 minutes -
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How Cloud Computing Delivers a New Industrial Automation Tool for Improving Operations
Cloud computing simplifies industrial systems administration and support and the analytics can be levered for improving process operations.By: Bill Lydon26 October, 2016 | 8 minutes -
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The Big Maintenance Dilemma: In-House vs. Outsourcing
Determining whether to use in-house staff to perform maintenance or to outsource to a contractor is a source of continual headaches for many a company. The decision-making process will come down to three approaches to maintenance managementBy: Bill Lydon10 October, 2016 | 3 minutes -
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Automation Controllers & Word Processors Embrace the Technological Shift or Die
The foundations of the automation industry are being reshaped right now from the torrent of ideas driven by Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Given today’s trends, are industrial automation controllers headed down a path to extinction?By: Bill Lydon19 September, 2016 | 3 minutes -
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Cybersecurity: Where Does the Reasoning Begin?
Usually during cybersecurity presentations, the speakers talk about serious consequences of cyber security and then overwhelm people, who are not familiar with the topic, with deep levels of details and intricacies. This one answers a simple question: Where does the reasoning begin?By: Bill Lydon22 July, 2016 | 3 minutes -
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ISA Members Develop Key Standards That Advance the Industrial Automation Industry
ISA members develop standards in everything from cybersecurity to process safety to interfaces between industrial process control computers and subsystemsBy: Bill Lydon22 June, 2016 | 2 minutes -
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Cybersecurity Strategy at Ford: IT & Automation Cooperation
Mike Bastian, Global Controls Manager at Ford, shared the motivations behind their cybersecurity strategy, as well as defined 7 systems which are essential for reliable operations and keeping production running smoothly.By: Bill Lydon20 May, 2016 | 5 minutes -
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Technical Deep Dive: Multi-core Industrial Controllers
Beckhoff Automation has been offering multi-core industrial controllers since 2006 with users benefiting from the advantages that this increased performance delivers. We discuss multi-core technology with Beckhoff Automation’s Daymon Thompson, Automation Specialist.By: Bill Lydon11 April, 2016 | 10 minutes -
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Response to Automation Industry Problem: React or Positively Act?
It is not important how you react to automation industry problems, issues, and challenges, but how you positively act.By: Bill Lydon04 April, 2016 | 2 minutes -
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Process Plant Historians Deliver Insights and Improve Operations
Before the term “big data” was being used as part of the Internet of Things, plant historians were handling large volumes of time-synchronized data.By: Bill Lydon08 February, 2016 | 9 minutes
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