We have managed to attend each Emerson User Group meeting in Europe since the first one in
Duesseldorf in 2012. They were held every two years since then in various European citys and managed to overcome problems some not so difficult and one major threat at the Brussels which went ahead some weeks after the terrible bombings in that city in Spring 2016. We were therefore looking forward to the 2020 event in the great city of Milan in March. And then came COVID-19 and many thought it would perhaps be brought forward to a later date and then it was decided to hold it in 2021. But the pandemic works to its own timetable!
Thus it was decided to hold this years event on-line. We've counted around 500 different presentations, demonstrations, and applications over the three days of this event.
Of course Emerson User Group meetings were started prior to 2012 in the Americas and those of us on this side of the Atlantic attended in ever improving internet access or through following activity on twitter using the hash tag #EMREX like here from the 2009 EMRex (Held in Houston TX USA). Of course internet access and the transmission and organising of events on-line have improved in the meantime and of course with the events of the past 15 months the general use of applications facilitating inter communicating over the internet has blossemed not only in the industrial sphere but also in domestic intercommunication. This was highlighted in the remarks of Jos Berkin of Nouryon, at the opening of the conference when he observed that the adoption of phone for general uses took over 20 years but that the impact of the world pandemic forced swift adaptation of digital technology. "The technology was already there but general adoption was hastened by events."
this was the challenge described by
Roel van Doren (right), a Veteran of these conferences as European President of Emerson for the past eight years. He is now Group President Global Sales with Emerson, for the company. When the Pandemic made its unwelcome presence felt Emerson like all industry adopted a defensive mode. The conditions were unprecedented and required great concentration on the pert of all operatives. He felt that this had been largely successful and they were now
"reimagining the new era - "the Next Normal!" Many of the issues in this particular conference would address this new normal. It included a new invigorated emphasis on energy and sustainability. In a move that underlines their commitment to sustainability, Mike Train, who has served as company president since 2018 and a member of Emerson’s Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) since 2016, is to step down as president to take on this new and important role for Emerson - Chief Sustainability Officer. During the next period we are going to witness a change from hydrocarbon to the new energy. "Hydrogen is the rockstar of the new energy world!" he declared*.
Richard Mortimer VP Engineering for BP's Global Project Organisation spoke on how this large corporation is addressing global warming through technology and examining how to reduce substantially the effect of the petroleum industry on the environment both in production and usage.
"How to shoot yourself in the foot!"
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| Safety Layers |
Thomas Wegner, (Industrial Control System Cyber-Security Lead,
Yara) delivered a presentation with this provocative title. Cybersecurity around Industrial Control Systems must be approached in a
practical and pragmatic way. His entertaining and well delivered talk shared real-life tips that either can easily be turned into quick-wins or that will enable avoidance of common pitfalls, including the currently rampant ransomware threats causing you extensive production outages or even HESQ incidents. IoT although an invaluable tool can also a great danger to a processing facility. The talk was billed accurately as follows, "The Food for thought at a low buzzword-density, no fancy IT geek speak, but real-life experience sharing. Not academic thoughts or death-by-PowerPoint, but tips with value to your daily operation. Caution: May contain traces of expressive language." One of the comments he made struck this correspondant. Doctors when visiting patieant always was their hands before moving on to the next patient. Sales and maintenance personnel could learn from this. "Wash you laptop before you visit the next client!"
The event continues until Wednesday.
@Emerson_News @EMR_Automation @yara @Nouryon @bp_plc @HHC_Lewis #EMrex #Pauto #EMEA
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