Eddie Kenny RIP

The death of Eddie Kenny has been announced.*

Eddie was among those who founded the Ireland Section of the International of Automation (ISA) in 1977 and became the first secretary of the section.

Like many in the area of automation in Ireland he was employed in the Irish Refinery in Whitegate, Cork. He then became a one of the first instructors in the newly instituted Instrumentation and Control Department in An Comhairle Oiuliúna (AnCo) which later was renamed as FÁS.

In later years he moved from Cork to the Co Dublin FÁS Training Centre in Loughlinstown.

He died on Tuesday (22 April 2025) in his home with his family. May his wife Eithne and his family be consoled.

May he rest in piece.

Official Presentation of Charter to ISA Ireland 4 Sept 1978
LtoR: Eddie O'Connell, Tom Nulty, Bob Shine (Treasurer), Hugh Wilson (Global President ISA),Fred Gilroy (President ISA Ireland), Eddie Kenny (Secretary), Dan O'Sullivan and Maurice Radford.
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* Death Notice and funeral details.

Some of the Speakers!

 

Some of the speakers at the Conference.

Patrick Corbett, President ISA Ireland Section

Tom Doyle of Fortinet (Platinum Sponsor)

Ciarán Ó Drisceoil - Associate Director Digital Plant Lilly

Deon van Aardt - Aveva (Solutions PT)

Jim Butler, Global Life Sciences Technical Consultant Rockwell Automation

Pio Murphy, Associate Director RTMS Lilly

Dónal Sullivan, CEO, Compucal Calibration Solutions

Michael Guilfoyle, Services & Support Manager Pilz

Frank Smiddy, Asset Manager EC&I, Gas Networks Ireland

Emerging technologies!

The Ireland Section's Emerging Technologies Conference 2025 was held in early April 2025 in Cork. It explored the upcoming technologies that are shaping the ICS industry particulary in the Pharma sector which is so innovative in the Munster (South of Ireland Province) area.

Industry leaders, experts and professionals, designers and users, met to explore the latest trends, innovations, and technologies shaping the future of automation.

Catching up!

The conference was very well attended and a large number of suppliers and consultatnt companies supported the event with small table top displays ath edge of the Conference area. During the breaks there was plenty of time for networking and discussion. As it was the first ISA event of any size since the restrictions of the Pandemic some years ago this interaction was more than appreciated by many renewing friendships and enjoying again face to face interaction.

A lot of this discussion centred on the new tarriff regulations announced the previous evening (Irish time) by the current USA Regime on the rest of the world with a palpable sigh of relief from those involved in the Pharma sector though tinged with some residual anxiety as to what might in store in the next few months.

The event was opened by Patrick Corbett, the newly elected* President of the Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation.

The event opened with a keynote presentation "Making Your Data Work For You!" co-presented by John McKeon and Patrick McCarthy, Gallarus Industry Solutions.

Michael Lawlor and Conor O’Sullivan of Sanofi discussed "Equipment Digital Twin – From Concept to Reality"

Some of the speakers in full flow!

Tom Doyle of Fortinet, a Platinum Sponsor of the event, then made their Showcase Presentation.

Ciarán Ó Drisceoil, Associate Director Digital Plant at Lilly gave a users view of the Challenges and opportunities of IT/OT integration in life sciences using ISA Standards (ISA 95).

Industrial AI – A New Industrial Revolution was the especially current topic from Deon van Aardt of AVEVA (SolutionsPT)

MTP was the subject addressed by Rockwell's Jim Butler with Enhancing Manufacturing Flexibility and Efficiency with Module Type Package.

Pio Murphy discussed the practical zapplication with "RTMS Digital Plant enabling Lilly Kinsale Operational Excellence." Kinsale is the location of a long established plant by the American Pharma company Eli Lilly.

Global software innovator Compucal's CEO, Dónal O'Sullivam, gave a study of an Asset Management Digital Transformation Project with Hanley Calibration Services.

A very interesting and relevent talk on today's innovation topic was "Upcoming Regulation for Users to Test Safety Functions," was given by Services & Support Manager at Pilz, Michael Gyilfoyle. This is particularly relevent in view of regulations and directives eminating from the European Commission.

Networking at the edges!

Digitalisation, getting ready for renewable gas was the interesting talk given by Frank Smiddy from Gas Networks Ireland, where he showed just how far this is changing our use of fuels.

Finally Liam Deasy and Seán Wallace of NeoDyne examined Driving Success in Digital Transformation.

All in all ISA Ireland organising committee are to be congratulated on the smooth organisation of this event. It was a worthy successor to events like this organised by the section in its almos 50 years of existance and a good portent for future events.

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* See "Passing the Chain!" (18/3/2025)

@IrelandISA @ISA_Automation #PAuto #TandM #Pharma #Ireland 

Passing the chain!

"After two incredible years serving as President of the ISA Ireland Section, it’s time to pass on the chain! It has been an honour to support the Ireland Section, working alongside a passionate committee of volunteers dedicated to advancing automation and supporting professionals across Ireland," thus said Patrick Bonner at the recent AGM of the Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation (ISA).

There have been some major achievements—from hosting their cybersecurity conference in 2023 and 2024 and making connections within the global ISA community. The Section was also honoured with a 'Section Excellence' award in 2024 from International Society of Automation (ISA) by Claire Fallon (CEO) and Prabhu Soundarrajan (International President) at the awards event in South Carolina, USA.

"I’m grateful for the support of our members, volunteers, and partners who have made these past two years so rewarding, and to everyone in ISA HQ including Rachael McGuffin, CAE and the team for all their help over the past two years," he said.

The new Section President is Patrick Corbett and picture shows Patrick Bonner (left) congratulating Patrick Corbett on assuming office.

Delegates were encouraged to participate in the next conference. This is The ISA Ireland Section Emerging Technologies Conference  where delegates will explore the latest innovations shaping the future! This is scheduled for 3rd April 2025 in the Rochestown Hotel in Cork (IRL).

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@IrelandISA @ISA_Automation #PAuto #TandM #Ireland

OT Cybersecurity Conference.

The Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation is holding the second OT Cybersecurity Conference in Mullingar* in November 2024. It is being organised in partnership with Cyber Ireland. Entitled Ensuring Continuous Compliance: Navigating NIS2 for Secure and Resilient OT Systems, it will concentrate on several current aspects including legal directives. A call for papers was released recently.

Delegates to the conference will be updated on the NIS2 Directive, which becomes law on 17th October 2024. NIS2 is the EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity. It provides legal measures to boost the overall level of cybersecurity in the EU, by modernising the existing legal framework to keep up with increased digitisation and an evolving cybersecurity threat landscape. It specifies cybersecurity requirements that need to be implemented by EU companies that are considered to be critical infrastructure.

They will also learn about the ISA/IEC 62443 OT Cybersecurity Standard & application to Control & Automation and how technology advances may effect industry. Practical case studies will be given of actual OT cybersecurity projects.

It will also be an opportunity to meet manufacturers, integrators and end users using OT cybersecurity.

L to R: ISA President, Patrick Bonner (C.E.O. Bonner) and Dónal Óg Cusack, Chair Cyber Ireland’s Operational Technology Cybersecurity Special Interest Group (Cybersecurity & Manufacturing Network Global Lead, DePuy Synthes) adressing last years conference.

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* Conference organised by ISA Ireland Section in partnership with Cyber Ireland.
Venue: Mullingar Park Hotel, Co. Westmeath N91 A4EP, Tuesday 19th of November 2024

• See also "IT and OT - a relationship?" (Sept 2023)

@IrelandISA @CyberIreland @ISA_EU @ISA_Automation @automation_com @ncsc_gov_ie  #PAuto #Cybersecurity #Ireland

New president for Ireland automation body.

ISA Ireland, the Ireland Section of The International Society of Automation (ISA), has announced the election of Patrick Bonner as its new president.

Mr. Bonner is the Managing Director of BONNER, the leading provider of instrumentation, calibration, and automation services in the country. He brings with him over 25 years of experience in the industry and is committed to advancing the field of automation in Ireland.

"I am honoured to have been elected as the President of the International Society of Automation - Irish Division," said Mr. Bonner. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in the industry to promote the advancement of automation and technology in Ireland. My goal is to ensure that the ISA remains at the forefront of the industry, helping to drive innovation and progress in automation."

The Ireland Section, which is voluntary with a membership of over 300, received its charter in 1978 and has since grown to become a nationally recognised organisation. Its purpose is to bring together all personnel involved Automation in order to enhance their capabilities in design, manufacture and use. Members of the section have served in important leadership roles in the Society in Europe and globally including President of the Society.

• Written some months ago but publishing was inadvertently overlooked 

@IrelandISA @ISA_EU @ISA_Interchange #PAuto #Automation #TandM

Galatian bread knot.

The next on-line technical meeting of ISA Ireland and InstMC Ireland on customising a robot to perform manual handling tasks. The presenter will be Miguel Vilariño Orgeira.

Unique bread from Galatia (ES)

Miguel will explain how he has successfully designed and developed from scratch a bespoke robot to mimic the complex muscle motions of a human hand to create the iconic knot of the Pan Gallego*.

He will outline the approach he used to identified and solve the problems he encountered when he was developing this solution. Pan Gallego is a tradition artisan bread from Galicia, in northwest Spain, recognized as a Protected Geographical Indication. Its distinct knot makes it instantly recognizable and requires incredible skill to create.

Register Now by emailing here: (info@isa.ie) by Tuesday 18th April 2023 and the MS Teams link will be emailed back to you.

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* This video showcases a recipe on how to make Pan Gallego, a typical bread from the North of Spain. It is characterized by it special shape and great taste.

@IrelandISA @instmc @bonner_IRL #Robotics #Food

Biologics project recognised.

A project which has made a significant contribution to the advancement of industry in Ireland through the use of Automation Technology.

The Award-winning Team at BMS Ireland

Back in November 2014 BMS Ireland announced plans to construct a new $1 Billion (€0.88b) state-of-the-art, multi-product Biologics manufacturing facility in Cruiserath (IRL).  The primary challenge was to meet the business need and complete the project and start up product qualification batches in Q4 2018.

Key to supporting the start-up of the BMS Cruiserath facility was the delivery of a complex IT and Automation architecture’s. Delivery of this architecture involved a number of innovative approaches to technology.

A temporary mobile data centre was used to take the IT Infrastructure server and network build and test off the project critical path.

During skid vendor FAT’s, which were held all over the world, a cloud based Process Automation system was used which allowed devices to be manipulated saving FAT set-up and execution time. MES and Process Automation recipes are generic and make extensive use of formulas and parameters enabling a flexible multi-product facility.

Process Automation software was designed, built and tested at the system integrator with BMS oversight allowing the FAT’d software to be leveraged significantly reducing the CQV time at site. There has been extensive use of data analytic tools to monitor the process such as the HETP tool for ensuring that the chromatography columns are correctly packed and multivariate monitoring tools to monitor bioreactor performance.

The project has been a resounding success, since the start of October 2018 immuno- oncology drug substance is now being produced for patients. The plant was designed, built, commissioned, qualified and put into production in three years which is among the best in the world for a plant of this size.
Finally and most importantly this delivery could not have been achieved without a highly committed, competent and passionate IT and Automation team which at peak grew to almost 200 team members.

This project was selected by the Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation for their Innovation Project Award presented at the annual Honours & Awards ceremony in historic University College Cork earlier this month (December 2018).

@bmsnews #PAuto #Pharma @IrelandISA

Irishman leads automation society.

Brian Curtis, I. Eng., LCGI, is 2018 Society President of The International Society of Automation (ISA). We reported his election in 2016* and he has served as President Elect/Secretary during 2017.

Brian Curtis

In his role as Society President, Curtis will lead the ISA Board of Directors, which is responsible for governing, setting policy, and establishing the strategic direction of the organization. ISA is a nonprofit professional association that provides technical resources and programs for those who apply engineering and technology to improve the management, safety, and cybersecurity of modern automation and control systems used across industry and critical infrastructure.

Curtis is the Operations Manager for Veolia Energy Ireland, providing services to Novartis Ringaskiddy Ltd. in Cork, Ireland. He has more than 35 years of experience in petrochemical, biotech, and bulk pharmaceutical industries, specializing in design, construction management, and commissioning of electrical, instrumentation, and automation control systems. He has managed complex engineering projects in Ireland, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany.

A long-time ISA member, Curtis has served on the ISA Executive Board since 2013, the Geographic Assembly Board (2012 – 2015), and the Finance Committee (2013 – 2017.) He was Ireland Section President and Vice President of District 12, which includes Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Curtis has also been active on several Society task forces, including Cybersecurity, Governance, and Globalization-related committees. He received the ISA Distinguished Society Service Award in 2010.

“I am extremely honoured to serve as ISA Society President. ISA has contributed so much to my professional and personal growth; I have been associated with ISA for over 30 years, and I believe strongly in the organization,” said Curtis. “As only the third non-North American president in 73 years, I hope this is the beginning of a more international dimension to ISA, and I intend to bring that perspective to my presidency. ISA has much to offer all regions of the world, and it’s important that we find the best ways to deliver our expertise around the globe.”

Curtis is the Former President of Cobh & Harbor Chamber of Commerce (2013-2015) and Former Chairman of the Ireland Southern Region Chambers (2015-2016) and is an active member of the Ireland National Standards Body, ETCI.

*White smoke at ISA - 11th October 2016.

#ISAuto #PAuto #Ireland

Virtual Reality implementation.

Last December the Ireland Section of ISA recognised this project as worthy of their Innovation Project Award. It was adjudged to have met the criteria for this award: "To recognise a project which has made a significant contribution to the advancement of industry in Ireland through the use of Automation Technology." 

Dan Moore

The awardee was Dan Moore, a young engineer with Depuy Syntes based in Cork (Ireland).

This project was entitled: Virtual Reality implemented as a design review tool on ‘Foundry of Future Project’

New machines and production lines are designed in 3D within the 2D environment. This leads to change the asset/production line once built and the end users interact with it. This has large cost implications (time and money) to fix issues that should have been caught at detail design.

Up to now, design reviews have consisted of static reviews of 3D design documentation and 2D layouts to assess if the machine fits within the space allocated (does not account adequately for utilities/facilities).

Among the advantages that Virtual Reality implementation has shown are the following benefits:

a) Safety/ Hazard Identification
Greater evaluation of Hazard identification within the working area, prior to installation
Operators not working with untoward hazards (moving parts, live electricity or other potential hazards that exist in the everyday operation of a facility) following installation.

b) Ergonomic Evaluation
Does the operator have a well-designed work cell that allow for easy access of parts & equipment?
(e.g. able to reach all part locations without moving their feet)
Will the operator be able to complete all necessary motions to operate the machine
Is the machine HMI positioned at the correct height?
Are there openings in the guarding that allow the operator to reach in to hazardous operations?
Are the E-stop buttons within reach of the operator?
How far can an operator reach through a gap?
What maintenance access is available around the machine?

c) Customer Presentation
View what will the completed machine will look like
Evaluate how the new machine will fit next to current equipment

d) Operator Training
Inside a VR training platform, operators can learn the correct and incorrect ways of performing various tasks without posing any risk to other employees or the facility.
Learn through trial & error, making mistakes via VR; often too dangerous to perform in training.

e) Creativity
Brainstorming potential solutions to problems is not limited by cost or time constraints, and conducting a full test for an idea is as simple as changing a few lines of code.

f) Time savings
No need to wait for physical machines to be created.

g) Layouts
Laser scanning of area to capture all utilities and ancillary equipment.

h) Engagement
Engagement with review process is substantially higher with all stakeholders- across the board.

The full slate of awards with pictures may be found on here: Ireland Section Awardees 2017.

#PAuto #ISAuto #Ireland

Recognising Irish service to automation.

We have received the following communication from the Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation (ISA). This section has been recognising service, innovation and mastery in the discipline of instrumentation, measurement, control and automation in Ireland since 1977. We reported on the previous awards ceremony (2016) here.

"We seek Nominations from the General Membership for the following categories of ISA Ireland Section Awards in 2017. Details and forms (in MS Word format) are as follows:

• Automation Champion Award 
• Innovative Project Award
• Pioneer Award

Please study the criteria for each award and if you think someone is eligible for any of these three categories of awards, submit a completed nomination form to Alan Bateman by Friday, 17th November 2017.

If you have further queries, please contact Alan at the contact details (e-mail or phone) listed on the attachments. (linked above)"

@irelandISA  #PAut #ISAuto

Moving From Data Paralysis to Predictive Analysis.

The National Maritime College of Ireland was the venue last month (Nov 2016) for a joint seminar organised by the Irish Affilate of the ISPE and the Ireland Section of International Society of Automation (ISA). The topic, "Moving From Data Paralysis to Predictive Analysis," proved very attractive and attracted a large number of delegates. The following report is from the ISA.

Click to see pictures taken at event! (D. Lordan)

"20 years ago Kaizan, LEAN, 5S and 6 sigma were the techniques being applied to improve efficiency, reduce waste and remove variability in processes. We analysed and recorded data and measured our successes, however that analysis tended to be historical and was most effective on processes that were well understood. These techniques still apply to manufacturing facilities today, however now we have added a mountain of data to be recorded, analysed, interpreted and presented in real-time, on processes that have become more complex and are less understood.

The nature of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare manufacturing Industry is changing. We are seeing an increased number of multi-product process trains, coupled with more complex manufacturing processes in the biotech/biologics market. The challenge for the pharma sector today is to take the mountain of data and apply the correct data analytics tools/techniques to provide a meaningful and useful output. When you have hundreds of potential variables in a process train knowing which ones are the most critical to achieve optimum efficiency and output is difficult.

It is no surprise to see pharma companies and manufacturing facilities at very different stages of the journey, not only in the application and approach but also in terms of the technology, connectivity and availability of data. The recent ISA/ISPE Seminar: “Moving from Data Paralysis to Predictive Analysis” in Cork gave an insight into how companies are approaching this challenge in different ways. It also highlighted that despite different approaches the challenges facing the industry were common.

At an organisation level the main reoccurring challenge is making data analytics a key cross functional goal with senior management buy-in across the organisation. Many speakers identified the need to identify smaller projects and clear organisational wins to help establish a business case and clear ROI for larger projects. At a technical level one of the advantages of using smaller projects before launching an organisation wide project, is that you get to proof out the processes, techniques and systems at a smaller scale.

Another major challenge is the need to change the culture of the company. That is the need to transform users to “Citizen Data Scientist”, moving them from an understanding of univariate analysis to an awareness of multi-interdependent-variable analysis. Data analytics projects need to be driven by these user groups. “Citizen Data Scientist” has not only an understanding of the process or business functions but also can identify where data analytics can help solve problems or increase knowledge to optimise processes or workflows. This can be achieved by the use of education, coaching, and mentoring but also by running smaller projects to show people the possibilities.

As the proportion of drugs manufactured using a biotech process increases, the level of risk in our drug supply chain increases due to the complexity, variability and current understanding of these processes. The data captured around these processes hold the key to gaining control and minimizing risk and delivering stable regulatory compliance. Without understanding the operational risk of the hundreds of interdependent variables in the biotech process, a manufacturing site will struggle to maintain efficiency and financial success and runs the risk of falling foul of regulatory authorities .

The world of Smart data has only just begun. Grasp the opportunities."

@IrelandISA #PAuto #ISAuto

Major Food and Pharma event in Ireland looks exciting. #FPID16 #PAuto #ISAuto

Attendance at a previous FPID Symposium

We reported last year that the 3rd International Society of Automation's Food and Pharmaceutical Symposium (#FPID16) was scheduled to be held in Ireland in March 2016.  It is the first time that the event has been staged outside of North America and already a formidable line-up of speakers have agreed to present. This is the principle event of the ISA's Food & Pharmaceutical Division.

One of the keynote speakers is Dr Peter G. Martin, the world-renowned and acclaimed expert in automation and control, having held executive and technical positions in engineering, product and strategic planning, marketing and training throughout his career and is a Senior. He is VP and Edison Master with Schneider Electric Company.Dr Martin is a recipient of the ISA Life Achievement Award, and has been named as one of the 50 most influential innovators of all time in instrumentation and controls. He is also an ISA Fellow.
An invigorating and knowledgeable speaker, he will address the topic of Innovation and a Future Perspective on Automation and Control. 

Dr Paul McKenzie, the second keynote speaker is the Vice President of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, Ethicon Research & Development (R&D). As a member of the Ethicon Global Management Board and the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Research & Development Leadership Team, Paul is a trusted leader, responsible for R&D’s global strategy, portfolio prioritization and execution, resource strategy & development, and advancement of R&D talent.
Dr McKenzie will adress Using Data to Optimize the Product Life Cycle.

Other speakers, users and developers, and there are around forty listed, will address topic such as (to name a few):

• Benefits of Serialization Track & Trace; 
• Industry Engagement and Solutions; 
• Preparing your laboratory for a data integrity audit; 
• The Application of Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) in the form of The Connected Enterprise;
• Cybersecurity; 
• Alarm Management; and many others.

The International President of ISA, Mr Jim Keaveney will also be in attendance and it is hoped to have a member of the Government in attendance though of course pending the result of the Irish General Election scheduled for February.

 #FPID16 #PAuto #ISAuto

Recognising Irish automation expertise and service!

The 34th annual Honours and Awards Ceremony of the Ireland Section of the International Society of Instrumentation (ISA) was held last month (Dec 2015). This event is held to acknowledge recognise and encourage excellence for those training or working in the Instrumentation, Systems and Automation sector.

LtoR-Front; Lord Mayor Cork  Chris O’Leary, John Power, Alan Bateman, President ISA Ireland
Back: Colin Levis, Aoife Monahan, Grzegorz Perka, Niall Cahalane,(H&A Chair), 
Rodger Condon & Liam O'Brien.

There were seven awards presented, four of which were submitted by Third Level institutions and three industry awards.

The event was held in the elegant and historic Common Room of University College Cork by kind permission.

The Awards
• Craft Person Award
The Craft Person Award is awarded, on the nomination of Cork Training Centers and/or Carlow Institute of Technology, to the best final year instrumentation Apprentice for notable academic and practical achievements in instrumentation.

Rodger Condon

This year Mr. Rodger Condon of Cork Training Centre was the recipient and was nominated by Mr. Pat Mc Carthy & Jim Doyle, Cork Educational and Training Board.
"Rodger is completing his apprenticeship as an Electrical Instrumentation craftsperson and took his studies very seriously. He has achieved practically all credits in every subject for phase 2,4, and 6. He took advise easily and is attending college by night to complete a degree in Applied Physics and Instrumentation.
Rodger has also completed other in-house and external courses. He is currently serving his apprenticeship with Dornan Engineering on several of their projects around Cork while studying by night."

• Degree Award
Ms. Aoife Monahan was the recipient of the Degree Award which is awarded, on any nomination, to the best final year Degree student specialising in any area of Automation Instrumentation or Control. She was Nominated by: Mr. Gareth Roe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT).

Aoife Monahan

"Aoife Monahan has been an outstanding student on the degree course in Physics & Instrumentation at GMIT. This is evidenced by her results from 1st year and 2nd year where she achieved overall results of 85.5% (GPA) and 90.2% (GPA) respectively and is further supported by her 3rd year degree results. In 3rd year Aoife’s overall average was 80% with all her individual module results, bar one at 69%!, being at distinction level or well above and this in subjects ranging from Computerized Instrument Systems (79%) to Robotics & Automation(80%) to Physics (77%). She displays a natural aptitude and enthusiasm combined with a determined persistence in her studies of both the theoretical and practical aspects of instrumentation and applied physics. Through her coursework and experience to date Aoife has a proven impressive ability in both the theory and then the practical implementation of instrument systems .
Aoife has also demonstrated a distinct ability for both individual project work and collaborative work as part of a team.
In her 2nd year individual project she took on the challenging task of building a working transmittance heart rate monitoring system. This involved constructing the sensor system and associated signal conditioning, interfacing the processed signal to a PC and then developing and using a LabViewTM program to interpret and display the incoming signal in terms of heart rate. The end result was a system that was not only fully functioning but was also delivered with significant attention to detail."

• Honour’s Degree Award
The Honour’s Degree Award was achieved by Mr Colin Levis on the nomination of Mr. Gerard Geaney of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Cork Institute of Technology.

Colin Levis

"Colin displayed the ability to analyse and develop a process. The process consisted of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator simulating a wind turbine. The model emulated modern wind turbines used to reduce losses and provide a more efficient system. This model incorporated automation consisting of hardware such as Siemens S7-1200 PLC, Analog Input module, Analog output signal board, Siemens Sentron PAC 4200 energy meter, Allen Bradley Power flex 4M VFD, LEM current transducers, Kubler incremental encoder, Voltage rectifiers, 1 kW PMSG and a 2 kW induction motor. In order to obtain data and determine the capabilities of the PMSG the following software is used Simatic Step 7 V12, Kepware, Simulink/Matlab, Wonderware ArchestrA, MS Excel and MS Access.
To control the speed of the motor a PI controller was designed using the Root Locus method. The controller designed has a conservative response to eliminate any system overshoot and have a stable response. This entailed deriving a transfer function for the motor within Simulink and Matlab from real time data. The designed controller and actual response were verified to show an accurate model was created. To visually display the results and effects of operating conditions by the use of SCADA software developed by Wonderware."

• Innovation Project Award
Recognising a project which has made a significant contribution to the advancement of industry in Ireland through the use of Automation Technology is the purpose of the Innovation Project Award.
The recipients were Mr Grzegorz Perka and Mr Adam Sikorzynski of Vistakon in Limerick on the nomination of  Mr. Declan Fagan also of Vistakon.

Grzegorz Perka

"Their contribution recognised that extracting data from a complex process with no measurement systems built in was very difficult until they developed their replica pallet.
Using a very clever solution Grzegorz and Adam designed a process monitoring system built into a replica process pallet that could be used to navigate through the production line collecting information throughout its movement path. The replica process pallet used the same physical dimensions as a typical pallet however it had a purpose built PC board designed into the pallet to monitor and store process critical data.
Grzegorz then developed custom software to upload the data from the process pallet which could then be analysed offline to make critical process improvement changes.
The outcome from the project was a self-contained intelligent module which had the ability to Collect 10 measures per second (temperature and 3 axis acceleration)
Measure acceleration 50 times per 100ms and store max value
Time stamp for each record.
Can show real-time data on the PC screen
This was truly a revolutionary step in that it was now possible the monitor and measure data in real time throughout the entire process which was previously impossible. Information such as forces applied to the product as well as temperature monitoring is extremely useful in processes."

• Automation Champion Award
Mr. Liam O’Brien was awarded the Automation Champion Award "in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of instrumentation, automation, IT or industrial system and / or technology in Ireland." He was nominated by Mr. Dermot O’Callaghan of Enterprise System Partners (ESP).

Liam O'Brien

"Liam has more than 25 years experience managing IT/Automation companies supplying solutions to the life science sector. Over his career, the automation industry has benefited from his technical insights and execution & management of solutions, coupled with an unrivalled entrepreneurial flair to grow two world-class service companies in this field.
In 1994, Liam co-founded and managed ProsCon (now a Rockwell owned company), as the original automation integration company supporting life sciences in Ireland. Under his leadership, the company grew from zero to over 200 resources within a 5 year timeframe with an annual turnover greater than 15M euro per annum. He oversaw the development of a management team, project management team, quality system, infrastructure and premises including system build facility to provide full turnkey solutions for PLC/SCADA and DCS systems. The customer base included all the major pharmaceutical manufacturers primarily in Ireland, but also had begun development in the UK and Singapore. Today, the business has a global reach as a Rockwell automation company.
In 2003, Liam co-founded ESP and continues to act as Managing Director today. Liam identified the trend towards MES in the early 2000s and was involved in managing the first EBR implementation for Pfizer worldwide. During this project, ESP was born. Under his guidance, the company has grown to be one of largest system integrator of MES in the life science industry worldwide, headquartered in Cork Ireland, with active projects throughout Europe, North America and Asia.

In addition, Liam has and continues to provide consulting support for some of the companies global clients including Pfizer, Genzyme (Sanofi) and AstraZeneca. Liam provides a unique blend of technical and commercial skills to support such clients in visualisation, planning and commercial management of global system programs for these corporations requiring roll-out of multi-site manufacturing systems and their integration with the automation layer."

• Pioneer Award
This award recognises a lifetime devoted to Instrumentation/Automation in Ireland.
This year Mr John Power, of the Power Group and fourth President of the Section (1981-1983) was nominated by Senior Members Mr Bob Shine and Mr Billy Walsh.

John Power

"John Power is founder and President of “The Power Group” and was one of the early presidents of ISA Ireland in the 1981 and 82. A native of Old Parish in County Waterford, John has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the control and automation sector going back longer than he would care to mention.
Having gained significant expertise and knowledge in Electrical Engineering and automation control with a variety of engineering and chemical companies in his early career John soon established several companies of his own to serve the sector. By 1982 he had established The Power Group of companies, comprising; Powerflow Electronics, an Electronic design and manufacturing company, and Power Engineering, an Electrical engineering/automation company.
One of the pivotal moments in John’s career was the invention and successful worldwide patenting of a range of electronic timers for switching and controlling solenoid valves. These original products proved to be highly successful, revolutionising the compressed air condensate market, and paved the way for the development of a comprehensive range of control and automation equipment. Powerflow continue to develop and manufacture at their headquarters in Waterford, supplying many of the world’s leading automation companies and exporting to more than sixty countries Worldwide.
As well as the company’s own range of branded products, designed and manufactured in house, the group also work in conjunction with global leaders in the field of instrumentation and process control, to develop and integrate cutting edge solutions for today’s modern manufacturing and process control environment.
John’s formative years involved a keen interest in electrical engineering and automation, which eventually led to him joining MF Kent Electrical contractors of Clonmel. During this time he worked on the installation and commissioning of large scale industrial plants throughout Ireland, proving valuable experience for the years ahead.
Following his time with MF Kent John was employed by Pfizer’s Quigley Magnesite division for 13 years as Electrical and Automation Engineering Manager at their facility in Dungarvan, and also covering the Tivoli plant in Cork and the mining / quarrying facility in Kilkenny. During his period with Pfizer-Quigley Magnesite, which was a unique plant in Ireland, producing synthetic magnesia, John and his team pioneered many new methods and technologies, including the measurement of mass flow density and inline rock weighing systems, using nuclear radiation sources, magnetic flow meters and speed encoders. Some of those developments revolutionised the efficiency of the plant, and subsequently went on to be used widely in the industry. John describes the plant “as a wonderful place to work. You could nearly class it as a production laboratory and test facility, with a new challenge to overcome every day, in power distribution and automation. The facility encompassed almost every aspect of measurement and control”. It proved to be a fabulous environment to develop his analytical and problem solving skills, which he would go on to use throughout his career.
Following the closure of the Pfizer-Quigley plant in Ireland, John was keen to utilise the skills and knowledge acquired so began work as a Consultant Engineer and was instrumental in the design and construction of several high-tech multinational manufacturing facilities in the Cork area, in the early eighties. It was also during this period that the Power Groups’ Electrical and Automation division Power Engineering was founded. Now with more than three decades of experience John is proud to say that his company has designed and manufactured Power Distribution systems, automation control panels and SCADA solutions for most of the larger manufacturing plants in Ireland, such as, Boston Scientific, GSK, Lake Region, The Dawn Group, Glanbia, as well as projects in the U.K. and France.
Today the Power Group remain at the forefront of technology and John continues to head up a dedicated team, developing and patenting several new products

annually, and he continues to combine his passion for instrumentation, innovation and entrepreneurship. John is immensely proud to be a long standing member of the ISA and the work the organisation carries out to promote the principals of excellence in engineering and instrumentation."

The President thanks the sponsors of the event who also sent representatives to the event.

Some of the sponsors

The Ireland Section of ISA, which is voluntary body with a membership of over 160, received its charter in 1978. Its purpose is to bring together all personnel involved in the instrumentation and related disciplines in order to enhance their capabilities in instrumentation design, manufacture and use. It one of the most successful sections world wide and a number of members have assumed leadership responsibilities both in the Europe, Middle East & African District,  and in the Global governance of the Society down the years.

@IrelandISA #PAuto #ISAuto @ISA_Interchange 

Prototyping a Batch Process Control System!

Cormac Garvey

The Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation will host a technical presentation in September entitled: Prototyping a Batch Process Control System using ISA-S88 and ISA-S95. This is the start of this very active section's programme for the 2015-2016 season. Later in the season they are hosting the international ISA Food and Pharmaceutical Industries Division (FPID) Symposium.

Cormac Garvey
Cormac graduated from University College Dublin, Ireland, in 1992 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Since then, he has worked in both Engineering and IT software fields for the last 23 years. He is a qualified project manager (PMP®), Security specialist (CISSP®) , and published author on websites. As well as architecting and programming control systems, Cormac has managed the design , implementation, commissioning and validation of Control and MES systems in the pharmaceutical, Oil&Gas, and Semiconductor industries. His speciality is: Simplifying the industrial Automation and information system landscape through the use of open standard data modelling and implementation of design patterns.

In this presentation Cormac Garvey, Chief Technology Officer, Hal Software,* will discuss the concept of using prototyping for a batch control system. Prototyping is a relatively new concept in control systems, but is standard in many other industries.

He will cover what exactly prototyping can be used for in process control, what are the benefits of prototyping, and, how one would go about using prototyping.

Cormac will then give a practical demonstration of how one would build a prototype of a simple batch process control system using the ISA-S88 design pattern.

*Hal Software
Hal Software is a 100% owned Irish company that provides software to assist in the design, programming and test of Industrial Control and MES systems. The company was founded in 2012, and launched its first product, Spike Prototype, earlier this year at the Hannover Fair. They also exhibited at Achema in Frankfurt/Main (d). They plan to participate in next years Hannover Fair as well.

• Meeting Details: Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork on Wednesday, 16 September 2015 @ 19.30hrs. Tea and Coffee @ 19.15hrs.

Important Food and Pharma event scheduled for Ireland in 2016.

160 professionals within the automation and control field and the pharmaceuticals and food industries will gather in Cork (IRL) next March to explore solutions to the critical challenges relating to automation in food processing and drug manufacture and distribution.

Book Now

The third annual ISA Food and Pharmaceutical Industries Division (FPID) Symposium will deliver best practice insights and approaches to leaders of pharmaceutical and food processing companies seeking to improve quality, safety, reliability, profitability, cost control and production throughput. The meeting’s content-rich technical program will highlight the latest trends, innovations, strategies and techniques in process automation through expert-­led technical sessions and numerous roundtable discussions. A spectrum of technical sessions will cover key topics and issues of importance. The first such event was held in North Carolina (2014) the second in Philadelphia in 2015, both in the USA.

The first paper call has been issued and the deadline is 30th November 2015.

This will be the first of these internationally focused ISA symposia to be held outside of continental North America.

The local ISA Section is heavily involved in the organising of the event and has extensive experience in the organising of national events such as the Technology Modernisation seminar earlier this year. Updates will be highlighted and contact details will be listed on the symposium website.

There is also a limited amount of space for exhibitors and Carol Schafer is the person to contact to insure your company is in the heart of things.

Sunset  over Cork City

#FPID16 #PAuto #ISAuto

"Technology Modernisation of Plant Automation Systems" ISAIreland Seminar filling up!

Spaces are limited, early booking is advised.

ISA Members are eligible for a 50% discount on registering. 

Please use discount code ISAMAR15 when prompted on Eventbrite.

Harmonization of C& Q and CSV initiatives!

Forthcoming Technical Talk from the ISA Ireland Section is to be held at Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork on Wednesday, 18 February 2015 @ 19.00hrs sharp.

The Speaker

Jorge L. Rodriguez is the Founder, President and CEO of PACIV, a control system engineering firm. PACIV has offices in Puerto Rico, United States and Ireland. PACIV provides operational efficiencies through the automation of manufacturing processes utilizing instrumentation and control systems. PACIV clients include the largest Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Device companies in the world as well as other multinational clients in related industries. PACIV has over 120 associates world-wide and has revenues, in the past 16 years, of over $135 million.

Prior to founding PACIV, he worked for over 8 years as a control system engineer in various positions within Westinghouse Electric, Eli Lilly & Co. and J&J Janssen.

“Harmonization of C&Q and CSV Initiatives” by Jorge L. Rodríguez – President & CEO – PACIV

In many instances there is significant overlap between the computerized system validation and the commissioning and qualification activities specially for computerized control systems utilized in the manufacturing, facilities and/or utility processes (e.g. PLC’s, SCADA, DCS). As such, these efforts may be combined under one effort, to ensure proper synchronization and preclude duplication of effort. As a result, a single validation/qualification effort may be performed to produce the required deliverables to achieve compliance while harmonizing work being done even when using different teams. Moreover, the commissioning effort can reduce significantly not only the qualification effort but also the CSV effort, if performed appropriately.

In today’s competitive environment, clear and concise policies and procedures that promote such harmonization effort, regardless of the type of regulated manufacturing process and automation platform, will offer significant value by reducing the cost as well as the time it will take to complete such projects while still meeting the required level of compliance.

• Pre-registration on the ISA Ireland website would be helpful (not necessary to attend) as it would give us an indication of how many to expect on the night. On the section website under “Upcoming Events” for Wednesday 18 February click on “more info”, then follow the next prompt and click on “info” for ISA Tech Talk and you will notice a registration template at the bottom of the page.