News

Open platform system saves ethanol plant millions

Golden Grain Energy in Mason City, Iowa, was looking for a way to reduce maintenance costs for their operating systems. Golden grain produces 125M gallons /year of distiller’s grains and non-food grade corn oil. The plant was running an Advanced Process Control (APC) “black box” which had worked well until modifications were needed. Although system controls reside in PCs rather than the DCS, the system is effective with non-linear and adaptive process. However, it requires extensive process knowledge and process […] Read More

Trident installs one of first Siemens SPHA systems

MilliporeSigma produces chemicals used in the life sciences and semiconductor industries and tasked Trident Automation with finding a solution to upgrading its control systems. The company previously relied on APACS using Windows 95 running the MycroAdvantage HMI. To implement a more modern DCS, they wanted a solution that was scalable, flexible, intuitive, required minimal downtime for installation, and reduced total cost of ownership. Before moving to the solution phase, Trident engineers first had to learn the MycroAdvantage system—an older platform […] Read More

Parts are parts? Except in an emergency!

It’s Murphy’s Law: when you least expect it, something will break. In a highly customized production environment, broken or missing parts cost time and money—and could jeopardize a customer relationship. Increasingly, we are working with customers to identify critical path components and build a spares list on the most needed items. “Looking at the issue in greater detail, reveals just how costly unplanned downtime can become,” said Jason Hurst, CEO of Trident Automation. “Besides the direct expense of having a […] Read More

Safety switches on for Wisconsin foundry

Neenah Foundry had an older Rockwell system that was not compliant with current safety standards. The foundry wanted an upgrade, but the system was so outdated, the Trident team recommended a new risk assessment. Working collaboratively with Rockwell’s safety engineer, the team carefully identified each hazard, the potential for risk, and the ways to mitigate the hazard. Risks ran broad range from something simple like uneven pavement to cautions taken around a giant melt furnace. The customer wanted to automate […] Read More

Case Study: Collaboration with Siemens produces replacement controls

The Marquette Board of Light and Power is a municipal electric utility serving approximately 17,000 customers in the city of Marquette nine townships in Marquette County, Michigan. They commissioned a replacement control system and burner management system for their 50mw plant. Trident collaborated with our partner, Siemens, to design a control system for the plant, but our team members were on start for installation and start-up. During start-up, we were called on to trouble-shoot and adjust the system to maximize […] Read More

BEYOND THE FIREWALL: Industrial Hardening- A subset of Cybersecurity

The convenience of real-time production data at your fingertips is a reality of today’s manufacturing. But the flip side of instant access anywhere, is your most valued systems could be open to malware and hackers. Today, Trident Automation is focusing on service beyond the firewall–systems and add-ons that are designed to protect your plant yet allow secure access. A far cry from past production environments where the DCS was always isolated from the Internet. “Now, C-level execs and plant staff […] Read More