Topic: "Unleashing the Power of Convergence in IT – OT – ET"
Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: BBP Company Offices – 1994 McCain Parkway, Pelham, AL (Also Virtual on Zoom with connection link Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88409265374
Speaker: Dean Ford, PE, CAP - Luminary ACE
Dean Ford currently serves as the Managing Principal Engineer at Luminary Automation, Cybersecurity, and Engineering, LLC, a firm he cofounded in 2021. He develops and leads a dedicated and passionate staff of automation professionals. He is a licensed Control Systems Engineer in 24 states and a Certified Automation Professional® (CAP). Dean is a Senior Member in the International Society of Automation (ISA) and participates in many industry standards committees. He is an active member of many industry groups including AWWA, WEF, SWAN. He passionate about educating the public and policy makers of the critical role automation plays in the future. Dean is also serving as the Chair of the American Water Works Association Water Utility Technology and Automation Committee (WUTAC).
Abstract:
For decades, the automation, instrumentation, and controls departments at our processing and manufacturing plants have had a strained relationship with their IT and Engineering counterparts. The requirements, standards, deliverables, and metrics don’t always seem to align and it seems that the team running the plant floor equipment ends up on short end most of the time. What if that typical narrative were different? What if all the groups worked together? What synergies could the individuals and the business benefit from?
With a current project at the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) as the backdrop, this discussion provides a different vision of the future where these three groups are partners, leveraging each other’s skills and capabilities to make everyone’s job more effective and efficient. The convergence of these groups drives costs out of the business, increases reliability, and improves the cybersecurity posture of the business.
How do we get there? Where do we start? Who needs to be involved? We will address all of these questions and more.