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One failed I/O card at an 800 MW power plant took a critical water process offline for up to 18 hours. The real obstacle was a Java-based config page that only one old laptop could still open. Why legacy tooling is an operational risk, and what proactive lifecycle management looks like.

"Digital transformation" lands flat in oil and gas, but it is a strategy, not a project. A plain-language definition, why ROI is hard to isolate but easy to see, and a practical roadmap from connecting your first PLC to solving real problems with data.

Our recap of ProveIt! 2026 in Dallas: a bigger conference, a strong people-over-AI theme, standout presentations from Thred, Abelera, and CESMII's I3X, and our team's work getting SM Profiles flowing through the conference UNS.

Automation covers a LOT of ground. When someone is talking about automation they might be talking about that small machine over there on the plant floor, a large facility with thousands of sensors and outputs, a SCADA system with thousands of sites, or a software automation and visualization. It can be helpful to think of and describe parts of automation as layers in a stack. This stack ranges from the specific sensors and processes on the plant floor (Layer 0) all the way up

JPI Solutions is heading to ProveIt! 2026 with a booth. ProveIt! makes vendors prove their solutions against a virtual factory UNS and disclose cost and implementation time. Find us at booth 48 and use code JPI for 25% off.

The Problem In natural gas production and processing facilities, operators routinely lose 5-15 minutes per trip walking between standalone compressor control panels and central plant control systems. During compressor startups, process upsets, or troubleshooting scenarios, operators may make dozens of these trips per shift which translates into hours of lost productivity, delayed responses to alarms, and increased safety exposure in extreme weather, trip hazards, or hazardous

A quick reference for DLOG block status codes on Telepace SCADAPacks. Codes 10 through 17 are listed with their meaning and fix, from invalid log IDs and low RAM batteries to memory shortfalls that need a cold boot.

Manually copying files to back up a SCADA database risks corruption. ClearSCADA's built-in Backup Object makes safe backups on demand or on a schedule. How to create and configure it, name backups by date and time, and run it from ViewX.

Part two of our PowerShell API series. Load SCADA records from CSV, convert each one to JSON with a Unix timestamp, and POST it to a Swagger API using a bearer token. The full script is included, with a section-by-section breakdown.

Our Swagger API used OAuth 2.0 client credentials, and the bearer token kept expiring. How to request a fresh token from PowerShell 5.1, including the multipart form workaround that took some head bashing to figure out.

Older 300-series SCADAPacks run an aging OS with weak memory management. Our tips for setting one up properly, including load order, and why it matters. This does not apply to the newer x70 series.

ClearSCADA Mobile delivers data from multiple systems to phones and tablets, but setup is not easy. A step-by-step guide to installing and configuring all three parts.

ClearSCADA 2017 added native mapping and geolocation for assets and operators. How to put it to work by bringing Weather Canada data onto your ClearSCADA maps.

RSLinx is the communication hub for Rockwell software, and it can also serve data to OPC clients like ClearSCADA. Troubleshooting steps for when that OPC connection misbehaves.

In ClearSCADA 2017 R1 and newer, you can stop ViewX from creating a Default mimic in every new group. A hard-to-find tip, saved here so it is easy to find next time.

Organizations design systems that mirror their own structure. A recent meeting was a textbook case of Conway's Law, and a look at what it means for how business and automation systems get designed.

A client project got us talking about fonts. A few fun facts on where Tahoma and other common Windows fonts came from and what they were designed for.

SCADAPacks can act as a store and forward hub for Modbus, Enron Modbus, ROC, and other protocols that put the address first and use Modbus CRC. It even works alongside MSTR messaging. How to configure it.

Want WebX to open on a useful landing page instead of the default logo page? Set the Default View on the root server object in ViewX. Quick steps inside.

Tasked with creating over 1,200 devices in one Kepware instance, we turned to its REST configuration API. An intro to enabling the API and using it to automate bulk configuration.