Operational data can be very messy and often times lives in many different places: internal systems, spreadsheets, email messages, hand written notes, even mental notes, and more. You need a way to manage all this information so it's available to you and your authorized users at any time for any reason.

By pooling all your operations data together into a cloud-based platform and utilizing cloud applications, you can simplify and cut down on the number of systems you need to support your operations. We've all heard the saying 'sometimes more is less' right? It totally proves true when it comes to your operational data; simplify where it's all combined and stored to get the most from it all.

Cyber security is a significant sustainability challenge for every industry today.

Cyber attacks come in many forms and almost every week we read about another company that has had data become compromised, either from ransomware in a corporation or banking data captured from a retailer. How do you defend against those kinds of attacks while giving your people easy, but secure access to the site or asset data they need in order to efficiently make the best business decisions?

Maybe you’re looking toward digital transformation but you’re reluctant to move past the old SCADA system on a server in the utility room. You have that one for data monitoring, a separate one for accounting, and another for remote well control. You get different reports from every place, and your department heads spend days in the plot of 1984’s Irreconcilable Differences.

When you do the math for all the benefits of switching to a cloud platform built for industrial use, and then multiply it by the benefit of just how mobile it is and even how it can quickly help all of your systems play nicely together it adds up to a strong return and equals into a much smoother running operation, with much more efficient processes and happier department heads.

Going digital, or Digital Transformation doesn't have to be riddled with complexity or long drawn out time-frames. In fact, it can really be easy, painless and fast and yet still make a huge positive impact on your business.

To stay competitive your company must focus on implementing new digital technologies into your operations to deliver more value to your customers and enable staff to do their job better and with less available internal resources.

To build a digital ecosystem for all stakeholders inside and outside your company means executing digital change activities. Emerson’s Zedi SaaS SCADA is a perfect partner on that journey. We serve various industries and can guide your Digital Transformation journey to your desired destination, and even autonomous operations.

Decisions, decisions...

It's mind blowing when you think about how much time most of us spend on researching different decisions today; household purchasing decisions, cooking decisions, child care decisions, car buying decisions, vacation destination decisions, even simple things like the best way to clean something decisions - any decisions life throws our way today we grab our phone or run to the computer to look and see what are the options, best practice, best deal and then move forward.

Now, think of your employees who spend hours sorting, cleaning, detailing and organizing operational data from multiple databases, locations and spreadsheets to simplify data enough to make a least one informed business decision.

I just gave myself heartburn thinking about that.

How companies operate and use their data will significantly impact how successfully (or not) they run their operations. With Emerson's Zedi Cloud Platform, we simplify the connection between sensors to get you the data you need to make better business decisions to achieve better-performing assets, streamlined compliance, and optimized resources.

The Great Resignation is far too real for most production companies to keep up with—in the past couple of years many workers are leaving old jobs to find opportunities that are better aligned to their professional and personal values and goals that usually also come with bigger paychecks, more benefits and even larger promises of bright days ahead.

Some people have left the oil and gas production industry all together to take a new path that isn't as volatile or have joined organizations that don't trigger extended family meltdowns at holiday dinners because select narratives don't support oil and gas production.

These are the same types of pressures on people as they start their career that usually pushes them away from the energy sector all together into something 'safer' or what they have been told is more socially acceptable also add to the workforce shortage.

More aspects of oil and gas operations are joining the autonomous operations revolution. Now the iconic rod pump is enabling significant improvements with its operations regarding efficiency, safety and production.

The sun is actually rising on a new rod pump era with Emerson's Zedi Autonomous Rod Pump Management that is now changing the way producers and operations work each day for the better.

What was once endless trips to the well site with only two typical outcomes, both of which are a problem: It’s working fine, so no trip was needed; or it’s been down for two days and someone should’ve been out there to make repairs and restore production—or clean up a spill—hours, or days ago.

The world moves pretty fast these days with all the constant change from every direction. To stay ahead of all the crazy it's important to consider all your options and then move quickly to implement your strategy into action.

It wasn't all that long ago many companies were faced with difficult decisions, and few of those difficult decisions are harder than layoffs. It's never an easy decision. But in a downturn, it’s a necessary evil to save the company as a whole—with great hope you can welcome those same talented people back when the inevitable upturn happens.

The hard truth is that before that upturn actually happens many of those talented people will have retired, switched career paths, started their own business or even traded their safety glasses in for sunglasses in a tropical paradise.

If your company isn't centralizing its data you may be missing out on increasing productivity in your business.

Centralizing data means putting all your operational data into one single place. By consolidating data, your authorized company employees will have quick and easy access from anywhere. All that will be required is a secure internet connection.

Our SaaS (Software as a Service) and SCADA helps your operations compile data from any digital monitoring hardware via gateways that support various protocols into a single centralized cloud location. From a single source, we can deliver real-time data to your computer or mobile device that allows authorized end-users to actively see the information you decide is relevant to each person or role within your organization.

Alarms can be used to monitor data for anything out of the ordinary, like catching smalls deviations and alerting an operator to a possible situation before it escalates. Setting up alarms on your assets enables you to prevent physical and economic loss through faster operator intervention and response times.

How many alarms can an operator effectively handle per day? ISA 18.2 states that, ideally, one alarm per 10 minutes can be taken care of without sacrifice to the operator’s other duties. Two alarms per 10 minutes are identified as manageable.