FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty Consulting in a P

For decades, manufacturing and production operations created masses of data from sensors, control strategies, diagnostics, procedures and other applications used to safely control the process. Operational analytics have continued to advance to turn this mass of data into actionable information. Emerson’s Manasi Menon joins me in this 23-minute operational analytics podcast to discuss how organizations […] The post Podcast: Operational Analytics with Manasi Menon appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

For decades, manufacturing and production operations created masses of data from sensors, control strategies, diagnostics, procedures and other applications used to safely control the process. Operational analytics have continued to advance to turn this mass of data into actionable information. Emerson’s Manasi Menon joins me in this 23-minute operational analytics podcast to discuss how organizations […] The post Podcast: Operational Analytics with Manasi Menon appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Kendall Beushausen follows up his 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Kendall Beushausen podcast with this in-depth FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty in Pod podcast. Kendall describes how the Internet of Things is all around us in our personal lives and how it is being applied in the manufacturing industries to improve business performance in many […] The post Podcast: Driving Reliability Digital Transformations appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Kendall Beushausen follows up his 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Kendall Beushausen podcast with this in-depth FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty in Pod podcast. Kendall describes how the Internet of Things is all around us in our personal lives and how it is being applied in the manufacturing industries to improve business performance in many […] The post Podcast: Driving Reliability Digital Transformations appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Kendall Beushausen joins our continuing podcast series, 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert. As an Operational Certainty consultant, Kendall works with clients to help improve reliability through the application of the latest technologies and improved work processes in process management, maintenance and reliability through the application of artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics. […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Kendall Beushausen appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

We continue our FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty in a Pod podcast series with a conversation with Emerson’s Jerry Chen. As an Operational Certainty consultant, Jerry works with manufacturers and producers to improve the reliability of their processes. It starts with a complete understanding of the assets used in the production process and keeping these records current […] The post Podcast: Digital Transformation for Walkdowns appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Jaime Foose joins our continuing podcast series, 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert. Jaime is an ICS cyber security expert, Director of Security Solutions and Lifecycle Shared Services. She helps power producers and water & wastewater utilities with programs and processes to improve their cyber defenses and the ongoing health of their distributed control systems & operational technology (OT). https://www.emersonautomationexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Jaime-Foose-5-Questions.mp3 We hope you enjoy this podcast episode and will subscribe to the Emerson Automation Experts podcast series on your iOS or Android device. Transcript Jim: Hi, everyone, and welcome to another edition of “5 questions for an Emerson Expert.” Today, I’m joined by Jaime Foose. Jaime is a Director of Security Solutions and Lifecycle Shared Services in our Power and Water Solutions (PWS) business unit. Jaime received her bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in Mathematics, as well as also attaining an MBA and a Master of Science in IT project management. Wow. That’s an impressive academic career. Welcome, Jaime. Jaime: Thanks, Jim. It’s great to be here today. Jim: Well, it’s great having you. So I always like to start out because some of the courses, computer science, mathematics, and then some business and some IT, all in there. So what made you decide to pursue a STEM-based career? Jaime: So, Jim, I’d always had an interest in computers, but my college career didn’t start out there. I started in another science field. Actually, because when I was in eighth grade, I had a teacher that had told me he didn’t think I’d be able to pass college-level calculus. And that had always stuck with me for a really long time, so much so that I didn’t pursue computer science. In the summers, when I was going to college, I worked for Kelly Temporary Services, and I ran into a lady that worked for a gas company, and I was working as an admin that summer. And I told her about my college background in history and this teacher that had really gotten in my head. And she really encouraged me to pursue my dream and really chase doing computer science. So I went back to school that fall, changed my major to computer science, made it through all the calculus courses just fine, and ended up finishing with my computer science degree, just one semester extra to do that. And then found that it led me here to Emerson. So it was a really fantastic change that I made. Jim: Well, that’s a great story. It’s nice that there was a person along the way that spurred you on and overcame some negative about how difficult it was or whatever. I hope other people are a force of being positive with other younger people to encourage them along. So from there, I guess with that background, what led you to a career in the field of process automation, and I guess more specifically, in your area, cybersecurity for control systems? Jaime: Sure. So when I first started, I don’t think I really even realized what industry I was getting into. I used the placement services of the university I attended for job placement and actually interviewed with Westinghouse at the time. And so, this was right when PWS had just been acquired by Emerson. And in my hometown, Westinghouse had a fantastic name. And if you got offered a job from Westinghouse, you took it. So I had this great interview with a great company. I didn’t really know all that much about process automation, but I knew it was a good company. And that’s how I joined. When I first started, I worked on communication interfaces, and just did a lot of different work in a lot of different areas, but always seemed to gravitate towards new things or things that were just a little bit more challenging or tricky. So in 2008, we saw a big increase in cybersecurity concerns around power generation. And this was really in tune with when NERC CIP [North American Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection] started making regulatory obligations, you know, requirements for power generators. And we started seeing this in the business and coming in through different requests for proposal. And so I took on that challenge to try to understand what exactly was going on in our industry. You know, for a long time, cyber had been a problem for financial industries and retail industries, but now was really hitting home in power. I felt like this was an area that I could dig into and really help, not only ease the burden for our customers, but also for our company as well. And that’s kind of how I ended up in cybersecurity realm. Jim: Well, that’s great. And we’ll have a follow-on podcast, at some point, to dig more into that specific area. But for right now, tell us about a recent challenge that you’ve been working on to solve. Jaime: Sure. So, a recent challenge that’s facing, not only our customers, but also Emerson as a whole is this idea of what’s called a Transient Cyber Asset. And so what that means, these are devices, computers, USB sticks, or other electronic equipment that come and go on the control system. So it might be like a maintenance laptop or the USB stick a field service engineer has in their pocket. In power space, our customers are now required to apply some base level security controls for those devices and implement them across their different systems to make sure that, for any devices entering into the control system network, there’s some core security controls. So, for our customers, that means they have to inventory everything, not only internally, but also systems that their vendors bring on site. And then make sure that their vendor systems are secured and able to work on the control system. This is a really big challenge for us in field service area, because up until now we’ve been very accustomed to using our own Emerson provided laptops to perform this type of work. And we’ve been able to do this for upgrades or other maintenance activities. Now we have to figure out, not only how can we continue to do our job effectively and efficiently, but do it under these new controls and restrictions of using a Transient Cyber Asset. So, not only we’re working right now to figure out how that impacts Emerson and what types of things we can put in place to help our customers, we also have several jobs with customers right now helping them inventory their Transient Cyber Assets, and apply some basic cyber controls. The standard for this goes into effect on January, so we’re starting to really see a big uptick in concern around Transient Cyber Assets. Jim: Well, yeah, that sounds like it really raises the degree of difficulty, just from, it’s one thing to secure everything that’s known and fixed and part of the control system, but when you have these electronic devices and USB sticks coming and going, that really sounds challenging and a meaty problem to be working on. So enough about all this about automation, cybersecurity, and all this. So once we get outside the world of process automation, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Jaime: I have two little girls. They’re 9 and 10, so they really keep me busy. They love to swim, actually, we all love to swim, so we spend a lot of time at the pool, especially, it’s been pretty hot here in Pittsburgh lately, so we’ve been doing that. Also, spend a lot of time at the movies. We’re big Marvel movie fans. And so we’ve been busy this spring and summer catching up on all of that. And when we’re not doing that, we participate in Community 5K races as a family and with friends, now, whether we’re walking or running, just some community engagement, and trying to stay healthy. We do some volunteering as well with the Light of Life Rescue Mission for the women and children’s program. So I spend one Tuesday a month down there. And then we’ve also been working as volunteers with the Agapao Ministries, they are serving the refugees that have been placed here in Pittsburgh. So, some fun and volunteering and exercise all rolled into one, is what keeps us busy in the off time. Jim: Wow. That sounds like busy. So staying healthy and fit, and volunteering your time, and all of that, that’s really great. And I guess the final of the 5 questions, we have a lot of newcomers joining our ranks both in our world of process automation and power producers, and other manufacturing industries, and everything else. So what advice would you have for someone new coming into the field, I guess, especially around the area that you see in cybersecurity? Jaime: Advice I’d give to anyone new coming into this field or any field really is to follow your passion. Don’t let other people, you know, tell you what you can and can’t do. Certainly, set your mind to what you’d like to accomplish and work hard. I can’t stress enough, you know, being the hardest worker in the room and really putting your full self into it. Specific to the field of cybersecurity or process automation, I think it’s actually a fantastic field where you can have an impact on the critical infrastructure of the world. When you think about the systems that we’re securing, you know, they’re helping to provide energy and water, and really maintaining our way of life as we know it. Every night when we go home, the air conditioning is on, the lights are on, we have clean drinking water. Securing those systems and making sure that they are protected from attack is really a noble, noble cause that people can join in and make a difference. And so, it’s an exciting field. It’s always changing. Every day there’s something new. And so for folks that are interested in staying up to date with the latest and greatest, and never getting bored, cyber and process automation is a great place to be. Jim: Wow. It sounds like, yeah, everybody knows if the power is not making its way to their house, or there’s a problem with the water or something else. So, yeah, this may be the noblest of noble causes. Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Jaime, and I look forward when we do round two here in a little while. Jaime: Thanks, Jim. Me too, looking forward to it. End of Transcript Visit the ICS Cyber Security section on Emerson.com for more ways to protect your distributed control system and other elements of your operational technology infrastructure.

Emerson’s Dr. Tiffany Tang joins our continuing series, 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert. As an Operational Certainty Consultant, Tiffany works with manufacturers and producers to optimize their processes to improve production, energy & emissions and overall robustness. We hope you’ll enjoy this episode and will consider subscribing to the whole FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty in […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Tiffany Tang appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Sudhir Jain joins us in this FIRSTHAND Operational Certainty in a Pod podcast as a follow up to our earlier 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert podcast with Sudhir. As an Operational Certainty consultant, he shares some of the oil & gas applications for operational improvements and describes how he works with clients to […] The post Podcast: Driving Operational Improvements in the Energy Industries appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Jerry Chen joins our continuing podcast series, 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert. As an Operational Certainty Consultant, Jerry works with clients to help build a reliability culture for their maintenance professionals. He works with them to implement the technologies and to establish the work practices required for more reliable and streamlined operations. In […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Jerry Chen appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Dave Buttner joins us in this FIRSTHAND Operational Certainty in a Pod podcast as a follow up to our earlier 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert podcast with Dave. In this podcast, he shares some of the drivers, challenges, and methods of sustaining reliability improvements for better business performance. We hope you’ll enjoy this […] The post Podcast: Driving Reliability Improvement Gains appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Dave Buttner joins our continuing podcast series, 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert. Dave works with manufacturers and producers as part of the Operational Certainty Consulting team to identify opportunities for performance improvements in safety, reliability, production, and energy & emissions. We’ll have a more in-depth podcast in the coming weeks with Dave describing […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Dave Buttner appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Dave Buttner joins our continuing podcast series, 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert. Dave works with manufacturers and producers as part of the Operational Certainty Consulting team to identify opportunities for performance improvements in safety, reliability, production, and energy & emissions. We’ll have a more in-depth podcast in the coming weeks with Dave describing […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Dave Buttner appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

This FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty in Pod podcast with Emerson’s Chris Hamlin is a follow up to our 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert with Chris. In this podcast, we explore Chris’ thoughts on a presentation he gave recently at a conference in the Netherlands. The presentation highlighted the massive technological shifts occurring that are affecting […] The post Overcoming Self-Imposed Barriers to Operational Performance appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

This FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty in Pod podcast with Emerson’s Chris Hamlin is a follow up to our 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert with Chris. In this podcast, we explore Chris’ thoughts on a presentation he gave recently at a conference in the Netherlands. The presentation highlighted the massive technological shifts occurring that are affecting […] The post Overcoming Self-Imposed Barriers to Operational Performance appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Chris Hamlin joins our continuing podcast series, 5 Questions for an Emerson Expert. Chris works with our Operational Certainty Consulting team in their role to help manufacturers and producers improve operational performance and drive toward top quartile performance. We’ll have an in-depth podcast in the coming weeks with Chris describing this new area of […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Director Chris Hamlin appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Sam Thiara joined me virtually from the UK for our continuing FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty Consulting in a Pod podcast series. Sam, whom you may recall from earlier energy management-related posts, is a member of the Operational Certainty Consulting Group speaking with manufacturers about their energy management challenges. In this 10-minute podcast, we discuss the […] The post Podcast: How to Approach Energy Management Projects appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Sam Thiara joined me virtually from the UK for our continuing FIRSTHAND: Operational Certainty Consulting in a Pod podcast series. Sam, whom you may recall from earlier energy management-related posts, is a member of the Operational Certainty Consulting Group speaking with manufacturers about their energy management challenges. In this 10-minute podcast, we discuss the […] The post Podcast: How to Approach Energy Management Projects appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Sam Thiara joins our continuing podcast series, 5 questions for an Emerson Expert. Sam works with manufacturers across the process industries to improve operational performance and achieve top quartile performance. We’ll have an in-depth podcast in the coming weeks with Sam’s perspectives on how the Operational Certainty consultants on how they work with process […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Sam Thiara appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Emerson’s Sam Thiara joins our continuing podcast series, 5 questions for an Emerson Expert. Sam works with manufacturers across the process industries to improve operational performance and achieve top quartile performance. We’ll have an in-depth podcast in the coming weeks with Sam’s perspectives on how the Operational Certainty consultants on how they work with process […] The post 5 Questions for Operational Certainty Consultant Sam Thiara appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog. Excerpt of full blog post available on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.