INSIGHTS

Over the last while I've written about the gap between what gets quoted, what gets built, and what gets validated on automation projects. A lot of people recognized that gap — some have lived it more than once. The follow-up question I kept coming back to was the obvious one: so what actually closes it? The answer isn't a better integrator or a better validation contractor. It's better definition work, done earlier, with more discipline, and with the end of the project in min

Every small integrator I know has lived through this exact week: the one where everything lands at once. A project gets awarded the same week a startup runs long. Documentation piles up while three proposals hit deadline in the same afternoon. None of it is a crisis on its own. Together, it's a capacity crisis. This is a look at the situations that quietly eat capacity for small system integrators: project awards, field pulls, documentation gaps, scope creep, backlog, and pro

What Gets Quoted, What Gets Built, and What Gets Validated After years of working on automation projects in regulated and validation-heavy environments, a few things have become clear to me: the system that gets quoted, the system that gets built, and the system that gets validated are rarely the same thing. This is a look at why that gap exists, and what it actually takes to close it. Part 1: The Communication Breakdown Most automation projects don't fail during commissi

“How can terminal blocks reduce wiring and panel build times and relieve FAT headaches?” https://www.controldesign.com/connections/terminal-blocks/news/55396658/weidmuller-innovative-wiring-solutions-from-push-in-to-world-record-connections

At OT SCADA CON this year, I gave a talk called "Dead on Arrival," built around a pattern I've watched play out again and again in over 20 years working in controls and automation: projects that fail at FAT, SAT, or both, not because of bad code, but because of what was never written down in the first place. The controversial statement Most automation projects fail before the PO is even signed. When something blows up during FAT or SAT, we tend to blame PLC bugs, network drop

https://www.controldesign.com/sensing/sensors/article/55366750/patrick-bunn-explains-why-functional-intent-is-critical-in-acceptance-testing

https://www.controldesign.com/podcasts/article/55291371/patrick-bunn-laying-the-groundwork-for-future-generations-of-automation

How familiar are you with the OSI Model? Bunn Automation Consulting 's Patrick Bunn , who'll be presenting at OT SCADA CON this July...

I would like to personally invite you to OT SCADA CON this year, which will be in Houston, TX July 23-25. I have the honor of being one...