1. These are primarily anonymous weblogs. Blogger names will be included only if specifically requested.
2. Both positive as well as critical comments are welcomed and encouraged.
3. Except for key top-executives, names of people will not be included.
4. Personal attacks and needless "rants" will be edited or discarded.

If you feel that your weblogs are being unfairly eliminated, or have some special news or advice, please feel free to email Jim Pinto directly: jim@jimpinto.com

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are not Jim Pinto's personal opinions.

Emerson weblogs discontinued, effective immediately

Sunday, March 18, 2012

DeltaV SIS good enough? In the eyes of the DeltaV SIS prophets this question equals blasphemy. DeltaV SIS is nothing less then superior. "Thou shall not touch God's anointed ones." If the product can't be wrong, who is left to blame? The rational engineer trying to fulfill the management's dreams will always be at the short end of the stick. Where is the job satisfaction in this? DeltaV SIS is not even close to being "good enough". Go ahead. Call me an ADeltaVSISist.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

I was the person who said that Triconex and HIMA would have limited future in the SIS environment. I do not work for Emerson; I am just a working engineer in Houston. But, even now, I see the future. I work with the majors who five years ago bought Triconex and now every job we have seen the last 18 months has been Emerson with Dela-V SIS or it has been Yokagawa with their product. Oh, we still do work with Triconex. But, it is all support that includes modifications and add-ons. I will be the first to tell you that Triconex is better than Delta-V SIS in many ways. But, it doesn't matter, as long as Delta-V SIS is "good enough."

Now, having said that, I see a lot of problems coming to Emerson. First, it is obvious that they are bailing out on outsourcing. The have lost a lot of customers on the huge schedule delays based on that model. They have made efforts (like buying TAG) to put in place local engineers to support projects. However, Emerson still has the problem with rampant turnover. I don't know why, but every job with Emerson sees about a third of the engineers quitting during the project. Emerson needs to solve that.

Monday, March 12, 2012

The blog post about heading East is spot on. Farr will most certainly blame Obama for this, even thought outsourcing was the brainchild of CEOs including Farr. Farr-East is the Emerson way now.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

It's a long descent from the top floor in the Emerson St. Louis building to ground floor. And St. Louis is far away from Austin, and even further from the rest of the world. Too many mid-level filters are clouding the water. Numbers are all that's left to rely on. Dangerous place to be.

Emerson's interest in Ireland should be clear by now. And the US is becoming as important as Ireland. The focus is on Asia. Design is starting to follow the same direction as manufacturing: East.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Why all the blogs on Ireland? Who cares about Ireland? Where's the weblog for US? Emerson is an excellent company with very good senior management. Unfortunately, the lower level managers are very green. High turnover rate in Sales is due to this. I suspect there is a high turnover rate due to the lack of mid level management. Everything is numbers-driven due to the planning cycles they use. It works well, BUT it doesn't allow for much flexibility when market conditions change drastically such as they have recently.

Overall I think the future is bright for this company, but management needs to listen when the plan isn't working. Right now they stick to the plan and chop heads when it doesn't work.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - Re: Issue of expertise - SIS reputation

Does it seem to you that Emerson is trying to build a reputation in SIS? For Emerson, the "integrated yet separate" argument is the only valid one, and enough to penetrate the traditional market. Quoting the Emerson slogan, safety and control is the same, only the color of the box is different.

The market will always need suppliers who focus on safety, and therefore have the expertise.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - Re: "About the future of HIMA and Triconex in the SIS environment..."

Not sure if this blogger works for Emerson or is an end-user of Emerson's DeltaV product. I would not be so sure about your comments on the future demise of HIMA and Triconex or even Rockwell ICS Triplex...

The logic solvers (as described in IEC61508 / IEC61511 or simply called Safety Systems) that you see that are so called integrated into the DCS (or BPCS) still has some long way to go to be able to fully address the entire high integrity and high availability control systems market.

There are other markets like the nuclear, railway switching, turbo machinery control markets that the YEW ProSafe, Honeywell Safety Manager, including the EPM DeltaV SIS have not great presence in simply because their current hardware specifications cannot meet or have great difficulties in meeting the basic applications. (Note - that I did not say it cannot be done.)

Besides, there is also an issue of expertise, installed based and project know-how and execution in non-traditional Chemical, Oil and Gas market. No matter how much money EPM, YEW or Honeywell have in their deep pockets, it takes time to build a reputation.

By the way, the Triconex (Tricon & Trident) is also integrated into the Foxboro I/A. It is just that the Foxboro I/A did not get a lot of marketing blast, unlike the DeltaV.

If there is a marketing statement and message behind this predictive statement on the demise of some "stand-alone" control systems, think more deeply again...

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

A couple of comments about the future of HIMA and Triconex in the SIS environment.

They have no future. Why do I say this? If you look at a SIS system from HIMA or Triconex they are basically 3rd party add-on packages to the DCS. We have seen this before in other areas. For example, a generation ago Copeland & Rowlands was a 3rd party adder for batch control to many DCS. Eventually, the DCS companies developed their own batch solution so that they did not need the 3rd party packages. Since the customer was buying the DCS anyway, the DCS vendor had sales contact, the DCS batch offering was easier to integrate, and from a project standpoint it is much easier to deal with one vendor than two. It did not matter if the 3rd party package is better or not. As long as the DCS vendor solution is "good enough" it will replace the third party package.

That is exactly what will happen in SIS. As the DCS manufacturers make better SIS solutions they will eventually supplant the 3rd party packages. All the DCS vendors have to do is be "good enough."

Monday, February 20, 2012

Revamp current employee evaluation system - it is horrible - the current system does not allow for a true 360 feedback to the evaluator and force accountability onto managers to develop their direct reports.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Emerson's Management in the UK are not able to communicate with Irish customers.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Get ready some more letters will be coming....

An intimidating invitation from Emerson's boss

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Did you know that in 2010 David N. Farr, C.E.O. of Emerson Electric, received a 233 percent boost in pay to $22.9 million because he was granted millions in stock?

The Drought Is Over (at Least for C.E.O.'s)

Remember this the next time you get whined at for your expense report or when you get your next crappy raise. Just remember Emerson gets what they pay for from you the employee.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Worked with Emerson Ireland as a contractor and had some very bad experiences with the UK Management. Didn't do anything about it but I would like to at this stage. I am now a customer of Emerson (only when I have too). The feeling of isolation was incredible and was not inline with Emerson guidelines. The UK Management (past and present) should at this stage come under investigation.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Any users out there who can share experiences with CHARMS?

Friday, December 30, 2011

I left HoneyHell 15 years ago thinking the grass was greener in Austin. Boy was I wrong!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Emerson Corporate has a lot to answer for when it comes to the Irish and English situation. It is well known in the Industry that the approach and style of the UK management would be highly questionable with regard to Emerson's ethical guidelines and their dealings with their Irish office. The business is secondary and until Emerson has a full investigation into this the Irish customers will struggle to get their investments supported.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Of all the major suppliers in Ireland, Emerson has the smallest turnover by a long way. So I am not sure why the "big boys" should worry about Emerson. In fact 3 of the major suppliers in Ireland have a bigger turnover than Emerson Ireland and UK combined.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Very strange that somebody working outside Emerson has access to Emerson's figures. Very strange that someone working with another company has to make a statement on Emerson's behalf. Very curious that. Is it very strange or hilariously funny. Anyway, looks like the issue is not dead, gone away, passed, or forgotten.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

I find the never ending dialog on Ireland/UK Emerson somewhat curious. To firstly declare I am not Irish or British nor do I work for Emerson so I do not have an axe to grind on any of these fronts.

Some data to consider. Emerson just had their strongest year ever in Ireland, up some 50% in a supposed flat market, not something my company can boast. They are fully engaged in the 2 largest projects executing right now in Ireland, one replacing an ABB system. Clearly Irish customers are voting with their Euros. Never has Emerson in Ireland been stronger and the market is confirming this hands down. Congratulations to the local and UK leadership and the team on turning this around.

I think it is time to move on folks, this is a dead issue. The only people who should be concerned in Ireland right now are Emerson's competitors and maybe a few disgruntled ex-employees who are struggling to face reality.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

As a customer of Emerson Ireland I would like to point out that the UK office is 100% at fault. I have experienced this first hand for a very long time now. The arrogance and lack of interest in the Irish Customer base is to be experienced. The UK Management Team are from a time warp and uncomfortable on the ground here. I have experienced every bit of non-customer focus that could be conjured up. The history and events leave no other reasonable answer and we are now left with very poor support on the ground (no fault of the Irish office). Emerson have missed the boat and we the customers are left with major decisions in the future.

Monday, December 5, 2011

There were no Irish market failures when Viagra et al. were top of Emerson's work years ago. Now Emerson had dropped Life Sciences - hence the problems. The problems stem from St Louis and Austin - not the UK.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Looks like poor management in the UK but getting a help from a good range of products. Also, the inability in the UK to understand the Irish market. The current GM has failed with other manufactures in the same market.

Friday, December 2, 2011

This has been said before EPM does not care about the Life Sciences sector. They have moved on.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Anybody know what the are the main issues with the UK and Ireland? Is it down to the GM or is going back a while? It is huge talking point in the US among the Life Sciences Community.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The manner in which EPM does base salary is NOT the way anyone else would ever want to do so.

Friday, November 25, 2011 - Re : I'm a non profit CEO. My board recently said they'd like to use the "Emerson model":

Are you sure they meant Emerson Process Management company's model. You may wish to check out Jed Emerson's model using blended value for non-profit organizations - picked this up from a web search after reading your posting.

Friday, November 25, 2011

That's not the Emerson process. Base salary is done on an annual basis with adjustments made based on performance and market comparatives. Performance shares are awarded with 4 year targets and are paid based on percentage of achievement. It's all in the proxy statement.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

I'm a non profit CEO. My board recently said they'd like to use the "Emerson model" and tie any increase to my base to accomplishing goals as far as 5 years in the future. To me, this equates to no clear possibility of annual raises. I do have a good bonus plan that is awarded annually based on overall company performance. Can anyone share some definition or insight on this approach?

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Here we go again - problems in the UK/Ireland guess "management" still does not see the problem. Blind leading the blind?

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Irish Customer Base is changing. A Major Global Life Science Manufacturer with strong links with Emerson is to install a Siemens system and not a DeltaV in a site they recently purchased in Dublin. As an Engineer close to the project it was felt that Emerson had a lack of confidence in local support and this was a major stumbling block.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

To the person from 10/29/11. As someone who spent over 15 years at Yokogawa Corp. of America (YCA) and now work for Emerson, the Yokogawa products are very good. However, the customer support and service for YCA systems is almost non-existent. I worked on systems from YewPack to Centum and now work on Emerson Ovaton. The Emerson PWS has one of the highest customer service reputations and is well deserved.

I wouldn't want to pattern myself after the Japanese "truth" approach that is what has led to a meltdown of one or more reactor cores at Fukushima; that the molten core(s) are traveling underground; that the molten core(s) cannot be picked up and disposed of by any known technology; that a reaction/fission is inevitable; and that once this happens, there is nothing that can be done to stop it. That's not my idea of being honest.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Compared to Yokogawa legacy migration system support, Emerson is nothing. Emerson must learn from we Japanese for customer support and product excellence.

Monday, October 24, 2011

I wonder how much of the raise I didn't get went to World Series Tickets for the important people in Emerson? I even heard the old retired boss got tickets to the Emerson box. Same goes for the Rams football tickets. I remember this everyday when I decide what my level of productivity will be.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

First you have to buy into the leader - then you can buy into the vision.

Friday, October 7, 2011

The UK have some good Directors, but they need some Leadership. The present Directors seem to have no confidence in their leader for various reasons.

Friday, October 7, 2011

It's not just the VPs; the Directors are also lacking in leadership skills. I keep my head down, collect my paycheck and don't rock the boat because Austin does not like choppy waters and shuns boat rockers.

Monday, October 3, 2011

GO to the Glass Door (www.glasssdoor.com) and read the truth: Austin VP's have poor leadership skills.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

I would have to agree with some of the comments about the UK Management. Our domestic business is very average and falling each year. He is just a puppet for the European Management and I reckon that is where some of the problem is.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

I keep telling y'all that Austin will never admit it could be at fault. Never. Why does St. Louis continue to allow this? St. Louis ares about BRIC, not the UK or Ireland. It's rather obvious by now.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

How many in the crowd know that Delta V was dead? Not too many huh...

Let me ask you all another question. Let's say you are a Modicon customer in the mid 1990's and you invested in a platform called the Compact E984 which used Concept software to be programmed. Then some time later, that platform goes away but a new platform called 'Quantum' comes out (still uses Concept software to program it) but the new platform takes totally different backplanes, power supplies, comm. modules, I/O modules and processors. Would you say that is the same platform? Of course not.

The typical product lifespan for Emerson actively marketing their control system is less than 14 years. Delta V was no exception. Their last true Delta V controller was the 'M' Series (still based on the original set of hardware).

Then Emerson marketing had a great idea. They said, "Well, our 14 years is up with Delta V. Time to come up with our new control system and force people to upgrade their hardware and increase our sales. Hey I've got an idea. Let's call the next set of hardware our 'S' series controller, which is an entirely new set of hardware (I/O, backplanes, power supplies comm. modules and processors) with absolutely no interchangeability between the two platforms and still put the Delta V logo on the front of it. I'll bet our idiot customers won't even realize that we changed platforms."

For those of you that will now say, "Yah, but every control system vendor is the same" - take Rockwell Automation. Two incredibly long product lifespans of products that are to this day still available for active sale to customers are their PLC-5 and SLC lines of products, EACH of which expected to have a total product lifespan of 30-35 years. That is good investment if you are a customer. And ControlLogix appears to be on the track to be the same.

Emerson would do well to take a page from Rockwells' example on this topic and stop making their customers change direction every 10-14 years.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Ireland is the least of the UK's problems. The leader has made Emerson UK a hard place to work, stays in his office, communicates poorly, lightweight with customers, never converted a key project, knows no decision makers, strategies are failing, his sales conferences are a waste of time, etc. etc. I wish someone could/would contradict this.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The US leaders can't fix the problem in UK/Ireland Life Sciences because they would have to admit being at fault. If you've been to Austin, you'd know that just doesn't happen.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Why is the UK Leader not capable of dealing with the Irish problem? Surly he had the CV to run the ship before he was selected. It now looks like it is having a serious effect on life science customers and projects in other countries. In the good old days Emerson would have dealt with this problem a lot faster. Maybe it will take a major project loss here in the US before it is sorted out. It looks like the UK influence is getting very strong in Europe that Austin are slow in responding.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

It's simple: Buy your safety system from an experienced & proven safety system provider.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

I believe that buying a safety system supplied by Emerson would be a mistake. Integrating somebody else's package is "iffy" at best (unless you are ABB and it is impossible). I think Emerson would be far better served to put money into their current offering and upgrade whatever shortcomings they have.

As a user, I can tell you that as long as it will work for SIL 1 and 2 you are covering the vast majority of the market. If it does SIL 3, even better. So, I would invest in the current product: get more application engineers, more sales and tech support.

Believe me, you would rather be in Emerson's shoes than anybody else in the business right now.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Ditto to the change in dominance post. Actions speak louder than words. Emerson Sales must be dreading the loss in commissions. If I were the fearless leader I would not want to disregard a market segment and one that was so pivotal to the early success of Delta V. I recall how excited Austin was when Emerson won the Viagra contract in Ireland. Maybe I misunderstood the reason why?

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Annual performance review and pay "increase" time. Everyone is too busy saving their own hide to be able to deal with real problems. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Customers are not waiting around for Emerson to make decisions on Ireland. The UK management have shown little regard for the business in Ireland and their global reach. To be honest, the present management team in Emerson UK have little to offer the customer base Ireland. The global life science community will have its say in the coming years and you will see a change in major DeltaV's dominance.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The deafening sound of silence.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Management's inaction leads one to question: Is there really a problem and it's simply not being addressed? Or is there really no problem, but it continues to show up through some disgruntled employee or customer on this blog? I am not sure we really know or will ever know the answer to this query.

If specific customers have issues, you at least give your company name when you blog. If Life Sciences in Ireland are no longer important, does anyone know if Life Sciences in BRIC will become important to Emerson? All those people in BRIC also need pharmaceuticals.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Just one small problem - The management are at fault for this online mess so how can they sort it out ? Rockwell and Honeywell established that our Manager is average, so why are we persisting with it?

Friday, September 16, 2011

In order to fix a problem one has to first admit there is a problem. In order to admit there is a problem one has to admit to themselves that they did not do their best. In order to admit failure one has to be able to push their ego aside. The first is not not happening, so the conclusion is rather obvious, isn't it?

Friday, September 16, 2011

This Irish dirty laundry is still being aired out in public. Why isn't top management handling this once and for all? Why do we need to continue to be embarrassed on a public forum. Why can't this issue be resolved? Oh I forgot, they not consider the Life Sciences Industry to be a moneymaker so it's poof for them. It' the only explanation I can understand that explains this on line mess.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Is it fair to assume that Emerson are out of the life science industry in the UK? We have a small Rockwell system in operation but are in the process of upgrading the site to take some more products onboard. I would like to call or talk to some of the Irish Pharma people to see where the breakdown with DeltaV is.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - RE: "Has it at all been confirmed that Triconex and HIMA are for sale?"

The large DCS companies have been trying to buy HIMA for years without success. They have recently revealed an 11% increase in turnover and their new generation HiMAX PES (XMR - the end-user can choose the architecture) is really starting to take off with big contracts worldwide.

As the previous blogger stated, HIMA are a successful family-owned company with a core of loyal clients and no appetite for selling up.

In my opinion, attitudes to safety systems are changing. The big end-users are no longer looking at these systems as simply a commodity that is bundled in with a DCS contract. Failures with products such as DeltaV SIS and the lack of safety system culture in big DCS firms, noted elsewhere in these blogs, is leading clients to evaluate the safety systems based on technology, competency and life cycle costs. This could guarantee HIMA's growth.

Is there is place for an independent safety system manufacturer in todays market? Only time will tell. There is no doubt that HIMA would make a great acquisition; but I don't see this happening anytime soon.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - Re: EPM would have to work very hard to "dismantle" a German office culture:

Very true! EPM hired 2 young HIMA guys to kick off and develop the DeltaV SIS business. The numbers prove that these HIMA guys did a great job putting EPM on the Safety map, almost overnight.

True also, both are no longer part of the safety team due to cultural difficulties. Many ex ICS - ex Moore - ex Triconex hired by Emerson followed their example.

With regards to the culture: Could it be that the cultural difficulties however are not German/US related yet originate from the DCS/SIS difference? EPM is foremost a DCS product company. This does not always work for safety where confidence through knowledge needs to be transferred to the customer.

With regards to the installed base: In accordance to ARC, HIMA has the largest number of installed systems (Hardwired SIL4 for HIPPS and machine safety PLC's included) yet Triconex has the largest number of installed IO.

With regards to technology fit: Triconex technology is at least 30 years old. It would take a redevelopment to bring the Triconex diagnostics to the level the EPM smart-marketing likes to brag about.

With regards to acquisition: Has it at all been confirmed that Triconex and HIMA are for sale?

Monday, September 12, 2011

In reply to the bean counter post - I'm a peon, low on the food chain employee and I can bet you that the bean counters will be more interested in rewarding their executives with even more obscene stock options & performance shares packages than they are in acknowledging and rewarding the grunts like me. It's the way it is. I do the work and my boss's boss gets the rewards. Somehow this does not seem so fair.

Monday, September 12, 2011

The Sunday blogger claims DeltaV SIS has a 1001 structure. Austin claims it's a quad-like structure, but does not produce evidence to back up this verbal statement. BMS standards prescribe a minimum fault tolerance in the hardware of one, so a 1001 would not be sufficient. Who is right? Did anybody look into this?

Monday, September 12, 2011

On the remarks, "The HIMA and Triconex - Acquisition of either would be win-win..."

When EPM makes an acquisition, it has to make themselves either to become No 1 or No 2 in the market place. EPM always in their marketing rah-rah frequently refer to a US based Control Magazine's survey data to make claims to this. It is first and foremost a US based marketing company... so what do you expect?

I would say, going by that rule of EPM's acquisition strategy, acquiring HIMA would not "propel" EPM up the ladder for SIS control systems as compared to acquiring Triconex.

HIMA sells a lot to countries that has been "trade embargoed" by the US government, like Iran. EPM being a US based company could find some sticky complication with this. Corporate culture wise, EPM would have to work very hard to "dismantle" a German office culture in order to make a smoother transition and alignment with US based company office practices.

Not to say the least, Triconex has a much more decent products offerings as compared to HIMA. But whoever takes over Triconex, would become the undisputed No 1 in the market place instantly. By far with a huge lead of installed based over the No 2 placed vendor.

In the end, one cannot tell finally how the bean counters and the higher management will make their final acquisition decision - to take over or not to take over...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

I am part of a steering group in a Global Pharma Company. I am back a few weeks from a group meeting in the US; it ran over a number of days and was most enjoyable this time around. What was worth noticing at this meeting was the absence of the Emerson Account team. We had vendor visits from Rockwell, ABB, Siemens, and discussed a wide variety of topics. The majority of our global installed base is DeltaV and it was strange not to meet Emerson at our conference. It became evident that the relationship between our Irish colleagues and Emerson has definitely tilted the balance for future projects. It would be unfair to go into any detail on the Irish situation but it has changed our managements view of vendor selection moving forward.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Read this NY Times article that says US Companies like all the incentives, perks and welfare they are given to go overseas:

Is Manufacturing Falling Off the Radar?

Some highlights:

"Manufacturing's contribution to gross domestic product - roughly equivalent to national income - has declined to just 11.7 percent last year from as much as 28 percent in the 1950s. Other sectors of the economy have grown faster in recent decades, and that dynamic has reduced manufacturing's share. While the United States has a far larger economy - $14 trillion in GDP versus China's $6 trillion - it has less factory production.

As multinationals place factories abroad, they are putting research centers near them, with as-yet-undetermined consequences. At the very least, this trend challenges the view that the United States has the best scientists and research centers and is thus the research-and-development pacesetter.

In fact, as American multinationals become ever more global, they are placing sophisticated research centers near their overseas factories, partly to keep R.& D. close to assembly lines and partly because of enticing government incentives.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Emerson would be well advised to buy either HIMA or Triconex. Their TMR and QMR solutions are far superior then the 1001 structure (2002 when redundant) of DeltaV SIS. 1001 (and 2002) structure means ZERO fault tolerance. A single failure can cause the DeltaV SIS to malfunction in case of a dangerous event. Because of the 2002 structure, a redundant DeltaV SIS doubles this risk.

Start reading S84 which does not allow the use of PES for SIL3 safety functions if the fault tolerance is less then 1. Compliance to S84 equals compliance to OSHA for functional safety. How about non- compliance? Not only the customers, also the EMR management, bean counters, lawyers and TUV have been blurred by the in house marketing.

The HIMA and Triconex have multiple levels of fault tolerance and much lower spurious rate. Acquisition of either would be win-win.

Friday, September 9, 2011

I am wondering - will the bean counters approve "real" raises for employees this year? Or will my raise go to yet another Emerson acquisition? We deserve to be rewarded for our efforts.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

HIMA is a small privately held company. It has a very niche market, especially in Germany and Europe.

If either Siemens or Emerson were to buy HIMA, then they would have to be content with their own developed Safety System namely in the Siematic S7 and the DeltaV SIS. Architecture and structure wise, all are based on 1002D (or 2004D - an extension of 1002D) selection technique.

In my humble opinion, a better bet would be to wait and try to get hold of Triconex. Triconex has by far the most number of install based distributed worldwide. TMR technology is an offerings which can give an end-user a choice of different architecture between dual or TMR.

Triconex TMR technology is time tested and is stable.(Of course, I have witnessed the DeltaV SIS tripping a plant as a result of a bad firmware patch in my plant.) Triconex has reference installations in almost all major oil and gas companies worldwide on land and on sea.

At the end of the day, these two companies are ripe for picking... The bean counters will roll the dice and decide...

Sunday, September 4, 2011 - TRUE OR FALSE?

Rumors about Emerson or Siemens looking to buy HIMA have recently increased here in Germany. It looks like HIMA can't grow globally anymore. HIMA Americas is in financial trouble and Latin America business is not moving due to a wrong management team; SIL-2 market is going up and HIMA solutions are always SIL-3 since the beginning (more expensive) they don't have in a short term a less expensive solution for just SIL-2 systems. Triconex has already moved into that market by modifying it's actual system. Emerson, SIEMENS or any other company could make HIMA a #1 safety provider. Any comment?

Sunday, September 4, 2011

We will have to side step the issues until we get a new leader in the UK and Europe. Both Managers had their chance and didn't deliver; now is the time for change. In fact, our systems business is dropping off a cliff and the competitors are gaining customers on a weekly basis. There is one thing not securing projects; but losing customers is a complete disaster. Maybe our European President will step in soon.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Austin has been side stepping the UK/Irish issue and will continue to do so despite the posts on this blog. I hope that people continue to post EPM's dirty laundry because it needs airing.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Austin must step in and sort this in the UK. Are the European management out of their depth to propose a solution? As a customer I fine it very bizarre.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Emerson Process Management VP's in Austin have a sick love affair going on with their MBA "experts". These so called "experts" have no real world experience and they get rewarded for it. They get promoted to their highest possible level of incompetence so in reality they mirror the very VP's that are so enamored with them. I'm looking at the man in the mirror....

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Can't believe the EPM UK issue is still festering. Come on St Louis step in and hit someone with your huge hammer & get them to fix this once & for all, PUHLEASE! It's embarrassing. What is the "Leadership" in Austin doing?

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Looks like lots of turmoil in the UK management team. What seems to be the real problem with the leadership? Are Austin doing anything about it?

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Emerson Process Management (EPM), as I have heard from one of their Local Business Partners (LBP) got their stuff - MD/MX/MDX controllers, I/O modules, contact manufactured out of a company with a factory in Thailand.

As nowadays, who design which parts, made in where etc. becomes irrelevant, because bean counters will dictate that the cheapest supplier gets the contract. Vendors - like EPM will charge lots, lots more so that there will be more return back to share-holders - develop, design and make at the cheapest and sell at the highest acceptable price. Testing can be done in Pune, India or China Xian or Costa Rica or even Manila.

I talked recently to a plant manager that has both the DeltaV and another "less fanciful, less marketing, perceived by EPM as less advanced" DCS system installed on the site for the past 10 years. The plant wanted to put in another identical new DCS system. For the sake of interest, he wanted to know how the long term running cost (spares, training, human productivity, service contracts, etc.) adds up to for his own plant to compare the two DCS systems.

For his OWN particular chemical & plastic plant applications, he found that EPM has the higher long-term running cost by a mile. He found that the DeltaV has to have added on by things like patches, upgrades, having the LBP people on site to do corrective work.

He admitted that the plant has only themselves to blame for "buying" into the Emerson "marketing dope" that was peddled by the EPM MBA consultants that have never spend a day on-site, with their LBPs.

I have seen EPM's glossy videos of their PlantWeb videos, with visits from their champion MBA consultants and the LBP marketing managers, MBA sales people etc. - coupled with good dinners, lunches, free hockey and rodeo tickets to my higher management people.

So, it is matter of choice for the plant. Go on and get raped by the vendor who promises you evolution, improvement and marketing gimmicks - but all these comes at a COST; OR take things into your own hands to put in some "competition" to balance out the two vendors' effect.

Monday, August 29, 2011

To the poster who said: "-- someone told me that Emerson didn't even make their own gear."

I think you will find Emerson makes everything other than the I.S. cards. Someone told me the original DeltaV was MTL/Emerson joint development, but MTL has not made cards for DeltaV for years. MTL does not have the same cards as DeltaV, and has some that DeltaV does not have.

Monday, August 29, 2011 - To the "get the heck out of here" blogger:

Why don't you put your name to your bossy post? Cat's got your tongue? What are you scared of? Big hat - no cattle!

Monday, August 29, 2011

I am not Welsh, a Scot or Irish. I am English working in Leicester and I have to agree with most of the comments about our leadership / leader. He has no track record in achieving results at this level and we are losing ground to the opposition in all areas.

I have to question our Northern European Leadership at this stage. We are all asking the question: Do we need a experienced American leader to give us back a strong Emerson mindset and edge again. Our leader was a shoe-in by the Rockwell "boys club"; it has not worked and needs a change now. Lots of good people here (and in Ireland) that need a strong path forward.

Monday, August 29, 2011 - from Unhappy Delta V Customer:

I have been bottling the rage since I was lied to by my local Emerson sales rep right before buying the M-series I/O system -only to find out it was replaced by a new platform that requires new backplanes and I/O in an announcement that came 2 months later.

Then someone told me that Emerson didn't even make their own gear. I checked it out and they were right: went to www.mtlnh.com and there was my M-series Delta V gear. Anyone know who makes the new S-series I/O for Emerson, being that apparently they can't make it themselves?

Friday, August 26, 2011

What is wrong with y'all - Irish, Welsh and Scots guys? You have been protesting England for Centuries for no good reason. Just like that you are bad-mouthing the company. Here is the one line pointer: If you don't like the way we do business get the heck out of here.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

EPM has only 10 job openings posted in the last 3 months. Majority are manufacturing jobs in Colorado. Anyone know if Austin is hiring?

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Emerson do have a good offering in Life Sciences but are hampered by our leadership in the UK. Unfortunately, our leader has no track record in this very competitive environment. Because of this he has totally detached himself from our loyal customer base in Ireland.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

For more on Emerson in Life Sciences go to:

Pharmaceutical - Shortening cycle time and increasing quality

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Having worked in the Life Science Industry for the last 25 years, I would have to disagree with the statement "Emerson have the best technologies". Most expensive - but not the best. Emerson are definitely the slowest to get prices and information on their equipment.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Because Emerson has the best technology money can buy, and the Life Science industry knows it.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Why would any Life Science potential customer ever talk to a Emerson salesman? It would be a waste of time. We get it - Emerson doesn't care about the Life Science industry. Time to move on.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

It's simple - Irish Customers are interested in their investments. Emerson has no interest in the existing Irish DeltaV systems business. Irish Customers still very passionate about their Life Science business. Emerson no interest in Ireland or Life Sciences due to lack of investment. Irish Customers don't need the UK to support them. UK Management is totally out of their depth when dealing with Irish customers, but won't open other Emerson channels to them. I would say the UK would like to "off load" Ireland at this stage.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Once again, The Irish problem comes up. Why is this problem not fixed by now? It's embarrassing already.

Monday, June 27, 2011

When it comes to supporting systems in Ireland, I reckon Emerson UK are out of their depth, and it could be as simple as that. The Irish automation industry, including some of the main automation contractors, would leave any techno in Emerson UK far behind in experience and knowledge.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Control Magazine: In Spite of Relatively Steady Conditions, Respondents to Our 2011 Salary Survey Don't Feel the Love, and They're Grumpy About it.

Salary Survey 2011: Half Full or Half Empty?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

I am good old fashioned American family man, so I believe that there is no job in the world that's worth what the previous post stated: "They seem to mortgage their personal lives in order to fulfill a position."

It is not necessary to "mortgage your personal life" to be successful at work. I am living proof of that. Anyone who does that makes a personal choice to do so. I simply don't understand why anyone would do so.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Dear Grumpy Austin Employees Posting Below (not addressed to the non-grumpy ones):

Wow, did someone forget to pack your favorite wubby when you went off to summer camp? Boo-hoo. It's doubtful you could be happy if you were served ice cream daily, had your ego's liberally massaged and management groveled at your feet each morning thanking you for your dedication, devotion and brilliance.

The VP's I know don't seem to be having tons of fun either, in case you haven't noticed. They seem to mortgage their personal lives in order to fulfill a position. (Being a worker bee is challenging enough and I like having a semblance of balance.) In exchange for their title, they tend to have big targets painted on their backs. But they appear to have the character to not whine about it and just keep slogging. (You don't read VPs or Management on here ranting about the worker bees, do you?)

I don't agree with Austin Management all the time and they are too slow to make decisions. But they all seem to show up each day and keep grinding, no matter what. A little more of that and a little less of the drivel below would serve us all well.

If instead, the best you can do is snipe from the shadows, could you please quickly (quietly) go spread your charm and pixie dust somewhere else so the rest of us can get on with getting the job done? If you had half the spine your rants suggest, you would actually have the balls to change the very things you whine about. In other words, step up and drive change if you think it's needed. (And if you seek permission, you are a coward.)

By the by, if you think the grass is greener elsewhere, you're as daft as you are narcissistic. But happy trails to you. (Watch a little Denis Leary or Louis CK on your flight to Nirvana.)

And if you have a change of heart, and realize this ain't Oz, Dorothy, and we all just have to keep moving forward, then I'd cheerfully buy you a coffee. Or an ice cream cone. (But I'm not massaging anything.)

Remember: They call it a "job" because they pay you to go there. Check your expectations at the door.

Monday, June 20, 2011

I have some corrections to this post - "Management is letting our company go down the drain. Unbelievable."

It's mis-management not management. You'd think all those MBA's & PhD's would get it right. This coming from a lowly bachelors degree, cattle level employee in Austin. Believable.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

So when the guard changed at Emerson in Austin, all we heard playing in our heads was the line from "The Who" Song, "Won't Get Fooled Again." Meet the new boss same as the old boss". Old boss, new boss same ole, same ole. Just replacing one boss with another, handing on the baton of power from one person to another and power ultimately corrupts, hence "meet the new boss, same as the old boss". It is so obvious. Just think about it the new boss is really the old boss.

Friday, June 17, 2011

A gem - Emerson Human Centered Design Institute touts:

• Innovative product development process reverses the roles of technology and people
• We believe it's time technology began serving people, instead of the other way around
• In mature markets, knowledgeable workers are retiring. In emerging markets, finding knowledgeable and skilled workers is very difficult. The process operator you meet today may have been hunting his breakfast with a spear last week

Saturday, June 18, 2011

This is how I see it about my BOSS the one that makes me want to quit: You seem to be a mean boss and your employees do not know how long they can work for you if you don't correct this problem. Due to the demand a boss's role can put on people, stress levels can get high without you noticing the change. One easy recommendation is to read a book on communication and management skills. Another one is to treat people the way you want to be treated. I don't think you really want to be treated the way you are treating your employees. But then, maybe you do because you are doing it to us.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Austin is looking for a DeltaV platform Business Development Manager. The person hired will report to a boss who does not meet any of the listed job requirements. It's not difficult to predict the results of the future salary reviews. Management is letting our company go down the drain. Unbelievable.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Last post is right on target. It's like some mangled puppet version of the worst possible Dilbert nightmare.

I am now working for a complete and utter idiot! He is totally chaotic, rarely communicates with me, doesn't understand my role, gives me the impression he doesn't care what I do as long as it makes him look good, is VERY political and cutthroat, EGO is so big his top floor office needs a ceiling height extension, won't accept any responsibility for not providing me with the direction and support I need, is quite condescending, expects me to read his mind, never keeps promises. Needless to say I trust him as far as I can throw him and have absolutely no respect for him whatsoever. Of course, my salary review was almost non-existent and, of course, he has totally undervalued me. You get the picture.

This guy belongs in a Dilbert cubicle not in management. Interestingly, I have learned an awful lot from him - about how not to be a senior people manager. So the puppet show continues.

Before you ask, yes, I am now on the market and looking to get out as soon as I can. Austin is not all that great.

I recently read that the vast majority of people who leave their job, do so because of their BOSS.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

For some of the lower level Austin VP's the CTO manipulates them like he's running a kiddie puppet show. Pull on string puppet dances & chatters away. The ironic part is that the VP's think the CTO has their back. It's like show business!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

I am in complete agreement with the post about the Austin VP's. Checkout some of the latest post about working at Emerson on Glassdoor; there is a common thread, yet "management" does not see it!

Friday, June 3, 2011

In response to "It takes a large ego to be a VP as their average salary does not compensate for the long working hours, non-stop travel and constant pressure to perform."

This post is 100% correct. The average salary for an Austin based VP surely does not compensate adequately. St Louis knows exactly how to massage the ego of the underpaid VP's so that they think they are the best thing since sliced bread. They pit the VP's against each other, etc. Then St. Louis calls on the Austin VP's when they need someone to kiss up to the customer. Austin VP's gladly oblige because they think it raises their value in the organization. They also offer them useless and mostly valueless stock options as a thank you for services rendered. They don't give them good raises. Who would want that job?

Friday, June 3, 2011

To the persistent Irish bloggers:

I am not a Life Science or Automation expert. I have no affiliation to Emerson or any Irish Life Science company. I'm a researcher, working for a capital investment company in the US, and I have been monitoring EMR for several years as they are part of my research portfolio. I arrived on this blog via a link. As a researcher, it can be useful explaining certain trends. Of Irish descendance, I like to give objective outsider feedback to the Irish bloggers trying to dictate Emerson how to run their business.

So far, the personal and emotional Irish arguments in this blog are stuck at: "the UK office treats us bad, we want an Irish office", "the UK manager hates us, we want an Irish manager".

It is interesting reading the desperate attempts of Irish bloggers to stick with Emerson. If the bloggers want to get some traction in the Emerson organization, START SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE THAT EMERSON UNDERSTANDS. Stop playing the abused victim. It will not get you anywhere, and frankly, it is quite embarrassing. Alternatively: Grow up, cut your losses and move on.

The Emerson dialect is "ROTC – Return On Total Capital". Go look it up if you never heard about it. The Emerson board have a strong personal interest in, hence all decisions will be targeted at, increasing the shareholder value (SHV). As a general rule, SHV companies, where the board is renumerated with shares, aim at short-term gain. Business decisions are in sync with the actual economical climate and share movements.

If Emerson is no longer responding to the expectations from the Irish Life Science Industry, it's nothing personal. It indicates that, at this moment in time, the Emerson analysts consider the investment too risky. (read highly likely to have a negative effect on the shares)

Plant operators, with ever increasing challenges and workload, tend to view the situation from a different angle than the Emerson analyst or investment company. There is no right or wrong. Understanding different views has never done harm.

The Investment climate in the Life Sciences Industry – an Analyst's view:

The outlook of Investors on the worldwide Life Science Industry is not a positive one. In the past decade, the top 15 companies lost roughly $850 billion USD in shareholder value and the price of their shares fell from 32 times earnings on average to 13 times earnings.

In particular, the Pharma industry is facing some major challenges. Sluggish prescription trends, pricing pressure, intensifying generic competition, pipeline failures and limited late-stage catalysts.

The next five years are expected to reflect a significant imbalance between new product introductions and patent losses. Revenue growth is slowing down to a global growth of 5-8% through 2015, representing a global number of approximately $900 billion USD, of which less then 10% in Ireland. Irish Life Science companies resorted to cost-cutting and share buybacks to drive bottom-line growth.

As a comparison: Investments in the hydrocarbons industry are expected to exceed $300 billion USD for the next 5 years. This is a double digit factor higher than the expected investment in the Life Sciences Industry.

The situation in Ireland is complex. Ireland is in the midst of an unprecedented economic, financial and governance crisis. The trust of the international community in Ireland's financial, regulatory and political system has been damaged severely. Ireland's reputation will take some time to recover. On top of that, the global competition for Ireland is intensifying. The most successful Irish competitors: Medicon Valley, Singapore and North Carolina are putting in place aggressive strategies with strong commitment and resources from Government to build a reputation in Life Sciences and an attractive location to stimulate indigenous company start-up and growth and to encourage Foreign Direct Investment.

Traditionally, LifeSciences companies based in Ireland have tried to maintain ownership of the product life cycle: R&D to Market. There is an emerging trend in the industry to outsource non-core activities in order to reduce costs.

In particular, MANUFACTURING (what matters to Emerson) and clinical trials processes tend to be increasingly outsourced. This shift from being fully integrated companies with all functions in Ireland to fully networked models (FiPNET) provide a genuine threats for companies based in Ireland. Mylan, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Aventis are all looking to expand their presence in other emerging markets.

The above investor point of view does not intend to justify Emerson's behavior. It attempts to clarify Emerson's position and hopefully it simplifies any decisions YOU will have to make. In light of the current market situation, from a pure business point of view, a local Irish Emerson office will be difficult to justify for any business leader.

Emerson's response to this blog by appointing an Irish Director is extraordinary and (too?) seldom seen in share holder value companies. Although not perceived that way, it is a sign of high respect to the Irish Life Sciences Industry. Emerson was not obliged to comply but they did.

For me as a financial researcher, it is more surprising that the "Lack of Safety Competence" blogs with customers reporting shutdowns, go unnoticed and uncommented. This safety buzz is spreading in our investment community like fire. Emerson is delivering equipment everywhere, including to nuclear plants. The result of a potential disaster, traceable to Emerson, would have unpredictable, negative results on the value of the share. It's not so long ago that Tony Hayward appeared on camera. This beats any request for an Irish office.

Friday, June 3, 2011

I'm a "Director" in Austin & I get all my directions from the VP's in Austin.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Emerson already said that the margins in Life Sciences are too low for that sector to matter to them anymore. It can't be any clearer than that.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Does anyone know why Emerson allow the UK run Ireland? The UK management obviously do not have the skill-set or experience. Emerson just seem to making enemies in the Life Science community world wide.

Friday, June 3, 2011

The post about only VP's being important is so true. Directors and regular employees don't matter in Austin.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

To be of any importance in Emerson, a VP title is a must. Emerson is run by a strict set of rules closely monitored and controlled by The VP's. VP's set the strategy, define daily operations, hire/fire people. VP's are personally accountable for success and failure. The performance measures are a handful of financials. Every 3 months the numbers are analyzed and discussed in great detail in front of the assembled management team. It takes a large ego to be a VP as their average salary does not compensate for the long working hours, non-stop travel and constant pressure to perform. Healthy balanced people could not last long. I do not envy my VP. He is wasting his life and is not able to see it. For what? A pat on the back during the planning conference? It is the ego that brings them to visit customers in distress. They will expect the same level of awe from the customer as received by the Emerson "cattle" like myself. The reality is: only VP's have the power to solve problems. One word from them and the worker bees will fly in swarms.

There is the other kind of VP - with little or no direct reports, no numbers to account for and no season ticket for the board meetings. The "global" VP's fall into this category. Their ego is no less, but you will be wasting time talking to them.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

One thing I will never understand is why companies think they can let a relationship with a customer degrade to such a low level and then think that sending a VP over will magically solve the problem. The VP is just a figure head. Give us meaningful support, be responsive to the customer and please don't be sending over VP's - it does NOT impress us nor does it solve our problems.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - Re: "... susceptible to systematic failures"

Adequate protection measures against systematic failures would kill the budget and overrun the tight product development schedules. Emerson prefers to spend the money on marketing and new gadgets.

In Emerson the integration is complete. There is no dedicated DeltaV SIS development, marketing, sales or services team. There is not a single leader with any experience or affiliation to safety. Recommendations for improvements on safety are accepted if not interfering with the core business. If you value your career, the last thing you want to do is educate the management on systematic failures. All they will see is cost, cost and cost. You will be marked as "no team player" and start running into walls. There are no career opportunities in Emerson for Safety folks. It collides with the culture. It is no surprise the safety expert moved on.

An increase in number of spurious trips indicate there is something amiss. Emerson have a responsibility to investigate the causes, but it is doubtful if anybody in Emerson will be willing to pick this up.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I am an Automation Lead in a major multinational in Ireland. I have been in my present role for 8 years and worked as an Automation Engineer on various sites over the last 20 years. I am really pleased that it is eventually out there about Emerson's lack of vision for Ireland. I have to say that most my pain was down to the Emerson Leicester office. What a "heart break" that was. It has now gone to an unworkable solution. The present GM is on another planet when it comes to working with their Irish customers. Also, the VP now responsible for Ireland comes from the Leicester stable. How unlucky is that for Irish customers? And to finish it off completely, Emerson now have put more Leicester heads in the Irish office. Not workable in the present state. But, good to have it out there.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Every safety system has it's bugs and has shut down plants before. The difference is the level of response.

Core safety companies like HIMA send maintenance experts on-site within the hour to fix the emergency, and development engineers to make sure it never happens again.

Emerson sends VPs to prove how much they care. If you are lucky to have Guardian, you can talk to a call center, and pick up the spare part at the local LBP.

The "nameplate" customer gets a honorable mention in a tweet as a bonus, the tweeter gets a promotion for his dedication and close follow up. Let's hope it was a promotion far away from safety. With this kind of arrogant, inconsiderate, offensive, foolish leadership, I agree that there is a chance the industry will move back to traditional safety systems.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

We now use HIMA rather than Delta V SIS. We find that an independent safety system is more available and less susceptible to systematic failures.

The 'integrated system' marketing is a joke really, we all know it means more trips and more money over the long term. Why settle for a sub-standard safety system simply to place one order at the beginning of the project? The only benefit is to a commercial guy and project manager (and of course the vendor).

In my opinion you'll see the industry moving back to separate diverse systems as the price of these trips adds up.