Distributed Control System (DCS)

As time goes my, my weekly report progress continue delayed. Today my target is to complete four out of eight unsettle, but it always good to share what you learn. I am doing my internship in Foxboro (M), a local engineering company. The main business is in oil and gas, provide control system for a plant, including designing, fabrication and services.

Those who don't get the idea what is control system is unlucky. Personally, this job is quite interesting compare with other courses in Electrical and Electronic (EE) such power system, computer and electronics. This job keeps on changing every year, people need faster and more efficient in controlling thing.

and different plant, different challenge!

So far, so good of having internship in this company. We can get hands on experience, chasing around in staging area looking for the electrical hardware which fully imported from USA and handling with isolated software. The most valuable is accessing internet for free, hence I could blogging like now.

For EE Undergraduate
Imagine in a chemical plant, for example a tank that contain chemical. The chemical always flow in and out, has to remain at certain temperature and sometimes the pressure has to be raised up, anything happen should be recorded and alarmed, like chemical student study in process control. For EE, we need transmitters to read the level for those work.

However, the raw reading from the field is in analog, computer only could read digital. The matters on how the signal is converted and instructed need special hardware and software. In Foxboro, they invented such brilliant thing called Intelligent Automation (I/A Series), is an Open Industrial System (OIS) that integrates and automates manufacturing operations.

Practically, thousand instructions should be controlled with minimum mouse click. So, let the instruction in common node and at the same time as to be distributed for specific tasks accordingly.

This is idea about Distributed Control System (DCS)

Moreover, learning UNIX operating system, using SUN Microsystem Computer and learn how medium business is run are new great experiences, I wish I could share later.

Experience is Priceless
Now is the time to keep aside theories and books virtually. Students always bombarded with the theories just for exam. Exam is not wrong, the problem is how we treat the exam for our career purposes.

Working is very different from study, we not just handling with machine but with people. For sure, machine has the discipline which they always followed compared with human being.

Anyway, a very stupid thing is if we see the technology as their ultimate goal in live. Technology should remain as a tool. Everyday we woke up in the morning go to work, build faster car and sending man to the moon until we forgot our obligation as servant or our family, we forget working for the life in hereafter.

Technology is always a tool for a mankind to do good thing, this is my advice, to Madihah as well.

Bijak..Bijak..

PUTRAJAYA 21 Julai – Kerajaan mengarahkan Proton mengeluarkan kereta elektrik di Malaysia selewat-lewatnya tahun depan bagi mengurangkan beban rakyat akibat kenaikan harga petrol dan diesel.

Kereta yang menggunakan bateri yang perlu dicas tenaga elektrik selama enam jam di rumah itu mampu dipandu sejauh 320 kilometer. Kuasanya dapat bertahan sehingga 36 jam.

Kos untuk menggerakkan kereta itu hanya 18 sen sekilometer.

Sumber; Utusan Malaysia, bertarikh 22 Julai 2008

Bijak! Mungkin itu reaksi spontan rakyat Malaysia apabila melihat langkah Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn. Bhd. (Proton) untuk mengeluarkan kereta berkuasa elektrik. Dikatakan ianya murah dan mudah diselenggarkan. Apapun Tahniah!!

Kalau dulu dalam 10 tahun lalu, idea-idea sebegini hanya hanya dijadikan prototype tapi sekarang ini ianya memang benar-benar sebuah kereta. Pada saya, langkah ini bukanlah pemikiran luar kotak seperti yang disebutkan, nampak lebih kepada “terpaksa” disebabkan krisis minyak.

Banyak lagi boleh kita fikirkan untuk menambah baik sistem pengangkutan hari ini, cuba kita fikirkan:

Efisiensi – Kereta biasanya mempunya jisim (berat) lebih dari 1 tan, tapi hanya boleh bawa beban dalam lingkungan 400-500 kilogram. Cubalah reka kereta yang lebih kurang sama dengan berat yang boleh ditanggung. Boleh kurangkan kos.

Boleh juga gunakan kuasa air, udara, cahaya dan bunyi.

Hentikan pengeluaran kereta yang hanya boleh membawa 5 penumpang.

Tingkatkan kualiti kenderaan awam, kalau di negara maju seperti Jepun dan Perancis lebih ramai memilih kenderaan awam.

Semuanya tidak mustahil, Allah SWT menciptakan manusia dengan akal yang sangat besar potensinya sebagai khalifah muka bumi ini. Golongan cerdik pandai harus memerah fikiran untuk kebaikan, bukan hanya untuk keuntungan semata-mata. Kalau kita berjaya hasilkan rekaan yang memberi manfaat ianya adalah amal jariah yang cukup besar. Wallahua’lam.