without losing the overriding requirements for the particular system. In the case of the BPCS, it offers flexibility and changeability; in the case of the SIS, security.

Pietrzyk traces the current emphasis on lifecycle support services back to the early 1990s, when market forces created corporate consolidation that drained internal systems expertise. “A lot of the guys with gray hair who knew how to run the processes retired,” he says. “They could help with safety analysis, risk assessment, and studies that identify hazards and operability problems.”

With this loss of knowledge assets, companies turned increasingly to vendors such as Rockwell Automation for support beyond implementation to training and maintenance over the life of a system. This trend has continued, with users looking to vendors for certified expertise on an ongoing basis.