ON THE LEVEL: For Howard, career choice was automatic

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Although Rodney Howard’s career has led him to work in many industries, one thing has remained constant: His expertise in process automation has been an asset to his employers, no matter where he was at the time.

Howard is now jumping at a chance to put that experience to good use training the next generation of process-control professionals.

Howard, now a process-product manager at Appleton-based Werner Electric Supply, has worked in automation processing for companies specializing in food and beverages, electric and gas service, oil and gas refining, independent power production and pharmaceuticals.

Starting with construction instrumentation, Howard eventually landed a job with a power producer, where he served as a control-systems administrator at six power plants.

A handful of years later Howard again found himself employed for makers of a very different product: Beer. He first found work at the Redhook Ale Brewery, then at the Rainier Brewery, both of which are in Seattle.

It was around this time, while serving on a taste panel, that Howard found out he had a “hypersensitive palate.” It turns out he had the taste buds to be successful in that line of work.

A number of years and several roles later, Howard discovered that his expertise was the exact thing that Werner Electric was looking for. The company works with Rockwell Automation to help customers devise plant-wide control-system plans.

With this sort of work, Howard said he essentially serves two separate functions.

“I either wear a technical hat or a project-management hat,” he said.

Howard is the only automation professional certified by the International Society of Automation in Wisconsin. But he does not want things to remain this way forever. One of his goals is to more see young people go through the same certification.

To qualify for the designation, Howard explained, applicants must have a certain amount of experience under their belts. The exact number of years depends on whether the applicant has a two- or four-year degree.

Beyond that, there’s a required examination.

“It’s not the easiest test in the world,” Howard said, “and it requires you to pull from a lot of knowledge.”

So it should come as no surprise that Howard has taken an interest in passing what he is learned onto others. For instance, he worked with the International Society of Automation to develop a training center in the region.

He added that his role with Werner Electric “gives me an opportunity to spread that knowledge around.” Howard said he makes it a point to teach the younger engineers everything he can.

“I can do my part, and that’s what I’m going to do,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

The Daily Reporter: What is the most useful thing you’ve learned since starting your job?
Rodney Howard: “One of the most useful things I’ve learned is process control, the whole discipline, touches just about every other discipline out there. … There is so much of what we do in the world that depends on process automation, that you could to anybody about what’s going on in their plant that you can be up to speed pretty quickly.”

TDR: What do you wish you had learned sooner?
Howard: “I would have loved to have learned how to tune control loops sooner in my career.”

TDR: What can you spend hours doing that’s not work related?
Howard: “I have a granddaughter who just turned a year old, and I have another one on the way. So that takes up a lot of time. I make cider, and I brew. … I was one of the early adopters of home brewing, back in 1985.” Follow @alexzank