John Olyslager: Crafting Smart Solutions

When he first began his career more than 35 years ago, John Olyslager, Automation and SCADA Team Business Manager at True North Solutions, collected data in the field using simple analog devices or handwritten log books. “When I started, I was writing SCADA from scratch,” says John. “Everything from communication protocols, to flow measurement, to user interfaces.”

Because everything was so labour and time intensive, companies had to be very selective about what information they sent for analysis—if any. With advancements in telecommunications, computing power and data analytics, operators can now travel with personal devices and have access to real-time and historical data from any location.

“You can have SCADA anywhere you have cellular coverage now. Field operators have all of the information they need at their fingertips,” says John. “These technological advancements effectively enable companies to make informed decisions based on real-time conditions or historical trends.”

“I had a concept to build a rapid deployment SCADA system. I wanted to bring all the past production experience and intellectual property together, and package it in a solution.”

Today John is a business manager who oversees the solutions that allow True North clients to automate, gather information, control processes, and manage assets in remote locations. As technology has evolved over the years, so has John’s approach. Like most smart folks, he’s constantly thinking about how to refine things and make them more effective.

“My team is currently working on solutions to make our client’s operations and user experience better. We’re focused on continuous improvement,” he says. “We take the best of what we’ve learned and put it back into our solutions, which builds more value and capabilities for our clients.”

Currently, he’s leading new development on a number of FAST solutions to extend FAST SCADA. John’s team of 15 engineers and technologists are working on an increasing number of applications for oil and gas operations, data management and analysis. The FAST solutions are standardized off-the-shelf applications that can be scalable to fit client’s needs, dramatically lowering initial capital investment and on-going costs. These results are a source of pride for John.

“FAST SCADA is my baby… which also is part of our very successful FAST Plant solution,” says John, “Shortly after joining True North Solutions, I had a concept to build a rapid deployment SCADA system. I wanted to bring all the past production experience and intellectual property together, and package it in a solution. My team delivered it and we worked with marketing to package it all into a full solution.”

It’s a smart solution. Almost as smart as John.