People Powered Automation: Featuring Andrew Jones
- GPA
- Sep 30
- 3 min read
At GPA, automation is not just about technology. It is about people who know how to solve problems, communicate clearly, and deliver results. One of those people is Andrew Jones, a process automation manager whose career shows how GPA’s approach to automation combines technical skill with a customer-first mindset.
Making Automation Approachable
Andrew’s path into process automation started unexpectedly. With a background in chemical engineering, he thought controls work sounded dull — until he discovered what integration firms really do.
“They started explaining to me what they actually do, transforming plants and being there to make and deliver change,” Andrew recalls. “I was like, oh, this is actually really cool”.
Since then, Andrew has spent more than a decade in process automation, including six years with GPA. His projects range from pulp and paper to nuclear power, giving him perspective across industries.
Evolving with Technology
Andrew has seen firsthand how the field has changed since 2013.
“From the time that I started, it was just the beginning of what I’ll call the Ethernet era. There were still a lot of serial connections, and air gapping was considered good enough. Then came the rise of the desire for data, and the controls world started catching up to the IT world,” he explains.
For Andrew, this shift highlights why GPA’s model works.
“The old school mentality was that one person could understand it all — hook up a PLC to the network and program it. That’s no longer realistic beyond the smallest projects. It’s moving past one-person teams and the idea of being an expert in everything. Having access to OT experts is a necessity now, because you cannot be an expert in everything”.
It’s why GPA’s model, built on specialized teams and cross-disciplinary collaboration, is essential for today’s interconnected industrial environments.
Lessons from the Field
One of Andrew’s most impactful projects was supporting a plant outage in California. Originally, GPA was contracted purely as outage support for a larger team, but what began as a simple IO checkout quickly grew into outage coordination when the OEMs original plans fell apart. The sheer number of electrical and construction issues had the plant controls team overwhelmed.
“We [GPA] quickly became the coordinators for each shift, going between controls and electrical teams and mapping out what the problems were. Non-isolated IO was missing power, motor controls had neutrals that had been cut and not labeled, to name a few. E&I techs spent hours hunting wires with toners and needed the controls support to test and record changes. My job became much more than just a checkout job — it became outage management,” Andrew explains.
The lesson was clear: saving money upfront can cost far more later.
“They tried to reuse a bunch of infrastructure, and it ended up costing the project weeks of unnecessary labor. New I/O stations were mounted in old, leaky cabinets, and holes in the roof allowed rain to drip down into key drives. The customer instructed the OEM to leave old labels on wires and loop sheets outdated; this is why we have to advocate as consultants. I have seen projects where upfront investment pays off in the long run, and everything goes smoothly. Some customers may find two thousand dollars for an extra box of cable labels expensive, but if it keeps even one motor cable from getting lost, savings are significant.”
This experience reinforced GPA’s philosophy: guide customers toward long-term solutions, not quick fixes.
Helping Customers Build for the Future
Andrew applies that same mindset to new technology. He believes innovation must always serve the customer, not just the trend.
“Sometimes you have to advocate as an expert, and I think we do that well. I’ve seen projects where making the right investment upfront pays off, and everything goes smoothly afterwards,” he says.
He adds that the automation industry is evolving fast, especially with technologies like clustered controllers and wireless instrumentation. These systems promise greater flexibility and reliability, but adoption must be thoughtful.
“Instead of one controller to do one function, controllers can behave as an array and distribute tasks among them. It’s similar to a RAID array or multi-core processors, and I think we’re just beginning to see where that can go.”
With leaders like Andrew leading the way, GPA continues to bridge cutting-edge technology with real-world application—helping customers build smarter, more resilient operations.
Final Thoughts
Andrew Jones’s story reflects what makes GPA different. We don’t just deliver technology. We work alongside our customers, helping them make smart decisions that keep operations running smoothly and set them up for lasting success.
