Automation Portals

Building Automation Portal

Application Stories

		US Veterans Administration uses Infometrics software - 05/03/12 US Veterans Administration deployed the Infometrics continuous, monitoring-based commissioning program at its 650,000 square foot Caribbean Healthcare system facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

		Lighting project achieves savings for Cardiff Castle - 05/13/12 Energy Management, May 2012 As part of a project to refurbish the lighting at Cardiff Castle, Megaman supplied a variety of its energy efficient lamps to maintain the brightness required within the Castle interiors, whilst retaining the aesthetics of the building and providing energy savings.

		The Smartest Green Building - 05/12/12 Realcomm, May 2012 By Jim Sinopoli, Smart Buildings The newly constructed San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC) uses 55% percent less energy and consumes 32% less electrical demand than the ASHRAE baseline standard.

		Daintree Networks Provides Lighting Solution to United Stationers - 04/24/12 United Stationers installed an integrated intelligent lighting system consisting of energy-saving LED fixtures and Daintree’s ControlScope wireless lighting controls.

		SCL connects EnOcean and ZigBee wireless technologies to Niagara - 04/23/12 The integration of EnOcean and ZigBee-based products to Niagara is performed through CAN2GO controllers which push the wireless points to JACE hardware via BACnet or Obix.


		Embedded PCs via Ethernet for Building Automation - 04/21/12 Industrial Ethernet Book, April 2012 The new HQ of Danish hearing aid manufacturer Widex has a geothermal heat storage system, a wind turbine and solar PV cells. To manage this, a building automation network (BAN) and over 10,000 data points are controlled by 58 embedded PCs via Ethernet.

		Michaels upgrades Siemens energy management in 1,000 stores - 04/19/12 The expansion was preceded by a thorough system analysis after a 30-site pilot and subsequent 200-site expansion. The upgrades will provide Michaels an ROI exceeding 90 percent.

		Siemens installs Apogee BAS in Marshall County schools - 03/14/12 The system is saving the county more than $227,000 in equivalent annual energy costs.

		Virginia Department of Military Affairs Selects Schneider Electric for Energy Savings Project - 02/15/12 Automated Buildings, January 2012 Schneider is implementing a smart building automation system with DDC controls for real-time monitoring and management of energy use; mechanical upgrades including a geothermal system; water conservation measures; PC power management; and advanced electric meters.

		Iowa State Laboratory Humidification Yields Results - 02/12/12 Engineered Systems, February 2012 By By Joe Zwers Effective building envelope and air handling designs took comfort most of the way from theory to reality in ISU’s Hach Hall. An existing in-house deionized water supply and a new fogging system saved an estimated 22% in humidification costs.

		Science Center Goes Green - 02/12/12 Automated Buildings, February 2012 By Marlee Rosen, Rosen Associates Cascade Meadow Wetlands & Environmental Science Center uses products from Kepware to gather critical data for environmental education and management of its ‘green’ facility.

		A thin client solution at Richards Bay Coal Terminal - 01/29/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2012 Reliability problems with standard PCs as well as the difficulties presented by backups and upgrades prompted the terminal to look for a more centralised solution based on thin client technology.

		Eaton monitors its UPSes remotely using Netbiter - 01/26/12 Through the HMS Netbiter Argos web interface, Eaton and its customers have web-based access to all UPS parameters.

		Replacing Chillers With a High School In Session Requires Coordination - 01/22/12 Maintenance Solutions, January 2012 By Dan Hounsell Replacing one chiller is difficult enough. Replacing four chillers while the facilities they serve remain open and operational is a challenge most maintenance and engineering managers might try to avoid.

		SCADA Improves Hospital Building Management System - 01/15/12 Automated Buildings, January 2012 Fabio Terezinho,, InduSoft New SCADA system from InduSoft meets stringent requirements of Moscow hospital, including Cyrillic alphabet displays.

		Sontay Provides Control System Sensors At New Hospital In Malta - 01/11/12 Process & Control Engineering, January 2012 Sontay supplied temperature and differential pressure switches for the HVAC systems at the hospital in Tal Qroqq, Malta.

		Infrared imaging system increases boiler efficiency - 12/29/11 Vision Systems Design, December 2011 Alabama Power's Miller Steam Plant, has deployed numerous cameras to monitor two of its four 720-MW boilers. The 12-stories-tall, 60-ft-wide boilers each use six BoilerSpection cameras to monitor the combustion process at various locations.

		Solar Heating System Saves Money, Lowers Emissions - 12/29/11 Assembly, November 2011 By Jim Camillo Plastech builds injection-molded interior and sealing parts to the automotive industry. They installed a Lubi solar air heater system on one building wall, saved $6,000 in heating bills, and reduced CO2 emissions by 15 tons per year.

		Cube Technologies assists with boiler control - 12/27/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, December 2011 Cube replaced an aging Bailey Network90 system, which controls the boilers in the Australian Country Choice meat processing plant, with a Siemens PCS7 distributed control system.

		Eaton Stops a Nuisance and Saves Money For HG Timber - 12/18/11 Process and Control Today, December 2011 Nuisance tripping of its main incoming circuit breaker, a major problem for HG Timber, a UK manufacturer of timber pallets and warehouse decking, has been eliminated following a free on-site power factor correction survey carried out by Eaton’s Electrical Sector.

		Archives stay cool with wireless environmental monitoring - 12/17/11 Engineered Systems, December 2011 Washington State Archives is taking advantage of wireless environmental monitoring to ensure optimal storage conditions for both their paper records and digital archives.

		Solar Air Heater Cuts Gas Heating Costs for Thermoplastic Parts Plant - 12/17/11 Sustainable Plant, December 2011 Recently-developed solar technology using patented perforated glazing on wall-mounted solar air heaters made solar possible without bearing dark paint costs or altering the 26,000-square-foot building's exterior aesthetics.

		First Aid for Industrial Cybersecurity - 12/17/11 Sustainable Plant, December 2011 By Jim Montague, Sustainable Plant There are a few brave process control engineers and companies that are willing to describe their experiences and offer some badly needed advice and encouragement to their colleagues in the field.

		Low carbon heat pumps at The Open University - 12/17/11 Building Talk, October 2011 Building 12, a 2000 sq metre sustainable new-build development that forms part of the Walton Hall campus, incorporates natural ventilation, night time cooling, solar chimneys, automatic lighting controls, a green roof, solar water heating and photovoltaic panels.

		Siemens Solar energy system powers California jail - 12/13/11 A 1.4 megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) array will generate enough electricity to power Merced County’s correctional facilities.

		Singapore's First Multi-Plant District Cooling Network - 11/24/11 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2011 By Liew ChunWeng ABB provided a complete electrical, control and instrumentation solution to Singapore District Cooling (SDC). SDC owns and operates two chilled water production plants, piping network, and intake stations which are the interface between the district cooling system and the buildings.

		Building Your Own 20kW Hydroelectric Power Plant - 11/18/11 Design News, November 2011 By Joel Froese, Red Bank Hydro A PLC, sensors and I/O from AutomationDirect control this home-built hydroelectric plant, which will provide a complete return on investment after only eight years.

		Doing More With Less To Achieve Energy-Management Results - 11/17/11 Maintenance Technology, November 2011 By Dan Brown, Cascade Energy, Inc. Rising energy costs are moving energy management into a new era of sophistication, capturing substantial savings for companies large and small. Here’s the approach Cascade uses to help its clients’ operations become more efficient.

		Low carbon heat pumps at The Open University - 11/17/11 BuldingTalk, October 2011 ENER-G supplied the The Open University in Milton Keynes with the UK's largest closed loop ground source gas absorption heat pump installation. It incorporates natural ventilation, night time cooling, solar chimneys, automatic lighting controls, a green roof, solar water heating and photovoltaic panels.

		The Self-Sufficient Office Building - 11/17/11 New York Times, October 2011 The Bullitt Center in Seattle is designed to produce as much electricity as it uses, making it both energy- and carbon-neutral. The building will supply and treat all of its own water, capturing rainwater in a 50,000-gallon underground cistern.

		Small and smart: Distributed generation and the smart grid - 11/17/11 Power-Technology.com, November 2011 By Elisabeth Fischer and Chris Lo Local power generation, when combined with smart technology, could make the grid more reliable and flexible. Here are some of the distributed generation projects aiming to reduce local dependence on centralised power sources.

		Toshiba Video watches over Chicago High-Rise - 11/09/11 High rise uses a video surveillance system with Toshiba IP cameras, SCS recording and management software, network video recorders and hybrid digital video recorders.

		Solar System Boosts Oil Field Output - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By David R. Llewellyn, TJ Cross Engineers The beauty of the GlassPoint solar water heating system lies in how its simplicity translates into greater efficiency, less maintenance, and lower installed and operating costs. A PAC from AutomationDirect controls the system.

		Ultrasonic Flowmeters Make Chiller Control Easier - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By Kevin H. Evans Controlotron ultrasonic transit-time clamp-on flowmeters measure flow to chillers at the FAA’s Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) in the southwestern United States.

		Remote cold chain monitoring - 10/17/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2011 Beyond Wireless Remote Terminal Units will be connected to 14 solar-powered refrigeration units where vaccines will be stored in a ‘moving warehouse’ in Saint Louis, Senegal.

		Wind turbine at manufacturing plant has hydraulic tip-up tower - 10/15/11 Control Engineering, October 2011 Wago Corporation installed a Renewegy VP-20 Wind Turbine capable of generating 20 kW for its Wisconsin headquarters. Hydraulics raise and lower the tower.

		ENER-G super-sizes low carbon heat pumps at The Open University - 10/10/11 Process and Control Today, October 2011 The UK’s largest closed loop ground source gas absorption heat pump installation is providing low carbon heat to The Open University in Milton Keynes.

		Sontay refits HVAC with wireless controls - 10/10/11 Process and Control Today, October 2011 Sontay enabled the speedy retrofit of HVAC controls at the Head Office of the Bedford Pilgrims Housing Association (BPHA) in Bedford, UK.

		Utility optimization - 10/06/11 InTech, October 2011 By David Twohig, Eli Lilly Eli Lilly used various automation technologies to reduce costs and improve the performance of a large compressed air system.

		ABB controls ‘natural cooling’ data center in Iceland - 10/04/11 ABB PLCs control the modular natural free cooling system at the Thor Data Center in Reykjavik.

		Smart buildings for the smart grid - 09/20/11 PlantServices, September 2011 By Janette Bombardier, IBM Instrumented, interconnected and intelligent, the IBM Vermont Center of Excellence is a proof point for the smarter base. And while the team’s success is measurable and world class, they would tell you they have only scratched the surface of what’s possible.

		Rapid recovery for flood-hit pumps - 09/11/11 Process & Control Engineering, September 2011 By Matthew da Silva Barden lost $500,000 worth of crops at Gatton, including 200,000 bunches of Asian vegetables at its five-acre hydroponic facility, when two submerged evacuation pumps stopped after energy supplier Energex cut the power supply. Staff got the facility up and running again in a week.

		Improving the Efficiency of Toronto’s District Heating Plant - 08/18/11 Power, August 2001 By Richard Parrish, MindShare Communications Enwave Energy’s district heating plants in downtown Toronto will be operating cleaner and more efficiently when boiler upgrades now under way are completed. Enwave hired Benz Air Engineering (BAE) to design and install upgrades to all eight boilers inside Enwave’s Pearl Street Station.

		Rockwell Automation automates Furnaces at IFCO - 08/01/11 IFCO uses a combination of Allen-Bradley ControlLogix programmable automation controllers (PACs), control components, and Rockwell Software RSLogix 5000 to control industrial furnaces.

		Burkert Globe Valves entertain in Copenhagen - 07/23/11 Process & Control Today, July 2011 The valves control 40 individual vertical water jets, each valve receiving a position signal from a central PLC to control the height of the water jets in time to music.

		GE controls power at eBay’s Topaz Data Center - 07/18/11 The Quad PAC controlled switchgear was designed with a voting scheme where triple inputs are sent to the PLC system. The best of the three dictates the state of the device.

		Cloud Computing Finds Its Target with Mid-Size Manufacturers - 06/28/11 Automation World, June 2011 By James R. Koelsch Small and mid-size manufacturers are finding "software as a service" to be more than just the latest rage in Internet computing. It can be a practical way to stretch your IT dollars and enable global operations.

		PcVue SCADA Supervises Hadron Collider Ventilation and Cooling - 06/27/11 Control, June 2011 CERN required a control and supervisory software package that would suit the enormous size of this application, which houses over 200 pieces of automation equipment, at a competitive cost.

		Serious Sustainability - 06/27/11 Control, June 2011 By Jim Montague There's a lot more to truly going green than efficiency. Here's how some experienced end users and their applications are mastering process sustainability.

		Siemens saves money at BAE building - 06/09/11 BAE Systems expects the $2 million upgrade to save more than $305,000 annually in equivalent energy and operational expenses

		Northwire Cable bails out casino's underwater entertainment - 05/24/11 At no cost, Northwire engineered several designs, tested and developed, and rapidly prototyped custom cable solutions in five days—enabling the multimillion dollar production to resume.

		An Overlap of Interests - 05/18/11 Industrial Networking, May 2011 By Jim Montague Bayer Health Care in Berkeley, CA, connects its local DCS devices, a highly automated HVAC system for cleanrooms, and a central utilities system via a network that piggybacks on Bayer's corporate IT network, but is physically separated from it.

		How Not To Install RFID - 05/18/11 Manufacturing.net, May 2011 By Anonymous With all the hype about RFID over the past few years, a lot of people have claimed to have more expertise than they actually possess. Here are some of the mistakes made and lessons learned the hard way in no particular order or project.

		Direct-Digital Controls Improve Equipment Monitoring - 05/18/11 Building Operating Management, May 2011 By Dan Hounsell Upgrading a building-automation system (BAS) can be an immense undertaking, given the complexity of the technology and the need to dovetail it to fit a facility's existing systems and operations. But for UNLV, such projects have become nearly routine, thanks to DDC.

		SCADA Security for Critical Infrastructure - 05/18/11 IMPO, May 2011 by Frank Dickman United Water operates or manages facilities in 23 U.S states with an extensive network of underground piping. It supports over 300 remote field sites company-wide. Here’s how United Water is securing the industrial control networks of their extensive network infrastructure.

		Trion supplies ventilation system for chip shop - 05/14/11 Building Talk, April 2011 Chips Inc in Worthing, West Sussex was ordered to prevent the smell of their cooking process from escaping outside. However, the shop's location made it difficult to install an air handling system, because the building is a terraced row of shops with privately owned homes above.

		Cutting costs with energy auditing - 05/14/11 Reliable Plant, May 2011 24-7 Power uses thermal imagers to scan electrical, mechanical, process and HVAC systems, looking for places to save energy.

		INITEC Energía adopts AVEVA Diagrams software - 05/04/11 INITEC Energía uses the software to develop and manage HVAC diagrams and P&ID systems.

		Toshiba Security Supplies IP VIdeo Surveillance to food distributor - 04/18/11 Bernick's Beverages & Vending installed Toshiba IP cameras, network, and software to monitor its distribution center and offices.

		Tridium controls Manitoba Hydro Place building - 03/28/11 Tridium's Niagara Framework connects multiple systems and equipment within Manitoba Hydro Place, a 22-story office tower.

		Gear Manufacturer Finds Savings - 03/26/11 Automation World, March 2011 Forest City Gear in Roscoe, Ill. Installed a bank of power conditioners to service the electrical requirements of its machines, and saved 20 percent on the electric bill.

		The Bright Side to Energy Conservation - 02/21/11 By Beckhoff Beckhoff Automation industrial PCs, I/O and TwinCAT PLC software help Fifth Light deliver up to 80% energy savings via intelligent lighting systems for buildings.

		Flowmeters help recover lost revenues and promote energy efficiency - 02/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, February 2011 By ABB Australia As a result of installing new flowmeters, Virginia Commonwealth University has reduced annual steam losses in the generation plant from 16 to 5% and enabled the plant to recover more than US$1,275,000 a year in lost revenues.

		Upgraded Barrier Controls Protect Against Terrorists - 02/17/11 PD&D, February 2011 By K12 Defense Consultants Military bases, embassies, government buildings and airports around the world are protected by hydraulically-operated vehicle barriers K12 converts them to electric operation thanks to servo actuators and rugged industrial PLCs from Phoenix Contact.

		The fix is in at MGM Grand Macau - 02/14/11 Automation.com, February 2011 The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino Macau is a $1.6 billion property about three years old located on prime water front land in Macau. Their power bills were $1.6 million per month. The CFO called in John Leslie and his team to make some changes that saved $3.1 million in energy bills in the first 11 months.

		General Motors Controls Energy Costs with Automation Software - 02/14/11 Sustainable Plant, February 2011 General Motors uses GE Intelligent Platforms automation software solution to control the lights and other big energy-consuming equipment in its assembly plants.

		SIPOS’ subterranean solution - 02/07/11 Process and Control Today, February 2011 Built in shafts and tunnels, traditional below ground systems are costly to construct. A new design uses concrete rings as an alternative to shafts and tunnels. Requiring no maintenance, this approach is an ideal application for variable speed actuators for valve control.

		Omniflex alarm systems keep NYSE Euronext trading - 01/31/11 Alarm reporting system monitors critical alarms on the computer room air conditioning units and electrical distribution systems.

		General Motors uses Proficy Software to Control Energy Costs - 01/26/11 Proficy software controls the lights and other big energy consuming equipment in 85 GM assembly plants.

		A/C controls handle the heat of a growing shop floor - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Paul Garcia, Wago YH America cuts HVAC energy consumption using A/C control system, while adding 600 hp of growth, for energy savings and feedback expected to help machine maintenance.

		Urban Outfitted - 12/18/10 Engineered Systems, December 2010 Chicago’s Michael A. Bilandic Building paired modular chillers and hydronic gas boilers with pumps and VFDs to conquer some upgrade challenges, bring the mechanical system into the 21st century, and knock 15% off the tower’s measured energy use.

		Wireless Monitoring Delivers Fast Payback - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By Chris Stubbs Genetech installed wireless monitors on 56 steam traps at a cost of $42,000. As a result, 14 steam traps showed signs of failure. The maintenance team investigated, and the traps were replaced. Early detection saved an estimated $53,000 in annual steam loss.

		PcVue 9.0 installed in the new Data Centre for TelecityGroup France - 12/12/10 Process and Control Today, December 2010 PcVue 9.0 from ARC Informatique monitors the electricity distribution and air conditioning systems for the entire range of installations at TelecityGroup's new Data Centre in the Paris region.

		Microdrive Controls Water pressure booster system - 11/16/10 Pressurizer-VS provides supplemental pressurization of water supplies, using a control scheme that employs custom Baldor-developed firmware to regulate output flow and pressure.

		Adobe powers US headquarters with Bloom box fuel cells - 10/26/10 Power Engineering, October 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated and Bloom Energy Corporation have completed the largest commercial Bloom Energy fuel cell installation to date, designed to supply approximately one-third of the electricity required by Adobe’s downtown San Jose headquarters.

		Integrated Messaging Enables Pre-Emptive Data Center Cooling Automation - 10/26/10 Automation World, October 2010 By Rob Spiegel The Lower Colorado River Authority’s (LCRA) Facilities Monitoring System installed a Kepware system to acquire SNMP, Modbus TCP and Modbus RTU data for its Wonderware HMI/SCADA system.

		Infrared Inspection Transformed By Wireless Technology - 10/19/10 Process & Control Today, October 2010 Medite Europe in Clonmel, Ireland, uses FLIR thermal imaging as an important part of its predictive maintenance programme. Electrical or mechanical faults are spotted and repaired before becoming a production-disrupting failure.

		Steam traps help reduce emissions and save energy for Corus - 10/13/10 Control Engineering Europe, October 2010 As part of a continuous improvement programme for energy conservation and CO2 reduction, Corus’s Trostre Steel Works in South Wales has installed Thermal Energy International’s GEM Venturi orifice steam traps.

		Tridium manages energy in real estate building - 09/22/10 Tridium's Niagara Framework is driving real-time energy management and control of Glenborough's 12-story Class-A commercial office, and providing energy usage data to guide daily decision making.

		Ethernet Direct supplies Ethernet Switches to a building in Iceland - 09/19/10 Höfðatorg installed HME-623 Ethernet switches and HUE-800 unmanaged Ethernet switches. HME-623s serve three floors in the Towers, while HUE-800s are distributed on the floors.

		Cogent Android Phones Gain Access to Live Process Data - 09/14/10 Java-based solution puts real-time data from industrial processes into a mobile phone or other Android-based device, using the OPC DataHub from Cogent Real-Time Systems.

		Flying down in Rio - 08/23/10 Process and Control Today, August 2010 A pair of prestigious apartment blocks in downtown Rio de Janiero use bespoke building automation systems based on CC-Link, the fieldbus communications systems originally designed for industrial automation, to create a relaxed and charming living environment within this busy, bustling city.

		Integrating the BMS on Campuses 150 miles apart - 08/22/10 Automated Buildings, August 2010 By Becky Wacker, Johnson Controls Johnson Controls installed a multi-vendor head-end workstation to integrate a number of legacy building automation systems which controlled 28,000 physical points on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses.

		ABB flowmeters save money at Virginia Commonwealth University - 08/17/10 ABB flowmeters cut steam losses and recovered more than $1.25 million a year in lost revenues.

		Western Michigan integrates pneumatic thermostats into its BAS - 07/24/10 Automated Buildings, July 2010 By Harry Sim, Cypress Envirosystems Cypress Envirosystems thermometers were installed in place of 47 originals and communicate with an energy management system by radio.

		British Gas metering project - 07/10/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2010 Centrica is implementing an OSIsoft MDUS high-speed, high-volume meter data handling system that will work with SAP for Utilities. The OSIsoft MDUS stores electricity and gas usage meter data and meter events.

		Wi-Fi Sensors Monitor Buildings at Bluefield State College - 06/17/10 Temperature@lert's Wi-Fi temperature sensors monitor hot water temperatures in two buildings, pool temperature, and heating/cooling temperature in a third facility.

		Cutting the cost of power - 06/16/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, June 2010 Depending on the temperature of the boiler and turbine, start up times can vary from one hour to several. OSI’s startANALYSIS provides RWE with the guidance to reduce variation in start up times and ensure the correct sequencing of activities.

		ITT connectors help power geothermal well - 06/14/10 Connectors supply electrical power to the electric submersible pump in the 4,400 ft. deep well, which delivers hot water from the underground formation to the resort.

		Failure Coding at Merck: A Model for Maintenance Success - 05/25/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, May 2010 By Ray Kastle, Merck & Co The consistent use of failure codes allows a site and a company the ability to effectively identify trends and problems according to the manufacturer, maintenance practices, and equipment types.

		Real-Time Wireless Halves Nagging Inspections - 05/25/10 IMPO, May 2010 With real-time wireless tracking of the rounds activity at Huntsman, the number of pumps requiring daily inspection has been reduced by 50 percent — allowing more time for other crucial inspection areas. Defect elimination work requests are initiated in the field in real time.

		Boiler controls save mega BTUs - 05/25/10 Plant Services, May 2010 The University of Texas at Austin reaped an unexpected $500,000 annual energy savings by retrofitting one 150,000-lb. boiler with a system that reduced NOx emissions from 158 tons per year to 21 tons per year.

		Refined Integration - 05/19/10 Industrial Automation Asia, May 2010 By Antonio Carvalho and Johan Hansson, AB The integration of an electrical control system into the process control system increases productivity and availability by permitting a single strategy in the areas of engineering, maintenance and operations.

		Cutting costs with energy auditing - 04/16/10 Reliable Plant, April 2010 24-7 Power, an electrical consulting and engineering service company, uses a three-step approach to help a company lower its energy bills. With the right tools and knowledge, your company can follow the same process using your own personnel.

		Water Is Money. Accuracy Matters - 04/14/10 Control, April 2010 By Walt Boyes The Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company installed Dynasonic ultrasonic flowmeters in an irrigation system that replaced open-ditches with HPDE pipe. The system prevented 60% of the water from being wasted, and saves about $2 million per year.

		Six ways outsourced maintenance saves By Ron Hoffman, MAG Maintenance Technologies Manufacturers of all sizes can benefit from outsourced maintenance. There are six primary areas where a maintenance partner can optimize the capital investment and provide cost savings through lower total cost of ownership and increased return on investment.

		Large Hadron Collider Keeps Cool with help of OPC - 04/08/10 By Software Toolbox TOP Server BACnet OPC Server software provides access to full diagnostics of alarms and monitoring of the cooling systems from the control room

		Focus on Critical Assets Pays Off - 03/10/10 Chemical Processing, February 2010 By Joel Holmes, Monsanto Since an Emerson AMS asset optimization program was initiated more than two years ago at the Monsanto herbicides plant in Muscatine, Iowa, it's prevented several potentially expensive process interruptions, saving the company tens of thousands of dollars.

		Steam turbine vibrations - 03/10/10 Energy Tech, March 2010 By Patrick J. Smith The causes of rotating machinery vibration problems are not always obvious. The effects of pipe strain and lubrication issues for example, can be difficult to identify. This article describes an example of one of these cases.

		On-Line Motor Test saves Expensive Downtime - 03/10/10 Maintenance On Line, February 2010 By Michael Herring, Whitelegg Machines Whitelegg Machines diagnosed a problem motor at a UK power station – an 11kv, 2400kw motor, driving a cooling water pump used on a condensing unit. Tests using an on-line motor monitoring unit found the problem. A simple adjustment fixed it, saving the cost of removing the pump and motor for inspection.

		70 Year Old Drysdale Pumps Given A New Lease of Life - 03/10/10 Maintenance On Line, February 2010 Massive flooding of the Bentley Ings pumping station caused a power failure, so the pumps stopped operating. AxFlow refurbished and retrofitted three Drysdale 24-inch vertical axial flow land drainage pumps and one dry weather pump.

		Leak Detective Sleuths Out Trouble - 03/10/10 Machinery and Equipment MRO, February 2010 By Bruce Gorelick And Alan Bandes How an ultrasound inspection saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by finding vacuum leaks hidden underneath thick pipe insulation.

		ABB helps protect Avatar movie data - 02/23/10 ABB protects the supercomputer center of New Zealand digital effects company Weta Digital – makers of Avatar and other blockbuster movies – from power grid disturbances.

		Cimetrics supplies energy management system to AstraZeneca - 02/17/10 AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, deployed the Infometrics continuous monitoring-based commissioning program in its Fairfax, Delaware research facility.

		Saia Burgess uses horizontal carousels to store parts - 02/04/10 Saia Burgess, a manufacturer of motion control solutions, replaced stockroom shelving with four KardexRemstar horizontal carousels, pick-to-light technology and FastPic inventory management software.

		Mesh network supports data center energy efficiency system - 02/03/10 Dust Networks' SmartMesh wireless sensor networking technology is being used by Federspiel Controls to monitor cooling systems in data centers and reduce energy costs by up to 25%.

		Neutral building management system in facilities of German federal authorities By Wonderware A Wonderware FactorySuite system, based on OPC, provides a building management system for Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben (Federal Institute for Realty Projects) in Berlin, Germany

		HygienicMaster electromagnetic meters monitor energy home - 12/22/09 Seven meters monitor closed solar-thermal loop, a closed radiant floor loop with a single smart pump, and an open domestic hot water loop.

		Every last drop - 12/15/09 Intech, December 2009 By Jeff Krbec An energy recovery system in the Falkland Islands transfers exhaust gas heat from electric power generators to heat a school and hospital. The system is controlled by a Rockwell Automation PLC.

		Monitoring the Grid - 11/24/09 Automated Buildings, November 2009 By Camille Caron, Matrox Graphics Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative (NIPCO) controls the 850 miles of transmission line in its service territory with a SCADA system from Open Systems International.

		Online Monitoring Pays Off - 10/22/09 Chemical Processing, October 2009 By Casey A. Connolly, Gulf Chemical, and Frank Mignano, SKF Gulf Chemical expanded a sophisticated wireless condition monitoring system from SKF Reliability Systems. The process began in late 2007 with a limited trial and ultimately led to deployment of a highly advanced online system to monitor dozens of critical assets. Total documented savings exceeded system cost within the first year.

		Flow Line's flow transmitter goes to Hawaii - 10/15/09 Sopogy of Hawaii uses the MEMFlo MFT flow transmitter in its solar air conditioning systems.

		Emerson completes control system upgrade at Detroit Water and Sewerage - 10/12/09 Emerson installed an Ovation control and SCADA solution that monitors and controls the entire water distribution system and wastewater collection system.

		Picking system automates Gardner Denver warehouse - 09/13/09 Gardner Denver builds large pumps, compressors and blowers for industrial use. It upgraded its distribution center to a picking system by Remstar.

		Alstom: Ethernet for Plant Control System - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Stéphane Potier and Emma Cameron, Alstom Power Alstom, a provider of energy management, power generation, and rail transport systems, uses Alspa ControPlant as its distributed control system (DCS). The incorporation of Modbus and Ethernet Powerlink into the DCS makes the network a central part of the control system.

		Saving the world, one controller at a time - 09/13/09 Process & Control Engineering, August 2009 By Martin Kolos, Yokogawa Australia The Australian National University has developed technology that makes large scale solar thermal power generation commercially-viable. And a Yokogawa PLC is playing a critical role.

		Tweed Shire Council extends SCADA with ethernet radios - 09/13/09 What’s New in Process Technology, September 2009 Tweed Shire’s water supply system comprises 24 water pumping stations, eight treatment plants, 174 wastewater pumping stations and 641 km of water-mains piping. They installed Trio Datacom J-Series Ethernet data radio at a pump station, and are expanding to cover everything.

		Case studies in data analysis through predictive maintenance - 08/27/09 Reliable Plant, August 2009 Case studies represent vibration analysis of bearing faults, unbalanced conditions and impact testing for natural frequencies.

		Centrifugal compressor thermodynamic performance monitoring and analysis - 08/24/09 Energy Tech, August 2009 By Patrick J. Smith Condition-based monitoring involves regularly assessing the machine condition and taking action only if a potential problem is identified. This article describes how condition monitoring was used on a 2,000 HP, 3-stage integral gear type centrifugal compressor.

		Cyber Security—A Must For the Smart Grid - 08/20/09 Automation World, August 2009 By Rob Spiegel Electric plants bolster cyber security as NERC starts audits on Internet safety. Like many electric plants, the Grant County Utility District (GCUD) in Ephrata, Wash., needed to bring its cyber security into compliance with standards developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC).

		Fluid Handling & Fluid Power - 08/20/09 Mechanical Engineering, August 2009 Harry Hutchinson Application stories, including a company that makes its own bellows and other piping parts, an 8,000 hp compressor for hydrogen pipelines, a geothermal Hummer, and a piping retrofit for an HVAC system.

		Mission-critical control at Parnell pharmaceuticals plant - 08/16/09 Process & Control Engineering, August 2009 By Sarah Falson Equipment for the New South Wales laboratory and manufacturing facility is from Wonderware (HMI and historian); Rockwell Automation (PLC); HachUltra (particle counters); Vaisala (humidity instruments); Titan (pressure transmitters); and HP (servers and PCs).

		ABB maintains petrochemical plant in Argentina - 08/10/09 ABB reduced the maintenance costs of Solvay Indupa’s PVC plant in Argentina by 20 percent while preserving high levels of equipment availability and reliability.

		The Reality Of Our Construction Process - 08/06/09 By: Harry Kohal, Eagle Technology, and William C. Pegues, WDG Architecture Report from the TFM – Construct 2009 show in Indianapolis. Authors say building automation is in a grim state of affairs when a lawsuit is the final step in the construction process.

		Farm fresh - 07/21/09 InTech, July 2009 By Michael Hader Food safety is critical to Tennessee sausage manufacturer; new ERP, barcode system keeps identification on track.

		TPM and Tecate: The new translation - 07/19/09 Maintenance World, June 2009 Total Productive Maintenance does not have a great reputation in American industry these days. At Cervecería Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, one of the largest brewers of beer in Latin America, the concept of TPM is alive and well at CCM's brewery in Tecate,

		Lean is "in" More Than Ever - 07/14/09 Automation World, July 2009 By James R. Koelsch Graphicast, a foundry and machine shop in Jaffrey, N.H., adopted the Lean Manufacturing philosophy and cut lead times and work in progress in half.

		Industrial automation improves building control efficiency - 07/09/09 HazardEx, July 2009 Building automation engineers are turning more and more often to industrial automation technologies instead of the traditional dedicated controllers. Mitsubishi Electric is completely overhauling the building control systems in its own offices, and expects to make significant cost reductions through energy saving.

		Non-invasive Wireless Monitoring Provides Fast Payback - 06/20/09 Chemical Processing, June 2009 By Chris Stubbs, Genentech Wireless Steam Trap Monitors (WSTM) were placed on 56 traps at a cost of $42,000. The WSTMs provide early indication of steam leakage or blockage, which leads to failure. Data were collected on a “blue box” server for trending analysis

		Barix monitors remote building automation systems in Alaska - 06/16/09 The Lake and Peninsula School District in southwest Alaska is using Barix Barionet IP control and automation devices to monitor 14 schools across a remote, 400-square mile section of the state.

		Equipment Maintenance: Thermal Imaging Changes the Picture - 06/02/09 Chemical Processing, May 2009 By Jeff Fleming, CMC icos Biologics Until 2008 an outside contractor performed all our thermal scans, which provided baselines for subsequent monitoring of critical equipment. That year we brought thermography in house for semi-annual preventive maintenance inspections and troubleshooting equipment issues and process problems.

		Jumbo Savings from Automated Feeding Food Manufacturing, April 2009 Seafood Systems operates a shrimp farm in Okemos, MI. The shrimp are fed by an automated system controlled by a WAGO 750-841 Ethernet TCP/IP Programmable Fieldbus Controller, which disperses feed at precise, predetermined intervals.

		Kuehne + Nagel install shipping solution By Advanced Distribution Solutions With a centralized system, it now takes just a single morning to perform updates, upgrades, and rate changes for 20+ sites which occur on a Saturday allowing the business operations to continue without interruption.

		Boston Logan airport saves energy on moving walks with EcoStart - 04/23/09 Power Efficiency's EcoStart was installed on twenty moving walks at Boston Logan International Airport, saving 60,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.

		Wireless Steam Trap Energy Savings Automated Buildings, March 2009 By Harry Sim, Cypress Envirosystems Instead of performing manual audits, facility managers can now use wireless technology to detect steam trap failures almost immediately, and to repair or replace the defective units. The amount of steam wasted in this case would be a small fraction of an undetected leak.

		Cutting energy consumption InTech, March 2009 By Joel Shaprio and Thirumalaichelvam Subramaniam By controlling the temperature of chilled water with a PAC, users were able to save up to 30% of air conditioning energy costs in tropical countries where cooling costs typically consume 45% to 60% of building energy expenses.

		Sprint Electric helps refurbish the Royal Danish Theatre - 03/11/09 Sprint Electric supplied DC drives for a new stage control system at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

		OPC and XML in Building Automation - 02/26/09 By Softing LOYTEC, an Austrian manufacturer, embedded the OPC XML/DA standard into L-OPC, one of its building automation products, using Softing’s OPC Easy Connect Suite. The L-OPC implements access to a user defined set of data objects through the use of Web services.

		Video security travels on existing control system InTech, February 2009 By Al Larson, Madison Water Utility, and Steve Rubin, Longwatch The task was 'simple.' Put cameras at 32 remote sites and bring back video clips over the utility's radio network. A Longwatch video surveillance system put video on the plant’s Wonderware HMI/SCADA system.

		Univalve transforms valve asset management HazardEx, February 2009 Asset management of thousands of valves, vital to major operators in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, uses data capture technology from Terrington Data Management.

		Siemens uses FLEXnet to license building management software Siemens Building Technologies uses Acresso FLEXnet Suite to automate the licensing of its PXE Modular product line. It allows them to manufacture and stock just a few base hardware products, which can now be customized in the field with entitlement licenses

		Onset supplies Bonneville Power with web-based energy monitoring systems - 02/03/09 Bonneville Power Administration installed 14 web-based energy monitoring systems for measuring the energy performance of packaged rooftop HVAC units on commercial buildings.

		IT sees light Plant Services, January 2009 New Millennium decided to renovate and expand its voice and data network. That included laying fiber-optic cable to connect five manufacturing buildings with the main office facility. Fiber-optic connections among buildings set the stage for high-speed information transfer to and from production machines.

		Emerson's AMS Suite enables Solvay to increase maintenance productivity - 01/28/09 The Tavaux plant, the largest chemical plant in the Solvay group, installed Emerson’s AMS Suite predictive maintenance software to better manage field devices.

		Securing Remote Internet Maintenance Services By Innonimate Applications in various industries illustrate how TCP/IP connections provide remote maintenance capabilities via secure links.

		Ice Plants Keep Merrill Lynch Cool Iconics software provides the building controls for the Merrill Lynch complex in Hopewell, NJ. The complex has four of its own boiler plants, four chiller plants, and four ice plants that make ice at night when electricity is cheap. The ice is melted to cool down the buildings during the day.

		Iconics controls Kista Science Tower in Sweden The Kista Science Tower complex is comprised of six buildings, with the tallest spanning 32 stories. GENESIS32 is used to monitor and control the elevators, lighting, HVAC and the window blinds.

		Legacy Building Automation Integration By Advantech The S4 Group, a building automation software company, used a BACnet-N2 Router to bring information from electric power monitoring meters, building and network infrastructure equipment, and other devices into legacy Johnson Controls Metasys building automation systems.

		ABB cuts maintenance costs at PolymerLatex Control Engineering Europe, September 2008 PolymerLatex cut maintenance costs by 10 per cent two years after embarking on a five-year performance based contract with ABB’s Full Service team. ABB is responsible for all maintenance-related activities and equipment at the plant.

		Automated Storage and Retrieval System cuts energy in cold storage warehouses - 09/08/08 By Jim McMahon J.T.M. Food Group’s switch from manual cold storage warehousing to an automated storage and retrieval system cut energy usage by 66 percent.

		Leaky Boiler Leads to Safer Practices IEN, July 2008 After a recent carbon monoxide leak at an Erlanger, KY office complex, building management did not have to look far to find a gas detection solution. To provide early warning of any future leaks, management purchased Eikon portable personal detectors and Xgard fixed gas detectors from one of the building’s tenants, gas detection specialist Crowcon.

		Mitsubishi helps automate fashion house Per Una Process and Control Today, July 2008 Per Una is reducing the energy consumption of its building management systems at all its UK sites. Central to the system is a Mitsubishi Qn PAC acting as a master controller not only for the main building but also for other design studios in London and Leicester, plus at least two more buildings.

		CLPA controls eco building Control Engineering Europe, May 2008 In Ely, UK, GB Innomech’s building control is based on a PLC, HMI and distributed networked local controls. CC-Link was chosen as the operating protocol as it is an open system which can communicate with a wide variety of field hardware.

		Safety overhaul at Süd-Chemie Control Engineering Europe, April 2008 Süd-Chemie installed a safety instrumented system (SIS) at its Bruckmühl, Germany plant. The system, certified by TÜV to safety integrity level (SIL) 2, is hoped to ensure the functional safety of the plant.

		Paddington calls in Micronics Control Engineering Europe, April 2008 Network Rail called in a flowmeter expert to help it get to the bottom of rising water bills at Paddington Station. Micronics was faced with the daunting task of surveying an old and complex system that has changed considerably due to development activity. Six Portaflo 300 instruments were used to gather 24 hour consumption/load profiles for selected hot and cold water services.

		High on Efficiency, Low on Water Usage Buildings, April 2008 Low-consumption flush valves are an easy-to-use, cost-effective technology that will significantly lower water usage.

		Making Boiler Runtime More Efficient Buildings, April 2008 By Dan Margulies, U.S. Energy Group. With a goal of running your buildings at peak operating efficiency, one of the most effective way to do this is by controlling boiler runtime

		Physics Of Structural Automation Industrial Automation Asia The Einstein III building in Haidhausen, Germany, has a complete building automation solution that combines CitectFacilities with the European Installation Bus (EIB) and BACnet. The interlacing of these open standards resulted in the networking of the entire building.

		Finns drive for smart buildings Control Engineering Europe January 2008 A local government building in the Finnish city of Tampere has networked variable speed fan drives into its heating and ventilating system during a major refit of the 40-year-old building.

		Building control system uses LonWorks - 02/12/08 By Lonmark International Floor controls are linked via a LonWorks network, using Siemens LMEC gateways onto a BACnet system which handles the interaction with the central AHU, boilers and chillers.

		Roppongi Hills Mori Tower Japan's largest redevelopment project improves tenant service, reduces operation costs and optimizes energy utilization as a result of using Nexa from Citect. This is the worlds largest OPC project and includes over 300 OPC servers, 500,000 tags, and 750 graphics pages, with response times of <1 second.

		The Largest Enterprise Energy Management Deployment in North America AutomatedBuildings.com, May 2007 By Brooke Richards, Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence With over 245 million square feet of leasable property, Simon Property Group was seeking a solution which would allow them to leverage the most innovative and advanced technology in Building Automation fully integrated with Automated Meter Reading.

		5 Success Stories in Energy Management Buildings, February 2007 By Jana J. Madsen Award-winning organizations show you how to change behavior, increase equipment life, and spend less, all while managing energy like a pro.

		AERCO Boilers Help California School District Cut Fuel Costs in Half Buildings, April 2007 Shasta Union High School District is reaping tangible benefits, including fuel savings of more than 50%, achieved in part by the installation of nine AERCO boilers in five school buildings

		Johnson County (Kansas) goes green to win LEED gold Buildings, April 2007 The Sunset Drive Building was designed to save about 40 percent in energy costs compared to the baseline defined in ASHRAE 90.1. In 2006, the building received Gold certification using the LEED-New Construction (NC) Version 2.1 program.

		Rural Texas School District Upgrades Facilities Consulting & Specifying Engineer, April 2007 The Nueces Canyon Consolidated Independent School District in Barksdale, Texas, completed more than $1 million in facility upgrades to improve building operations and comfort, while enabling the district to better control utility costs.

		Metering Accuracy is Critical to the Success of Toronto’s Innovative Deep Lake Water Cooling Consulting & Specifying Engineer, April 2007 The Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system in Toronto is the world’s largest. For metering, DLWC uses IFS 4000 KC Enviromag electromagnetic flowmeters, ranging in size from 3 to 20 in. dia, from KROHNE.

		Electrical Power Expansion Emerson Process Management dispatched an Electrical Power Engineer to the facility to review the existing single line drawings and to bring them up-to-date. This confirmed the client's concern that additional power would be required to support the new production lines. During the plant visit the engineer suggested a conceptual design that would resolve the problem. The design incorporated a new 480V substation. It also included a new, double - ended switchgear lines - up in an outdoor powerhouse, to be served by two, 2500 KVA transformers supplied by the local utility company.

		National Power's Advanced Plant Management System Integrates Commercial and Process Control Interests When the United Kingdom privatized its power industry in 1990, national power PLC became one of several energy suppliers to its main customer, the National Grid Co. In the new competitive marketplace, the company saw the need to change how it viewed its extensive power plant operations.

		Contemporary Controls and Automated Logic Make the Pieces Fit Together Commissioning a building automation system (BAS) is not necessarily a simple project, but it's made easier with an attached laptop doing the work.

		Climate Control Keeps them Hopping Minnesota native Gordon “Gordy” Vadis has a passion for bugs. His interest dates from his youth when his father taught him the family minnow business. Knowing how to trap, maintain and sell a wide variety of live goods became as natural to Gordy as video games are to kids today. By combining his passion for success with a retailer's eye, Gordy conceived the next great innovation for insect eating pets: pre-packaged live crickets. With this idea, Bugco was born.

		Chicago Structure Unveils New BAS Using Contemporary Controls’ Skorpion Switches Due to overall lifetime costs of one of Chicago’s downtown structures, the customer implemented a plan to upgrade the 500,000 sq ft building three years ago. The redesign process was in an effort to save energy, facilities maintenance, and personnel costs. The return-on-investment was achieved by installing a dedicated building automation network using Contemporary Controls’ industrial-grade Ethernet Skorpion switches, eliminating the hard to maintain outdated existing DDC system. Contemporary Controls is an industrial networking manufacturer located in Downers Grove, IL, specializing in Ethernet switches marketed under the trade name CTRLink®.

		Process plant modernisation brings significant savings Process and Control Today, March 2007 By John Houston, Editor Achieving energy savings of at least 50% along with less downtime and cheaper maintenance were the important benefits achieved following a process water plant modernisation and pump replacement project, completed for Robert McBride Ltd, a leading manufacturer of personal care products

		Variable-speed drives keep Rain Forest Temperate Behind the scenes, a lot of mechanical engineering goes into creating and maintaining a tropical rainforest near Lake Erie, just 40 miles from the Canadian border. It is a feat accomplished by Cleveland (Ohio) Metroparks, a recreational authority that provides an “emerald necklace” of woodlands, golf courses, hiking trails and other attractions surrounding this Midwestern city -- known as much for its sports teams as its world-class orchestra and Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Without state-of-the-art HVAC technology, it is doubtful this unique tropical habitat -- located within the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo complex -- could exist; and it continues to benefit from equipment improvements, such as advanced motor and drive design.

Automation.com Real-time Information for the Automation Professional May. 16, 2012

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