Articles and News

Wonderware MES Performance software cut downtime by 50% and saves $400,000 annually at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Co.

By Bill Nolan, Rootstock Software Many regulated manufacturers use paper-or Excel-based processes to address compliance. For discrete manufacturers who are required to have FDA CFR compliance, the Salesforce1 Platform connected an ERP system offers some distinct advantages.

Patti Engineering is supplying engineering support for the installation of a new Krones bottling line that involves integration of vision, VFDs, I/O and controls.

By Dr. Arne Linder, Kollmorgen Decentralizing servo technology can bring machine and plant construction savings during installation. Two additional advantages include reduced cabinet heat loads and more straight forward drive architecture. The question arises however, which technology is better, an integrated motor/drive solution or a detached motor and drive?

An HMI from InduSoft improves productivity through automated monitoring and tracking of operations at Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee in Fort Worth, Texas.

The PLC supports temperature measurement in three, 800 gallon fermenters, records batch data, and automates the circulation pump, transfer pump and 300,000 btu Boiler.

Roxtec seals keep dust out and prevent water from entering and damaging equipment for industrial bakeries during high pressure hosing.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Fluke recently introduced Fluke Connect, a system which allows maintenance technicians to wirelessly transmit measurement data from their test tools to their smart phones. There is a lot of hype about the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing. To date, from what I have seen on the market, Fluke Connect is the most useful, productivity-increasing industry solution based on these technologies.

By Keith Schmitz, Rytec High Performance Doors At MINOR’S food processing plant in Cleveland a forklift picks up a bin of their product and carries it into the next room. Unlike most facilities the forklifts here never take a break because there is no one sitting in the driver’s seat.

Training courses and workshops teach control systems designers, engineers and operators various aspects of process safety and how to meet worldwide safety requirements.

The CVA control valve actuator performs modulating and failsafe valve duties on an instrument air supply application, saving energy when compared to a pneumatic controller.

Haas-Meincke, the Danish-Austrian manufacturer of baking equipment uses innovative remote access solution from Secomea to service their high tech machinery worldwide from the factory in Denmark. This reduces technician’s travel costs and ensures customers higher uptimes.

On May 29, 2014, experts will discuss the challenges, problems and common mistakes involved in a process control system migration, and show how using front-end loading (FEL) practices help smooth the migration process.

Westfalia will install Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems (AS/RSs) and Savanna.NET Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) software in two of Sazerac's Kentucky distilleries

The theme of Inspire 2014, May 6-8, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is how the interaction among Culture, Safety and Technology can be used to improve safety in process plants.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Emerson invested nearly $70 million in a new 282,000-square-foot Innovation Center in Round Rock, Texas. The center serves as the global headquarters for Emerson’s automation systems and project services business, which helps customers safely, reliably and profitably operate facilities in various industries.

REACH is a European Community safety and environmental regulation that deals with the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemical substances.

More than 70 automation and control professionals gathered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA at the inaugural ISA Food and Pharmaceuticals Industries Division (FPID) Symposium.

Classes typically are a combination of classroom and hands-on training covering various aspects of process safety, including P&ID drawings, hazard and operability (HAZOP) studies, Safety Integrity Level (SIL), Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), and similar topics.