MOM

Six Tips for Complying with Food Safety Requirements

Kim Overstreet — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 18:39:08 +0000

Automation can improve compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act. These tips can help you improve execution and operational practices:

Automation can improve compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Feature Article

A QC Lesson from Lean Manufacturing

George Shurtleff — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 18:39:53 +0000

The quality movement and lean manufacturing grew up together for good reason—they are complimentary.

Simpler is better. This rule of thumb for lean manufacturing applies equally well to quality control as it does to process monitoring and other aspects of production

Feature Article

It’s Time You Speak for the Plants

George Shurtleff — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 15:28:42 +0000

The Lorax might speak for the trees, but who speaks for the plants? I’m not talking about the Grickle-grass or various flowery plants in Dr. Seuss’s world of the Lorax.

The Lorax might speak for the trees, but who speaks for the plants? The time has come for someone to speak for the manufacturing sites, production facilities or processing plants most of you are working in or supporting every day.

Column

IT View

Matrox: Computing Platform for Industrial Imaging

Adam Madison — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:01:00 +0000

The Supersight Solo computing platform, designed for industrial imaging applications, allows users to integrate a system host board with graphics processing units, FPGAs and frame grabbers in a sin

The Supersight Solo computing platform, designed for industrial imaging applications, allows users to integrate a system host board with graphics processing units, FPGAs and frame grabbers in a single chassis.

Product

Industrial Software: Buying Versus Building

George Shurtleff — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:34:55 +0000

In the late 1970s through early 1980s, the idea of developing software packages to address the needs of common commercial applications across industries started to take hold.

Be practical in your evaluation—although COTS MES is much further along than years past in terms of reliability and multi-functionality, products are still evolving.

Column

IT View

Free Benchmark Assessment

Dave Greenfield — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:01:21 +0000

Apriso offers free access to a manufacturing operations performance benchmarking tool for a limited time.

News

Creating Value in Manufacturing

George Shurtleff — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:40:33 +0000

Lean is a word marketing people and executives love. “We’re Lean,” they often proclaim.

“Lean,” properly speaking, is not a program, a platform, a methodology or a one-time event. Lean is a way of life that seeks to add value and eliminate waste whether, in manufacturing or the office.

Case Application

Creating an Automated World

George Shurtleff — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:40:36 +0000

This extends well beyond the industrial automation topics that are regularly explored in this magazine.

In humankind’s never-ending effort to be free from mundane tasks, we have applied automation to a variety of processes that govern our lives.

Column

IT View

System Integrators: New Robotic Certification Program Snares Four Companies

GrantGerke — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:45:03 +0000

The Robotic Industries Association's (RIA) announces that JR Automation, Motion Controls Robotics, Tennessee Rand, and Wolf Robotics are the first four companies to have completed the newly Certifi

The new certified Robotic Integrator Program offers accreditation to integrators to help benchmark their companies in the industry.

News

Wago Launches YouTube Channel

MaryAnn Coyle — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:09:30 +0000

Topics range from basic terminal block marking via WAGO ProServe Software to advanced CoDeSys programming for WAGO’s 750-670 Stepper Controller RS-422 module (pulse/direction).

Wago Corporation’s new YouTube channel features 30+ videos, providing customers with additional training and product support. Produced by WAGO application engineers and product and training managers, the step-by-step videos deliver a wide range of content for both new and experienced viewers.

News

From Control to Optimization and Simulation

George Shurtleff — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:54:12 +0000

The notion of finance providing control insights to operations is outdated. The real value of integrating financial and operational information has shifted from control to optimization, planning, and simulation.

Column

Finance View

The "Return" Question

George Shurtleff — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:20:58 +0000

As with any automation investment, whether hardware or software, a major part of the justification process is how long will it take to recoup the investment.

Feature Article

Engineers Sponsor, Judge High School Automation Awards Competition

Jenn Brink — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Hazel Park Junior High School from Hazel Park, Michigan was the recipient of the Patti Engineering "Best use of Automation Technology" award for their implementation of automation te

Patti Engineering, Inc., control systems integration company based in Auburn Hills, MI with offices in Massachusetts and Texas, served as a Special Award Sponsor for the 2012 Michigan Regional Future City Competition which took place January 30, 2012 at The Suburban Collection in Novi, MI. Patti Engineering sent a team of electrical engineers to review and judge the entries.

News

Continuous Process Challenges Controls Retrofit Team

admin8675309 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Rendering is the process of recycling waste animal tissue into stable materials that are used as ingredients in making livestock and pet rations and other products. Upgrades to a rendering plant are particularly challenging because the plant receives a continuous stream of waste tissue from processing plants that has nowhere else to go.

Column

Manufacturing with a Big "M"

admin8675309 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Celebration of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Research Center’s 20th anniversary is marked by a plan to advance manufacturing in the U.S. through development of “collaboratories.”

Perspective

ABB Opens New Solar Inverter Production Center

admin8675309 — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:54:31 +0000

Center will feature a 400 megawatt per year capacity as well as an engineering center to support inverter production and nearby motors and drives factories.

News

Powering the World Trade Center Site

admin8675309 — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:12:12 +0000

The new World Trade Center site is one of the most complex projects ever undertaken and involves the resurrection of America’s tallest building, the creation of a Memorial Museum featuring the two

Siemens Industry Inc. is providing more than $12 million in building technology, power distribution and automation solutions to the rebuilt World Trade Center site and memorial museum.

News

Electronics Assembly Made Flexible

admin8675309 — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:48:50 +0000

MBX Systems (www.mbx.com), a contract manufacturer in Wauconda, Ill., manufactures server a

MBX developed special production, picking, tracking and staffing procedures and built proprietary software to improve scheduling, balance workload distribution, and perform other manufacturing tasks.

Case Application

5 EMI Core Functions

Gary Mintchell — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Aggregation: Making available data from many sources, most often databases.

AMR Research, now part of Gartner and a Boston-based analyst firm, has identified five core functions every Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence application should possess:

Feature Article

Digging Through Data to find Manufacturing Intelligence

admin8675309 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) software, coupled with innovative ways of displaying information, is delivering such returns at plants large and small. Dig in to find out what it does

The right software can make all the difference. Just ask Chris Bacon, production manager at the Nampa, Idaho plant of Pepsi Bottling Ventures: “This new capability frees up at least an hour a day per person, which is equivalent to adding another person to the staff, free of charge—and that’s a wonderful initial return on investment,” he notes.

Case Application

Manufacturing Technology Orders Up 103.9% from June 2010

admin8675309 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:00:00 +0000

June U.S.

According to a joint report from AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, industry is on track to produce orders equal to all of 2010 by the end of August 2011.

News

Indian oil firms take up automation of petrol stations

admin8675309 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:11:54 +0000

Indian Oil Corp.

Coming soon. Automated fuel dispensers in India. Indian oil companies are in process of automating retail automobile fueling stations, popularly known as "petrol pumps."

News

Cloudy with a Chance for Profits

admin8675309 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:59:52 +0000

The theme of this year's MES/MOM conference is "Cloudy with a Chance for Profits" industry leaders will share real-world experiences about maximizing returns within their operations.ÊHosted at the

The MESA International North American Conference kicks off in Orlando, Florida September 19-23.

News

Boeing, Siemens Form Strategic Energy Alliance

admin8675309 — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:34:12 +0000

Just when you thought you were up to speed on the latest energy advances by getting a good grasp on the idea of the

The partnership is centered around development of secure microgrid energy management applications for the Department of Defense.

News

6th Annual ISA Marketing & Sales Summit Announces Keynote Speakers

admin8675309 — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:28 +0000

The International Society of Automation (ISA) announces the keynote speakers for the 6th Annual ISA Marketing & Sales Summit to be held in St. Louis, Missouri September 7-9, 2011. The four keynote addresses will focus on various aspects of the summit's theme, "Customer 2.0."

News