Today, new drive technology is making the previously complicated job of implementing a machine safety system much easier. Recent technical advances make safer operation less complex, while at the same time offering exciting new potential for productivity and uptime gains. [ + ]

Most industrial facilities, such as steel mills, oil refineries and power stations, are expensive to build and operate, so minimising downtime is of prime concern for owners and operational staff. Any unplanned stoppages could cost millions of dollars each day. [ + ]

Medium-voltage (MV) variable speed drives (VSDs) are now widely used in mining applications. However, due to the high-frequency voltage generated by these drives, they can introduce earth leakage currents at frequencies outside the normal power system frequency which may not be detected by traditional earth leakage protection relays. [ + ]

Detection of gas leaks in industrial facilities can not only be dangerous and time-consuming, but it is also susceptible to human error and interpretation. RoboGasInspector was conceived in order to provide a safer, more efficient and more reliable detection solution. [ + ]

ACI Connect 2014 will feature a plenary presentation on how cyber security is being managed for control systems at ANSTO's nuclear research facility at Lucas Heights, followed by a cyber security panel discussion. [ + ]

Jesse Dodge, director of strategic planning for Emerson Process Management - Asia-Pacific, will be speaking at the upcoming ACI Connect conference in Melbourne in April, and recently I caught up with Jesse for an update on his keynote address. [ + ]

Chris Vains, Business Unit Manager - Automation Systems at Siemens, will be speaking at the upcoming ACI Connect conference in Melbourne in April. [ + ]

The plight of many manufacturing companies has been well reported in recent years. Gone are the heady days of the 1960s when manufacturing was contributing over 25% of Australia's GDP, with that figure now at below 10%. [ + ]

Poor alarm management is one of the leading causes of unplanned downtime and has been a major contributor to some of the worst industrial accidents on record. In Part 1 of this article we discussed the release of the ISA-18.2 standard, and in this part we look more at how it can be implemented. [ + ]

In our day-to-day office and personal environments, we've become accustomed to a wealth of benefits delivered by internet-based technologies. As we move further and further towards a common IP highway, we consider the significant benefits that could be delivered by Ethernet backbones in industrial processes. [ + ]

In a good example of an automation company taking advantage of its own technology, ABB has implemented its own robots to streamline the designing, developing and manufacturing of low-voltage circuit-breakers at ABB SACE's Frosinone plant in Italy. [ + ]

South Pacific Seeds is one of the world's largest vegetable seed companies, producing 2.930 tonnes of seeds in the 2011-2012 crop year. Atmospheric dust generation was a problem until better handling of bulk gypsum was introduced. [ + ]

Bruce Kendall, Manager - Business Implementation, RMIT, will be speaking at the upcoming ACI Connect conference in Melbourne in April. I recently caught up with Bruce for an update on his keynote address. [ + ]

In the future, production facilities will be able to communicate and interact with one another, and machinery will often be remote serviced. But no company boss wants to run the risk of opening the door to industrial espionage and sabotage with unsecured networks. [ + ]

Until recently, operators at a water treatment plant in Colorado were feeding powdered activated carbon (PAC) from 20 kg bags, manually carrying them up a flight of stairs to dump them into a storage hopper above a feeder - risking injury and creating excessive dust. The problem was solved with a bulk bag discharger. [ + ]