SMC Pneumatics has developed an Energy Saving Software Package which is designed to assist industry calculate the cost of compressed air and to assess cost savings associated with the implementation of proposed energy-reduction strategies.

Australian milk processor Murray Goulburn (MGC) has reduced its carbon footprint by 35% after the implementation of CompAirs recommendations in its demand side audit of the plants air system. The company has saved over AU$147,000 in energy and maintenance costs and cut carbon emissions by more than 1900 t at its Leongatha plant in Victoria after just five months.

In Part 1 of this article we looked generally at the types of innovations that have been used to make use of ethernet in process plants and factory automation. This month we look at some of the most well-known implementations.

Every mining operation has budgets, production targets, business goals and a sustainability plan, but achieving budgets and business goals requires the efficient use of all internal resources, such as people, plant, raw materials, maintenance, reagents and procedures.

In a black and white world, using photoelectric sensors would be very straightforward. In the real world, things are not so simple. In their technicolour lives, photoelectric sensors are often utilised to sort coloured products, identify coded markings and confirm the presence of an adhesive or date codes on a package.

As part of its Solution Enhancement Support Program (SESP), OneSteel implemented a secure, online connection to Honeywell’s global technical assistance centre (TAC) support team enabling faster and more accurate problem identification and resolution.

The installation of an Outotec PSI 500 particle size analyser at Rio Tinto Iron Ore at Paraburdoo, in the Pilbara, is the first in Australia.

In response to a specific request to improve safety and operating efficiency, a hydraulic system has been redesigned to eliminate the use of multiple manifolds and valves. Effectively replacing these items with a single manifold, the new design also incorporates state-of-the-art electronic control components.

One trend in discrete part manufacturing is towards faster and higher precision part production — more parts per minute and better quality. Traditional control solutions can be stretched to their limits. By replacing traditional control solutions with time-based control, higher spped and precision can be realised.

Melbourne Airport recently embarked on an upgrade and expansion of its baggage-handling system, enlisting materials handling and automation group BCS Group to carry out the redevelopment. BCS Group implemented the new baggage-handling system, founded on technologies from drives solutions group SEW-Eurodrive.

In an increasingly competitive environment, companies need to gain a sustainable advantage by achieving operational excellence, a journey that begins with data that gives process visibility.

Guided wave radar (GWR) level transmitters are ideal for challenging level and interface measurements on liquids, slurries and solids. A new breakthrough technology called electronic device description language (EDDL) integrates GWR level transmitters with intelligent device management software in a way not previously possible.

Imagine being able to monitor your pipeline the entire length with thousands of monitoring points providing a near real-time picture of what’s actually happening — with fibre-optic technology, this can be a reality.

In April 2009, KSB Aktiengesellschaft, Germany, booked an order for four large water pumps to be supplied to a new pumping station in Western Australia.

The benefits of using well-established ethernet and internet technologies in industrial plants are too great to ignore, but overcoming the requirement for real-time operation has led to some innovative approaches to how this ubiquitous technology can be used in process plants and factory automation.