Building a greenfield process plant today inevitably throws up a host of challenges, but successful greenfield projects take advantage of a potent ingredient in the engineering chain: added value.

The demise of the instrumentation technician in Australia began over 20 years ago when formal training in these skills ceased. Throw in Generation Y, short-sighted venture capitalists, outsourced servicing and company reengineering and it is evident that all is not well with the instrumentation profession.

Inlet air filters are supposed to be changed when they get dirty, and begin to restrict the air flow to the compressor. The obvious benefit is preventing contaminates from accelerating wear rates inside the compressor. The less obvious benefit is preventing a dirty inlet filter from causing elevated temperatures that risk major damage. This article includes case studies that highlight why air inlet filtration is so important.

Canterbury Breweries supplies draft beer in kegs to many of New Zealand’s South Island drinking establishments. These kegs come in 25 or 50 kg sizes and are recycled through a system that sees full kegs leaving the brewery on wooden pallets and empty kegs returning from the pubs and restaurants on the same pallets.

BlueScope Steel set up its first Colorbond paintline facility in 1966 at Port Kembla and, over the years, demand for its roofing, guttering, fences, sheds and warehouses showed phenomenal growth. With demand for Colorbond steel products pushing capacity limits in 2003, the company decided to set up a plant at Erskine Park in Sydney, as the city’s western region had become the single biggest consumer of Colorbond products in Australia.

When they first arrived on the scene, photoelectric sensors debuted as through-beam devices using lights and reflectors. Over the years, they’ve blossomed into full lines of specialised designs, each excelling at a certain job.

Two-dimensional bar codes have quietly revolutionised many production, tracking and maintenance processes. Now, 2D bar coding is undergoing a revolution, thanks to important scanning technology advances and growing use in multiple industries. 2D applications are now being adopted at more than double the rate of traditional 1D bar code technology.

The level sensor is a small but vital component in sewage lift or pump stations to maintain system integrity and avoid unwanted spillage.

Ensuring measurement accuracy often means going beyond reading raw specifications in a data sheet. Understanding an application in the context of its electrical environment is also important for securing success, particularly in a noisy or industrial setting. Ground loops, high common-mode voltages and electromagnetic radiation are all prevalent examples of noise that can adversely affect a signal.

Hydro Tasmania plays a significant part in keeping Tasmania clean. As Australia’s leading renewable energy business, it contributes 50% of the country’s electricity from renewable energy sources. Hydro Tasmania generates approximately 10,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually through 28 power stations, numerous lakes and over 50 large dams.

Industrial workflow digitises and streamlines your production — from your work instructions and SOPs to corrective action and HACCP monitoring. You can integrate your business and production processes across systems and departments for reliable, repeatable process execution.

Modern aircraft manufacture is fiercely competitive. There is immense pressure on to keep costs low. Requirements for efficiency and environmental considerations for wide-bodied aircraft demand research and innovation from every conceivable field. A Bavarian scientific and industrial consortium is breaking the mould in the construction of aircraft doors and emergency opening systems, aiming to develop a pyrotechnic rotary drive system for the task.

Soft drinks, water and juices are the big winners for the next few years. Top of the consumer’s list is bottled water, but juice, juice drinks and, in particular, new kinds of beverages will experience above average growth.

Science, business and government organisations are starting to support the fact that reducing greenhouse gas is an inevitable and integral component of doing business. Environmental awareness, particularly as related to excess greenhouse gases, has seen a surge of visibility from the international and domestic business communities. Thus, businesses worldwide are turning their focus to increased environmental awareness through reduction of resource consumption, particularly of fossil fuels, which is the leading cause of excess greenhouse gases.

Companies using light curtains to safeguard machinery often do not appreciate the implications of the regulatory requirement for inspections.