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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Q&A: Barriers To American Re-shoring
May 7, 2013 8:05 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsOver the last few years, there has been an increasing amount of buzz around the concept of “re-shoring,” in which an American company decides it’s more financially viable to bring manufacturing operations back to the U.S. from a foreign land. Generally speaking, company leaders are finding that the “total cost” of producing overseas actually makes outsourcing the worse financial picture.
PwC: Industrial Manufacturing M&A Rises
May 7, 2013 8:00 am | by PwC US | CommentsFinancial investors in the industrial manufacturing sector stepped off the sidelines in the first quarter of 2013, recording a substantial increase in merger and acquisition activity. While strategic investors continued to drive deal activity during the first quarter, financial investments were well ahead of the pace for the same period in 2012.
Preventing Discharge Damage: Conductive Rolling Bearing Greases
May 6, 2013 8:05 am | by Heiko Stache, Manager Business Unit – Bearing Technology & Sabine Petri, Product Manager, Klüber Lubrication | CommentsDamage caused by electric discharge is a well-known issue, and today it is more prevalent than ever. It primarily affects rolling bearings in machines susceptible to static charging. In many cases, conductive grease made especially for these applications can provide an inexpensive and efficient solution to this problem, while at the same time ensuring optimum rolling bearing lubrication.
An Opportunity For Intelligent Device Manufacturers
May 6, 2013 8:00 am | by Steve Schmidt, Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy, Flexera Software | CommentsOpportunity beckons intelligent device manufacturers. They must evolve their products from fixed function and disconnected systems to flexible and seamlessly connected devices. Making products smarter will provide a wide array of benefits.
Kellogg's Goes Green, Stays Cool
May 3, 2013 8:05 am | by Coolerado | CommentsWith manufacturing plants across the globe, Kellogg’s has made its mark on the breakfast cereal industry. But, the company believes that mark doesn’t have to leave an over-sized carbon footprint. Kellogg’s is making great strides toward sustainability, which include choosing Coolerado’s energy-efficient air conditioners to cool its plant in Mexicali, Mexico.
Challenging Lighting Environments
May 3, 2013 8:00 am | by Rob Bresnahan, Larson Electronics LLC | CommentsNot all operating environments are the same and the differences in a location's environmental characteristics can have a significant impact on how lighting equipment performs. Differences in humidity, wetness, and temperature ranges, the presence of corrosives, and the presence of flammable or explosive gases and vapors can pose a serious challenge for electrical lighting.
The Hidden Cost Of Summer Heat
May 1, 2013 8:05 am | by Megan Browning, Big Ass Fans® | CommentsIndustrial facilities aren’t typically built with the comfort of workers as a top priority. High ceilings, large open spaces, and sizeable mechanical obstructions can make cooling manufacturing and warehousing spaces difficult. Uncomfortable working conditions lead to heat-related illnesses and decreased productivity, which negatively affect the bottom line of the business.
Plant Maintenance Shutdown
May 1, 2013 8:00 am | by Grady Winston, Blogger & Entrepeneur | CommentsThink of a scheduled maintenance and plant shutdown project as spring cleaning on a huge scale. Also commonly known as a plant overhaul, the temporary shutdown of a production plant or factory is an enormous undertaking and one that requires careful and systematic planning prior to performing the task.
Scan Before You Replace
April 30, 2013 8:05 am | by Brian Lambert, The Garland Company, Inc. | CommentsThankfully, rather than simply doing a quick visual assessment of the roof and deciding it needs to be replaced, today’s roofing professionals can rely on several different non-destructive moisture tests to help make solid recommendations based on unbiased scientific information. The decision of when to repair, restore or replace a large commercial roof often involves a million dollars or more.
Climate Curtain Protects U.S. Glass Block Manufacturer
April 29, 2013 9:00 am | by Marcus Mohwinkel, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Goff’s Enterprises, Inc. | CommentsPittsburgh Corning is a world leader in innovative glass block products for commercial, institutional, government and residential building applications. The company is the only U.S.-based manufacturer of glass block. The company needed to create a climate-controlled, low-dust environment. Further, the warehouse measured 100 feet wide by 400 feet long—but assembly operations required only a portion of the total area.
Environmentally Friendly Pest Management
April 29, 2013 8:00 am | by Patrick T. Copps, MS, B.C.E., Technical Services Manager, Orkin, LLC | CommentsThe push to use environmentally friendly methods in plant operations, including pest management, continues to gain traction. Conservation and recycling efforts now play a major part in our daily lives, whether at home, at work or at another public place. But what about your facility?
Rugged Computers Enable True Workforce Mobility
April 24, 2013 10:35 am | by Dale Kyle, CEO of Handheld US | CommentsWirelessness alone doesn't make for truly usable mobile devices — just ask the professionals who’ve dropped cell phones into water, vibrated tablets to death on their dashboards, or watched PDA screens shatter as they hit the ground. To continue to drive true workforce mobility, data devices need to be compact, connectable, quick and able to withstand whatever they encounter — whether that’s a river, a sandstorm or a warehouse floor.
A Vegetable Packing Plant Saves Time And Money
April 24, 2013 8:00 am | by BDI | CommentsA national producer of canned fruits and vegetables had to halt production on its conveyor line whenever the type of product to be filled changed. For dry fill production, the setup uses gravity fillers, which are mounted under a vibrating hopper and rely on gravity to fill the cans.
Practical Advice For Virtualizing Your Manufacturing Applications
April 23, 2013 8:05 am | by Frank Hill, Director of Manufacturing Business Development, Stratus Technologies | CommentsAs manufacturers continue to increase plant automation, virtualization is gaining traction as a way to control costs, increase efficiencies, and drive better long-term planning. Virtualization, the practice of using a software layer to let one physical computing server run multiple applications on virtual machines, enables manufacturers to maximize their return on hardware investments while conserving real estate on the plant floor.
How Wearable Technology Is Transforming Facilities
April 23, 2013 8:00 am | by Mark Wheeler, Director of Supply Chain Solutions - North America, Motorola Solutions | CommentsMobile devices are necessary tools to increase the efficiency and productivity of workers across many industries and markets, including the warehouse. But wearable, voice-directed and multimodal mobile technologies are helping to transform the warehouse environment at an even faster pace than standard mobile tools in other markets.
