Articles

Successful Automation’s Best Kept Secret

January 23, 2009 12:47 pm | by Roy Kok, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Kepware Technologies | Comments

Sure, the engineer is proud of his HMI and the plant manager pleased with his KPI dashboard and how effectively the plant is running with the implementation of his new MES solution. The historian and analytic solution get all the credit when a plant control crisis is averted.

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Tech Trends

Q&A With Kim Miller Dunn

January 22, 2009 10:05 am | Comments

h4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } "I think the automation industry is going to be effected by the current global economy like every other industry and job sector—however, I may be optimistic, but I don't think the automation industry will be as affected as many other segments within the manufacturing sector.

Anomalies Of "Things People"

January 22, 2009 10:05 am | by Mike Collins | Comments

Labor Pains

January 22, 2009 10:05 am | by Anna Wells | Comments

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of welders employed in the U.S. declined an astounding 10 percent from 2000 to 2005—from 594,000 in 2000 to 576,000 in 2005. It may not be the most publicized issue facing American manufacturing, but it's one that every plant manager is well aware of—the shortage of welding professionals in industry is becoming a more major concern, even in an economy rife with layoffs.

Bigger & Better

January 22, 2009 10:05 am | Comments

QRM For Reducing Lead Times

December 4, 2008 5:08 am | Comments

Hunters Vs. Meateaters

November 21, 2008 12:38 pm | Comments

LEEDers Of The Pack

November 21, 2008 12:32 pm | by Anna Wells | Comments

A Green View

November 21, 2008 12:15 pm | by Anna Wells | Comments

In response to an increasing emphasis on energy visibility as a cost calculation, Infor has developed Infor EAM Asset Sustainability Edition, a new solution that integrates energy management with asset management. With Infor EAM Asset Sustainability Edition, Infor has redefined enterprise asset management from a solution that helps you maintain and extend the life of your assets to a solution that also can help you lower costs by reducing your energy consumption.

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Tech Trends

Energy Optimization

November 21, 2008 12:03 pm | by Cassie Quaintance, Energy Market Segment Manager, Schneider Electric | Comments

h4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } How to turn your facility green Going green very often must mean saving green, and this is possible when you successfully implement energy efficiency initiatives that reduce energy consumption.

Water Conservation: The Business Case

October 9, 2008 6:44 am | by William F. Harfst, Harfst and Associates, Inc. | Comments

Record-breaking droughts have plagued the Southeast and the arid Southwest. Georgia is caught in the grip of a drought that is the worst in 100 years of record keeping while at the same time 30 million people in the Southwest witnessed water reserves in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both part of the Colorado River system, decline to near-record low levels.

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Tech Trends

Lean Tools- Finding A Fit

October 9, 2008 6:43 am | Comments

Kinda, Sorta Lean... So What Comes Next?

September 12, 2008 2:26 pm | Comments

By David R. Dixon, Technical Change Associates. The preemptive competitive advantages enjoyed by early Lean adopters have dissipated as more and more companies are “converted” to techniques that reduce waste and slash lead times. --> h4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .

Style Points

September 12, 2008 1:54 pm | Comments

h4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } By Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO After a huge investment in renovation and sustainability efforts, Garlock Sealing, Palmyra, NY, is new and improved= Garlock Sealing Technologies (an EnPro Industries company) has been a pioneer in high-performance fluid sealing for over a century, with 15 global operations employing more than 1,800 people, and a distributor network that covers 75 countries.