The process industry is undertaking great efforts to ensure high levels of process reliability, consistent product quality and accurately priced billing of goods. There is also an increasing need to prove that operation is sustainable by meeting environmental regulations. [ + ]

In cement production, the furnaces or kilns that are used for blending the raw materials are a critical asset, which are often at risk of overheating - a problem that can cause serious damage to the kiln shell. It is therefore important to have an effective way of monitoring the heating process to prevent damage to these critical assets. [ + ]

The days of careless wrapping of packaged food and drink bound for retail are all but over as the large supermarket and grocery chains force ever greater liabilities on suppliers who take short cuts. [ + ]

The challenging mining and manufacturing landscape in Australia is seeing companies adapt to changing needs through automation of their systems. David Hegarty and Mauro DelleMonache of Rockwell Automation discuss their company's view of the situation. [ + ]

Yarra Valley Water (YVW) is the largest of Melbourne's three water corporations providing water supply and sewerage services to over 1.7 million people and over 50,000 businesses in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne. YVW was looking to upgrade its legacy 30,000-point SCADA system, which was commissioned in 2001. [ + ]

A simple mixing technology developed using world-class science proves the best option for the mineral processing industry. Adam Courtenay investigates how the technology is saving the industry time and money. [ + ]

The announcements that car manufacturing would cease by the end of this decade stimulated a lot of debate about whether it matters if we manufacture such products. Tim Mazzarol from the University of Western Australia examines this debate. [ + ]

The primary reasons that jigs and fixtures are so abundant in manufacturing are that they help to improve quality, decrease cycle time and reduce costs. However, many manufacturers don't use such tools to their fullest because of the labour, time and cost required to make them. [ + ]

Industrial Conveying (Aust) Pty Ltd (ICA), one of Australia's leading conveyor companies, has recently completed a major factory refurbishment project involving a multinational manufacturer consolidating one of its Sydney plants using a comprehensive range of technology from SEW-Eurodrive. [ + ]

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. [ + ]