The convergence of PLC and DCS technologies has created a situation where it is more challenging than ever for process manufacturers to select the best technology for their application. A successful evaluation should start by developing a clear picture of the requirements of your application and the needs of your engineering, maintenance and operations personnel. To help clearly define these requirements and needs for your company, this paper outlines the seven key questions that will lead you to making the right choice.

The Antarctic Plateau is considered the most inhospitable inhabited place on Earth. At Dome C, within the Australian Antarctic Territory, mid-winter minimum temperatures drop to -81°C and access to and from the outside world becomes impossible outside the very small window of 12 weeks, during which time the sun rises above the horizon.

Innovation is crucial to long-term success in the manufacturing sector. It enables companies to offer unique solutions and stand out in the marketplace, while at the same time providing the continual improvements in productivity demanded by manufacturers.

Materials handling specialist Industrial Conveying Australia (ICA) has heightened its recycling technology capabilities by becoming the first in Australia to provide ‘turnkey’ solutions for the sector.

Operating a mining operation in a remote area, especially in a country with significant infrastructure shortcomings, presents a series of challenges which must be addressed at a strategic level, in order to ensure the long-term sustainability and viability of such operations. A reliable communications platform directly back to the corporate head office provides a solid foundation for effective command and control, supporting not only day-to-day administrative and production operations, but also as-needed communications pathways for emergency management.

There is no doubt that the changing face of the world manufacturing industry is presenting enormous challenges and opportunities to the automation and process control industry. Can we, in Australia, be innovative enough to continue to prosper while meeting our environmental and social responsibilities in the future? This article is an excerpt from a forthcoming feature in What’s New in Process Technology magazine.

Protection tubes and flexible sensors make it possible to replace thermocouples without shutting down the entire process for days or weeks.

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.

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.

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.

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.