Process control
PID has been the mainstay of process control for more than 60 years, but technology and the ever-expanding role of plant engineers merit a new, closer look, advises Brian Tinham
Open & shut case
You'll have heard it said more times than you probably care to remember that variance is the bane of manufacturing - and the same is true in the process sector, the utilities and so on. Why? Because it leads to all sorts of problems, ranging from quality issues to yield reductions, rework, excessive energy use, maintenance loading? The list goes on.
Saving the earth
In the rush to save energy and reduce emissions, it's easy to forget the sheer range of potential solutions. Dr Tom Shelley reviews some of today's most powerful options
Intrinsically safe?
Hazardous areas and electrical/electronic circuits have been treated with caution ever since the Senghenydd colliery disaster of 1913. Brian Tinham provides a technology update
Mustang reborn
Ford's classic Mustang is now being manufactured at the AutoAlliance car plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, USA. Brian Tinham looks at the automation now behind the all American icon
So much more
Intelligent instruments have been with us for years, but although many more plants are installing them, they're still missing some important tricks, says Brian Tinham
Control freak
Let's talk about drives, motors and controls - no, not just the technologies for linear or rotational motion control, important though those are, but also control engineering in, for example, transportation, the process sector and the utilities. Why? Because there's quite a lot happening that could make a difference to plant engineers specifying, installing, commissioning and maintaining all of this stuff.
Blowing hot and cold
Last summer's government energy strategy - which called for power generation from renewables to rise to 20% by 2020 and for CO2 to be reduced by 60% before 2050 - is going to have a profound effect on plant, and that includes HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) installations. That's particularly the case in non-domestic buildings, where space and water heating account for significant energy use and emissions. And it's not only about increasing the use of air source and ground source heat pumps, or solar hot water systems: variable speed drives (VSDs) on existing fan and pump equipment, as well as CO2-based building energy controls are among other technologies that need to play their part.
Time to rethink our automation technology
Observers of manufacturing can't have failed to notice that, since the 2008 crash, industry has been leaping up the agenda in government circles, as the urgency of its call to rebalance the economy takes hold.