Control Automation Feature Library
Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.
Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE
(the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under
the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the
many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.
18/03/2025
Accelerating the green revolution
The transition of the UK power sector to clean energy presents challenges, but by embracing the opportunities industries can contribute to national decarbonisation goals while enhancing competitiveness, writes Tom Austin-Morgan
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18/03/2025
Exhausted by non-compliance?
With some testing companies reporting failure rates of 60-80%, many plants clearly struggle to achieve first-time COSHH compliance for their LEV system
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18/03/2025
Ensuring fire safety for electrical connections
Fire-protected enclosures mounted directly onto a wall surface can make maintenance and installation of electrical junctions faster while maintaining the required safety standards. Chris Lloyd, managing director at Spelsberg UK, explains ...
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18/03/2025
Automation liberation
Choosing the right safety expert is of critical importance. Stewart Robinson, advisory consultant and functional safety expert at TÜV SÜD, explains why
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18/03/2025
Comment: Platform to move forward
The combined sector committee of the BES and IPlantE met for the first time on 4 February with a packed agenda. The new committee was well balanced with elected and co-opted members and the initial indication is the format worked well and ...
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18/03/2025
Positive vibrations
Chris Ryan, a senior technical expert in plant reliability techniques, explains to Louise Davis how vibration analysis is a hugely useful monitoring tool – but that its value depends on the availability of professionally trained personnel
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18/03/2025
Collaborative effort
Louise Davis meets the specialist providers who are delivering automation solutions designed to improve productivity in manufacturing and that can also contribute to tackling the sector’s skills gap
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18/03/2025
Shaping the future
Hannover Messe takes place from 31 March to 4 April and more than 5,000 companies from around the globe will exhibit from across the industrial landscape
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18/03/2025
Attaining the highest standards
There is stringent legislation for water quality across the globe. Mattias Feldthusen, director of products for Nordic Water, a Sulzer brand, looks at some of the common standards and the equipment that can be used to meet this legislation
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04/02/2025
Boosted boiler cleaning
A novel boiler cleaning technology originally designed for waste-to-energy plants is now being embraced by various other engineering sectors, too. Louise Davis hears how this solution is proving a gamechanger for both cleaning and ...
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04/02/2025
A hot topic
Louise Davis showcases the latest product innovations and explores how thermal imaging technology is being put to use in a variety of engineering applications
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04/02/2025
Train and gain
When it comes to environmental spillage and incident management, the importance of training knows no bounds. Brian Wall reports
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04/02/2025
Troubled waters
Anglian Water is committed to supplying clean drinking water and recycling it safely, and has collaborated with technology provider Samotics to anticipate a rotor’s mechanical unbalance, preventing catastrophic consequences. Tom Swain, ...
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04/02/2025
Comment: Honoured to be chair
In December, I took over as the new chair of IPlantE from Ian Jackson. I am honoured to be holding this role to share my insight, skills, experience and knowledge from Hong Kong, where I reside.
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04/02/2025
Procure early to secure delivery
The massive scale-up of work across the UK’s water and wastewater companies in AMP8 is no secret, but the way projects are delivered will have to change, says Dominic Hurd, managing director, ACWA Services
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04/02/2025
Preventing downtime
Why uptime does not need to be an uphill struggle. By Carlo Carlotta, global product manager, ABB Electrification Service
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09/01/2025
Stable and wireless
Louise Davis speaks with leading industry specialists to discover the latest technical trends in condition monitoring and how they tie into maintenance strategies, the drive for greater automation, and everything else that combines to keep ...
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09/01/2025
Safety systems
Automatic intervention systems, where plants stop automatically when hazards are detected, could be a future game-changer
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09/01/2025
A journey of resilience and leadership
At the SOE Safety and Resilience in Engineering Awards 2024 in October, Babcock International Group’s Flavia Popescu picked up two awards. The achievements marked a remarkable career rise for Romanian-born Flavia. She speaks to Justin Burns
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09/01/2025
Circular construction
Sustainability continues to be a major target for everyone in business, in the world of construction there is an ever-growing desire to create a circular economy and reclaim and reuse as many materials as possible. Tom Austin-Morgan looks ...
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09/01/2025
Comment: The power of mentorship
Are you at an early stage in your career and need some guidance on how to advance? Or have you ever been faced with a task or challenge that you just do not know how to tackle? If so, you would benefit from having a mentor.
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