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.

08/06/2012 Branching out Hydraulic ring mains and mixer circuits that respond in milliseconds, yet improve energy efficiency, are under development. Brian Tinham reports » Read More

08/06/2012 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 » Read More

08/06/2012 Allessa Chemie improves plant monitoring with mobile SCADA Speciality chemicals manufacturer, Allessa Chemie has implemented SCHAD's Extend7000 Mobile SCADA system to get instant notification of critical power plant problems. » Read More

08/06/2012 CompAir puts energy savings on the menu at Marie Since installing fixed and regulated speed compressors, from CompAir, at its plant in Sablé sur Sarthe, France, food processor Société Marie says it has been experiencing annual electricity savings of €10,500. Stéphane Lemiale, ... » Read More

08/06/2012 ABB drive saves £25,000 worth of downtime at GKN GKN Wheels plant in Telford believes it will save some £25,000 per year following the installation of an ABB low voltage ac drive. » Read More

08/06/2012 Chopper pumps take no prisoners at HMP Peterborough Huntingdon-based solids pumping and mixing specialist P&M Pumps has helped engineers at Peterborough prison to eliminate blocked pumps problems. » Read More

08/06/2012 Split bearing radically reduce maintenance for Wessex Water Split-to-the-shaft design and improved sealing of Revolvo's SRB bearings has resulted in massively reduced maintenance on orbital aeration tanks at a Wessex Water treatment plant. » Read More

08/06/2012 Coriolis flowmeters help GF reduce filling times and improve accuracy GF is reporting reduced filling times, improved accuracy and repeatability and tighter filling tolerances on its filling machines since installing the latest Micro Motion FMT filling mass transmitter, from Emerson Process Management. » Read More

05/04/2012 Building Britain’s industrial future Building Britain's industrial » Read More

05/04/2012 Pumping iron The vast majority of pumps and fans could be running more efficiently and saving their plant operators serious money. Brian Tinham examines equipment advances and cautionary tales » Read More

05/04/2012 Safe operation of escalators and moving walks SAFed's guidelines for the safe operation of escalators and moving walks was published in May last year. In the first of a two-part feature, Vince Sharpe reviews key elements for owners and operators » Read More

05/04/2012 Is your boiler house safe? As de-manning on steam and hot water boiler plant continues to gain momentum, operators need to consider best practice and their legal duties in respect of operational safety, warns S Moore Holmes » Read More

05/04/2012 Managing maintenance Anything that can help maintenance managers to realise cost and time-savings, while simultaneously improving plant uptime and product quality outcomes, has to be worth considering. Brian Wall looks at modern CMMs in action » Read More

05/04/2012 Falling foul of the law Slips, trips and falls remain a problem are across a wide range of facilities and industry types. Leigh Carter spells out the regulatory position and examines issues and solutions » Read More

05/04/2012 Laser focus Energy from waste plants are shining a light on the power of laser-based, real-time gas analyser instrumentation. Brian Tinham talks to Bob Lane of Siemens » Read More

05/04/2012 What’s your poison? For plant engineers keen to avoid disaster caused by flammable or toxic gas leaks, Steed Webzell provides an update on some of the latest sensing equipment and methodologies » Read More

05/04/2012 Testing times The power of sensing systems today is to be found less in the range of techniques, technologies and hardware designs, and more in their on-board software. Brian Tinham reports » Read More

05/04/2012 Total Organics tighten effluent for Greencore Greencore Foods' plant in Selby,Yorkshire, has dramatically improved its wastewater treatment process, managed by Veolia Water Industrial Outsourcing, since installing a continuous TOC (total organic carbon) monitor. » Read More

05/04/2012 Operator-driven reliability programme does it for Stora Enso Global paper, packaging and wood products firm Stora Enso is reporting significant benefits since introducing SKF's operator-driven reliability (ODR) programme. » Read More

05/04/2012 Ocean energy test rig testing get programmable power A laboratory scale rig at the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC), University College Cork, is now capable of emulating the variable power testing required at sea, thanks to control equipment from Emerson Industrial. » Read More

05/04/2012 Fuchs Lubricants sees operational improvements from Siemens PCS 7 Fuchs Lubricants UK says it has seen cost and operational efficiency improvements at its Stoke-on-Trent lubricants plant since migrating to Siemens' PCS 7 distributed control system (DCS) and Simatic Batch. » Read More

05/04/2012 Moving experience Although aimed primarily at commercial vehicle operators, engineers and technicians, the CV Show offers useful opportunities for those whose careers span the fixed and moving plant divide. Brian Tinham reports » Read More

06/02/2012 Pole position Although control valve, actuator and positioner technologies develop only relatively slowly, there have been advances that offer practical, diagnostic and cost/benefit issues. Brian Tinham reports » Read More

06/02/2012 Manchester Airport saves 4,000 MWh on ABB drives and motors A project to upgrade the air handling units at Manchester Airport is saving 4,000 MWh, as well as cutting CO2 emissions by over 2,000 tonnes a year. » Read More

06/02/2012 Emerson’s smart wireless technology helps Swedish paper mill Swedish paper and board firm Korsnäs Gävle is reporting better environmental compliance verification since installing Emerson Process Management's Smart Wireless instrumentation. » Read More