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.

01/03/2008 A process of elimination Mercifully, serious incidents in the process industries are few and far between. Sadly, however, when they do happen, they're devastating. Consider Flixborough back in 1974, Piper Alpha in the North Sea in 1988 and, much more recently, ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Working order This year's Maintec exhibition seems set to do rather more than what it says on the tin - with a focus that extends from predictive maintenance to wireless systems for plant data gathering. As well as around 150 exhibitors - including ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Track performance Infrarail 2008, the UK's major rail infrastructure show, provides an opportunity for plant engineers responsible for ensuring the safety and efficiency of rail equipment, machinery and systems to see engineering innovation in action. » Read More

01/02/2008 Prove your competence 'Within the next 18 to 24 months, industry will have to be much more proactive about proving the competence of its engineers and technicians at all levels. That's certainly the case in the rail sector. We're going to want to see external ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Power of the press Power presses, like most big mechanical plant, have been operated subject to regular mandatory inspections for many years. But there's a problem: the approaches taken to those inspections have varied, according both to the inspection ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Money for nothing? There's no such thing as a free lunch - and that holds true for green energy generation, too. Even with wind farms, there is the price of the plant, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance. There are also safety inspections ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Global warning For some engineers, questions about how much money could have been saved if a major failure had been predicted, trigger thoughts about the cost of expensive process interruptions and downtime. For others, it's all about avoiding ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Dusting off better control practices It is one thing to extract and trap dust and fumes, but quite another to do so efficiently and at minimum cost. But that's what we have to do: it is important to minimise energy and consumables usage, as well as complying with health and ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Court napping? 'Engineers need to understand the legal framework in which they operate, and be able to conduct themselves in a competent manner in their professional and investigative roles.' So says Ian Chisholm, head of technical services at the SOE ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Carbon capture The UK is to finance the construction of a 300-400MW coal-fired power station with full carbon capture, and intends to work with China on developing and implementing the technology globally. Why? 'Because coal is still the cheapest and ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Atomic kitten Ever wondered about nuclear submarines and the issues for plant engineers in operational and supporting roles, either onboard or dockside? Andrew Law, specialist in the operational plant support department at Rolls-Royce Nuclear Propulsion ... » Read More

01/02/2008 40 metres under Experience, sound engineering and better sensing technologies have together transformed the effectiveness of the Channel Tunnel's waste water plant. Not only has its dedicated water treatment works near Dover been rendered redundant and ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Watch your waste According to a report by Research and Markets, 'Global Waste Management Market Assessment', municipal solid waste (MSW) generated worldwide reached 2.02 billion tonnes in 2006 and is expected to increase by 37.3% between 2007 and 2011. ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Taking the air Energy sustainability is one of the hottest topics on the political agenda - closely linked to environmental concerns. Combine these with soaring energy costs and it's no surprise that reducing consumption on plant is right up there for ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Lubricate the parts Just a decade ago, outside the automotive industry, synthetic lubricants were in low volume production. PTFE-based lubes, for example, were expensive problem solvers, aimed only at applications where mineral oils just couldn't handle the ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Lifting the lid on lifting Most plant engineers probably have a horror story about lifting equipment that failed or malfunctioned. For many, the experience will have resulted in neither serious injuries nor fatalities. But the truth is, we all know they so easily ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Fire hazard Fire in an engineering environment is likely to have far more serious consequences than in almost any other industrial premises. » Read More

01/12/2007 Cooling the tube Anyone who travels on London Underground knows that the tube is too hot, particularly on the deeper central area lines. When Transport for London's (TfL) Cooling the Tube programme director Kevin Payne tells you: "We're going to move from ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Beating boiler failure Design and manufacturing requirements for shell boilers are covered by BS2790:1992 and water tube boilers by BS1113:1992, while the recommendations for treatment of water for steam and hot water boilers are detailed in BS2486:1997. So, if ... » Read More

01/12/2007 An Illustrious Career It takes a certain kind of person to be a marine engineering technician (ETME) in the Royal Navy - and a decidedly special engineer. Why? Quite simply, because they have to be 'can do' individuals able, practically at a moment's notice, to ... » Read More

01/10/2007 The heat is on Two of the key concerns for anyone involved in process heating are to save energy and reduce running costs. But how many organisations really know how well – or badly – they are doing? Brian Wall finds out » Read More

01/10/2007 Testing the waters No one likes being overburdened with regulations, and plant engineers are no exception - fact. However, in a world forced into a rather late, reactionary effort to clean up its act, pollution in the waste water and effluent sector was ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Skin deep While it's still the case that bulk material properties decide overall engineering strength and mechanical performance, coatings increasingly determine not only appearance, but corrosion and wear resistance - and serious developments are ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Pumping challenge Engineering invariably involves a balancing act - mostly between, on the one hand, keeping within budget, while, on the other, developing robust, dependable solutions that meet parameters, such as design life and risk mitigation. » Read More

01/10/2007 Passionate about energy Every engineer knows that energy saving is good. It's almost invariably linked with worthwhile emissions savings and there are attractive financial returns. Also, installing new equipment, instrumentation and/or controls usually solves ... » Read More