Equipment condition monitoring (ECM) for rotating equipment is a well-established field that is decades old.  

  Machine vision technology drivers are shifting from “to stay competitive” to ”must have” for many applications.

  For corporate taxpayers, claims for Research and Development (R&D) tax credits are being regarded by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “Tier One” priority under its new Strategic Initiative, meaning those claims will be carefully examined to determine their validity.

 In the early 1970s, new ideas emerged about the human influence on the environment and the responsibilities of corporations, especially manufacturing operations.

 In automation projects, it is common practice to define the expected advantages of the system. 

  Continuous Improvement (CI) programs have achieved wide acceptance among manufacturers.

  Even in the best of times, state and local governments face revenue constraints and pressures to optimize tax collection efforts.

  Over the last several years, growing cyber threats coupled with the ongoing discovery of new vulnerabilities has demanded a lot of attention within the manufacturing community.

 Manufacturing companies are facing many new challenges today to become more flexible and agile as business models change.

 A metal plating company relies upon independent drivers to transport its finished goods to customers.

  A select group of industrial equipment companies are executing a formula for success that peers may want to take note of, if they plan to remain competitive in the emerging global market.

 Paul was a conscientious employee. He would do a little extra and try to save the company money.

 When I laid out the plan for this series of special reports on wireless technologies in manufacturing last summer, I anticipated that there would be many successful applications that we could share, along with tips for success from the pioneers.

  In order to reach their maximum potential, manufacturing companies must be efficient at coordinating and controlling personnel, materials and equipment across different operations and control systems.

  Many people think that the automation industry is quickly developing a “skills shortage,” which will occur after the current generation of engineers retires.

  In the past, corporate environmental plansvwere mostly cost burdens relating to regulatory compliance, with perhaps a touch of the public relations image of being socially responsible. In the past few years, this has changed dramatically—“green” is becoming a business profit opportunity.

 Network security expert Eric Byres pulls no punches when speaking about information technology (IT) security. Hacking on control systems is serious, “a problem that costs companies millions of dollars,” says the chief technical officer of Byres Security Inc. (www.byressecurity.com), located in Lantzville, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. “That’s usually kept very quiet. So no one believes it can happen until it does happen.”

 Organizations that have adopted a Lean Manufacturing methodology continue to identify elements of their organizations that have diminished in terms of their strategic value.

 When it comes to minimizing waste and rejections, keeping up with the latest technology advances can look like a costly proposition.

 When we started Automation World, my mantra was that we covered intelligent use of automation. Our marketing people devised the tag line “intelligence for the business of automation.” When I was meditating on the technology trends in automation along with this month’s theme, it struck me as interesting that intelligence was the recurring theme.