Why install the latest generation of safety networks? Most people would put the money saved on less wiring at the top of their list of answers.

  Safety is a topic that is on everyone's mind. No one wants to be interviewed on television after an explosion at their plant or after a severe injury occurs.

  At automaker Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich., Alan Baumgartner discusses digital manufacturing in the context of two bridges.

  Scott Fraser is the Electrical Technology Department Chair at Long Beach City College in California. Besides providing electrical training, the Department offers specialty areas in robotics and industrial automation.

  “What do we mean by automation software?” asks Nathan Massey, sales engineer for B&R Industrial Automation Corp., Roswell, Ga. A trick question? More of a thought starter.

  By developing closer links between 3D simulation tools and factory floor automation, major PLM and controls vendors are aiming to move digital manufacturing technology one step closer to the mainstream.

  The goal of tightly integrating processing and packaging, as well as devising an industry standard method of machine control, is still gaining momentum.

  Forget the politics. Doing good for the environment can be very good for the bottom line.

 This is a sidebar to the feature story "Automating Energy Consumption" which appears in the March, 2008 Issue of Automation World.

  Plants are turning to automation tools to drive down energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.

  By using design for manufacture and assembly methodologies, some manufacturers are reaping impressive factory floor savings.

 This is a sidebar to the main story "Biofuels Thrive with Automation" which appears in the March 2008 Issue of Automation World.Geography plays a big role in how nations reduce their reliance on oil. The Corn Belt of the United States, for example, is converting some of its crop into ethanol.

  While not everyone likes the name, a new generation of programmable automation controllers that feature multi-domain control functionality are helping to reduce costs for a growing number of manufacturers.

  While the fogginess around mechatronics may not have dissipated entirely, one thing is increasingly clear: as a conceptual schema for design, mechatronics continues to become more visible—and its importance can only grow over the next few years.

 It’s seldom a good feeling in the pit of your stomach when management issues you a challenge.

  Automation World recently invited five major vendors of distributed control systems (DCS) to comment on the competitive impact of programmable automation controllers on their businesses.

  In October of 2005, U.S. Gypsum Corp. began a plant optimization rollout across 50 manufacturing sites that produce gypsum wall board.

  In hopes of driving better bottom-line results, manufacturing companies are turning to business simulations to boost the financial savvy of employees.

 (Sidebar to "Technology-based Maintenance Gains Traction" from the November issue of Automation World)

  Monitoring equipment, components and processes from afar is developing into a substantial benefit for manufacturers…and suppliers.