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.

  Using wireless sensor technologies in process automation is finally getting out of the labs and into the plants. There remains a reluctance to publicly come out of the closet about using it.

  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.

  Last year, the Colombia-based engineering firm, Omnicon Ltd. wanted to help a dairy customer integrate its automation production system with its enterprise business system.

  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.

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

  The tenets of ISA88 are now being applied to packaging, as well as to continuous and discrete manufacturing.

  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.

 Wireless is not a new world. But that doesn’t mean it is simple. Fortunately, radio has developed in the context of standards almost since the beginning. Here, we look at some of the nomenclature and high-level thinking required for wireless automation.

  Improved HMI visualization makes plant and enterprise data easy to share, and also easy to understand.

 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.

 The Kendall-Jackson winery packages more than 3 million cases of wine each year, so it’s a big challenge to position labels on bottles that race through its production lines. 

 Andre Ristaino, managing director of the Automation Standards Compliance Institute (ASCI), in Research Triangle Park, N.C., provided Independent Program Assessments and Independent Validation and Verification support for information technology modernization projects at the U.S. Air Force Logistics Command while employed at Deloitte & Touche. He led manufacturing information systems integration projects and provided consulting services for manufacturing operations improvement. Ristaino’s manufacturing industry experience includes pulp and paper, textiles, steel fabrication, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Ristaino holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Science in Technology Management.

 (Sidebar to "Don't Pick The Door With the Donkey" from the December issue of Automation World)

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

 Angela E. Summers, Ph.D. and P.E., has more than15 years of process, environmental and safety instrumented system (SIS) design experience. She is principal author of “Guidelines for Safe and Reliable Instrumented Protective Systems,” published by Wiley-Interscience. She is a recipient of the Intrumentation, Systems and Automation Society's 2005 Albert F. Sperry Award, for her outstanding contributions and leadership in the specification, development and implementation of safety instrumented systems for the process automation industry. She is also president and chief executive officer of safety instrumented systems consultancy SIS-Tech Solutions, in Houston. Summers sat down recently for an interview with Automation World Editor in Chief Gary Mintchell.