Failure: whether it’s hardware or software or an application of the two, the thought of something bringing down production keeps every plant manager or production engineer up at night. How are your OT assets performing? Do you know how to fix an issue in real time? Do you know how to change out an asset? Can you get things back to running and keep them running? Full story

Recent events have highlighted the next significant challenge for all of us that serve the industry: How do we build smarter, highly flexible machines – that don’t compromise on throughput? Full story

If there is one word that fills the owner or manager of a manufacturing plant with fear it’s probably “downtime.” Downtime throws the entire schedule out of whack. It disrupts workflow, throws schedules into chaos and, worst of all, costs money. What are the causes of downtime in manufacturing, and what are some effective downtime reduction strategies to employ? Full story

All LED luminaires are not created equal. If you’re not careful, you could fall victim to the potential downfalls that come with luminaires produced by second-rate manufacturers. And the results could be disastrous. Poor lighting can lead to a whole host of issues: decreased productivity, safety concerns, wasted energy, and occupant discomfort. A cheap invoice price can really be quite costly in the long run. Full story

The dangers that cyber threats pose to intellectual property, customer records and productivity are well known, but safety implications of these threats are discussed less often. A cyberattack on your industrial control system (ICS) can damage physical assets, alter recipes, injure workers or cause severe environmental damage. Full story

When it comes to safety in the modern automation environment, there are two big reasons that leaders should strive to be the best they can be: your staff and your bottom line. Reduce the risks to your bottom line, by striving to have the best safety plans in place. Full story

Understanding Arc Flash can be overwhelming at times, but developing a plan is the first step. Full story

Traditional IEC 60309 pin and sleeve devices are safe and proven devices. In fact, Hubbell’s traditional pin and sleeve devices are among the safest out there. These devices are constantly being tested in our labs—performance tested and even torture tested. But there is always room for better. Full story

Cybersecurity events, or attempts to gain unauthorized access to or disrupt electronic systems and the information they store, are a growing threat. And no company is immune. That’s why having the right systems in place to help prevent and mitigate cybersecurity events is so important. Full story

Some machine designers are adopting virtual commissioning, a process that uses a digital model and simulation of your machine to perform controls testing before you even build a machine. This can help you identify design issues earlier in the build cycle and ultimately help you better meet customer deadlines. Full story

A machine is subject to additional stress and risks to premature wear when it is powered up and pressurized with compressed air after a scheduled shut-down or a safety event because the surge in air pressure will create rapid movements in the actuators and that can cause premature wear or may even escalate into a hazardous situation. Full story

Struggling with ways to extend the life of your mission critical control system applications? Worried about parts availability for that server you have running? Trying to get more utilization out of your investment in future server hardware purchases? Virtualization technology can provide a platform that allows you to meet these challenges and assist in reducing time to value for installing server OS based applications. Virtualization can also help reduce CapEx and OpEx costs through Information Infrastructure & Security. Review the top 5 business benefits of server virtualization and contact SMC Professional Services to talk with one of our engineers about how this technology might help your team. Full story

You have a strong industrial security program in place. You’ve cleaned up with good cyber hygiene and have implemented intrusion detection systems to avoid future incidents. But in the complex world of cybersecurity, you can’t stop there. Despite all your efforts, latent advanced persistent threats are still a concern. They are slowly at work trying to find chinks in your armor and exfiltrate data, bogging down your operations. And intrusion detection isn’t going to catch this activity. Threat hunting is one of the next logical steps in your cybersecurity program. In its simplest form, you are searching the network for external threats or intrusions that went undetected by automated security systems. Full story

While the world is rapidly changing every day to mitigate risk associated with the COVID-19 virus, we know many of your operations need to continue, and we are committed to being with you every step of the way. During this time, it is critical you have the support you need, in a way that maximizes productivity and saves you money. Full story

The ability to quantify energy use is critical for your facility and your team. Monitoring power consumption of your plant provides you with the data needed to make important energy management decisions. Full story

OSHA requires the employer to give fall protection awareness training, to anyone that works at elevated heights above 4’ every year. New employees, before they work at elevated heights, are required to have fall protection awareness training. Full story

If your company has a lockout/tagout program, it’s a safe bet you understand that there are federal and local regulations that you need to comply with. But compliance is a lot more complex than it may seem – in fact, there are five components of a compliant LOTO program, including corporate policy, machine-specific LOTO procedures, training, locks and devices, and annual audits. How can you be sure your LOTO program is compliant with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations? Full story

A machine operator defeats a guard and reaches his hand into a machine to reset a part in a nest, but misjudges the speed of the press. Does the pneumatic actuator driving the tooling cause a serious injury or were other steps taken to stop the actuator in time? As you can imagine, stopping and holding a pneumatic actuator in mid-stroke can be an important design feature. If you are unfamiliar with the methods, functional considerations, performance, or safety aspects of stopping and holding a linear pneumatic actuator in mid-stroke, this article can serve as a starting point for making the right decisions based upon realistic performance expectations. Full story

Employee safety is a term widely used across many companies, especially manufacturing facilities. When we take a deeper dive into what safety means to each employer, do they have appropriate policies, procedures, and most importantly a safety culture? The answer is more than likely "maybe"! Every employer strives to keep their employees safe, but the best policies and procedures can easily be forgotten or overlooked to get a job or project done to keep production running and material out the door. See how SMC can help increase your productivity by streamlining your LOTO procedure. Full story

Read how one bottling plant is projecting to save $65,000 a year in energy costs from upgrading to Keystone LED lights. Full story