For food and beverage plants, effective energy management is now a business necessity. Increased competitive pressures, tighter margins, and rising energy costs are forcing manufacturers to change their historical approach of treating energy usage as an unmanaged business expense. Electricity is the largest energy cost for most food and beverage plants, but it also offers great opportunities for saving and can deliver the fastest payback. When trying to reduce energy use and create an effective energy-management strategy, manufacturers and producers can take four key steps: monitor, analyze, control and sustain gains. Full story

Whether using temporarily when power is out or to have power in remote locations, portable generators can be a good source of electricity in many situations. Here are four hazards associated with portable generators and how you can stay safe. Full story

Aging equipment can cause a lot of downtime and reduced production. This flour mill was struggling to meet their production quota due to an outdated control system that kept breaking down and was getting harder and harder to fix—causing more downtime and higher repair costs. By partnering with automation professionals, this mill saw huge gains in safety, production, and future growth opportunity. Full story

Energy is a significant cost to your business, so more and more companies are looking towards ways to save money and increase efficiency. A typical pneumatic solenoid valve of bygone eras may have consumed 60 times more energy with a fraction of the lifespan of modern, efficient valves. Taking a look at advancements in valve technology provides insight into how this is possible, and how this can help you save energy and lower operating costs. Full story

Functional safety, the idea that safety can be beneficial to productivity, is a mindset that is difficult to change from traditional thinking. This is where safety experts come in. TÜV Rheinland Functional Safety Experts and Engineers have the training and knowledge to help you understand how functional safety can benefit your workplace. Full story

Static electricity that we experience in our daily lives is generally harmless, but did you know that static electricity in industrial settings can be dangerous and expensive? With these 10 steps you can neutralize static electricity to minimize costly repairs, downtime, and even injuries caused by the shock. Full story

With the increased demand on our industrial workforce, many facilities are expanding the “do more with less” approach when it comes to machine safety. This can lead to major OSHA violations, injuries in the workplace, and can effect your bottom-line. Following the five steps of the Machine Safety Lifecycle outlined below will help you mitigate risk associated with that task and document the process. Full story

No matter the size of your organization, number of facilities, or how established your safety program is, safety maturity should be assessed regularly to reduce cost, injuries, and even deaths. Here are the 5 key steps to improving your safety maturity to get the most out of your safety program. Full story

When Joseph and Mary Ann Huser took over as keepers of the historic Wind Point Lighthouse, built in 1880, energy consumption and maintenance costs were closely examined. Joseph understood the benefits of LED lighting and looked for a lighting solution that would work for this 108-feet tall structure. The challenge was finding lights that could illuminate the full width and height of the tower. Full story

The plant lighting at General Cable, Sedalia, was becoming outdated and costing more to maintain. They were experiencing more frequent maintenance orders and finding it a challenge to keep up with burnt out lamps while maintaining production equipment. Through SMC's LED Lighting Solution, General Cable was able to save on time, money, and energy. Full story

Temperature, humidity, light exposure, nearby contaminates, and proper preparation should be considered in the storage of any pneumatic components. Learn the most effective storage techniques for prolonging the life of your pneumatics. Full story

Using data analytics, the Rockwell Automation team found a solutions that would identify process improvements and get the most out of production. Learn how Kraft Heinz increased their production capacity, setting them up for long-term growth. Full story

As you change your clocks back and the days get shorter, poor lighting can affect the safety, security, and productivity of your company. Full story

Conveyors haven’t changed much since they were invented during the Industrial Revolution. They move items from one place to another and often run continuously, but how can they be made smart? Through new technologies and materials, conveyors are being made to improve efficiency and last longer. Full story

Harness strength and construction can affect how they hold up when put to the test which can make a big difference in the safety of your employees. Here are 5 tips to consider when choosing what harness equipment is right for your workers! Full story

As an Authorized Rockwell Distributor SMC offers a modernized approach to ensuring you are not only compliant with OSHA regulations, but that you have a comprehensive plan, state-of-the-art implementation and equipment as well as proper lockout/tagout technical training available to you! Full story

The precise identification of fluid line connectors is critical before selecting and installing the correct fittings. This thread ID & measurement guide, will cover some of the most common hydraulic fluid transfer, piping and instrumentation systems and how to measure them in the field. Here's how to measure threads in three easy steps. Full story

Stopping a pneumatic cylinder in emergency situations or during regular operations is essential to machine safety. Although there are many ways to solve this challenging application, stopping the flow of compressed air using an air circuit combined with a mechanical locking cylinder will be the most enhanced level of safety. Full story

RE/MAX’s LEED Certified world headquarters in Denver, CO, was selected as “Office Project of the Year." Building on that success, they upgraded the entire building to Cree ZR Series LED troffers featuring Cree SmartCast technology. The Cree LED intelligent lighting solution, available from SMC delivers a reduced heat load and overall energy savings, using daylight harvesting, and occupancy sensing. This upgrade resulted in more than 60% reductions in kilowatt-hours as well as total maintenance savings estimated at $77,410! Full story

Looking ahead to the next 20 years the Logix platform and other digital technologies offer even more trans-formative potential to entirely change how you design, manage and staff operations. With this in mind, here are three concrete and achievable examples of how operations will change in a smart factory within 20 years. Full story