News

In October 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published new regulations on the design, construction and operation of onshore gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines throughout the U.S., commonly referred to as the PHMSA “Mega-Rule”.

Being a long-term provider for pipeline management solutions, KROHNE actively supports their customers to match all PHMSA requirements for pipeline safety and integrity management. Therefore, the pipeline projects team located in Houston, TX, has been significantly expanded within the first half of 2020, and trained to support pipeline operators to manage the additional workload.

With the extended workforce, KROHNE is able to support more customers with integrated pipeline management services under the well-known PipePatrol brand that has been in the market for over 20 years. Being extended and updated continuously, PipePatrol is a comprehensive suite of software modules for long or short distance single and multiproduct pipelines for oil, gas, water, chemical or refined products, and offers monitoring and protection of pipelines in all operating conditions.

For example, it can include a stress monitoring module for evaluation and documentation of lifetime stress and remaining pipeline service life, and a predictive modeling module that forecasts pipeline operation and identifies possible threats such as shortage in supply or pressure violations. It can be used to find corrective measures as well as for planning of optimised operation in the future. In addition, the pump monitoring module enables predictive maintenance and higher system availability by monitoring essential mechanical, electrical, and hydrodynamic measurement values.

PPM Test has increased the warranty on its Sentinel 3 system to reflect the product’s successful implementation into the test and measurement market. As one of the most advanced RF over fibre test and measurement systems, the company has shown its faith in the product and its quality by increasing the warranty.

Sentinel 3 offers dynamic range of >150 dB/Hz, ultra-high sensitivity to -120 dBm and has full thermal compensation and automatic gain control. As a market leading system, it is used in the defence industry for companies like QinetiQ and test laboratories like RINA Consulting, among others.

It provides faster setup and testing times, as well as improved sensitivity and RF performance and also has Li-Ion batteries that are UN38.3 certified for air transportation.

The system’s warranty has been increased from the standard one year to two years, and further warranty can be purchased. PPM Test’s Director of Sales, Richard Jacklin, said: “Sentinel 3 has proven itself to be a leading product in the test and measurement market. The warranty increase is a reflection of our happiness with the success it has had thus far and we’re delighted to provide our customers with the peace of mind that their investment is protected for longer.”

The extended warranty applies to products shipped from 17 July 2020.

A Midlands supplier of commercial vehicle engineering and industrial hardware is re-shoring component production from China with the help of experts from the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre.

Bloxwich-based Albert Jagger Engineering, which has been producing metal components for more than 70 years, has already re-shored production of almost a quarter of a million fastening components and in the process has, in some cases, reduced costs by up to 50 per cent.

An SME team from the MTC’s Manufacturing Support Services operation worked with Albert Jagger to revolutionise their factory. The team of 11 MTC engineers produced a new factory layout, introduced new technology including CNC machines and automation, and re-trained staff using virtual and augmented reality.

As a result, the firm was able to  produce fastening components which had previously been imported from China for between 20 and 50 per cent of the cost. In addition they have slashed stockholding costs by 50 per cent and created space in the factory for future growth.

Magnus McFarlane, lead advisor with the MTC’s transformation team, said, “The management team at Albert Jagger have delivered an amazing transformation – visually, culturally and technologically. Their strategy of re-shoring production is one that a number of UK businesses may be considering, and at Albert Jagger they have created an agile facility and a resilient supply chain.”

Albert Jagger’s chief executive Garth Cooper said, “Our work with the MTC has been truly transformational. We’ve invested in our factory and in new technologies, we have taken on staff and improved the skills of our existing employees. We are already seeing the benefits of our strategy to re-shore and recently secured 200,000 units of product originally outsourced to China.”

Albert Jagger supplies products to a range of automotive companies including commercial vehicle manufacturers, agriculture, construction, rail, medical, aerospace and emergency services.

The MTC Manufacturing Support Services team has worked with more than 500 SMEs, and at any one time has more than 150 live projects.

The MTC was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC’s industrial members include some of the UK’s major global manufacturers.

The MTC aims to provide a competitive environment to bridge the gap between university-based research and the development of innovative manufacturing solutions, in line with the Government’s manufacturing strategy. The MTC is part the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK.

AVEVA is to acquire OSIsoft for $5.0 billion. AVEVA and OSIsoft will combine their complementary product offerings, bringing together industrial software and data management to help customers in industrial and essential organisations accelerate their digital transformational strategies as efficiency, flexibility, sustainability and resilience become increasingly urgent requirements for customers.

OSIsoft’s data management software will complement AVEVA’s comprehensive end-to-end engineering, operations, and performance offerings. Integrating OSIsoft’s PI System into AVEVA’s comprehensive software portfolio will create an integrated data foundation that can drive big data, Cloud and AI-driven insights to create meaningful business outcomes for customers. This combination enables AVEVA to grow and diversify the industries it serves as well as continue to expand its footprint in existing and new markets and geographies.

Together, AVEVA and OSIsoft can provide full-stack solutions that span edge, plant, and enterprise deployment models, strengthening AVEVA’s position as a global leader in industrial software. With a combined 93 years of operating expertise and experience, they share a history of meeting the rapidly changing and evolving needs of their industrial customers, built on foundations of customer centricity and world-class talent. In addition to sharing a complementary solutions portfolio, this transaction further validates AVEVA’s leading position in digitisation and IIoT.

OSIsoft’s PI System enables customers to collect, normalize, store, and stream real-time, high-fidelity operational data to applications, analytics, and AI and ML platforms. PI System acts as a single system of record for operations data, designed for massive cloud-enabled scale and data sharing across enterprises, and enables insightful operations decision making. OSIsoft works with over 1,000 of the world’s leading power and utilities companies, 38 of the Global Fortune Top 40 oil and gas companies, all of the Global Fortune Top 10 metals and mining companies, 37 out of 50 of the world’s largest chemical and petrochemical companies and 9 out of 10 of the Global Fortune Top 10 pharmaceutical companies.

The complementary product offerings of AVEVA and OSIsoft will allow the combined company to continue to generate significant value for its stakeholders by creating new opportunities for innovation using new and emerging technologies. The two product suites are open and interoperable, and many customers leverage both solution sets today. As a combined entity, AVEVA and OSIsoft can further deliver on their sustainability goals, driving significant benefits and value for their customers. With broader, deeper scale and scope to lead the digital transformation of the industrial sector, the combined company will drive greater efficiencies and sustainability for many diverse essential industries, including consumer packaged goods (CPG), pharmaceutical, water and wastewater, and utilities, creating strengthened product offerings.

Commenting on the agreement, Craig Hayman, CEO of AVEVA, said: “Combining AVEVA and OSIsoft is yet another significant milestone in our journey to achieving the ambitious growth goals that we have set. This will not only help us serve existing customers better but also open the flood gates to new opportunities which will accelerate the delivery of our digitization vision. Data has been enabling organizations to more effectively determine the cause of problems by allowing them to visualize what is happening in different locations, departments and systems.  This agreement will enable our customers to improve business processes as well as eliminate inefficiencies. We are extremely proud to be moving into the next chapter with an even stronger solutions portfolio as well as an ever-increasing and robust customer base which continues to make us leaders in our sector.”

OSIsoft founder and CEO Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy added: “Joining forces with AVEVA enhances and extends our ability to deliver on our key commitments to our customers, partners and employees. Together we will be better able to service the largest digital transformation projects in history, including across industry 4.0+ and IIoT. AVEVA’s interest in OSIsoft is a testament to our talented team, and the extraordinary value of the PI System as the real-time streaming data infrastructure that powers the industrial world. Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thoughtful search for a respected organization that would mesh with our own strong mission- and customer-driven culture. The next chapter in PI’s fifth decade will be exciting for our employees and customers, and I look forward to my continued involvement in my new role as the largest individual shareholder in the combined company and as Chairman Emeritus to ensure we realize the full benefits of this transaction.”

‘Range anxiety’ is a term coined to describe the worry of getting ‘stranded due to power loss’ when driving an electric vehicle (EV). The low power range of EVs is infamous and a reason the market has been slow to pick up speed. But, with the UK Government vowing to reduce emissions in cities, how can battery storage make EVs feasible for public transport? Here, Alan Binning, Regional Sales Manager at COPA-DATA UK, explains.

Achieving zero-emission public transport is a vital element of a smart city, and there are several initiatives in place to encourage these efforts. The All Electric Bus Town scheme, published in February 2020 by the UK Government, includes a host of funding opportunities for local authorities, including an investment of up to £50 million to deliver Britain’s first all-electric bus town or city.

Unfortunately, electric buses are notoriously power hungry. In fact, most have a range lower than that of electric cars, averaging just 120 miles per charge compared to 680 miles for diesel buses.. Now, that’s what we call ‘range anxiety’. With most buses travelling upwards of 150 miles a day, maintaining power is not possible without numerous charging interludes or increased battery-based storage.

Upgrading supply and storage

Bus depots have traditionally managed with low power requirements, meaning high power infrastructure has never been built. To change this, installing a small-scale substation to increase power supply for a bus depot is a possible option. However, this physical solution can be complex and costly.

Many city centres do not have spare real estate to house a new substation and those that do will price this land at a premium. That’s not to mention the logistical nightmare of planning permission, laying cables and building new infrastructure in a bustling city. Out of town alternatives, like park and ride spaces, are an alternative. But again, they have very limited infrastructure

Another option is installing a fixed battery storage system to deal with peak demands of energy beyond what the site supply is able to handle. This would allow the depot access to energy whenever it is needed, allowing fleet managers to effectively manage and charge electric bus fleets.

Data for decisions

For electric or hybrid bus fleets, the role of a fleet manager expands beyond timetable scheduling and vehicle maintenance. Overseeing an electric bus fleet requires a closer analysis of the energy balance on site — monitoring vehicle emissions, battery charge and identifying opportunities to improve operations.

zenon Energy Edition from COPA-DATA is a platform to visualize, evaluate and report on real-time energy data. As an independent software platform, zenon can be integrated with multiple assets connecting charging points, battery storage and the wider energy grid.

In an electric bus depot setting, zenon can be used to monitor the status of charging points in the depot and the energy levels of batteries. The system can also integrate traditional enterprise files, such as the bus timetable, employee rota and maintenance schedule.

This data can then be relayed to the fleet operator using a bespoke interface to allow them to make better decisions. For instance, zenon can be integrated with energy trading networks via the zenon Service Grid. Access to this data could allow operators to strategically charge batteries when energy prices are most favourable and — should contracts allow — sell energy back to the grid when prices are high.

Software for zero-emissions

Electric buses using battery storage are just one example of how to use zenon for smart cities. However, with the Government setting ambitions for all UK buses to be fully electric by 2025, fleet managers must prioritise their transition to EV fleets over other smart city initiatives.

According to the Government, a town with 200 electric buses can save around 7,400 tonnes of CO2 in a year — that is the equivalent of taking 3,700 diesel cars off the road. ‘Range anxiety’ may still be EVs biggest turn off, but with technology to better manage the charge and energy demand of electric buses, All Electric-Bus Towns suddenly sound much more feasible.

Electronics manufacturing has experienced extraordinary change. Responding to the shifting needs of the sector, TM Robotics has launched a new robotics consultation service to advise manufacturers on how automation can aid recovery and growth. Held with a TM Robotics automation specialist, the free consultations can be managed remotely or by appointment. To book a consultation, visit the TM Robotics website.

Manufacturers in the electronics and electrical sector have long used robots to improve their processes. In fact, there were approximately 100,000 installations for this industry in 2018, alone. However, the needs of electronics manufacturing are changing.

Without a doubt, the electronics industry is among the industries hardest hit by COVID-19. The pandemic has altered fundamental drivers like customer behaviour, business revenues and access to suppliers. Experts are now investigating ways in which the sector, particularly the semiconductor industry, can emerge stronger after the pandemic. Their focusses include devices that enable servers, connectivity and cloud storage as demand grows for online tools.

Assessing the state of manufacturing, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has suggested that manufacturers adopting and investing in robots will be key for achieving growth against the ongoing challenges of COVID-19. To steer towards recovery, manufacturers may be looking to increase their operational efficiency and reduce overheads with automation — but do so without excessive risk.

To support electronics manufacturers through their investments, TM Robotics’ new service will provide free consultations to help them determine the best approach for their recovery.

“Manufacturers in the electronics industry are experiencing unique challenges,” explained Nigel Smith, president and CEO at TM Robotics. “Some are frantically searching for ways to diversify, while others have dramatically increased or decreased output and have been forced to rethink their production methods. Naturally, different challenges require different approaches.

“TM Robotics’ global distributor network spans six continents and, within it, boasts unrivalled expertise in industrial robot installation. The launch of the robotics consultation service will provide manufacturers in the electronics sector with practical advice on which automation tools can prove most effective for them, based on an assessment of their unique situation.”

Consultations will be held virtually using a video conferencing service and will be hosted by one of TM Robotics’ robotic automation experts. Alternatively, consultations can be arranged by appointment.

Quantum Design UK and Ireland (QDUKI), authorised channel sales partner of Lake Shore Cryotronics, announces the acquisition of Janis Research’s Laboratory Cryogenics business by Lake Shore — a move that unites two of the world’s leading providers of cryogenic and material characterisation solutions for low-temperature research.

The acquisition enables QDUKI  to offer Janis Research liquid nitrogen (LN₂), liquid helium (LHe), and closed-cycle refrigerator (cryogen-free) cryostats, LHe and cryogen-free superconducting magnet systems, cryogenic and cryogen-free probe stations, and various lab cooling systems.

“This is a great brand to bring under the Quantum Design UK and Ireland product portfolio,” said David Want, Managing Director, QDUKI.  “The Janis range compliments our Cryogenics offering and the markets we serve very well.”

Founded in 1961, Janis Research began as a manufacturer of LHe transfer lines and soon expanded its product offering to include cryogenic research equipment, ranging from simple LHe storage Dewars to sophisticated superconducting magnet and low-temperature systems.

Scott Azer, Janis Research’s VP of Business Development, said, “We see many synergistic product opportunities ahead, combining Lake Shore’s expertise in instrumentation, applications, and system engineering with Janis’ strength in cryogenic system design and fabrication. We look forward to serving the scientific community even more effectively than before.”

NAPIT have postponed all 2020 NAPIT EXPO Roadshow dates due to restrictions with the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision has been made to protect the safety of our members, visitors and staff at these uncertain times.

All planned 2020 dates have been rearranged to 2021 with some extra locations added and dates to be confirmed. There will also be a new and updated seminar schedule announced soon.

See below the new dates:

• DARTFORD 9th Feb 2021
• NORWICH 10th Feb 2021
• PRESTON 17th March 2021
• NEWCASTLE 18th March 2021
• Replacing Havering: BARKING – April TBC 2021
• BRIGHTON – April TBC 2021
• BIRMINGHAM 26th May 2021
• HULL 27th May 2021
• NEW: CORNWALL – Sep TBC 2021
• NEW: EXETER – Sep TBC 2021
• SWANSEA 5th Oct 2021
• BRACKNELL 6th Oct 2021
• MILTON KEYNES 24th Nov 2021
• CHESTERFIELD 25th Nov 2021

If you’re interested in attending, register for free here: http://www.napitexpo.co.uk/events/

If have any queries, please contact our Customer Services team on 0345 543 0330 or email tradeshow@napit.org.uk

As part of its increasing investment in digital technologies, WEG has acquired control of a new artificial intelligence (AI) business. Mvisia is a Brazil-based machine vision start-up that specialises in applying AI tools in industry. WEG’s acquisition of the start-up is part of the company’s strategy to grow its digital offering and meet Industry 4.0 demands.

With the new agreement, WEG owns a 51 per cent share of the capital of Mvisia, with the potential to increase its participation in the future. The acquisition is part of WEG’s continuous strategy to add new features to its digital products and services. This includes WEG Digital Solutions and the recent Internet of Things (IoT) WEGnology platform.

While it is a start-up, Mvisia is already established one of Brazil’s leading companies in the realm of computer vision. The start-up has developed its own vision systems and software and bolsters strong expertise in embedding machine learning algorithms with manufacturing execution systems (MES).

Acquisition of Mvisia allows WEG to integrate this new technology into the existing WEGnology® platform. WEGnology is a powerful tool for for advanced data collection and visualisation. Designed for industrialapplications, WEGnology allows plant managers to gain a better understanding of the large amount of data coming from modern factory floors — this includes data from machine sensors, motors, actuators, and drives.

For WEG, an established and global manufacturer of these types of industrial equipment, Mvisia provides a mature and scalable technology solution to add to the existing WEG portfolio.

“With this acquisition, we can include a technology for capturing, filtering, processing and storing data through images in our existing products,” explained Carlos José Bastos Grillo, digital business director at WEG. “The system will be capable of sending accurate and real-time information to the cloud, enabling control of aspects such as productivity, security, number of defects and dimensions.

“The technology can generate automatic insights into quantitative and qualitative attributes of products, as well as training the neural networks of the algorithms with the behaviour of specific processes through the use of static or moving images.”

WEG’s investment in Mvisia is the third acquisition since the company accounted its new digital strategy in June 2019. Along with its other investments, the acquisition of Mvisia will accelerate WEG’s development of industrial technologies for Industry 4.0.

RS Components (RS) has announced the promotion of Pete Malpas from President of Northern Europe to the role of President EMEA, reporting to Mike England, COO of Electrocomponents.

Pete will be responsible for accelerating performance across EMEA. He will lead the commercial operation and business transformation of the region, driving a more aligned and consistent go-to-market approach and value proposition. He will work closely with the Presidents of Asia Pacific and the Americas, sharing best practice and bringing consistency in the ways of working across the global business. Pete will continue to lead Northern Europe until his successor has been appointed.

Mike England said: “Under Pete’s leadership, I’m confident that we will continue to drive a high-performance culture whilst accelerating our EMEA growth and market share through the execution of a digitally powered and integrated go-to-market strategy. Our primary focus is to simplify our business, accelerate performance, deliver digital transformation, build scale and operate for less to become first choice for our customers, suppliers, people, communities and shareholders.”

Pete joined RS in 2016 and has been instrumental in leading and transforming the approach to selling effectiveness and implementing the value-added solutions programme across Northern Europe. Prior to RS, Pete spent nine years at Brammer (now Rubix) in a variety of senior leadership roles. Previously, he spent seven years at IMO Precision Controls as General Manager, leading the international expansion programme. Before IMO, Pete spent nine years at Festo, the leading world-wide manufacturer and supplier of automation technologies, where he led the UK sales and marketing organisation and was an integral part of the senior commercial European team centred in Germany. Pete is a qualified engineer.