Secaucus, NJ, June 25, 2008 – In response to the increasing demand for full-function handheld PCs for the mobile field worker, Panasonic Computer Solutions Company, manufacturer of durable, reliable Panasonic Toughbook mobile computers, today announced the availability of the Panasonic Toughbook CF-U1, the first ultra mobile PC (UMPC) to integrate the new low power Intel Atom processor in a rugged handheld computer for use in the field.  With the introduction of the extremely portable Toughbook CF-U1, remote workers are able to connect to critical information and applications in real time, thus improving organizational efficiency, increasing information accuracy, and enabling field-based decision-making.  The CF-U1 reinvents handheld computing by integrating robust features previously only available on a full size Toughbook PC in a rugged UMPC form factor that can be used anywhere.

A new electric distribution Reliability Team has been formed by investor owned, municipal, and cooperative electric utilities in the upper Midwest as part of the Midwest ENERGY Association’s (MEA) ongoing efforts to help its members achieve operational excellence. This group will hold its second multi-day education program during MEA’s Electric Operations Conference (EOC) August 4-6, 2008 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

June 27, 2008—A new electric distribution Reliability Team has been formed by investor owned, municipal, and cooperative electric utilities in the upper Midwest as part of the Midwest ENERGY Association’s (MEA) ongoing efforts to help its members achieve operational excellence. This group will hold its second multi-day education program during MEA’s Electric Operations Conference (EOC) August 4-6, 2008 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Even if high uptake causes the cost of predictive maintenance systems to drop, the systems will still remain expensive and their usage, restricted to high-cost production machinery. Even though some vendors look to the technical capabilities, future adoption of the systems will primarily depend on the price.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Advances in Intelligent and Predictive Maintenance Systems, finds that predictive maintenance systems can be grouped together by experienced professionals, but numerous turnkey products are also available even though the cost remains a significant adoption factor in the industry.

Source: The Age

Poor maintenance by owners CSR led to a vat explosion that has caused the indefinite closure of a north Queensland sugar mill, the canegrowers peak body says.

Canegrowers Burdekin Limited district manager Jim Collins also warned Monday that the closure of the Pioneer Sugar Mill, south of Townsville, would have a “horror” effect on the local community.

CSR shut down the Burdekin mill after a 1,000 litre sugar vat ruptured and knocked over another last Friday.

Boiling sugar and mud spewed into an adjoining laboratory containing nine staff.

Three workers were treated for minor injuries and shock, and all 80 staff at the mill were evacuated.

CSR, the owner of four mills in the Burdekin region, including Pioneer, is hoping to re-open the mill before the end of the crushing season in November.

Mr Collins said equipment failures occurred “every day” on at least one of CSR’s four mills in the region.

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To help keep Texas competitive in the ever-increasing global market and address local labor shortages, the Texas Workforce Commission recently awarded Alvin Community College a $2.3 million Skills Development Fund grant to provide upgrade training for incumbent workers at several local chemical companies.

“Competition is so great, many companies don’t have the additional resources to put toward training that could help their employees perform more efficiently,” said Jim Kelly, ACC’s grant manager for the project. “Better trained employees will help them compete with foreign markets.”

Rothschild, WI – After a thorough review of the events surrounding the October 2007 lightning strike that damaged the Weston 3 power plant, a committee comprised of Wisconsin Public Service employees and members of two expert consulting groups has issued its findings.

The report indicates that one of the root causes of the damage was an intense lightning strike to an on-site transmission tower, not owned by Public Service, which was properly grounded but not bonded to the Weston plant grounding system. The resulting power surge through the ground impacted several pieces of equipment as well as the plant’s computerized control system, and led to millions of dollars in damage to the plant. 

Leak Detection of Carbon Monoxide is Critical for a Variety of Bulk Chemical Manufacturing Including High-grade Steelmaking

BOSTON, Massachusetts (June 17, 2008) – FLIR Systems, Inc., the global leader in infrared cameras, announced today the addition of the ThermaCAMÆ GasFindIR CO(TM) to its line of infrared cameras. The new GasFindIR detects carbon monoxide that is created during a variety of industrial processes. Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. It is a principle component of syngas that is often used for industrial power; it is used in industrial scale operations to purify Nickel and much more.  Carbon Monoxide is emitted as part of the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) process that is part of the high-grade steelmaking process.

CHARLESTON, SC,—June 17, 2008—The Life Cycle Institute, the learning source for optimizing asset reliability and performance, is now accepting registrations for its newest course: Leading People. This five-day course is designed for supervisors, managers and informal team leaders looking to increase their ability to produce results through people. Life Cycle Engineering’s change management experts will provide participants with a renewed confidence in their leadership abilities, empowering them to manage reliability improvement initiatives in support of world class operations. 

Bainbridge Island, WA, United States, May 29, 2008 — Bainbridge Island, WA – As consumers are pushing for more “green” energy and the alternative energy industry is attracting record numbers of investors, wind turbines are emerging all over the world. In the last several months, DLI Engineering’s condition monitoring systems have been installed in wind farms in the United States, Canada and Europe. As system faults are rapidly diagnosed at remote locations, they are transmitted to central monitoring centers around the globe, assuring maximum performance from the machine and ultimately higher profits for turbine operators.