Protecting our energy infrastructure from cyber attack - Almost every day, news headlines announce another security breach and the theft of credit card numbers and other personal information. While having one’s credit card stolen can be annoying and unsettling, a far more significant, yet less recognised, concern is the security of physical infrastructure, including energy systems.

Power product of year! - Yokogawa’s WT5000 Precision Power Analyzer* has won the prestigious “Power Product of the Year” trophy at the second annual Electronics Industry awards.

Pressure in hydrogen. - For some time the research and development team at sensor manufacturer Kaufbeurer Mikrosysteme Wiedemann (KMW) has been working on the measurement of pressure in hydrogen.

TE Connectivity (TE), has appointed Nadia Iannuzzi as vice president and general manager for its Systems subvertical in Italy.

Machine condition monitoring. - ADLINK Technology has announced an upgrade to its MCM machine condition monitoring solution, with the launch of the DataConnect Pro Remote Facility Information Dashboard, integrating sensor management, data acquisition, edge platform, and vibration analysis, via dashboard-based operability.

Complete system visibility. - Crowcon has developed an HMI solution that creates complete system visibility. The solution can run alongside existing DCS/SCADA/PLC systems or mimic panels which are used to monitor wider system views, often incorporating other sensors including security, flow, smoke and fire.

Enhanced stability testing. - A new stability analytics capability has been introduced for the Matrix Gemini LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) from Autoscribe Informatics. A fully integrated charting module provides early indications of shelf-life performance for each product or batch of product under test.

Pressure measurement for safety critical applications. - The SMO3100 series pressure sensors are now available with SIL 2/ PLd functional safety from Variohm EuroSensor. Aimed at safety-critical pressure measurement tasks for gas and liquids compatible with stainless steel or titanium wetted parts, the new SMO3100 PLd will allow user's the ability to meet SIL2 functional safety levels on machines and systems.

Improved chilling! - Cooling technology for machines and enclosures has significantly improved with Rittal's new "Blue e" chillers in the 11 to 25 kW output class range. Using 40 percent less refrigerant, the devices are making an important contribution to sustainable environmental protection. At the same time, users are benefiting from precise temperature control, simplified operation and installation, as well as from new safety functions.

Low differential pressure. - E+E Elektronik has a new sensor for low differential pressure up to ±100 Pa with an accuracy of ±0.5 Pa. Due to selectable measuring ranges and versatile configuration options, the EE610 is suitable for a variety of applications in air as well as in non-flammable and non-aggressive gases.

Dealing with a bett noir! - An innovative torque sensor is helping to reduce engine emissions and improve economy as part of a project to develop an intelligent lubrication system. With engine efficiency under the spotlight like never before, automotive companies are exploring all avenues for improving performance. And because engines have a rotating power output, torque is the key measurement.

Cybersecurity Across Sectors: More Unites Us Than Separates Us - The effort and expense required to establish and operate an effective industrial cybersecurity management system can be difficult or impossible to justify in the conventional sense. Responding to growing and evolving cybersecurity risks is not an option, but an imperative. Addressing this imperative requires that asset owners and other stakeholders look beyond their own sector or industry for guidance and direction, drawing on as broad a range of experience as possible.

Compulsory robotics education. - Robotics education should be made part of the school curriculum, according to a fifth of British adults polled to mark the official start of UK Robotics Week (20th – 27th June 2019). 20% of a representative sample of adults want compulsory lessons to be given in the nation’s schools so that children can fully engage with learning about robotics technology.

Getting Industrie 4.0 to pay - The eBook "Finding the ROI in Industrie 4.0 Projects" is based on discussions from The Road Less Travelled Workshop at Industry of Things World in Berlin (D) last September (2018). It will help get insights on the many places where value can be found and other ways to add real value to a Smart Manufacturing project.

Irish automation body reports progress. - The Ireland Section of the International Society of Automation held its AGM recently in Cork. The Section Secretary Billy Walsh report on the highlights of a very busy year during which eleven committee meetings were held.

Life sciences technology leader acquired. - Zenith Technologies, the life sciences manufacturing technology services company headquartered in Cork (IRL) is to be acquired by Cognizant. Their more than 800 people will become part of Cognizant’s Life Sciences business unit.

Innovations facilitate pharma & biotech production processes. - Many innovations are been added to Werum's PAS-X Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for the pharma and biotech industries which provides advanced user options and better performance. This includes, for example, biometric alternatives to the usual authentication process, an integrated solution for detailed scheduling and optimized operation on mobile terminals.

Frightening levels of pollution on morning trip to school! - Supporting the aims of Clean Air Day (20th June 2019), the British news organ, The Guardian, has published a short film demonstrating the changing levels of pollution that children are exposed to as they walk to school in London. The latest monitoring technology from Air Monitors was mounted on a pram and a child, and live air quality data was synced with a video of the walk to school. This produced an informative video.

Innovative recordng of live power requirements and thermal conditions. - PULS Power believes that system availability, cost efficiency and scheduled maintenance are the key criteria for most industrial and building automation system (BAS) designers and installers. During the system design process PULS works closely with its customers to provide detailed advice on selecting the optimum power supply for their specific applications.

Troubleshooting power in your pocket. - The professional-grade Fluke PTi120 Pocket Thermal Imager offers quick temperature scans of electrical panels and equipment, pumps and motors building systems, HVAC and process control equipment for hot spots and cold spots that can indicate early signs of trouble. The 3.5inch touchscreen features IR-Fusion™ technology to blend a visible image with an infrared image to more easily locate problems.

Improving odour treatment plant efficiency. - With environmental legislation in relation to odour management becoming increasingly more stringent, Italy-based Technologia & Ambiente (T&A) has purchased a Falco fixed, continuous photoionisation detector (PID) from Ion Science Italia – leading manufacturer of gas detection instrumentation for environmental and occupational health monitoring applications – as a key component of its newly developed Online System for Monitoring Odours Treatment Efficiency (OSMOTREFF).

New premises for semiconductor-based technology solutions leader. - Analog Devices has opened the doors of its new British headquarters office in Hayes, London, a location which will strengthen its ability to connect customers with the best engineering talent at home and abroad.

A Framework for Digital Transformation - A successful digital transformation program steps an organization through a process that transforms its current state to a desired future state. For production operations, this often involves moving from a local, siloed procedural operating model to a more comprehensive model that is integrated to the enterprise, responsive to customers and market changes, and optimized in the context of overall business performance. In practice, this often means thinking about production operations in a new way.

Best in Europe. - Anglia has been named “Best Distributor in Northern Europe” for 2018 by Omron Electronic Components at a recent distribution conference in Barcelona.

Process instrumentation market to grow in North America. - The Measurement, Control & Automation Association (MCAA) has published its Annual Market Forecast. The report, prepared by the analysts at Global Automation Research, focuses on the Process Instrumentation and Automation (PI&A) markets in both the United States and Canada. Twelve industry segments and 12 product categories are examined in-depth, with a forecast timeline extending to the year 2023.

Addressing emerging high-frequency applications. - A 43.5 GHz frequency option for its 2- and 4-port ShockLine™ MS46122B, MS46322B, MS46522B, and MS46524B vector network analyzers (VNAs) with guaranteed specifications using Anritsu’s Extended-KTM type connectors and components has been introduced by Anritsu. The ShockLine family becomes the first VNA to support specified 43.5 GHz functionality in a K-connector environment, creating distinct cost-of-test and time-to-market advantages in high-frequency applications, including 5G, satellite, and signal integrity.

Single pair Ethernet. - Harting has recognised the requirements of the factory of the future, driven the development of Ethernet connectivity for tomorrow's networks and presented intelligent connectivity with solution packages for the Cloud, Edge and IIoT

Safety switch with solinoid. - The IDEC Corporation has released its new HS1T interlock switch with solenoid. This interlock switch delivers an industry-leading 5,000N of locking force, with many features included to maximize protection in machine and equipment guarding applications.

Industrial Process Operation 4.0 - Digitalization, Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality are some examples of rapidly developing areas of technology that will have a big impact on how industrial processes will operate in the future. Normal operations that are already highly automated will be even more automated in the future. Tasks like fault detection, diagnosis, and process optimization are becoming more complex. ABB's Dr Martin Hollender discusses.

Amazing Spaces, Smart Places. -

Elbow leaks! - Ashtead Technology has added the Olympus FlexoFORM™ pipe elbow scanner to its rental fleet of Non Destructive Testing equipment.

Collaboration announced in technical education. - Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and ESB (Electricity Supply Board-Ireland) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework of strategic collaboration that will include three key areas - Research and Development, Talent Promotion and Diversity and Inclusion.

Fundamental Concepts for Industrial Cybersecurity. - For nearly two decades, there has been considerable emphasis placed on the need to protect the integrity of the various elements of the critical infrastructure. In response to this imperative, industrial cybersecurity has become a well-defined discipline, complementing the more mature discipline of information security. While many of the practices employed in this newer discipline are like those used for information protection, others have evolved to address the specific characteristics and constraints of the industrial systems environment. Eric Cosman analyses the discipline as it stands today.

The Next Industrial Automation Software Disruptor? - Back in the 1980s Microsoft caused dramatic disruption in the industrial automation industry, revolutionizing the HMIs, historians and production middleware first leveraged by Wonderware, due to Windows software. Turn the clock forward to today, and Bill Lydon believe Amazon Web Services (AWS) is on a similar disruptive course.

Metal hoods and housings for connections. - The metal hoods and housings of the Han® B, EMC and M series from Harting, now offer rear mounting options for contact inserts, a solution which greatly simplifies the preassembly of interfaces for control cabinets.

Large screen HMI. - The HG5G-V 15” human-machine interface (HMI) touchscreen from IDEC is the largest model in the High-Performance family. This HMI offers more display real estate so applications can readily show extensive process information with improved aesthetics and visibility.

Robust connectors stocked! - RS Components (RS) has introduced a highly robust series of connectors for industrial applications. Manufactured by Hirose Electric, a global leader in high-quality connectors, the ix Industrial™ series meets all the requirements for space-constrained applications and can support I/O signal transmission speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second.

Storm chaser Brad Guay joins the OTT sales team.

Empty cable reels. - Cliff Electronics is now offering its rugged cable reel empty to allow customers to create their own bespoke cable assemblies.

ATEX telemetry for strain gauge. - Reduce the dangers in hazardous areas by using the new Applied Measurements X24 wireless ATEX & IECEx approved instrumentation to collect measurements from your load cell, pressure sensor or any other strain gauge-based transducer

Oscilloscopes market redefined. - Two new oscilloscopes have been added by Tektronix, to its product line up with the launch of the 3 Series MDO and the 4 Series MSO. Engineered for a wide range of demanding applications at an affordable price, Tektronix' new mind-range oscilloscopes have been reimagined with the award-winning user experience and industrial design first introduced in the 5 and 6 Series MSOs.

Advanced NOx analysis. - Signal Group has announced the latest additions to its advanced Series IV gas analysers. The QUASAR instruments employ chemiluminescence detection for the continuous measurement of NOx, Nitric Oxide, Nitrogen Dioxide or Ammonia in applications such as engine emissions, combustion studies, process monitoring, CEMS and gas production.

Hall effect rotary sensor. - The Euro-CMRK series has been launched recently as part of Variohm EuroSensor's new Euro-CMRx range of miniature Hall Effect programmable angle sensors. It comprises a two-part 'puck' and separate magnet design that is suited to position feedback tasks where especially compact dimensions and extreme durability are essential.

Keith Warren has been appointed Product Manager for process oxygen Paramagnetic and Zirconia products with Servomex.

Service partnership. - Werum IT Solutions further extends its range of services: prime4services has been successfully certified as "PAS-X Endorsed Service Partner" for Europe.

Identifying connections. - TE Connectivity (TE) has updated its K-Type markers, used to identify wire bundles, cables, pipes and conduits. The oval shaped profile has been designed to allow each pre-printed marker to be accurately positioned onto a carrier strip. The marker and carrier strip assembly are attached to the substrate using cable ties.

Programmable DC PSUs. - Powerstax can now supply the upgraded range of Magna-Power SL Series 1U programmable DC power supplies.

Stability management in Pharma. - Pharmaceutical company Hemofarm in Serbia, has started a project with the Matrix Gemini Stability Management System from Autoscribe Informatics.