Teerapong Cheepchol (Jack) is the new Managing Director of Werum IT Solutions Ltd., Thailand.

Acquires to expand condition-based monitoring range. - Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) has acquired Test Motors, a company specialising in predictive maintenance of electric motors and generators. Based in Barcelona, Test Motors offers products and services that detect faults in electric motors before they cause damage to production cycles and advises on how and when to repair them.

Aquisition to aid digitalisation and connectivity. - Westermo, has acquired 100% of Virtual Access Limited, an Irish-based technology company specialising in wireless industrial routers and gateways, and managed connectivity services for customers in the utility, traffic management and telecommunications sectors.

Top supplier announced! - Bechtel, one of the most respected global engineering, construction, and project management companies and the largest construction firm in the U.S. has announced ABB as a top supplier and subcontractor in its annual Supply Chain Awards.

Water testing laboratory efficiency. - sA new case study has been published by Autoscribe Informatics which shows how the Culligan Analytical Lab (IL USA) has made significant improvements in laboratory efficiency by using the Matrix Gemini LIMS.

High-efficiency power inductors. - Coilcraft's new AGM2222 Series power inductors offer current ratings up to 110 Amps and very low DCR in a package measuring just 22 X 22 X 23 mm, a 73% volume reduction from previous-generation products.

Standardizing Practices for Industrial Systems Patch Management - Overview Effective patch management is an important element of a comprehensive security program for industrial control systems (ICS). The complexity and criticality of this environment present specific challenges for asset owners. They need practical guidance that acknowledges and addresses these challenges. Such guidance is available from several sources, including the ISA-TR62443-2-3 technical report that was released in 2015. While useful, guidance alone may not be sufficient.

Trusted MES software provider. - SC electronic service GmbH has selected Aegis Software as their trusted software provider, providing the full suite of IIoT-driven MES software.

Europe demand for cybersecurity info surges! - The rising number of industrial cyberattacks throughout the world is prompting a surge in demand for ISA cybersecurity courses offered by ISA Europe.

Customer value leadership recognised. - Based on its recent analysis of the global manufacturing execution system (MES) market for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and cell & gene therapies, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Werum IT Solutions with the 2019 Global MES for Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, and Cell & Gene Therapies Customer Value Leadership Award. The award recognizes Werum’s PAS-X MES solution explicitly built for pharma, biotech and cell & gene therapy industries / PAS-X supports complex operations providing value for customers through increased productivity and adherence to regulatory requirements.

Filter tubes offer. - For a limited time, Ion Science is offering 50 free benzene pre-filter tubes instead of the normal ten when customers purchase a handheld Tiger Select volatile organic compound (VOC) detector. Order today to take advantage of this exclusive offer, quote SB-1119 when placing an order.

Temperature probe for air gas or liquid! - The EE074 from E+E Elektronik is suitable for accurate temperature measurement of air, gases and liquids. The robust stainless steel probe can be used for climate and process control in the food and pharmaceutical industries, in clean rooms or in agriculture.

Parameterizing and commissioning field devices. - Endress+Hauser is now offering its Field Xpert together with Softing's mobiLink interface as a practical bundle for parameterizing and commissioning field devices.

Setting up an instrument calibration plan - Failure to calibrate instrumentation can negatively affect performance, while calibrating too frequently can result in excessive costs without providing any benefits. The question is, how do you determine if calibration is needed? (InTech)

Magmeter upgraded - The smart plug-and-play Picomag electromagnetic flowmeter has been updated by Endress+Hauser. The Picomag update enables measurement of flow of electrically conductive fluids and the process temperature and conductivity. It enables easy commissioning with Bluetooth using the SmartBlue App and seamless integration with IO-Link technology.

Single automation platform for North America. - Harpak-ULMA has introduced its latest smart, connected packaging solution: the Trave® line, built by G. Mondini, which utilizes Rockwell Automation’s Integrated Architecture® (Allen-Bradley®) production control and information system.

Intelligent displacement sensor added. - With their BMP series Balluff has added a new intelligent displacement sensor which provides not only the absolute position signal for the stroke travel of a piston via IO-Link but also information about the sensor status and the current ambient conditions.

Heat Transfer Technique. - The German standard reference "Heat Transfer Technique with Organic Fluids" is now published as an international edition. The new, third edition - a project of the media brand PROCESS of Vogel Communications Group - is now available in English as Vogel-Reference-Book.

Data in the cloud! - Beijer Electronics' cloud solution with acirro+ provides a new opportunity to get insights to streamline a machine's operation and improve operations.

Approval for signal quality analyser. - Anritsu's Signal Quality Analyzer-R Series MP1900A has been approved by PCI-SIG®*1 as a compliance test measuring instrument for PCI Express 4.0® (PCIe Gen4). The MP1900A is already approved as an R&D test instrument supporting Gen3 compliance tests and is now approved for the Gen4 test standards.

When cameras exceed their limits. - Thanks to its flexible modular design principle, the new uEye ACP concept from IDS Imaging Development Systems enables individual, economical solutions to be created – even from single units.

Honours & Awards. - David O'Brien, Chair of the ISA Ireland Section Honours & Awards review committee invites members to nominate candidates for Section Awards 2019. Note that the deadline for nominations is 22nd November 2019.

Current Trends in Distributed Control Systems - ARC Advisory Group is currently following several ongoing trends in DCS. These range from highly mature ones, such as remote I/O enclosures to newly emerging trends such as the virtualization of control functionality. Different DCS suppliers will be at different stages in adopting these trends in their own product lines. However, looking over the entire market, Several key trends may be seen that build on each other.

Miniature integrated motor. - Applied Motion Products (AMP) has launched a Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled integrated miniature microstepping motor package that combines a closed-loop digital drive, feedback encoder and an Ethernet-supported motion controller as a single-cable positioning solution.

Keeping an eye on the rudder! - As part of the measurement components used on the TruSail system, Ixthus Instrumentation is supplying Euro-CMRK series angle sensors for the TruSail's rudder and boom position feedback as well as application expertise that helped the sailing specialists meet its stringent marine environment and performance specifications.

Non-contact technology simplifies torque monitoring and aids efficiency. - Monitoring torque in a drive shaft is one of the best ways of assessing the performance of plant and machinery. However because drive shafts rotate, hard wiring a sensor into place usually requires the use of a delicate slip ring. An alternative solution is to use a non-contact radio frequency detector to monitor 'Surface Acoustic Waves' (SAWs), as Mark Ingham of Sensor Technology Ltd explains.

Open communication standard in pharma recognised. - OPEN-SCS and Werum IT Solutions successfully staged the "OPEN-SCS plug fest" at Werum's headquarters in Lüneburg (D). The OPEN-SCS working group is partnered with the OPC Foundation to develop an open source standard covering the complete business transaction for the data exchange in pharma packaging serialization.

How safe is your business data? -

Managing dust risks at quarries! - Almost all quarrying operations have the potential to create dust. Control measures should therefore be established to prevent the generation of levels that cause harm. These measures should be identified in the health and safety document, and measurements should be taken to monitor exposure and demonstrate the effectiveness of controls. In this article, Josh Thomas (Ashtead Technology), discusses the risks associated with dust at quarries, and highlights the vital role of monitoring.

Chemical manufacturers applications discussed at Autumn events. - Seeq will have employees presenting use cases at several of the leading chemical events on both sides of the Atlantic this autumn.

Simplified motor integration for linear motion systems. - Thomson Industries has launched an upgraded RediMount option, a pre-engineered, modular adapter kit for seamlessly installing motors or gears in less than five minutes.

Industry leader recognition. - Delta has just been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) 2019 assessment as the industry leader within the Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components sector for the fourth time.

Powering the food chain... - Have you ever wondered how much work is hidden behind a glass of wine? Or how wheat is sown, harvested and transformed into a pasta dish? FPT Industrial and Eataly announce a three-year partnership to recount the food chain, from farm to table. The two companies have chosen an exceptional stage for this world premiere: Eataly Smeraldo in Milan, where, throughout the month of October, visitors can learn about the ingredients of this special story.

Connectivity in process. - gateways for multi-protocol process control and a mobile plug & play solution for configuration and maintenance of field devices at the SPS trade show (November 26 to 28, 2019 Hall 5, Booth 346).

Precision angle sensing. - Novotechnik has launched a variant of its RFC-4800 series with a CAN SAE J1939 interface that offers manufacturers and equipment designers of all types of commercial vehicles the vehicle network technology of choice for this well accepted industry standard. They are available in Britain through Variohm EuroSensor.

Ethernet switch for VME. - Abaco Systems has announced the GBX25 Level 3 Managed 6U VME NETernity Ethernet Switch. It provides unprecedented flexibility, delivering new levels of simplicity in configuring 6U VME network support and handling almost any network configuration while delivering industry-leading performance.

Strain gauge technology detects even the slightest deformation - Whether on your smartphone, at public machines or around the house - for many people, touch-based operation has become a firmly established part of everyday life. The Algra Group's strain gauge technology makes touch operation possible on more atypical surfaces such as metal, wood or even ceramics.

Enable Secure Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0 with Continuous OT/IoT Network Security Monitoring - Summary Cybersecurity concerns are impeding digital transformation and Industry 4.0 initiatives in industrial and critical infrastructure organizations. Managers recognize that even well-designed IoT devices can be compromised. They also understand that increased connectivity of IT, OT, cloud and third-party systems give attackers more access to critical systems, increasing the risks to safety, operational performance, and intellectual property. Security teams echo these concerns.

Buzzers! - Anglia has greatly enhanced its range of magnetic and piezo buzzer products following the signing of a distribution agreement with Cre-sound, a leading global manufacturer.

Fresh drive for solutions. - Complete drive solutions, including for the growing demand for collaborative robots and automated guided vehicles will be the theme of Kollmorgan at this years SPS in Nuremberg. The AKM2G-series servo motors are expanded for applications in the low-voltage sector. They will also show the second-generation functional safety technology in the AKD2G series servo inverters.

Optical analysis added. - Kistler Instruments has added optical analysis to its extensive range of combustion analysis solutions with the acquisition of SMETEC.

Rugged DC UPS. - Bicker Elektronik has introduced two new uninterruptible DC power supplies for use in extreme environmental conditions: the UPSI-1208IP-23UW with 12VDC output (8A) and UPSI-2406IP-24UW with 24VDC output (5.42A) for reliable protection against power failure, flicker and voltage fluctuations

Plug and play suite of kits and tools. - MeasureWare has been released by Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). This is a plug and play suite of hardware measurement kits and software studio tools to help fulfil the growing need for precision measurement across multiple industries including precision agriculture, machine health monitoring, electrochemistry and other areas requiring precise measurement.

Service centre opened! - Advantech has opened its new Japan Service Center located in Fukuoka Prefecture. With the completed acquisition of OMRON Nohgata shares in February 2019, now known as Advantech Technologies Japan (ATJ), and it has the largest campus in Advantech group.

Connecting, streaming and controling operational data. - ADLINK Technology has released its ADLINK Edge™ IoT solution which enables industry to gain maximum business value from rapidly deploying IoT technology. Following market leading R&D investment, extension of its partner ecosystem and successful global customer IoT deployments in 2019, ADLINK Edge™ has proved to be faster, easier and more cost effective to deploy than its rivals based on industry feedback.

Managing lab information in China. - Autoscribe Informatics has appointed Mediproview Technology as their distributor in China for the Matrix family of Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) products. Mediproview, based in Shanghai, provides one-stop information solutions, focused on the delivery of specialist software for laboratories.

Industrial Ethernet portfolio. - Drawing on a decades-long heritage of expertise in analogue, mixed-signal and digital semiconductor technology, Analog Devices (ADI) will launch an industry-first portfolio of Industrial Ethernet solutions at SPS 2019 to address communication challenges within Industry 4.0, Smart Factories, and the digital transformation.

Water-Wastewater student scholarship. - The ISA water/wastewater division (WWID) has announced the 2020 ISA WWID Student Scholarship Program. Students can apply by filling out the application form and attaching a 200-word essay on why they should win, a copy of their academic transcript and confirmation of enrollment.

The newly-appointed senior leadership team at AMETEK Surface Vision: (clockwise, from top left): Mike Hevey, Alan Tarry, Ben Wileman, Jason Zyglis.

Laptops for refugees. - Delta has announced that as part of its corporate social responsibility activities, it has donated 57 laptop computers to five refugee camps in Serbia. The donations have been made in cooperation with the Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese international humanitarian and non-governmental organisation.

Automation users from Europe, the Middle East & Africa to meet in Milan. - The biennial Emerson User Gourp Conference (EMREX) is scheduled for the Milano Convention Centre from March 18 to 20 next year, with current and potential users of Emerson automation technologies, products and services attending from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The theme for the event is 'Discover, Design, Deliver' and delegates will be able to learn how the latest automation technologies can help in digitally transforming operations and improving asset efficiency.

Inspection of drains. - Ashtead Technology has been appointed as the Preferred Rental Partner for the CCTV inspection equipment needs of Drain Doctor, Britain's largest drain clearance and emergency plumbing company. With over 57 locations across the territory, the deal will ensure that all Drain Doctor's plumbing and drainage engineers are provided with quick and easy access to the latest inspection tools including crawlers, push rods and ATEX systems, from leading brands such as MiniCam, iPEK, Pearpoint and Wohler.

Thermopile vacuum sensors. - Posifa Technologies has introduced the PVC3000 series of MEMS thermopile vacuum sensors. Built on the proven performance of the company's leading Pirani devices, the next-generation sensors deliver a wider effective range from 1 millitorr (0.13 Pa) to 1 atm (760 torr, or 101 kPa) to eliminate the need for additional sensing technology and to lower overall solution costs.