N. American Leader in Wallboard and Joint Compound Materials Expands Outside Sources for Gypsum

Objective:       A large gypsum wallboard plant’s only resource for gypsum was a nearby power plant, creating a significant cost risk and bottleneck.  They needed a way to bring in more gypsum from outside sources by railcars to expand their volume.  The project included building and delivering an E-house with PLC Panels, Distribution Transformers…

Major Aluminum Sheet and Plate Producer Developing New Micro Mill Technology to Scale Production of Aluminum Sheets

Objective: This aluminum sheet producer developed new mill technology to scale up the production of aluminum sheets so that it could be deployed to multiple user sites. This technology would result in reduced transportation costs, decreased supply chain delays and optimize energy costs. They were looking for a lean, flexible, responsive engineering team for construction,…

The Buyer’s Brain: A Peek Inside

Editor’s Note: Hinge Marketing is a research-based marketing firm focused entirely on the realm of professional services. Since 2009, they have been conducting research involving the buyers and sellers of professional services, with the latest round reaching more than 1,400 buyers of professional services. The last version of their e-book “Inside the Buyer’s Brain” provides…

Cyber Security: An Update

If you read trade journals, any trade journals, you’ve seen articles and reports about network security. It is the most common subject observed across multiple industries. From “Chemical Engineering” to “Plant Services”, everyone it seems is talking about network security, its dangers, and ways to combat it. Even a local law firm has done a series of…

Combatting the Tight Labor Market

Previous blog posts, as well as LinkedIn posts, have addressed different aspects of the current labor shortage being experienced in many industries, manufacturing included. We’ve addressed hiring millennials and workforce retention as two working strategies. Another approach is to develop your own work force through apprenticeships and similar programs.  Apprenticeships Apprenticeships have been with us since the latter half…

CSIA: Building Better Integrators

We have been strong supporters of CSIA’s (Control System Integrators Association) certification program since even before we received our first certification in 2002. In a January 2018 post, we wrote about the process and the benefits we believe result from CSIA certification. But certification is only one way that CSIA is working to make control system…

Employee Retention: It Matters

by Molly Smith, Recruiter Nothing is more satisfying than hiring and retaining the best-of-the-best employees. The simple fact is, it has become more critical than ever to maintain your dream team, and companies are falling behind due to the loss of superstar talent. Worker willingness to change jobs is at a 17-year high (see “Help…

SCADA Basics: An Update

In 2015, we did a blog post entitled “SCADA and Telemetry Basics–SCADA System Basics”. Three years later, this is still one of our most read posts. With that kind of persevering interest in the subject, we thought it appropriate to do some updating on SCADA basics. Security Without a doubt, control system network security has…