Most Recent

• How much is unplanned maintenance costing you?

  By Seán Ottewell for Chemical Processing

  Plants increasingly are turning to machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize precise patterns in sensor data. The technologies ease differentiating between normal and abnormal equipment behavior and also detecting specific patterns that lead up to failures — and, so,…

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• Smart strategies for safety system retrofits

  By Todd Mason-Darnell for Smart Industry

  Making the commitment to retrofit an existing manufacturing facility’s safety system is a crucial first step. It’s also one of the most difficult. When a facility has been around for multiple decades and “has been running just fine,” the decision to set aside time and money for a major…

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• Smart building materials: Better, stronger, and greener

  By Richard van Hooijdonk for Smart Industry

  Factories of the future will be built using smart materials that will be more efficient, stronger and greener. And scientists are already inventing new types of concrete, wood, and reflective materials that will enable businesses to both improve their facilities and profit by supplying components…

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• 7 steps to STO success

  By Dirk Willard for Chemical Processing

  I’ve survived numerous stressful outages. So, let me share seven valuable tips.First, line up extra craftspeople that you can bring in if necessary. By this, I mean have boilermakers available from companies other than the one hired to do the turnaround, and arrange for additional scaffolders,…

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• How to deal with combustible dust

  By David Steil, Matt Caulfield and Brian Richardson for Chemical Processing

  Controlling toxic and combustible dust is a common yet serious challenge in chemical processing. Everyday operations like mixing, drying, conveying and blending create dangerous dusts that can become airborne, endanger air quality and pose fire and explosion hazards.Each facility has unique dust…

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• Driving growth in aftermarket services

  By Sheila Kennedy, CMRP, contributing editor

  The lucrative potential of aftermarket services has product manufacturers formulating new service offerings and service contractors stepping up their game. Some are doing better than others, and it often depends on the tools used.Before the technological advancements and hyperconnectivity of…

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