April 30, 2013 - Eaton has released the results of its 2012 Blackout Tracker Annual Report—based on a full year of reported power outages, it noted more than 600,000 people were affected by more than 100 power outages in Canada over the last year.

April 29, 2013 - BJM Pumps says its new, 35-ft high, 8000-sf warehouse allows it to increase inventory levels and “keep up with the steady increase in sales”. The added inventory will shorten delivery times of pumps, parts and accessories to its customers, promises BJM, and “allows us to be more efficient”.

April 29, 2013 - With the appointment of Greg Pottruff (left) as territory sales manager, Southwestern Ontario and Dave Secord (right) as territory sales manager, Eastern Ontario, automatic lubrication systems specialist FLO Components Ltd. says it continues to expand its resources to better serve construction, road building, aggregate, trucking, manufacturing and processing companies.

April 19, 2013 - Honeywell reports its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) has been selected by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan to modernize the latter’s integrated control room at its Tokuyama Refining and Petrochemical Complex, with the aim of promoting operational efficiency, safety and reliability.

April 17, 2013 - On September 1, the Government of Ontario will repeal section 12.(3)(a) of the Professional Engineers Act, which means all professional engineering work on industrial equipment and machinery will need to be under the oversight of a licensed professional engineer.

Esri Canada has announced that Azteca Systems Inc. has received the top ranking in the 2012 Comparative Review of Municipal Maintenance and Infrastructure Asset Management Systems by the Water Finance Research Foundation (WFRF). Azteca’s Cityworks, exclusively distributed in Canada by Esri Canada, was selected as the best asset management system for municipal and utility use over 13 other software systems. Cityworks received the highest score based on various criteria including functionality, price, support and integration with Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) technology.

“Cityworks is one of the most highly developed asset management systems available today,” says Gregory Baird, president of the WFRF. “It offers hundreds of advanced templates for work orders, service requests and condition assessment inspections, and is backed by Azteca Systems’ proven expertise in the municipal and utility space. The solution’s tight integration with Esri’s ArcGIS allows for all assets and their related activities to be connected, providing an intelligent and cost-effective computerized maintenance management system.”

The solution received a 99-per-cent functional rating due to its superior and comprehensive capabilities for managing work orders and workflows, asset inventory, license and permitting, condition assessment and risk management. It also delivers advanced GIS mapping capability, easy integration with other systems such as 311 and enterprise financial systems, and can be deployed on desktop, mobile and Web environments. Cityworks is built on Esri’s ArcGIS platform, which provides powerful mapping, data integration and management, and analysis capabilities. It maximizes ROI from Esri investments that many municipalities already have by leveraging asset data stored in their GIS. This eliminates the need to develop a separate asset database as well as risky synchronization.

“Cityworks enables a proactive approach to asset maintenance,” notes Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “It provides organizations with a complete, accurate view of all their assets and their condition so they can effectively allocate resources, prioritize work orders and support long-term capital planning. It allows them to make asset replacement decisions based not on an asset’s age alone, but by incorporating other critical data such as the asset’s maintenance, performance and life cycle costs, as well as environmental conditions.”

Numerous municipalities across Canada have adopted Cityworks to better address the challenges of managing aging infrastructure, rising service demand and regulatory requirements. In Ontario, the City of Barrie used the solution to centralize its asset data, automate work management and streamline the maintenance and repair of its growing infrastructure. Now, the city’s operational staff can track incoming service requests, distribute them to the appropriate staff member, schedule required work and monitor the progress of projects across the municipality in real time through a GIS-generated Web map. The city also plans to investigate a mobile solution that would allow field crews to update asset information on site, which will keep their data accurate and current.

The City of Brandon in Manitoba replaced its asset management system with Cityworks to leverage data in their ArcGIS solution in support of a more efficient, integrated asset management process. Asset information updates, service requests and work orders can now be viewed in real time by operational staff in the office and in the field using a cost-effective, dynamic Web map. Crews can also quickly look up an asset’s entire work history by selecting an asset on the map. This allows them to better plan work and make decisions based on the most current, complete and accurate data. Soon, citizens will be able to submit service requests through a new Web site directly integrated with the Cityworks system, making the process even more seamless and enabling a rapid response.
www.waterfinancerf.org
www.cityworks.com
www.esri.ca

A specialty lubricant from Dow Corning is heading to the Antarctic on a record-breaking expedition during extreme polar winter temperatures. The Coldest Journey expedition team members selected Molykote 55 O-ring grease as they bid to complete the first-ever trans-Antarctic crossing during the polar winter.

It was chosen because of its ability to meet the challenges of equipment reliability in extreme environments. It is expected to provide dynamic lubrication for mission-critical rubber-to-metal seals with excellent elastomer compatibility, corrosion protection and high oxidation resistance. It slightly swells rubber O-rings to help ensure positive lubrication and sealing.

The expedition team of five people will cover 2,000 miles—mostly in darkness, at temperatures as low as –89.9°C. In total, the team will spend an estimated six months—Mar. 31 through Sept. 31, 2013—on the ice. The anticipated challenges of the polar winter required the team to conduct extensive research and testing to identify supplies and equipment that would work best under the demanding environmental conditions.
www.molykote.com

Recovering from the economic downswing, process industries got back on track and temperature transmitter shipments saw positive growth in 2011. This recovery in the temperature transmitter market was mainly due to an increase in orders from growing industries such as oil & gas, chemical and electric power. The continued emphasis on plant asset management and Fieldbus technology also proved to be a strong growth enabler for smart temperature transmitters, according to a new ARC Advisory Group market research study, “Temperature Transmitter Worldwide Outlook.”

Manufacturers have begun to realize the cost saving benefits of implementing HART and digital protocol standards to enable plant asset management, particularly in the maintenance and operation phase of the asset’s lifecycle. Growth and spending for plant asset management systems continue to outpace that of the automation industry in general as end users seek to reduce maintenance costs and increase production availability using tools, such as predictive diagnostics and software-based configuration solutions.

Among many other benefits, smart temperature transmitters offer diagnostic capabilities that help end users strengthen their asset management initiative, and save precious time and money. This asset management focus of users is fueling demand for smart transmitters. The wealth of information provided by temperature measurement technology cannot only reveal the health of a company’s plant assets for PAM purposes, but can also help users diagnose their processes.

When most parts of the world are struggling with weak economic recovery, business opportunities are maximum in the global regions that are experiencing the highest industrial and infrastructure growth, such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), MIST (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey), and MENA (Middle East, North Africa) countries. These growth regions continue to draw investment from around the world and are witnessing significant industrial expansion and improvement in manufacturing operations.
www.arcweb.com