Business News

Improving anomaly detection and prevention: What is your data telling you?

By Ruban Phukan, Co-Founder of Progress DataRPM and VP, Product, Progress The pace of digitisation means manufacturers today are under growing pressure to deliver perfect products in increasingly shorter timeframes, and at a lower cost. They can’t afford unplanned interruptions, unforeseen failures, or unexpected breakdowns, nor can they afford to wait until the quality check stage to identify issues that could have been avoided during the production line. According to Vanson Bourne, 82% of companies have experienced at least one unplanned downtime outage over the past three years, which can cost anywhere from $US50k-$150k per hour up to $US2 million for a major outage on an industrial critical asset. Industry research shows more than a third of the manufacturers lose 1-2% of their annual sales to scrap and rework. Data to the rescue! In order to reduce downtime, improve operational efficiencies and quality, manufacturers are heavily investing in data-led technologies. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for example are helping automate the process of analysing a growing number of datasets to understand and prognose machine health. Yet, most industrial anomaly detection efforts fail, with research from Capgemini showing almost 60% of organisations do not have the analytics capabilities to take advantage of the data generated from IoT sources. The issue is, many anomaly detection systems end up identifying either too many anomalies (false positives) or not enough (false negatives). Identifying true anomalies involves scouting for those “unknown unknowns”, amidst a sea of changing industrial data patterns. Avoiding downtime: Illuminating the dark spots in your industrial data The key is to detect early signals of future problems, and take proactive actions to prevent them. There are a few best practices used for anomaly detection and prediction that every manufacturer should look to follow: Rule-based/supervised vs […]

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3D printing aircraft parts using new laser technology

A team of RMIT University researchers led by Professor Milan Brandt are using laser metal deposition technology to build and repair defence aircraft parts in a two-year collaboration with RUAG Australia and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC). The technology feeds metal powder into a laser beam, which when scanned across a surface adds new material in a precise, web-like formation. The metallurgical bond created has mechanical properties similar, or in some cases superior, to those of the original material. “It’s basically a very high-tech welding process where we make or rebuild metal parts layer by layer,” explains Brandt, who says the concept is proven and prospects for its successful development are extremely positive. Head of Research and Technology at RUAG Australia, Neil Matthews, says that by enabling onsite repair and production of parts, the technology could completely transform the concept of warehousing and transporting for defence and other industries. Currently, replacement parts typically need to be transported from local or overseas storage and suppliers. “Instead of waiting for spare parts to arrive from a warehouse, an effective solution will now be on-site,” says Matthews. “For defence forces this means less downtime for repairs and a dramatic increase in the availability and readiness of aircraft.” The technology will apply to existing legacy aircraft as well as the new F35 fleet. The technology is also being adopted in RUAG’s recently established robotic laser additive manufacturing cell. A move to locally printed components could mean big savings on maintenance and spare part purchasing, scrap metal management, warehousing and shipping costs. An independent review, commissioned by BAE Systems, estimated the cost of replacing damaged aircraft components to be more than $230 million a year for the Australian Air Force. CEO and Managing Director of the IMCRC, David Chuter, believes application of this technology […]

Smart cities in Southeast Asia

By Jonathan Woetzel, Diaan-Yi Lin, Mukund Sridhar, and Su-E Yap Cities are the engines of economic growth in Southeast Asia. But the breakneck pace of urbanisation has left many cities struggling to provide adequate housing, infrastructure, and services to meet the needs of a surging population. Now smart technologies that could tackle some of these issues have reached maturity. Recent research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) highlighted the fact that smart cities worldwide are incorporating data and digital technologies into infrastructure and services—and they are delivering tangible quality-of-life improvements as a result. Building on that work, Smart cities in Southeast Asia (PDF–4MB) takes a more focused look at how cities across the region can make better use of data, digital tools, and smart solutions to solve specific public problems and make the urban environment more livable, sustainable, and productive. MGI finds that smart cities could have substantial impact for the region as a whole. Among its findings: Smart solutions could eliminate up to some 270,000 kilotons of greenhouse-gas emissions annually. Some 5,000 lives lost each year to traffic accidents, fires, and homicides could be saved through mobility solutions, crime prevention, and better emergency response. Intelligent traffic and transit solutions could save up to eight million man-years in annual commuting time. Deploying smart healthcare solutions for the urban population could reduce the region’s disease burden by 12 million disability-adjusted life years—not only extending overall life expectancy but adding years of good health. By creating more efficient and productive environments for business and hiring, Southeast Asia could add almost 1.5 million jobs. Residents could also save as much as $16 billion annually as smart solutions contribute to better housing optionsand lower energy bills. There is already a wave of activity and innovation across Southeast Asia. It includes digital citizen apps, homegrown ride-hailing apps, data-driven transit planning, intelligent traffic systems, data-driven disaster-risk assessment, advanced construction […]

Boosting your bottom line with a safer workplace

Authored by Helen Masters, senior vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Infor It’s the sound you dread: a bang, crash or shout heralding that one of your employees has been injured. In that moment, you know that many things have been lost — a person’s wellbeing (and possibly their life), the morale of other employees, and possibly, their confidence in the safety of their workplace. Underlying it all, the productivity, cohesion, and workflow you depend on to deliver a competitive, profitable product may also be impacted. Workplace mishaps in Australia killed 182 employees in 2016, according to statistics from Safe Work Australia and resulted in nearly 104,000 non-fatal serious injuries. Although workplace deaths have halved in a decade, and workplace-related injury and diseases reduced by a quarter, these still translate to 1.5 deaths per 100,000 workers and nearly 1 percent of workers affected by a serious work-related injury or illness. The effects are a serious drain on companies and on the wider economy — work related injuries and fatalities cost the nation $61.8 billion in 2012, nearly 5 percent of GDP. Safer operations mean higher productivity The old line about prevention being better than cure has never been more important than when talking about workplace safety. A safe workplace is essential to ensuring reliable, uninterrupted operations. With strong safety programs, companies can significantly improve their productivity, while reinforcing their bottom line and not only boosting morale and wellbeing among their employees but also having a positive impact on the families and close friends of their employees. There are no accidents The question for many businesses is how to get from here to there. In the transport industry, there is an assumption that there are no accidents, just collisions that could have been prevented with foresight and planning. It is hard […]

Tesla CEO drops bombshell with $72B buyout proposal

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is gearing up to lead a buyout of the electric car maker in a stunning move that would end the maverick company’s eight-year history trading on the stock market. In his typically unorthodox fashion, the eccentric Musk dropped his bombshell on his Twitter account, which he has used as a platform for pranks, vitriol and now for a proposal to pull off one of the biggest buyouts in U.S. history. Musk got the ball rolling Tuesday after the stock market had already been open more than three hours with a tweet announcing he had secured funding to buy all of Tesla’s stock at $420 per share with no further details. At that price, the buyout would cost nearly $72 billion, based on Tesla’s outstanding stock as of July 27, but it’s unlikely the deal would cost that much because Musk owns a roughly 20 percent stake in the Palo Alto, California, company. He also said he intends to give Tesla’s existing shareholders the option of retaining a stake in the company through a special fund, if they want. “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured,” Musk wrote in his first tweet, following up with “good morning” and a smiley emoji. He later tweeted that the only uncertainty about completing the deal is whether he can gain shareholder approval. The first tweet came hours after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund had built a significant stake in Tesla Inc., but it was unclear if that was the funding Musk was referring to. The Financial Times, citing unnamed people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had built a stake of between 3 and 5 percent of Telsa’s shares. Musk’s announcement was initially met with widespread skepticism, with many people connecting […]

Epson triples PrecisionCore production with new inkjet printhead factory

Epson Seiko has completed construction work on a new factory at its Hirooka Office in Shiojiri, Japan, that started in the autumn of 2016. The new factory will be used to produce PrecisionCore print chips, a core component of Epson’s most advanced PrecisionCore inkjet printheads. The new factory, which will begin operations in the 2018 fiscal year (ending March 31, 2019), will triple current PrecisionCore print chip production capacity. The new factory (Building 9) Under its Epson 25 Corporate Vision, Epson is targeting the office, commercial, and industrial printing markets. In FY2017, the company released high-speed linehead inkjet multifunction office printers as a major part of its strategy to drive future growth. Epson will expand sales of high-capacity ink tank printers, which have been driving near-term growth, in both advanced and emerging economies. In FY2018, Epson plans to sell 9.5 million units—a 1.7-million unit increase over FY2017. In the commercial and industrial sectors, an accelerating shift from analogue to digital solutions is expected to generate significant market growth for printers used for printing signage, textiles and product labels. Epson will continue to strengthen its line-up of commercial and industrial large-format printers, and will boost both its R&D and manufacturing capability. The new factory will enable Epson to expand its presence in these markets in addition to bolstering its ability to handle an expected medium-range increase in demand for printheads. By leveraging its production capacity, Epson also plans to rollout sales of its PrecisionCore printheads for large-format printers worldwide, and work with its partners to accelerate the shift to digital in commercial and industrial printing. The new factory will be the second production site for PrecisionCore print chips, which are currently manufactured at the Suwa Minami Plant in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The structure, facilities, and equipment of the new factory boast […]

NUM and Chinese partnership develop machining centre

CNC specialist NUM has helped the Chinese machine building company Original Point Machine Tools (OPMT) to develop an advanced 8-axis CNC machining centre capable of processing many different types of materials, including metal, ceramics, glass and cemented carbide. OPMT is a relatively small but fast-growing company based in Fo’shan – of Guangdong Province – in south China. It is rapidly acquiring a reputation for innovative complex engineering: after developing a highly successful 4-axis milling centre for an automotive production line, it then created a compact 5-axis milling station for the dental industry. For its latest project, OPMT was asked by Guangdong University of Technology to develop a machining centre that combined high speed laser cutting and milling capabilities. This key provincial university is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, and provides a wide range of courses, with a major emphasis on engineering. OPMT chose to partner with NUM for its CNC expertise and with the Xi’an Zhongke Microcrystalline Manufacturing Company and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to help with some of the complex materials processing issues. The result is the ML125 8-axis multi-function machining centre. The machine has a dual laser head that is capable of switching between a 20 watt picosecond laser for very high speed cutting and an ultrafast 10 watt femtosecond laser for improved process quality. The femtosecond laser is capable of drilling and cutting almost any type of material, and its very short 1030 nm wavelength means that it is suitable for micro/nano processing applications. Entirely controlled by NUM’s latest-generation Flexium+ 68 CNC platform, the ML125 machining centre has eight servo axes, two independent NC channels and fast application-specific I/Os embedded in the NCK hardware. Movement of the fully articulated laser head is controlled by five NUMDrive X servo drives, with high speed interpolation between all five […]

MHIEC to build waste to energy plant in Kawasaki

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environmental & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (MHIEC) has received an order from Kawasaki City (Kanagawa Prefecture) to build its Tachibana Waste to Energy (WtE) Plant, a municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration plant in Kawasaki’s Takatsu District. The existing facility will be rebuilt as a stoker type incinerator (1) with a total waste treatment capacity of 600 tonnes per day (tpd). The order is a joint venture project with Taisei Corporation, and is valued at 29.8 billion yen. Completion is scheduled for September 2023. The Tachibana WtE Plant had operated for around 40 years, but the facilities have aged and the incineration plant ceased operations in March 2015. The WtE Plant subsequently closed in 2016. The current facilities will be dismantled and removed, and construction will begin on the new centre. The new MSW incineration plant will comprise three stoker type incinerators, each with a capacity of 200 tpd, as well as other related equipment. MHIEC acquired MHI’s waste treatment plant business in 2008, incorporating MHI’s environmental protection systems technology, as well as its broad expertise in the construction and operation of waste management facilities in Japan and overseas. Based on its strong track record, MHIEC is well positioned to provide comprehensive solutions for plant construction and operation. MHIEC will pursue further orders by building new advanced WtE plant that contribute to the formation of a resource-recycling society, enhancing the energy efficiency and stable operation of existing plants, and providing solutions that lower operation, maintenance and other lifecycle costs. (1) A stoker furnace is the main type used at MSW incineration plants. The solid waste is combusted as it moves along on a fire grate made of heat-resistant castings.

Grundfos Forum now open through a virtual conference

Water, environment and sustainability professionals from all over the world will have the opportunity to learn more about the future of water solutions, as leading pump manufacturer Grundfos opens up its global customer forum to the world. A first for the event, the Grundfos Forum 2018 will be broadcasting from Suzhou, China through a virtual conference. This will give professionals from all over the world the opportunity to hear from world-class engineers, government leaders, consultants, academics and other key decision-makers about ways to move and manage the world’s water better, under this year’s theme of ‘Intelligent Connectivity’. The virtual conference will broadcast live on 15 and 16 August, and OnDemand from 17 August to 14 October. In addition to the access to talks, events and breakout sessions, participants will also get to have their voice heard – they will get to take part in the Forum’s Interactive Spaces, interact with Forum participants, and chat with experts while exploring the Exhibition Area. To encourage greater engagement, online participants will also be automatically enrolled into the Leaderboard Challenge, where points are gained through participation. The top five participants will win a trip to Grundfos’ headquarters in Bjerringbro, Denmark. Kim Jensen, Regional Managing Director of Grundfos Asia Pacific region, said, “We have received tremendous feedback from business leaders and our customers about the insight and learnings that they have gained from attending our forum over the years. “This year, we are hosting the conference online so that we can reach more industry professionals who are not able to make it to the event in person.” “Just as how technology has changed our relationship with water, it has transformed the way we get to engage with one another. With the virtual conference, people will not only get to tap into a wealth of knowledge, […]

First demonstration of drone-based deliveries along power-line routes

TEPCO Ventures, Inc., Zenrin Co., Ltd. and Rakuten, Inc. have begun examining the utilisation of “drone highways,” or the airspace above infrastructure such as power transmission lines, for drone logistics. The three companies also announced that they have safely carried out the world’s first demonstration test utilising a drone highway. TEPCO Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., and map publisher Zenrin formed an alliance on March 29, 2017 to confirm the use of drone highways for safe drone-based deliveries. The concept, which is attracting increasing interest, is a focus of the “2018 Roadmap for the Industrial Revolution of the Sky,” which was approved by the Public-Private Conference on Infrastructure Creation for Drones in Japan in June 2018. To develop a drone highway, TEPCO and Zenrin have been studying how to combine data on TEPCO’s infrastructure, such as transmission lines and towers, substations and utility poles, with Zenrin’s three-dimensional maps of the sky, which are currently under development. Going forward, several test courses will be set up in eastern Japan’s Kanto Region during 2018 to demonstrate the practical use of drone highways. Internet services company Rakuten, which has been operating a drone-based delivery service called “Rakuten Drone,” has joined the initiative. The first demonstration test, conducted in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, successfully achieved the world’s first drone-based delivery using a power line route for the flight path.

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