The EPAs NESHAP Rule 6X went into effect in July 2011.  Did you miss the announcement of this rule?  If so, according to The Fabricator.com reports you are not alone.

The rule applies to companies that are primarily engaged (that is 50 percent or more of their total labor) in one or more of the following categories: electrical and electronic equipment finishing, fabricated metal products, fabricated plate work (boiler shops), fabricated structural metal manufacturing, heating equipment (except electric), industrial machinery and equipment finishing, iron and steel forging, primary metal products manufacturing, and valve and pipe fittings.  That describes quite a lot of our customers!

Plant Engineering has just released the results of their 2012 Salary Survey Analysis which very nicely covers much more than just salary data.  The overall impression from this survey is that American manufacturers are really raring to go and are ready to be done with all things recessionary.

In 2010 Plant Engineers/Managers were growing increasingly concerned with maintenance issues – in fact it was their number one plant concern.  That concern grew even louder in 2011 with survey responders frequently pointing out that their plant was lacking skilled workers, capital, direction from upper management, and funding for maintenance including for maintenance personnel.

Solar flares can cause damage to electronics as they did in 1989 but be reassured that both you and your electronic equipment are in no danger from this large and spectacular solar flare.  It is big, but not that big.

Those of you that live in higher latitudes may be lucky enough to see an extraordinary display of aurorae (aka Northern Lights).  Those of us in lower latitudes will just have to make do with photos of this beautiful phenomenon.

Did you know that many modern control systems are now being designed for a minimum 30-year lifespan?  Hmmm.

Many early systems are still going strong that were installed in the ’90s, ’80s and even some from the 1970s.  But you probably already knew that since so many of you send us your controllers for repairs.

The weaker links in these older systems are the operator terminals, disk drives, power supplies, keyboards, and CRT’s as they often have mechanical or electrical parts that simply wear out.  Many of these units can be repaired and if not, replaced with refurbs or updated, drop-in replacements.