Improvement

• Improved inspection process pays for itself in less than a year

  Improved inspection process pays for itself in less than a year A new vision system integrated into the inspection process at a car battery manufacturing plant improved the error detection rate to 99% and saved the manufacturer both money and labor. Car batteries are made up of six books with two cells per book. Orange […]

  Read MoreMike Helmstadter / Car Battery  / Inspection  / Improvement  / Cognex 

• Grain Hazard Monitoring

  Grain Hazard Monitoring Tony Ferguson discusses the purpose, standards and requirements and other tips and tricks for Grain Hazard Monitoring. This video will bring more awareness to hazards of handling grain as fires and explosions can be present if proper procedures are not followed. ‹ SHARE

  Read MoreTony Ferguson / Control System Upgrade  / Engineering Consulting Services  / Feed & Grain  / Food Manufacturing  / Grain Hazard Monitoring Systems  / Industrial Automation Upgrades  / Life Cycle  / Maintenance  / Matrix Moment  / Retrofit  / System Upgrade  / Improvement  / Planning  / Upgrade 

• Buried Utility Replacement Programs

  Buried Utility Replacement Programs Underground utility failures can be devastating for manufacturing facilities. These failures can result in worker injuries, property damage and create high risk situations while the utility is out of service. The costs associated with the emergency repairs and production downtime can be astronomical. Todd Green, PE highlights Matrix’s approach to evaluation, […]

  Read MoreTodd Green, PE, SI, CFPS / Buried Utilities  / Civil Design  / Manufacturing Execution  / Manufacturing Operations Management  / Matrix Moment  / Mechanical Design  / Process Design  / Risk Mitigation  / Utility Newtork  / Utility System Design  / Improvement 

• Remote Monitoring Devices Collect Data for Safety Monitoring and Notifications

  Remote Monitoring Devices Collect Data for Safety Monitoring and Notifications Monitoring devices are everywhere in manufacturing. There are devices for process monitoring, production monitoring, safety monitoring, environmental monitoring, and the list goes on and on. The latest technologies offer easy-to-connect devices, referred to as “things,” which make up the industrial internet of things (IIoT). Some […]

  Read MoreJohn Lee / Application Programming Interface  / Industrial Automation Engineering  / Industrial Internet of Things  / Manufacturing Operations Management  / Manufacturing Process Control  / Monitoring Applications  / ProRAE Guardian  / Software Development Kit  / SQL Server Express  / Improvement  / Data Management 

• Digitizing Field Data Collection Provides Instant Access to Information

  Digitizing Field Data Collection Provides Instant Access to Information Paper records present a challenge to manufacturers, especially when performing maintenance checks and rounds. Filing paperwork or performing data entry when some notes are illegible, the pen ran dry or the paper got weathered just makes things difficult and sometimes inaccurate. Using a digital device with […]

  Read MoreJohn Lee / Data Analysis  / Data Collection  / Industrial Automation Engineering  / Information Technology  / Maintenance  / Manufacturing Operations Management  / Mobile Data Logging  / Operations Technology  / SQL Server Express  / Improvement  / Microsoft 

• Pandemic Necessitates Virtual Risk Assessment

  Matrix Technologies provides machine safety risk assessment and training from a safe distance Risk assessments are key to identifying safety hazards revolving around equipment, operations and the production environment. During times of physical separation, such as those required during the COVID-19 outbreak, risk assessments may still be required to mitigate risks to essential workers. In […]

  Read MoreMackenzie Coughlan, MBA and Carl Bohman, PE / COVID-19  / Essential Workers  / Industrial Automation Engineering  / Machine safety  / Manufacturing Engineering Consultants  / Manufacturing Operations Management  / Manufacturing Process Control  / Risk Assessment  / Safety  / Improvement  / Safety 

• Matrix Technologies Named 2020 System Integrator of the Year

  Matrix Technologies Named 2020 System Integrator of the Year We are proud to announce that Matrix Technologies has been selected as the 2020 System Integrator of the Year by the editors of Control Engineering and Plant Engineering. Matrix is the only company to win this prestigious award four times. In 2008 and 2012, we were winners […]

  Read MoreDave Blaida, PE / Control Engineering  / Control Systems Engineer  / Integrator  / Integrator of the Year  / System Integration  / Automation Integration  / Improvement  / Quality 

• Design and Implementation is Product of Automation Life Cycle Planning

  Design and Implementation is Product of Automation Life Cycle Planning After creating the roadmap during the automation life cycle planning process, the next step in the journey is the design and implementation of the plan. For smaller systems the design and implementation stages of a system upgrade can take weeks or months and not all […]

  Read MoreTony Ferguson / Automation Planning  / Engineering Consulting Services  / Industrial Automation Upgrades  / Life Cycle  / Maintenance  / Manufacturing Operations Management  / Pre-Engineering  / Process Automation Engineering  / Retrofit  / System Upgrade  / Improvement  / Planning  / Upgrade  / Improvement  / Upgrades 

• Protecting switch contacts when energizing DC contactors

  Protecting switch contacts when energizing DC contactors Companies often call on Matrix to help solve problems that arise during new installations, normal operations, and/or upgrades. This small case study examines how Matrix engineers helped an energy company investigate the cause of catastrophic damage to switch contacts encountered during an upgrade of their coke and by-products […]

  Read MoreBrian Haury, PE / Control System Upgrade  / Interposing Relay Damage  / Multidiscipline Engineering  / Improvement  / Safety  / Electrical 

• How a Multidiscipline Engineering Approach to Batch Retort Design Saves Time, Cuts Costs, and Reduces Waste

  How a Multidiscipline Engineering Approach to Batch Retort Design Saves Time, Cuts Costs, and Reduces Waste Multidiscipline Engineering At Matrix Technologies, we do more than simply provide the services our clients request—we also look for ways to save our clients time and money. One of the ways in which we are able provide time and […]

  Read MoreDan Crisman / Cooker Integration  / Energy Conservation  / Filling & Packing  / Food & Beverage Engineering  / Food and Beverage Manufacturing  / Industrial Automation Engineering  / Multidiscipline Engineering  / Water Conservation  / Improvement  / Rockwell Automation