From the
engineering desk
Long-form guides and articles on industrial automation in Australia. Written by the team that delivers the projects, not by marketing. Useful for plant managers and engineering teams scoping their next move.
In-depth guides
Comprehensive end-to-end guides for the two conversations that come up most often in scoping calls. Each runs about 4,000 words, from drivers through standards to integrator selection.
Food and beverage automation in Australia
Standards, platforms and the upgrade journey for plant managers scoping MES, batch traceability, vision QA and cold-chain compliance.
Read the guide
Brownfield PLC upgrade guide
S7-300 end of life, cutover models, retrofit versus replace, and AS IEC 62443 for plants running an upgrade on a live line.
Read the guideTechnical articles
Shorter articles on specific topics that come up inside the guides. Each runs about 1,500 words. Best read alongside the full guide.
Siemens S7-300 to S7-1500 migration
Spares cliff October 2033. Migration tool gotchas, panel and IO realities, cost bands in Australian dollars.
8 minute read
SCADA cutover with zero downtime
Three cutover models, the four documents that decide it, and the 02:00 failure patterns we have seen across two decades.
9 minute read
Machine vision for food packaging
Rules versus deep learning, 2,400 cpm reality, the vision-to-PLC handshake, and the Cognex and Keyence shortlist.
9 minute readThe full index
Sixteen articles, written for engineers and plant managers rather than search engines.
Rockwell ControlLogix programming in Australia
PlantPAx versus raw ControlLogix, FactoryTalk View SE versus ME, RSLogix to Studio 5000.
05Ignition SCADA versus Wonderware (AVEVA)
Licence model, real cost bands, switching reality and the AU support landscape.
06Dairy plant MES and batch traceability
Silo to pallet, FSANZ 3.2.2A allergen declaration, and the recall simulation most plants skip.
07Food manufacturing OEE and SCADA
The 85 per cent benchmark, the multiplication trap, and an OEE figure the GM actually trusts.
08ISA-88 batch control for food manufacturers
Recipe, unit procedure, operation, phase — in plain English, and when ISA-88 is overkill.
09SIL determination in Australia (IEC 61511)
IEC 61508 versus 61511, HAZOP and LOPA in plain English, and what most AU studies conclude.
10Machine safety: AS 4024 and ISO 13849
AS/NZS 4024:2019, performance levels and categories, and what triggers a re-assessment.
11Cognex versus Keyence industrial vision
Software, deep learning, AU support, integrated lighting, and a decision rule that works.
12OCR and barcode verification on the line
ISO 15416 and 15415 grades, GS1 retailer requirements, and the WMS handshake that fails quietly.
13PLC code standards and PackML
The 17-state PackML model, operating modes, PackTags, and code that survives the next engineer.
14Automation feasibility study: what to expect
What the deliverable contains, what it costs, and where FEED begins.
15Automation vendor selection in Australia
Integrator versus OEM-direct, writing a fair RFP, and reference checks that actually matter.
16Automation ROI calculator for manufacturers
The framework plus an embedded calculator. Indicative simple payback in months, for early triage.
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