Wayne Labs

Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE’s Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE’s Engineering R&D section.

Web Exclusive

IIoT and the cloud

Know when, why and how to apply cloud architectures in your plant and enterprise, keeping in mind that on-site and edge-based servers keep you up and running on a stormy day.

Wayne Labs

January 8, 2018

The cloud provides storage space, communications, analytics and much more. But knowing the cloud's limitations in terms of reliability, security and performance—and what your expectations are—will play a major role in how you design and implement a cloud-based IIoT system.

How a warehouse execution system assists with recalls

Don’t rely on an ERP system to manage all aspects of your warehouse—not if you need real-time connectivity.

Wayne Labs

January 8, 2018

A dedicated warehouse management system can not only manage recalls, but it can also manage a fully automated warehouse automation system.

FDA announces ‘enforcement discretion’ for specific FSMA regulations

Although FDA has temporarily relaxed some specific rules, processors are not necessarily off the hook, and may want to contact their food safety consultants.

Wayne Labs

January 8, 2018

The FDA intends to exercise enforcement discretion for certain provisions in four of the FSMA rules until it can work out issues presented in feedback from several entities or stakeholders, especially farms, packing facilities and importers.

Automation Series

How the Industrial Internet of Things is affecting food processing

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) offers capabilities many manufacturers don’t have now, and it can do it securely and cost effectively.

Wayne Labs

January 8, 2018

A good way to think of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is as an ever-expanding toolset to improve your operations.

CPU security vulnerabilities pose broad-spectrum issues

Meltdown and Spectre side-channel vulnerabilities threaten most computer microprocessors and operating systems—including portable devices, and potentially industrial control systems exposed to the Internet.

Wayne Labs

January 7, 2018

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) reports several CPU hardware implementations are vulnerable to side-channel attacks, being referred to as Meltdown and Spectre (also KAISER and KPTI).

Web Exclusive

IIoT and the Open Process Automation Forum

OPAF stands ready to help users with IIoT and their automation questions.

Wayne Labs

January 7, 2018

Kevin Fitzgerald, a global solutions architect and Schneider Electric Fellow and representative of OPAF, answers questions on IIoT and the OPAF’s role in IIoT technologies.

Engineering R&D

Food-grade lubricants may require less frequent changes than previously thought

Give the maintenance staff a break and change the oil in air compressors less often

Wayne Labs

December 20, 2017

Testing methods for food-grade lubricants have improved to predict and determine more accurately the actual lifetime of a compressor oil change—which may be better than previously expected.

Automation Series

Automation can help food processors improve throughput

Some ways of improving throughput may be simple, but without an analysis of your operation, it’s hard to know where to start

Wayne Labs

December 20, 2017

While there's no "one size fits all" solution to improving throughput, there are some guiding principles to help processors achieve greater productivity.

How food and beverage processors can fight cyberattacks

CEOs tend to look at a cybersecurity as a one-time investment, but imagine the results if your virus definitions were last updated Jan. 1, 2015.

Wayne Labs

November 29, 2017

Knowledge of how attacks occur, new tools coming on the scene, and long-term investments in cybersecurity can all help processors stand a better chance of keeping their plants safely up and running.

Engineering R&D

Plasma sparks new cold sterilization technique

Plasma is known for being in TVs, cutting devices and futuristic rocket engines, but it also is an effective non-thermal lethality agent.

Wayne Labs

November 27, 2017

While plasma could be useful in a number of food applications, using it to create a non-thermal sterilization system will likely be the most attractive to processors.