Blogs
Thoughts, opinions, and information
Understanding IT-OT Speak
As a control engineer who has worked on many systems involving business and enterprise data, I know the worlds of Engineering and Enterprise, often referred to as OT and IT by those within the sales a ...
Top 10 Ways TrakSYS makes your manufacturing profitable
Managing the inherent complexities in manufacturing while maintaining profitability is a major, multi-faceted challenge for companies. The industry has made great strides since the days of analogue an ...
The tale of two workers: Who would you choose?
The two workers are both strong, independent workers that can be relied on to carry the load and get the job done. Although working to industrial standards, these guys are more brains than brawn, whic ...
Unified Namespace
Have you heard of this term before? Probably not! It is NOT a fancy name for a collection of people nor some new kind of political movement. So what is Unified Namespace (UNS), and what does it h ...
Security encryption users
Most people consider banks as one of the most secure data platforms around, and I expect they use many of the best security principles.  However, things like credit fraud, phishing etc., do happen a ...
What is limiting your factory’s performance?
Do you wish your business was performing better than it is? Do you feel that things could be better, but perhaps can’t quite put your finger on what it is that is not as good as it should be?  Whe ...
Visibility, Knowledge, and Control: Unlocking the Power of Real-Time Data
More than ever before, today’s manufacturers need contextualised, actionable, real-time data to, amongst other things, improve forecasting accuracy, streamline production, and remain competitive. Fa ...
Poor SCADA Alarm Management – How it affects your operation
Alarms are a critical and essential part of any SCADA system. However, the design, implementation and management of these alarms are usually given little thought or no attention at all. Poorly designe ...
MES v SCADA
I was asked the question, "Why do we need a SCADA and an MES system, as they both provide visualisation of the process to the user?"Â The answer involves understanding the five levels that describe th ...
MES, Now and the Future
MES Systems (often referred to by many other names, such as MOM, Smart Factory, Digitisation, Paperless Factory, Industry 4.0) for current manufacturers within Australia are becoming more common, but ...
IIIoT: Implementing Industrial Internet of Things
The IoT, or the Industrial version IIoT, means different things to different people. One definition of IoT is that it is a phrase of convenience describing how everything in the world could be connect ...
System Hacked!
According to a new survey from IT Brief Australia, 80% of Australian organisations surveyed were hit with ransomware in 2021, up from 45% in 2020. This presents an alarming wake-up call with the reali ...
How can IIoT solutions make manufacturers smarter?
With the manufacturing sector under constant pressure to increase efficiency and productivity whilst reducing costs, IoT has emerged as one potential solution to these challenges. Referring to the int ...
How to improve plant operations through better visualisation
SCADA Systems and HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces) are essential to plant operations or any automation system as they provide the operator with visibility into the process. As the name suggests, HMI/SC ...
How IIoT solutions can make manufacturers smarter
With the manufacturing sector under constant pressure to increase efficiency and productivity whilst reducing costs, IIoT has emerged as one potential solution to these challenges. Referring to the in ...
6 Big Losses and how to avoid them
The pressure is on. You must keep lead times short, meet target costs and keep a standard of quality. And that is just the tip of the iceberg! Who said manufacturing is easy? The last thing any produc ...
Greater Visibility: Who and Why?
Do you want greater visibility into your production process? What are the questions you should ask?
As a child, I was encouraged to ask the five Ws. They were Who, What, Why, When, Where and How. Â ( ...
MES v IIoT hype
The hype around smart manufacturing, otherwise known as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), tells us it is possible to IMPROVE asset reliability, OPTIMISE production operations, INCREASE product ...
Are your WAGES out of control?
Energy management is a hot topic, especially with recent double-digit increases in utility costs brought on by supply chain shocks and the Ukraine war. More than ever, staying competitive in today’s ...
What is EtherCAT?
No, EtherCAT is not a new kind of feline breed! It is actually a Fieldbus communication standard that is used for interconnecting devices in the control and automation arena.EtherCAT stands for Ethern ...
Perfect Match
The solution you use is just as important as the partner you choose
There are many opinions, and they can't all be correct about what is the best solution for your problem. But how do you know what is ...
Video killed the radio Star
Will IoT kill SCADA?For over 40 years, SCADA has been the backbone of driving operational improvements, helping to reduce costs and boost the efficiency of production processes. Although still a key c ...
Connectivity Methods
Have you ever wondered what the best way would be to connect your systems to the plant?
We have been asked this many times, and the reasons why we are asked varies a lot. There is no simple answer. Th ...
Remote Support
With many people working from home (WFH) and the desire to keep site access and cross-contamination to a minimum, remote support is becoming more common. Traditional benefits of remote support, even b ...
Dream Report – Automation Professionals should dream of…
In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, automation professionals in the industry are always driven by the challenge for continuous improvement and doing more with less. With lesser budgets and in ...
MES Vendor Solutions
Offering Summary
At Mescon, our engineers, have implemented several MES Solutions, some custom, others vendor solutions. These vendor solutions include: Citect Historian and Clients
Dream Report
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RSTechEd event
We recently attended RSTechED, the Rockwell Automation event that focuses on education about their products. Some of the things they are doing include: Partnering with PTC to bring ...
MES team Members
I read a blog that is a particularly good summary of the reality of MES/MOM implementations. The team is vital and needs to cover a variety of skills. Defining what you want to get out of your team i ...
Traceability Matters
Traceability is a critical aspect of any manufacturing business as it provides the ability to recall products, track production and match replacement parts quickly. There can be many reasons that nece ...
Save time and money with remote monitoring!
“Time is the longest distance between two places.†(by famous American playwright Tennessee Williams.) As we all know, time is a precious commodity that everyone seems to run out of due to our hec ...
PLC or IPC? That is the question!
When deciding whether to use a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) or an IPC (Industrial Personal Computer), there is no one right answer. It would be easy to deflect an answer with a statement like â ...
Keep your distance but keep up your performance
The pandemic pressure to do the same, if not more, with less.Most people in business have experienced highs and lows, which may be referred to as cycles. However, no matter how experienced you are, ve ...
