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.

Senior Contributing Technical Editor

Manufacturing News

Beer choices abound: Great for consumers but tough on large brewers

New technologies like AI and IIoT sensors plus horizontal distribution will give craft and microbreweries an edge over megalithic breweries

Wayne Labs

May 19, 2020

The brewery industry has been in a state of change, and craft and microbreweries are ready to adopt technology to give large, institutional brewers a run for their money, says a new study

Protecting against physical violence

Wayne Labs

May 11, 2020

While we can't pretend to cover in one article what an entire publication devoted to security does, we will look at some key pointers in keeping employees safer in the workplace.

Engineering R&D

Omnichain's predictive analytics inform decisions

Wayne Labs

May 8, 2020

Though relatively new, blockchain distributed ledger technology (DLT) applied in food and beverage can speed up tracebacks from days to seconds. One innovator—Pratik Soni, founder and CEO of Omnichain—is already taking blockchain technologies to the next level.

Manufacturing News

FDA takes measures to promote the microbiological safety of leafy greens

Wayne Labs

May 4, 2020

To combat recurring food safety issues, FDA has come up with a plan for 2020, called the "2020 Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan."

CEO appointments

Eriez appoints Lukas Guenthardt as its new president and CEO

Timothy Shuttleworth retires, having served as Eriez president and CEO since 2004

Wayne Labs

April 16, 2020

Eriez has appointed Lukas Guenthardt as its new president and CEO after Timothy Shuttleworth retired from the position, having served since 2004.

Engineering R&D

IcePoint saves energy via on-demand agile cooling and moisture control

Wayne Labs

April 15, 2020

Colorado-based Rebound Technologies, founded in 2012 by CEO Kevin Davis and CTO Russell Goldfarbmuren, has taken a new approach to refrigeration with its IcePoint technology, focusing its efforts on developing highly agile systems to match perfectly the dynamic thermal needs of a business.

Blockchain is the tracking method preferred by industry right now

Wayne Labs

April 15, 2020

There's been a lot of hype about Blockchain — in fact, it uses networking and distributed database technology with encryption, security and much more. But should you jump on the bandwagon now?

COVID-19

OSHA releases guidance on recording COVID-19 cases

The goal is to simplify reporting so companies can concentrate on protecting workers

Wayne Labs

April 13, 2020

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued interim guidance for enforcing OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements (29 CFR Part 1904) as it relates to recording cases of COVID-19.

Industry News

ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company and Glencore Agriculture create Covantis

Covantis seeks to modernize global trade through blockchain-based digital technology

Wayne Labs

April 9, 2020

Covantis, the industry initiative that aims to modernize global trade operations, has received all required regulatory approvals and has incorporated as a legal entity in Geneva, Switzerland, as Covantis SA. The company is co-owned by its founding members: ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company and Glencore Agriculture.

Manufacturing News

Public budgets for foundational research decline

Wayne Labs

April 6, 2020

According to a white paper published by the Institute of Food Technologists entitled "Food Research: Call to Action on Funding and Priorities," public spending on foundational research for both agriculture and food in the U.S. has been slowly trending downward since 2006 or so, while private R&D spending has seen a small increase.

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

On Demand Driven by climate goals, business risk, client interest, and resilience considerations, food and beverage companies are increasingly turning their attention to decarbonizing their production processes.