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

The Allpax automated retort system featuring shuttle car transport and rigid chain loader/unloader, shown here, removes workers from the laborious and injury prone activity of pushing heavy baskets, top right, to and from and into and out of a retort.

Retort design improvements

Retort loading/unloading system removes the push-pull chain drive

A real engineering improvement, Allpax’s new design is simpler, requires fewer periodic adjustments and reduces parts wear

Wayne Labs

May 21, 2020

Real engineering improvements make things simpler to operate and maintain

2020 PLEX State of Manufacturing Technology Report

Manufacturing News

Study reveals manufacturers face new competition as biggest growth obstacle in 2020

But when it comes to adopting new technologies, food and beverage manufacturers are out in front of other industrial categories

Wayne Labs

May 19, 2020

The results are in for PLEX’s State of Manufacturing Report 2020, and they show the food and beverage industry is in many ways out in front of other industries in terms of adopting new technologies to maximize efficiency, competitiveness and profits.

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.

Join Lynn Dornblaser, Client Advisor at Mintel, and Alyse Thompson-Richards, Editor-in-Chief of FOOD ENGINEERING, as they break down the 2026 Top 100 Food and Beverage Companies and discuss the factors affecting this year’s rankings.