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.

Industry News

Dairy Farmers of America to acquire substantial portion of Dean Foods

Dean Foods’ sales of assets stem from bankruptcy proceedings

Wayne Labs

February 18, 2020

Dean Foods Company and some of its subsidiaries have entered into an asset purchase agreement with Dairy Farmers of America by which DFA will acquire a substantial portion of Dean Foods’ business operations. If the agreement is approved, DFA will acquire 44 of the Dean Foods’ fluid and frozen facilities and the real estate, inventory, equipment, and all other assets necessary to operate such facilities (aka the “Stalking Horse Assets”).

Food Loss & Waste

CEC launches food loss and waste pilot program

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is asking for comments to help improve the program

Wayne Labs

February 18, 2020

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is spearheading a North America-wide pilot program aimed at implementing Why and How to Measure Food Loss and Waste: A Practical Guide, a program launched in March 2019.

Improving OEE

Finding new AI-based methods to boost productivity requires digital data

Large gains in productivity have been made over the years using lean manufacturing and Six Sigma, but today new technologies can further efficiency improvements

Wayne Labs

February 13, 2020

AI-based tools are the next step beyond Six Sigma and lean manufacturing to improve production

Manufacturing News

Bill would allow the FDA access to CAFOs

Wayne Labs

February 11, 2020

In an effort to allow FDA to sample water, soil and environmental conditions on USDA-regulated concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), New York Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand introduced a bill that would provide the FDA authority to conduct microbial sampling on CAFOs as necessary for a foodborne illness outbreak investigation, determine the outbreak’s root cause or address other public health needs.

Automation

How to ensure your automation system can be recovered

Take backups seriously to avoid disaster

Wayne Labs

February 11, 2020

If you haven’t become serious about backups, it’s time to do so now—before a key system goes down and puts you out of business while you try to recover.

Cimcorp MultiPick robotic material handling

Field Report

Bakery improves fulfillment time by automating headquarters warehouse

The bakery also reduced space utilization by 50 percent and decreased labor by 30 percent

Wayne Labs

January 30, 2020

Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe Inc. finds the summer season really good for business—except mostly manual practices in the warehouse put a real crimp on the way the company would really like to handle the distribution side of its supply chain.

Legal Issues

Butter and cheese class action lawsuit settled

$220 million settlement stems from lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to reduce milk output and raise prices on dairy products

Wayne Labs

January 29, 2020

A $220 million settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit brought against National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), Agri-Mark, Inc., Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., and Land O’Lakes, Inc. The lawsuit claimed that an effort known as Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) operated a Herd Retirement Program to reduce milk output in violation of the law.

Engineering R&D

Novel compressed air drying system leaves out the desiccant

Wayne Labs

January 22, 2020

Typically, in food applications where compressed air may come in direct contact with food, regenerative desiccant dryers are able to dry the air to ISO 8573 Class 1-2 requirements.

Tech Update

Employing wireless sensors without a clear goal could prove inefficient

Wayne Labs

January 22, 2020

How do you implement a sensor-based IIoT system that can fulfill your needs now and into the future?

IIOT Communications

IIOT sensor communications issues still need work

NIST’s Nenad Ivezic provides a more detailed view of the progress made in standardizing data communications in the food supply chain—including sensors and IIoT at the farm and industrial levels

Wayne Labs

January 17, 2020

While much of the work involving the standardization of communication in the overall food supply chain is finished, there is still work needing to be done regarding the standardization of IIoT sensor data. I asked Nenad Ivezic, leader of the Process Engineering Group in the Systems Integration Division of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Engineering Laboratory, to fill us in on the particulars.