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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

Articles

ARTICLES

Pet Food Series

Tomorrow’s pet food plant: What it takes to stay competitive

Plants of the future will rely on automation to produce consistent safe quality pet foods

Wayne Labs

December 13, 2019

What does the modern, competitive pet food plant of the future look like? What are its key design considerations to make it fast, efficient and safe (e.g., product flow, building, internal and external environmental considerations, waste streams, automation, equipment, etc.)?

Manufacturing News

FDA offers help with food defense plans

Wayne Labs

December 13, 2019

For processors that have either put off or need help with building an organized food defense plan, look no further than the FDA’s website.

Automation

Are you and your control systems ready for Windows 10?

Microsoft will drop support of Windows 7 in January 2020

Wayne Labs

December 10, 2019

Windows 7 to 10 upgrades may not be so difficult—so upgrade to stay secure.

Automation

ERP software helps keep bad product from consumers

Today’s cloud-based ERP software can track products in near real time

Wayne Labs

December 2, 2019

ERP software can provide data showing who has the product and what its status is in the supply chain.

Wonderful Pistachios' new automated production facility

Automation

Wonderful Pistachios meets global demand with new automated production facility

Producer chooses Allen-Bradley control system over a home-brew motor control center

Wayne Labs

December 2, 2019

The choice of a control solution collaborator was straightforward for Wonderful Pistachios, which has worked with Rockwell Automation for more than 20 years.

Tech Update

Why be liable for workplace injuries if robots can do the job safely, efficiently?

Wayne Labs

November 22, 2019

Robots in picking, packing and palletizing applications have performed some new feats—thanks to clever system integrators who have given them sensitive touch, better grips and keen vision.

Manufacturing News

Much food waste comes from misinterpretation on product date labels

Wayne Labs

November 18, 2019

The proliferation of various forms of date labels is enough to cause consumers not to buy a product with a short “sell by” date, leaving it to be junked at the store—or tossed prematurely at home—when the product is still perfectly fine.

Engineering R&D

RAIN uses vacuum cycles for extraction to occur at the deepest layers of coffee

Wayne Labs

November 18, 2019

The Reverse Atmospheric Infusion (RAIN) process also works with other media to create new and exciting organic and natural beverages or extracts to use in new products.

Industry News

CAT Squared becomes IBM Food Trust onboarding partner

The MES is said to be the first food industry application for IBM’s global blockchain-enabled supply chain system

Wayne Labs

November 12, 2019

CAT Squared has become an onboarding partner for the IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled global network of food chain participants that securely connects supply chain data across the ecosystem with trust and transparency.

Industry News

CRB names Jason Robertson as food and beverage market director

Robertson has more than 20 years experience in design and construction

Wayne Labs

November 8, 2019

CRB has appointed Jason Robertson as its food + beverage market director. Robertson will lead the company-wide growth of the food and beverage market.

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