Manufacturers can monitor and protect machinery at a lower total cost of ownership with the Allen-Bradley Dynamix 1444 Series monitors from Rockwell Automation. The new integrated condition-monitoring system allows manufacturers to leverage the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture system, rather than an isolated condition-monitoring device, to assess current equipment health, predict potential issues, and help avoid damage to critical machinery.

More than 200 managers and senior engineers from the factory and process automation fields in Japan attended the recent ARC Tokyo Forum 2014, where they had a good opportunity to acquire knowledge of the latest developments and trends in manufacturing, including approaches for safer, more secure and sustainable operations. Forum participants frequently heard the three key expressions: transition, information-driven, and connected during many of the presentations. The speakers reinforced these major Forum themes.

India's Minister of Finance presented the flagship annual Economic Sur-vey in the parliament on July 9, 2014. This was a day prior to the announcement of the Budget, which reviews and summarizes the country's economic performance, highlights the Government's policy initiatives, and discusses short- and medium-term prospects. In FY 2013-14 (the nation's financial year runs from April 1st to March 31st), India's GDP grew and marginally improved to 4.7 percent as compared to 4.5 percent the previous year.

ARC Advisory Group's latest research into industrial Ethernet devices reveals that this technology continues its sustained march downward in the automation hierarchy. This has generated increased user acceptance and significant annual increases in shipments within the overall slow-growing automation hardware marketplace. Continued recognition of, and additions to, the industrial Ethernet value proposition, coupled with lack of saturation in key device segments, are primary catalysts behind this phenomenon.

A recent report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research predicts that by 2030, global demand for water will outstrip supply by as much as 40 percent, leading to dramatic political and sociological developments. This report warns that, by 2050, as many as 50 nations could be involved in water conflicts. The report urges governments and corporations to invest in water reuse technologies, as the current path could lead to devastating consequences that could put up to 45 percent of projected GDP at risk.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), GE, through enCryo, a GE O&G and Maison joint venture in China, will build a small-scale LNG plant with a daily production capacity of 50,000 m3 in Xinjiang, China. Over the next three years, the companies will work together to build up to eight similarly sized plants in the region.