In his Comment upfront in this April 2021 edition of Electricity + Control, Editorial Technical Director Professor Ian Jandrell considers the power and the pitfalls of ever-increasing data in industry – something with which we may all well be familiar. While recognising that the remarkable power of the IIoT to measure almost every parameter of plant operations may give plant managers and business owners a sense of knowing what’s going on, he highlights the critical distinction between data and information: rather than delivering data for the sake of data, data needs to be processed and analysed to provide meaningful information, valuable insights into operations that can inform business decisions and improve operations. Worth keeping in mind.

In this issue we look at Industry 4.0 + IIoT, Energy management + the industrial environment, Measurement + instrumentation, and Safety of plant, equipment + people – all aspects of industry that are becoming increasingly intertwined.

With increasing digitalisation, Industry 4.0 + IIoT, the pace of change in industrial technologies continues to accelerate. John Browett General Manager of the CC-Link Partner Association, Europe, reviews Time Sensitive Networking technology – developed to expand the capabilities of Ethernet networks – and how it can contribute to improving business.

In the context of Energy management + the industrial environment – the energy transition is gaining momentum globally as countries and regions switch to clean, renewable energy sources in the endeavour to limit climate change, reduce harmful emissions, and clean up the industrial environment. There is a lot industry can do in this regard.

Comtest presents a Question & Answer session with Wade Thompson, a Fluke power quality specialist, who shares his expertise on energy measurement and management to achieve a real return on investment for industries looking to improve their energy efficiencies.

Considering South Africa’s new Carbon Tax Act, EDS Solutions’ Eckart Zollner outlines how new technologies can help businesses get to grips with their carbon footprint, set up carbon budgets and pollution prevention plans to reduce emissions and limit their liabilities, and so contribute to cleaner industry.

In Measurement + instrumentation, Istec International, represented locally by PREI Instrumentation, looks at the increasing demand for SIL certified safety instrumented systems for critical rotating machinery and highlights the distinction between certified in use and certified by design.

In Safety of plant, equipment + people we turn to the continuing problem of copper cable theft which has plagued South African utilities and industries for the past two decades and more. Remote monitoring specialist Omniflex presents a new level of defence, a small solution that raises the alarm when cable has been cut and gives utilities and business owners at least a fighting chance to combat the crime.

In our regular column on cybersecurity Simeon Tassev of the Galix Group introduces a new way of addressing cybersecurity in a work-from-anywhere world. In Engineering the future we report on a new partnership exploring the opportunities to mainstream ocean energy, and Write @ the back Lehigh Cement outlines the feasibility study underway at its Edmonton, Alberta plant where, with its project partners, it is looking to establish a system for carbon capture and storage to limit GHG emissions in the cement industry.

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