Intel® Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation today announced a new collaboration to develop next generation Factory Automation (FA) systems with Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and a pilot program at Intel’s backend manufacturing facility in Malaysia. The pilot demonstrates the benefits of the IoT in a factory setting. The pilot system will focus on delivering productivity enhancement through innovative functions, such as predictive failure, by combining Intel’s expertise developing solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Mitsubishi’s “e-Factory” automation capabilities. Intel realized a savings of nine million dollars over the course of the pilot.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Intel and Mitsubishi Electric are working together to advance Factory Automation (FA) Systems utilizing end-to-end IoT connectivity and big data analytics.

• The companies collaborated on a pilot at Intel’s manufacturing facility in Malaysia, demonstrating the benefits of IoT. The pilot resulted in improved equipment uptime, increased yield and productivity, the ability to conduct predictive maintenance and reduced component failures.

• As a result of the pilot, Intel realized nine million dollars in savings through cost avoidance and improved decision making.

• The companies are targeting product availability in 2015.

As an initial collaboration, Intel and Mitsubishi implemented the IoT and big data solution at Intel’s backend manufacturing facility in Malaysia. Using an Intel® Atom™ processor-based IoT gateway called the C Controller from Mitsubishi Electric, part of their iQ Platform, Intel was able to securely gather and aggregate data for the analytics server. Data was then processed using Revolution R Enterprise software from Revolution Analytics, an analytics software solution that uses the open source R statistics language, which was hosted on Cloudera Enterprise, the foundation of an enterprise data hub.

The solution has improved equipment component uptime, increased yield and productivity by minimizing misclassification of good units as bad, enabled predictive maintenance, and reduced component failures. Initial results include a savings of nine million dollars through cost avoidance and improved decision making.

“The data mining and analytics pilots done in Malaysia have demonstrated great value and benefits for Intel manufacturing using Intel based IoT products and technology,” said Robin Martin, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Assembly and Test Group. “Through this collaboration and pilot with Mitsubishi Electric*, we will bring the know-how, assets and technology of both companies to develop next generation factory automation systems with predictive analytic capabilities. This will allow other companies to reap the benefits of the Internet of Things for factory operations.”

“The collaboration between Mitsubishi Electric and Intel on this IoT project has enabled field data from semiconductor manufacturing lines to be collected and analyzed to improve operational performance, yet also contribute energy savings for a more sustainable society. We believe that other manufacturers can benefit from this joint Intel-Mitsubishi Electric solution which combines Big data analysis, optimized data capture and processing to deliver improved performance and optimized maintenance,” said Masayuki Yamamoto, Group Senior Vice President, Factory Automation Systems, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

The commercialization date for the product is 2015 and to the companies will show a live demonstration of the solution in Intel’s booth at the IoT Japan 2014 tradeshow, which will be held on October 15-17 at Tokyo Big Sight in Japan.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has announced today that Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd. has begun operating, effective immediately, a new center to provide factory-automation (FA) services in Ahmedabad with the Indian state of Gujarat, where a large number of Japanese manufacturing companies in need of FA services are operating. The Ahmedabad FA Center will support the ongoing expansion of Mitsubishi Electric's FA business in India, which is targeting sales of 8.9 billion INR, or 146 million USD, by the fiscal year ending in March 2016.

The Center will offer FA product training, technical consultation, solutions and training support for the engineering personnel of its customers. FA product servicing operations in the Gujarat area had been handled by the Pune FA Center, which was established in January 2012, and by local partners. The Ahmedabad FA Center, one of five such centers that Mitsubishi Electric now has in India, will provide faster, higher quality local services than ever before.

Ahmedabad, which has a robust economy and substantial infrastructure, is aggressively attracting outside investment. The area's increasing number of Japanese manufacturers and automotive companies in general are envisioned stimulating demand for FA products and a wide range of related services.

AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, today announces that the Clough AMEC joint venture has been awarded a AU$70 million front end engineering design (FEED) contract for Arrow Energy’s proposed Bowen Gas Project in central Queensland. The contract involves front end engineering to support the next phase of Arrow’s work to develop and commercialise its significant Bowen Basin gas reserves. The FEED scope includes engineering, procurement and contracts award for the early works.

The FEED contract will commence on 6 October 2014 and is expected to continue for up to 12 months. The work will provide employment opportunities for local engineering, technical and professional personnel.

“Australia is an important region for AMEC and we are delighted to be working closely with Arrow Energy and Clough on this significant coal seam gas project for Queensland’s economy,” said Malcolm Brown, AMEC Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific. “We will draw on our considerable engineering expertise in the Australian CSG industry to help Arrow achieve their long-term objectives, safely and sustainably.”

Arrow’s Bowen Gas Project involves a major, staged expansion of Arrow's existing domestic CSG production in the Bowen Basin, to supply gas to the domestic market and for the production and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Foster Wheeler AG has announced that BHI Co., Ltd., a licensee of its Global Power Group, has been awarded two contracts for Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs) in Asia. BHI offers HRSGs, pulverized coal (PC) boilers, circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers and oil and gas boilers all utilizing Foster Wheeler’s proven technology.

A contract by Mitsubishi Corporation was awarded to BHI for the design and supply of four HRSGs for the 240 megawatt Bangpoo cogeneration power plant in Thailand, which is scheduled to be on-line by third quarter 2016. Additionally, BHI received a contract from Daewoo Engineering & Construction for the design and supply of two HRSGs for the Pocheon 940 megawatt combined-cycle power plant IPP project in South Korea. The plant is expected to be on-line first quarter 2017.

BHI has received a full notice to proceed on both contracts. The terms of the agreements were not disclosed. The royalty value received for the Mitsubishi project was included in Foster Wheeler’s bookings for the second quarter of 2014; the royalty value received for the Daewoo project will be included in Foster Wheeler’s bookings for the third quarter of 2014.

“We at Foster Wheeler are proud of our great association with BHI in producing world-class HRSGs,” said David J. Parham, Executive Vice President, Foster Wheeler Global Power Group. “Together we have extensive experience with a variety of combustion turbines.”

“BHI is pleased to be making an important contribution by supplying environmentally friendly and cost-efficient HRSGs,” said Woo Jong-Ihn, President, BHI Co., Ltd. “In particular, our HRSGs operating behind Siemens and Mitsubishi J-gas turbines, respectively, will help secure reliable power generation in Thailand and South Korea.”