Author Archives: wendyfoo

Lighting the Way to Safety

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How well-lit is your workplace? Is it bright enough for you to see if what you are doing is safe?

According to Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia (DOSH), under the Factories and Machinery Act (Act 139), the approximate minimum intensity under average operating conditions “Where moderate discrimination of detail is essential, such as for medium assembling, rough bench and machine work, rough inspection or testing of products” is at least 20 foot-candles, or 215.2 lumens.

Looking for a bright idea to light up your world (or at least your workplace)? Look no further than Phoenix Contact LED Lighting.

Phoenix Contact's LED Lighting

In addition, it also boasts the following:

LED Light Mounting

  • Flexibility with Magnetic Mounting & Control
  • Quick and easy installation

Not sure if you need these for your workplace? We can help you to analyse the condition of your working environment and light up the path to your safety. Feel free to contact us to find out more!

Safety Valve Interlocking System

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The Problem:

In a chemical process plant, emergency situations can be extremely costly, both in terms of equipment and human life. However, under such extreme circumstances, it is rare that operators are able to effectively shut down all of the valves and pumps in the process line.

The Task:

We were given two weeks to install an upgrade to their existing system, along with the programming. The idea was simple – interlock the whole system so that no matter which part of the line the operator was, he/she would be able to shut down the entire system from his/her location.

The Solution:

Human-Machine Interface (HMI)

Human-Machine Interface (HMI)

We integrated Phoenix Contact’s Smart PLC Logic Relay and Human Machine Interface (HMI) into their system, splitting all of their valves and pumps in the process line into three zones. In the event of an emergency situation, the operator need only trigger the relay in one zone to shut down the whole process line.

Why it’s awesome:

Instead of having to run to separate parts of the process line to shut them down individually (and quite possibly realising how much more they need to train their running stamina and cardio over the weekends), all the operators have to do is to trigger the nearest zone. This not only saves time and effort, but more importantly equipment repair costs and human lives. This one-touch-kill-switch also reduces the risk of the operator forgetting to shut down some of the more remote areas of the process line in the heat of the moment, which would undoubtedly lead to higher repair costs.

In addition, our solution boasts the following features:

  • Easy troubleshooting on HMI with clear indication of which zone the emergency button was activated.
  • Easy maintenance work with interchangeable plug-in elements.
  • Reduced risk of system failure.
  • Allows greater flexibility for future system modifications.
  • Traceable data logging of system information.

Interested to find out more? Feel free to contact us!

CUTFOX 10 Automated Cutting Device

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Are you still using cutters to manually cut wires? Of course it would be practical if the job scale is small, involving less than 480 pieces of wire of length 0.5m daily.

What happens when you have a bigger job, where you are required to cut more than 1000 pieces of wire of length 0.5m every day?

One possible solution would be to buy another cutter to fulfil this requirement.

However, in doing so, you have an increased the labour cost to that of 2 well-trained operators.

Also, this does not account for human errors as well as quality issues. Are humans capable of repeatedly cutting wires of fixed length with an acceptable precision? Are they capable of running non-stop without tiring, constantly producing an output of virtually identical wires for extended periods of time? All of this would lead to increased costs and wasted materials.

With that in mind, what could cut wires with a consistent precision and can operate for long durations on end without rest? The answer is simple – a machine. Introducing Phoenix Contact’s CutFox 10.

Compared to the same range of automatic wire cutting tools in the market, our CutFox 10 has 2 additional functions with regards to its Speed & Software:

  • SPEED – Maximum Throughput of wire is 8mm with 0.5m/s max. feed rate.
  • SOFTWARE – CUTSOFT allows the CUTFOX 10 to read Microsoft Excel files, which can be exported to the machine. You can create a table of data with records of cutting jobs, containing information on the number of wires and length desired. These data records are then processed sequentially by the CUTFOX 10.

The Cutfox 10 not only cuts your labour costs, it also removes the costly element of human error and fatigue. In doing so, quality output is assured. In addition, it is also safe to use, compared to a manual cutter in the hands of a tired and weary operator, minimizing the risk of an accident.

This piece of automation ensures Return of Investment (ROI) in less than 6 months of constant usage, in addition to solving your manpower, quality and safety issues. If you are sick of cutting many, many wires, then this device is perfect for you!

If you are interested to find out more about our automatic cutting and crimping tools, feel free to contact us at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg!

Case Study: Retail Giant, Aeon, Automates Lighting System With Phoenix Contact Solution

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Summary

  • Aeon, the biggest shopping center in Johor, Malaysia, needed a solution to centralize their  Existing Car Park Area, Extended New Car Park Zone & Shopping Mall Corridors Lighting Monitoring & Control system. Previously, their lighting controls were operated manually by switching the lights via a “ON/OFF” switch.
  • The client was also searching for an alternative to reduce operational cost without compromising on safety and reliability.
  • Phoenix Contact’s Malaysia team met their needs by producing a complete solution that reduced cost without substituting on safety and reliability.
  • By utilizing Phoenix Contact’s solution, the client could now control their lighting centrally using pre-programmed scheduler to automatically switch the lights on or off without the need of additional manpower and monitor the system for lighting breakdowns or power outages.
  • The client also achieved a decrease in energy consumption, essentially lowering the cost of operations.
  • Overall, besides reducing their electricity intake and operational time, our solution allowed them to save cost in complex installations, hardware purchases, and future maintenance.

Customer Profile

Image result for aeon

The client, AEON, is the largest retailer in Asia with a retail network comprising around 300 consolidated subsidiaries and 26 equity-method affiliated companies ranging from convenience stores, supermarkets, and shopping malls.

One of their subsidiaries is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Officially opened in 2006, the shopping center is the biggest mall in Johor to date. It boasts the biggest hypermart and is located at Johor’s affluent area, making it the most visited mall especially on weekends.

Being a premium shopping center in Johor, they needed to explore options towards electrical efficiency and ensure this undertaking do not dampen the experience of their visitors.

Challenge: Improve energy and system efficiency without disrupting shopper’s experience

The client needed a Lighting Monitoring & Control System to reduce the operational expenditure of running a shopping mall. Since they operate from 10 am to 10 pm (which means that they’ll be switching the lights on at 8 am and will close later than 10 pm), they will have electricity running almost more than 12 hours a day.

Read more on how we’ve helped AEON Malaysia save more while doing less