Are you ready for change? Jack Smith, Managing Editor In manufacturing, some things don't change. Plant managers are expected to do more with less to increase production output and productivity while maintaining safety. They are challenged to decrease raw material consumption, energy consumption and pollution. Automation, when intelligently applied, can solve these problems and meet these challenges simultaneously. Yet automation is a tool, like the screwdriver or motor. Automation – any technology for that matter – should be considered and implemented for good, solid business and technical reasons. You've consistently told us how important it is for PLANT ENGINEERING to provide useful information on automation. The best way to show how automation can help you improve your bottom line is to tell you not only what solutions are being created, but how these innovations are being applied. That's why we've created AppliedAutomation. Each issue will feature examples of how well-implemented automation strategies solve problems, increase flexibility and meet increasing business pressures and challenges. Each issue of AppliedAutomation will augment the ongoing coverage of automation issues in PLANT ENGINEERING by reporting on how companies apply automation to solve problems in process, manufacturing and utilities. AppliedAutomation delivers knowledge about state-of-the-art automation and control technologies, and how they are applied to solve problems and enhance the bottom line. How have you 'applied automation' in your facility? Have you solved problems by applying automation in a unique and innovative way? If so, I want to hear from you. Reach me at (630) 288-8783 or jsmith@reedbusiness.com so we can share your story with other AppliedAutomation readers. Some things don't change. But some things do change: the world is continually changing; so is manufacturing. Are you ready for change? | 
