Oak Brook, IL - Control Engineering will conduct two webcasts on Oct. 17-18 as part of SupplyChainLinkExpo, a free online conference and tradeshow. The webcasts will focus on how automation tools can boost productivity, and will be moderated by Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering's editor-in-chief.

The first webcast, 'Standard roadmap to manufacturing productivity,' will show how the OPC Foundation (Scottsdale, AZ) improves manufacturing by delivering non-proprietary technical specifications-a common roadmap to productivity. The speaker will be Tom Burke, OPC Foundation's president and advisory software developer at Rockwell Automation.

The second webcast, 'Everything you need to know on one screen,' will ask if the ultimate productivity tool has arrived. A broad class of software shows key performance indicators for manufacturing, design, sales, logistics or whatever needs monitoring. Panelists will show attendees how to get the most from this type of software. Panelists are Jamie Bohan, Business Manager for the Honeywell Industry Solutions Uniformance product line; Kevin Roach, Vice President, Global Solutions Business, GE Fanuc, part of GE Industrial Systems; and Chris Colyer from Manufacturing Industry, Industry Solutions Group (ISG), Microsoft Corp.

Other presentations during SupplyChainLinkExpo will include speakers from IBM, Segway, Unilever, Microsoft, 3M, JC Penney and Amana.

For more information on the webcasts, go to www.controleng.com/webcasts; for more on the Expo, visit www.supplychainlinkexpo.com