Gary On Manufacturing - Gary Mintchell: Recent Episodes
Gary Mintchell
Writer/analyst Gary Mintchell shares thoughts on manufacturing and production technology, leadership, and marketing.
Nothing in industrial technology news annoys me more than the hype around artificial intelligence—AI. I recorded this podcast on the eve of the Automate trade show and conference in June 2026.
Looking to for realistic use of Industrial AI, I'm bringing in an interview with a practitioner. Bryan DeBois is Director of Industrial AI at RoviSys, one of the largest independent system integrators. He has 20 years in MES, historians, and plant floor software. He leads teams that operationalize AI and data infrastructure in live plants, working with the C suite and ops to turn goals into running systems.
We look at definitions of AI. Then turn to the technology development from when RoviSys developed its AI practice in 2019 pre-LLMs. RoviSys took autonomous AI beyond predictive applications. Hiring deep manufacturing expertise, they can use AI to assist the human in the loop to make constrained decisions. DeBois discusses real-world applications. He then leads us through the beginning of a project.
A first summary of my three days with the Aras community in Miami. These PLM events always return me to the time when I did this sort of work--manually. Then my first taste of computers digitizing the bill of materials as a first step in our data management journey. Unfortunately, that company hit a big bump in the road and I was invited to try other things--at other companies.
Aras product managers showed how LLMs trained on the data within the app along with proper governance worked with agents to perform a number of tasks. Tasks in many cases that would require days of pain-staking work from a human.
While I heard from an analyst in the market that they thought this was all painfully slow, I'd offer the thought that a company does not want to outpace its customers. Most will not want to jump into the deep end immediately.
As always, this podcast was sponsored by Ignition from Inductive Automation.
Episode 275. Why AI in Manufacturing? Why not? I explore how new technologies for knowledge work, unlike in manufacturing, create even more busy work distracting us from our real work--thinking, deep work. Looking beyond the hype, AI tools are going to help us do things. We just don't know exactly what is best. We must play with the tools to find the best ways to help us.
We also need to consider the limits of text-based LLMs. Researcher Yan LeCun has looked at the limits of these technologies. How can they work for things like bringing a robot into the house, for example, when they are limited to digital and text and the environment is analog. Won't this take a system of models? Not just one model?
Use them, but don't be awed. Or bamboozled by CEOs. This episode is sponsored by Inductive Automation.
I was intrigued by an item in News Items by John Ellis quoting the Wall Street Journal regarding the continued slide in manufacturing employment in the US and the prolonged slide in manufacturing activity. The first Trump administration elicited promises of moving manufacturing to the US with the building of plants. Little of that actually happened. The Biden administration invested a few billion, but what has that brought. The second Trump administration thought that tariffs would provide the protection from competition to jump start manufacturing.
I pose the idea that it takes more than investment. And protection from competition really just allows local companies leeway to raise prices. What it really takes is better, bolder, visionary leadership to search out customer needs, design products they will buy, and then produce the products.
It takes more than waving a few dollars at the problem.
This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation.
Thoughts on organization structures and Rockwell CEO Blake Moret's experiments with bringing in outsiders and setting his own directions.
Thoughts on the industrial software market in general and Rockwell's evolution. What's happening with MES in particular.
Rockwell upgrading and building new factories using its own products and services. Rok on Rok
Repackaged cybersecurity offerings.
Software defined automation--software distinct from the target controller--can target any Rockwell control. Question about IEC 61131 and targeting anyone's control fell on deaf ears. Thoughts on that market.
Rockwell's use of AI, fitting trend of AI as automation tool, trained on the company's data.
Rockwell's use of robotics to expand horizontally throughout manufacturing.
Sponsored by Inductive Automation.
We met in a conference room at an office in Barrington, IL. A place where sometime later a couple guys thought they'd screw me in a business deal. I came out ahead in the end, but the place has mixed memories.
This meeting involved thinking about the future of asset data and systems interoperability. We had a system diagram. The idea was to solve a huge problem for owner/operators of process manufacturing enterprises—flowing engineering data into other software systems for operations, maintenance, and enterprise. The incumbent system was a morass of paper (or pdf documents which was much the same thing).
We did trademark searches and domain name searches and eventually settled on the Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem—OIIE.
I plot this history for context for the conference I attended recently—the 2nd ADIF Workshop at Texas A&M University dubbed Driving Asset Data and Systems Interoperability Toward an Open and Neutral Data Ecosystem.
This workshop brought together owner/operators, EPCs, System Integrators, university researchers, standards organizations, and software vendors. Each group conducted a panel discussion of its needs and successes. I was there for a short presentation and to moderate the standards panel.
Professor David Jeong from Texas A&M and the session leader previewed the discussions. One of his colleagues later presented research his team has performed to provide a method for taking P&ID documentation into a standard format usable by other software systems.
The message that came to me from the panel of owner/operators (grossly summarized, as will be all the discussions) included two key words—collaborate and operationalize. They are impatient about solving this data interoperability problem. One panelist quipped, "We know the project is finished when the large van backs into the loading dock and disgorges mountains of paper."
What blows my mind is that I was moved to a position called Data Manager in 1977 to tackle the (much smaller) mountain of paper our product engineering department provided to operations, accounting, and inventory management. I led a digitalization effort in 1978 to tackle the problem. The problem not only remains, but it is immensely more complicated and critical.
The EPCs basically said that their hands were tied by the owner/operators mandating which design and engineering software to use and the inflexibility of the vendors of said design and engineering software. When owner/operators had requested digital documentation, they had responded with pdfs. Hardly interoperable data.
Our standards panel included the leader of DEXPI, whose organization has developed a method of changing P&ID data into an xlsx (Excel) format. That, of course, is a good start.
An organization called CFIHOS (see-foss) presented their take on standards. I'm afraid I got a bit lost in the slides (note: more research needed). What I gathered was that they were attempting one overriding standard—and that that work was years away. Interesting that I listened to Benedict Evans' podcast this morning. He is a long-time tech industry analyst. He remarked in another context, "It seems that where there are 10 standards and someone comes along with a standard to encompass them all, you wind up with 11 standards."
The ISA-95 was presented. This messaging (and more) standard is incorporated with the OIIE, which was presented next. Dr. Markus Stumptner of the University of South Australia presented his research work on proof of concept of the OIIE.
If we can get enough momentum focusing on this area and find some SIs willing to take the OIIE to an owner/operator, perhaps we can finally prove the business case of asset data and systems interoperability.
An early essay by Karl Marx writing at the beginning of the industrial revolution argued that humans who were formerly craftspeople were now just cogs in the industrial machine alienated from the products they made and their work.
Today's podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation, makers of Ignition — the world's most versatile industrial automation platform for connecting data, systems, and people. With the new Ignition 8.3 release, you can easily manage time-series and event data, quickly create custom graphics with onboard drawing tools, and centralize control using Ignition's new gateway interface with global search and deep link launching. Providing additional support for Git, containers, and private data protection to go along with its unlimited licensing, Ignition 8.3 takes industrial operations to the next level. Download Ignition for free.
The Irish poet/philosopher John O'Donohue discussed in Anam Cara the dignity of work and that work should benefit workers and communities as well as owners and managers.
Lean guru Keven Meyer noted in his book Simple Leader that respect for people is a pillar of Lean. When you hire someone, you are getting more than a pair of hands—you are getting a brain and experience, as well. You should make use of them.
Articles about a worker shortage due to Boomer retirements have been a staple of trade magazine editorial ever since I became an editor in 1998. Some twenty-seven years later, those articles and news releases keep coming.
I learned about a new product from Derek Crager, Founder & CEO of Practical AI for onboarding and mentoring new employees. There is irony here, in that Crager touts himself as developer of an award-winning training program at Amazon—yes, the place that thinks it can replace its workers with robots. But, we will go beyond that thought for now.
His solution? Just-in-time guidance—the right step at the exact moment of need, while hands are on the task. When a technician can ask and do in the same breath, training becomes throughput. That's the difference between teaching a concept and multiplying your best expert across every line and shift.
He called on his experience at Amazon to develop something called Pocket Mentor: A Phone Call to Your Best Expert. This is a hands-free, eyes-free mentor your team reaches by phone, anytime, on the floor or in the field. No app. No Wi-Fi. No passwords. Just tap & say, "Talk me through it" — and we will.
Check out TheManufacturingConnection.com for more thoughts.
Why pursue AI? As a tool to help entrepreneurs add value to their companies. The appropriate roll out entails organizing small "pirate ships" empowered to experiment and implement with a budget and air cover. Many concerns about AI's impact on employment and organization are over blown. History shows that new technology winds up creating more jobs than it destroys. This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation.
ICC 2025 Recap
I recorded this as I was leaving Inductive Automation's Ignition Community Conference 2025 in Sacramento. The event team performed wonderfully moving ICC from the smaller Harris Center in Folsom to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento with double the attendance. Lots of energy, many partners. The event had to be credited a success. Of course, the highlight was introduction of Ignition 8.3. This update included many long-sought additions. Note: Inductive Automation has been a long-term sponsor for my work. However, we do not have an "influencer" relationship, that is, they do not pay me for writing content. They just appreciate my work. If this information is useful, please pass along.
When I set initial editorial direction for Automation World, I was focused on exploring the Intelligent Application of Automation emphasizing the teams that made it happen. Recently I interviewed Mike Payne, co-owner and president of Hill Manufacturing. His story of using intelligent applications of technology both for the machines and for software showed how even an old-line manufacturer can be new and profitable. Sponsored by Inductive Automation at https://www.inductiveautomation.com
Inductive Automation Chief Technology Evangelist Travis Cox talks with me about the newly expanded Ignition Community Conference and the beta release of Ignition 8.3. This is a major release with many usability and IT-friendly upgrades. We talk about what's new with Ignition Community Conference and the beta release of Ignition 8.3.
AI has generated more hype and obfuscation than all the words from ChatGPT. OK, maybe I exaggerate, but the amount of scare talk is endless. I try to take a more rational and down-to-earth look at the issue from the point-of-view of manufacturers. I argue that AI now and in the future should be viewed as a tool that will help humans work better and more productively. I use an example from an interview with Mike Payne, co-owner and president, of Hill Manufacturing--a production machine shop operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mike was introduced to me by Hexagon. This podcast is sponsored by the Ignition Community Conference by Inductive Automation.
CEOs in a recent survey complained they were not seeing results from digital transformation. Too much complexity, dashboards too complex, information not clear, silos of data. Maybe we're looking at the wrong part of the problem. Maybe it's not technology; it's people.
This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation. Two topics dominated my inbox this year--and will probably continue to do so. These are AI Large Language Models and Cybersecurity.
Many times in my career I have hired into a company during the initial surge of a market. Good jobs. Excitement. Opportunity to work on new things. Then the market matured or collapsed usually due to external forces such as technology changes or consumer behavior.
I hit recreation vehicles at a high point followed by high inflation and gasoline price surges. Then a consumer product company where Consumer Reports published a poorly researched article—but the external market also changed. Then PC peripherals. The latest was automation where a few of us started a magazine to cover it. The market was good for about 10 years. Then we went into brief cycles of IIoT, edge, networks, collaborative robots, IT companies looking at the manufacturing market.
This podcast began life in 2007 as Automation Minutes. I morphed it into Gary on Manufacturing to make it more general. That was more than 10 years ago. Must be time for another change.
That all is quite mature now.
Where do you think the offsetting new technologies or customer behavior will lead now? Or, is the market just going to begin to either consolidate further or split? What do you think?
Gary offers observations on the continuing saga of former GE executives running Boeing changing the culture from engineering-driven to Wall Street-driven. Also thoughts on good manufacturing leadership.
Gary discusses the current state of the automation and control market. Why it seems to be a stable market and why the media in the market are shrinking. He riffs from Seth Godin blog
The Drift to Normal. As an organization grows in scale, the idiosyncrasy and distinctiveness that was originally informed by the taste of the founders moves toward the mean. Over time, things get more average.
I have arranged a special deal with energy drink makers Magic Mind. Listeners can visit https://www.magicmind.com/garym and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code GARYM20. After 10 days, you can still get 20% off for one time purchases and subscriptions.
My sponsor is Inductive Automation. Check out their flagship product Ignition and the Cloud and Edge editions.
If you would like to get a message out to about 200,000 people, you, too, could be a sponsor. Reply to this email to find out more about sponsorship opportunities.
Gary discusses productivity, slow productivity movement, busyness or pseudo-productivity.
Sponsors Inductive Automation inductiveautomation.com and Magic Mind, magicmind.com/garym and use code GARYM20.
I've seen successes of industry standards. I've also seen industrial standards struggle to break through the logjam of large companies drive to lock customers into their ecosystem. What is the latest of OPAF and what is the meaning of Schneider Electric's announcement of a product built with with Red Hat and IBM and development of a new computer communication standard?
I have arranged a special deal with energy drink makers Magic Mind. Listeners can visit https://www.magicmind.com/garym and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code GARYM20. After 10 days, you can still get 20% off for one time purchases and subscriptions. That’s magicmind.com/garym with the code GARYM20.
This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation. https://www.inductiveautomation.com
Boeing is a company that has lost its way. I have no idea why the board has not sacked the CEO. The 737MAX program was a fiasco and continues to haunt the company. The 787 program ran way behind schedule costing the company billions. This is what happens when you ignore product and serving customers instead focusing solely on financial numbers. We are a business company not an engineering company, said one Boeing CEO. How right he was. They can't build an airplane anymore. But they can still count, I guess.
Gary gives leadership growth tips based on Dan Lyons "The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World" and David Brooks "How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen."
After attending several technology supplier user conferences this summer and fall, a colleague asked why suppliers are emphasizing software. I ponder this question in this podcast essay. And ask what the new breed of engineers will bring with new ideas. Maybe Arduino control platforms? Worth asking.
Do digital tools have the effect of adding more things to our plate rather than helping us get things done? Gary looks at how software helped him get productive and then seemed to bog down and still accomplish a lot, but it seems slower over all. Even more, what is more important—getting more done or doing what is impactful?
My career spans the innovation to maturity cycle of three technology markets--PC, IT, Automation. I wonder what's next.
I went to this year's Honeywell User Group with many questions. They were all answered as you will hear. There were many questions begging for answers as I traveled to Florida. What was Honeywell HIVE, and how does it relate to the ExxonMobil initiated Open Process Automation group? What is Honeywell Digital Prime and what customer problems does it address? What successes have Honeywell achieved with sustainability initiatives? Honeywell was an early mobility developer. What has progressed in that regard? What role does Honeywell see for AR and VR?
Gary talks about the successful integrations of software by Siemens since the 2007 acquisition of UGS. He reflects on early conversations with Siemens executives regarding the Digital Factory and then how far the company has traveled along that path becoming perhaps the most successful industrial automation and industrial software supplier.
Surveying the past of automation and control tech and the tech media market over the years, then taking a look at future coverage for Gary on Manufacturing and The Manufacturing Connection.
Observations, thoughts, questions about automation and control market, the companion media market, and innovation. Thoughts welcome.
I presented a Webinar on April 5. You can find it here https://www.manufacturingtechnologytoday.com/frs/23189866/going-beyond-digital-transformation--the-real-innovations-in-manufacturing/email . I talked about how digital data isn't new, my 1978 project, how we need to watch for disruption coming from anywhere, the importance of people, and how you, yes you, can and should be a change agent.
Why is it that open systems work in IT and not OT. The work of the Open Process Automation Forum.
Update on the industrial metaverse essay and podcast given the Google, Facebook, and Microsoft news to AI, ChatGPT, and search ads. Thoughts on merger and acquisition including new thoughts on Emerson bid for NI. Finally, a new take on video for manufacturing. Sponsored by Ignition from Inductive Automation.
Yes, I'm back after a long hiatus due to some projects that soaked up my time. Metaverse remains the hot topic in industrial technology discussion circles. Are we getting closer to reality than what I spoke of in episode 241? There are some interesting new concepts from both Rockwell Automation and GridRaster plus others.
Press releases come to me from a variety of sources. The topics are often in batches. There was 3D printing, then cybersecurity, now sustainability. Check out a new book instigated by Seth Godin (check his podcast out at akimbo.link) called The Carbon Almanac (thecarbonalmanac.org). Electric is big, as in electric cars. Everything needs big engineering ideas. What will you contribute?
Two developers reflecting on Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference in terms of Gartner's Hype Cycle--about getting enthused at the event and then reality settling in when the amount of work is realized. I reflect on the several trips I made in May and June in the same model. I'm not saying all I got was hype, but the trip from enthusiasm to realism is worth taking.
Gary discusses 20 years of trying on headsets for manufacturing applications. Is the Metaverse finally upon us? Probably not.
Perhaps if President Nixon had read 500 books rather than watching 500 movies during his time in office... What happened to all the free time we were supposed to get from increased productivity? Oliver Burkeman discusses time management in Four Thousand Weeks. And no, it's not a new system. Plus Karels and Miller wrote Steel Toes and Stilettos, a story of Lean Transformation of three manufacturing plants. It's The Goal for a new generation.
There was Internet of Things, IoT, then Industrial Internet of Things, IIoT, and companies formed groups to build product and exploit the area. Then they went away. What happened? What's new? Taking a look at data orchestration and data ops.
Gary discusses how to answer why spend the money, how we learned to build safety into machines and processes, and how we'll learn to do the same with cybersecurity.
Gary recaps the recent ODVA annual general meeting. Keynoter Paul Maurath of P&G corporate engineering discussed laboratory testing of EtherNet/IP with APL. He asked for more configuration and device description help. ODVA tech group engineers have been very busy with OPC UA mapping, TSN, and CIP for discrete devices. It was great to meet again.
Gary discusses ideas around corporate sustainability and looks at what three automation companies are doing--ABB, Rockwell Automation, and Schneider Electric.
Gary ponders the state of the automation and control market riffing off the ARC Advisory Group / Control Global Top 50 by sales. Is this a mature market? New entrants seem to be acquired by incumbents as an innovation strategy by the larger companies. What does a mature market mean?
How are your New Years Resolutions coming? Quit already? Try a few tips from Gary about improving life and career this year.
I love irony. Like when people click on my consulting link and want to sell me consulting instead of asking me to consult. Also a quick trip around the Fabtech and Additive Manufacturing Trade Show, the size of The Manufacturing Connection--your number one resource. Sponsored by Ignition by Inductive Automation.
Rick Bullotta posted a provocative comment on LinkedIn predicting a shakeup in the industrial software business with the hyperscaler cloud companies acquiring a chunk of those now owned by OEMs or the few independent ones. I've thought about this for a long time. What do you think?
231 Are You Being Served?
While thinking about the proliferation of as-a-service models of business, thoughts of that 70s and 80s British comedy TV show came to mind. Are you being served? Proved feasible by Salesforce and then adopted by many including recently HPE as the strategy for the entire company, we are witnessing automation companies exploring the as-a-service business model. I wonder how far it will go.
230 AR and VR
AR, MR, VR, XR--what R we supposed to make of all this technology. We've been playing with the idea for more than 20 years when I first reported on a new product that promised to connect a line technician with a remote expert (using video camera) and show work instructions (augmented reality). At the time legendary blogger Robert Scoble in 2013 or so predicted we'd all be wearing Google Glass. That device would tell us whom we were about to meet on the street so that we could greet them by name and ask relevant questions. The immersive experience of visual reality is great for gamers and perhaps for operator and maintenance training. This technology is here, just unevenly distributed.
229 Flying in the Clouds
A beginning student pilot must only fly on clear days where the ground is always visible. Following much additional training, the student can achieve instrument rating and can "fly in the clouds."
Manufacturing and production companies are moving to flying in the clouds perhaps much more quickly than they moved to any other technology. Of course, I'm talking about cloud computing.
I recently sat in the ROKLive Rockwell Automation event. They discussed two recent acquisitions, Fiix and Plex, both of whom will move Rockwell into the cloud. Good moves.
Tech doesn't change industries, says analyst Benedict Evans. People in the industry use tech to change the industry. Witness how Ethernet went from nice IT thing to a necessary network on the factory floor. Or mobile phones went from "can we control them" to "everyone has one and it changed workflows forever." Same will happen with Augmented Reality (AR). Just watch.
This podcast is sponsored by Ignition from Inductive Automation. Check out Ignition 8 and the upcoming Ignition Community Conference.
Sometimes we clutter our minds with what we think we know and leave no room for learning new things. In the process, we fixate on an idea and miss the simple and most elegant explanation.
I had received a news release from a manufacturing software company so full of jargon that I could barely decipher it. In the midst of the stuff was the claim that there are 40,000 IIoT professionals. Huh? I figured that they renamed engineers and technicians who wire all the field devices into a new profession. Why? Why make things more complicated than they are?
The best bet is to apply Occam's Razor wherever it fits--the simplest explanation is often the best. This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation. Check out this year's Ignition Community Conference.
Imagine laying railroad tracks west from the US east coast and meeting up with a crew laying railroad tracks from the west coast only to discover that the width between the rails was different. Standards make a huge difference.
Open standards, open APIs, and open source all enable interoperability and all make life better for users. My discussions over the past couple of years indicates that US engineers are falling behind in the encouragement and use of these technologies. I hope I'm wrong, and I hope the new generation of engineers pick up these ways of working and move American manufacturing forward. And the rest of the world, too.
Get outside. Get outside into nature, a park or something, to refresh your mind and body. Get outside your preconceived ideas and prejudices for better thinking. Mary Donelan came to KMC Systems to use Lean to improve productivity. She had to overcome existing prejudices that improvements meant reducing workforce. She exemplified the basic Lean principle of Respect for People leading personal growth along with improving productivity allowing the company to take on more work. Then I wondered about adding software and knowledge workers and any impact on productivity. This leads to considering Cal Newport's new book A World Without Email and a look at improving knowledge worker workflow. Finally, a challenge to Americans about adopting standards and productivity-enhancing methods. Thanks to long-time sponsor Inductive Automation.
According to the legend, the cup holding the wine Jesus toasted his friends with at his Last Supper the next day held some of his blood from the crucifixion. Joseph of Arimethea had possession of that cup and wound up in Britain. Whereupon it was "lost." In 1182 a poem was circulated with the story of the Holy Grail. It was bound up with the Arthur legends and then was found in a Monty Python video and later the prize of Indiana Jones (and the Last Crusade).
In 1979, Dan Bricklin connected a spreadsheet for the new personal computer product, and the pursuit of the Holy Grail was transformed in the computer age to the pursuit of the killer app. We still live in the age of the pursuit of the killer app. IT companies with their IoT and Edge compute married to predictive analytics thought they found that Killer App in predictive maintenance.
I think that stopping with predictive maintenance as THE app is far too shortsighted. There is far more to be gained by combining with more applications that will help make manufacturing more profitable for the enterprise.
I caught up with Tom Bradicich, PhD, VP of HPE Labs and an HPE fellow recently to get updated about Converged Edge, IoT, and bringing the Line of Business people and the CIO organization into common cause. I met Tom at NI where he was an early evangelist for data--he talked about Big Analog Data. He had come from IBM and then left NI to return to the IT world with Hewlett Packard and then with Hewlett Packard Enterprise after the split. At HPE, he led the team developing the Edgeline, a converged Edge product that brought in IoT from the OT side of the business to a powerful compute platform. Later at HP Labs led the team to develop Edge-as-a-Service, if you will, that converges LOB and CIO organizations for solving business problems.
I first heard about the world's largest manufacturing trade show, Hannover Messe, in the mid-80s when our group of VPs of a small automation company conspired to find ways for me to send the president out on meaningless sales calls. I sent him to Hannover in 1986. I have attended many times over the past 20 years. I recorded this podcast April 17 the Saturday following the 2021 digital edition of the event. Festo held the first press conference I attended flooding me with information among which were the bionic swift and its vast education initiatives. Schneider Electric talked about its Automation Expert, the answer to OPAF's quest for separating hardware and software in control. The rest of my week was primarily software as companies talked about the impact of unstructured data from IoT on industrial software.
222 Build In Resiliency
How would you like to be the chief automation engineer when an automated assembly line goes down and it gets daily reports in The New York Times and the CEO camps out on the production floor until you get it fixed and that CEO is the world's smartest man--Elon Musk?
Too often we build projects, automation and otherwise, without any resiliency. They are brittle. They break easily.
Like the system Airbus considered with its extra-huge airliner that required every airport to upgrade runways and terminals.
Or, like us, when we don't build resiliency into our careers and our lives.
Even worse--the anxiety and brittleness of our children pushed to succeed above all else.
Build in some resiliency in your life and go make a difference.
People hit me up continually about ability of predictive analytics for predictive maintenance as the nirvana of digital manufacturing. My reply is that digital data leads to analysis/user interface/decision support. In other words, data helps people make better decisions in order to solve manufacturing problems and run more efficient and profitable and safer plants.
"We tend to overestimate risk and under estimate value when we're evaluating digital technology implementation," stated a keynoter during the 25th annual ARC Advisory Group Forum. Another keynoter told us that if we are evaluating digital transformation initiatives using a spreadsheet, we are off base. Some things have too great a risk of not doing. A Wall Street analyst told us that over the past year industrial software companies outperformed industrial companies. Software for digital transformation is where it's at. Check out the new Schneider Electric initiative promoting software defined control based on IEC 61499. This is an outgrowth of the Open Process Automation initiative that seems to be gathering some momentum. Software is eating the world--or at least the industrial one.
219 Quality Without Wires
Are you teaching quality today? That question started a young English teacher into a journey that led to the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. But really, I wanted to talk about quality and wiring. I visited a prospect who was interested in a press control automation system. When I went into the plant to look at one of their presses, I saw a haphazard (and hazardous) wiring job on the control panel. I left as soon as I could. But wiring can be exceedingly expensive in many plants. Wireless became an attractive alternative. We had WirelessHart soon to be partly replaced by WiFi. Now, the latest cellular technology, 5G, when made into a private network coordinating with WiFi6, composes a powerful IoT and digital transformation communication system.
I worked with data ever since it was handwritten or typed. We can just generate much more of it these days. We can contextualize, analyze, visualize. The question is--are we using it adequately to make better decisions?
Congratulations to Eddie Habibi, Pat Kennedy, Corky Ellis, and others for building companies and getting a good exit. Where are the next generation of new companies coming from? Will they be disruptive to the manufacturing technology market? What is disruptive anyway? Podcast supported by Inductive Automation.
This podcast is sponsored by Ignition from Inductive Automation. The project engineer came to me, "We can't ship this machine, because it is not yet perfect." What is quality? When is it "good enough" to ship. What is meeting spec? When is "good enough" not sufficient?
I moved to a new state a few months ago and have been searching for a good local, independent coffee shop with ethically traded coffee--in vain. So, I go to Starbucks a few times a week. The concept of quality at Starbucks is not the coffee, which is probably why people doctor it with flavored sugars and milk. Its quality has always been environment. One of my first jobs was with Airstream, manufacturer of quality recreation vehicles. Everyone in the company was aware of the need for quality.
The question for you today is are you contributing to building quality, ethical products that serve your customers and society?
On a personal development note, I leave you with Seven Daily Habits from Richard Koch in The 80/20 Principle.
Manufacturing and production can be stressful occupations. Add in the constant stresses of a pandemic and there is the recipe for affecting health. Take a stress break and get a new focus.
Did you ever get a bright idea for a new product or service? You might have even sketched it and written a product outline. Then you filed it. One day you noticed someone else had taken that same idea and created a billion-dollar company? Bright ideas and doing the work.
With AI and automation and robots, what will humans do for work in the future? Will we all be destitute? Will we finally be able to take time and "smell the roses"? Gary offers thoughts.
The first writer to seriously look at the new phenomenon of data-driven analytics in baseball found himself allowed to sit in the locker room of the major league baseball team. He observed the players. Something naggged at his consciousness. Then it dawned on him—they didn't look like athletes. Showering, getting dressed, no one really looked like a standout athlete. Yet, they were winning. Yes, said data-driven baseball exec Billy Beane, everyone else evaluates how players look. We look at their performance and indicators that they have future potential. But I really wanted to discuss Digital Transformation. And to transform digitally, you need to be (digital) data-driven.
The original visionaries who established the modern education system in the early 20th Century were following and expanding upon a vision of the founders of the USA—an educated population is essential for the success of a democracy and for a fruitful life.
What became of this education system?
Hi This is Gary.
This podcast is brought to you with support from Inductive Automation. Discover a whole new view with Ignition 8 by Inductive Automation. Packed with features for the modern control system like unlimited licensing, high-powered tags, and a mobile-first flexible design environment for all devices, Ignition 8 supports enterprises of any size. See all ignition has to offer at https://inductiveautomation.com/ .
Did the system you grow up in seem like the one I did? It was more like you were groomed to sit still, follow orders, give back the answer the teacher wanted, don’t make waves.
It was designed originally to give just enough basic skills in English and math so that mostly boys could fill the slots in the new Industrial Age. Girls, I guess, were expected to be home with babies, laundry, and cooking. See the 1950s TV sitcom The Life of Reilly about a couple of guys working for an airplane manufacturer.
Later, some boys needed more skills in accounting and engineering so that they could fill the bureaucratic slots in the larger enterprises. Check out My Three Sons where the father was an engineer at an airplane manufacturing company.
Me? Even at an early age, I wanted to know Why? How do you know that? I went to school, graduated high school and then university. However, most of my education to this day is outside of academia. That microscope I got at about 10 that opened up a whole new world I was living with and didn’t know. Later I discovered model rockets. I learned something about trigonometry so that we could calculate how high the rocket went. Or when I discovered electronics. And circuits. At 15 I could look at a schematic and tell at a glance a tuner circuit from an amplifier circuit, and do the math. And antennas. Calculating band and frequency and length of antenna.
So, I understand Albert Einstein’s comments about the importance of curiosity and imagination. Far more important than formal learning. Seek out those who question and dream and wonder and sketch out what might be.
This leads to the idea of lateral thinking. Disruption to a market often comes from out of nowhere. Currently I’m studying Internet of Things (the current buzz) and a variety of software applications used in industry. But I stumbled into looking at all the possibilities of 5G cellular technology. Thanks to an HPE company, Aruba, I’ve seen how companies from totally outside the space could, if they have vision, come up with business models riffing off the technology to turn significant parts of the industrial software ecosystem on its head.
I may be wrong—I’m just as good as any other human at predicting the future, as in not. But the thought exercise is worth it.
This podcast is brought to you with support from Inductive Automation. Discover a whole new view with Ignition 8 by Inductive Automation. Packed with features for the modern control system like unlimited licensing, high-powered tags, and a mobile-first flexible design environment for all devices, Ignition 8 supports enterprises of any size. See all ignition has to offer at https://inductiveautomation.com/ .
Perhaps the #BlackLivesMatter protests will lead to real change if organization leaders step up and do instead of say. Likewise, innovation in technology and manufacturing is leaping ahead spurred on by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Years ago machine and process safety were first ignored and then addressed as an add-on Then engineers began evaluating the problem and engineered safety from the beginning design. Not only was safety enhanced, but also reliability and productivity improved as well.
We are seeing the same thing already in response to solving problems due to Covid-19. I take a look at a variety of responses just in the first couple of months of the crisis.
This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation and its flagship Ignition 8.
Whether you are building machines to a spec or some other product or you are a systems integrator or supplier--experience shows that those who think laterally and find a value add are more likely to get more business from good customers. I even share a story about a software developer who started playing with 3D printing and then organized a manufacturing line to produce face masks for Polish hospital workers in response to SARS CoV 2. Check out The Podcast https://thepodcast.fm/episodes/206 .
This podcast is brought to you with support from Inductive Automation. Discover a whole new view with Ignition 8 by Inductive Automation. Packed with features for the modern control system like unlimited licensing, high-powered tags, and a mobile-first flexible design environment for all devices, Ignition 8 supports enterprises of any size. See all Ignition has to offer at inductiveautomation.com
Check out my blog at https://themanufacturingconnection.com
When I would go to NI Week, National Instruments would always talk about solving big problems. I began to approach the history of digital transformation that same way. GM had a problem involving the changeover of machines from one model year to the next. It took too long to change the machines due to the relay logic. They went to Odo Struger of Allen-Bradley and Dick Morely who then founded Modicon for a solution. Each built a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to solve the problem and the race was on. We can then look at all the digital advances from then to now as the solving of successively more difficult problems. Today we have IoT, data science, edge computing, analytics, visualization, AR, VR. And we go on. It is a journey not a destination.
This podcast is sponsored by Ignition by Inductive Automation.
This episode is an interview with Yuval Boger, CMO of Wi-Charge, who talks about wireless remote power for charging IoT devices with light. There was a gap between this and my last podcast. In the interim, we sold a house, bought a house, and moved to another state--all at the beginning of the covid-19 rise and the shelter-in-place orders. It has been crazy times. Now, we've plenty of time to get used to the new house. I hope everyone listening is doing well.
Computing at the Edge was a constant theme in the two tech forums I visited in early February. Mostly what that means is that many enterprise applications need data from the plant or process. Data must be unlocked. Other topics included speculation over anticipated benefits of 5G and a sprouting of Open and Open Source initiatives.
In the late 1970s I worked in an engineering department where one of my responsibilities was the custodian and distributor of all engineering data. In addition, I did all the corporate new product quoting--such things as UPS truck bodies and the bodies for the original Atlanta Airport People Movers. Everything was paper and manual. Drawings to bills of material to routings to costing.
Today we do the same tasks, except that everything is digital. The drawings are all digital files, the BOM--digital, sorting/costing/checking all faster and digital. We adapt and adopt technology to do things better.
The problem remains--leadership and management of the systems to implement all these technologies in order to reap the rewards.
That--is the challenge before us.
You are an engineer in a factory or plant. The machine or process is down. Production has stopped. The general manager is yelling. The CEO has vowed to investors, customers, and media that he'll sleep in the plant until production is back up. I've never had it as bad as the people at Tesla with Elon Musk beating on them, but I've lived that life.
I helped start a magazine with the stated editorial goal of writing about the intelligent application of automation.
After several years of Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems, Industry 4.0, digital twins, digital transformation, I think it is past time to look at our projects in terms of how do we employ technology intelligently for improved profitability, work conditions, quality, customer satisfaction, supplier satisfaction, and environmental sustainability.
Thank you to my sponsor for another year--Inductive Automation.
Recap of previous 199 episodes over the past 12 years. We reviewed Ethernet (when it was new for manufacturing), safety, video interviews, and thought pieces. Looking ahead, we are challenged to get tech out of the way while we support Lean, human decision-making, making work more meaningful, and solving difficult manufacturing/industrial business problems.
Despite all the dystopian views of technology promulgated over the past 20 or so years, artificial intelligence can be a powerful tool for solving some complex problems. We in industrial applications need it as part of the tool kit.
It’s all about data. No matter if I attend an IT conference, like recently at Hitachi Vantara, or an OT conference, such as recently at Emerson Automation and Schneider Electric (Foxboro and Triconex), we are discussing and learning about data and digital technologies.
Data must be discovered, gathered, trusted, secured, analyzed, and used. It is the basis of the Digital Transformation and used for the Digital Twin and Internet of Things.
Then I digress into youth sports and how some leagues, coaches, and parents still don’t get it.
Mike Boudreaux of Emerson Automation assembled a panel discussion during Emerson Global Users Exchange 2019 comprised of two IT professionals and two OT professionals to discuss the Edge and Digital Transformation. The conversation among the two "sides" is growing closer and closer.
From Clark Griswold's cereal crunch enhancer to some of my experiences in engineering and manufacturing, I ponder how we need to work to benefit our customer and our society rather than being harmful and hurtful. Brought to you by Ignition 8 from Inductive Automation.
Every supplier provides customers with digital transformation these days. Just what is it? How does it relate to IT and OT? What is the business case? Sponsored by Ignition by Inductive Automation.
Platforms come and go--sometimes quickly with turns in technology. IoT platforms were all the rage. Just like IT/OT Convergence and other hyped tech. But engineers are quietly working together to apply the technologies to solve business and industrial problems. Don't watch the hype. Notice when everyone is using it.
This updates a conversation with Dell IoT CTO Jason Shepherd since I couldn't make it to Dell Tech World. We talked open source (the EdgeX Foundry project), cloud, device management, and more.
There are many reasons to go to IT conferences. There is a lot of digitalization activity in this area. Compute platforms, gateways, edge, IoT, networking, analytics, security, and more. This episode sponsored by Ignition from Inductive Automation and also by Schneider Electric's Foxboro and Triconex upcoming user conference.
If we are ever going to finally bring IT and OT together, indeed break through all of a company’s silos, it will be through adopting coaching as a key component of the manager’s tool kit. I reference Trillion Dollar Coach by Schmidt, Rosenberg, and Eagle—a book about legendary Bill Campbell and how his coaching made the difference for executives at Google, Apple, and many more Silicon Valley companies. I also take a look at another Bill—Bill Gates—whose 10 top tech trends and 10 top challenges to solve appeared in this spring’s MIT Technology Review.
The old IT and OT silo idea is finally a myth--whether you want to believe it or not. Manufacturing and production management are not stupid. They act on what they think is best. Structurally organizing so that IT and OT leaders are placed together and work together is solving the grand data problem of process data integrating into enterprise systems.
There are some things that drive me up the metaphorical wall. Especially concerning discussions of automation and jobs. I’ve contemplated this issue for years. Lately there was an issue of the Axios Future newsletter. There are times when they stop at a macro level with no understanding of underlying facts. That’s a common problem with both economists and journalists.
My concerns:
1. Confusing robots and automation
2. Not understanding the jobs that were replaced
3. Advances in manufacturing that greatly enhance the quality of jobs
4. Confuse correlation with causation
I interviewed CEOs of two startup companies who are developing products based on powerful, yet inexpensive technologies, that promise to disrupt several use cases.
There are few things I find as exciting as exploring revitalizing manufacturing or production facility. When people and technology come together to make useful products in a clean and safe manner is art to me. This podcast reflects on my trip to Ford Livonia and FlexNGate in Detroit on March 19. This episode is sponsored by Ignition by Inductive Automation and by Bright Wolf.
As march into Women’s History Month, I welcome Isabel Yang, CTO at Advanced Energy Industries. As a minority woman in a C suite position at a publicly traded manufacturing company, Isabel has a plethora of unique insight on her path to success as well as advice for all women looking to spearhead their careers. “I believe women need to shape their own destiny in their careers and lives. Now more than ever, we must work to establish a set of core skills early in our careers and gradually grow ourselves into experts, then progressively branch out to learn about adjacent areas or new areas to acquire new skills.”
In the beginning there were M2M and Internet of Things. Then came Industrial Internet of Things combining the two. Add a stream coming from standards such as Industry 4.0 and we started talking about Digital Transformation. Gary talks about emphasizing business processes and sustainable profitability using all these technologies and strategies plus people. Going beyond IIoT.
Without standards, shipping by ship, train, and truck would be chaotic. Just so, developing manufacturing standards such as OPC, FDT, EDDL, ISA88, and ISA95 has had great benefit to manufacturers and producers. The Open Process Automation Forum, part of The Open Group, consists of users and developers of technology hoping to build a standard of standards lowering total cost of ownership and total cost of upgrading.
Gary responds to a New York Times opinion piece that is yet another "robots will replace all workers" lament. These are all so wrong. Where do you go for manufacturing news that's realistic?
Stuff happening. Siemens (cyber security, growing digitally). Emerson (growing and acquisitions). GE (divesting Digital). ABB (divesting power grid). Rockwell (new product with PTC). Keep an eye on IT companies with powerful compute packages for OT--Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
The talk I gave at Industry of Things World East in Orlando in November. The Internet of Things and the story of data. All about solving business problems.
Asking why? Continuous learning. Helping educate our children. Ideas for solving new problems and developing new business.
Humans have journeyed from being craftsmen to cogs in an industrial machine to productive with assistance of technology.
178 What Problem Are You Solving
It has been said that computers are great at generating questions. They just can’t figure out the right question. Engineers are problem solvers. That is 99% of their education. Thing is—are they solving the right problem.
Businesses have adopted the open office architecture for many years. It solves a business cost problem—get more people per square foot. They publicly justify it, though, as solving the people collaboration problem. But they create a people productivity problem. The signal v noise blog from BaseCamp called Library Rules proposes an interesting solution. The open office has existed for centuries. And it works fantastically. It’s called a library. Check out library rules for your open office dilemma.
Solving technology problems is a lot of fun for engineers. They look at everything as a technology problem. But then there are problems that are not technology. Such as people problems. Take a look at Facebook’s problems right now. They are not technology; they are ethical.
A generation of engineers have worked hard at solving process control problems. I reflect on a chat I had with Schneider Electric process automation leaders Gary Freburger and Peter Martin about solving business problems in addition to technology problems.
Salesforce has a platform manufacturing companies are beginning to use to link customers, service, dealers, and manufacturing.
Youth sports as a metaphor for mentoring. What are you doing to bring young people along?
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Discover conference. A melding of enterprise-grade compute at the edge, Internet of Things practice, and deep dive into manufacturing. Example from off-shore, refinery, and other manufacturing.
Siemens Mindsphere coming of age at Automation Summit and a visit to the Norwood large motor manufacturing plant.
HPE’s stand at Hannover reflected the company’s focus on manufacturing.
My first experience with HPE through Edge computing.
IoT has a prominent executive champion.
Several executives are devoted to manufacturing solutions.
Remote Visual Guidance augmented reality.
Blockchain possibilities.
Starter kit for HPE Edgeline for manufacturing.
Partnerships in the DNA.
Vision system for assembly checking.
After my Podcast 149 about big companies not liking OPC UA a couple of years ago (and got more than 1k views on YouTube) and a report and white paper on OPC UA and TSN from 2017 Hannover, the landscape has changed. Big companies are now adopting OPC UA and the OPC UA/TSN talk has gone mainstream.
Despite the many dystopian views of technology, automation, and robots in the future, it is human decision making and leadership that determines what will happen. Gaurav Bhalla's "Awakening a Leader's Soul" teaches a different perspective on leadership.
Discussing trips to San Diego and the Industry of Things World event (Internet of Things, Mindsphere from Siemens, OPC UA) and Siemens Manufacturing in America (university students, simulation, PLM, digitalization, cyber-physical systems, blockchain).
The recent ARC Industry Forum attracted a record attendance affording writers and analysts like me more opportunities for meetings than there was time. Themes included collaboration, new edge devices, open automation, and many cool digital products.
Will 2018 be the year that we see more IT / OT convergence? Look for it to be the year of edge devices, digital transformation, and the digital twin. Here at the podcast where IT meets OT.
A report from Rockwell Automation events in Houston November 13-16. Training veterans, open software, scalable software. Oh, and the elephant NOT in the room--Emerson's unsolicited takeover attempt.
Everybody's talking--about digital transformation, plus Dell's $1 Billion bet on IoT, GE's predix-ament, Rockwell ripe for the picking
A trip to Emerson Global Users Exchange yielded thoughts on capabilities to hone, justifying IoT projects, and investing in training.
Thoughts and analysis from Inductive Automation Community Conference in September in Folsom, CA. The company develops SCADA software, has an active partner ecosystem, and some bright customers. I got to talk with them all.
The Internet of Things is not a "thing" in itself. In fact, asking what it is misses the point. The real question is what is the business case for implementing it.
Gary interviews George Schuster and Lee Lane of Rockwell Automation who discuss the critical importance of risk assessment and mitigation in both safety and security offering some practical advice along the way.
Saadi Kermani, global business development manager / industrial information at Schneider Electric joins to discuss information management beyond the hype of cloud, digital transformation, and Industry 4.0.
Speaking from the United Club at McCarron International Airport in Las Vegas following the Dell EMC World Conference, Gary discusses the Dell / Linux Foundation Internet of Things open source project and some examples of the Dell IoT partner ecosystem in action.
Make no mistake, the Industrial Internet of Things is not a technology, it is actually a business strategy when properly understood. Refers to my blog site.
I discuss the importance of interoperable applications and the role of standards--specifically OPC UA and CCOM, an asset information standard from MIMOSA. I also throw in a description of students I met who compete in FIRST Robotics and a tip for cultivating innovation.
Recent revelations from WikiLeaks with details about how security agencies can hack into encrypted devices and files and then how all that can wind up on the Web should remind us to strengthen our security technology and procedures.
When I left magazine media, I thought about where the industry was heading. It's all about connections, I thought. So, I found a domain name The Manufacturing Connection. Last week I was at the Industry of Things conference in San Diego. Organized from Berlin, Germany, they still attracted an outstanding speaker lineup and attendance at 2-3 times that of typical media conferences in the space.
They work hard at it, and they have cultivated lots of connections.
This podcast discusses the idea of connections from that conference. It also explores the idea of "sources go direct" where anyone can take a message to the public these days. You don't need a gatekeeper. Maybe you connect with people like me to reach a broader audience. Individuals and marketers with energy and ability can build their own audiences and avoid getting misquoted by reporters or having a 60-minute interview boiled down to a sentence in an article.
An Italian magazine asked for an American opinion on what the new president means for manufacturing. Here are some preliminary thoughts. Also some thoughts on Open Systems platforms for DCS from the ARC Forum in Orlando.
The Internet of Things is dead; long live the Internet of Things. Review of "Building the Internet of Things" by Maciej Kranz, plus discussion of trends from smart devices to Blockchain.
Yes, there is a business case for the Industrial Internet of Things and Gary shares tips for success. Drawing examples from PTC, Dell Technologies, and Emerson Automation.
What if beyond predictive maintenance we began considering predictive manufacturing? Or is that what Industrie 4.0 is all about? Gary ponders the latest industrial software.
After attending PI North America annual general meeting, Gary discusses future of Profinet, Fieldbuses and Interoperability, and a teaser about a Wonderware announcement.
Gary Mintchell discusses the 2016 Ignition Customer Conference from Inductive Automation--and the pseudo competition between OPC UA and MQTT/Sparkplug. Mostly it's all about getting the right information into your Industrial Software (HMI/SCADA) application.
Following up on his popular podcast on "Why Big Companies Hate OPC UA Embedded", Gary reviews his recent writing on OPC UA, REST, MQTT and Sparkplug relative to needed interoperability. He focuses on watching how companies implement REST and MQTT--whether they are using an open transport to move proprietary data types, or whether they are truly embracing what end users want-true interoperability.
My 151st podcast dives into "Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World" by Cal Newport.
Newport differentiates the work that will lead you to success (deep work--thinking) from that work that just fills time (shallow work--answering email, reading Facebook, etc.).
He provides tips on organizing your day to emphasize setting aside blocks of time for deep work.
Gary reviews Dr. Henry Cloud's new book, "The Power of the Other" how our connections and relationships can hurt or enhance us.
OK, it's a provocative title, but the recent ODVA announcement at the Hannover Messe of the OPC UA-like CIP for the Cloud triggered some thoughts. Is it the traditional dance of company trying to lock in customers versus customers trying to maintain some flexibility--or--is OPC UA really a threat to CIP? (No one I talked to at Hannover thought the latter was true.)
Gary introduces Digital Manufacturing, previews the 2016 Hannover Fair, and speculates on Rockwell Automation and Digital Manufacturing.
Gary discusses why people seem to keep dropping the ball along with a solution. He also looks behind the news that few people follow a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Gary looks at the discussions around Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 likening them to strategies.
Gary reports from Orlando at the ARC Advisory Group 20th Annual Industry Forum. No surprises that Internet of Things and cyber security were headliners. The real surprise was the amount of Keynote space president Andy Chatha gave to an ExxonMobil initiative of engaging Lockheed Martin to essentially drive an open-specification DCS. Reception by technology suppliers was lukewarm at best. Reception by peers was difficult to gauge because so few were in attendance. But the conversations were intense.
An overdose of Barclay's English Premier League and the American National Football League has Gary thinking about leadership skills. Podcasts are sponsored by Ignition by Inductive Automation.
Gary discusses personal productivity, trying to use iPad only, and then new developments in Internet of Things and its benefit.
Gary resumes his "on the road" series with commentary and analysis from the 2015 Emerson Global User Exchange and how it has bundled the past several years of technical advances into a higher level management offering on project management.
Gary does a quick review of the two dominant strategies for manufacturing excellence in the future now trending--Industrie 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing.
In this episode, I interview John Neeley, Product Manager for Fluke Connect at Fluke. The Fluke Connect system allows maintenance technicians to wirelessly transmit measurement data from their test tools to their smart phones for secure storage on the cloud and universal team access from the field.
Here are a few URLs for more information.
Overview
Connecting multiple tools to the phone app
Gary discusses the PAS company concept of Human Reliability and other thoughts from the PAS Technology Conference. He also discusses last week's AFPM conference and trade show with an example of reliability engineering.
Following up on a popular podcast interview I did with Jonathan Joseph of Rockwell Automation on its Safety Automation Builder, here is a conversation with Rockwell's Steve Ludwig, Safety Programs Manager, and Mark Eitzman, Safety Market Development Manager, who provide an update on acceptance of the SAB and discuss the Safety Maturity Index.
One of my most downloaded podcasts was an interview with Glenn Schultz, managing director of the FDT Group, where he discussed FDT technology. As part of a series on the benefits of digital network technologies, I am talking with Todd Gordon, computer/instrument technician lead at We Energies in Milwaukee.
Gary discusses mobile technologies for industrial workers and how the cloud is the enabling technology with Saadi Kermani, product manager at Invensys, during the October Invensys software user group meetings.
Gary caught up with program chair and founding evangelist of the ISA Marketing and Sales Summit Shari Worthington. They discussed the 2013 edition, why ISA decided to do these summits for manufacturing professionals, and a teaser for the 2014 edition.
Whle at the 2013 ISA Marketing and Sales Summit in New Orleans, Gary chatted with Matt Leary, principal of Solutions Insights, about solutions marketing.
LNS Research Principal Analyst Mark Davidson discusses the social research model and work he is doing in the Manufacturing Operations Management area with a glimpse at new technologies to watch. Check out my blog post on its new library form MOM research. He talks about the goal of LNS Research to accelerate people's success. Topics include adding analysis of human capital and real-time information to the ISA95 model for analysis, cloud, mobility, how social research works--and what you can add and receive by participating. Simply visit the Website, click on Research Library, pick one (or more), and fill out the survey.
Gary discusses the reasons behind his new Website / business, "The Manufacturing Connection," which explores all the connections necessary to make manufacturing successful.
Gary interviews Glenn Schulz of the FDT Group www.fdtgroup.org who provides a description of the technology and benefits to manufacturers.
Gary discusses fieldbuses, networking, diagnostics and operations management software as part of the tool box helping you become more successful in manufacturing and production.
In this episode, Gary is at the MESA North America Conference talking with MESA Board Chair John Dyck and MESA President Mike Yost about the programs and progress of the organization that promotes MES/MOM applications.
Gary talks with Mike James who is a leader of MES solution provider ATS Global and who spearheaded the MESA Global Education Program that has provided two certification tracks for educating people about MES/MOM theory and application.
Thinking back over the industrial revolutions, Gary describes jobs that have been replaced by machines that were socially for the good. He looks at some future ideas about manufacturing describing Industry 4.0 from Germany and Smart Manufacturing from the US.
In this episode Gary recaps the ABB Automation and Power World user conference, discusses the ramifications of a $7 million grant to the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, and reviews the book "Producing Prosperity," by Pisano and Shih.
Gary discusses Rockwell Automation's new Safety Automation Builder software with OEM Technical Consultant Jonathan Johnson. We learn that the tool is part of trend of providing easy-to-use tools for engineers to help them improve design, get projects done faster and provide end-of-project documentation. Check the Rockwell SAB Website for more information.
Gary discusses his new personal directions, news from the ARC Forum including emphasis on Cloud Computing, the upcoming ISA Automation Week and the HART Communication Foundation 20th Anniversary.
Gary discusses the current spate of articles in mainstream media about automation and jobs. He also announces a new personal direction.
Gary reviews the latest developments in controllers, software and networking for automation and manufacturing from the end of 2012 and looks forward to what 2013 holds.
Gary discusses leadership in manufacturing, how engineers can become leaders and the need for emotional stability.
Gary discusses interoperability--the connection between systems to move necessary data. He discusses how Mitsubishi has morphed from a machine controls company to one who understands the need to take control to the next level--as spokespeople discuss on a Webcast Gary hosted at http://www.automationworld.com/visible-factory-see-it-all-real-time.
Returning after a few month's hiatus, Gary records from his mobile studio thoughts about the Maintenance and Reliability Technology Summit, his presentation on digital technolgy, and silos in manufacturing companies.
Gary's Labor Day discussion of automation's impact on jobs plus a quick update of some news in the automation industry.
Gary reports on NI Week, National Instruments' annual user conference. He discusses the large turnout, 25 years of LabView, multicore and FPGA parallel programming with LabView and dataflow programming, and NI's growth into a big company.
Gary reports from the Honeywell User Group in Phoenix June 14. He discusses HPS president Norm Gilsdorf's "business transformation" strategy, recaps some of CTO Jason Urso's presentation and discusses, what else, Honeywell's wireless strategy along with thoughts on ISA100.
Wrap up of the ABB User conference with analysis of ABB and Baldor, report on Packaging Automation Forum thoughts on machine safety and programming standards, and report on the MARTS conference and a dinner to benefit autism awareness.
Gary discusses Invensys and his interview with Operations Management CEO Sudipta Bhattacharya, vision and robotics at Automate 2011, Wes Iversen's retirement and the upcoming Packaging Automation Forum and Maintenance and Reliability Forum.
In this video essay, Gary discusses the disaster in Japan and the resulting hype about nuclear power safety. He salutes the process engineers and operators who are working in a terrible situation to get the plant back on track.
Gary discusses database technology, data connectivity, what today's engineers need to know, OPC UA's future and more software topics with engineers at Inductive Automation.
Gary reports on his trip to the ODVA (www.odva.org) annual meeting including technical updates, security and energy white papers, introduction of Bosch Rexroth as the latest principal member, implementer application and technical visionary information.
Leadership in automation. How the leaders who developed ISA88, ISA95, MIMOSA have left a legacy that is readily apparent in products and applications. Now the ISA100 committee leadership needs to take the steps necessary to bring reconciliation and convergence and finish the standard.
Gary discusses Inder Sidhu's book "Doing Both". He's a Cisco Sr. VP and shows examples of how to do two seemingly contradictory strategies. Also Jon DiPietro's blog Domesticating IT about business strategy death spirals.
Gary interviews Eddie Lee of Moxa in his Ideas and Innovations series for the January issue of Automation World.
Gary reports on his trip to Germany and the SPS/Drives trade fair. Key trends and new products from Siemens and Beckhoff are highlighted.
In this videocast/podcast, Gary discusses things he's learned about teamwork and leadership during a series of interviews over the past seven weeks. He also discusses the book by Richard L. Daft, "The Executive and The Elephant"--your inner rational CEO and your inner drives and emotions that prevent you from doing what you want. He ends with a request for information and speakers on sustainable packaging lines for the upcoming Packaging Automation Forum (http://www.packworld.com/paf)
Gary analyzes the changes at Rockwell Automation and reflects on the PSUG and Automation Fair week in Orlando. He includes pieces of interviews with CEO Keith Nosbusch and CTO Sujeet Chand. "It's an exciting time to be in manufacturing."
Are software as a service, open source software, subscription pricing disruptive to the market for manufacturing software? Just interviewed FuseSource, an open source messaging application. Recently an MIT/Sloan Management Review article cited research that top performing companies are 3x more likely to have a data analytics culture. On a podcast on IT Conversation, Simon Wardley argues that the Cloud is a source of innovation, http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail4628.html
Gary discusses automation conference season, with a brief recap of Emerson Exchange, reports from ISA's Automation Week (which was dubbed "weak" by some and so-so by others), a look ahead at Invensys Operation Management's OpsManage'10 conference coming up next week and then glimpse of the upcoming Rockwell Process Systems Users Group and Automation Fair. Recorded at Tawawa Park in Sidney, Ohio.
AM099 Gary interviews Rune Reppenhagen, Emerson Process Management DeltaV Brand Manager about DeltaV announcements and presentations at Emerson Exchange 2010 in San Antonio.
AM098 Gary interviews Emerson Process Management DeltaV SIS brand manager Mike Boudreaux about what's happening at Emerson Exchange 2010 in San Antonio
Gary interviews Julie Fraser, of Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association Metrics working group about a unique makeover contest the association is running that will award two companies free consulting for a metrics makeover.
Four ways to avoid manufacturing decline. From my research for an article in the September 2010 Automation World, I discuss what several people have discovered about making manufacturing a strategic part of an enterprise. And, no, I'm not a Juventus fan. Just liked the shirt when shopping on my last trip to Italy. Hoping for one from Stuttgart while I'm there next month.
Essay on leadership--including R&D leadership change at National Instruments and the HP fiasco--plus a quick review of Daniel Pink's "Drive."
Here's a video essay from NI Week. Day 3 keynotes feature students and a noted guest. This year's keynote was not a disappointment. Three groups of college students accepted various challenges including building an electric car (and driving it cross-country), building a more environmentally friendly car, and finally building a car that a blind person can drive. Finally, Dr. Mishio Kaku, noted theoretical physicist and TV personality, discussed the future.
He closed with an interesting thought that relates to my dialoge with Martin Ford by discussing the types of jobs that will dominate in the future.
Here's a video essay from NI Week. Day 3 keynotes feature students and a noted guest. This year's keynote was not a disappointment. Three groups of college students accepted various challenges including building an electric car (and driving it cross-country), building a more environmentally friendly car, and finally building a car that a blind person can drive. Finally, Dr. Mishio Kaku, noted theoretical physicist and TV personality, discussed the future.
He closed with an interesting thought that relates to my dialoge with Martin Ford by discussing the types of jobs that will dominate in the future.
In this audio/video essay, Gary takes a look at the environment of risky behaviors that can lead to safety and secutiry breechs. He looks at the BP oil rig situation and the virus that targeted Siemens WinCC HMI/SCADA. Links to articles can be found at http://www.garymintchellsfeedforward.com.
Gary discusses digital manufacturing--specifically virtual commissioning--with Tom Hoffman of Siemens PLM. Check out the benefits of working out machine ideas on a computer before cutting steel.
Gary discusses the recent Siemens PLM conference, digital manufacturing and cool design tools.
Gary wraps up information from the MESA International conference in Dearborn, MI June 21-23.
Gary discusses the MESA International Strategic Initiatives Model of MES with Doug Weaver. Doug is a practitioner in his day job and also Treasurer and Chair of the Website Committee of MESA International. The model can be found at http://www.mesa.org/en/modelstrategicinitiatives/MSI.asp. The model describes the links between software modules that comprise Manufacturing Enterprise Solution applications and corporate strategic initiatives such as real-time enterprise or Lean. We talked at the MESA International Conference in Dearborn, MI on June 23, 2010.
Gary discusses what automation means to future unemployment (The Lights in the Tunnel by Martin Ford), the value of working with your hands (Shop Craft as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford), decentralized organizations (The Starfish and the Spider), along with recapping the Packaging Automation Forum, Emerson/Fisher's new Laboratory and ABB's user conference.
Automation World Editor in Chief Gary Mintchell interviews Charlie Fialkowski, U.S. Process Safety Manager for Siemens Industry Inc. about standards updates for burner management system safety including a discussion of programmable safety logic controllers, NFPA, ISA 84 and Technical Report 05 of the ISA S-84 Committee.
Gary discusses how organizations can be insidious in enticing people into ethical lapses referring to the current news about Toyota and the Pope. Industrial Ethernet market share is next up for discussion followed by reading for his May issue of Automation World article about creating a safety culture. He finishes with thoughts about an interview with auto industry analyst James Harbour and whether automation will completely replace jobs.
Gary discusses the need for education, company sponsored education, and talks about entrepreneur education at Stanford, Vivek Wadhwa writing at TechCrunch on why America needs to invest in its workforce, a Robert Scoble video interview and finally refers to a Seth Godin blog with a video on what a teacher makes.
Gary discusses power and energy in this update on sustainable manufacturing as a corporate strategy.
Thoughts on automotive manufacturing pondering post by Kevin Kelly, is large petrochemical peaking for a new reality in process, networking, Ethernet, wireless sensor networks and the Internet of Things.
Gary discusses the rising stock prices for some automation companies, leadership, SME getting high school students involved in manufacturing, sustainability as a manufacturing model and wireless control.
In news from the last couple of weeks, Gary discusses changes to the upcoming Pack Expo, the need for visionary leadership, upcoming conferences for WBF and MESA.
Gary discusses happenings at the 14th annual ARC Forum in Orlando. There were product announcements from many companies, an indepth discussion of the multi-year Invensys strategy that has led to the formation of IOM, WBF and OMAC and their separation from ISA and a few thoughts about wireless from the Forum.
Gary reviews several earnings reports from the automation industry and then reports from MESA International and Cambashi research on manufacturers improving financial performance and manufacturing performance using well defined metrics and automated data gathering. The latest edition of the popular Packaging Automation Forum is announced. Then a few thoughts on Toyota, Lean and entrepreneurship in automotive manufacturing.
Gary wonders about what we'll see in automation in 2010. Also introduces OurISA, a movement to generate grass-roots ideas into a professional engineering society.
Re-release (hopefully this one transferred in its entirety) of Gary's update of ISA Expo and Advantech Conference. Recorded in Suzhou, China.
Gary interviews David Deitz, director of product marketing for Delta V, at the Emerson Global Users Exchange in Orlando about the rollout of the new DeltaV version 11 and its significant new features.
Recognizing considerable industry interest in the reorganization that created Invensys Operations Management, Gary sat down with IOM vice presidents Mark Davidson (global marketing) and Rashesh Mody (portfolio and strategy). The discussion included the new mission and how integration of the overall division's portfolio is evolving. The division includes such venerable brands as Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, SimSci-Esscor, Triconex and Wonderware. Perhaps for the first time since they were brought together under Invensys the potential that could be achieved through integration is coming about.
Gary discusses the ISA Marketing & Sales Symposium and social media, discusses ratification of the ISA100.11a wireless network standard and implications versus WirelessHart, new products from Longwatch, Kepware and Online Development, plus his upcoming trips to Invensys Operations Management Client Conference, Emerson Exchange and ISA Expo.
Updated show notes:
Gary talks with Mike Miller, business development manager with Rockwell Automation, about new machine safety standards effective Dec. 29, 2009. Functional safety is defined. EN ISO 13849 and IEC 62061 which replace EN 954 are explained. The impact of these standards and eventual benefits for machine builders and end users alike are also discussed.
We learned on 9/9/09 that the European Commission has decided to postpone the deadline for manufacturers to comply with the new functional safety standard EN ISO 13849-1. In the meantime, they can continue designing to safety standard EN 954-1. The Commission said no further extension will be granted after 2012.
Gary goes international and talks Lean Manufacturing with Jean-Christophe Ledoux of consulting firm Accenture and Yves Vergnolle, of software supplier Apriso about a project where the companies combined to provide a software solution to companies looking for tools to help them implement Lean Manufacturing. The guests call in from France for this episode.
In this episode, Gary discusses the National Instruments NI Week reporting on LabView upgrades and parallel programming.
Gary discusses the recent organization moves at Invensys in this podcast from his mobile studio.
Gary talks with Mike Miller, business development manager with Rockwell Automation, about new machine safety standards effective Dec. 29, 2009. Functional safety is defined. EN ISO 13849 and IEC 62061 which replace EN 954 are explained. The impact of these standards and eventual benefits for machine builders and end users alike are also discussed.
Gary interviews John Dyck in this episode. John is Chairman of MESA International, the association for Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions. He discusses the new directions for MESA, the reasons that this software area is important to manufacturers and the new and exciting format for the association's gathering in the spring of 2010.
Gary interviews Lee Lane, business director, controller and visualization business, Rockwell Automation about what makes programmable automation controllers (PACs) different from programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in this series on control.
Back from vacation and a couple of trips Gary recounts his Middle East vacation (yes it was quite safe where he was). He recaps the ABB Automation and Power World conference, the Packaging Automation Forum and offers his point of view on the rumored Emerson acquisition of Rockwell. Aren't rumors great? Plus other news from the world of automation.
Gary Mintchell talks with Keith Updike, managing director of BBK--a manufacturing consulting firm--about Lean Thinking. The discussion includes ideas of implementing Lean and a vision of what a Lean Lifestyle entails.
Gary takes a look back at 2008 and ahead to 2009. Changes in automation supplier leadership are noted, and he exhorts listeners to promote the economic need for manufacturing to regain prominence in the United States.
Joe Grove, vice president of engineering at OSSID, a Pro Mach company, joins Gary for this discussion of how a packaging industry equipment manufacturer can use new technology along with in depth customer research to redesign machinery to achieve a competitive advantage and give customers added value.
Gary reports from Pack Expo. Thoughts on automation suppliers competing for OEM business, the recent spate of government bailouts and the upcoming Safety Automation Forum.
The HTML of process control. Gary interviews Jonas Berge, Director of PlantWeb Consulting for Emerson Process Management in Singapore. He discusses EDDL (electronic device description language), describing what it is, how it is used and the overall system from intelligent instruments to how the information is displayed in a client computer. More information is available at www.eddl.org.
Gary reviews trips to the Emerson Global Users Exchange and WonderWorld conferences. He offers thoughts on changes at Rockwell Automation.
Gary interviews Geoff Wickens, systems solutions manager for Endress + Hauser and a member of the marketing committee of the FDT Group. Wickens explains what FDT does and why it is of value for users of instrumentation and asset management systems.
Gary resumes his interview series with Paul Wacker on Ethernet. Paul is a product manager at Advantech and discusses technology and application of Power over Ethernet. This interview will also be the subject of an email newsletter sponsored by Advantech. Paul's previous interviews on Ethernet have been well regarded in the industry.
Recording in the mobile studio, Gary reflects on leadership and energy issues from his trip to Las Vegas to attend the Schneider Electric customer conference. That's two straight weeks of record attendance at conferences in a supposedly down economy. He also discusses the latest Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture release. He concludes with a discussion of the Packaging Automation Forum.
Recording in the mobile studio Gary catches up with a few weeks of travels including the Siemens ExiderDome, ideas from meetings at Emerson and NI Week. He takes a look at marketing, the automation system, need for accurate information from field devices, green automation, education and selling your ideas.
Gary reviews recent news in wireless, challenges listeners to read the Bill of Rights in honor of July 4, reports on Foxboro's 100 years celebration and discusses Honeywell Users Group.
Gary reviews what he learned from trips to Siemens, Automation Direct and B&R Automation, then the Rockwell Software RSTechEd event in Orlando. He includes a look at Rockwell Software strategy and business and the high points from Alvin Toffler's keynote and Q&A session at RS TechEd. He concludes with thoughts on making manufacturing an integral part of a company's business.
Gary offers an opinion on the Microsoft/Yahoo fiasco and the HP/EDS purchase. He discusses his recent trip to Texas and the ABB User Group and visits to National Instruments and Emerson Process. He concludes with thoughts on the progress of ISA100 wireless communication committee.
On the road again with Gary as he discusses the upcoming Automation Forum in May, automation supplier financials and the impact of the declining dollar, Jeff Hawkins and "On Intelligence" and Rockwell Automation's acquisition of Incuity.
Gary reviews the Yokogawa user conference and gives a virtual tour of the Siemens ExiderDome traveling exhibit in Mexico. He also discusses the struggles of Dell and Boeing in manufacturing. A final thought about wireless and the recent Webcast on wireless concludes the podcast.
On the road again, Gary reviews the WBF meeting, Interphex and a trip to ABB to take a technology dive into its system architecture. He also reviews Nicholas Carr's "The Big Switch."
Gary discusses new software from GE Fanuc that meets the competitive challenge and raises the ante. He also extends a challenge to OMAC to keep its momentum going, discusses wireless sensor products, green automation, an upcoming Wireless Webcast and the Packaging Automation Forum.
From his mobile studio on the backroads of Indiana, Gary discusses the departure of Fred Kindle from ABB and offers news and opinions of the news from the ARC Forum in Orlando
Kris Pister, CTO and founder of Dust Networks discusses wireless sensor networks, what mesh networking is, offers evidence of reliability and security, and discusses the economics of implementing the technology.
Happy New Year thoughts about top trends in automation for 2008. Technologies--networking, wireless, information and controllers. Also, how will the strategies of the automation technology suppliers play out during the year. Will there be more sales made over the Web this year?
Gary discusses the Make2Pack committee meeting, Rockwell/Dassault collaboration for digital factory, programming and time to market for OEMs.
Gary discusses the OMAC Symposium, standards, Honeywell's equipment health monitor, NI's move to OEM volume products, The Long Tail and why you should blog.
Gary interviews Jeff Becker of Honeywell Process Solutions about wireless technologies for industrial use including wireless sensor networks, WiFi, wireless for control and an update on the ISA SP100 committee.
Gary interviews Dave Bauman, Technical Director of OMAC. Dave reviews the OMAC presence at Pack Expo and explains what is happening with the organization's first annual Symposium to be held in the Seattle area Nov. 28-29. A tour of the Boeing 787 assembly facility is included in the conference. Discussion will center on integrating standards across process and discrete industries. Sign up at www.omac.org.
It's all about Ethernet. Gary talks with Paul Wacker, product manager for industrial communications at Advantech Corp. Topics include managed versus unmanaged switches, when to use IGMP snooping with EtherNet/IP and other protocols, the value of virtual LANs and some tips on network security.
Gary discusses Wonderware's latest product announcements plus product announcements and strategies gleaned from the Emerson Global Users Exchange in Dallas. He also reports on a new online store for automation components.
Gary excerpts his marketing communications keynote at PTO, updates the State Model challenge from end users discussing an interview with Rockwell and NI's new state chart module, reviews technology advances revealed at NI Week, and touches on travel to SEW Eurodrive and Ohio Northern University's robot lab.
Gary interviews Dave Bauman, Technical Director of OMAC. They discuss OMAC technologies such as PackML and PackTags plus OMAC's plans for demonstrations of technology during Pack Expo in Las Vegas October 16-18.
Gary updates Emerson's wireless information, addresses response to his challenge to automation suppliers about machine programming
and takes a look at brain drain.
Gary talks strategies in the wireless market and in the ever more competitive process automation market. He issues another challenge to machine control tech suppliers to make their programming environments more user friendly after Rockwell Automation accepted his last challenge to discuss their approach.
Gary visits the Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems Forum and Packaging Automation Forum, editorializes on programming standards and discusses the Rockwell purchase of IMS Triplex.
Gary visits Interphex, WBF and Matrikon conferences. How can we get people involved in technical leadership in automation?
Automating agriculture, OPC security, Schneider Electric support for CIP networks, FDT/EDDL cooperation, Hart Wireless Spec.
Gary Mintchell chats with Jim Pinto about his recent trip to India and a tour of Infosys. Information includes thoughts on global competitiveness, training, recruitment, ideas for American competitiveness.
Guest Paul Wacker, eAutomation Product Manager, discusses Ethernet in manufacturing with host Gary Mintchell. Topics include manufacturing environment and network administration tips.
News from ARC Forum and Fieldbus Foundation annual meeting including reports of interviews with industry CEOs, new products and more.
Siemens purchase, Bosch Rexroth technology, shout out to Radwell, Honeywell joint effort, who goes to conferences.
Emerson wireless announcement, process control system migration, is M2M growing, programming methods and systems
Built-to-change organizations, teams beat strategy every time, new year's resolutions (not)
News from Invensys User Conference, wireless, Make2Pack meeting, selling the new software solutions.
Innovation and leadership, the Yokogawa North American Users Conference. Technology and performance management.
Pack Expo observations; variable frequency drives; Schneider Electric changes; having great panel discussions.
News from Automation Fair including new products and important announcements on software direction.
News from the Emerson Exchange on wireless and from MESA International on Metrics Matter.
Gary interviews Carter Johnson, vice president of Visiprise and conference chair of the MESA International Plant2Enterprise conference that will be held October 9-12 at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando.
Production performance management and manufacturing intelligence. Empower operators to operate a plant profitably. Organize for the 21st century. Adobe version 8 3D and Connect.
eMvoy, a new company that offers nationwide rating of manufacturers searchable by location or category. OMAC comments and questions. New book "Thinking for a Living" about managing knowledge workers.
Trip reports on Profibus (PTO) annual meeting in Phoenix, National Instruments' NI Week and trip to Emerson Process. News from Automation Federation, HMS and general fieldbus thoughts.
Interview with John Ross of Citect
Dealing with Darwin
Guns, Germs and Steel
IAONA disbands
See you at Profibus Annual Meeting in Phoenix
Control cover story on Fighting the Fieldbus Wars -- really it's no longer war, just competition
Return from Alaska; ARC Forum; OPC UA spec released along with vendor support; Siemens and Emerson work for interoperability plus challenge to ODVA; manufacturing analysis-GM, Ford, Airbus;
Schneider, Invensys, MESA conferences; send ideas for 2007 coverage.
Honeywell Users Group and Rockwell Automation RSTechEd. Editor ethics, process control systems forum and energy harvesting device to charge batteries.
Reports on GE Fanuc and Siemens users groups, on demand computing and mobile applications.
Gary Mintchell's Automation Minutes including further notes on news from Hannover, MES/HMI and PLM combination, ISA standards updates, the ABB users conference and the Packaging Automation Forum.
Not an April Fools joke, but ruminations on some market forces affecting automation professionals. Also announcing my upcoming trip to the Hannover Fair and thoughts on the Automation Federation (what, no AA 12-step jokes?).
Another edition of Gary Mintchell's Automation Minutes. News on important software survey, notes on standards, thoughts for marketing people, innovation and adoption of technology.
News and views from the world of automation from the editor in chief of Automation World magazine. Includes discussion of software interoperability and some Linux and Java thoughts.
Live from the ARC Forum in Orlando, Rockwell Sr. VP of Global Industry Solutions Keiran Coulton discusses his new role and the company's emphasis on vertical industry solutions.
Sitting in for Gary Mintchell, Dave Newcorn speaks with P&G's open architecture evangelist, Dave Chappell, direct from Italy, on the results of the Make2Pack meeting held earlier in the day with about 40 Italian packaging machinery OEMs. Chappell talks about the implications of Make2Pack for all machine builders, both foreign and domestic, as well as end users.
Some marketers "get it" and some don't. I just had a meeting with Bengt and Victoria from the Swedish HMI manufacturer Beijer, and they "get it." That is, they understand where automation is today and how to build a smart company.
Many executives are moaning about the coming loss of expertise as baby boomers retire taking all their knowledge with them. As Dorothy Leonard details in her books "Wellsprings of Knowledge" and "Deep Smarts" they really should be building a learning organization and building their knowledge pools to avoid that disaster.
Manufacturing software industry consolidation took a new turn last week as Gary Mintchell describes in this podcast. Not only was one company acquired, but a venture firm took an equity stake in another company and raised the bidding for a third. RSS has had a tremendous impact on the way information flows over the Web. Shouldn’t manufacturing software suppliers be looking at this technology as well?