by Gary Mintchell | Apr 30, 2019 | Internet of Things, Technology, Wireless
Industrial Internet of Things begins with “things”, of course. But it really needs to end with a decision by either a human or a control. In between the thing and the human is software that takes data input from the thing, analyses the data, and provides information in a digestible form.
Swift Sensors not only manufactures wireless sensor systems, it provides a Manufacturing Analytics Dashboard. Newly released are eleven new predictive maintenance tools for the Dashboard.
These new tools add trend analytics to key manufacturing metrics of compliance, utilization, maximum, minimum and average measured values monitored by the wireless sensor system. Eleven new dashboard panels have been added for measuring analytic trends across multiple shifts.
”We have deployed more than 100 Swift Sensors in our manufacturing facility to improve operational efficiency,” said Jackson Minear, Continuous Improvement Engineer at Meggitt Airframe Systems. “We use just about every feature in the Analytics Dashboards to track utilization of our equipment as well as critical trends across multiple shifts over time. Conservatively, we’ve improved our machine utilization by 20% while saving six figures in capital equipment expenditures.”
“Our manufacturing customers, particularly those using our wireless temperature and vibration sensors, frequently ask for advanced analytics tools to improve operational efficiency through higher overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and lower maintenance costs,” said Sam Cece, founder and CEO of Swift Sensors. “With the access to data from our wireless sensor system, Predictive Maintenance (PdM) programs can be easily created using our Manufacturing Analytics tools, which is included in the new Trend Analytics Dashboards.”
With the new dashboard panels, a trend line is calculated using the best fit line algorithm for the measurement data across each shift. The slope of the trend line represents the trend per shift, which indicates the overall tendency of the analytics value to increase or decrease by a specific amount from one shift to the next.
The trend analytics include a confidence percentage to indicate how well the trend line correlates with the historical data. A high confidence level indicates the trend is more likely to continue. Conversely, a low confidence level indicates the trend is not a reliable predictor of future values because the historical data is too chaotic.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 29, 2019 | Education, Leadership, Productivity, Workforce
There is an equally critical factor for success in companies: Teams that act as communities, integrating interests and putting aside differences to be individually and collectively obsessed with what’s good for the company. Research shows that when people feel like they are part of a supportive community at work, they are more engaged with their jobs and more productive.
Thus begins the book that you should read next. Trillion Dollar Coach: The Playbook from Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell, by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle. (The three authors were senior leaders at Google / Alphabet–and coached by Bill.)
Bill Campbell’s journey took him from head football coach at Columbia University, to the top sales and marketing job at Apple, to CEO of a couple of technology companies (Intuit and GO). Then he became a coach. He coached Steve Jobs at Apple. The three leaders and then many more at Google. And more than 80 other Silicon Valley CEOs and leaders. And his middle school football team that he coached at the same time.
He was most likely the most influential and respected man in Silicon Valley.
And his values and teaching are appropriate to all of us no matter the organization we’re with.
For example, he let everyone know his blocked time for coaching his football team of 13- and 14-year-olds. He wouldn’t answer his phone if you tried calling. One person, though, would ignore the time and call. Bill would pull his phone out of his pocket and look at the caller ID. The kids around him would look, also. They would see the name Steve Jobs, and then see Bill decline the call. They all knew that when Bill was with them, he was with them.
Read this book–and put the principles into practice in your life. You may not be building the next Google. But you can be the determining influence in someone’s life.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 26, 2019 | Automation, Podcast, Workforce
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. I rather like the editor, Steve Levine, even if he is an economist turned journalist. But there are times when he stops at a macro level with no understanding of underlying facts. That’s a common problem with both economists and journalists.
The things:
- Confusing robots and automation
- Not understanding the jobs that were replaced
- Advances in manufacturing that greatly enhance the quality of jobs
- Confuse correlation with causation
Unlike people who grab high-level statistics, run the numbers through a variety of mathematical equations, and then show some sort of correlation, I started at the factory floor. First working on the line. Then figuring out ways to build better machines and put robots in places to take on physically debilitating or drudgery work. I tend to be inductive rather than deductive in my approach.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 25, 2019 | Commentary
I just received my Spectrum invoice for the month. It was up 15% over last month. Last month it was up 10% over the month before. I called. The guy told me, yes, and it will increase another 15% next year.
However, if I were a new customer, I’d receive a 30% discount. I said, if I quit and come back, then I’d reduce my bill. But, I’d have to go 30 days without cable. I said, that must be why I’m seeing so many signs popping up all over my neighborhood proclaiming a switch from Spectrum to the only competitor in town.
The cable TV business is tough these days. Therefore, consolidation is not surprising. Spectrum (Century) acquired Time Warner Cable. So, they raise rates to pay for the acquisition. In the end, consolidation does not benefit the customer with lower costs.
Unfortunately for them, there is another alternative. I can keep the Internet cable connection, which isn’t bad, and drop the phone (who needs “land line” anymore anyway) and drop TV. Most of what we watch we can stream over Amazon Prime and Netflix. I just have to discover where to get my soccer fix.
The reason I relate this story involves treating it like a fable—a story with a moral.
I also see much consolidation in the controls and automation market. This is inevitable. It reveals the state of maturity of the market. I used to earn some money consulting with companies about potential acquisitions in industrial instrumentation, control, and automation. The deals have been done. I haven’t had an inquiry for a year.
Check out how ABB, Emerson, and Schneider Electric are all growing through acquisition becoming more viable all-around competitors to Siemens. Look at how the stock prices of Emerson and Rockwell Automation shot up last fall when Emerson was pursuing an acquisition. Rockwell’s board turned down the offer and both stocks dropped. But both stocks have been on quite a rise for the past few weeks. One wonders? That combination would really shake things up.
I have no inside knowledge, and I’m definitely not telling you to rush out and buy stock. However, for all of you who are customers, I’d keep my eyes open and contacts updated.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 24, 2019 | Automation, Technology
I know machinery along with controls and automation. Packaging as a specialty wasn’t my thing until I spent some time alongside a packaging magazine. Tetra Pak was a name often heard. It has made news this month with ideas from Industry 4.0.
They first announcement concerns energy. Tetra Pak announced it is developing an energy assessment program in collaboration with ABB to help food and beverage producers lower their environmental impact and cut costs.
The program provides an assessment of the entire plant, helping customers minimize their environmental impact and maximize profitability. Based on this analysis, Tetra Pak provides recommendations for food producers on opportunities to reduce energy consumption and help them make informed decisions about how resources are used in their plants.
Based on pilot projects in the Americas, the program can potentially reduce carbon emissions for food and beverage manufacturing and cut energy cost by between 15% and 25%.
The strategic collaboration will combine the strengths of ABB Ability digital solutions and Tetra Pak’s unique expertise in food manufacturing, and build on both companies’ global installed base, deep domain and digital transformation expertise.
Johan Nilsson, Vice President at Tetra Pak, said: “There is a sense of urgency for all industries to reduce their environmental impact across their operations, and we are developing programmes together with our partners to reduce this impact for our customers and the overall industry. The plant assessment programme is an excellent example of an area where we have found and created opportunities for environmental savings.”
“With this strategic collaboration, Tetra Pak and ABB will create and drive a leading manufacturing ecosystem to provide Tetra Pak’s customers with the most advanced digital solutions and services,” said Visar Krasniqi, Group Vice President, Digital Transformation at ABB. “Additionally, this will enable Tetra Pak’s customers to run ABB’s digital solutions and their operations with improved overall efficiency, flexibility and sustainability.”
The second announcement announces a connected packaging platform. In this system, cartons will become full-scale data carriers and digital tools, which, the company claims, will transform milk and juice cartons into interactive information channels, full-scale data carriers, and digital tools.
Driven by the trends behind Industry 4.0, and with code generation, digital printing, and data management at its core, the connected packaging platform will bring new benefits to food producers, retailers and shoppers.
For producers, the new packaging platform will offer end-to-end traceability to improve the production of the product, quality control, and supply chain transparency. It will have the ability to track and trace the history or location of any product, making it possible to monitor for market performance and any potential issues.
For retailers, it will offer greater supply chain visibility and real-time insights, enabling distributors to track stock movements, be alerted when issues occur, and monitor for delivery performance.
For shoppers, it will mean the ability to access vast amounts of information such as where the product was made, the farm that the ingredients came from and where the package can be recycled.
Ivan Nesterenko, Vice President, Cross Portfolio at Tetra Pak said: “We are unlocking new opportunities for our customers to get more value from packaging than even before. No longer is it only about product protection and functionality, it is about connectivity. The future of packaging is undoubtedly digital: this launch is a step towards a truly intelligent package, and we are excited to collaborate with our customers on this journey.”
Tetra Pak has successfully completed pilots with its customers to test the new connected package and its performance in retail in Spain, Russia China, the Dominican Republic and India, working with beverage, juice and milk producers. In Spain a customer increased their sales by 16% through the scan and win campaign.
