by Gary Mintchell | Dec 19, 2023 | Enterprise IT, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
Once upon a time surveys were the purview of analyst firms and media. None were mathematically rigorous. Most do show trends and yield ideas for thought.
Digital transformation is top of mind for companies who develop and market software solutions but maybe not so much for customers. This survey is from iBase-t. I knew them as an MES supplier, but now the are the company “that simplifies how complex products are built and maintained.” In other words, MES. That’s OK. My background in that application goes back decades.
This original survey of more than 100 discrete manufacturing executives in the U.S. found that a lack of a clearly defined roadmap is the biggest challenge for manufacturers looking to digitally transform their operations.
None of this surprises me. Many studies have found similar statistics. Upper management in manufacturing organizations “know” these problems. They don’t seem to know how to go about implementing solutions. Or, they don’t want to spend the money!
In brief, their study revealed:
- 60% of manufacturers don’t have a clear understanding of the model-based enterprise
- 67% of manufacturers say that less than half their operations are digital
A full 60% of respondents said they did not have a clear understanding of the model-based enterprise (MBE), which employs CAD systems, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to help manufacturers fully digitize their operations.
Respondents confirmed that although paperless manufacturing and digital transformation are very important priorities, more than two-thirds (67%) of manufacturers reported that less than half of their operations are digital.
The survey found that more than half (54.5%) of respondents lack the interoperability across operations to adopt an MBE strategy. An additional 55% said that their manufacturing systems are not mature enough to support MBE.
Other Key findings:
- According to the survey, 62% of total respondents said that they believe paperless manufacturing is “very important” to their organization.
- The top four goals for manufacturers heading into 2024 are efficiency (66%), on-time delivery (66%), done-right first time (49%) and profitability (47%). An MBE strategy empowers manufacturers to reach all of these goals.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 7, 2023 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
I found this an interesting survey from Control Engineering (CFE Media). It ran a survey of its readers about SCADA. They received 135 responses from the USA. Some of the results were surprising. It should be noted that this survey is not statistically valid. It’s the opinions of those who cared to respond. Most were from the East Coast. (Thank you graduate school course on running statistically valid surveys which are definitely not run by journalists.)
Responding to “SCADA helps you to…” most responses were operational—maintenance and uptime. Not so many responded Industry 4.0 or IIoT.
Whose SCADA software do you use?
- Siemens
- Emerson and GE Digital (tied)
- Inductive Automation
- AVEVA (Wonderware?)
- Advantech (hardware?)
- Mitsubishi (Iconics)
- 45 of the 135 picked Other.
Rockwell Automation didn’t get enough responses to get its own line on the graph.
Who would you prefer?
When asked who would you like to use Inductive Automation grew to second. Everyone else slipped. GE Digital slipping the most.
- Siemens
- Inductive Automation
- Emerson
- GE Digital
- AVEVA
- Advantech
- Mitsubishi (Iconics)
I am not surprised at the growing preference for Inductive Automation. They have a solid product and the pricing model is outstanding. But given that Siemens has never been able to provide much competition for Rockwell Automation in the USA for control, how is it that its SCADA product leads the pack? Interesting.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 1, 2023 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
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The headline of this article comes from a survey conducted by MES solution provider Parsec Automation Corp. The company spent several months surveying 530 manufacturing professionals in the United States and Canada. Every security company I know does surveys. These are becoming quite a popular marketing tool.
I’m interested partly because I wonder how much talk about digital transformation is simply marketing hype and how much refers to real work. I’ve concluded that although manufacturers in general have digitized many sources of data they mostly fall short of gathering sufficient data from important sources and using that data intelligently in order to make better decisions.
This survey suggests as much.
Survey Highlights:
- Manufacturers are pleased with digital transformation but may need to go further, as 31% of “fully transformed” companies still collect most of their data using manual processes.
- Supply chain issues remain top of mind, with 53% of manufacturers saying their organizations are “hardly” or “somewhat” prepared to weather a storm.
- Manufacturers anticipate using AI/ML, but just one-third (34%) feel their businesses are prepared to leverage this advanced technology.
- MES (manufacturing execution system) technology is facing a knowledge gap, with 75% of manufacturers who report being familiar with—but not yet using MES—saying they don’t know how the technology would benefit their operations.
One telling thing is the lack of knowledge about the benefits of MES. MESA, the trade association, has been working alongside both solution providers and active users for many years to promote the benefits of the technology. Trainers told me 15 years ago that the greatest interest came from manufacturers in Asia followed by Europe. They had trouble filling classes in North America. This survey of manufacturers in North America seems to confirm what my current sources tell me—we are still falling behind over here.
Overall, nearly three-quarters (73%) of manufacturers have begun the digital transformation process, with 40% reporting significant progress or completion. However, more than one-third (35%) still report relying on paper-based data collection, which suggests a significant gap among manufacturers’ willingness and preparedness to embrace today’s technology.
“Although manufacturers are steadily advancing towards digital transformation, there remains a significant scope for progress,” commented Eddy Azad, Founder and CEO of Parsec. “It’s heartening to note that over half (53%) of the survey participants are utilizing enabling technologies like MES. This insight underscores the need for technology providers to not only effectively showcase the benefits of their solutions, but also to furnish the requisite tools and education for the seamless and sustainable adoption of these transformative technologies.”
In perhaps the understatement of the report, Parsec’s survey findings suggest that manufacturers may be underutilizing technology or underestimating its capabilities. Among the respondents whose companies have reportedly “completed” their digital transformations, nearly one-third (31%) still collect most or all of their data using non-digital processes.
When it comes to MES platforms, which leverage IIoT technologies to automate and optimize nearly every facet of manufacturing operations—from receipt of raw materials, through production, to shipping, warehousing, and distribution—more than one-quarter (27%) of respondents said they had never heard of MES before.
All is not lost, though:
Those who have adopted MES, however, are pleased with their results. An impressive three-quarters (75%) of respondents who are actively utilizing an MES platform said they were “very” or “extremely satisfied” with the product. These active users said they adopted the advanced technology to increase efficiency (73%), improve quality (57%), and reduce operating costs (47%).
I’ve become increasing interested in the power of various AI technologies. Here the report agrees.
Across the industry, manufacturers are keenly aware of the trajectory of today’s technology, with more than half (52%) agreeing that enterprise software solutions should include capabilities for AI and ML.
At the same time, just one-third (34%) feel their business is prepared to leverage this advanced technology. When asked about the barriers standing in their way, respondents cited lack of knowledge (46%), lack of trust in the technology (39%) and implementation costs (33%).
“Manufacturers need to adopt advanced technology to propel the industry forward,” Azad elaborated. “Contemporary software solutions must be developed with enhanced accessibility and exceptional user experience in mind. It is imperative for technology providers to proactively engage with manufacturers, address their apprehensions, and offer guidance to fuel their success.”
Parsec is the developer of TrakSYS, a proven operations management software application and solution platform designed to significantly improve manufacturing processes. Parsec is committed to providing best-in-class products and solutions to our worldwide community of clients to assist them in optimizing their manufacturing operations. There are thousands of TrakSYS licenses in use around the globe in a wide variety of Industries.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 3, 2023 | Data Management, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management
MQTT seems to be still growing as a favorite light-weight data transport for industrial data. HiveMQ, whom I had a chance to chat with briefly at the Inductive Automation ICC event in September, has released a new MQTT product.
HiveMQ Data Hub, an integrated policy engine within the HiveMQ broker designed to enforce data integrity and quality, helps to detect and manage distributed data and misbehaving MQTT clients with the ability to validate, standardize, and manipulate data in motion.
HiveMQ Data Hub is available now and provides the following capabilities:
- Create a schema policy in JSON or Protobuf formats
- Define policy actions for data that fails validation
- Store schema registries locally for faster access and data processing in a single system
- Define behavioral policies to determine how devices work with the broker and log bad actors
- Visualize the data in tools like Grafana with an API
HiveMQ Data Hub’s policy engine allows users to script policies and transform data into the right format as it moves through the broker. Creating and defining schema policies for validation and transformation enables users to add context and quality control to data to ensure consistency for reporting and analytics.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 31, 2023 | Internet of Things, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
Honeywell Connect 2023, the user conference of Honeywell Connected Enterprise the software business unit of Honeywell, was held in Dallas this year October 10-12. I had been waiting for some documents from Honeywell and got busy. I’ve written several news stories from Honeywell Connect over the past six months. This Strategic Business Unit of Honeywell has been quite busy.
This event was sort of a 5th anniversary celebration. I’m a slow learner and it took some time before it sunk into my consciousness just what was up with Honeywell Connected Enterprise and Honeywell Forge. Honeywell corporately has five strategic business units. Four are vertical business. Honeywell Connected Enterprise is the software arm that cuts across all the other SBUs plus reaches out in its own right.
CEO Kevin Dehoff referred to Forge as the “premier Industrial IoT Architecture.” At a time when other companies who had touted IIoT were moving to other marketing slogans, HCE proudly discusses IIoT as the connected of the Connected Enterprise. I think they are continuing on the correct track. After all, I named my new website 10 years ago as The Manufacturing Connection because I saw that connecting things (and processes and people and businesses) was where we as an industry needed to go.
Discussion centered on outcomes. I also like that approach. Too many product companies focus on features. Customers are interested in outcomes.
Everything connected becomes a hacking risk. HCE acquired SCADAfence a few months ago to strengthen an already rich cyber security portfolio. Shortly after the acquisition, the company announced CyberWatch and CyberInsights. Expect to see growing robustness from the cybersecurity portfolio.
No software event can be complete without bowing to Digital Transformation. “Digital Transformation isn’t an event—it’s an ongoing journey.” HCE talks of technology augmenting humans. Another topic here is the potential use of AI as an enabler of autonomous control—another sub theme of the conference.
Some ideas in this vein include AI co-pilots, cyber forensics and recovery, closed loop sustainability.
Digital Transformation as the sum of process, people, technology, and data.
Sustainability continues to be a strong theme. Companies are continuing the trend from manual to automated data collection. Carbon and demand management continue as an important trend. HCE continues to see opportunities with instrumentation for monitoring emissions, as well as, applying process control technologies to mitigate those.
One final thought. The last session I saw was with Vimal Kapur, Honeywell CEO. HCE has been developed to solve customers’ big problems. Doing so, Honeywell is building the largest industrial software company. “Maybe we already have.”
This is interesting because earlier this year I was at the Siemens Digital event where executives extolled the division as the market’s leading industrial software company. The week following AVEVA held its annual conference—a continuation of the OSIsoft PI user conference. Meanwhile, Emerson has been aggressively promoting itself as a software company. Yet, Rockwell Automation had been touting its software for a few years, but it has become the “digital transformation” company for the past year or more.
Where will software take all these companies? Is this where growth lies? Instrumentation and control are stable, but mature markets? I wonder.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 17, 2023 | Data Management, Internet of Things, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management
Is your knowledge or experience limited to your historian or perhaps also an SQL database? It’s worth your time following the variety of database products that may help you in your manufacturing digital transformation. This release is from MongoDB. I am retaining all the “about” paragraphs below the news in case you are not sure who this is and may want additional information.
The news in brief:
- New MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive initiative helps organizations deploy applications that use real-time data to optimize processes and reimagine end-user experiences with connected technologies
- AWS, HiveMQ, Share Now and Digitread Connect among partners and customers working with MongoDB in the automotive and manufacturing industries
MongoDB on Sept. 21, 2023 at MongoDB.local Frankfurt, announced MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive, a new initiative that helps organizations innovate with real-time data and build applications that take advantage of intelligent, connected technology.
MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive includes expert-led innovation workshops, tailored technology partnerships, and industry-specific knowledge accelerators to provide customized training paths designed for the wide range of use cases that developers in these industries work with—from digital twins of manufacturing facilities to predictive maintenance of factory equipment to highly engaging applications for connected cars.
To be effective, organizations need the ability to collect, process, and analyze high-volume data from different sources in real time—a process that is extremely challenging. For example, the data that IoT devices and sensors generate comes in many different formats and must be normalized, combined, and processed before advanced analytics can begin. Even then, many organizations often lack the expertise required to build applications that can analyze real-time data for use cases like identifying potential defects in vehicle fleets for safety improvement or detecting anomalies in factory machinery to prevent equipment failure. Because of the many challenges involved with collecting, processing, and analyzing vast amounts of real-time data, many organizations in the automotive and manufacturing industries are unable to build and deploy modern applications that take advantage of connected technologies to transform their businesses.
“The automotive and manufacturing industries are embracing a foundational transformation from manual assembly-line type operations to intelligent organizations based on software and automation. New vehicle drivetrains and complementary technologies provide access to vast amounts of data that is not only available in real-time but needs to be processed in real-time as well,” said Boris Bialek, Field CTO of Industry Solutions at MongoDB. “This industry-wide transformation is in its early stages, and many companies are just starting to figure out what they need to effectively collect, process, and analyze all of this data so they can make better business decisions and enhance end-user experiences. MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive accelerates this transformation by providing a set of expert-led industry initiatives to help organizations quickly go from ‘overwhelmed by data’ to ‘deriving valuable insights from data’ with modern applications.”
- MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive includes dedicated executive engagement with industry experts from MongoDB and the MongoDB Partner Ecosystem to ideate client-specific solutions using best practices. Innovation workshops are tailored to address the unique challenges and opportunities organizations in the automotive and manufacturing industries face so they can develop data-first application strategies.
- MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive provides access to MongoDB’s industry-specific partner integrations and toolchains to help accelerate application development. The MongoDB Partner Ecosystem includes systems integrators and technology consultants with industry-specific expertise—including AWS and HiveMQ—to help organizations adopt the right solutions for their specific use cases. MongoDB also works closely with industry-specific technology alliances like COVESA that provide open solutions for automotive industry challenges.
- Organizations can engage with the MongoDB Professional Services team to take advantage of automotive and manufacturing industry expertise to accelerate projects from concept to prototype to production in less time.
- MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive provides tailored MongoDB University courses and learning materials, including unlimited access to curated webinars and solutions sessions, to help developers learn how to quickly build modern applications for the automotive and manufacturing industries.
Partner program on AWS
- HiveMQ makes it possible to move data from device to cloud in a secure, reliable and scalable manner. “The HiveMQ MQTT Platform makes it easy for companies to stream IoT data from devices to the cloud to ensure they are maximizing value,” said Dominik Obermaier, Cofounder and CTO at HiveMQ. “Adding a pre-built integration with MongoDB allows our customers to eliminate the need for manual integration and harness the power of MongoDB for data management and real-time, application-driven analytics.”
- Share Now is a car-sharing joint venture between car2go and DriveNow with over 10,000 vehicles in 16 cities across eight countries. “We needed new versatile, automated database environments that could handle all of our microservices and database clusters without breaking a sweat. This would help us efficiently and accurately process incoming data,” said Stephan Kaufmann, Head of Cloud Engineering, SHARE NOW. “Deploying MongoDB Atlas was a seamless and pain-free project for us. MongoDB Atlas helps us innovate through integrating our data sets and back-end management while delivering better ROI than any other solution on the market.”
- Digitread Connect provides KYB, an Industrial IoT platform that helps track performance of machinery and industrial assets through sensors: “Time-series data is our bread and butter, and MongoDB made it simple for us to handle this,” said Christoffer Lange, CEO, Digitread Connect. “We were amazed by the simplicity and the performance. Using MongoDB Atlas really showed us that we don’t have to worry about the nitty-gritty details of how to treat the database. We got the solution live for our customers in a very short time.”
About MongoDB Atlas for Industries
MongoDB for Automotive and Manufacturing is part of MongoDB Atlas for Industries, a program that helps organizations accelerate cloud adoption and modernization by leveraging industry-specific expertise, programs, partnerships, and integrated solutions.
About MongoDB Atlas Developer Data Platform
MongoDB Atlas is the leading multi-cloud developer data platform that accelerates and simplifies building applications with data. MongoDB Atlas provides an integrated set of data and application services in a unified environment that enables development teams to quickly build with the performance and scale modern applications require. Tens of thousands of customers and millions of developers worldwide rely on MongoDB Atlas every day to power their business-critical applications.
About MongoDB
Headquartered in New York, MongoDB’s mission is to empower innovators to create, transform, and disrupt industries by unleashing the power of software and data. Built by developers, for developers, our developer data platform is a database with an integrated set of related services that allow development teams to address the growing requirements for today’s wide variety of modern applications, all in a unified and consistent user experience. MongoDB has tens of thousands of customers in over 100 countries. The MongoDB database platform has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times since 2007, and there have been millions of builders trained through MongoDB University courses.
