GE Extends Predix But Where Lies Its Future

GE Extends Predix But Where Lies Its Future

GE has a new CEO coming soon. Jeff Imelt led the industrial push that led to Predix and Industrial Internet of Things, services based upon data, predictive maintenance. He spurred development of GE Digital and the transformation into a software company (check out the TV ads).

The company has announced some extensions to Predix. But we need to wonder where the new CEO will take the company. One software entrepreneur I know unleashed on the company in a LinkedIn post hoping that the new guy would trash Predix and build “something better.” We’ll have to wait and see, of course.

First a little context for one of the announcements.

The facility electrical engineer and I were speculating on an idea of linking measurement of electricity usage at perhaps the bus level for different areas of the plant with machine performance. Perhaps he could detect a machine problem through electrical changes. That was somewhere around 1993.

I quoted something, but we never did it.

Here are the high points of the announcements:

  • GE Digital announces integration of ServiceMax field service management solution and Asset Performance Management portfolio to transform service operations, reduce cost and eliminate unplanned downtime
  • GE Ventures launches Avitas Systems, a new venture that will transform inspection services with advanced robotics, data analytics and artificial intelligence
  • GE Power releases Predix-powered ‘Digital Utility’ to connect real-time machine and operations data with energy trading to drive more profitable utilities businesses

The asset optimization organizations within a plant have a variety of new tools to take them beyond maintenance into an enhanced role. Growth of the Internet of Things and analytics capabilities especially leading into predictive and eventually prescriptive strategies are the keys to the future.

Augmented Reality and Internet of Things Meet In Hannover

Augmented Reality and Internet of Things Meet In Hannover

Let’s talk augmented reality and Internet of Things (IoT) today.

The first day of Hannover Fair began with much buzz about the Dell / Linux Foundation announcement (see yesterday’s post) about the open source “unify the IoT” project. But that buzz died off after people digested the news and determined that for the time being it was not going to disrupt the industrial world.

I have only a little time between appointments today, so I’ll do a quick recap of some highlights.

OPC Foundation has brought me along to investigate and write about what’s happening with OPC UA and especially with Time Sensitive Networks (TSN).  This will not be easy–I see the OPC Foundation logo everywhere. More on this later.

I devoted much time to the Microsoft stand yesterday and again already today.  It had the “OPC wall” showing a number of products serving OPC data. Microsoft’s play is moving OPC UA to the Azure cloud. It also showed integration with Time Series Insights, a real-time data base. It also has an IoT suite and recently added IoT Central which is an SaaS application that walks customers through the process of setting up analysis and visualization of the operations data through the OPC UA connection to Azure.

Microsoft had many partners showing authentic working applications of its Hololense augmented reality product–mostly for the enhancement of service technicians including TetraPak and Thyssen Krupp among others.

SAP took me for a walk around its IoT wall. It is building a system where, if all other suppliers opt in and put all their documentation and data into the SAP cloud, then it can serve up a variety of operations and predictive information to operators and maintenance.

ABB announced a partnership with IBM Watson to help customers improve productivity.

Parker has brought all of its products into a network uniquely called Voice of the Machine–an interesting take on IoT.

There’s more, but I’m late for another appointment.

Advantech Launches WISE-PaaS Marketplace

One under-the-radar trend in industrial automation and software is the development of a marketplace. Several companies have one type of marketplace or another. I think it’s going to prove to be a powerful concept. Here is a take on it from Advantech.

Advantech, a leader of the global industrial computing market, launches the WISE-PaaS Marketplace, an online software shopping website that features exclusive software services provided by Advantech and its partners. The WISE-PaaS Marketplace provides diverse WISE-PaaS IoT application software, including WebAccess/SCADA, WebAccess/HMI, WebAccess/IVS, WebAccess/IMM, WebAccess/NMS, online IoT cloud services, and IoT security services. The WISE-PaaS Marketplace is a sharing platform to integrate with IoT solutions developed by solution partners to provide the building blocks for customers to upgrade existing business systems to Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 quickly and easily.

Share Success, Grow Business, and Innovate Services

The Wise-PaaS Marketplace is aimed at diverse solution offerings that provide cloud infrastructure services, security services, integrated WISE-PaaS IoT software services, and domain-focused applications for simple and rapid deployment. The WISE-PaaS Marketplace is a value-sharing platform/ecosystem that enables customers to market unique IoT applications and services, increase business opportunities and growth, and maximize returns under the profit-sharing system.

Ongoing Innovation for Future IoT Trends

Customers can subscribe software services via Wise-PaaS Marketplace with WISE-points included in the WISE-PaaS VIP membership packages to access numerous IoT solutions and create IoT innovations for future IoT trends.

GE Extends Predix But Where Lies Its Future

Major Companies Discuss Connections and Services at ARC Forum

Three major automation companies laid out new products and services based on exploiting all the connections found in today’s industrial world. Senior executives presented to a press conference and later I had a chance to talk a little with most of them.

Honeywell

Paul Bonner, Honeywell Connected Plant Vice President of Consulting and Data Analytics, introduced the company’s Honeywell Connected Plant (HCP) business, a holistic approach to addressing the challenges of industrial customers. HCP leverages the power of the Industrial Internet of things (IIoT), machine learning, and big data analytics; coupled with Honeywell’s first-principles and empirical modeling technologies and deep process domain expertise. This new business brings together HPS’ Advanced Solutions, Honeywell UOP’s Connected Performance Services (CPS), and Digital Transformation organizations. He will also highlight the Honeywell Sentience cloud platform and INspire partner ecosystem.

Bonner told me that the big thing is that customers are beginning to accept the cloud. Honeywell’s solution, like most of those found in industrial applications, is built on Microsoft Azure.

Another part of the initiative is a collaboration with Seeq, one of three such partnerships for it. This joint development agreement will help customers minimize unplanned shutdowns, maximize output, minimize safety risk and optimize supply chain strategies.

“Honeywell’s deep domain knowledge and capabilities in process optimization, data consolidation, storage and asset monitoring combined with Seeq’s technology help us to identify and solve previously unsolvable problems,” said Shree Dandekar, senior vice president and general manager, Honeywell Connected Plant. “Our goal is to create an effective solution that securely captures, aggregates and analyzes data, and then leverages a vast ecosystem to provide a higher level outcome for our customers. This ecosystem includes leading equipment vendors, process licensors, OEMs and other industry experts.”

“We see this collaboration between Honeywell and Seeq as beneficial to continuously improving how we serve our customers with the latest advanced software and analytics,” said Steve Sliwa, CEO and co-founder, Seeq Corporation. “Honeywell provides key infrastructure to collect and securely store data, while we embed decades of domain knowledge into advanced analytics for more business value, faster. This collaboration will help us provide our customers with new insight through transformative capabilities that lead to more rapid decision-making and process optimization.”

Yokogawa 

Since announcing its mid-term business plan, Yokogawa has been accelerating its transformation, including developing new solutions to increase customers’ value. Satoru Kurosu, Director and Executive Vice President, Yokogawa Electric Corporation presented Yokogawa’s new vision to support customers’ best-in-class operating performance and its solution business roadmap to maximize the synergistic effects of strategic acquisitions. In addition, Andrew Howell, CEO, KBC Advanced Technologies announced a unique co-innovation solution designed to provide new perspectives that can help end users strengthen their asset value and overcome challenges.

KBC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric Corp., launched the KBC Co-Pilot Program (“Co-Pilot”). Just as the co-pilot of an aircraft is there to assist the pilot with  additional knowledge and to step in and help at times of intense activity, the KBC Co-Pilot is there to remotely support the plant with expertise and insight supplementing the plant’s own  capabilities and resources, thus assuring that it achieves its full potential.

The KBC Co-Pilot Program will assure asset owners and operators that their simulation and planning tools are always up to date, and that the actions taken by their operators result in best possible process performance and safe operation of equipment within recognized limits now and into the future.

KBC has recently integrated its operations with those of two other Yokogawa business units– Industrial Knowledge and Soteica Visual Mesa– to bring together all KBC Co-Pilot

Program capabilities under one organization. The first KBC Co-Pilot solution is for the
remote performance monitoring of oil refinery facilities such as crude distillation units, fluid catalytic crackers, and catalytic reformers.

Key elements of this solution are:

  • Real-time data connection to the plant using Web*Technician data-as-a-service
  • Automatic recalibration of Petro-SIM rigorous simulation model against actual plant
    data
  • Automatic LP vector updates from recalibrated model
  • Regular health check of unit performance vs plan and vs potential
  • Consulting and assistance to implement recommended changes
  • Reset of baseline operating plan due to major changes in external impacts such as economics, demand, asset capabilities

Siemens

Jagannath Rao, Sr. Vice President, Data Services, Siemens U.S, presented the
company’s MindSphere industrial cloud infrastructure as an essential element on  the path to the digital enterprise. Connectivity on the production floor and  acquiring and analyzing data can provide significant opportunities for businesses.

But, how can a manufacturer store, manage, and gain value from the large data
that can be acquired from their machines and production lines? Without a proper  infrastructure for data management, implementing the benefits of data-driven  intelligence will have very limited possibilities.

This is a comprehensive platform that I saw previewed last year at Hannover in Germany. I have written about Mindsphere a couple of times before here and here.

Leadership Lesson: Watch the Subtle Slide Into Complacency

Leadership Lesson: Watch the Subtle Slide Into Complacency

Ah, the warmth. It feels so good. Is it getting warmer? I’m not sure, but the warmth eases muscle stress. Frees the joints. And it gets warmer.Then, it’s too hot.

It could be the proverbial frog being slowly boiled. Or it could be me in the steam room.

Or it could be any of us in our organization.

How easily we don’t notice we’re not growing anymore. We’re not developing new services for our customer.

We just sort of gently slid into the routine.

Same people. We’re comfortable with them. No one around to upset things with new ideas.

We’re comfortable with the same surroundings. We enter and everything is familiar. We feel like we belong. We don’t notice the things that would turn off an outsider–or our customer.

What was our mission again? I sort of forget. I know it’s printed somewhere. Probably posted on a wall that has just become part of the environment.

It feels so good to be comfortable.

But…

Is that what we are placed here on Earth to experience? Is that what our stockholders or owners expect? Is that what our customers expect?

Or are we supposed to push through comfort? Find that place of discomfort that impels us toward fulfilling a mission.

What was that valuable service to people that gave passion to the founders?

Was it designing and making a product that will bring joy, relief, health to others?

Where are the big ideas that our technology can use to contribute to the growth and  development of society?

“There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

Which are you? Are you a change agent? Or are you a frog in the pot of boiling water?

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