by Gary Mintchell | Sep 4, 2024 | Asset Performance Management, Operations Management
My last post detailed vulnerability problems resulting from connected assets (the basis of my renaming the blog Manufacturing Connection in 2013). This post contains news that show the impossibility of managing a modern manufacturing enterprise without connected assets.
MaintainX announced yesterday the beta launch of Asset Connect, a new cloud-based platform designed to streamline communication and enhance collaboration between machine builders or Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and their customers. Asset Connect allows OEMs to proactively monitor deployed customer equipment across facilities, boosting both post-sales revenue and customer satisfaction through real-time asset health analytics, efficient critical spare parts management, and seamless communication tools.
Too often expert machine builders sell or install a machine, only to lose insight into its performance until a customer calls with a problem. Asset Connect represents a transformative shift in how manufacturing relationships are managed by bridging the gap between OEMs and their customers. OEMs with Asset Connect can be granted direct access to real-time asset performance and parts inventory data from customers and assist their customers with lifecycle services with in-context communication.
This sounds like the old M2M movement of the early 2000s. The nomenclature changed to IIoT, but the initiative still failed because companies had too much proprietary data locked up in their machines and processes to allow 3rd parties to access.
It will be interesting to see how this initiative comes off. Is this a better time?
On Asset Connect, the OEM lifecycle department receives streamlined, mobile or desktop alerts on equipment performance issues or failure, low inventory, or customer queries. In return, the customer gains real-time access to expert support to improve uptime, productivity and preventive maintenance.
Benefits of Asset Connect include:
- Increased Equipment Uptime: Customers can take advantage of OEM expertise and continuous asset health monitoring to increase overall equipment uptime and availability.
- Improved Financial Outcomes: Empowering OEMs to be proactive can lead to increased win rates for aftermarket parts and services and overall revenue predictability. Customers also benefit as they see a reduction in unplanned downtime and emergency part ordering.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: Providing OEMs a CMMS-integrated communication tool to meet customers where they are, facilitating swift issue resolution and contextual assistance.
- Seamless Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration: Fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration between OEMs and customers through a new form of standardized document sharing, enabling customers to “one-click” deploy the digital twin of an asset into their CMMS.
The Asset Connect beta program is FREE and currently open to OEMs that would like to explore the solution.
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 4, 2024 | Automation, Security
Cybersecurity initiatives resemble the Whack-a-Mole game. As long as everything is connected, especially to outside environments, securing digital assets will be impossible.
Certainly companies formed to combat these threats are trying. Take this news from Tenable. It has added new risk prioritization and compliance features for Tenable Nessus. Nessus supports new and updated vulnerability scoring systems – Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) and Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) v4 – to help customers implement more effective prioritization for risk reduction and maintain compliance.
Due to evolving threats and expanding attack surfaces, organizations rely on multiple risk scoring systems, which are not effective risk qualifiers on their own to determine criticality. With Tenable Nessus, customers can take advantage of the latest industry-adopted vulnerability scoring systems – EPSS and CVSS v4 – and Tenable Vulnerability Priority Rating (VPR) to identify and take action on the vulnerabilities that pose the greatest risk specific to their environment. Leveraging an advanced data science algorithm developed by Tenable Research, Tenable VPR combines and analyzes Tenable proprietary vulnerability data, third-party vulnerability data and threat data to effectively and efficiently measure risk.
Key features in this release include:
- EPSS and CVSS v4 Support enables users to see and filter plugins by EPSS and CVSS v4 score, further informing prioritization strategy. This feature enables security teams to remain compliant with organizational policies that require the use of EPSS or CVSS as the primary scoring system.
- Nessus Offline Mode addresses challenges with conducting vulnerability scans offline in air-gapped environments. Building upon existing offline scanning capabilities, Nessus runs critical services only, removing unwanted traffic generated by functions that rely on an active internet connection, thereby ensuring the security of sensitive data within a secure environment.
- Declarative Agent Versioning On-Prem enables users to create and manage agent profiles in Nessus Manager for Tenable Security Center. Users can specify a product version for an agent deployed in an environment, thereby reducing disruptions in day-to-day operations and enabling users to adhere to enterprise change control policies.
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 3, 2024 | Leadership, News
For my money, Jack Nehlig has been one of the premier leaders in the control and instrumentation market in the US. He has led Phoenix Contact US through the difficult market transitions of the past 15-20 years. I’ve enjoyed his Tweets (remember those) and LinkedIn posts that are always positive and supportive. He is retiring at the end of the year. And thus a leadership transition.
Phoenix Contact USA announced a new management structure and leadership team, effective September 1, 2024. This board-based leadership change supports the successful maturation of the U.S. company as a Group Center of Competence and the overall Business Area (BA) structure that Phoenix Contact first implemented in 2016. It also provides a seamless transition in preparation for the retirement of Jack Nehlig, President of Phoenix Contact USA, who is retiring on December 31, 2024, after 23 years with the company.
- Heath Scoggin has been promoted to President of the BA Device Connectors and will lead Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing legal entity, Process Management, and Quality.
- Kevin Zak has been promoted to President of the BA Industrial Components and Electronics and will lead the Phoenix Contact U.S. Sales Subsidiary legal entity, Logistics, Government Relations, and ESG.
- Davis Mathews has been promoted to President of the BA Industry Management and Automation and will lead the Phoenix Contact Holdings legal entity, Human Relations, Digitalization, IT, Purchasing, and Facilities.
- In addition, Kyle Bordner was promoted to Vice President of Finance and Risk Management, replacing David Russo, who retired in May.
Scoggin, Zak, Mathews, and Bordner have been named members of both the Phoenix Contact USA Executive Board and the Management Board. The Phoenix Contact Management Board will also include Marian Roldan, Senior Vice President of Human Relations, and Doug Ferguson, Senior Vice President of Americas Operations Services.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 30, 2024 | Automation, Robots
Speaking of robotics and collaborative robotics—my last post mentioned Universal Robots. The company is alive and well as a part of a conglomerate since 2017. UR leaps on the AI bandwagon at IMTS announcing an AI-powered machine tending solution. This enables faster batch changeovers by eliminating the need for fixtures.
Universal Robots (UR) recently surveyed 1,200 manufacturers across North America and Europe about their use of technology and future investment plans, over 50% of the respondents indicated they are now using AI and machine learning in their production processes.
So, AI isn’t just hype, they conclude.
“AI isn’t just hype,” says Ujjwal Kumar, Group President of Teradyne Robotics, parent company of Universal Robots. “We’re seeing significant interest in physical AI. By adding high-performance compute hardware to our control systems and investing in targeted software upgrades, we’re establishing UR as the preferred robotics platform for developing and deploying AI applications.”
The company will show a machine-tending application with new AI-based perception capabilities running on NVIDIA Jetson and Isaac acceleration libraries integrated into UR’s new PolyScope X platform. This combination enables dynamic path planning, ensuring the robot takes the most effective, collision-free paths in and out of the machine without requiring extensive user configuration.
Service has become an important strategy for mature companies. Not surprising, UR has launched the enhanced UR Care Service Plans that now offer preventive field service, onsite break-fix, dedicated remote support and secure cloud connectivity-based cobot service/performance monitoring through UR Connect.
The company will also showcase its extensive partner ecosystem.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 30, 2024 | Automation, Robots
Remember the cute and ground-breaking collaborative robots that pioneered the space—Baxter and Sawyer? I wrote about Rethink Robotics in March and November of 2015. The company closed in 2018 0r 2019 and many employees wound up at Universal Robotics. The company’s assets wound up in Germany at the HAHN group.
Time has passed. The market blossomed and then consolidated. There will be some news at the upcoming IMTS in Chicago in a couple of weeks. I won’t be there deciding instead to go to a more deeply engineering conference.
Well, IMTS 2024 will witness the rebirth of rethink. The press release states:
Rethink Robotics returns to IMTS with a major company relaunch and rebranding. With a fresh identity and renewed vision, Rethink Robotics continues to push the boundaries of innovation, seamlessly integrating advanced robotics into the workplace.
Companies never tell you the weaknesses inherent in their products. They refer indirectly to them through touting their updates.
The new robots that will be unveiled at IMTS have been significantly upgraded with improved design, as well as more reliable and robust hardware, resulting in increased precision, speed, and reliability, making them far more capable for industrial applications.
Teasing (I have product information coming soon under embargo):
In addition to an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) and mobile manipulator (MMR) platform, Rethink Robotics will unveil a family of collaborative robots (cobots) designed to reliably handle a range of payloads from 6 to 30 kg. All these products are designed to be better, faster, and stronger than was previously possible across every technical performance indicator.
