by Gary Mintchell | Apr 10, 2024 | Automation, Process Control, Robots, Safety
Yokogawa has sent a couple of process automation announcements recently. It’s been quiet on my radar for a few years. Nice to see some investment in product development. The first is the release of OpreX Robot Management Core, an application in the Asset Management and Integrity family. The second concerns strengthened industrial network support in CENTUM in the Control and Safety System family of solutions.
OpreX Robot Management Core
Yokogawa Electric Corp. announces the development and release of OpreX Robot Management Core, a software application in the OpreX Asset Management and Integrity family.
OpreX Robot Management Core is a key product in the Yokogawa robot operations solution. By integrating the management of various types of robots that perform plant maintenance tasks conventionally carried out by humans, this software will help customers maintain their facilities in a safer and more efficient manner. In addition, when connected to a plant’s control and safety systems, it enables the utilization of manufacturing site data that has been acquired by robots, and the issuing of procedural instructions to robots, thus enabling the first step to be taken toward autonomous plant operations.
In plants that have been designed around people, there is a need for the efficient management of different types of robots to carry out a variety of tasks. In response to this need, Yokogawa began discussions with robot manufacturers in 2019 and in the following year went on to develop a prototype robot management and operations platform that has since been used in proof-of-concept field tests with several customers. Leveraging the experience gained through these tests, Yokogawa has developed this software to make it easier to introduce robots in plants.
OpreX Robot Management Core is a software application that improves safety and efficiency in plant maintenance operations by facilitating the utilization of robots. Depending on customer requirements, it can be provided for use in either an on-premises or cloud environment.
1. Integrated management of different types of robots
This software enables the registration, management, and operation of multiple types of robots in a unified manner. It supports the Spot four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics and the EX ROVR autonomous, explosion-proof, plant inspection robot from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The software’s management screen, which allows users to check the status of individual robots, is viewed in a web browser, enabling remote operations.
2. Connection with other systems
This product was developed with the ability to link to Yokogawa’s OpreX Collaborative Information Server. When doing so, the data collected by robots can be combined with data from control systems, safety instrumented systems, and integrated asset management systems for centralized management. This means that application development and data analysis can also be performed easily not just for maintenance tasks, but other operational tasks too. If an interface for robot utilization is built on the OpreX Collaborative Information Server, this enables the dispatch of robots to plant sites and the performance of safety inspections based on alarms detected.
The development of OpreX Robot Management Core enables Yokogawa to fully rollout its robot operations solution aimed at increasing workplace safety. By providing consulting, assistance in the selection and procurement of hardware and software from strategic partners and other sources, and engineering, operational support and other services, Yokogawa is able to help customers resolve issues encountered in their businesses and can develop specific robot and drone applications. Through this one-stop solution, Yokogawa will ensure the reliability, availability, and sustainability of robot operations and help to achieve autonomous plant operations.
Yokogawa Upgrades the CENTUM VP Integrated Production Control System
Yokogawa Electric Corp. announces the May 31, 2024 release of CENTUM VP R6.11.10, an enhanced version of the CENTUM VP integrated production control system that is a core product in the OpreX Control and Safety System family of solutions.
With this new version of CENTUM VP, plant uptime is improved through the addition of a redundancy function to a new IO card that supports communications via the PROFINET communications protocol for industrial networks. Furthermore, to reduce project costs and improve efficiency in plant operations, functional enhancements have been made to the Unified Alarms and Conditions Server (UACS) and the CCC Inside for the Yokogawa CENTUM VP compressor control solution.
Yokogawa has developed a new PROFINET IO card that supports a redundancy function, and by doing so, has made high reliability and high uptime a reality.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 9, 2024 | Personal Development
I remember, barely, being a freshman engineering student. My mindset reflected many (most? all?) of my colleagues—“I don’t need no stinkin’ English and speech classes!” Math and science. What else is there?
Then I got a job.
Turns out that communication skills are essential for career success. Want to be an effective engineer? The ability to listen, talk, and write will serve you better than how quickly you can solve differential equations. Eventually I landed a position as a senior editor of an engineering magazine. It is really hard to find an engineer who can write, they told me.
Charles Duhigg has released a new book. His last book, The Power of Habit, was a killer book. It came out about the same time as James Clear’s Atomic Habits. The two books taught us how to form habits to improve our daily lives and professional effectiveness.
His new book, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, promised to do the same thing for effective conversations.
Not so much. It’s a disappointing book. Perhaps because it is really hard to teach people how to have deep conversations where you both connect.
He has outlined his three main points and tips for each point. But they lack the potency of how to develop good habits.
There were too many “Duh!” statements.
On the other hand, the book is packed with good stories. Duhigg is, after all, a journalist trained to write good stories.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 8, 2024 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
Rob McAveney, Aras CTO, had a follow up conversation with me to flesh out some of the ideas from the recent customer conference.
Perhaps the concept of an industrial metaverse is fizzling along with the Apple Vision Pro hype, but McAveney’s view is that it is all about data. Yes, without massive amounts of data, what will the visualization tools visualize?
While on the stage, he discussed how the coming Cognitive wave including AI will automate away rote tasks humans have done. Or as he put it, AI + Cognitive systems—leverage to describe what is possible and zoom in on potential solutions. He sees the coming 5.0 software leveraging all the data we’ve accumulated from 4.0 for breakthroughs. Some things to watch for in the Cognitive + AI systems:
- AI as an assistant
- Syndicate digital twins
- Connect system of systems
- Able to become increasingly able to suggest more complex solutions
We talked a little further about generative AI. Essentially PLM and similar systems are massive databases. Generative AI can be a way of pulling data from documents without the pain of finding and opening the documents.
He also suggested a day forthcoming when GenAI may be able to generate part drawings and then eventually could expand to subassemblies.
I’m thinking that, just like when using ChatGPT now, a trained and knowledgeable human will be required to check and finish the work.
Aras had introduced new Digital Thread capabilities. In my early career, I embodied the “digital thread”, so I’m quite interested in the evolution of the idea. McAveney told me to think of it in terms of collaboration from design to lifecycle management to suppliers to the audit trail.
New capabilities will support simplified user interactions for viewing, editing, and implementing changes on interrelated items. In addition, a new streamlined experience for configuring connections to a comprehensive range of authoring tools simplifies extending the digital thread to a broader set of enterprise applications.
I’ve recently been taking a deep dive into low-code applications. McAveney told me, “We did it before it had a name. We originally called it modeling. Builder was born as low code. It’s core of what we do; everything is built on that engine. Customers take it and extend it.
Aras Innovator is the only PLM platform with a fully integrated low-code development environment. Leveraging a rich set of development and enterprise-class DevOps services, Aras subscribers can extend applications or develop their own to address the unique needs of their organization. These enhancements introduce new widgets and charts that simplify the user experience and navigation for analytics dashboards and reports embedded in Aras apps. In addition, advanced form design tools facilitate a more streamlined, modern user experience for applications built within Aras-powered applications and deployed within Aras’ DevOps framework.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 5, 2024 | Enterprise IT, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
The beginnings of a trend in manufacturing software has appeared on my horizon about mid-way through last year. This would be the use of low-code software for application development. I first noted it with some acquisitions in my market space. Recently I have begun working with a company called Quickbase who has a platform built with low-code application development in mind.
[Note: In my work with Quickbase, I’m sometimes compensated for what I do. They do not dictate what I write or say.]
I recently had the opportunity to talk with two users of Quickbase’s platform for their manufacturing software needs. You can hear them plus me at the Quickbase Empower Virtual Customer Conference on May 8 (our session is at 11:30 am EDT immediately following the keynotes). Their stories verified what I was beginning to hear from my first encounters. Listening to their tone of voice, what really perked them up was the ability to be rapidly responsive to requests from users for modifications to screens and reports.
That discussion spurred me on to some additional research on the topic. Following is a list of benefits I uncovered on my research. This is not a list specific to Quickbase, but a more generic list that you might find with applications in a variety of areas. But check out Quickbase for your specific needs. I’m sure I’ll have more interviews in the future to take a deeper dive into Quickbase specifically. For now, I was interested in this new feature. Feel free to contact me with additional thoughts. Or stories about how you have used low-code in engineering or manufacturing operations software.
- Faster Development: Low-code platforms enable rapid application development by providing pre-built templates, drag-and-drop interfaces, and visual development tools.
- Reduced Costs: With low-code development, you can save on development costs by eliminating the need for hiring expensive developers with specialized coding skills. Additionally, the time saved in development translates to cost savings.
- Increased Productivity: Low-code platforms allow both professional developers and citizen developers (non-technical users) to build applications. This democratization of app development increases productivity by enabling more people within an organization to contribute to development efforts.
- Flexibility and Customization: While low-code platforms provide pre-built components and templates, they also offer the flexibility to customize applications according to specific business requirements. Developers can extend functionality by writing custom code when needed.
- Streamlined Maintenance: Low-code platforms often include built-in features for application monitoring, debugging, and performance optimization. This simplifies maintenance tasks and reduces the time required for ongoing support and updates.
- Integration Capabilities: Many low-code platforms offer out-of-the-box integrations with popular third-party services, databases, and APIs. This makes it easier to connect your applications with other systems and data sources.
- Scalability: Low-code platforms can scale with your business needs, allowing you to quickly add new features or expand functionality as your requirements evolve. This scalability helps future-proof your applications.
- Accessibility: Low-code platforms often come with intuitive user interfaces and guided development processes, making app development accessible to a wider range of users, including those with limited technical expertise.
- Faster Time-to-Market: By accelerating the development process and enabling iterative development cycles, low-code platforms help bring applications to market faster. This can give your business a competitive edge by allowing you to respond quickly to changing market demands.
- Risk Reduction: Low-code platforms often come with built-in security features and compliance standards, reducing the risk of security vulnerabilities and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Overall, low-code application development software offers a compelling solution for businesses looking to rapidly build, deploy, and maintain applications with greater efficiency and flexibility.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 5, 2024 | Marketing, Podcast
This is from my recent newsletter. You can sign up for delivery by clicking on the envelope icon in the right sidebar.
Several colleagues have traveled close to my new location, and we’ve shared some good meals with great conversation. Inevitably they asked for my observations on the state of the automation market.
Part of my answer, in short, would be to quote from a recent Seth Godin blog post, 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.
He continues, “That’s because each new customer, each new supplier and each new employee wants or needs something a little more normal, at least sometimes. The drift to normal can only be countered by persistent effort, usually at the cost of some element of short-term scale.”
Here are a few points that capture my thinking:
- Mature Market
- We’re building few or no new plants—and the USA seems to be declining in activity with European and Asian automation companies for the most part showing reduced interest
- Customers are not switching systems
- Automation supplier consolidation
- Innovative startups look for lucrative buyouts as their end game
- Technology is stable
- Technology is also consolidating
- Effects of the changes:
- Automation companies have reduced need for outside marketing partly due to spread of technology
- Primary emphasis is on sales and service—keeping present customers satisfied, if not happy
- Technology development involves tweaking current products and innovating through acquisition
- Geographical retrenchment
For example, let us look at a brief history of National Instruments, nee NI, nee Emerson Test and Measurement. Three technical innovators created a startup with a vision of software defined instrumentation. They created a creative, entrepreneurial culture. For several years there was great energy, growth in business, growth in technology development.
Then one year I noticed that the technology keynote at the annual user conference sounded more corporate. Less, “Gee Whiz” technology. People started to trickle away—either encouraged or seeing the changes. The leaders deliberately changed the culture toward corporatism preparing for an eventual sale. Then the sale happened to the epitome of corporate management in the market.
Note: not a criticism, but an observation. And it’s happening all through the market.
I have released a couple of podcasts on my platform at automation.libsyn.com. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast (my favorite), direct download, or from your podcatcher of choice.
Check out some thoughts on Standards and on Slow Productivity. My just released podcast includes a number of thoughts about the current state of the automation market.
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.
