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Creative Work

I started writing this blog in 2003. The first name was Gary’s Radio Weblog—I used Dave Winer’s Radio Userland. I moved the blog to SquareSpace a bit later and renamed it Gary’s FeedForward to parallel my work at Automation World magazine. When I left Automation World in 2013, the blog moved to WordPress and gained the name The Manufacturing Connection. The blog has grown to more than 300K visits per month, and some months actually 200K more.

Meanwhile, I started playing with podcasting in 2007. I would sometimes record the podcasts on Quicktime on the Mac and post on YouTube along with the audio only on Libsyn.

I promoted both of these plus another personal blog on Twitter for years.

Several years ago, Twitter (now X) became useless for this promotion. I would also promote on LinkedIn. Now, LinkedIn acts like Facebook—do you want to reach people? Click here to boost your post (for a fee, of course).

This year I noticed a sudden reduction in the number of podcasts downloads. Simultaneously, the number of visits to the YouTube site rapidly grew. Weird.

Seth Godin is a marketing guru, publisher, speaker, blogger, and more. I’ve followed him for more than 15 years. He recently documented his experiences. I don’t feel so alone.

The Hotel California (and subscriptions)

Every day, this blog is automatically echoed on my Linkedin channel. Over the last few years, the traffic to those posts on Linkedin is down more than 90%. Understandable. Platforms evolve, people shift their patterns and interests.

I recently did a manual post on Linkedin, though, and was amazed to discover that within minutes, it had 10 times as much traffic as a typical post does. I did another one about this leap and it did even better. It’s clear that the algorithm was changed.

Not to help me, not to help you, but to help the endless quest for more that most public companies wrestle with.

The seduction is clear. They’re sending a message: If you want us to bring you eyeballs, move in. Don’t link out.

Problem one: eyeballs don’t make change happen, people do.

Problem two: Don’t check into a motel that makes it hard to check out.

Enshittification is real. VCs and public markets push the companies they invest in to maximize profits. First, please the customers. Then, double cross them to please the advertisers. Finally, double cross both of them to please the stock price.

Ignition Pro Security Tips

Jennifer Faylor from Inductive Automation wrote this  blog—Ignition 8.3 Pro Tips: Supercharge System Security—a few weeks ago offering some security tips for users of Ignition. There’s more. Check out the blog for the entire essay.

She begins, “In honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, this blog will delve into some of the Ignition 8.3 features that help you better secure your systems.”

The new industrial Secrets Management feature in Ignition 8.3 enables you to store secrets securely and protect them from unauthorized parties — a game-changer if you’re looking to boost SCADA password security. And coming soon in Ignition, you’ll also be able to integrate with third-party secrets management platforms such as HashiCorp Vault.

With Ignition 8.3, you get multiple layers of control system threat protection that align with the latest industrial cybersecurity standards to keep your data and assets safe. To highlight some of the new features: we’ve expanded functionality for LDAP authentication security by enabling extra LDAP attributes to be defined for the Active Directory, AD/Database Hybrid, and AD/Internal Hybrid user sources. We’ve also added two additional properties for nested group membership lookup and group role attributes for the Active Directory user source. Three new properties are now available for Ignition Internal Authentication: “Prohibit Password,” “Prohibit Username,” and “Maximum Consecutive Repeated Characters.” And the Administrator role is now automatically listed under the Authenticated/Roles security level when installing a fresh gateway.

The new security features also enable integrators to have visibility of a system’s configuration, while still maintaining good security for the system.

You can majorly step up your SCADA communication security thanks to one important new 8.3 feature: more secure data serialization with Remote Procedure Call (RPC) technology that uses Google Protobuf instead of Java serialization. 

Study Shows Business Value Gained From Artificial Intelligence-Internet of Things Convergence

User studies remain one of the primary ways software companies can gain insight and achieve some public recognition. Most of the studies emanate from cybersecurity protection developers. This one comes from a software company with which I’ve had little contact. There was a woman I knew from one company who came to SAS for a while. We had occasional conversations before she left that company.

SAS develops software applications. I’ve never had a handle on its business. It now bills itself as a global leader in data and AI. This study was conducted by the research firm IDC. And we have the acronym AIoT—or the convergence of AI and IoT. Somehow I feel that concatenating acronyms is the beginning of the end times 😉

Key findings from the IDC InfoBrief, How AIoT Is Reshaping Industrial Efficiency, Security, and Decision-Making, sponsored by SAS, include:

This one should surprise no one. Everyone discusses predictive maintenance.

Predictive maintenance dominates current AIoT use. Nearly 71% of organizations use AIoT for predictive maintenance, the most widely adopted use for manufacturing/industrial and energy companies surveyed. IT automation (53%) and supply and logistics (47%) were the next most cited uses for AIoT.

Executives continue to dream of significant cost reductions from AI.

AIoT drives tangible business value. 54% of respondents anticipate major cost savings, 52% predict smarter and faster innovation and 49% expect streamlined operations from their investment in AIoT. Additionally, 63% believe AIoT will boost productivity and competitiveness.

Managers continue to see AI as an aid to overcome the current skills gap of employees.

Skills gap emerges as the top challenge. The skills gap is the biggest barrier to AIoT success, outpacing legacy system integration and data quality issues as the most significant roadblock. Other challenges include high implementation costs, business process misalignment and cultural resistance. Addressing these issues is essential to unlocking AIoT’s full potential.

Some actually use the technology!

Heavy AIoT users see greater value. Organizations using AIoT heavily are twice as likely to report benefits that significantly exceed expectations as those that only use the technology sparingly. Strikingly, less than 3% say the value of AIoT “did not meet expectations.”

The IDC research is based on a global survey of more than 300 industrial executives in the manufacturing and energy industries.

And from the company:

SAS IoT solutions combine AI, machine learning and edge-to-cloud integration, enabling analysis of high-volume, high-velocity data. And joining AI with these IoT solutions extends the value of existing infrastructure investments and digitally transforms the workforce by shifting from manual oversight to intelligent orchestration.

Other organizations benefiting from SAS IoT and streaming analytics for improved asset reliability, enhanced product quality and increased efficiency across connected systems include:

  • Georgia-Pacific
  • Jakarta Smart City
  • Lloyd’s List
  • Lockheed Martin
  • Town of Cary (North Carolina)
  • Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks
  • wienerberger

True Leadership

I receive few stories about good leadership in manufacturing (or anywhere else, for that matter). I read a business book in the 80s called Proactive Management. The author talked about all the stakeholders in a business—including owners, employees, customers, suppliers, community, etc. 

For too long now, business has been under the spell of MBAs who studied Milton Friedman’s school of thought that there is only one stakeholder—shareholders. They said, let’s give executive management shares of stock so that they know what’s important. Unintended (or maybe intended) consequences—short-term thinking, share price manipulation, grifting, get-rich-quick schemes.

This is a story about Jody Chastain, CEO of a pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Columbia, SC. The company produces sterile Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) technology for critical medications with precision and scale. Under Chastain’s leadership — following his career at Fuji Film — the company has experienced tremendous growth, expanding its technical capabilities while cultivating a culture that invests deeply in people.

This year, Ritedose launched “1000 Hours of Purpose,” a bold initiative granting paid volunteer time for employees to support nonprofits addressing urgent needs such as hunger, housing, and youth support. Partnerships include United Way, Homeless No More, Palmetto Place, and Meals on Wheels. The company’s commitment was recognized with the 2025 Outreach Award from the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, underscoring how purpose-driven leadership strengthens both communities and companies.

Chastain wrote on his blog A Season of Gratitude and Purpose: A Thanksgiving Message a couple weeks ago.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting on what’s been a truly momentous year and the many blessings that have shaped both my personal journey and the growth of our organization. Although I typically don’t put much stock in anniversaries, 2025 does mark 30 years since the company’s founding, so it is a natural moment to look in the rearview mirror to see how far we have come and reflect on what brought us here.  

Over the past 3 decades, the company has transformed from a showroom for Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) manufacturing machinery, to a contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in sterile, unit-dose medications, and additionally added capabilities to produce our own generic respiratory and ophthalmic medications for patients in need of affordable options. 

It’s remarkable to found a company and be in business 30 years later. Only one company that I was part of the startup (out of seven or so) is still in business—and it is on its third owner. Growth is not everything, but a measure of growth is essential.

To support this transformation, our facilities have grown tenfold: from 50,000 to more than 500,000 square feet, culminating in this year’s grand opening of Ritedose Performance Park and our new distribution and logistics center. But growth isn’t just measured in square footage; it’s measured in lives touched and jobs created. Over that same period, our staff has grown from 11 employees to more than 600—a gain of over 500 jobs that support families across our region and strengthen the local economy. 

He lists some surprising factors for growth.

As I look at the factors that have driven this exponential growth, one thing stands out. Ritedose has been built on the generosity, mentorship, and support of countless individuals and organizations across South Carolina. And with that good fortune comes a responsibility to give back to our patients, our people, and our community. 

Inspired by my own journey and by Booker T. Washington’s words, “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else,” as CEO, I have sought to infuse that same spirit of generosity into our organizational mission. It is a mindset that serves us well. 

At Ritedose, giving back is central to our growth strategy and corporate culture. We believe that blessed organizations should bless others, which is why this year, we launched “1000 Hours of Purpose,” a bold new volunteer initiative that goes beyond traditional corporate philanthropy. Instead of simply encouraging staff to volunteer on their own time, Ritedose is donating 1,000 hours of employee paid volunteer time to support local organizations addressing urgent needs like hunger, housing, and youth support.  

Can you list any organizations and people your company (or you personally) have supported?

In partnership with United Way of the Midlands, our teams have supported: 

  • Homeless No More, a transitional shelter for families 
  • Home Works of America, which provides critical home repairs for low-income residents 
  • Palmetto Place, a safe haven for homeless youth 
  • Transitions, which helps individuals move from homelessness to stable housing 
  • Sorting donations at Harvest Hope Food Bank 
  • Delivering meals through Senior Resources’ Meals on Wheels 
  • Organizing inventory for The Cooperative Ministry 

A key characteristic of initiatives such as Lean includes emphasis on people.

But investments in programs like 1000 Hours of Purpose are more than charitable gestures; they’re strategic investments in our people. Helping others fosters connection, deepens engagement, and builds a shared sense of purpose. The result is a culture that retains talent and drives performance.  

In my other writing on spiritual development, I try to emphasize ideas such as what Chastain notes, “This season reminds us that gratitude isn’t just a feeling, it’s a practice.”

I’d humbly suggest go and do likewise.

Recap of Media/Analyst Briefings From Rockwell’s Automation Fair

The only news emanating from Automation Fair last week was the announcement of a plan to build a 1 million sq ft manufacturing and warehousing facility in southeast Wisconsin. Executives also reinforced earlier news regarding its regrouping of the cybersecurity SecureOT Solution Suite and the new ControlLogix 5590.

Executives appeared before the assembled media and analyst folks attending to highlight areas of emphasis that Rockwell Automation wished to promote. These talks were enlightening about the current state of Rockwell Automation’s thinking on what is important in this market and where Rockwell fits at this time. 

Bob Buttermore, senior vice president, chief supply chain officer, has often appeared as the point person for using Rockwell products and services to improve internal and external supply chains within the company. Part of the new plant announcement included investing $2B in Rockwell operations to test and prove the next generation of industrial technology. 

Our existing facilities in Singapore, Twinsburg and Milwaukee serve as live innovation labs, showing how new tools and processes perform in real-world manufacturing. These plants give customers a front-row seat to breakthrough solutions and demonstrate how Rockwell is shaping the future of smart, efficient and resilient manufacturing.

The old Silicon Valley phrase was “eating your own dog food.” The today Rockwell Automation version is Rok on Rok. Buttermore told us the team in Singapore took initiative to work with the local government and internal Rockwell resources to bring reality to “factory of the future” improvements. Learnings from that initiative are being applied within the Twinsburg, Ohio facility. They will be used to build the new Wisconsin facility when the time comes.

Special kudos to Buttermore for going beyond the pablum “we use AI” phrase to pinpointing which aspects of AI are used where. So refreshing to get something closer to specifics.

Speaking of AI, Rockwell has an executive in charge. Jordan Reynolds, Vice President, Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy, spoke about companies going beyond embedding AI in technology by incorporating it in workflows, and further using it to empower the people using the technology.

His talking point—As AI becomes more deeply embedded in operations, manufacturers must ensure their teams are not only equipped with the right skills but also confident in using AI to make faster, smarter decisions. In fact, 47% of manufacturers responded that AI comfortability is a “very important skill” in their workforce according to the 2025 State of Smart Manufacturing Report, which marks a 10% increase from 2024.

Sustainability remains an important mission. A panel brought together leaders from Circulor, Bolder Industries, and Utility Global to discuss how their innovations are accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future. The conversation highlighted the role of circular manufacturing, supply chain transparency, and clean hydrogen in building reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure. Panelists discussed overcoming regulatory, operational, and technological challenges through strategic partnerships and advanced automation.

My long history with Rockwell Automation includes nothing about robotics. Given a couple of recent acquisitions, the company has a new vice president of robotics, Ryan Gariepy. He was CTO of OTTO, the recently acquired AMR company. He’s excited about bringing together the array of robotics technology. This includes software Unified Robot Control and software-defined automation. Mobile with Clearpath development platform and the OTTO Autonomous Mobile Robotics. An integration ecosystems with Emulate 3D and OTTO Fleet Manager.

Running the anchor leg of the relay was Dan DeYoung, Vice President & General Manager, Design & Control. We saw him later showing off the ControlLogix 5590. This session focused on the future of software-defined automation. Rockwell sees the future of industrial automation as one where control systems can rapidly adapt and grow as new disciplines emerge. “With software defined automation, we are rethinking how robotics, vision, AI and ML come together with the core strengths of our multidiscipline control. Our focus is on creating an environment where these technologies can be integrated with speed and simplicity, shaping a future where automation is more flexible, scalable and ready for what’s next.”

It was at this point that a question from the audience asked about adoption of IEC 61131 programming and especially about the PLCOpen nirvana of write once/run anywhere. That is, write control code in your IDE of choice in a 61131 language and then target control platforms from any vendor. There was no comment. (Something I expected.) As Ed Sheeran put it, I was Thinking Out Loud on this longer thought piece about that topic.

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Write Once, Run Anywhere

The comment brought memories from many years ago when I first heard about a new programming language/operating system. Java. I rushed to the local bookstore to purchase a book. It was huge. I downloaded the Java Development Kit. Eventually, I downloaded eclipse, an IDE for writing Java.

The key marketing message for Java? Write once, run everywhere. You just had to have a target to download the code to a runtime instance.

The comment that brought back ancient memories occurred during a briefing at the Rockwell Automation Automation Fair event in November.

Executives from Rockwell were discussing how their latest control platforms were amenable to software defined automation. A colleague asked about their support for IEC 61131 programming languages, especially about the part where they hope to have “write once/run anywhere” programmable controller code. That is, write a control program in the void, then download to any target be it Rockwell Automation, Siemens, ABB, or name your favorite.

The executives returned a blank stare. The inquisitor said that he supposed that that was a “no.”

I had long forgotten that nirvana of PLC Open. Discussions often grew heated in the early part of the century on this topic. Personally, I don’t see how it can happen. To bring that hope of PLCOpen to fruition, all controller manufacturers would have to agree to commoditize their hardware. Some users may think that driving control to commodity to reduce the cost would be good. But that would disincentivize innovation.

That’s not going to happen.

In fact, looking at software-defined and model-based programming with AI assistance, I wonder how long IEC61131 will be necessary. 

I’m quoting Ed Sheeran and just “Thinking Out Loud.” Where will all this go? What impact will the ubiquitous AI have on this entire discussion—if any? What will machine control look like in 10 years?

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Rockwell Automation Launches ControlLogix 5590 Controller

The Rockwell Automation Control team could not contain their enthusiasm for their latest product—ControLogix 5590. Yes, they are master at branding 😉 I saw long-time contact Dennis Wylie on the show floor. He shared his excitement with me there—and later.

At a later gathering of media and analyst people, the team talked up the product. The marketing team has chosen the word “powerhouse” to best describe the advances included in the product. The last controller news that came my was was years ago, so I’m a bit rusty analyzing this. See below for a list of capabilities and features. I’m sure machine designers and other automation geeks will love this.

Rockwell Automation announced the highly anticipated launch of its newest controller, ControlLogix 5590, the powerhouse at the core of the Logix platform. Designed to meet the evolving demands of modern manufacturing, this all-in-one controller delivers seamless software integration and multidiscipline control across the enterprise to streamline operations like never before.

All in one refers at the least to including safety as part of the package.

Manufacturers are navigating a perfect storm of challenges, from rising global competition and workforce shortages to growing safety and security risks. Contributing to the complexity are disconnected control and data systems built on propriety technologies, which limit flexibility and keep costs high. The ControlLogix 5590 controller is a purpose-built solution to help manufacturers tackle these challenges with ease and take control of their operations.

“The ControlLogix 5590 controller isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a powerhouse engineered for the future of industrial automation,” said Dan DeYoung, global vice president and general manager, production design & control, Rockwell Automation. “We’re giving our customers the ability to build smarter and more secure systems right out of the box, with a platform designed to meet the demands of today and ready to scale for tomorrow.”

Key capabilities of the ControlLogix 5590 controller include:

  • Integrated Safety: Every ControlLogix 5590 controller includes advanced, integrated functional safety capabilities designed to help protect people, equipment and operations, without the need for separate safety models. Certified to meet rigorous global standards, it helps customers build safer systems with less complexity and more confidence.
  • Powerful Performance for Demanding Applications: Delivers high-speed processing and expanded memory capacity to support complex operations. From process and batch to discrete, motion and robotics applications – the ControlLogix 5590 controller is ideal for manufacturers looking to design scalable architecture, optimize throughput and drive efficiency on a single high-performance and interoperable platform.
  • Built-In Cybersecurity: Includes built-in security features designed to help protect systems from current and emerging cyber threats. These protections are based on global standards (IEC 62443) and help customers keep their operations connected and compliant with modern security requirements.
  • Streamlined Engineering Experience with a Unified Software Suite: A unified software suite, including Studio 5000 Logix Designer® and FactoryTalk® Design Studio™*, helps streamline development, accelerate deployment and simplify workflows across the enterprise.

Key Features:

  • Up to 80 MB user memory
  • Integrated Dual 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports with CIP Security
  • Expanded and scalable performance for motion and safety applications
  • Higher performance for high availability process systems
  • Integration with Studio 5000 and FactoryTalk platforms

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Honeywell And TotalEnergies Pilot AI-Assisted Control Room To Accelerate Shift To Industrial Autonomy

Every day brings more press releases about AI in something. Every one consistently uses the term AI completely undefined. I asked Honeywell if they could explain anything further about their AI. I waited a week. No reply.

Suffice it to say that some sort of AI “transforms” the experience for operators. So, forgetting the AI part, I continue to applaud refining ways to communicate the status of operations to operators (and others).

Honeywell announced a collaboration with TotalEnergies for the ongoing pilot of its AI-assisted Experion Operations Assistant at TotalEnergies’ Port Arthur Refinery in Texas. The initiative aims to support and empower operators to make timely and informed decisions while also providing the opportunity to enhance operational autonomy.

Built on Honeywell’s flagship distributed control system, Experion Operations Assistant is an advanced AI-powered solution designed to transform the way operators monitor plant operations from the control room. By merging operational analytics with real real-time predictive insights, the solution facilitates a more efficient workflow within critical refinery operations. With the integration of this new solution, operators in the control room can forecast potential maintenance events before they happen and minimize risks associated with unsafe operations and production losses.

TotalEnergies has already implemented an initial pilot of Experion Operations Assistant at the Port Arthur site’s Delayed Coking Unit (DCU). Preliminary results show the AI-assisted solution has successfully forecasted five potential events, helping to minimize downtime and reduce emissions from flaring. The predictions were made an average of 12 minutes in advance of an alarm incident, enabling operators to quickly implement corrective actions before an event.

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Rockwell Automation to Build New Greenfield Manufacturing Site in Southeastern Wisconsin

I visited Automation Fair, Rockwell Automation’s annual customer showcase gathering, Tuesday. We had six briefings and a gathering to discuss the new ControlLogix 5590 platform. This year’s event felt both similar to past years (this was my 29th) and also a bit different. The original format recreated the trade show environment. The past few years has seen a change to include large keynotes as other large automation suppliers traditionally feature and more breakout sessions. And a bit more than 10,000 people turned out. (I didn’t get an official number, but guessing was perhaps 12,000 total attendees.)

The briefings provided insight into several areas of the company including cybersecurity, building new manufacturing “factory of the future” using Rockwell products and services, software defined architecture, and a bit more. All of this I will detail in my next post.

The big news…

I’m old enough to remember Rockwell Automation moving a lot of manufacturing, especially for control products, to Asia. Recently they’ve touted a new production line for OTTO AMRs in Milwaukee. Executives also pointed to work in progress upgrading production lines in Twinsburg, Ohio.

Following an established theme for 2025 manufacturing, Rockwell Automation has announced plans to build a new, 1 million square foot facility somewhere in southeastern Wisconsin. The project marks the next step in the company’s previously announced $2 billion investment in plants, digital infrastructure, and talent to grow share, build resilience, and expand margins over the next five years. The facility has the potential to be Rockwell’s largest manufacturing campus globally, with a significant footprint and the flexibility to scale operations.

Note that this is an announcement. Much work remains before anything physical happens. We were give a bit more detail here.

This new facility will span more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space and will be equipped with advanced automation, robotics, and digital systems that will showcase modern manufacturing and demonstrate Rockwell’s leadership in industrial automation.

And the obligatory quotes:

“Rockwell Automation has been leading the way with high-quality manufacturing and technology solutions for over a century. We’re incredibly proud of that tradition and how they’ve continued to exemplify the innovation and excellence that Wisconsin is known for, and we are excited to celebrate their continued growth and success in our state,” says Gov. Tony Evers. “I want to thank Rockwell Automation for their ongoing commitment to Wisconsin, our workforce, and our communities, and I look forward to seeing how this newest expansion will accelerate our statewide goals of building a 21st-century workforce and economy.”

“Designing a new facility presents the opportunity to create the future of industrial operations, with highly orchestrated production,” says Blake Moret, chairman and CEO at Rockwell Automation. “We are expanding our U.S. manufacturing footprint with advanced production capability that supports growth and performance with the latest Rockwell technologies and solutions.”

“It will integrate the latest in Rockwell’s production technologies, including AI and analytics tools, to increase efficiency and precision, while providing team members with access to advanced tools and training. I’m excited to see our highly skilled workforce maximize the potential of this site,” says Bob Buttermore, chief supply chain officer at Rockwell Automation. “This investment reflects our confidence in our teams that deliver excellence every day.”

Buttermore told us at the media briefing that his team’s work is to bring in some of the margins paid out to other companies through more vertical integration.

This reinforces Rockwell’s long-term commitment to American manufacturing and to the skilled workforce that drives production and innovation. The Southeastern Wisconsin location will be near the company’s global headquarters in Milwaukee.

Construction and site planning are in progress in concert with local and state officials. Additional details will be shared as the project advances.

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Asset Data Interoperability Ecosystem

We met in a conference room at an office in Barrington, IL. A place where sometime later a couple guys thought they’d screw me in a business deal. I came out ahead in the end, but the place has mixed memories.

This meeting involved thinking about the future of asset data and systems interoperability. We had a system diagram. The idea was to solve a huge problem for owner/operators of process manufacturing enterprises—flowing engineering data into other software systems for operations, maintenance, and enterprise. The incumbent system was a morass of paper (or pdf documents which was much the same thing).

We did trademark searches and domain name searches and eventually settled on the Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem—OIIE.

I plot this history for context for the conference I attended recently—the 2nd ADIF Workshop at Texas A&M University dubbed Driving Asset Data and Systems Interoperability Toward an Open and Neutral Data Ecosystem.

This workshop brought together owner/operators, EPCs, System Integrators, university researchers, standards organizations, and software vendors. Each group conducted a panel discussion of its needs and successes. I was there for a short presentation and to moderate the standards panel.

Professor David Jeong from Texas A&M and the session leader previewed the discussions. One of his colleagues later presented research his team has performed to provide a method for taking P&ID documentation into a standard format usable by other software systems.

The message that came to me from the panel of owner/operators (grossly summarized, as will be all the discussions) included two key words—collaborate and operationalize. They are impatient about solving this data interoperability problem. One panelist quipped, “We know the project is finished when the large van backs into the loading dock and disgorges mountains of paper.”

What blows my mind is that I was moved to a position called Data Manager in 1977 to tackle the (much smaller) mountain of paper our product engineering department provided to operations, accounting, and inventory management. I led a digitalization effort in 1978 to tackle the problem. The problem not only remains, but it is immensely more complicated and critical.

The EPCs basically said that their hands were tied by the owner/operators mandating which design and engineering software to use and the inflexibility of the vendors of said design and engineering software. When owner/operators had requested digital documentation, they had responded with pdfs. Hardly interoperable data.

Our standards panel included the leader of DEXPI, whose organization has developed a method of changing P&ID data into an xlsx (Excel) format. That, of course, is a good start.

An organization called CFIHOS (see-foss) presented their take on standards. I’m afraid I got a bit lost in the slides (note: more research needed). What I gathered was that they were attempting one overriding standard—and that that work was years away. Interesting that I listened to Benedict Evans’ podcast this morning. He is a long-time tech industry analyst. He remarked in another context, “It seems that where there are 10 standards and someone comes along with a standard to encompass them all, you wind up with 11 standards.”

The ISA-95 was presented. This messaging (and more) standard is incorporated with the OIIE, which was presented next. Dr. Markus Stumptner of the University of South Australia presented his research work on proof of concept of the OIIE.

If we can get enough momentum focusing on this area and find some SIs willing to take the OIIE to an owner/operator, perhaps we can finally prove the business case of asset data and systems interoperability.

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