by Gary Mintchell | Oct 8, 2024 | Commentary, News, Podcast
I’ve been swamped with a project for the past 10 weeks. It ends next Tuesday (supposed to end Saturday, but you know how projects go).
The travails of Google with the US DOJ and Apple with the European Union focusing on the issues of monopolistic mature market and openness spurred some thoughts on similarities with the control and automation market. Those thoughts coalesced around the podcast.
Gary on Manufacturing.
Gary on YouTube.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 1, 2024 | Automation, Commentary, News, Standards
This second in the series of posts on The Open Process Automation Forum concerns an in-depth analysis of a proposed system orchestration standard written by Harry Forbes of the ARC Advisory Group. This was written for Red Hat, but you can download a copy.
SYSTEM ORCHESTRATION FOR OPEN INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
ARC Whitepaper August 2024
Forbes looks at OPAF’s latest intention:
The Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF) recently announced its intention to base its System Orchestration O-PAS specification on the OASIS TOSCA standard. In the context of open heterogenous industrial automation systems, the term “System Orchestration” has a very broad meaning. It includes automated configuration, deployment, coordination, integration, and management of distributed systems and services. System Orchestration is essential for successfully managing complex software environments in modern, cloud-native application architectures. As industrial automation adopts these same architectures, it will also become critical for the industrial automation systems of the Future.
It has been too many years since that first meeting with OPAF leaders in Florida. I seem to remember that they had hired a consulting group (Nassim Nicholas Taleb notes that mathematicians begin with a problem and create a solution while consultants begin with a solution and create a problem) who had ties to the aerospace industry. The foundation standards came from there. I’m not surprised by this OPAF proposal.
Forbes continues:
Over the last 20 years in the IT and cloud computing space, many software tools have been developed and commercialized to serve these types of functions. These tools originated in open source, and several are now supported by commercial suppliers. Some have large installed bases in major enterprises. They also have large and active end user communities. They do not comply with a single standard, but rather support distinct Domain Specific Languages (DSL). During the same period, the vendor-neutral TOSCA specification has been employed in academic research and reportedly in some proprietary software in the telecom industry but has had negligible impact in commercial markets.
I side with Forbes in this preliminary conclusion:
Open automation supporters should leverage the large existing IT communities, human talent pools, and documented best practices that leading commercial products provide. While this precludes adopting a single standard, the OPAF could instead focus on carefully defining orchestration use cases for O-PAS systems, enabling end users to implement them with the commercial software that OT suppliers and industrial automation end users both prefer.
The entire whitepaper is worth a read.
by Gary Mintchell | Sep 18, 2024 | Commentary, News
Department of weird headlines—from today’s OPC Foundation news, “DCS Vendors Shift Toward OPC UA Over Classic.” There is some nuance. But it caused a double take.
From The Athletic newsletter, “NFL Playoff Predictor, updated projections.” It’s only the second week of the season. Predict? Supposedly Yogi Berra stated, “Predictions are difficult, especially about the future.” OK, I suppose if I were an NFL fan, this “news” would give me something to argue about with friends. I envision a sports bar, a beer, noise…
Last week I was in Phoenix for the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society annual conference. Plenty of energy. A big change from my normal venues. More coming later. Mostly due to…
This week in Folsom, CA at the Ignition Community Conference. Even more energy. Ignition 8.3 is an exciting release. More later as I gather my thoughts through the fog of fall allergy season.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 23, 2024 | Commentary, News
After many years of Automation Fair expos from Rockwell Automation, the 2024 edition from November 18-21 in Anaheim boasts a new look and feel. Registration is now open for what Rockwell Automation calls, “a vibrant convergence of innovation, learning, and networking opportunities for industrial operations and technology leaders worldwide.”
The Rockwell publicity team pulled out the old Thesaurus. The four-day agenda is meticulously curated with exclusive programming found nowhere else, featuring tailored sessions, tracks, tours, and experiences designed to inspire and empower attendees. From hands-on learning to executive forums, attendees will gain insights into overcoming production challenges, enhancing resilience, agility, and sustainability, and making a significant impact in their industries.
One reason that Automation Fair always had very high attendance was that distributors brought their best customers and prospects (I did that a few times). Customer attendance was free of charge. This year’s event is much more like the traditional customer conference of its competitors. That means more content and also a fee to attend. Check out the sessions. Good content and networking makes it all worthwhile.
Event Highlights:
- Daily Keynotes: A fan favorite! Prepare to be inspired by industry experts and thought leaders driving meaningful change. Hosted Monday-Wednesday and open to all attendees.
- Expo: Explore more than 120 interactive exhibits across a half-million square feet of the Expo floor, Discovery Theaters showcase new product launches, and Expo tours are available to maximize time on the Expo floor.
- Education: 450+ hours of advanced training, 400+ domain expert presenters and 275+ educational sessions. Experience hands-on labs for interactive training and participate in product and technology sessions focusing on cutting-edge use cases and demonstrations.
- Off-site Tours: Back by popular demand, off-site tours are a unique opportunity to get close to the action at local cutting-edge industrial facilities.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 20, 2024 | Commentary, News
Here’s a good reason to carefully read what data purveyors and analysts give you. This is from Martin of Newsworthy Data. He’s a data scientist.
First off, this is negative in tone, which is thought to be newsworthy (unstated, but true).
2024 Tech Layoffs
He uses emotionally laden words…revealing the technology firms that have slashed the most jobs in 2024 so far.
And…record-breaking 263 thousand job losses last year, the global technology sector continues to face significant workforce reductions in 2024 and a total of 203,946 positions have been eliminated across more than 165 tech companies worldwide so far this year.
U.S.-based tech companies have been leading the global tech layoffs in 2024 so far, accounting for an astounding 115,257 job cuts, or 56.51% of the worldwide total.
OK, just where are the most tech jobs? Half seems within some sort of rational order.
Within the U.S., tech firms based in California and Texas have led in job cuts, impacting 48,055 and 35,066 employees, respectively, and accounting for over 70% of the nation’s total reductions.
In which states are tech firms concentrated? Oh, California and Texas. Duh.
Conversely, companies in Montana and Virginia have reported the fewest tech job cuts this year, with a combined total of just 90 positions slashed.
Oh, yes, that high tech bastion of Montana.
When you get statistics thrown at you especially in mass media (or social media), check carefully. The only real news here is that many tech companies were bloated and were forced to reduce workforce. He doesn’t address who was hiring to offset some or all of this.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 16, 2024 | Commentary, News, Podcast
Podcast Audio and Video Posted
Many times in my career I have hired into a company during the initial surge of a market. Good jobs. Excitement. Opportunity to work on new things. Then the market matured or collapsed usually due to external forces such as technology changes or consumer behavior.
I hit recreation vehicles at a high point followed by high inflation and gasoline price surges. Then a consumer product company where Consumer Reports published a poorly researched article—but the external market also changed. Then PC peripherals. The latest was automation where a few of us started a magazine to cover it. The market was good for about 10 years. Then we went into brief cycles of IIoT, edge, networks, collaborative robots, IT companies looking at the manufacturing market.
This podcast began life in 2007 as Automation Minutes. I morphed it into Gary on Manufacturing to make it more general. That was more than 10 years ago. Must be time for another change.
That all is quite mature now.
Where do you think the offsetting new technologies or customer behavior will lead now? Or, is the market just going to begin to either consolidate further or split? What do you think?