by Gary Mintchell | Dec 28, 2022 | Data Management, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management
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Inductive Automation’s Jennifer Faylor wrote on the company’s blog some thoughts from last fall’s Community Conference about digital transformation tips. She notes that digital transformation is “unignorable”. Yep. Even I write about it, even though I think that it’s something that began many years ago and will continue indefinitely.
Despite the abundance of companies forging ahead with plans to digitally transform, there are some that remain a little lost in the weeds. And for those that are already navigating Digital Transformation adeptly, staying on the cutting edge of best practices is indispensable, to ensure you continue to create top-notch solutions.
Following is her compilation of tips.
1. Think Big, Start Small, and Act Fast
“When you start thinking about Digital Transformation, think big, start small, and act fast. … And the big one, I think, most people overlook is actually the acting fast. They get too caught up, or they think about this as a traditional, large, single-entity monolithic project or initiative, instead of a whole bunch of small, iterative, flexible, agile approaches to transforming the company.” – Jeff Winter, Industry Executive for Manufacturing with Microsoft
2. Prepare for Expanding Scopes
“A lot of times with these types of projects, as they expand, as the interest in it grows, the scope of the project grows. So really [it’s important] to define what our core objective is that we want to accomplish, once we meet that objective, add on additional features to it. Sometimes it seems like with these projects, they can balloon almost too quickly. If we can keep it focused on a couple of specific objectives and meet those, then we can take that and build upon it.” – Nate Kay, Engineering Manager at MartinCSI
3. Show How Easy It Can Be
“I think a big thing for Digital Transformation is oftentime clients are very shocked by how easy it is to implement some of the Digital Transformation concepts … and I think we need to continue to push customers to do things like proof of concepts, or really just see a demo for what their system could be. I personally think that the SQL Bridge Module is the most powerful tool, and that customers have been using bad tools for so long that they just don’t realize how simple it can be to capture data and do things like eliminate that manual report that they’ve been filling out for 15 years.” – Elizabeth Hill Reed, Project Engineer, DMC, Inc.
4. Flip the Process From “Push” to “Pull”
“As soon as you do the first line and you prove the data is real regardless of what the preconceived notions are of what the data should be, you turn from a push process, where ‘We’re from central office and we’re here to help,’ to a pull process, ‘I have a problem with another line, can you guys do what you did on that line over on this line?’ So as soon as that coin flips, you’re golden.” – Dan Stauft, Director of Operational Technology, SugarCreek
5. Follow the “4 Rights”
“[Get] the right data to the right people in the right place at the right time.” – Steve Chapman, Partner, Barry-Wehmiller Design Group
6. Embrace Your Role as an Educator
“As an integrator you’re also an educator, in terms of especially today in the space where you do have IT, OT … those are two different levels that for years hadn’t really talked to one another and don’t really know each other’s world. And so now they’re being forced to communicate with each other, and we’ve got to try to help educate them on what’s important to each other and why.” – Mike Ficchi, Senior Controls Engineer, Multi-Dimensional Integration (MDI)
7. Empower People on the Ground
“And the idea is, is that if you work with people on the ground rather than just [sending them] a memo, to say that we’re going to be putting in this system, speak with the people first, get their opinion, and ask them for input because now you’ve empowered them, now they’re part of that solution, and they feel like this solution is going to help them produce better, not this is just going to be some measuring stick as an excuse to get rid of people.” – Craig Resnick, Vice President, Consulting, ARC Advisory Group
8. Add Extra Value to Everything You Do
“For everything you do, give a little bit of value-added. Something new, something that they haven’t thought of, but something that’s going to give them information that they didn’t have before, or control of something, or view of something, or some new data that you’ve merged two bits of information to produce new data, data that they didn’t have before. And they will love that.” – Chris Taylor, Managing Director, BIJC Ltd
9. Remember: It’s a Journey, Not a Destination
“This process is a journey and not a destination. If you can help everyone involved understand that … ‘This is new, and you know what we’re going to celebrate the wins, we’re going to get better from the losses,’ because both of those things will happen on a journey. You have the highs, you have the lows, but if we all understand, ‘Hey, we’re marching towards this common end goal,’ setting those mental parameters is extremely beneficial when we’re trying to attempt and create really any kind of change, not just Digital Transformation.” – Reese Tyson, Ignition Team Lead, Flexware Innovation
10. Accept That the Solution is “Becoming”
“One very important lesson that we learned last year and have discussed a lot internally is that any solution is never really done. It continues to develop in different directions as new business needs arise with the clients, and we’ve learned the hard way that we have to stop talking about the delivery and instead accept that it’s only a delivery, one of many. And somewhere along the road, we realized that there’s a term for this, it’s the thinker Kevin Kelly who actually coined this, ‘becoming.’ So, things are just becoming, the solution is becoming, it’s never ending as such, it’s just becoming.” – Jan Madsen, Founder, Enuda AB
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 27, 2022 | Commentary, Events, Manufacturing IT, News, Operations Management
Knud Lasse Lueth, founder and leader of the firm IOT Analytics in Germany, wrote a comprehensive report on trends picked up at the SPS fair in Nuremberg in November. Note: I have an affiliation with the analyst firm as an advisor. I recommend visiting the web site to check out the full report.
Smart Production Solutions (or SPS), one of the leading industrial automation fairs, was back in action earlier this month. The event that took place from 8 November –10 November 2022 in Nürnberg, Germany, showcased once again the latest industrial automation developments. Despite a smaller crowd (44,000 visitors—roughly 30% less than pre-pandemic), the fairgrounds were buzzing and filled with senior executives from many leading industrial automation companies, software providers, and related companies. The conference remains a key show for industrial automation hardware and (increasingly) software. It is perhaps the most important fair for some European (especially German) industrial automation companies, such as Siemens, Beckhoff, or Phoenix Contact.
IoT Analytics had a team of three analysts on the ground. They visited approximately 75 booths and conducted over 50 individual interviews to get a handle on the latest industrial automation trends with a special focus on IT/OT convergence.
The main reason we are seeing interest and movement toward the convergence of IT and OT in the manufacturing space is because of IT technologies’ promise to significantly improve manufacturing. The market dynamics of an increasingly competitive world have “forced” OT, a traditionally less hi-tech sector, to consider these IT technologies. As a first step, IT/OT convergence can happen by creating the necessary (secure) interfaces between IT and OT systems.
10 IT/OT convergence trends visible at SPS 2022
1. IT-based containerization technology at the edge
2. Integration of IT and OT tools
3. Cloud-native (IT) tools for improved manufacturing operations
4. IT programming tools and languages for controllers
5. Virtual PLCs—containerized controllers
6. Digital twins to virtualize physical assets
7. Low-code tools
8. MQTT protocol connecting OT and IT
9. IT cybersecurity models for OT
10. IT approach for industrial software quality control
On another note: The team would like to give a shoutout to Schneider Electric for being one of the few companies at the fair that embraced sustainability by leading with a carbon-neutral booth completely made from recyclable materials (such as walls made of reusable wooden pallets).
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 19, 2022 | Cloud, Data Management, Events, Manufacturing IT, News, Operations Management
I had committed to a couple of events when the invitation to attend the AVEVA conference in San Francisco in November came my way. Many of my colleagues went out there thinking they had better opportunities to sell advertising than the alternative. Subsequently I received two announcements from the event. Both relate to data.
- Constellation Energy chooses AVEVA solution to enable easier, faster, cheaper data analytics
- Vision for connected industrial ecosystems revealed at AVEVA World in San Francisco
Weird thing to me is how marketing over the past few years regards data as something new. Way back in 1976 while working for a manufacturing company, I was moved from a position in operations to one in product development with the principle role as sort of “data czar.” I learned as far back as then about how crucial it was to have verified data in a form usable by all areas of the corporation. I was sort of at the nerve center for a few years.
We just have technologies for compiling, storing, verifying, and visualizing data that I couldn’t even dream about back then.
Constellation Energy for data analytics
AVEVA announced a partnership with Constellation Energy, provider of carbon-free energy, to give third-party analytic vendors secure access to select real-time data from Constellation’s operations.
Constellation will implement the latest release of AVEVA Data Hub, a cloud-based data management SaaS solution, which will help the company accelerate collaboration with trusted analytic partners and implement learnings more quickly, increasing the return on its analysis projects.
Currently, industrial operators, who are focused on data-driven solutions and decision-making, use a variety of methods to make real-time data available to internal and external teams. These methods are time-consuming to develop, maintain, coordinate, and some of them introduce security vulnerabilities that increase business risk. With IT staff in short supply, companies find themselves unable to respond quickly to new data requests or test out new solutions.
Constellation (formerly Exelon Energy), a long-time user of AVEVA PI System, decided to expand their data management solution into the cloud to easily share wind turbine data with a third-party analytics vendor. The company uses AVEVA PI System to collect, enrich, store, and manage sensor and time-series operations data in real-time. It then transfers that data natively to AVEVA Data Hub, a SaaS solution, where they can set up and manage select data sharing with authorized users, applications, and analytic tools both inside and outside the company. The new cloud-based addition to their data management solution is ready to use immediately; users can begin analyzing and processing data to achieve deeper insight in hours, rather than days or weeks.
Vision for connected industrial ecosystems
AVEVA showcases how industrial organizations are using real-time data to connect teams, empower them with data-led insights that speed up decision-making and unlock business value.
“We are witnessing the birth of an industrial universe that is completely connected, enabling a new kind of collaboration across colleagues, suppliers, partners, and customers,” said Peter Herweck, CEO at AVEVA.“Taking a data-centric approach empowers teams by connecting different players across the entire industrial ecosystem. This in turn transforms value chains into agile, profitable, sustainable networks. It is what we at AVEVA mean by the new, connected industrial economy.”
A recent survey, commissioned by AVEVA, of 650 senior international business executives across the chemicals, manufacturing, and power industries in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, found that 87% said they plan to increase their organization’s investment in industrial digital solutions over the next 12months.
Herweck added: “When you bring your data together and apply analytics so that you can visualize it in context, you unlock new ways of working. We are seeing leading companies like Shell and Worley breaking down data silos, building digital twins to deepen collaboration, drive transparency, and deliver actionable insights that enable their teams to work in a smarter and more connected way.”
AVEVA World has shown how leading companies such as Kellogg, Barry Callebaut, Pfizer, Dominion Energy, and Henn, starting to put in place the building blocks of these connected industrial ecosystems. As the adoption of cloud-based industrial software becomes more widespread, organizations will be able to engage experts within and beyond their enterprise to deliver on innovative capital projects, optimize the operations lifecycle, accelerate decision-making, and reach sustainability targets that drive responsible use of the world’s resources.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 16, 2022 | Automation, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Security
I reported on a cybersecurity company new to me at the time last month—Mission Secure. With our schedules finally meshing, I recently talked with Jens Meggers, executive chairman. My pre-interview research further revealed that long-time contact Chet Mroz is company president. Other people I’ve know for years are also affiliated.
Publicity people fill my inbox with news from security companies. The latest trend concerns research the various companies have done. Studies invariably show that company executives lag in efforts to mitigate potential cybersecurity risks.
Most of the security firms I talk with either perform network packet sniffing looking for anomalies or they are hardware firewalls. Many are IT technologies loosely adapted to operations. Mission Secure adds capabilities including that and beyond.
Meggers told me there are new demands on the operations space. Threats have quadrupled recently and the landscape is broadening. Actors have gone from individuals to state-sponsored actors or even states themselves. The dark web contains exploits, information and technology for those bad actors who know where to look. Not to mention that the attackers are automating their activities.
Mission Secure has the capability to scan assets of its customers. Many companies can do that in order to see what devices need patches. Operations personnel find themselves swamped with patch requirement at a volume they cannot keep up with. Mission Secure takes a methodical approach.
Three steps
1. Find out what you have and identify risks
2. Who and what have access rights and why
3. Process for continuous validation, rules, define policy
I’m a fan of this process—mostly because it aligns with my training from when I first became involved with digital technology in manufacturing thanks to a VP I reported to. It fits with ideas such as those advocated by gurus such as W. Edwards Deming about process.
Here is a bit more description of Mission Secure:
Mission Secure delivers the only OT cybersecurity platform that enables complete control over your environment, including visibility, anomaly and threat detection, policy enforcement, and Level 0 signal validation.
Visibility
Discover and visualize every asset and every network connection in your OT environment.
Threat Detection
Identify unexpected or unauthorized activity, from Level 0 signals to cloud connections.
Policy Enforcement
Segment your network and enforce granular policies for true Zero Trust cybersecurity.
Signal Validation
Monitor physical process signals to detect threats and prevent system damage.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 13, 2022 | Data Management, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management
I remember suggesting to OT suppliers about studying the new (at the time) unstructured database systems then coming out. Most were suspicious. Now, studies show that 80% or more of enterprise data is unstructured. Fortunately tools grew with the new database technology. One such developer is Datadobi, who just announced StorageMAP Version 6.3 enabling companies to archive, pipeline, and replicate unstructured data to object storage on-premises or in the cloud without lock-in.
The 6.3 release introduces the ability to copy network-attached storage (NAS) data to any S3-compatible object storage system. The new file-to-object copy functionality adds to StorageMAP’s ability to help IT leaders archive, pipeline, and replicate file data to S3.
With StorageMAP 6.3, companies can create a copy of file data on a cost-effective object storage server or service within different geographies, tech stacks, or networking providers. This enables organizations to archive aging and/or redundant, obsolete, and/or trivial (ROT) data to less expensive storage, pipeline data to the cloud for running cloud-native analytics and AI/ML applications against the data, or maintain a safe copy of data on heterogeneous storage operating systems (OS) helping protect against OS specific bugs or hacks.
The update addresses the four main critical concerns for enterprises:
• Cost Control – Orphaned data — datasets owned by employees of a company that are inactive but still enabled on an organization’s network or systems — represents a source of “dark” data consuming valuable capacity on NAS systems. Being able to move these datasets from NAS systems to S3-compatible object stores without lock-in allows IT leaders to significantly reduce costs and free up space on expensive production storage.
• Conformance to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Policies – According to 451 Research, 53% of enterprises currently have a formal ESG program in place or are planning for one. With the new StorageMAP capabilities, datasets with a higher degree of CO2 emissions associated with it can be relocated to cleaner storage. In addition, IT leaders can consolidate a larger number of NAS systems to reduce energy consumption and CO2 generation.
• Risk Reduction – Orphaned or ROT data can introduce risk to organizations because it is often unmonitored due to a clear lack of business ownership or excessive aging. The option of relocating this data from production NAS systems to remote or cold object storage can help prevent it from being exploited or leaked.
• Maximizing Unstructured Data Value – The average organization only uses 50% of available data for decision-making. With StorageMAP’s latest release, unstructured data can be quickly copied to the cloud and analyzed by cloud-native AI/ML. This allows IT leaders to gain valuable insights into customer behavior, trends, and more.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 9, 2022 | Automation, Edge, Manufacturing IT, Networking, Operations Management
Siemens has had a manufacturing IT presence for many years. Here are two announcements bolstering its portfolio. Industrial Edge and Networking products.
Siemens Expands Industrial Edge
- Industrial Edge Management System (IEM V2.0) for Kubernetes clusters addresses IT users in production and saves IT resources, energy and costs
- Industrial Edge Hub provides greater license management visibility
- New virtual edge device and new Simatic IPC edge devices offer more flexibility when implementing IIoT applications
The Industrial Edge Management System (IEM V2.0), an alternative offering to the existing IEM 1.3, is available for the open-source system Kubernetes. IT professionals can now easily integrate Industrial Edge into existing Kubernetes clusters. This makes shop floor automation more IT-oriented, and ultimately more efficient and easier to handle for IT users.
Since computing power can be flexibly allocated within one or more Kubernetes clusters, companies can save IT resources and thus energy and costs.
The Industrial Edge Hub will help ensure better future usability in terms of license management as well as provide a clear and convenient overview of all device management licenses and apps purchased through the Industrial Edge Marketplace. Users will be able to either actively retrieve statistics via the Industrial Edge Hub or have them reported automatically. The statistics will include: the number of purchased apps, the assignment of licenses to the industrial edge management systems, as well as the remaining number of installations and licenses. In addition, users will receive warnings when quotas are exceeded as well as recommendations for action to avoid such warnings in the future.
For further information regarding Siemens Industrial Edge for IT specialists click here.
Industrial Networks: New Generation Industrial Ethernet Switches
- Scalance XC/XR-300 series with compact and 19-inch rack models
- Next-generation industrial networks connect OT and IT for more flexible and secure production
- New switches will support Time-Sensitive Networking
Siemens has now renewed the Industrial Ethernet Switches of its Scalance XC-/XR-300 series and upgraded them with additional functions for next-generation industrial networks. So-called managed Layer 2 switches from the Scalance X Industrial Ethernet Switch product family are now available – both as compact models and as 19-inch variants for control cabinets. The new switches thus replace the portfolio of the current Scalance X-300 series and carry the model designation Scalance XC-/XCM-300 in the compact version and Scalance XR-/XRM-300 in the 19-inch version.
The switches of the new Scalance XC-/XCM-300 and Scalance XR-/XRM-300 series have a high port density.
