by Gary Mintchell | Apr 22, 2024 | Operations Management, Workforce
I recently connected with Adrian Heaton, Global Service Manager for ABB Measurement, to discuss the global skills shortage for technical talent in our industry.
A 2021 study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute (MI) predicts that 2.1 million manufacturing positions will go unfulfilled by 2030, partly due to an increasing skills gap.
Following are several points Heaton made during our conversation.
Heaton works in the Measurement and Instrumentation group of ABB focusing on services. He told me that from a service resources point-of-view, finding technicians who want to work in the area and have relevant skills is difficult. In Europe it can take 6-12 months to fill a spot.
He told me, “This is reality—not fake news.” (OK, the US meme has reached Germany, from which we connected.)
It appears to be a pretty global situation that tech colleges are an important source for people with technical skills. I’ve witnessed that in the US for several years. Looks like the same in Europe. He also mentioned that that can be a problem as students graduate in one country where opportunities are not abundant, so they move to other countries to find appropriate jobs.
I asked about something I had heard years ago where the large automation suppliers may have an advantage hiring talented people over smaller companies. He said that sometimes customers are having trouble finding people while the large automation suppliers have brand awareness that helps attract applicants. While marketing is key to attracting talent, training and employment contracts that offer more potential for development are also important.
Training, has always been a strong suit at ABB, but they are standardizing more, making it consistent across lines. E-learning of instrumentation is an adjunct to the classroom. Training is prepared as part of product launches so that all concerned can get thorough updates. “It’s the DNA of the product program.”
Safety is an important part of training at ABB. They are taught to evaluate what is risk. Perhaps instrumentation is low voltage but there are enclosed spaces, and underground places to consider. The global services team puts on as many miles driving to sites as miles around the Earth. So driving safety is another part of the service training DNA. “It’s extensive so that the team gets home at night.”
Heaton confirms my observation that Virtual Reality technology seems best suited for training. But it is very expensive to develop the visuals for VR in order to achieve good industrial training.
I asked about Augmented Reality (AR). ABB has a program Visual Remote Support that allows remote experts to “look over the shoulder” of the on site technician. This program was a success during COVID. People couldn’t travel and customers found the experience quite good. But after COVID, people wanted to meet people face-to-face again, so the program has dropped off some. It remains useful for checking things out prior to a visit such that the traveling technician can bring the right tools and parts.
ABB put together training using AR/VR technologies during COVID. They found customer experience was quite good. There were a number of programs where customers could “send” multiple people to training without travel cost. Students could actually manipulate instruments and valves from their remote locations.
AR remote support faces one major challenge for in oil and gas plants and other plants with hazardous areas—you can’t take an iPad in.
I haven’t had a talk with ABB for quite some time. It’s good to see how a major automation company responds to the skills crisis.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 16, 2024 | Design, Operations Management, Software
Develop a new product category, hire an analyst firm to conduct some market research, and show how your new product provides benefits to customers. We see it in some “scientific” studies and also studies broadcast on TV advertisements. Here is one by a company called Makersite who touts their new approach called product lifecycle intelligence (PLI).
Makersite, a software company pioneering a new approach to sustainable product design and sourcing, released research conducted by Forrester Consulting, titled “Transform Product Sustainability into Performance Initiatives with Product Lifecycle Intelligence,” that reveals over half of organizations’ sustainability efforts are driven by regulations despite the benefits from adopting more sustainable product lifecycle intelligence (PLI).
Once again we are eliminating data silos. After more than 15 years of writing about products doing just that, I cannot believe it’s still a problem. It’s like the companies relying on complex Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to manage production. Oops, many still do that, too.
Currently, manufacturers struggle to translate compliance initiatives into making informed decisions during the product design phase due to outdated data systems and data silos. The study, commissioned by Makersite, shows that by implementing PLI to integrate data held within their systems, product engineers in the design phase can create products that are more sustainable (30%), have faster time-to-market (28%), and reap higher profits (26%).
The 2024 study, which included insights from 493 respondents with product design and sourcing decision-makers in manufacturing, also pointed to several operational improvements including the ability to support product lifecycle decisions with better data quality (29%), improved visibility of materials and component supply chains (28%), and more efficient sustainability reporting (28%).
Engineers always have trouble translating their benefit calculations into language the C-suite understands—or even cares about.
Despite the benefits, however, respondents reported experiencing challenges while securing executive support for incorporating sustainability in PLI (53%), measuring and quantifying the environmental impact of their products (51%), and obtaining budget to gather material, component, and supplier intelligence integral to optimizing their product’s quality, cost, and sustainability (50%). These difficulties are a manifestation of poor maintenance of availability, cost, sustainability, and performance data in manufacturers’ material and component libraries – an issue for 49% of decision-makers.
For more insight into the impact of product lifecycle intelligence, download the full commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Makersite: “Transform Product Sustainability into Performance Initiatives with Product Lifecycle Intelligence.”
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 15, 2024 | Automation, Business, Manufacturing IT, Process Control, Software, Technology
Emerson has gone through a process of divesting companies and adding others, such as NI (nee National Instruments) becoming overall more of an automation company. Much like years ago when Rockwell shed aerospace and trucks and other industries becoming Rockwell Automation.
Its tagline in press releases for some time has included software as an emphasis. Now, they’ve announced the new DeltaV Automation Platform adds SCADA, MES and operations management software technologies. The idea is to promote smarter, safer, optimized and more sustainable operations.
One of my more popular podcasts asked the question why industrial technology vendors are moving to software.
As part of its Boundless Automation vision for helping organizations deliver more seamless operations, global automation technology and software leader Emerson is evolving its DeltaV brand into the DeltaV Automation Platform. The newly expanded automation platform will include supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, manufacturing execution systems (MES) and operations management software alongside the distributed control (DCS) and safety systems (SIS) and other technologies that have been part of the brand for decades. The evolution builds a more comprehensive automation platform to make it easier for users to deliver smarter, safer, more optimized and more sustainable operations.
Organizations across nearly every industry including life sciences, specialty chemical, mining and extraction, food and beverage, energy and more are experiencing new complexities as they face the modern challenge of improving throughput, performance and quality while simultaneously increasing sustainability of operations. Navigating this increased complexity requires seamless mobility of data, reliable performance and advanced control strategies from the plant floor to the corporate boardroom. The comprehensive nature of the new DeltaV Automation Platform will empower users to move away from “plant-by-plant” strategies to “site-by-site” or even enterprise automation solutions—the more advanced, integrated automation strategies that are increasingly necessary to compete in a complex global marketplace.
This, of course, is an ideal way to perpetuate, and indeed increase, vendor lock-in of its customers. Why go anywhere else for all your hardware and software needs?
“In an era of increased demand and higher sustainability targets, today’s organizations are looking for ways to manage and contextualize data across the many software solutions they use to help unlock easier, faster and safer decisions,” said Nathan Pettus, president of Emerson’s process systems and solutions business. “The DeltaV Automation Platform will combine a flexible, fit-for-purpose portfolio of DCS, SIS, SCADA, MES and operations management software with unmatched application and cross-industry expertise to help cross-functional teams across the enterprise more easily achieve their goals.”
With an extensive portfolio unified under one brand, users will have access to a comprehensive technology ecosystem that provides a broader suite of solutions. Organizations will more quickly and easily find the right solutions to meet their specific needs and will gain easier access to service, training and support.
All solutions in the DeltaV Automation Platform will be seamlessly supported through the Guardian digital customer experience.
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 3, 2024 | Automation, Robots, Software, Technology
Vision software for guiding robots news goes along with the burst of robot news. In this case, AI meets vision software.
AI software company Micropsi Industries today announced MIRAI 2, the latest generation of its AI-vision software for robotic automation. MIRAI 2 comes with five new features that enhance manufacturers’ ability to reliably solve automation tasks with variance in position, shape, color, lighting or background.
What sets the MIRAI 2 AI-Vision Software apart from traditional vision solutions is the ability to operate with real factory data without the need for CAD data, controlled light, visual-feature predefinition or extensive knowledge of computer vision.
Gary Jackson, CEO of Micropsi Industries, noted, “Recognizing the complexities of implementing advanced AI in robotic systems, we’ve assembled expert teams that combine our in-house talent with select system integration partners to ensure that our customers’ projects are supported successfully, no matter how complex the requirements.”
MIRAI is an advanced AI-vision software system that enables robots to dynamically respond to varying conditions within their factory environment, including variance in position, shape, color, lighting and background. What sets MIRAI apart from traditional vision solutions is the ability to operate with real factory data without the need for CAD data, controlled light, visual-feature predefinition or extensive knowledge of computer vision.
The five new features that will be available to MIRAI 2 users are:
Robot skill-sharing: This new feature allows users to share skills between multiple robots, at the same site or elsewhere. If conditions are identical (lighting, background, etc.), very little or no additional training is required in additional installations. MIRAI can also handle small differences in conditions by recording data from multiple installations into a single, robust skill.
Semi-automatic data recording: Semi-automatic training allows users to record episodes (of data) for skills without having to hand-guide the robot, reducing the workload on users and increasing the quality of the recorded data. MIRAI can now automatically record all the relevant data—users only need to prepare the training situations and corresponding robot target poses.
No F/T sensor: Training and running skills is now possible without ever connecting a Force/Torque sensor. This reduces cost, simplifies tool geometry and cabling setup, and overall makes skill applications more robust and easier to train.
Abnormal condition detection: MIRAI can now be configured to stop skills when unexpected conditions are encountered, allowing users to handle these exceptions in their robot program or alert a human operator.
Industrial PC: The MIRAI software can now be run on a selection of industrial-grade hardware for higher dependability in rough factory conditions.
