by Gary Mintchell | Aug 6, 2015 | Automation, Data Management, Internet of Things, Networking, News, Operations Management, Technology
Industrial Internet of Things dominated keynotes and discussions during the annual National Instruments developer gathering known as NI Week.
There was less talk of cyber-physical systems and more discussion of benefits to managers and consumers, as well as the usual engineering target audience.
As usual, many customers and partners appeared on stage showing off some incredible feats of engineering built upon the foundation of NI products.
Dr. James Truchard, president, CEO, and co-founder, established the conference theme in his keynote, “ We have always been concerned with data. LabView is built for data flow as well as control. We have created a platform allowing standardized ways of interacting with the world that we call graphical systems design.”
Eric Starkloff, executive vice president sales and marketing, stated, “We are instrumenting the world. It’s like the Cambrian explosion of data. Diversity of data is evolving at a very rapid rate.”
He continued, “We’ve collected data for years, what has changed—connectivity.”
Jeff Kodosky, NI co-founder and “father of LabView,” devoted much of his presentation to point out the tremendous potential for the industrial Internet of Things—potentially of greater impact than the consumer Internet of Things.
One last thought brought home by Marketing Vice President John Graff involved the leveraging the power of the Industrial Internet of Things for predictive maintenance. “It can save 30% on maintenance and 45% on downtime according to US DOE. This led to a discussion of the test bed with IBM that I wrote about last week.
Product announcement
The most significant of the products announced this week was LabView 2015. The theme of the product release is, “write code faster; write faster code.”
Stated in the press release, the latest version of LabVIEW delivers speed improvements, development shortcuts, and debugging tools.
“Using LabVIEW and the LabVIEW RIO architecture allowed us to reduce the time of developing and testing a new robot control algorithm to just one week, compared to one month with a text-based approach. We are able to prototype with software and hardware faster and adapt to rapidly changing control requirements quicker,” said DongJin Hyun, Senior Research Engineer (Ph.D.), Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute, Hyundai Motor Group
LabVIEW 2015 further equips engineers with support for advanced hardware such as the quad-core Performance CompactRIO and CompactDAQ Controllers, 8-core PXI Controller, and High Voltage System SMU.
LabVIEW 2015 also reduces the learning curve for employing a software-designed approach to quickly create powerful, flexible, and reliable systems. With three application-specific suites that include a year of unlimited training and certification benefits, developers have unprecedented access to software and training resources to build better systems faster.
Following is a list of features:
• Open code faster—open large libraries up to 8X faster and eliminate prompts to locate missing module subVIs
• Write code faster—execute common programming tasks faster with seven new time-saving right-click plugins and develop your own additional plugins to maximize your productivity
• Debug code faster—examine arrays and strings in auto-scaling probe watch windows and document findings with hyperlink and hashtag support in comments
• Deploy code faster—offload your FPGA compilations to the LabVIEW FPGA Compile Cloud service included with your Standard Service Program membership
LabVIEW 2015 is extended by the LabVIEW Tools Network, which has been enriched by IP both from NI and third-party providers. The new Advanced Plotting Toolkit by Heliosphere Research furnishes developers with powerful programmatic plotting tools to create professional data visualizations. The RTI DDS Toolkit by Real-Time Innovations enables IoT applications with scalable peer-to-peer data communication. Additionally, application-specific libraries for biomedical, GPU analysis, and Multicore Analysis and Sparse Matrix applications are now available free of charge.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 4, 2015 | Automation, Motion Control, News
I’m digesting information to write on from the conference I’m at now. But first, an interlude.
News of an interesting acquisition further consolidating the motion control industry comes from a perhaps unlikely source. Omron Corp. has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Delta Tau Data Systems, Inc. of California. Delta Tau will become a member of the Omron Group. The acquisition is subject to customary conditions to closing. Omron expects the acquisition to close in early September, 2015.
The reason I categorize this as perhaps surprising is that there has been little news coming from Omron automation for a long time. Occasionally there will be some opportunities to meet and learn something. The last time for me was about two years ago.
Omron states the reason for the acquisition as part of a strategy to promote its development of factory automation technology and strengthen its sales capability in the control device business. Through the acquisition Omron aims to reinforce its technology development and engineering capabilities in the field of motion control designed to drive manufacturing equipment. Merging products and technologies of both companies will also enable delivery of optimized motion control solutions globally through combined distribution networks.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 30, 2015 | Commentary, Manufacturing IT, News, Operations Management, Software
OK, so I was wrong. Well, I was right and wrong.
My analysis of the Schneider acquisition of Invensys (Foxboro, Wonderware, et. al.) centered on European competition. Namely that as Schneider assembled a large industrial technology powerhouse it was looking at Siemens and ABB—its next-door rivals.
Schneider was already a competitor in the electrical power industry. Acquiring the process automation technologies business with Invensys brought it into more complete competition with ABB.
Software
On the other hand, I thought that Schneider might divest the software business partly because it never really had very much in the way of software.
OK, I was wrong.
Schneider announced last week that “it has reached a preliminary, non-binding agreement with AVEVA Group PLC (“AVEVA”) on the key terms and conditions of a combination of selected Schneider Electric industrial software assets and AVEVA (forming the “Enlarged AVEVA Group”).
On the surface this appears to be a strange marriage. In fact, my friend Walt Boyes did an anti-Schneider rant on his blog this morning. Amongst the rumors he alluded to about Schneider management and how Clayton Christensen’s analysis of acquisitions predicted that the acquisition would go south, he also misunderstood, I think, the implications of this move.
AVEVA is a construction engineering software company. It provides the front-end engineering for plants that Foxboro, Triconix, Avantis, and other ex-Invensys brands operate and maintain.
Design to operate
The upshot is that Schneider should be able to provide an end-to-end solution for process industries similar to what Siemens has done for discrete manufacturing with the integration of UGS and the Siemens PLM division.
By the way, this latter is an example of how a large company can beneficially absorb an acquisition. The merger has worked very well. Other European companies have closely watched this acquisition model. I believe that Schneider will have learned from it.
I wonder what implications for the OpenO&M Initiative and the OGI Pilot program—an ongoing effort to use standards to move data from the engineering design database to the operations & maintenance database. AVEVA was a key player.
Transaction details
It is expected that the proposed transaction would:
1. create a global leader in industrial software, with a unique portfolio of asset management solutions from design & build to operations, with both scale and a distinct market position to address critical customer requirements along the full asset life cycle in key industrial and infrastructure markets;
2. unlock additional value at enlarged AVEVA and Schneider Electric through the potential for material revenue and costs synergies, leveraging on complementary end-markets exposures, customer bases and product portfolios;
3. establish a ‘best in class’ management team and increased brand profile for attracting further talent; and
4. realize the full value of the contributed industrial software assets.
The enlarged AVEVA would have combined revenues and Adjusted EBITA of c. £534 million and c. £130 million, respectively. It is expected that the Enlarged AVEVA Group will continue to be admitted to listing on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trade on the London Stock Exchange plc’s main market for listed securities. Schneider Electric intends to comply with the Listing Rules of the UKLA. As part of the transaction, Schneider Electric would contribute a selection of its industrial software assets to AVEVA and make a cash payment of £550m to AVEVA, (which would subsequently be distributed to AVEVA shareholders excluding Schneider Electric) in exchange for the issuance of new AVEVA shares, giving Schneider Electric a majority stake of 53.5% in the Enlarged AVEVA Group on a fully-diluted basis. Schneider Electric would fully consolidate the business in its Group financials.
In addition to any consultation procedures involving the personnel’s representative bodies that may be required, the transaction remains subject to, amongst other things, the completion of mutual due diligence to the satisfaction of both parties, agreement on the terms of legal documentation, the approval of the respective Boards of Schneider Electric and AVEVA, AVEVA shareholder approval and relevant anti-trust and regulatory approvals (if required). In accordance with the applicable law and regulation of the United Kingdom, a more detailed public announcement has been released today and is available on the AVEVA and Schneider Electric websites as well as on the AMF (French regulatory authority) website.
A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 29, 2015 | Automation, Industrial Computers, Internet of Things, Manufacturing IT, News, Operations Management, Security, Technology
Personal interlude
After leaving the “magazine editor business” a year ago, probably for good as a full-time editor anyway, I turned to just keeping this blog active. Readership has increased slowly but steadily over the past eight months. About as many people will see an article here as on a magazine Website (not as many total as a magazine Website, but they have much more content).
I decided not to pursue advertising as a revenue source. That seems to be the old way. It’ll hang on for a long time, but growth is not there.
Most of my business is consultation of various kinds including messaging and marketing, research, analysis, Web and digital development, and leadership.
It is more fun and insightful than trying to keep sales people and advertisers happy while forging a new message in a crowded field.
However, Manufacturing Connection will continue to bring the latest relevant news along with analysis about why you should care.
OT coming together with IT
I have been fascinated with what we now call the IT/OT divide (information technology professionals versus operations technology professionals) since about 1986. About that time my company was designing, building, and selling automated assembly machines to industry. Our largest customer was General Motors.
General Motors, in a gigantic brain fart, acquired EDS. And, predictably, it succeeded in totally destroying the EDS culture and making it like GM. That is to say, cumbersome, lethargic, bureaucratic.
But one day a senior manager went through the controls engineering department of one of my best customers and said, “You’re EDS,” “You’re GM.” Then they told us, “GM has the wire from the controller to this terminal block, and EDS has the wire from that terminal block to computers.”
Thus began our difficulties with GM and controls on our machines.
Rockwell and Cisco
These days, noted GM (and many others) OT supplier Rockwell Automation and noted IT supplier Cisco have joined forces to provide architectures, technology, and training designed to bring these forces together.
After 30 years, it’s about time.
Previously the two companies tackled training. With this news, they have tackled security for the Industrial Internet of Things. Most of the following is taken from their joint press release (meaning I didn’t delete some of the superlatives).
The two additions to their Converged Plantwide Ethernet (CPwE) architectures are designed to help operations technology (OT) and information technology (IT) professionals address constantly changing security practices. The latest CPwE security expansions, featuring technology from both companies, include design guidance and validated architectures to help build a more secure network across the plant and enterprise.
The Industrial IoT is elevating the need for highly flexible, secure connectivity between things, machines, workflows, databases and people, enabling new models of policy-based plant-floor access. Through these new connections, machine data on the plant floor can be analyzed and applied to determine optimal operation and supply-chain work flows for improved efficiencies and cost savings. A securely connected environment also enables organizations to mitigate risk with policy compliance, and protects intellectual property with secure sharing between global stakeholders.
Core to the new validated architectures is a focus on enabling OT and IT professionals to utilize security policies and procedures by forming multiple layers of defense. A defense-in-depth approach helps manufacturers by establishing processes and policies that identify and contain evolving threats in industrial automation and control systems. The new CPwE architectures leverage open industry standards, such as IEC 62443, and provide recommendations for more securely sharing data across an industrial demilitarized zone, as well as enforcing policies that control access to the plantwide wired or wireless network.
“The key to industrial network security is in how you design and implement your infrastructure and holistically address security for internal and external threats,” said Lee Lane, business director, Rockwell Automation. “The new guidance considers security factors for the industrial zone of the CPwE architectures, leveraging the combined experience of Rockwell Automation and Cisco.”
Rockwell Automation and Cisco have created resources to help manufacturers efficiently deploy security solutions. Each new guide is accompanied by a white paper summarizing the key design principles, as follows:
The Industrial Demilitarized Zone Design and Implementation Guide and white paper provide guidance to users on securely sharing data from the plant floor through the enterprise.
The Identity Services Design and Implementation Guide and white paper introduce an approach to security policy enforcement that tightly controls access by anyone inside the plant, whether they’re trying to connect via wired or wireless access.
“Security can’t be an afterthought in today’s plant environment. As we connect more devices and create more efficient ways of operating, we also create certain vulnerabilities,” said Bryan Tantzen, senior director, Cisco. “Cisco and Rockwell Automation have been teaming for nearly a decade on joint solutions, serving as the standards-based resource for security in industrial environments. These new architectures and guides build on our collaboration by helping organizations recognize and proactively address today’s security concerns.”
Companies can now take advantage of industry-leading solutions from Rockwell Automation and Cisco to address security from a holistic perspective. Together, the two companies provide a common, scalable architecture for ruggedized industrial Ethernet and enterprise networks, along with unique services, such as security assessments and managed security, to help manufacturers define and meet performance metrics and scale in-house resources.
This announcement further extends the commitment by Rockwell Automation and Cisco to be one of the most valuable resources in the industry for helping manufacturers improve business performance by bridging the gap between plant-floor industrial automation and higher-level information systems.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 16, 2015 | Automation, Wireless
I’ve just been talking about startups, and here is news from a startup within an established engineering company. Wunderlich-Malec Engineering Inc. (WM) is an engineering services company that had built a handy little maintenance tool for itself and some clients.
A new business development director entered the company and asked why didn’t they turn it into a product and sell it. After some further development work, WM VIP Services was created. VIP stands for Virtual Information Portal.
This mobile app for iPad and Microsoft tablets has been designed to improve efficiency and increase productivity by serving information to a maintenance technician, engineer, or manager who might happen to be out in the plant and need some contextual information served quickly.
“For over 33 years, WM’s success has been built around our strong customer commitment. VIP Services® solidifies this commitment by helping our customers reduce unscheduled downtime and increase productivity.” says Neal Wunderlich, President WM.
Here are some features gleaned from the press release.
Reducing Downtime – Time is often lost when technicians leave the work area to find resources, such as schematics, procedures or other data to complete a task.
VIP Services – Links all equipment to all its relevant data and information resources. It provides specific and accurate information for the technician at the equipment where needed information is time critical.
Improving Communication for Quicker Decision Making – Communications about production downtime issues and their resolution using traditional channels (email or phone) is often unclear or delayed until the correct resource can come onsite and ‘see’ the issue in real time.
VIP Services – Shows the problem, complete with all relevant process data and resources to the subject matter expert who can support the local technician with better communications for quicker problem resolution.
“We are very excited about our VIP Services Initiative. We feel that our new mobile application will greatly aide our customers in their pursuit to save time and money.” says Joel Gil, Director of Business Development, VIP Services Business Unit, WM.
Wunderlich-Malec has created a new VIP Services business unit headquartered in Houston, Texas. Our VIP Services Core Team will deliver complete turnkey VIP Services® Solutions.
The system works by printing and applying a “Point of Interest” QR code label at a POI—machine or unit or device. The services team can help accumulate all the relevant drawings and documentation about that POI and serve it up when the technician scans the QR code with the tablet camera.
Pretty elegant solution for not a lot of integration expense.
