|
Automation & Control
Articles
|
|
Analysis, Reviews & Views -
More Articles >>
|
|
Featured Articles: |
| • |
The Unsung Hero of Automation
Tony Paine
reveals that the Engineer is proud of his HMI, highlighting the realism in his displays, the color coordination of his data and the mastery of his navigation… And then there is the plant manager, gushing over his KPI dashboard and how effectively the plant is running with the implementation of his new MES solution . The historian and analytic solution get all the credit when a plant control crisis is averted. Does anyone ever think to thank the lowly driver? Without data, the HMI is just a pretty picture, and the best analytics in the world are only ideas without any basis in fact. And, you spend tens or hundreds of thousands on that, while the driver budget isn't even a line item on the spec sheet…
|
|
| • |
OPC UA Enables Business Intelligence – To Be or Not To Be?
Eric Murphy
reveals most people recognize famous quotes, but many people don’t know the play they’re from or the context they fit into. The same can be said for many familiar application terms from industry. Business Intelligence (BI) is a popular term describing the result of in-depth analysis of detailed business data from various systems. CRM, ERP, SCM and other competitive technologies all provide data and analysis, but how can these systems be unified into a complete business-wide decision platform? .....
|
|
| • |
With or without you?
Bob Erickson
narrates that if the Process Control vendor world was one great big outdoor rock concert, Honeywell would have to be U2. Both are absolutely huge and supremely confident, almost everyone is familiar with their line-up, most people take a liking to them, but not everyone cares for their bold strut or their particular brand of politics. The enduring parallel between the two, however, is that both redefine themselves through constant innovation to stay relevant within rapidly changing industries.
|
|
| • |
OPC and DCOM: 5 Things You Need To Know
Randy Kondor
reveals that OPC technology relies on Microsoft's COM and DCOM to exchange data between automation hardware and software; however it can be frustrating for new users to configure DCOM properly. If you have ever been unable to establish an OPC connection or transfer OPC data successfully, the underlying issue is likely DCOM-related. This useful article discusses the steps necessary to get DCOM working properly and securely.
|
|
|
|
|
Manufacturing
Insights
|
Moving Toward Best-in-Class
Evan Miller, President of SPC (statistical process control) Hertzler Systems, recently sponsored an Aberdeen Group benchmark report titled Event Driven Manufacturing Intelligence – Creating Closed Loop Performance Management. Miller wanted to differentiate Best-in-Class (BIC) performers from Average or Laggard performers. To derive these data the percentage of BIC performers who practiced specific behaviors were divided by the percentage of Average performers using the same behavior; this measurement provided “Impact.”
[Read More]
|
|
|
|
Connections for
Growth & Success
|
|
Analysis, Reviews & Views By Jim Pinto -
More Columns >>
|
Contents:
|
|
|
ABB growth roars - new acquisition-orientated CEO
ABB reported record orders, revenues and earnings for Q2 2008. Revenues increased to $9B, up 27%. EBIT jumped to $1.4B up 42%, and net income was $975M or 16.1%. Cash flow from operations more than doubled to $978B. While others in the industrial automation business complain ....
[Read More]
|
|
|
|
Tipping Point in the Peak Oil Crisis
The depletion of the world's petroleum resources was first forecast in the 1950s by Dr. M. King Hubbert. The point of maximum production (known as the Hubbert Peak) coincides with the midpoint of depletion - when half of all resources have been used. It is generally accepted that US oil reserves passed the Hubbert peak in the '70s.
[Read More]
|
|
|
|
New workplace paradigms
Traditional manufacturing dates back to the industrial age with the growth of large-scale production in hierarchically structured organizations. Most factories had full-time workers, and most people remained with the same company till they exited with a pension.
[Read More]
|
|
|
|
|
