Monday, April 29, 2013

SmartGlance now supports intrinsically safe devices!

by Saadi Kermani, Invensys Product Manager
Are you a user that requires mobile devices to operate under harsh conditions, or do you need to comply with strict electrical component safety regulations? 

SmartGlance now supports many varieties of instrinsically safe devices:

  • MIL-STD-810G Tested
  • IP68 dustproof and waterproof
  • Intrinsically Safe (ATEX for EU)
  • CSA Class 1 Division 2 compliant
  • NEMA Enclosures

Repost: True Leaders Are Human

http://www.management-issues.com/2013/4/29/opinion/true-leaders-are-human.asp#.UX719sqAmks.google

this is a thought-provoking article that will have you looking within to see if you possess some of those leadership qualities.  I don't think just leaders need to be honest, forthright and motivating.  Each person within the team should try to embody those qualities.  It overall should make for a more cohesive, open and productive environment.

Invensys Wonderware Mobile Reporting Connector for SmartGlance

Invensys Wonderware Mobile Reporting Connector for SmartGlance: Invensys has released its Mobile Reporting Connector software, delivering critical real-time plant data to the mobile workforce.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Gartner Report: Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms - PPC | QlikView

Gartner Report: Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms - PPC | QlikView

Invensys is proud to be a partner of Tableau's--they are the provider of our Wonderware Intelligence dashboard, and they have been chosen a Leader in the BI (Business Intelligence) space.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Invensys Simulation Solution Named Product of the Year by Control Engineering for Second Year Running


Invensys announced today that its DYNSIM simulation program has been named Product of the Year 2012 in Application and Programming Software category by Control Engineering, Czech Republic.
Control Engineering subscribers identified the products they felt were the most exceptional based on technological advancement, service to the industry and market impact.  The Product of the Year Awards covered eight industrial automation categories in 2012.

For the complete press release, please follow this link:

http://iom.invensys.com/EN/Pages/IOM_NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=552

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

SmartForms for Mobile Data Entry

Introducing SmartForms for mobile data entry (Text, Bar code, Picture, Audio, Video, GPS, signature, formulas)

SmartGlance-SmartFormsAdvantages 

  • Convert all forms to e-forms

  • Easily collect data from field anywhere, anytime

  • Remove paperwork

  • Improve data quality

  • Output as Excel, email or SQL

  • Set up in one hour

  • Works off line & on-line, both

Continuous Improvement: Free Webinar, and Overview of MESA Un-Conference CI Breakout

http://iom.real-time-answers.com/food-beverage_rich-products.html?ls=scl&utm_source=blogMA

 
 
Invensys is sponsoring a free webinar on Continuous Improvement (CI), featuring Rich Products' Jim Whalen and Rob Bansek of Sightbridge Consulting.  Rich Products has over the past two years embarked on a CI journey.  This webinar will tell his story and successes.

It is interesting that CI continues to be so top-of-mind.  I recently (well, yesterday) participated in a #MESA Un-Conference session on Using Manufacturing Technologies to Support Continuous Improvement.  This 90 minute session was to foster discussion between the MESA members (and interested parties) of vendors, solution providers and end users.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Operator Training Simulator Helps Salt River Project Maximize Human Assets

http://www.arcweb.com/strategy-reports/2013-04-12/operator-training-simulator-helps-salt-river-project-maximize-human-assets.aspx


ARC Advisory Group's Janice Abel published an indepth study on Invensys customer Salt River Project's OTS (Operator Training Simulator) SimSci-Esscor project.

Salt River Project uses DYNSIM for training, operator orientation, and knowledge management.

Industrial Automation & Robotic Systems | April 10, 2013 | IHS GlobalSpec Events

Industrial Automation & Robotic Systems | April 10, 2013 | IHS GlobalSpec Events

I was pleased to be able to provide a view of the cloud for manufacturing through Global Spec.  Invensys has, for the past year, been actively involved in creating products for hosting on Microsoft's Azure.  This presentation is a "back to the basics" on what the cloud is, and how you, as a manufacturer, can start to take advantage of its benefits: scalability, accessibility, lowered costs of use, and enhanced security.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

I'm now an Americas Board Member At Large for MESA International!


I'm now a voting Board Member of MESA International, Americas Board, representing Invensys.  You may recall a post I did last month, introducing (or in some cases, re-introducing) you to MESA, its charter, and its purpose.

MESA has been in existence for almost 20 years, and I personally have been involved, in some manner, since 1996.  MESA has always fostered open cooperation between industry participants, be them collaborators, or in some cases, competitors, by providing a forum for bettering the state of the operations management industry.

Repost: Building a Culture of Trust

http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2013/04/09/building-a-culture-of-trust/

A timely subject for anyone working in a complex (or even, not so complex) organization.
Trust certainly needs to be something that you earn, but as this article points out, you can do a lot to build the culture and foundation first.

Repost: What Salesforce.com learned from Jerry Seinfeld

http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smartbrief.com%2Fnews%2Fleadership%2FstoryDetails.jsp%3Fissueid%3DF4DF537C-08C1-4F6F-B1B5-1DD98B147477%26copyid%3DA8F3F7EF-9AF1-4C9F-9992-30C45D79ACE4%26campaign%3Dlinkedin%26ref%3DlinkedinA8F3F7EF-9AF1-4C9F-9992-30C45D79ACE4&title=What%20Salesforce%2ecom%20learned%20from%20Jerry%20Seinfeld&source=The%20New%20York%20Times%20%28tiered%20subscription%20model%29&mini=true

 as reported in smartbrief.com...

Workers at Salesforce.com are encouraged to vent using a Seinfeld-inspired "Airing of Grievances" page on the company's internal social network.  Click link for story.  Great idea!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Wonderware Midwest Road Show

http://www.wonderwaremidwest.com/road-show-2013

Join us for new product updates, feature discussions, and hands-on opportunities.

7 Ways to Increase Your Social Media Mentions « Marketers.BlogNotions - Thoughts from Industry Experts

7 Ways to Increase Your Social Media Mentions « Marketers.BlogNotions - Thoughts from Industry Experts

some interesting tips on making your blog stand out in the sea of social media activities...

Invensys presents: the Cloud for Manufacturing--featured on Global Spec



I was pleased to support Global Spec in a presentation on the Cloud for Manufacturing.  Access via this link:

http://www.globalspec.com/events/presentationdetails?eventId=163&presentationId=487

In this presentation, I describe what the cloud is, why you should care, and what the benefits are.  I also detail some real-life examples of industrial automation products that are available today using cloud-based hosting.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Repost: Water/Wastewater: Developed World is Ripe for Automation’s Advances

http://www.automationworld.com/waterwastewater-developed-world-ripe-automation%E2%80%99s-advances?&spMailingID=5986814&spUserID=NzgwMDkzOTQ1OQS2&spJobID=71468511&spReportId=NzE0Njg1MTES1



This research study from ARC Advisory Group reinforces the need for technology to support the water/wastewater industry.  Certainly, Invensys/Wonderware has been a leading provider of water/wastewater SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquistion) solutions.

An interesting development for the water/wastewater industry is the use of the cloud for hosting and deploying SCADA systems.  Since these are highly distributed reporting systems, it makes sense that the cloud could support the reporting and analysis layer, making access to the information more readily, globally, available.  We've seen this architecture proliferated throughout the industry.

Are you thinking about the cloud for water/wastewater? We'd like to hear from you!

Historian & Production Mgmt to Cloud Panel w/ General Mills, Willbros, I...

Invensys was proud to participate in a cloud panel, along with General Mills, Schneider, and Willbros, at the ARC Global Industry Forum.  Check it out here!

http://youtu.be/4SJP9JYbkac

Operational Advantage will accelerate “Managed Services” Cloud adoption in the Industrial Sector!!!!

Operational Advantage will accelerate “Managed Services” Cloud adoption in the Industrial Sector!!!!

Repost: SolutionsPT Blog : 101 Uses for your Process Data Historian

SolutionsPT Blog : 101 Uses for your Process Data Historian: Sue Roche, Software Business Manager, SolutionsPT  How are you using your process data Historian?  Are you even using it or is it stuck ...

a great post by Wonderware partner SolutionsPT.

Repost: Mushrooms: Key to Safe and Natural Carbon Sequestration?

http://theenergycollective.com/silviomarcacci/206326/mushrooms-safe-and-natural-carbon-sequestration?utm_source=tec_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&inf_contact_key=3199bee7909b5b019495d952b44f3dae5905506caee7f52be77a7434e52a47a7

For those of us that are not Chemical Engineers, this story is about how mushrooms could help the environment. From this post:  "A new study suggests mushrooms might be a key to natural carbon sequestration – removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and safely storing it in forests – even after the trees die."

Great reading....

Work as we may not know it “Comments on the Future of Work and Employment “

Work as we may not know it “Comments on the Future of Work and Employment "

Tablet, smartphone ownership continues surge--and Invensys leverages this platform

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130412/WEB07/130419997/tablet-smartphone-ownership-continues-surge&utm_source=itm&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=itm



B to B Online states that tablet ownership has surged 44% over the past year.  This is amazing growth, far beyond anything we could dream of for the automation industry.  But what it does tell us is that it is a platform that bears watching, and delivering products that can take advantage of its portable form factor and ease of use.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Energy Management Market ‘to Almost Double’ by 2020

Energy Management Market ‘to Almost Double’ by 2020

Invensys has been providing energy management solutions for many years.  A current offering is our Corporate Energy Management application.  This solution allows plant personnel to monitor real-time energy use and automatically notifies operators, supervisors and cost accountants of energy inefficiencies and waste. It connects directly to meters on a network, through industrial controllers or through building automation systems.

Corporate Energy Management has been used in a variety of industries--from food and beverage manufacturers,  retail facilities, and water/wasterwater plants, through more "untraditional" automation installations such as government bases.  Check our website for more details.

Big Data requires Pattern Awareness to Provide Situational Awareness

Big Data requires Pattern Awareness to Provide Situational Awareness

New Series: The Intelligent Enterprise

by Cronin Almeida and Maryanne Steidinger


Intelligent Enterprise – The way ahead for an Integrated Enterprise. This is a series of blog posts that delves into the various aspects that constitute an Intelligent Enterprise.   
Wikipedia defines the "Intelligent Enterprise" as a management approach that applies technology and new service paradigms to the challenge of improving business performance. An Intelligent Enterprise has to adapt, adopt, and respond to changing market conditions, new economic environments, supply chain variations and customer demands. All of this has to be done in a flexible environment for operations to optimally run.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

From DOWNSTREAMTODAY: Shale Oil Revolution May Cut Russian Oil Exports by 50MM t/y by 2040

From DOWNSTREAMTODAY: Shale Oil Revolution May Cut Russian Oil Exports by 50MM t/y by 2040

Improve refinery profitability – integrate your off-sites and process optimization applications - on demand webinar available now!

Improve refinery profitability – integrate your off-sites and process optimization applications - on demand webinar available now!

Advice from Machiavelli about being an agile company


Niccolò Machiavelli said in the 15th century that to be constantly successful, one had to be willing to change and adapt -- and that's still true for modern businesses, experts say. "Managing agile organizations means being willing to give up the activities that make you successful today but that won't be appropriate tomorrow -- over and over again," write Thomas Williams, Christopher G. Worley and Edward E. Lawler III. Strategy+Business online (free registration) (4/15)

15th century lessons learned!

On Demand ArchestrA Workflow Webinars

ArchestrA Workflow Webinars



Ever wonder how you can get more efficiencies from your Manufacturing Execution Systems?  How energy management can be a fully integrated tool in your control strategy?  Or, if you have invested in ArchestrA System Platform from Wonderware, how you can take alarm/event management to the next level?

Archived webinars on ArchestrA Workflow Industrial BPM are there when you are ready!  Simply log into the web page  and you are ready to view one of three on-demand webinars:

Monday, April 15, 2013

Mobility is Paying Off

http://mobileenterprise.edgl.com/top-stories/Mobility-is-Paying-Off-85455

The Yankee Group reports that 2013 is the year for mobility.  We at Invensys couldn't agree more.  In the past year, we've introduced:

Repost: Does Industry Care about Earth Day?

http://www.sustainableplant.com/2013/04/does-industry-care-about-earth-day/

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Counting on Apps for Process Control - ASME

Counting on Apps for Process Control - ASME
Covering Invensys and SmartGlance, smart device enabled reporting and analysis.

Counting on Apps for Process Control - ASME

Counting on Apps for Process Control - ASME
Covering Invensys and SmartGlance, smart device enabled reporting and analysis.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Tap into Advanced Resources for Sustainable Manufacturing

https://www.sustainableplant.com/2013/03/tap-into-advanced-resources-for-sustainable-manufacturing/


Sustainable manufacturing is on everyone's mind.  How to effectively manage your workflow, resources, while minimizing your carbon footprint and maximizing your efficiencies.

Invensys recently released its own Sustainability Report in kind as reinforcement of our commitment to offer customer products and services that support their sustainability efforts.

Wonderware Midwest Roadshow 2013--Join Us!

http://www.wonderwaremidwest.com/road-show-2013

Topics include:
Wonderware InTouch/Historian
System Platform 2012
Wonderware Advanced Applications, including MES, Intelligence, Corporate Energy Management and ArchestrA Workflow

4 locations;
Appleton, WI
Brookfield, WI
Coralville, IA
Minneapolis, MN

check website for registration & location details.

How to Overcome the Barriers to Solar Energy for Manufacturing Facilities

http://www.sustainableplant.com/2013/04/how-to-overcome-the-barriers-to-solar-energy-for-manufacturing-facilities/


Webinar 4/10/2013: ArchestrA Graphic Animation in the Wonderware Information Server

Webinar 4/10/2013: ArchestrA Graphic Animation in the Wonderware Information Server


Wonderware Information Server aggregates and presents plant performance metrics and production data to operations, maintenance and engineering personnel, via an easy to implement web solution.
Information Server doesn’t require custom web programming meaning that plant personnel, with a minimum of training, can install, configure and implement a highly effective plant information portal or embed it into other corporate web portals.

Join Wonderware North for an informative webinar on using ArchestrA Graphics within this portal environment.

Automation IT: Tapping hidden manufacturing potential using OEE | ISA

Automation IT: Tapping hidden manufacturing potential using OEE | ISA

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Repost: How Can Manufacturing Software Help with the Aging Workforce?

http://blog.lnsresearch.com/blog/bid/176242/how-can-manufacturing-software-help-with-the-aging-workforce?source=Blog_Email_[How%20Can%20Manufacturin]

 Posted by Mark Davidson on Thu, Apr 04, 2013 

LNS Research touches on a great topic: how can manufacturing software help with the Aging workforce?  We at Invensys have some ideas of our own:
  • capturing knowledge is a core feature of manufacturing software oriented towards operator training.  Products like ArchestrA Workflow (industrial BPM) "institutionalizes" and standardizes routine work processes, so that they become part of the system of record.  SimSci-Esscor's EYESIM uses 3D virtual reality to train employees, using immersive learning which simulates the plant so that workers can safely experience start ups and shut downs, alarm management, and other critical activities, without exposure to hazardous or dangerous conditions.
  • SimSci-Esscor's DYNSIM is operator training, teaching safe methods of working with the control system of a plant. FSIM and TRISIM products simulate the actual control systems themselves--Foxboro (FSIM) and Triconex (TRISIM).
  • Reporting and analysis products can reflect good practices, help employees to manage critical operating parameters--such as the cloud-based SmartGlance.
So Mark, we agree, and wholeheartedly support your analysis!

Repost: Serialization's a-Comin'!

By Neal Collier, Avanceon, originally posted January 9, 2013

With the start of 2013 we take a moment to anticipate what changes lie ahead for our industry and what impact they will have in the new year and beyond. Have you considered the impact that Serialization will play?

Read the entire article here: http://www.avanceon.com/blog/bid/81442/Serialization-s-a-Comin

GenOn Energy Success Story – Power Generation

GenOn Energy Success Story – Power Generation

Repost: National Ground Water Association App Helps Homeowners Calculate Water Use

Mobile technology is now coming to the consumer for calculating water usage-- can the industrial user be far behind?  Click link below for story from the National Ground Water Association.



http://www.wateronline.com/doc/national-ground-water-association-app-helps-calculate-water-use-0001?sectionCode=News&templateCode=SponsorHeader&user=2397133&source=nl:36815

Repost: Executives Face Growing Threats to their Supply Chains

 

courtesy Deloitte

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

ArchestrA Workflow Software for the Oil & Gas Industry

ArchestrA Workflow is "industrial" Business Process Management (BPM) software.  It is used within industry to standardize decision making, make operations more predictable and routine, and enforce collaboration between process stakeholders. Today we'll look at an industry-specific use of ArchestrA Workflow: for the Oil and Gas Industry.

Top Ten Reasons for Using ArchestrA Workflow Software

ArchestrA Workflow Software is foundational software to help you manage, collaborate, standardize and control operations, events, and activities.  Not sure of why to use?  Let me give you the top ten reasons:



1. Real time Process Institutionalization.  ArchestrA Workflow Software ensures that processes are adhered to, organizationally-wide, and in real time, by making your unique practices part of your Standard Operating Procedures.

2. Enable plant-wide collaboration.  Stakeholders get context specific information, and ensure timely concurrent activities are executed.

3. Proliferate best practices. Good manufacturing practices can be made part of the "system of record" to ensure compliance of operations, replication of optimum procedures, and minimized variations in practice.

4. Ensure comprehensive compliance management. Meticulously maintain audit trails, eliminate messy paperwork while ensuring that work processes are streamlined.

5.  Schedule regular assessments.  Ensure asset excellence with system-based, timely assessments of equipment and their performance.  Contribute to effective utilization, uptime and corrective action.

Southern Mississippi Electric Power Association Success Story – Power Generation

Southern Mississippi Electric Power Association Success Story – Power Generation

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Big Data requires Pattern Awareness to Provide Situational Awareness

Big Data requires Pattern Awareness to Provide Situational Awareness
a repost by Invensys Fellow Tim Sowell

Cyber Security Advisor Newsletter – Mar. 2013 Vol. 18

Cyber Security Advisor Newsletter – Mar. 2013 Vol. 18

A Timely Newsletter from our security expert, Doug Clifton.

What You Want to Read-- A Recap of My Top Posts

You, my readers, are the ultimate determinator (is that even a word??) of what we write.  When I look at the posts I've had over the past year or so, the content that you seem to respond to isn't necessarily the heavy duty, technical specs and product details of the wonderful portfolio of software products that Invensys Operations Management offers.  Instead, it's a higher level, socially conscious view of what's going on in the world of industrial automation.

Which Yield Accounting Graphic do you like best?

Which Yield Accounting Graphic do you like best?

help us to decide!