Key Solution Systems de Mexico Uses Wonderware Workflow for Process Facilitation

Case Study verified by TechValidate.

Solutions partner Key Solution Systems de Mexico implements complex projects in the MES space.  This case study is an compilation of their experience using Wonderware and Microsoft technologies, together, to enhance and improve project development, roll out and performance.  It's a great story and we thank Key Solution for their contribution!

Repost, with Comments: ATK CIO Says Metrics-Driven IT Paves the Way for Innovation

http://www.cio.com/article/2683272/cio-role/atk-cio-says-metrics-driven-it-paves-the-way-for-innovation.html

This is a very timely and relevant article from CIO Magazine, interviewing ATK's CIO,  Jeff Kubacki. The article discusses his activities to make IT a partner, and drive business value, through technology.

If we look at the changes that have occurred over the past 10 years in industrial software, we see several important milestones:

•  An overlap and blending of technologies to create "composite" apps that provide not only visibility, but reporting, analysis, data acquisition and storage.  More functionality with less apps means time saved in installing, but more importantly, a faster learning curve, cost savings in both hardware and software, and greater productivity by leaning out your software stack.
• More predictive capabilities in software and solutions.  It is one thing to analyze after events occur, but the big win, and the reason Big Data is so necessary, is the ability to not only analyze, but predict events concerning maintenance needs (proactively issuing work orders for asset overhaul, or anticipating additional maintenance based on environmental or condition factors of surrounding equipment); or using Operations Intelligence solutions to identify opportunities for improvements in material, labor, energy or equipment usage.
• "On-demand Computing" fueled by mobile solutions.  No longer do workers need to be tethered to desks or buildings.  Insight Research reported that 67% of all workers now use mobile technology, and it's only increasing as form factors and cost of devices are reduced.
• Ubiquitous access to applications using Software as a Service. One of the banes of IT has been the cost of acquiring and implementing complex manufacturing solutions such as #MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) since they touch so many other enterprise applications, and are normally implemented using a multi-plant architecture.  Using SaaS solutions reduce the cost of maintenance, upgrades, and infrastructure.

The outcome? IT has become an important stakeholder in determining which applications will be used, how they will be used, and what the impact on the organization will be.  It is a necessary and important change that brings large enterprises forward, and we certainly support it.

Wonderware Manufacturing Execution systems deliver real value and competitiveness

by Michael Schwarz, MES/Workflow/Batch Product Marketing Manager, Invensys Schneider

Every manufacturer approaching the transformation from a paper based, fragmented or manual operations management system to a Manufacturing Execution System (MES)  raises that question – what will be the ROI in my case? Often this question cannot be exactly answered prior to purchase – only very experienced professionals will be able to compare a prospect's situation to a similar case and relate to the results achieved in these case(s) without detailed analysis and investigations, which may require similar efforts close to a small MES implementation itself.

Wonderware wanted to better understand ourselves what real benefits and values our existing MES customers received, what were the operational improvements, and the ROI achieved, to share with those who need decision support to justify the investment. We partnered with TechValidate, a third party research service, to collect and validate such information for publication.  Here the first overview of Improvements through Wonderware MES Software use:

Customer References verified by TechValidate.

Repost, with Comments: How Automation Helps Bring Manufacturing Jobs to the U.S.

http://www.automationworld.com/how-automation-helps-bring-manufacturing-jobs-us?utm_source=Best_Of_Blogs&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=AW%20BB-2014-03-18%20Panduit%20-%20Actual&spMailingID=8182313&spUserID=MzE2NTA4NzY1NzQS1&spJobID=261615357&spReportId=MjYxNjE1MzU3S0

 



Like the author, I've been in the automation industry for the bulk of my career, and like him, have seen the ups and downs of the industry in response to, or as a result of, decisions to outsource key components of manufacturing.

In the 70's, it was all about "vertical integration." Companies believed owning the majority of the supply chain would enable them to control costs, gain efficiencies, and better manage distribution.  In the 90's and 2000's, it was about strategic outsourcing.  Companies would outsource those parts of their manufacturing process that were not their core strength.  The EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) market took off, as high tech/electronics/med device companies outsourced some manufacturing and assembly, keeping the design and sometimes sourcing aspects of manufacturing internal.  This phase was a real boost to MES providers, who used the need for process visibility to sell their applications for track/trace/genealogy/supplier management (score cards) and integrated quality to both the OEMs as well as outsourcing partners.

When the economy started to soften, the EMS market didn't necessarily collapse, but it did decline. And now, fast forward another decade, and the cycle is continuing again, with one huge difference--the quality and controls of the previous decade are missing, and the US economy is affected to the point reshoring needs to happen to keep us viable.  Automation, as the author states, helps the economy, for it's the maintenance, upkeep, and education of the automation solutions that need to be held by the workforce. It's a necessary and vital reverse.

Wonderware MES Customer Success: Baltika Beverages Case Study, Validated by TechValidate

Customer Evidence verified by TechValidate.

For manufacturers in the food and beverage industry, good manufacturing practices, brand protection and process tuning are critical for profitable and sustainable operations.

Wonderware MES customer Baltika is no exception. Equipment uptime, product quality and line availability are paramount to respond to their customer demand and maintain an effective supply chain. They were able to improve OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) by over 10% using Manufacturing Execution Solutions from Wonderware, driving profits to their bottom line. Enterprise integration, from their automation systems to their business systems, helped to manage work orders, enable timely shipping and material consumption information back to their ERP.  Other benefits included paperless work order execution, as well as supporting Food Safety initiatives via indepth product track, trace and genealogy.  

IDC lowers global IT spending forecast to 4.6% this year

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130813/ADVERTISING13/308139997/idc-lowers-global-it-spending-forecast-to-4-6-this-year&utm_source=bboe&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=bboe#

A sobering, yet hopeful view of IT market spending.  Net net, although the industry as a whole is flat, there are some glimmers in the cloud, and mobile.  That will drive SaaS (Software as a Service) from a delivery perspective, and also encourage new development of traditional software, such as HMI, EMI, MES, to take advantage of this new model.

Invensys understands this, and has fully embraced both mobility and cloud, bringing the best to our customers from a form factor and costing perspective. You'll see more offerings in cloud (spanning reporting, visibility, information management, workforce enablement) and mobility (reporting, analysis and visibility). Why?  Because, at the end of the day, you need to have software that matches the way you work--and it's exceedingly shown to not be at a desk.  You are at the plant, you are on a line, you are boarding a plane, but the work doesn't stop.  So, your automation software has to bring you that real-time information, regardless of your location and regardless of the device that you choose to use.  We call it "on demand" and it has become a must have means of delivering and using industrial software. We get it, and you'll see a continuing stream of products reinforcing that vision...

Why IT and Automation Go Hand in Hand

I recently responded to a post on LinkedIn in the Automation & Control subgroup. There, a young engineer was asking the question, "if I am in automation, why do I need to know IT." 

That is a great question and over the years that I have been in automation, I've experienced first a chasm between IT and automation (one company I visited 15 years ago had a CIO that had never gone on the plant floor!) to a gradual alignment and now, cross over between the two practices.

Industry Week: US Manufacturing Expands for Third Straight Month

http://www.industryweek.com/global-economy/us-manufacturing-expands-third-straight-month?NL=IW-07&Issue=IW-07_20130904_IW-07_93&YM_RID=maryanne.steidinger@invensys.com&YM_MID=1420302&sfvc4enews=42

Good news on the economic front--manufacturing has expanded (gone beyond the magic 50) for the third month in a row.  Certainly, we in the industrial automation industry applaud this condition, for it means companies are building, processing and producing goods that consumers want...and it also foretells of expansions, improvements, and additional capacity and capabilities.

We've seen an uptick, globally, in manufacturers desiring standardization, production operations management improvements, and extensions to existing software functionality. And of course, the automation industry (especially Invensys) is there to support your efforts with products such as MES, Workflow, and EMI.

Repost: A Shift In Focus: The Value Of Serialization, with comments

http://www.pharmaceuticalonline.com/doc/a-shift-in-focus-the-value-of-serialization-0001?sectionCode=editor&templateCode=Departments&user=2120959&source=nl:38067

 

Serialization, or the ability to capture individually-identified product elements within a final version, is integral for any product that has compliance requirements.  Serialization has always been a foundational function of a Manufacturing Execution System.  The ability to track components prior to assembly, or blending, allows manufacturers or processors better visibility into the performance of these components, as well as a firmer handle on quality and any remediation efforts that occur if a product fault occurs.

Wonderware MES, coupled with ArchestrA Workflow, provides the backbone for providing deep and complete serialization tracking of components and lots.  It reinforces compliance efforts with closed-loop track/trace/genealogy.  We'll be talking more about ArchestrA Workflow in pharmaceutical at our Users Conference-- so join us and see why we say it's a Revolution.

Managing the Bad Times Better with Workflow

by Jim Frider, product marketing manager, Invensys

 

Every industrial facility experiences unexpected downtime and damage to productive assets.  How your organization manages these “bad times” will help determine the performance of your facility and consequently its profitability for the year.  Many industrial companies compile detailed lists of possible failure modes and develop contingency procedures to effectively deal with each of them.  

Since many potential problems rarely happen, the experience of the operator comes into play.  More experienced operators have seen a broader range of problems and know what to do, while less experienced operators do not.  How do you make sure your contingency plans are followed by everyone, every time? 

Increasing MES Productivity with Workflow: A White Paper

http://iom.invensys.com/EN/pdfLibrary/WhitePaper_Wonderware_IncreasingMESProductivityWithWorkflow_07-11.pdf

this white paper, authored by Tom Troy of #Invensys, aptly describes the benefits received by coupling a Manufacturing Execution System with Workflow.   MES, as you may know, is a comprehensive application that covers the transformation of raw materials through finished goods within an enterprise.  Many different industries use MES to ensure quality, compliance, high yields, consistent throughput to drive productivity, safety and brand management.

Adding workflow to an MES builds capabilities for "closed loop" remediation of processes, be it corrective action, alarm management, noncompliance release, or any number of operations where collaboration between workers or departments are required.

For more information on #MES, click here.  For more information on #Workflow, visit here.

The Mystery of Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence

Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence, or EMI, has been around for over 15 years.  It was created as a way to put more context and meaning around data that was created in oil and gas refining plants--information such as throughput, yields, bottlenecks, and quality.  The value of these reports, to the outside world, wasn't apparent, and even the users themselves referred to the application as "MES" (or, Manufacturing Execution Systems).  But it's not--it's different, it's special, and they are both needed:  MES to govern the transformation of raw materials through finished goods, and EMI to provide meaning and relationships, acting as a Decision Support System for the organization.

Repost: Device Shipments Up 6% To 2.4B In 2013, Driven By Android Smartphones, Tablets Amid More PC Decline

http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/24/it-device-sales-to-rise-6-to-2-4b-in-2013-driven-by-android-tablets-smartphones-pcs-continue-decline/

If we as an industry aren't paying attention to the tremendous growth seen in the mobile device market, we'll miss one of the most important platform changes since the PC took hold.

In 2013, over 2.3 billion units are anticipated to be shipped.  By 2014, Gartner projects over 2.5 billion units--that's equal to 32% of the world's population!  Mobile access to data has now become part of our everyday life--from shopping to entertainment to work tasks.  The blending of our private and public lives centers on these devices that travel with us 24 x 7.

From an industrial software perspective, it's exciting and challenging. New formats mean reaching new customers, that may not have the legacy associated with PC-based systems.  So it gives us a chance to provide richer, more graphical applications.  The challenge, of course, is that it requires new products, to take advantage of the form factor and expected performance in a mobile device--intuitive, report-ready, simple to operate.

We've already seen startups such as Sarla (SmartGlance) and Transpara offering mobile device-enabled reporting.  But there's so much more!  MES, EMI,  HMI, the list goes on--all are using mobile as an important form factor to reach the increasingly mobile worker. 

The Intelligent Enterprise

The Intelligent Enterprise

The second part on this series on the Need for an Intelligent Enterprise

by Cronin Almeida, Invensys

source: http://www.busmanagement.com/media/focus-area-images/busmanagement/Issue-2/small/intelligent_enterprise-med.jpg

 

In evolution, the lack of intelligence has lead to extinction.  The same applies to Industrial enterprises these days. Intelligence is necessary for organizations to compete, stay lean, employ best practices and stay relevant to changing market conditions. Digital and physical infrastructure in the manufacturing and process domains are converging.  Computational power is being used in places unheard of. Organizations all over are becoming digitally aware and networked.

Why the Food and Beverage Industry Depends On Automation to Help Them Reach Their Goals

by Michael Schwarz, MES/EMI Product Marketing Manager, Invensys

The Food and Beverage industries have been always on the forefront of technology,  with investments in automation of processes to secure profitability on high volume and low margin products.

Today, the race is on in squeezing the maximum capacity from production lines, to streamline any process, to reduce any loss in product, quality and all used resources and to streamline any process gain with superior connectivity to all automation systems. Food and Beverage industries have to satisfy the requirements of food safety regulations which requires to document product and processes and define and prepare corrective actions, What is mostly considered as additional cost is at the same time a foundation to optimize cost and reduce losses as well protect brand equity.

Invensys and Callisto Integration Form Alliance

Invensys announced yesterday an alliance with Callisto Integration to provide services and implementation resources for complex operations management projects within the food and beverage and Consumer Packaged Goods industries.

The net of this relationship is to offer customers with a solution, not discrete products that must then be integrated, developed and implemented.  Callisto has many years of experience with the Wonderware "advanced applications" including MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems), EMI (Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence) and Workflow.  For more details, please follow this link:

 http://global.wonderware.com/EN/pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=574

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:

What you don’t (but should) know about MESA International

MESA International is an organization dedicated to the promotion and development of driving improvements into the manufacturing industry.

From their website:

MESA (Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association) International is a global community of manufacturers, producers, industry leaders, and solution providers who are focused on driving business results from manufacturing information. MESA helps members formulate strategies to turn plant-floor data into valuable knowledge to be used throughout the enterprise.

• We collect, share, and publish best practices to help drive greater productivity and the overall profitability of the manufacturing enterprise. Over 20 years of valuable information can be found in our Resource Library.
• We educate manufacturing and service providing professionals through the MESA Global Education Program.  
• MESA facilitates innovation and collaboration to enable the real-time enterprise and Plant to Enterprise (P2E) integration.
• Members connect, contribute, cultivate understanding, and exchange strategies to drive business results and to help define the ever-evolving MESA Model.
• Merger with the World Batch Forum (WBF) broadens our knowledge of ISA-95 related standards like B2MML, and ISA-88 related standards like BatchML.

Big Data in Manufacturing

By Michael Schwarz, Invensys, Manager, Advanced Applications Product Marketing

The term “Big Data” describes the dramatically growing amounts of data being generated, transferred and stored. It is overlaid with the increasing use of information technology, global networking, and digital devices to manage, view, store, and control it.

Big Data is not just for consumers.  The same phenomenon is happening in business management, commerce, entertainment and social communications, as well as in manufacturing operations.  Big Data demands storage capacity and computing performance, driving new opportunities for enhanced intelligence and tools to offer users informed decision making.

Why automate food safety solutions?

By Niels Andersen, VP Manufacturing Business Consulting, Invensys Operations Management

We are now on track to get a revised food safety system in place in the USA. President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law on January 4, 2011, and the FDA issued the proposed rules to fulfill the requirements for preventive controls in human food on January 4, 2013. The proposed rules are based on widely-accepted industry standards, so there should be few surprises for manufacturers. There is still work to be done to get the finalized rules in place, but there is now little doubt that the Food Safety Modernization Act is here to stay.

With the Food Safety Act in play, the question that Invensys now asks ourselves is "how do we bring value to our customers by automating food safety solutions?"