The Six "Must Haves" To Use Mobile Devices in Manufacturing

A mobile App running on Mobile devices can show you new ways to streamline operations, reduce costs, increase worker productivity and enable the power of real-time response. Mobility will let you transcend distance and connectivity issues, create a virtual, personalized space for collaboration and empower front-line workers to make better, faster, smarter decisions. Mobiles are becoming popular in the Manufacturing Industry for real time reporting, quick analysis and the ability to pinpoint problems from the road.

The six key features that Mobile Apps must offer to be effective in manufacturing environment:

• Must work on ALL mobile devices – Apple, Android, BlackBerry and Windows


• Must connect to all manufacturing systems


• Must be fully secured against hackers and lost phones


• Must have ability to drill down to pinpoint problems


• Must offer near Real-Time data updates for the latest status


• Must offer Alerts so user does not have to keep looking

Wireless apps, cloud services transform decision making, data management for packaging lines

Key to the producer’s growth strategy is capital efficiency—getting the most out of its facilities and equipment. To help accomplish this, the company checks its lines for OEE (overall equipment efficiency) and production rates in real time with the help of the Invensys SmartGlance mobile reporting system, which makes information available to users in real time, 24/7.

Using mobile devices, management reviews production reports. In some cases, it will discover that one of the plant locations did not meet a target. With the “drill down” capability in the SmartGlance application, a manager can go to the next information level for that plant location and view line performance. There, a manager might discover that a particular line was down. Drilling down still further, he can view all the equipment in that line where he can pinpoint the packaging machine in question and check its OEE. All this can be done in-house or remotely. Other aspects of the SmartGlance application allow data to be compared with ideal batches, providing support for determining corrective actions.

Information from the plant processes is collected via local monitoring and control systems and resides on a secure cloud server. Using a combination of SmartGlance and Microsoft technologies, data is then available on demand to a smart mobile device, which for this producer is the iPhone. When the data travels to and from the cloud server, the service is fully secured, providing authentication, authorization, and encryption.

SmartGlance Mobile Reporting

Invensys Operations Management has released SmartGlance, a new mobile reporting solution that delivers plant data and reports directly to the smart phones. Plant operators, maintenance technicians and other plant personnel can see current operating data anywhere and at any time, helping to accelerate decision making and improving collaboration.

Leveraging two of today's most important new technologies-- smart phones and cloud computing-- SmartGlance can keep plant decision makers and operators fully aware of the plant's performance. Data from Invensys Operations Management's systems, as well as from a myriad of other plant data sources, can be sent via the "cloud" to smart phones subscribed to the SmartGlance Mobile Reporting service.

SmartGlance completes the information "loop" by providing easy-to-view and easy-to-analyze data reports anywhere and at anytime. It differs from web-based reporting applications because its native smart phone app takes full advantage of screen navigation features found in today's leading mobile devices. Viewing and manipulating data reports and graphs is extremely easy and fast.

Key capabilities:

• View plant data anywhere, anytime;


• Powerful, analytical displays;


• Easy touch screen navigation;


• Share reports via email;


• Secure cloud-based report generation and delivery;


• Supports commonly used smart device platforms like Apple, Blackberry and, soon, Android and Microsoft Phone 7.

FREE Seminar: The Cloud for Manufacturing

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Dates & Locations

• Houston, TX - May 14, 2012
• Minneapolis, MN - May 17, 2012
• Boston, MA - June 5, 2012
• Redmond, WA - June 7, 2012

Topics

• Business Benefits & Rationale for Cloud Computing
• Azure Cloud Services for Manufacturers
• ARC Advisory Group: Is Industry Ready for the Cloud? ARC Advisory Group: Is Industry Ready for the Cloud?
• Invensys: Collaboration & Reporting in the Cloud
• Sarla Analytics: Analytics in the Cloud 

Accelerating Microsoft Windows Azure Development

Invensys announced an alliance with Microsoft Corp. for migrating some Invensys applications to the Windows Azure cloud. By bringing together industrial thought and technology leaders, the alliance expands our relationship with Microsoft and will afford end users cloud-based offerings in the manufacturing and infrastructure operations space.

Three month free trial of Windows Azure available here.

Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth: Part 2

OK, so I got a bit lazy on my last post.  And I got called on it.  So let's do it right!  We have seen a lot of movement lately on the cloud for industry, and specifically, the cloud for manufacturers. I have written 2 articles now and have participated on one panel, and the outcome of all of it is that manufacturers are in a "wait and see" mode.

Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth | Automation World

Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth | Automation World