Historians

Manufacturing Intelligence from Existing Data

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:40:31 +0000

Manufacturing intelligence applications have been in wide distribution for nearly two decades.

A new enterprise manufacturing intelligence software package from Northwest Analytics is designed to leverage data in existing databases rather than through creation of a new database.

News

The Art and Science of Production Knowledge

George Shurtleff — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:34:47 +0000

Databases are the refrigerators of the industrial world.

For the most part, database issues are left the to IT department. But with the volume of production data typically residing in numerous databases in a manufacturing facility, engineers and operators need to be more aware of the databases that house their critical production information.

Feature Article

Primacy of Information

Gary Mintchell — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:17:39 +0000

Things always seem to come in bunches when you’re studying something.

A confluence of trends around mobility, always-on networks and information is having a tremendous effect upon automation and manufacturing.

Column

Feed Forward

Automation Team: Becoming A Must-Have Application

admin8675309 — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:00:00 +0000

No one discipline dominates the automation landscape any longer.

The core concept of Automation World is the “automation team.”

Primer

Factory Applications: Turn Up the Wi-Fi

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

How about wireless Ethernet? The second question is easy to answer: there is no wireless Ethernet. Ethernet, IEEE 802.3, runs on wires.

Wireless Fidelity, or Wi-Fi, technology is proliferating in the factory, but it’s not the best answer for everything. Will Wi-Fi take over the industrial world?

Feature Article

Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence: A Room with a View

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

In the room—outfitted with 23 46-inch monitors surrounding a central, 8-foot by 14-foot media wall—Valero executives are able to call up and manipulate a variety of colorful dashboards detailing vi

Every morning, senior managers at Valero Energy Corp. gather in the company’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for a daily operations call to each of the company’s 15 refineries in the United States, Canada and Aruba.

Feature Article

Plant Floor Intelligence: Digging for Dollars

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

"This is a money digging world of ours; and, as it is said, 'there are more ways than one to skin a cat,' so are there more ways than one of digging for money."

By providing improved visibility of plant floor data, enterprise manufacturing intelligence software enables smarter decisions that yield bottom-line results.

Feature Article

How a Crisis Can Lead to Success

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

But then it made me think of people losing their jobs, for whom it won’t be easy to find something new.

Originally, I meant to write this column about state-of-the art factories, where everything is automated and controlled from a distance, thus saving a lot of labor costs.

Column

IT View

Regulatory Tug-of-War Rages in Calibration

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

But counteracting that ambition for more efficient operations, “at the other end of the spectrum, regulatory issues, in general, are driving more calibration,” states the Fort Collins, Colo.-based

The calibration trend Ed Shuler sees now is the push for reduced manpower in instrumentation and electrical (I&E) shops on unnecessary calibration.

Primer

Real-time Data Remotely

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 06:00:00 +0000

Typical uses might include unattended site monitoring for security purposes, monitoring energy usage and power-demand in real time, or remote inventory monitoring.

The RemoteLog and Datalogger is a combination of RTU (Remote Terminal Unit), datalogger, real-time database client and telemetry interface in one compact, installation-ready package.

Product

Manufacturing Automation Software Suite

admin8675309 — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 05:00:00 +0000

The Proficy suite features a range of unified modules to meet individual requirements, allowing information to be shared freely between business and plant floor applications to facilitate better p

Proficy Intelligent Production Solutions provides a broad range of integrated, easy-to-use software applications and services designed to allow users to improve productivity, profitability and competitive advantage by enabling the real-time enterprise, says the vendor.

News

A Dose of Commercial IT

admin8675309 — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 06:00:00 +0000

Home and office remedies are good medicine for factories. Using commercial technologies for industrial automation is proving to be valuable. Not only are commercial, off-the-shelf products available sooner than dedicated equipment, they often cost less as well. Personal digital assistants, Tablet PCs, commercial software and wireless networks are increasing productivity in manufacturing today.

Feature Article

Connecting the enterprise endpoints

admin8675309 — Fri, 01 Aug 2003 05:00:00 +0000

Factory floor-to-boardroom linkage promises efficient, profitable operation.

Feature Article

Scalable DCS