Managing Automation - March 2008 - (Page 11)

and a logic engine to convert data to usable information. The product, called deviceWISE, is a vendor-neutral technology. While the company has a formal partnership with Mitsubishi, it can work with devices from Rockwell Automation, Siemens, Schneider Electric, GE Fanuc, and Omron. To that end, it is also application-independent. Many vendors, IBM included, are using MES as the integration point. IBM has an alliance with Rockwell that leverages Rockwell’s Logix control technology and David Petrucci FactoryTalk ProductionCentre software suite. The alliance started in the automotive industry and expanded into the pharmaceutical industry last summer. IBM continues to honor that relationship; however, the company realizes that manufacturers require different approaches to meet departmental needs. “We are looking at it from a process standpoint versus an application standpoint,” says David Petrucci, IBM’s director of the Industrial Sector Solutions Software Group. “From the IT side, we have requests to simplify and align with investments made at the IT level. From a data acquisition standpoint, we can make it much cleaner, reduce risk, and reduce cost.” In addition, there’s a lot of opportunity beyond simple connectivity to do more with the logic at the device layer, Petrucci says. For example, IBM’s Maximo asset management software could be pushed down to the devices for predictive maintenance. So if the direct connect is so easy, why hasn’t it become the de facto standard for integrating the shop to the top? “It depends on the depth and breadth of what you trying to do,” says Craig Resnick, an analyst with ARC Advisory Group. “We find many users have specific information that they want to move up from the factory floor to the enterprise. An automation appliance is simple to use, relatively inexpensive, and easy to manage. So, for dedicated movement of information, users seem to be happy [with this approach]. But if you need an intermediary step to put data into a historian or do a quality calculation, the production management suite makes sense.” In fact, Resnick notes that he is seeing more environments that use both an automation appliance and an MES. Indeed, IBM still sees a need for an MES. “This just makes it more flexible,” Petrucci says. It also protects manufacturers’ existing investments. “It’s future-proofing,” says Trayton Jay, director of special projects at Mitsubishi. Companies may already have standardized processes in place, which may make it difficult to add a new application layer or change the environment. But just adding a new data transport could add a lot of value, he says. The reference architecture developed by Mitsubishi, ILS, and IBM was built for the automotive industry because the idea originated from a common customer they had. However, it is flexible enough to be transferred to industries outside of automotive, which they will do in the future, the group said. Scan M Back inMA MA MARCH 2007 anufacturers had invested heavily in enterprise resource planning platforms, expanding their reach to encompass supply chain management, supplier relationship management, customer relationship management, business intelligence, human resources management, and traditional finance and materials management functions. The problem: employees found it too difficult to use the system. It was time for vendors to improve the user experience so that manufacturers could reap the rewards. MA MARCH 2003 A FORMER AGILE EXEC TAKES THE REINS AT ARENA SOLUTIONS anuary marked a turning point for on-demand product data management provider Arena Solutions. Michael Topolovac, who had held the chief executive position since cofounding the company in 2000, relinquished his title and assumed a position on the company’s board. In his place, Arena appointed Craig Livingston, the former vice president and general manager of Agile’s SME division. Since then, speculators have wondered whether the selection of Livingston, a veteran of Oracle’s 2007 acquisition of Agile, means that Arena itself will soon be sold. “I think Arena is going to be sold,” Livingston says, before quickly qualifying the statement. “It’s going to be sold to the public through an IPO or sold much, much later, Craig Livingston down the road, when the value and the size are much higher.” According to the new CEO, a much simpler business rationale governed the transition at the top. He calls Topolovac a “really brilliant idea guy” who can hatch a new technology concept and base a business on it. But 18 months ago, Topolovac realized that Arena needed J s product lifecycle management was struggling for traction in the manufacturing industry, MA’s comprehensive look at the technology attempted to clarify what constituted PLM and how manufacturers could gain market advantage by implementing PLM systems. Most companies already had elements of PLM in place, though those systems generally could not share information. What companies needed were corporate-wide data models and integration architectures so that product-related information could be readily accessible across functions. M A M A RCH 19 9 8 anufacturers were just getting acquainted with the potential offered by IT-based supply chain management to integrate operations, suppliers, and customers. This new wave in automation was poised to change the relationships between buyers and sellers, the ways that companies were organized and managed, and even what constituted a competitive advantage. Making the transition would enable manufacturers to satisfy customers in new ways. MA talked with manufacturing executives at companies poised to begin the journey into SCM. M M A M A RCH 19 9 3 ocument management systems were emerging from their engineering change order niche into enterprise-wide information management applications. The systems, descendants of CAD and CIM automation initiatives, were designed with open technology so that they could work with heterogeneous legacy systems to cost-effectively disseminate documents throughout manufacturing organizations. Implementing the systems required new workflows and other cultural changes. D 11 March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - March 2008

Managing Automation - March 2008 Contents Take 1 Mailbox Mitsubishi, IBM, and ILS Team Up to Make Integration Easy for Automakers Former Agile Exec Takes the Reins at Arena Solutions The Next Phase for 2006’s PM Award Winner Integration Firm Boomi Redesigns for On-Demand Ex-Wonderware Chief Takes Helm at Apprion Notes Cover Story: A Rare Breed Special Report: Where are Control Architectures Heading? Transformation: Back to Reality Integration: Getting Standards Under One Roof Industries: The Quest for the Perfect Order Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - March 2008

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