Managing Automation- July 2008

application offerings based on such technologies as MES, analytics, and manufacturing intelligence, Rockwell has taken its commitment a step further, industry watchers said, by adopting cuttingedge software development techniques. Also, the company is moving into the area of business process management (BPM), a large leap for a vendor often pigeonholed as a PLC company. “The challenge is that they want to be a big software company, but they’ve got the old Rockwell culture that they still have to deal with,” said Greg Gorbach, vice president of collaborative manufacturing at ARC Advisory Group. “It’s always a challenge to [build] a software company culture and business model within a fundamentally hardware company, but Rockwell is doing a lot of interesting things, like using the Scrum development technique.” The Scrum concept, created in 1993, takes a lean approach to software development. The development framework is structured in cycles of work, called “sprints,” which are iterations of work that typically last two to four weeks. Developers work collaboratively, and in each sprint the teams pull from a prioritized list of customer requirements so that the features developed first are of the highest value to the customer. Rockwell has trained more than 600 people and invested “a boatload of money” in the Scrum methodology, said Kevin Roach, vice president of Rockwell Software, during a press conference. “This is our most recent focus because beyond process rigor we want to gain speed and innovation,” he said. The Scrum system can deliver more relevant products faster, enabling software developers to respond to changes in technology and deliver products at a lower cost, Roach said. For example, this fall, the company will launch a thin client version of its FactoryTalk HMI application that was developed using Scrum. Development took a fraction of the time that it would have taken engineers in the past, officials said. This approach will also help the company integrate new acquisitions into the product portfolio and build out the company’s vision to deliver a holistic suite of plant-wide information systems. The Rockwell software suite, however, needs additional layers of structure, which is why the company is investing in a workflow engine that will incorporate business process mapping within its FactoryTalk ProductionCentre plant management software. Rockwell officials said the company is working with partners and will deliver the first glimpse of a BPM offering within six months. “Part of what BPM does is incorporate change management with processes and people,” said Matt Bauer, Rockwell’s market development di- rector for information software, in an interview. “When we used to do manufacturing assessments and planning, we would talk about existing processes, but in isolation of the manufacturing environment.” The problem is, if you automate the wrong processes, it can cause extraordinary inefficiencies, he said. As a result, Rockwell is blending its knowledge of what happens within the manufacturing workflow with enterprise BPM. The company is in the discovery phase of what BPM can provide within the manufacturing context, and in an active pilot phase with a couple of customers. “The tools we’ll put in place within the next [few] years will have a tremendous impact on people,” Bauer said. The efforts under way at Rockwell are all strong signs that it is serious about software. “There is a lot of evidence to support [that statement],” ARC’s Gorbach said. — Stephanie Neil Quote of the MONTH “[HP] wanted to go after IBM and this is how they’re going to do it.” — AMR Research’s Phil Fersht said of HP’s decision to buy EDS rather than a smaller, less-expensive systems integrator For the Continued from page 8 Record scheduling solution in its Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, facility. Leach International, a maker of power switching and control components for the aerospace industry, is using the Infor ERP SyteLine software in its transition to a lean manufacturing environment. Océ, a digital document management technology provider, tapped Invention Machine for innovation software to accelerate new product development. Biopharmaceutical company Cephalon Inc. contracted with OATSystems for its RFID product for serialized shipment container tracking. Alpine Biomed, a maker of diagnostic devices, is implementing QAD, Inc.’s software-as-a-service enterprise applications. MICROSOFT TARGETS THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION iming to take a leadership role in defining structured processes and technologies that manufacturers can use to spur innovation, Microsoft Corp. recently launched an Innovation Process Management initiative. “Customers we talk to say they feel they can’t rely on ad hoc innovation any longer,” said Don Richardson, Microsoft’s director of worldwide innovation management sales strategy. “Innovation needs to be driven by a more structured, formal process.” The initiative enlists Microsoft consulting and reseller partners to develop solutions on top of existing Microsoft products that can help manufacturers improve three aspects of innovation, Richardson said. Those aspects are: ● Idea and knowledge capture, including collaboration around problem solving. ● Process and knowledge management, including transformation of an idea into a sanctioned project and the capture of related digital content. ● Project and portfolio management, including tracking real-time progress against forecast metrics. The IPM initiative, Richardson said, will leverage existing Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Project, and Microsoft’s Unified Communications suite of products. Using those products — including features such as the SharePoint Server’s workflow and search capabilities — Microsoft and its partners will demonstrate how customers A M&As GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms completed its acquisition of the MTL Open System Technologies product lines from MTL Instruments Group. Integration services providers Liaison Technologies, Inc. and Anilinker Oy have agree to merge under the Liaison Technologies name. PA R T N E R S H I P S Axeda Corp. is partnering with Oracle on a solution for proactive remote service and maintenance management of equipment. Intergraph is combining its SmartPlant Instrumentation product with the PAS Integrity/DOC4000 family to provide a consolidated view of control infrastructures. Initiate Systems, Inc. joined Informatica Corp.’s INFORM partner program to offer a best-of-breed MDM solution. Corel Corp. is integrating Right Hemisphere’s Deep Exploration software into its Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite software to transfer 3D CAD models into 2D graphics. Invistics is teaming up with Camelot IDPro AG to deliver lean planning and scheduling solutions for high-mix manufacturers. July 2008 11

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

Managing Automation- July 2008 Contents Take 1 HP's Acquisition of EDS May Face Integration, Global Delivery Challenges Rimini Plans to Woo SAP Support Users Rockwell Steps Up Its Activities in Software Microsoft Targets the Process of Innovation Supply Chain Standouts Honored by AMR Notes Who Are Today's Influential Thinkers? The Robot Revolution Is the Price Right? Without a Trace Harvesting the Suggestion Box Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

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