Managing Automation - November 2007 - (Page 16)

managingautomation FREE E-NEWSLETTERS Sign up Today! news managingautomation.com maonline Go online for daily news updates in perspective gaging in real-time enterprise practices. But in each area only a few metrics are considered effective. One is on-time delivery — based on delivery to commit and delivery to request — that is used to measure lean’s effectiveness. Defect metrics, to take another example, are used to measure total quality, and uptime, or OEE, is used as to figure out how efficiently the real-time enterprise is running. In addition, many manufacturers report that they don’t use the same metrics companywide. As a result, these initiatives, designed to drive out waste, improve quality, and increase efficiency, are not very effective at all, the study says. To help manufacturers come up with systematic ways to measure plant performance, MESA has introduced a new manufacturing enterprise model. Referenced as the C-MES (collaborative manufacturing execution systems) model, it will focus on five strategic corporate initiatives: lean manufacturing, quality and regulatory compliance, product lifecycle management, real-time enterprise, and enterprise asset management. The group, in collaboration with ISA, will publish guidebooks that will define how companies can achieve the goals and objectives outlined in these corporate initiatives. “We are refocusing the organization to fill a gap in the industry,” MESA Chairman Matt Matt Bauer Bauer says. “There’s talk around standards, but there’s no practical guidebook with experienced-based content describing how to put it into the plant environment.” The difference in the new C-MES model is that it addresses the issue of real-time interaction between the plant and the enterprise. It will also help people understand how each element impacts other aspects of work. To date, there’s been no pragmatic model to work from, MESA officials say. “The vision is, when an end user has a question, they can go to this and find the answer, as well as build it into their business case,” says Doug Weaver, MES Systems & Project Manager at Boeing Commercial Aircraft, who helped to define the soon-to-be released models. — S.N Alliances, Executive Appointments, Mergers & Acquisitions, Products Newsletters Include: MA Daily News Alert Hot off the press news exclusives written by MA Editorial MA Membership Alert The latest industry research, products, news and web events Progressive Manufacturer Compete in the new global economy for years to come “Our first analysis was that the two networks could co-exist in an orderly fashion,” says Dick Caro, a member of the ISA SP100 committee. “But some users say that’s not good enough. They don’t want any confusion, and they are asking us to go through the effort to bring the two together.” At the ISA show in October, the groups met to discuss how the two initiatives could evolve together. The initial discussions were about creating a dual-mode gateway that can accommodate both wireless HART and SP100. “It’s a good start, but ultimately it is Dick Caro not where we need to be,” says Ron Helson, executive director of HCF. Another suggestion was that ISA 100 carry the HART signal on its network. “We call it the tunneling approach,” ISA’s Caro says. The problem, though, is that such an approach has not been tested. “It seems like all of the necessary options are there to make it happen, but we haven’t really proven it.” The good news, for end users, is that these two groups are willing to work together. That, in and of itself, is a major accomplishment in an industry that has historically been divided. “Ultimately, we will get [wireless HART and ISA SP100] converged, but we have to work through the issues and give it time,” Helson says. — Stephanie Neil Viewpoint Provocative and inspirational, features the opinion columns in print with exclusives online MESA TRIES TO HELP IMPROVE PLANT METRICS he Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) has released its second report in a series of studies on the effectiveness of metrics used to improve operations. The results of the study, Metrics for Major Initiatives: Practices and Metrics for Lean, Total Quality and Real-Time Enterprise Programs, revealed that many organizations don’t practice what they preach. The majority of the 133 organizations polled by market research firm Industry Directions Inc. say they are indeed using lean and total quality management practices, and 47% are en- T www.managingautomation.com/ newsletters Subscribe Today! ® http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/newsletters

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - November 2007

Managing Automation - November 2007 Contents Take 1 Mailbox SAP's Business ByDesign to Validate On-Demand Model for Enterprise SW Portfolio Management Specialist Losing Ground to Rivals At Incor, It's Time for Some Deep Breathing Can HART, ISA Get Together on a Wireless Spec? Mesa Tries to Help Improve Plant Metrics Notes Cover Story: The Digital Factory Special Report: Breaking Down Walls Integration: Dreaming of One ERP Industries: Locking onto Cyber-Security Transformation: Not Your Father's Time & Attendance Program Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - November 2007

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