Evolution of Control Systems Is in Your Hands

LNS is vocal about how IIoT will influence the next generation of control systems. On August 23, end users will have a rare opportunity to directly impact the evolution of control systems at the Open Automation Industry Day, hosted by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) and The Open Group.

GE and Microsoft Team Up in the Name of IIoT

Earlier this week General Electric and Microsoft Corporation developed a partnership to unite each of the companies’ Cloud technologies. The two organizations hope to increase Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) strength with the companionship of GE’s Predix Platform and Microsoft Azure.

Robotics Outsmarting Themselves at DARPA

During the month of June, the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals took place in Pomona, California. Each robot was set out to complete a series of rescue scenarios, while being controlled by their human operators off in the distance.

What kind of logistical effort does it take to track down and destroy 400 million packets of instant noodles?

As you might imagine--a very large one. More in this week's round-up.

In manufacturing, every action or inaction carries some form of risk, and industry leaders are devising new ways of incorporating risk management into their operations for better informed decision making. Whether in quality, maintenance, manufacturing operations, environmental concerns or other areas, risk is always a factor, and in this week's round-up we revisit some of the ways its shaping today's industry.

Cloud software applications have made plenty of inroads within the IT structure of many organizations in the past few years. In this week's round-up, we take a look at some of the recent developments and data around Cloud adoptions, and the benefits industrial companies are reaping.

This week's roundup centers on events of a large scale, both good and bad. And both, coincidentally, are related to the automotive industry.

There's been some interesting market activity in the past few weeks around business reorganization and strategy, as GE and Caterpillar--two companies with different histories, products, and customers--made large business moves that signal a commitment to invest and innovate around data analytics and Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology, moves that are transforming the way they do business. More detail below in this week's roundup.

Lean Aims to Be Leaner

The Lean Certification Alliance has recently introduced new improvements to the Lean Certification program that are driven by customer feedback. Candidates for Lean certification now no longer pursue and achieve the hierarchical Bronze, Silver, and Gold sequence, so that candidates can achieve certification at a rank that is most appropriate for their career, knowledge, and experience. 

 Jeannine Kunz, Managing Director, Workforce and Education at SME, said "Technology is changing so rapidly these days and the manufacturing industry continues to evolve and develop at high speed, which means the workforce needs to keep up. The changes were introduced after an extensive market study based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and listening to customer feedback, and implemented by the four non-profit organizations involved: ASQ, AME, the Shingo Institute, and SME. More...

Is Information Software in your Toolbox? The Rise of the Connected Enterprise

Information technologies and operational technologies are converging and driving business value like never before, driving toward the Connected Enterprise--the concept of equipment, processes, and workers connected via smart technology from the shop floor to the top floor. As Ryan Cahalane at Rockwell Automation writes in a recent Plant Services piece, one of the fundamental shifts that Smart Connected Operations is bringing about is in how data is viewed and used for information.