Strong words with a true message. It’s critical to understand how times have changed. If you can’t react, you won’t just be left behind — you’ll be gone. As Bernard Baruch described the challenge of the Atomic Age, “We are here to make a choice between the quick and the dead.” The global economy hasn’t just changed distribution. It’s changed competition. Manufacturing companies are searching for ways to produce a product that will sell into any market, anywhere — and in sh... Continue Reading

Last week we talked about a way to handle DCS migration without breaking the bank, shutting down production for months or waiting for results. We said it would change everything. We call it DCS Next. DCS Next is not just a simple I/O or equipment replacement. DCS Next is a turn-key, comprehensive solution that utilizes a proven methodology to migrate with minimal downtime and lock in the gains achieved with a full sustainment package, all to drive innovation in your systems. ... Continue Reading

The old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times,” must apply to your distributed control system. Legacy DCS systems are in crisis. Many vendors are dropping their support. If you’re running one, chances are there will be no new parts to replace them. If your current DCS system doesn’t allow for open connectivity, it won’t automatically work with disparate replacement parts. You can try a workaround, but be prepared for it to get expensive, complicated and cumbersome to con... Continue Reading

OK. You’ve found a new manufacturing application you want to implement. It’s the best thing since sliced bread. You’ve configured it, tested it and tested it some more, and now you’re ready to drop it on the shop floor. It’s going to do lots and lots of wonderful things for the company, for manufacturing operations and even for the people there on the shop floor. Well, not so fast. Putting a new manufacturing application on the shop floor is a lot more complicated than you might t... Continue Reading

Our last blog post, “DCS Migration Checklist”, addressed several important questions to consider during the initial planning stages of a migration project. We referenced a white paper written by one of our technology leaders, Chad Harper, entitled, “Upgrading Your DCS: Why You May Need to Do It Sooner Than You Think.” Among the most important reasons was that the cost of staying with an old system eventually outgrows the cost of mig... Continue Reading