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Monday, March 20, 2006 |
Here's an important survey to take if you work in manufacturing (not you marketing people out there, please).
Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) International and Industry Directions Inc. have initiated a Metrics that Matter industry survey. This survey asks about plant and operational key performance metrics (KPIs) in use and how they relate to business, operational and financial metrics in use. The survey also asks about how companies gather the data for these measurements and what software they use in their plants, from performance dashboards to product track and trace, quality, scheduling and maintenance. One objective is to show how companies can justify plant software investments; another is to illustrate how plant improvements can accelerate financial success.
MESA and Industry Directions are seeking responses from all companies in the production industries - discrete, batch, process and mixed mode in any vertical industry segment. This on-line survey is open for industry response as of today, and will be open into early April. Based on the responses, a group of industry leaders will be selected for follow-up telephone surveys to share what they have learned with the larger community.
The results of this survey will be released at or before the MESA Conference Oct. 9-12 in Orlando, FL. The conference, themed "Plant to Enterprise: Your Path to World-Class Quality," will include a special session on the results of this "Metrics that Matter" survey. All respondents to the survey will receive a copy of the public findings report as soon as it is released this fall.
8:23:53 PM 
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nPhase was selected by ABB to develop and deploy an enterprise wireless monitoring solution for ABB Robotics products that is expected to reduce service costs and deliver enhanced value to ABB customers. The wireless solution interfaces with the robot's control system at the operating system level, delivering data to centralized information systems with Internet access. This will enable a service technician to proactively administer repairs and adjustments to the robot, typically over the phone.
7:50:17 PM
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Kuka Robotics Corp. has an injection molding function package. The new package will allow customers to integrate robots into any injection-molding machine (IMM) from 100 to 6,000 tons. The function package includes an SPI interface between the IMM and the robot, a Festo Device Net Valve stack with vacuum generators, a complete energy supply and pneumatic tubing from the base of the robot to the 6th axis faceplate. End-of-arm tooling can be connected with no additional accessories. The company's 6 axis robots range from 3kg to 500kg payloads, and 635mm to 3700mm reach, all controlled from a common PC-based controller platform.
7:49:41 PM
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Stäubli says it has been perceived as a mid-sized robot manufacturer. It's trying to change the image. The company has introduced a new line of more compact six-axis robots, yet with a wide range. The company has also added a line of heavy-duty six axis robots and has acquired the Bosch Rexroth SCARA robot line, which added three models of four-axis robots significantly broadening the product lineup. Then the company introduced a PC-based robotic controller.
It's interesting that they sent a press release my way. In the past I've written articles on robotics and the people there have declined to participate. Must be the robot wars are escalating. Check out the April issue of Automation World for an interview with the president of the Robotic Industry Association for more on the subject.
7:48:42 PM
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Here's a good link for technology marketing people. Pip Coburn is a VC and evaluates companies based on his Change Function. That is, he believes (unlike a boss I had once and many of you out there) that customers do not adopt cool, new technology because it's cool, new technology. Marketing people (including many who pitch their products to me) often get caught up in how great their technology is that they believe that it just has to sell.
Coburn says to look at the technology from the customer's point of view. Now that shouldn't be revolutionary, but it is. He has developed a function that describes what will make a user change.
Change = f (user's crisis v user's total perceived pain of adoption)
In English-if a user's crisis exceeds his perceived pain of adoption, then he is more likely to change. So marketers beware. How hard is your product to implement? If it's hard and the user is not in crisis, then don't predict big sales to the boss.
7:47:08 PM
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© Copyright 2006 Gary Mintchell.
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