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Tuesday, July 31, 2007 |
I wrote a brief summary of Wes Iversen's first day at the ISA Wireless Summit last week. Jim Cahill writes a longer version of John Berra's comments. Wes noted that John's was easily the best speech of the day. John's becoming the evangelist of wireless sensor networks (much as Peter Martin is the evangelist of getting process engineers to think like businessmen--these are both very good things). Wes's complete report of the summit is here.
I firmly believe that engineers will discover the power of using wireless sensor networks to find ways to improve operations and the business of the plant. Wireless is too broad of a term (note I defined wireless sensor network) and is not the good thing. It is the enabling thing with which plant operations can be improved (that's the good thing). And for the cautious ones out there--the initial ideas have nothing to do with closed loop control of dangerous processes. So, we have to take our thinking up a notch and not just stop with wireless squabbles. The most interesting thing about Wes's report is the need to work with IT. This has been a recurring theme at Automation World, and this will obviously continue to be a theme there.
7:46:38 PM 
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I haven't followed this in any mainstream media, but apparently the counterfeit circuit breaker situation is getting out of hand. Better watch where you buy your Square D ones. I just received a release from Schneider Electric (parent of Square D) announcing that it has filed suit against Gaffney-Kroese Supply Corp. in the US District Court in Chicago asserting that the distributor knowingly sold counterfeit Square D circuit breakers and infringed Square D trademarks. Square D seeks to enjoin Gaffney-Kroese's continued distribution of counterfeit products and seeks to recover profits made by Gaffney-Kroese on its sales of counterfeit products, along with treble damages, attorney fees and costs.
"In the past 14 months, Square D has filed nine lawsuits to put a stop to the importation, sale and distribution of counterfeit circuit breakers. Nineteen separate defendants have been named in those cases. We have obtained consent orders against many of the defendants requiring product recalls and barring them from importing, selling or distributing counterfeit products and, in some cases, genuine products bearing the Square D trademarks," said Bill Snyder, vice president channel development for the Schneider Electric North American Operating Division. "Square D has every intention of pursuing counterfeiters up and down the distribution chain. We'll stop at nothing to preserve the integrity of our products and protect innocent customers from the serious health and safety hazards associated with counterfeit products. Through this lawsuit and others like it, Square D has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to prevent counterfeiting and protect Square D's customers, trademarks and designs."
7:28:29 PM
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Dave Harrold has an excellent comment on my post this morning which was a link to Andrew Hargadon's blog. I was packing for my trip to Phoenix, so I got lazy and didn't look for the original article. (I'm in Phoenix now, checked in with Carl Henning and the rest of the PTO gang. More tomorrow. Maybe I'll report on the keynote speaker--that would be me.)
Dave did a lot of work with GE as (I believe) an integrator and received a firm education. He's right in that the purpose of six sigma is to remove inconsistency from your system (defined broadly). Lean, on the other hand, is designed to remove waste from your system. Interestingly (as I wrote in July Automation World), Six Sigma is actually an excellent tool to use within Lean.
Now, to look at innovation, check out this column from the current FastCompany by the Heath brothers of Made to Stick fame. They're exploring innovation as a mind set -- that can be taught. Hmmm. So maybe it's not inherent in Six Sigma, but in the mind of the leader who thinks that there's only one way to do things and you can never learn other things. Think about this--the mind is like a muscle that can be developed. I hope I never stop learning. How about you?
7:09:32 PM
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This is an interesting rebuttal to the article (I forget where I read it, FastCompany? Business Week?) that cites 3M's devotion to six sigma as the reason it's creativity seemingly dried up. Think on this one and then seek to apply it.
Creative efficiency or efficient creativity?. Is the great paradox in managing innovation a red herring? The paradox in managing innovation is the difficulty--if not impossibility--of simultaneously having an efficient organization and an innovative one. Organizations must perform efficiently to survive and thrive in their current... [Andrew Hargadon]
7:02:26 AM
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© Copyright 2007 Gary Mintchell.
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