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Articles by Dan Miklovic
Paper, Spreadsheets, and the Other Usual Suspects of Messy Quality Data
The Quality function in a typical industrial organization spans across multiple levels, from quality management, quality execution and control, research & development, laboratory inspection, supplier audits, customer warranty, etc. Not surprisingly, communicating between these functions requires consistent data and information transfers across multiple systems.
The 36th Annual International Maintenance Conference (IMC)
Building a culture of learning took center stage at IMC 2022 Over 1,000 attendees participated in the 36th Annual International Maintenance Conference, co-located with the Reliability 4.0 Digital Transformation Conference hosted by ReliabilityWeb.com on December 6-8, 2022 at Marco Island, FL.
2023 Predictions: Pressure to drive Realignment & Speedy IX Solutions
Every year, LNS Research analysts put forth predictions around the Industrial Transformation (IX) topics where we focus our research. In January 2022, I made only one prediction – but it was in four parts. This year I see 3 interrelated trends. To help you to decide whether my 2023 is worth considering, I have wrapped up this blog post with an assessment of how I did on my 2022 predictions (hint: by my count, I was 4 of 4 but you can decide).
Cost of Quality in the Digital Age
To borrow the phrase from Philip Crosby, Quality is Free. The book, by the same name, was published in 1978, well before the Industrial Digital Age. It laid out the case for a different view of Quality’s mission and how to achieve many of the ideals that Quality Leaders were (and still are) looking for. Among them; Zero Defects. Economic Conformance There are two competing views of cost behavior around Quality in business. The first is called the Economic Conformance Model (ECM).
Emerson Embraces AspenTech & Charts New Course for Next-Gen Automation
As a member-level partner of LNS Research, you will receive our expert and proven Advisory Services. These exclusive benefits give your team: Regular advisory sessions with our highly experienced LNS Research Analysts Access to the complete LNS Research Library Participation in members-only executive Roundtable events Important, continuous knowledge of Industrial Transformation (IX) Let us help you with key decisions based on our solid research methodology and vast industrial experience.
IBM & Intelligent Asset Management, Maximo World 2022
In August, the IBM Asset Management and Sustainability teams presented an updated product portfolio and go-forward strategy at Maximo World 2022 in Austin, TX. The conference content provided users with a deep dive into new products, software development, and integration updates, as well as customer-presented case studies.
IMTS 2022: Still a Machine Builder & Machining Focused Show...Mainly
IMTS 2022 was held last month at McCormick Place in Chicago, live in person for the first time since 2018. LNS Research had sixteen briefings from member vendors over the two days we were there. I attended, along with my colleagues, Mehul Shah and Brady Aitken. This year's IMTS event was bigger than the record-breaking show in 2018, with over 1.2 million square feet of space and close to 100,000 visitors over the six days of the event.
Unified Performance Excellence is the Engine of Workforce Empowerment
What is Unified Performance Excellence? Unified Performance Excellence (UPX) is how the world's most successful manufacturers are reinventing Continuous Improvement (CI) programs and management systems. They are taking advantage of digital and AI toolkits and new approaches to innovation and transformation to drive significant gains across safety, quality, emissions, and productivity.
Why Your Quality 4.0 Program Will Fail
There is some good news out there regarding Quality 4.0. programs. First, the prevalence of Quality 4.0 programs is growing. The number of Quality 4.0 programs nearly doubled from 2019 to 2021. Second, Quality 4.0 Leaders are reporting double-digit improvements in several key business metrics, including Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Revenue. However, all is not sunshine and roses in Quality 4.0 programs. More than half of the deployed programs are underperforming on their targets.
Survey Snippets #6: The Why, What, and How of Industrial Transformation (IX)
One of the most common mistakes LNS Research sees manufacturers make in their Industrial Transformation (IX) programs is starting with technology selection. To help companies better structure their IX programs, we have designed the LNS Research Industrial Transformation Framework (shown below).
The Emerson - AspenTech Merger and the Need for Speed
On May 16, 2022, Emerson Electric Company and Aspen Technology announced the closing of their $11B merger which brings together much of Emerson’s industrial software businesses (OSI Inc. and Geological Simulation Software) with AspenTech to create the “new AspenTech” as a global industrial software provider. With the close of the transaction, Emerson owns 55% of the new AspenTech and AspenTech shareholders own the remaining 45%.
Survey Snippets #5: Three Tips To Successfully Scale Your Transformation Business Case
Building business cases is often the first of many challenges today’s industrial companies have to face as part of their Industrial Transformation (IX) programs. The ideal business case should help companies identify and prioritize the correct problems and provide a clear roadmap for the solution. However, many companies struggle to effectively do this.
First Steps Toward Digital Transformation: Building in Smart & Connected [MondayMusings]
The marketing hype on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Smart Connected Devices suggests that this technology will just spontaneously appear in the market and be available for immediate deployment. Data tells a different story though. The LNS “Metrics that Matter” and “IIoT” surveys show there is growing awareness and interest in Digital Transformation and how it will change the way companies operate. However, organizations have made little progress in this direction.
The Siemens Approach to APM: Focus on Equipment Reliability
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a metric that most manufacturers rely on to help them understand how well their manufacturing operations are performing. Almost every discussion LNS Research has with end user clients about manufacturing operations eventually comes to OEE. A key factor influencing OEE is asset reliability. The bottom line is that a poorly performing asset due to poor maintenance can kill your OEE performance.
Will Platitudes Doom Your Manufacturing Business?
"Patience is a virtue." "If it isn’t broke - don’t fix it." "Slow and steady wins the race." One thing I have come to recognize in my 45 plus years in the industry is manufacturers love platitudes. Unfortunately, the culture that evolves over time from this caution becomes so stagnant that ultimately a manufacturer can become uncompetitive. Click here to speak to Dan Most manufacturers and asset intensive industries are, rightfully, very risk aversive.
CXO Research Insights + Vision© Newsletter; Feb. 2022: AI Hype Time Capsules, SME AI Strategy, Supply Chain GeoPolitical Risks
Forward-looking ideas from leading research for executives __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ February 2022’s Issue of CXO Research Insights + Vision© Newsletter offers executives actionable insights for three short one+ minute topics: 2022 AI: Don’t invest in projects that require 30 years to succeed! – provides SME advice and direction on today’s AI hype in emergingsolutions for CXOs; Executive focus...
Managing the Supply Stream Is Going to Become a Class V Whitewater Experience
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Round Holes/Square Pegs: Artificial Barriers to Transformation Success
Transformation is challenging for industrial organizations. Manufacturers face genuine barriers to deploying new digital technologies specifically and realizing benefits from Industrial Transformation (IX). Software vendors face equally daunting obstacles in trying to help manufacturers achieve IX success. Software vendors face a myriad of hurdles in marketing, selling, and deploying software.
Rub-A-Dub-Dub...It's All About the Data Hub
Productized connectivity to many advanced analytics platforms and visualization applications. Pre-packaged applications for various use cases, typically visualization at a minimum. The ability to upload historian asset hierarchies, e.g., AVEVA PI AF The ability to scan P&ID diagrams and capture the tag data and associated attributes. The ability to read so-called Smart P&IDs and capture their data. The ability to overlay data on 3D engineering diagrams.
Prepositions, Push, Pull: The Pivotal P's in Your Transformation Story
LNS Research repeatedly hears the request: “Help us convince the plants to adopt our solutions.” The request is a tell-tale sign that the company has the Pivotal P’s (Prepositions, Push, Pull) wrong, which has led to the inefficient organization of its Industrial Transformation (IX) program. Let’s take a closer look at these Pivotal P's, the lessons they highlight, and how to use them to align your IX Program properly.
2024 Research Goals: Breaking Through the Productivity Plateau
As the first half of 2023 is behind us, the LNS Research Team is finalizing our 2024 research agenda. Typical of the beginning of each year, the analyst team produced annual predictions with an assessment of the previous year's predictions. While I would never have predicted a move into research advisory after over 20 years in manufacturing, here I sit after just over a year since taking the significant pivot to becoming an industry analyst.
Why IoT Is Different Than Past Technology Evolutions
The wheels of evolution turn slowly, and that's part of the problem. There's no sense of urgency, says Dan Miklovic, principal analyst at LNS Research. One of the challenges facing the IoT is the perception, particularly in manufacturing, that IoT is just an evolutionary step in the deployment of automation and IT in the factory. Many of today’s manufacturers say “we’ve been doing IoT for years” because they have sensors in the plant that use Ethernet, or even WiFi, to connect to a PLC or DCS.
Is a 2-Step Dance the Key to Transformation Success?
There is an inherent dilemma in Industrial Transformation (IX). No one wants a massive, multi-year IT project, yet transformation, by definition, is looking for significant impacts and is, therefore, hard. Let’s look at the definition of IX, what makes it so difficult, and why incremental gains will likely not get you there. Finally, we will advocate for a 2-Step strategy – after the dance, of course – for the IX Program, including a look at a success story to illustrate that 2-Step.
Boost Your Manufacturing Profitability with Proven Strategic Initiatives
It is no secret that manufacturers must focus on efficiency and productivity for success. The organization must provide the right information and tools at the right time to enable the workforce. With so many options available, separating the "must have" from the "nice to have" can be challenging. LNS Research analyzed more than 900 responses received from industrial manufacturers to identify trends that significantly improve profitability.
What is Industrial AI: The Hype, The Facts, and The Path Forward
It has been roughly 13 years since Marc Andreessen called out thatSoftware was Eating the World, citing how internet-based technology companies were disrupting traditional businesses. Fast-forward to 2024, and it seems like Artificial Intelligence is Eating Software now. This seems especially true in manufacturing, where AI is quickly making its way into factory floors across the world.
Translate Leadership to Organizational Capability/Maturity
We have frequently spoken at LNS Research about why executive support is important in implementing any significant process improvement (BPI) initiative such as asset performance management (APM), sustainability or quality. This raises the question about how leaders can actually effect change in their organizations when pursuing BPI projects. One of the best ways to look at when and how leaders can exert their influence is in the context of a capability maturity model (CMM).
4 IIoT market predictions for 2018 from LNS Research
In the world of IIoT and digital transformation for industry, the past year has been one to remember. Many will look back at this being the year where we passed peak hype and moved from talking about the realm of the possible to the practical. Despite some high-profile setbacks for vendors in the space, there is still more positive momentum than negative, and LNS Research believes that even as we move into a post-peak hype era, there will be many winners — both vendor and end user.
Empowering Manufacturing with GenAI: A New Frontier of Possibilities
Imagine holding the key to unlock a technological revolution in the manufacturing world, akin to the impact of the PLC. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the manufacturing landscape, with the potential to transform major value streams within the industry. This blog post serves as an introduction to a Research Spotlight on Generative AI, which delves into the capabilities and applications of this cutting-edge technology.
Momentum or Methodical for IIoT? Why Not Both?
When the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) started up a little more than three and a half years ago, it introduced the concept of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to differentiate connected technologies from consumer-related IoT. Now almost every major manufacturing company is pursuing some kind of IIoT project—at least that’s what it feels like if you attend vendors’ user group meetings or IIoT-focused events, or follow any of the IIoT-focused websites.
Blog: Progress and visions at Inforum 2017
Infor held its user's group meeting in New York City recently for the second time. Infor’s Inforum has been the company’s opportunity to showcase its strategy to the customer base as well as the press and analyst community. At Inforum Infor introduced Coleman, it’s AI/Machine Learning solution. Named after Katherine Coleman Johnson, NASA mathematician and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, Coleman is different than many of the other AI solutions in the market.
10 Common Biases Companies Need to Eliminate From Their Vendor Selection Processes
Many manufacturers are now beginning to invest in technology more so than they have since before the economic downturn of 2009. Whether it is automation, technology supporting the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), or other solutions they believe will drive Operational Excellence, an increasing number of respondents to LNS’s APM and IIoT surveys are indicating they plan on increasing spending in the next 12 to 18 months.
APM 4.0 will sustain Industry 4.0
No terms have captured the hype in manufacturing more than Industry 4.0 (or Industrie 4.0) and smart manufacturing. The supporting technology of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has promoted the concept of digital transformation, promising to shift manufacturing to the same degree that Uber has altered the for-hire ride business or Airbnb has altered the travel lodging industry. This article is part of our monthly Your Space column. Read more from our Your Space series.
Industry 4.0 Needs Manufacturers to Adopt APM 4.0
Whether you call it smart manufacturing or Industry 4.0, digital disruption is real. It is going to impact all manufacturers; asset-intensive businesses like utilities, oil and gas companies and mining; and infrastructure-centric companies like heavy transportation and pipeline operations. Since the 2011 Hannover Fair, where the German government brought the idea to the forefront, the market has been coalescing around the cyber-physical construct that defines this fourth industrial revolution.
Perspective: Let’s be clear which digital twin we're talking about
Today, the industry refers to any digitized version of virtually anything physical as the Digital Twin of that item. As little as two years ago, most of the Digital Twin dialog in the market was about smart connected products; focused on products sold into the consumer market.
Gauging if the Open Process Automation Forum Will Deliver
LNS Research has blogged several times on the Open Process Automation Forum and why we thought the initiative was important enough that not only end users should get involved, but decided to commit to joining the Open Group and become engaged with the effort.
Will Automation Only Eliminate Jobs?
There has been a lot of news since the US election about saving manufacturing jobs. Much of the discussion is around whether the real culprit in manufacturing job loss is cheap labor from China or Mexico or if automation is really to blame. Certainly some jobs have been lost to offshoring and recent announcements predict that the trend will likely increase since the dollar is strengthening.
Why IoT Is Different Than Past Technology Evolutions
One of the challenges facing the IoT is the perception, particularly in manufacturing, that IoT is just an evolutionary step in the deployment of automation and IT in the factory. Many of today's manufacturers say "we've been doing IoT for years" because they have sensors in the plant that use Ethernet, or even WiFi, to connect to a PLC or DCS. This view of IoT or Industrial IoT (IIoT) which LNS focuses on, has the potential to become the Achilles Heel for many manufacturers.
Users Prioritize APM Functionality and Ease of Integration Ahead of Cost
Manufacturing companies have the reputation of being very cost-sensitive when it comes to procuring application software. Almost every end user company LNS Research engages with that is conducting a vendor selection exercise has cost as a key element of its process. However, despite manufacturing’s reputation, the reality is companies put cost behind both functionality and ease of integration when it comes to purchasing decisions for Asset Performance Management (APM) application procurement.
Xtivity and its Cloud-Based xIO Inventory Optimizer
The only thing worse than having a piece of equipment fail is to have it fail and not have the parts to readily repair it at hand. Because of this, many companies stock a plethora of spare parts which drives their carrying cost for that inventory sky-high. Although balancing the risk of not having the spare parts when needed versus the costs of carrying inventory is not a trivial problem; many companies have not yet addressed the issue.
Top 5 Take-Aways from the Smart Manufacturing Roundtable
On October 3rd, LNS Research conducted its first Manufacturing Operations Roundtable on the subject of Smart Manufacturing. Besides our gracious host, Alcoa/Arconic, attendees included executives from Magna, Cargill, USG, Lexmark, Praxair, and Eaton. The day-long event started off with LNS Research setting the stage about Smart Manufacturing and what it is, and insight on where we saw the industry pursuing initiatives and success related to Smart Manufacturing today.
How Manufacturing Leaders Are Addressing Workforce Challenges
Lessons from the Executive Table What do you get when you combine 40 manufacturing executives in one room to discuss Digital Transformation? Best practices and innovative thinking that addresses your toughest operational challenges. At LNS Research’s recent Pathfinders Executive Roundtable event in Atlanta, the focus was on engagement as thought leaders from across the industry work to accelerate their transformation journey.
Don’t Confuse Maturity with Sophistication When Pursuing Operational Excellence
Ever since the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University introduced its Capability Maturity Model (CMM) in the late 80’s/early 90’s to describe and assess the software development process, it has been applied to almost every type of process model there is; including Lean, sustainability, and more. There is no denying that an organization’s maturity in managing critical business processes is highly correlated to its overall business success.
Predictive Analytics: The Gold Rush of 2016
Each analyst at LNS Research not only has topical coverage, mine being Asset Performance Management (APM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), but industry focus based on our previous experience. In my case, one of the industries I focus on is mining & metals. I find it helpful to stay in touch with other thought leaders and research activities throughout the industry. During any dialogue or legwork, it's not unusual for the Predictive Analytics gold rush to find its way into the conversation.
Smart Connected Operations Driving Changes in the Supplier Community, Not Just for End Users [MondayMusings]
Digital Transformation is not just impacting the users of technology, but the supplier community as well—and not just by opening doors for new Big Data or Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) startups. Today, existing providers are evolving their product sets to remain competitive in the face of competition in Mobility, Cloud, IIoT and Big Data & Analytics.
Every Manufacturer Needs Someone to Lead Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation has become the most hyped initiative to hit the manufacturing sector in the last several years. The need to pursue Digital Transformation, from the supplier community to business gurus, has been the topic to generate thousands of pages with material pertaining to the what, why, and when. There is a near universal consensus that as with any other business process change or improvement initiative, Digital Transformation requires support from top leadership to be successful.
4 Signs You'll Be an IIoT Control Systems Winner in 2020 & Beyond
In my last two (first and second) DCS related posts I have laid out the rationality for why the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will transform the plant floor from a control perspective, and what such a “controller-less” DCS might look like. Much of my case is predicated on looking back historically at the evolution of digital control and networking on the plant floor.
The Most Difficult Aspect of Digital Transformation Lies with Leadership
Now, and for the near future, the mantra among management gurus like Michael Porter, management consultancies like McKinsey, and research firms like LNS is how critical it is to use the power of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Cloud, Mobility and Big Data & Analytics to embark on Digital Transformation.
Will The IIoT Allow DCS’s to Finally Live Up to Their Name?
At LNS Research we have been writing a lot about what the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has done to manufacturing operations management (MOM). We have also just tackled the topic of how the IIoT and Cloud technology is changing the way companies look at enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, as well. In both cases we see the many-to-many communication paths the IIoT offers; changing the way users envision their Operational Architecture.
The Right Way and Wrong Way to Fail
Thomas Edison has several quotes relating to success and failure, with one of the most famous being, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” As businesses come to grips with the challenges presented by digital transformation and the deployment of the technologies that enable it—such as cloud, Big Data, predictive analytics, mobility and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)—we sense that past failures are inhibiting progress in far too many companies.
How the Industrial Internet is Empowering IT
We are in the midst of a digital industrial revolution. Analysts suspect that overall spending on Industrial IoT will reach $500 billion by 2020, with some projecting even more.
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