Articles and News

The initiative "Industrial Joining Technologies (IJT)" describes all joining technologies used for manufacturing processes such as riveting, welding, gluing and tightening. The scope of the specification was developed with the help of DIN 8580 and shows which joining processes can be classified under Industrial Joining Technologies (see figure).

Talk of Industry 4.0 has been useful in helping businesses understand the value of industrial automation and connectivity. This article explains why it’s not only vital to work with a systems integrator to get the most from industrial connectivity, but to also take a grounded approach.

IEC 63171-6 is the international standard for Single Pair Ethernet interfaces in industrial applications. The editor is the IEC committee SC 48B copper connectors. The mating face standard IEC 63171-6 T1 Industrial Style was the first standard submitted by HARTING to SC 48B for a Single Pair Ethernet mating face as early as 2016.

By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies are disrupting the manufacturing industry, and that disruption has risen to the highest levels: a topic for discussion at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in late January

In addition to electing its current seven-member Executive Committee, the CMS membership voted to establish a formal Board of Directors at the 35th Coordinate Metrology Society Conference in Orlando, FL in July 2019.

Every manufacturer must pay attention to costs and competitors’ pricing. For better or worse, purchasing professionals are rewarded for capturing the lowest price; few have the time to scour the internet for ever RFQ to see if the bid offered is indeed competitive.

The global partnership creates a pathway for IFS customers to access the Cleo Integration Cloud platform, extending those organizations’ integration capabilities beyond B2B to include application and data integration for back-end ERP, CRM, FSM, SCM, BI, and other associated applications.

The pace of technological change in the automation industry seems to be accelerating as we head into 2019, driven by innovations developed for Internet of Things and general computing.

By Jakob Björklund, IFS Manufacturers are beginning to see the value in integrating business software such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). However specialist Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) often do the same job as these supporting solutions, acting as an unnecessary middleman. This article asks the hard questions about whether MES is necessary in many industrial situations.

After another busy year talking to a wide range of users, suppliers and industry consultants, and attending over 20 industry conferences and related events, I have another year’s worth of informed insights to share on the latest trends that will shape automation in 2018.

By Jeff Carr, Ultra Consultants When assessing the current value of a legacy ERP system, the primary focus should be whether the legacy features and functions adequately support the business - not just the current state of business but the anticipated future state too.

The Digital Change Survey polled 750 decision makers in 16 countries, including more than 120 in North America, to assess the maturity of digital transformation in sectors such as manufacturing, oil and gas, aviation, construction and contracting, and service.

One of the biggest drivers that prompted a search for a new ERP system was the need to interact with other systems across the company, in addition to providing dashboards and complete functionality between front office and the shop floor.

By Robert Waugh, HighJump An ERP system is a significant investment, yet many manufacturing operations don’t take full advantage of its capabilities. This article discusses the benefits of ERP systems in manufacturing

By Jan Baan, Founder, Vanenburg Software The Pace-Layered Application Strategy Model from Gartner distinguishes three layers, which are helping organizations improve their applications by categorizing, selecting, managing and educating themselves on those applications.

By David J. Bush, C.P.I.M In early 2012, we began an earnest search for a replacement for our legacy ERP system. We wanted a new ERP package that could handle the needs of our electronics industry demands. We were in for a big and disappointing surprise.

Epicor's own survey reveals several enterprise resource planning (ERP) deficiencies causing organizational drag. Half the respondents surveyed characterized the performance of their current ERP system as merely "adequate" or "basic."

By Pat Garrehy, Rootstock In our litigious society, the day is quickly coming when any manufacturer better be able to trace the history of anything they make. Where the law requires you to maintain accurate records for each unique Lot and/or Serial Number purchase and sale, you need Lot Serial Control.

A study by IFS reveals that the overwhelming majority of manufacturers are running multiple manufacturing modes from multiple locations, and that their ERP software is not well equipped to handle it.

Project management is critical to ensuring projects are implemented correctly, on time and within budget. Good project management also communicates to your management or stakeholder that you are a professional.