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ABB, Rockwell Make
Acquisitions-not each other
Big news of the week
(aside from Pack Expo):
Global Acquisitions for ABB, Rockwell
Two major automation suppliers announced plans on Nov. 12 to expand
through international acquisitions. ABB Group the Zurich,
Switzerland-based power and automation technology company, announced
that it has signed an agreement to acquire the business of Ber-Mac
Electrical and Instrumentation Ltd., of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in
order to expand its presence and capabilities in the oil and gas
sector. ABB did not disclose the value of the transaction, which is
subject to the customary regulatory approvals...
Read
more
Lessons from
Obama's Run for President
In the latest Business Week, columnists Jack
and Suzy Welch look for takeaways from the Obama campaign organization.
They see three lessons business leaders can take from the election.
[these comments have nothing to do with ideology, everything to do with
organization and leadership]... Read
more
Discrete Automation
Had an interesting
comment from reader Nitin Dhayagude on this post about FDT/DTM.
What do you think of FDT/DTM applied in Discrete
Automation? I can see the process world getting benefitted with
Profibus and Hart leading the field. I am always hearing about the
technology as opposed to the real customer benefit at least for
discrete automation. Your thoughts??
Digital fieldbuses are doing great things in discrete automation, but
the thing with FDT and EDDL is that there is some overhead in the
sensor. Many discrete sensors are small, inexpensive. The overhead in
adding these technologies (and even Ethernet networking) can make them
cost prohibitive... Read more
Managed Remote
Services
There's a market area
that keeps perking along under the covers called remote services. It
has gone by other names--M2M, pervasive Internet and probably more. Its
proponents keep calling me but seldom have direct manufacturing
applications, yet. The potential in manufacturing is interesting. At a
simplistic level of discussion, it involves embedding data collection
and communication into machines or devices that can be remotely
monitored by the OEM or supplier. The information can be used for
things such as troubleshooting, assistance in technical support and
feedback for future product development... Read
more
Fitness tip
A fitness tip from Slashdot ,
news for geeks??? Yes, it's true. And I agree. The article discusses
stretching before a workout or game. I had heard it was good to
stretch. Several years ago I was about to take a fitness (running) test
for my college referee certification and did a bunch of Yoga stretches
in preparation. Wrong thing to do. My muscles were shot for running.
Stretch after running, not before... Read
more
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