Feed Forward: MESA, Change, Manufacturing, Food Safety

Nov. 23, 2010
I'm sitting in the Swiss Air lounge in Zurich before continuing to Nuremberg and the SPS/Drives show. Yes, my life seems to be one airport lounge after another--well, not really.
{mosimage} MESA International, the association that promotes manufacturing enterprise solutions (MES or MOM), has elected a new slate of officers for 2011. You can read all the information at its blog. True to a promised change of direction when Rockwell Automation, Wonderware, GE Intelligent Platforms and Siemens entered the space, members from the user/integrator community are assuming more input and leadership.I hope that most everyone who reads this blog is a change agent. Have you run into obstacles or backlash from attempted changes? Feel lonely? Well, Michael Hyatt's recent blog post offered some suggestions to help you prevent or overcome backlash while effecting change.Lean guru Bill Waddell wonders if everyone's crazy these days. Instead of dealing with root causes to prevent complaints--or ignoring them by sending complainers through an endless overseas telephone loop, there is now a software application that helps companies "manage" complaints. Whatever that is.The GreenTech blog discusses a new food safety bill under consideration in the US Senate. If passed, could this be an opportunity for automation software providers?

Sponsored Recommendations

Why should American-Made Products be a top priority?

Within this white paper, Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar, founder of AVG Advanced Technologies, stresses the importance of prioritizing American-made products to safeguard the country'...

How to Improve Production Accountability in Manufacturing

David Greenfield, Automation World's Editor-in-Chief, and Shalli Kumar, founder of EZAutomation, discuss the idea of production monitors: a preprogrammed PLC/LED display that ...

HALT/HASS: The Ultimate Test for Reliability

Discover how companies like EZAutomation push the limits of reliability with HALT/HASS testing, originally designed to mimic the extreme conditions of space shuttle launches. ...

Your Next Production Monitor Is Only a Few Clicks Away

Shop for your very own EZ Production Monitor. It's designed for non-technical staff, so there's no programming required! It combines pre-coded firmware, real-time data, and WiFi...