MESA, Change, Manufacturing, Food Safety

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.

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?