Energy use per production output

Schneider Electric is next in the press conference agenda. It is showing its MES-type product, production energy optimizer. This is a management tool to help managers optimize energy use.

Automation Acquisitions and Useful Links

Yesterday, ABB announced its purchase of Baldor. That acquisition fits exactly with its stated directions--filling out its product line strategically (in this case more on the discrete than process side of automation), extending its product line into power and energy areas (efficient motors and variable frequency drives can reduce electric consumption significantly for a manufacturer) with the added bonus of giving ABB a significant distribution and sales channel in the US. I have maintained that this is the kind of acquisition ABB would make (arguing privately that acquiring Rockwell Automation makes no sense), but I'm kicking myself for not seeing that Baldor was the perfect fit.

On another note, I've been on SquareSpace for about a year now and decided to look at some ways to improve the site. I've changed themes trying for a little clarity and simplicity of appearance. There are a few things I still want to do when I get some spare time a little later.

I used to read Embedded Systems Programming magazine cover-to-cover and loved Jack Ganssle's columns on math. I just noticed his column on this Web site--and this is worth pondering. Is math essential for students? Some professor thinks not. You need certain amounts of math just to live economically in today's society. But more than that, I think math is a way of thinking. It teaches you a disciplined, logical approach to thought that is essential to a successful intellectual life. What do you think?

The new-age self-help gurus are all over setting goals. It's December, so it's goal-setting time for the new year. Except, when it's not. I've been through all those classes and lectures. I've come to share the outlook that Leo espouses in this essay about achieving without goals. Find your passion. Do it. Hmmm.

Michael Hyatt hit a trifecta of good posts in the last month or so. Here are some suggestions on clearing your desk, clearing your mind. Boy, do I need to do that. Why do leaders exist? Answer that in your mind, then check out his post. Something for you to focus on this coming year. Where are you most productive? Probably not in the office. I like going outside in the summer. Panera Bread. Even McDonalds. Watch the video, it's interesting. Oh, and watch out for those M&Ms (managers and meetings) that interfere with work.

Finally, here's a post from Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen on education. Great presentation on the need for connection and engagement in education. Watch the video, too. Then pass this around. I agree wholeheartedly with this one. Wish it could really get propagated.

Lies, Statistics and Analysis

I sort of remember a quote from somewhere that included the phrase, "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics." Just like you should only believe things on the Web from trusted sources, be careful of statistics. Especially as repored in the general press. They leave too much out in their pursuit of a number.

On the other hand, you get an item from the Associated Press in today's Dayton Daily News that says U.S. productivity dropped 0.9% in the second quarter. I guess (since I'm not told in the article) that that's an aggregate number for all businesses in the United States. We have all been taught that increasing productivity is the driver of prosperity.

So, this is bad news, right? Well, no. Some analysts believe that since we've had a stretch of increasing productivity, this number signals that employers can't wrench another ounce of producitivity from us. So, to increase output, businesses will have to begin hiring. That's good news--especially for all my friends and relatives searching for work.

Reminds me of a remark the pseudonomous Wall St. analyst "Adam Smith" said in a book I've long since forgotten the title of when referring to the common wisdom of "a wave of selling hit Wall St. today." His comeback--"for every seller there's a buyer." Hmm. Is the cup half full? Half empty? I'm thirsty.

Thinking, Lean and Productivity

Here's an article on Slashdot that talks about college students failing because of poor grammar. Do you know what the reason is for the importance of grammar? No, it has nothing to do with the anal retentive among you who do things right because you're supposed to do things right. Grammar is there to help refine thinking. If you think things through, apply logic, apply the rules of grammar for communicating those clear thoughts, then you stand a chance of communicating. Shorthand may work (may...) for texting, but when you're trying to communicate something important, you'd better think it through.

Another article from Evolving Excellence talks about the problem of hiring Lean consultants. They come in, do a crash study and then leave. Then a year later top management wonders why the numbers never improved like they were supposed to. I learned this lesson more than 30 years ago when I saw consultants swoop into the company I worked for, recommend a few things, collect a check and leave. And nothing really changed. The only true change is when you change the culture, really abosorb a continuous Lean way of life that values every person and embed the changes in the company DNA.

A third article I just found "Public Speaking Demands Productivity" talks about the waste of time attending a seminar presented poorly. It is a responsibility of speakers to respect the productivity of the audience.

Increase OEE

I met Dragan Filipovic, then at Kraft, at an event at Omron several years ago. He also spoke a few years ago at our Packaging Automation Forum. He always had a lot of ideas--maybe more than a big company could use. So, he's on his own now with a tool he says will help increase OEE by speeding changeover of machines. He says, "In the past year I invested a lot of effort to develop a new electronic tool/solution that will interactively guide an operator during machine changeover process. 'Changeover Tool' (COT-device) is a new and quite unique solution to notorious size-changeover challenge – it is sophisticated inside (very portable, wireless-ZigBee, battery operated, location-aware etc.), however very simple to deploy and use. 10 min operator training is enough to demonstrate 'extraordinary changeover skills' (even a novice operator that joined a company last week). In short, development is now finalized and I have commercial version that virtually eliminates operator’s changeover experience."