Improving maintenance in manufacturing
The digital universe is doubling in size every two years, growing from 4.4 trillion gigabytes in 2013 to 44 trillion in 2020. Enterprises have responsibility for around 85 percent of the data held in this digital universe, according to the EMC Digital Universe with research and Analysis by IDC report. Manufacturing plants are just one type of enterprise contributing to this data production, by choosing to collect process data in order to monitor machinery status. Here, Claudia Jarret, US country manager at automation parts supplier EU Automation, explains how plant engineers can make the most of this data and ensure their maintenance schedule benefits their plant. Manufacturers, faced with the constant pressure to keep up with customer demand while remaining flexible, are acutely aware of the threat of plant downtime. Caused by a multitude of factors, including machine failure, downtime can cost manufacturers up to $260,000 per hour, according to research by analyst firm Aberdeen Research. Therefore, preventative maintenance, where equipment is maintained before it breaks, is essential, rather than reactive maintenance, which focuses on fixing equipment following a breakdown. But for those in high volume, low margin industries such as food and beverage or automotive parts manufacturing, preventative maintenance may be wrongly seen as unattainable, due to perceived high upfront costs. Prevention The days of waiting for a system to fail due to overheating motors or leaking heat transfer systems, for example, are thankfully behind us. Plant managers now plan regular inspections, upgrades, and troubleshooting to avoid breakdowns. These simple steps are one way in which preventative maintenance can be carried out. But as Industry 4.0 technologies such as condition monitoring become more accessible, there are even smarter, more accurate, and less time-consuming methods available. Many manufacturing plants now use predictive maintenance, a sophisticated form of preventative maintenance, to establish how well equipment is functioning and accurately predict failures before they occur. Not only does this reduce the risk of downtime-causing breakdowns, but it can also mean any necessary replacement parts can be ordered and are in stock in case of equipment failures. In addition, monitoring the health of equipment can allow for gradual tweaks, where a huge overhaul would previously have been required for improvements. Alterations can improve the efficiency of processes, ultimately reducing costs by eliminating inefficient elements and increasing equipment lifespan through maintenance or replacement of wearing parts. Where to start The first step a plant manager should take when implementing any preventative maintenance schedule is to gather as much data as possible. Crucially, this should include an accurate estimate of the real cost of downtime to the particular plant in question. Collating data collected by smart sensors, sales figures, and retrofitted systems should allow you to take into account loss of sales, wasted products,s and the cost of emergency repairs, which can provide a useful baseline figure. Using their experience of the plant, maintenance engineers should also be involved to produce an ideal plan for the plant, including areas they believe will require higher levels of maintenance, such as older equipment or machinery that is inherently prone to breakdowns such as motors, turbines, or other moving parts. This plan can then be used alongside the budget to produce a realistic maintenance plan, including what level of preventative maintenance can be employed. For some manufacturers, this will mean regular equipment checks, such as once a month for a section of the plant, or daily for more volatile machinery. Data If true predictive maintenance is chosen, data such as temperature, pressure, and vibration are collected by sensors and will be continually integrated, stored, and analyzed. The next question for manufacturers is how to make the most of these valuable, but large, data sets. Once the data has been collected, the next step to make the most of its potential is to begin analysis. One popular option for data analysis is a cloud analytics service. Here, raw data is transmitted to the cloud, where it can both be stored and analyzed for trends that can predict an event including a breakdown. Many services also incorporate an alert system and warnings of impending breakdowns can be sent via a web portal, app, e-mail, or text message to relevant personnel. Other manufacturers, perhaps concerned about cybersecurity, the long-term stability of data stored in the cloud, or the lag between data collection and analysis, will choose to undertake the analysis of raw data in-house. Although this is often significantly more resource-heavy, it does give plant managers complete control over their data. Obsolescence Regardless of which system is implemented, predictive maintenance can be used to manage obsolescence, in addition to reducing downtime and improving process efficiency. This means parts can be ordered at the correct time to suit the maintenance schedule. Traditionally, manufacturers would have to keep a stock of parts that may need replacing, which take up valuable space on the plant floor that can instead be used for operations. Spare parts can also be bulky and produce a health and safety hazard, including trip or fire hazards if stored on the plant floor. Instead, manufacturers can choose to order replacement parts only when necessary, maximizing the space and resources they have available to them. With suppliers such as EU Automation able to ship obsolescent parts worldwide within 24 hours, there is now no need to store parts on-site or to suffer extended periods of downtime waiting for them to arrive. Preventative maintenance is essential for manufacturers to reduce downtime and the vast amounts of data now being produced by plants can be effectively used for predictive maintenance. When predictive maintenance is employed, the data collected can also be used for other purposes, such as increasing process efficiency and ensuring replacement parts are ordered in plenty of time. Therefore, proper collection and analysis of this data are essential to maximizing its potential and this will only become more important each year as the quantity of data increases.
JLT6012™ series – your first choice for high-end rugged Android and Windows based VMTs
Designed from the ground up for demanding warehousing and other logistics environments, the JLT6012™ series represents the next generation of rugged vehicle-mount computers (VMTs) for mobile IT solutions. With support for both the Windows™ and Android™ operating systems, flexibility and productivity have been the number-one priorities in every step of the development of the JLT6012 series. That takes everything into account – from outstanding computing performance, user-friendliness, and highest reliability to providing a versatile, future-proof platform for developing new hardware, software, and services for the needs of today and tomorrow. Thanks to their compact 12-inch form factor and wide range isolated power supply with an internal UPS battery, JLT6012 series computers can be used in virtually any type of logistics vehicle, electrical or combustion-powered, without the need for external adapters. This effectively makes power glitches and time-consuming reboots a thing of the past. State-of-the-art wireless technology ensures reliable connectivity in less-than-optimal conditions. The intuitive touchscreen is simple to use, even when wearing gloves. What is more, JLT PowerTouch™ display technology makes the screens almost indestructible, overcoming the most common failure point for rugged computers. Other wear and tear-prone components can easily be serviced, and software in the computer can be upgraded remotely – all to avoid downtime.
viisights welcomes new VP of Global Marketing
viisights, Inc., the innovator in behavioral recognition systems for real-time video intelligence, announces the appointment of Ronen Sadan as Vice President of Marketing. Ronen brings extensive leadership experience in marketing and product management for established and start-up technology companies, including NovelSat, Siano Mobile, and Intel Corporation. In those roles, he demonstrated success in defining and bringing new products to market and managing strategic accounts. Before joining viisights, Ronen most recently served as VP Marketing at VideoFlow, an Israel-based developer of cloud-based software, for reliable real-time video broadcasting over any IP network. In that capacity, Ronen led VideoFlow’s global marketing and technology partnerships activities. Ronen holds a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Technion-Macho Technology Le’Israel and an MBA in Marketing from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya). His technical expertise encompasses communication networks, mobile, and digital TV. “Ronen has solid technical and marketing experience, with specific expertise in the area of the video communications market,” said Asaf Birenzvieg, viisights CEO. “We are delighted to have a leader of his caliber help advance our mission of leveraging artificial intelligence technology to create safer physical and virtual public areas.”
EP 238: Coros
On this episode, I was joined by the CEO of Coros, Martin Hitch. Coros is bringing visibility to the supply chain to help with the accuracy of package loading and scanning. We discuss the idea of Coros, how it works and how it is helping companies deal with supply chain issues. Key Takeaways Coros provides a set of cameras that has the ability to scan packages at a high-speed rate. The device is placed at your dock door so all packages are scanned as they enter the truck. This helps to ensure that no packages are missed and then allows you to properly ensure the truck is loaded with the correct amount of packages. The data that is generated allows you to audit and easily figure out which package is missing from the load if any. This drastically reduces the amount of time that would typically be spent looking for gaps in the loading process. The idea for Coros came from the idea of utilizing vision systems that are used for other applications. Looking at the distribution process, Coros decided that the loading process would be a great place to start. Throughout the iterations, they have taken the scanning process from inside the truck to just outside of the truck for the most optimized position. A very interesting note is that they created a pick-to-light system within a delivery truck in one iteration of their solution. This is extremely creative and I was really interested in hearing about this. Due to Coros tackling the repetitive task of scanning packages, it is helping to create a new way to address the labor shortage issue. The scanning of packages being automated frees up the person that would typically be in that role to do something more value-added. It also helps reduce the time spent on utilizing a person to determine what is missing from loads. As Coros continues to develop they will start to bring this helpful automation beyond the dock doors. Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 238: Coros
Past 90 days sees the largest streak in Manufacturing Technology Orders in over 23 years
New orders of manufacturing technology totaled $571.5 million in October 2021, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. October orders declined 3.6% from September 2021 but increased by 50.2% over October 2020. Total orders in 2021 nearly reached $4.7 billion, a 53% increase over 2020. The three consecutive months ending in October totaled $1.7 billion, the largest three-month total since April 1998. “The manufacturing technology market is flourishing in the current economic environment. Unfortunately, the impact on the bottom line isn’t as significant,” said Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT. “Our members are caught between higher material, component, and transportation costs and a customer base that is resisting price increases. This is an issue that will only grow worse if Federal Reserve actions this winter lead to higher interest rates. I believe it would be counterproductive to tighten monetary policies and raise the cost of expanding capacity at a time when our nation is experiencing an unparalleled supply chain disruption.” The U.S. manufacturing technology market growth rate of 53% over 2020 levels is outstanding. It is particularly exciting because the critical component producers and industries hit hard by offshoring in the 1990s are driving this expansion through dramatic investments to expand U.S.-based capacity. These industries increased capital expenditure investment by multiples of previous years, far exceeding October’s market mean of 53%. The current level of manufacturing technology orders signals a start of manufacturers reinvesting in American-based production and strengthening of U.S. manufacturers’ supply chains.
EP 236: ProGlove and the MARK Display
In this episode, I was joined by Ilhan Kolko of ProGlove. Ilhan is the Chief Product Officer and President of North America at ProGlove. I had the pleasure of catching up with him after playing around with my own demo MARK Display. We discussed the device, how ProGlove has found such success and what’s in store for the future. You can also read my thoughts on the ProGlove MARK Display below. Key Takeaways ProGlove is focused on helping workers take advantage of Industry 4.0 and utilize these technologies to empower them and make their lives easier. Their main product is the ProGlove scanner which comes in a few different variations and allows workers to be totally hands-free when it comes to scanning barcodes. The device itself is mounted into a hand sleeve that conforms to your hand and allows you to move freely. With this technology, you can truly be hands-free because there is no need to consistently reference a device or use a hand to pull a trigger on a scanner. The trigger itself is built right in the sleeve and is done by squeezing your thumb against your index finger. The product has developed in such a great way due to the focus on this being their core product and consistently striving for perfection. Initially, ProGlove was conceived by a group of engineers who wanted to eliminate efficiencies for workers who have to scan to complete their jobs. They took a human-focused approach and really pushed that forward into developing the ProGlove device which completely improves the human experience of scanning. The overall numbers are targeted to help reduce scanning times of 4 to 6 seconds which multiplied over several thousand scans a day is a huge saving. However, the time outside of the scan time is really the big savings that I see. If you look at the relationship a worker has with their device like an RF gun-style scanner there is a constant need to touch that device. Not only are they touching it and using it to scan but there are moments when they forget what location they should be at or they get distracted and now have to pick the device back up to reference. With the MARK Display version of ProGlove, everything they need is right there on their hand so they are eliminating all that other time that is consumed referencing the device as well as scanning. On the back end, there is also a robust software platform that can help you understand the analytics that the device is generating. Ilhan explains all of the different ways that this can be utilized. It is able to understand movements and even proximity to other workers. This data can then be translated into a BI system and utilized to understand the performance of scanning as well as other metrics. Additionally, the proximity alerts are helpful in understanding where you may have congestion or where you may have issues regarding social distancing. Not only will it alert management but it can also give a special alert to the worker right on the device itself. Listen to the episode below and then watch the video to see my experience with the ProGlove MARK Display. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 236: ProGlove and the MARK Display
Seeq announces Industrial Digitalization Agreement with Aramco
Deployment of Seeq software will expand production insights to support data-based decisions at Aramco Seeq Corporation, a provider of manufacturing and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) advanced analytics software, has reached an agreement with Saudi Aramco to further expand its operational analytics strategy as part of the company’s ongoing Digital Transformation program. The agreement will provide Saudi Aramco engineers and subject matter experts with Seeq’s self-service analytics, predictive modeling data analytics, and visualization tools. Examples of how Seeq software can be used at Aramco include: Automating error detection in multi-phase measurements Catalyst deactivation rate prediction Coking prediction Corrosion rate analysis Automated monitoring of Oilfield Advanced Process Control Fleet-wide asset monitoring Operationalizing predictive analytics models for sustainability insights “Seeq is empowering our engineers and subject matter experts with easy-to-use analytics tools to truly democratize data science. We see this as a key element for scaling operational analytics across the organization,” says Walid A. Al-Naeem, Manager of Process & Control Systems Department, Saudi Aramco. “We are pleased to partner with Crucial Solutions & Services (CSS) to collaborate on Aramco’s industrial digitalization initiatives,” adds Lisa Graham, CEO of Seeq. “We will do this by leveraging big data, machine learning, and computer science innovations.” “Seeq will help Saudi Aramco reach new levels of process efficiency, production optimization, and interdisciplinary collaboration,” comments Sulaiman Alzuhair, General Manager and Founder of CSS. “We look forward to working closely with Aramco and Seeq.” Seeq recently announced the closure of a $50 million Series C funding round, led by global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners, including participation from existing investors Altira Group, Chevron Technology Ventures, Cisco Investments, and Aramco Ventures. The round brought Seeq’s total funding since inception in 2013 to approximately $115 million. In addition to distribution through CSS within the Gulf Cooperation Council, Seeq is available worldwide through a partner network of system integrators, which provides training and resale support for Seeq in over 25 countries, augmenting its direct sales organization in North America and Europe.
Tecsys’ multi-channel retailers outperform their single channel retailers by 40x over Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend
Pivotal weekend proves to be the largest on record ever for Tecsys retailers, with key data revealing that brands operating omnichannel fulfillment far outperform single-channel retailers Tecsys Inc., a supply chain management and omnichannel commerce software company, has provided global performance metrics for the four-day 2021 Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend. Despite the softening of the BFCM weekend spike, retailers fulfilling orders with Tecsys’ omnichannel order management platform outperformed last year across two key measures: year-over-year order volume increased by 21%, and order revenue increased year-over-year by 32%. Performance across Tecsys retailers over the BFCM weekend underscores the critical role of omnichannel digital commerce, with 98% of revenue coming from retailers operating more than a single fulfillment channel. Those multi-channel retailers averaged nearly 102,000 orders per brand, far exceeding the 2,400 orders per brand averaged by single-channel retailers, representing a 40x volume of orders for those retailers. “Retail continues to be fluid, but carries with it one constant; the digitally empowered consumer,” says Guy Courtin, vice president and industry principal for Retail at Tecsys. “This consumer expects more from her relationship with retailers and brands. What COVID has highlighted is that retailers that are unable to leverage their entire fulfillment network to meet her needs are at a competitive disadvantage.” Within that omnichannel matrix are sharp demand spikes and cyclical transaction volatility that require system functionality to manage peak order ingestion without disruption. As noted by gaming giant Ubisoft’s worldwide IT director, “Our players expect nothing less than a completely smooth and easy buyer journey. It is paramount to ensure retail transactions are processed accurately and quickly, not to mention invisibly to the buyer, so that their user experience is both positive and authentic to the Ubisoft brand.” “Operational agility and resiliency have become the cornerstones of success for every retailer, supply chain organization, and enabling software company,” adds Courtin. “Over the course of the weekend, Tecsys and its retailers set a series of new records, from peak order processing to order ingestion volume, proving that a platform that scales and adapts to a shifting retail ecosystem is a crucial tool for retailers to succeed in the current landscape.” Black Friday/Cyber Monday by the Numbers Globally, the average BFCM basket was $95 CAD. Canadian consumers spent the most per order at $202 CAD, ahead of S. consumers at $124 CAD per order, and U.K. consumers at $106 CAD per order. Europe ($100 CAD), the Middle East, and New Zealand (both $94 CAD) round out the highest average shopping carts globally. Footwear and Apparel and Health and Beauty represent the two retail categories with the greatest volume of orders and highest total revenue; however, they hold the second and fourth position for average order value at $186 CAD and $122 CAD respectively; edging them out is the Sporting Goods and Outdoor Equipment retail category, posting an average shopping cart value of $213 CAD, with Home and Garden climbing up slightly from last year to $146 CAD. Multinational retailers averaged $31 million CAD each in revenue over the weekend, represented by an average of 286,000 orders each over the same period; this is compared with an average $8.5 million CAD each across all retailers. Overall, Tecsys customers saw a 32% increase in year-over-year revenue per brand on the Tecsys platform. Peak order volume was reached on Friday, November 26 at 5 PM UTC. This peak represented a modest 4% increase over last year’s peak order volume. The most popular time to shop over BFCM weekend was 4 PM UTC. Courtin continues, “While we see several similarities in order volumes year over year, consumers are tending to spend more per order in the Home and Garden category on average as compared to last year; this trend could be attributed to consumers rebounding from supply chain issues in the lumber industry. Meanwhile, similar to last year, we are seeing relatively large basket sizes in the Sporting Goods and Outdoor Equipment category, which may be a sign that consumers are more willing to purchase big-ticket items online that have historically been purchased in-store, perhaps reflecting the increasing ease of the omnichannel experience, including faster fulfillment and more frictionless returns.”
EP 235: Procensis Solution Center visit
On this episode, I was hosted by Ed Kennedy at the Procensis Solution Center. Ed is the President and Founder of Procensis which is focused on bringing you solutions that will turn your workers into warehouse superheroes. We discuss the current labor shortage, Procensis beginnings, and the growth they are experiencing. Key Takeaways Procensis is focused on bringing solutions to your warehouse in order to turn them into superheroes. They do this by combining the latest technology in mobile computing and scanning to bring the best-tailored solution for your operation. Ed founded the company with their CTO who recognized that they could bring extreme value to companies by focusing on improving the worker experience. Combined with the latest hardware, they are providing solutions on the software and platform side as well. From the software perspective, they are able to strip down and simplify your screens so that employees are only seeing the necessary information. It is no secret that there is a labor shortage in our industry and that many are feeling the pain. The key right now is to figure how to attract talent and then retain them. Ed makes some great points about the importance that technology can play in retaining employees. Making their job easier and allowing them to be more productive can help them enjoy the job more and make them stay longer. He even references a story that Procensis experienced recently where employee retention was actually more important to the company than ROI. Implementing the right technology to empower your employees is the best way to see your operation improve. We recorded this episode from the Procensis Solution Center but Procensis is rapidly expanding and will be upgrading to the Procensis Solution Center 2.0 which will have all different unique setups so they can give you the best demo possible. How they have been able to adapt to give remote demos is truly incredible and I encourage you to get one from them. Very interested to see and share with you the next version of their solution center when it opens up. Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 235: Procensis Solution Center Visit
EP 234: Zebra Technologies and Fetch Robotics
In this episode, I was joined by Jim Lawton of Zebra Technologies. Jim is the Vice President and General Manager of Robotics Automation at Zebra Technologies and has a long career of being involved in the robotics world. We discuss Zebra’s recent acquisition of Fetch Robotics, their new solutions for fulfillment, and the current state of robotics. Key Takeaways Zebra Technologies has always been involved in the automation and robotics world but they took a step into the next evolution by recently acquiring Fetch Robotics. They had previously invested in and partnered with a Fetch on a few different initiatives so it only makes sense that they took the path of acquiring them. As Jim discusses, what Fetch adds to the overall Zebra solution suite is the ability to address the travel time issue for the fulfillment space. Zebra had already been addressing the issues of inefficiencies companies were experiencing without handheld technology but now they can address the additional inefficiency of the walking and travel time operators are doing. Even though they just recently acquired Fetch, they have gotten right to work on new solutions. Jim tells us about the FlexShelf, FlexShelf Guide, and RollerTop Guide which all work together to provide an all-encompassing fulfillment solution. With these new solutions coupled together with Zebra’s handheld technology, they are able to truly make the entire fulfillment process more efficient. The FlexShelf allows for increased capacity of each robot by increasing the number of bins that items can be picked too. Paired with the FlexShelf Guide which is a touch screen onboard the robot, it allows the work to happen right at the robot and really increases productivity. For those utilizing conveyors, the RollerTop Guide allows the robot to sync right up and transfer the bin directly onto the conveyor reducing the need for human interaction to make the transfer. Jim threw out a really amazing stat at the beginning of the episode that less than 5% of warehouses are automated. With this being said, there is a huge opportunity for companies to take on automation and robotics projects to help improve their overall process flows. We discuss how the pandemic has driven consumers to rely more on e-commerce than ever before and is putting a huge workload on warehouses and fulfillment centers. Due to this increase in demand, Jim is seeing rapid growth and adoption of robotics to help companies keep up. We can only imagine how quickly warehouses will keep automating in the next few years. Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 234: Zebra Technologies and Fetch Robotics
Seeq appoints Dr. Lisa J. Graham as Chief Executive Officer and announces changes to Board of Directors
Graham brings more than 20 years of process industry experience, along with demonstrated success driving growth and innovation at Seeq Seeq Corporation, a provider in manufacturing and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) advanced analytics software, has announced that the company’s board of directors has appointed former chief operating officer Dr. Lisa J. Graham, PE as chief executive officer, effective immediately. Former CEO and co-founder Steve Sliwa will remain at Seeq in an advisory role as vice chairman and co-founder. Seeq also appointed Ashley Kramer to the company’s board of directors. Leveraging Dr. Graham’s experience driving innovation in the process industries and with IIoT-focused organizations, she will focus on reinforcing a strong culture, while rapidly scaling the organization to achieve growth and revenue goals. Graham previously served as COO and VP of Analytics Engineering at Seeq, where she played an instrumental role in executing the company’s vision to fuel the digital transformation of the process industries. This required empowering Seeq’s customers to bridge the gap between their operational technology and information technology teams through the use of easy-to-use, advanced analytics applications. Prior to joining Seeq, Graham served as CEO and founder of Alkemy Innovation, an engineering services company. She also served as COO and SVP at Bend Research, now part of Lonza. “We recognize that this is a crucial time in Seeq’s evolution, and the board of directors strongly believes that Lisa’s combination of skills will take Seeq to the next level,” says Pete Higgins, founding partner of Second Avenue Partners and chairman of Seeq’s board of directors. “She has made supporting and growing this organization and its people her daily focus since coming to Seeq, and we look forward to supporting her passion and focus as we embark on this next chapter.” In 2021, Seeq experienced significant growth, including the announcement of a $50 million Series C funding round, recognition from Frost & Sullivan’s 2021 North American Technology Innovation Leadership Award for Seeq Data Lab, and the expansion of its products and capabilities—providing Graham with significant momentum. “I am honored to step into the role of CEO at such a pivotal time in our company’s growth,” says Dr. Graham. “I look forward to working with the Seeq team and its board of directors to continue accelerating our business growth while delivering great value to every one of our customers.” The board of directors will work alongside Sliwa and Graham to ensure a smooth and successful transition. “The board would like to thank Steve for his leadership in building an outstanding team, developing market-leading technology, and exceeding our growth goals over the last eight years,” says Higgins. “We look forward to his continued involvement in guiding the future of our company as vice chairman of the board.” In parallel, Ashley Kramer has been named to the board of directors, bringing more than 15 years of experience to Seeq, gained during scaling of hypergrowth companies. Kramer serves as the chief product officer and chief marketing officer at Sisense where she is responsible for leading its go-to-market and product strategy, brand awareness, and revenue growth. Previously, she held positions as senior vice president of product for Alteryx, where she drove the company’s transformation to a data science platform, and global head of cloud for Tableau, where she built the company’s fastest-growing and only SaaS product from the ground up. “Ashley has an impressive track record and we’re eager to have her join the board,” says Higgins. “Her expertise in big data technology platforms and product strategy will be invaluable to our board as we continue to grow and scale our business.” “I am passionate about data and analytics, and particularly enjoy working with companies like Seeq that enable organizations to easily leverage analytics applications to improve their business outcomes,” says Kramer. “I look forward to bringing a new perspective to the board and joining Seeq on their growth journey.”
Ransomware Readiness and Recovery –Eight Do’s and Don’ts
There were seven people seated around the table: The CEO, the VP, the CFO, the Special Agent from the FBI, the owner, the forensics technician, and the company’s CISO (Chief Information Security Officer). “Don’t pay” was the CEO’s vote. Same for the VP. “Pay it” was the owner’s response. The CFO nodded in agreement. “Paying could be a violation of Federal law” stated the FBI representative. The CISO had a hard time getting words out, as this was the largest ransom that he had dealt with at the time. $1,200,000 was a lot of money. “I don’t see another option given the status of our backups. Either we pay the ransom or we begin liquidating the assets of the company as soon as possible. Which is the lesser of two evils?” The CISO negotiated the ransom down to $410,000. The Bitcoin took several hours to amass. The cybercriminals delivered a decryption key, but 30% of the company’s data was gone forever — some of their hard drives filled up during the ransomware encryption process, and the encryption software kept running after the drives couldn’t hold any more data. Every file encrypted after that point was irretrievable. The total recovery took three months to ensure that no backdoors were left in the company’s systems, and the lawsuit to get the insurance company to cover the incident lasted almost two years. Stopping ransomware includes three key areas: Cybersecurity hygiene of your employees, proper practices by your IT department, and your data backup strategy. Here are eight ways to prevent a ransomware attack, and eight ways to recover from an attack if you fall victim to one: Ransomware Defenses to Help Prevent Attacks: Add Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all of your company’s email accounts and on all external access to your network (VPN, TeamViewer, WebEx, etc.). This will help prevent a cybercriminal from taking over an email account using a compromised username/password. If your company uses Windows Active Directory, do NOT log in to computers with Domain Admin accounts. There is an attack called “Pass the Hash” that will steal encrypted (hashed) credentials left behind. If you must log in with a Domain Admin account, change the password. Patch your PCs. Workstations and servers. Every month. No exceptions. That includes conference room PCs, loaner PCs, HVAC computers, etc. Patch your networking gear. Firewalls, switches, UPSs, phone systems, etc. Install good antivirus software everywhere. All PCs. All Macs. All servers. Everywhere. Geofilter your Internet traffic and emails – if you don’t do business with a foreign country, block traffic and emails to/from it. It keeps out lazy cybercriminals. No, it won’t keep out the cybercriminals that VPN into your country before attacking you, but it’s surprising how many cybercriminals don’t take the time to do that. If you are part of a company with many workstations, use the Microsoft Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) to randomize the local administrator password on all PCs. If you have the same initial local admin username/password for every workstation, then if one machine gets compromised, it’s very easy for them to all get compromised. If your users have local admin credentials, you may want to rethink that. Today. Right now. If a cybercriminal compromises a computer, they normally inherit the permissions of the user for that computer. If that user is a local administrator, the bad guys are going to use that access to do more damage. In case you fall victim to ransomware, you need the following. Please note that most of these need to be done before the attack takes place: OFFLINE backups. These are backups that are kept off of your network. Cybercriminals try to delete your backups. If your backups are not on your network, the bad guys can’t destroy them. Tested restore procedures. If you try to restore your backups only when you need them, you are rolling the dice every time you are in a real bind. Offline restore methodology. Don’t begin a restore with your network still attached to the Internet. Ransomware cases often unfold where the cybercriminals still have hooks into a company’s network, and they destroy the used-to-be-offline backups as soon as the restore process begins. Workstation reimages. You need a clean workstation image to restore workstations quickly if you suspect they have been compromised. Server rebuilds. You need a clean server image to recreate your servers quickly. Pre-negotiated incident response team contract. Find a cyber incident response company and get a contract in place. That way you will know how to “call in the cavalry” very quickly as opposed to going through contract negotiations in the middle of a crisis. 35% free drive space on all network drives. Ransomware often bloats the data on the drives it encrypts. As soon as a drive fills up, the encryption process will keep trying to move forward, but every file it encrypts after the drive is full will be unrecoverable. If you have cybersecurity liability insurance, call your insurance company ASAP! There are many stories of insurance policies with a clause stating that the customer must inform their insurance company of a suspected incident within 24 hours of the initial discovery. If they take a few days to confirm that the incident was real, it can be an expensive mistake. If all companies followed the specific recommendations above, ransomware cybercriminals would become a thing of the past. With proactive action and a good cybersecurity awareness training program for your employees, cybercrime is a solvable problem! About the Author: Bryce Austin the CEO of TCE Strategy, an internationally-recognized professional speaker on technology and cybersecurity issues, and author of the book “Secure Enough? 20 Questions on Cybersecurity for Business Owners and Executives”. He is the named Chief Information Security Officer for companies ranging from 40 employees to S&P 500 organizations. Bryce actively advises companies on effective methods to mitigate cyber threats. For more information, please visit www.BryceAustin.com.
September 2021 Manufacturing Technology orders total $590 million
Orders of new manufacturing technology totaled $590 million in September 2021, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This was a 9% increase over August 2021 orders and nearly a 60% increase over September 2020. Year-to-date orders in 2021 totaled $4.115 billion, a 53% increase over the total through the first nine months of 2020. “It took 31 months after the bottom of the 2008-2009 financial crisis to have a single month with half a billion dollars in orders, but September is the third month of 2021 exceeding that mark,” said Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT. “Economists project the United States is past peak growth, yet machine orders remain at a record pace to meet remaining consumer and producer demands.” Machine shops, which consistently represent the largest share of new orders, pulled back nearly 7% from August 2021 levels. “Machine shop orders usually dictate the direction of the month,” said Woods. “September 2021 was an exception to that trend, which highlights the breadth of the recovery across manufacturing sectors.” After machine shops, the engine, turbine, and power generation sectors had the largest share of orders in September 2021 and their highest monthly value since December 2011. Research indicates these outsized investments are the result of efforts to increase power grid resilience after a year that saw extreme weather test its durability.
Global Shop Solutions names John Davis Chief Technology Officer
Global Shop Solutions, a developer of ERP software for manufacturers around the world, has named John Davis as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Davis joined Global Shop Solutions in 2004, and over the past 17 years has served the company in many different capacities including analyst, programmer, and management. Most recently he led the R&D Infrastructure Team, and his excellent programming, networking, and all-around technical knowledge have played a critical role in shaping the company’s ERP software product. “John has been instrumental in leading Global Shop Solutions technical strategy so our customers can take advantage of the benefits IoT brings to the manufacturing industry,” says Erika Klein, VP of R&D. “As CTO he will define the standards for the technical excellence we hold ourselves to.” An experienced systems analyst in the computer software industry, Davis combines strong Visual Basic, Object-Oriented Design, SQL, Perl, and C++ skills with a background in Computer Resource and Instructional Planning. He received his degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Computer Science, Business Information Systems, and Instructional Technology from Utah State University. “A great leader and coach for our developers, John will be responsible for raising the skill set of all our developers by mentoring and challenging them,” adds Klein. “He will determine which technologies drive our product and develop our feature roadmap for the years to come.”
EP 225: SOTI and the Domino Effect
In this episode, I reconnected with Shash Anand of SOTI. Shash is the VP of Product Strategy at SOTI and was previously on the show at the beginning of the year. We reconnected to discuss their T&L report, some domino effects in the supply chain, returns, and some predictions for what the supply chain will look like at the end of 2022. Key Takeaways SOTI is known for its mobile device management platform that helps companies keep track of all of their devices as well as allows companies to be able to troubleshoot and update them remotely. Shash shares with us some of the other things SOTI such as helping companies to build apps that will help streamline their operation. They have an app-building program that users can easily drag and drop to create their own apps. This is a great way to easily create new efficiencies in your operation because it allows you to get rid of paper and it is not difficult to create. Shash shares a great example of this and explains how SOTI utilized the app platform to create a better new employee onboarding experience. The T&L report focuses on the transportation and logistics (T&L) industry and looks at different aspects of the business. We discuss the most recent one and how the results show that there are some significant domino effects of the pandemic in the supply chain. One of the stats that really stood out to me was the staggering number of people who said that their company experiences delays due to their technical issues. It always surprises me when companies are not willing to invest in their technology to help improve their processes but then have large issues down the road. It is very important to make sure that you invest in your technology and stay up to date so you can stay as efficient as possible. Another domino effect is the large amount of return volume that is circulating through the supply chain. Due to the large number of e-commerce orders being driven by everyone staying at home and now staying due to consumer behavior, returns are being produced at an even larger amount than before. Companies are looking for ways to streamline the process of returns and are accepting the fact that customers will return items. Instead of trying to discourage returns, they are embracing them instead with programs that allow you to try multiple sizes and expedite the return process. I have seen some new, very easy-to-use return processes from online retailers and I hope that continues to grow. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 225: SOTI and the Domino Effect
GridRaster’s Latest Industry Study shows larger Productivity Gains and Cost Efficiencies through AR/VR Technologies
Manufacturers Leveraging AR/VR for Training, Maintenance, Design, and Production GridRaster Inc., a provider of cloud-based Extended Reality (XR) platforms that power high-performance and scalable Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR)/Mixed Reality (MR) experiences for enterprises, has announced the highlights from its latest study on how organizations are implementing mixed reality technologies for their organizations. The implementation of mixed reality technologies continues to grow among enterprises, and according to GridRaster’s latest online survey of more than 250 respondents, a growing number of enterprises are beginning to see gains in efficiency and cost reductions. Forty-one percent of organizations now say they’ve implemented some form of AR/VR into their organization’s strategy, and another 81% say they either have plans to implement it in the next year or are starting to research the potential it could have on their business. Sixty-seven percent of organizations say they need AR/VR technologies to help with AR-assisted virtual maintenance and customer service visits; another 63% said they need AR/VR employee training programs; 60% said they are looking for remote collaboration through mixed reality technologies. These numbers are reinforced by a recent report from a research firm, IDC, which showed that 51% of respondents1 in their recent study said that their company had already seen a measurable return on their investment when it came to using AR for employee training and knowledge transfer. Thirty percent of business leaders say they have started to see healthy gains in overall manufacturing production because of their AR/VR implementations, and another 30% said they’re beginning to see minor gains. In terms of realizing cost savings, 30% said they’ve started to see noticeable cost reductions over the last 12 months. The gains are up from a year ago when 15% of businesses reported increases in productivity and 10% of businesses reported seeing noticeable cost reductions as a result of their AR/VR implementations. “Currently in 2021, AR/VR, as well as mixed reality and extended reality technologies, are significantly impacting corporate enterprises and manufacturers in a multitude of ways,” said Rishi Ranjan, CEO of GridRaster. “As the software becomes more widely available and organizations implement virtual solutions with hardware costs continuing to fall, companies across all industries will integrate and deploy these technologies into their daily operations for greater productivity and a reduction in overall costs.”
Invixium launches powerful suite of healthy access features with IXM Mobile
Invixium Develops New Mobile Platform with Sub-Apps for Remote Face Enrollment, Mobile Credentials, Digital Attestation Questionnaire, and Vital Signs Screening for Employees and Visitors Invixium, a manufacturer of innovative touchless biometrics, is broadening its offerings through IXM Mobile, a smartphone app with features designed for healthy access. This new mobile platform extends the company’s flagship solution, IXM TITAN, and enterprise-grade software, IXM WEB. The mobile app will provide end-users with groundbreaking features to enhance their biometric security system for staff and visitors. As the pandemic evolves, enterprises continue to invest in long-term solutions to satisfy the needs of staff and visitors and persisting government guidance for mask-wearing and temperature screening. Invixium has led the market in healthy access solutions since the introduction of IXM TITAN Enhancement Kit and face recognition while wearing a mask. The launch of IXM Mobile marks the next step in the company’s forward-thinking strategy to create modern solutions that solve real-world problems. Designed for use with TITAN, IXM Mobile offers five licensed features: remote face enrollment, digital card or QR code as contactless credentials, a custom attestation questionnaire, and vital signs screening. IXM Mobile is built with usability and convenience in mind to transform access control to be more user-friendly. IXM Mobile’s core philosophy is a seamless user experience with a light and dark theme and responsive interface. With face enrollment via IXM Mobile, employees will no longer need to enroll for face recognition on-site, significantly speeding up the process of staff or contractor enrollment. Remote face enrollment enables IXM Mobile to generate a biometric template using Invixium’s face enrollment algorithm for use with TITAN. The app will then securely transfer each individual’s biometric template to IXM WEB, Invixium’s enterprise-grade software. The administrator can then assign the template to specific doors or devices for access control or workforce management. Invixium will offer two mobile credential options for fast, convenient, and touchless use with TITAN. Businesses can now choose between dynamic QR codes or digital card for each staff member, visitor, contractor, and more. Harnessing the power of Bluetooth technology, the app hosts each person’s mobile credential for contactless, smartphone-based authentication. To gain access or track time, an individual presents their phone to TITAN. Businesses can use mobile credentials for multi-factor authentication along with biometrics, no-mask detection, and temperature screening for increased security. Through IXM Mobile, Invixium now provides businesses with a digital attestation questionnaire for health screening, disclaimers, and more for staff and visitors to answer essential questions from the comfort of home. When complete, the mobile questionnaire generates a QR code that TITAN reads and uses to grant or deny access. If a person does not have a QR code due to a dead phone battery or any other reason, they can complete attestation directly on TITAN via voice commands on arrival. Each person’s answers can be kept on file for accurate, easy record-keeping through the licensed software IXM Health Standard, which also includes temperature screening. Within the software, administrators can customize their attestation questionnaire as an added benefit for additional safety use cases. “We’ve taken something incredibly complex and made it simple,” said Shiraz Kapadia, CEO & President at Invixium. “IXM Mobile is easy to use because we have engineered a way to make very complicated processes accessible from anywhere. Combine the app’s user-friendly features with TITAN, and we have made it incredibly easy for businesses to continue protecting staff and visitor health by allowing them to use a single device for all of their healthy access needs.” The hallmark feature of IXM Mobile is remote vital signs screening, which adds another critical layer to employee and visitor wellness screening. Through IXM Mobile and each person’s smartphone camera, Invixium’s healthy access solution can screen a person’s heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiration rate, stress level, and heart rate variability, which are potential indicators of illness. After completing this screening, the app generates a QR code that TITAN reads to grant or deny access based on the workplace’s custom access rules. If a person cannot access their QR code due to a dead phone battery or otherwise, vital signs screening can be completed directly on TITAN in addition to temperature screening and no-mask detection. Vital signs screening is the defining feature of IXM Health Premium, the expanded version of IXM Health Standard, which also includes temperature screening and attestation. “Touchless vital signs screening is a technology that is revolutionary for our industry,” continued Kapadia. “Now, businesses can be double-sure that employees are physically and mentally fit for work upon arrival through fast, automated temperature and vital signs screening. This powerful feature will change the way we work in a very positive way so businesses can better protect their workplaces.” The company will commence general release on October 28th. IXM Mobile is free to download from the Apple App and Google Play stores. Enterprises will need to purchase a license to enable each sub-app for its staff or visitors.
Softeon identifies market opportunities for 3PLs offering distributed order management solutions
Softeon, a global supply chain software provider with the industry’s best track record of customer success, has identified a number of opportunities for third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to leverage Distributed Order Management (DOM) software to drive revenue opportunities and create market differentiation. Softeon’s VP of Client Services, Satish Kumar, and Chief Marketing Officer, Dan Gilmore, shared those insights on a recent webinar in partnership with the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA). Softeon is the leading provider of supply chain software, including DOM and WMS to the 3PL sector. Softeon’s Distributed Order Management system is a powerful platform that enables 3PLs to offer services such as the following: Advanced Order Management – far beyond basic order entry. This includes such capabilities as backorder management, subscriptions, new product introduction, virtual kits, inventory allocation, order scaling, and vendor drop shipping. Integration with Virtual Marketplace Platforms – such as Shopify, Amazon, Channel Advisors, BigCommerce, Salesforce, and many others. Optimal Order Routing Capabilities – providing clients a sophisticated platform to define order sourcing rules and execute them dynamically. The DOM easily supports strategies such as “pop-up” DCs – just one of many examples. Inventory Balancing Services – especially for 3PLs operating “hub and spoke” networks, with DOM optimally determining how inventory received at hubs should be distributed across the “spoke” network, based on a variety of factors. Returns Processing – allowing 3PLs to create customer RMA’s and send a return label to a customer or enable customer self-service. “Distributed Order Management can allow 3PLs to move beyond highly competitive, low-margin pick, pack, and ship offerings to offer a higher level of differentiated services,” says Softeon’s Kumar. Softeon finds that DOM can also be used to improve the efficiency and profitability of traditional order management functions, including faster on-boarding of new clients, significantly reducing the number of times each order must be touched, and providing a single source of the truth. “We have seen a substantial increase in inquiries from 3PLs on DOM, sometimes stand-alone, sometimes with WMS,” Kumar added, saying “DOM is becoming a ‘must-have’ for growth-focused 3PLs in terms of fulfillment services.” An on-demand version of the webinar can be found here.
MHS Lift launches unique customer Web Portal to streamline service & repairs
MHS Lift, Inc., an award-winning, nationally recognized material handling equipment company, recently launched a brand-new, completely custom service web portal and mobile application that allows customers to stay up to date throughout every step of the service and repair cycle. My Fleet 365 provides a unique, seamless experience for service and repairs. Customers can use the app to place service orders by scanning a QR code on a forklift and then managing and track orders right from their mobile device. My Fleet 365 works intuitively with MHS Lift’s service database, granting customers access to all their company’s information 24/7, 365 days a year. “With the goal of creating a portal that was seamlessly integrated with all of the information we have available, we brainstormed, researched, and implemented features that we feel each customer would want to know at every step of the service and repair cycle – regardless of the size of the business,” says Andy Levin, President, MHS Lift. “And we want our customers to hold us accountable because we stand by our amazing service. That’s why customers can use My Fleet 365 to review our average completion time or average jobs completed within a 24-hour window.” Other reporting includes a cost breakdown of their warehouse fleet and a year-by-year spending comparison on service. My Fleet 365 will also enable businesses to measure their service level using the all-new Key Metrics Reports. Other My Fleet 365 features include: Customized look and reporting for each client Real-time status of open jobs and ETAs of service parts Multiple options for placing any service request QR code capability in the mobile application Invoice capabilities Preventative maintenance Cost breakdown of fleet “MHS Lift is dedicated to bringing the highest level of customer service to each of our clients while providing optimal solutions to increase productivity, operate efficiently, and ultimately make every business more money,” says Brett Levin, Vice President, MHS Lift.
Exponential Power acquires Static Power
Exponential Power, Inc., a provider of stored power solutions, today announced its strategic acquisition of Maryland-based Static Power, a well-known provider of critical power systems. Headquartered in Columbia, MD, Static expands Exponential Power’s service offerings to the MidAtlantic corridor and supports its mission of delivering reliability, advancing technology, and providing an unmatched experience for its customers. Static Power has provided comprehensive engineering, sales, and service to users and manufacturers of critical power systems for nearly four decades. Static Power President Ruth McFadden joined the company in 1991 and became president in 2018. “Our team is very excited to join forces with Exponential Power,” said McFadden. “This partnership will allow us to provide our clients with expanded product and service offerings and enhanced expertise while continuing to provide the superior customer service our clients expect.” McFadden, VP & Director of Technical Services Andrew Nauman, and Operations Manager Robert De Lauter co-owned Static Power and will continue in the business along with the employee team. Nauman has been with Static Power since 1987, holding many technical and management roles throughout the years. De Lauter began his career as a service technician in 2000 and became a registered professional engineer in 2012. Exponential Power CEO Jake Walker added, “We’re thrilled to partner with Static Power and bring our wide range of stored power solutions to the Mid-Atlantic region. Ruth, Andy, Rob, and the team are highly regarded in the industry for their products and service. We’re thrilled to have them on board, and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers and accelerating the growth of our combined companies.”