IEN: How are manufacturers using existing technologies in new ways?

Morantz: Manufacturers are effectively combining the (relatively new) existing technologies of the Internet and wireless communication in exciting and powerful ways. The automation industry is buzzing with talk of leveraging these technologies to deliver what we like to describe as "e-benefits" to manufacturers. Seamless connectivity to the plant floor via the Internet or handheld wireless devices present obvious advantages in the march toward true enterprise integration. It is the existing, though ever-improving, technology of the microprocessor and its surrounding hardware technology that is enabling this globalization. This modern computer hardware and its associated open architecture (meaning any user can load almost any of their choice of software) is allowing manufacturers to finally shrug off the bane of proprietary protocols and productively meld these technologies.

IEN: What are the major concerns facing this sector in the next few years?

Morantz: Of course, the open architecture controller needs the appropriate software solution in order to emulate established control methodologies. The market seems to have responded fairly consistently in heeding the customer's initial requests for user interfaces (HMIs and C and C-like application development tools) that have a familiar look and feel, and are intuitive in their use (e.g. Visual Basic). While people's needs vis-a-vis interfaces are fairly universal, the machine or process needs are not (Machines, what do they want?...). Many users who pioneered this technology learned through experience that what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander. In other words, the technology underlying the HMI isn't always suitable for control. A human may tolerate a disruption in HMI performance, but there are many instances of automation control that simply cannot. The challenge facing the industry is to address this duality, and develop/adopt real solutions that don't compromise either part of the whole. This technology will have to match or exceed the reliability and performance of the legacy solutions if it is to move forward, both in terms of cost and added functionality, while remaining as reliable as the traditional PLC.

IEN: What innovations are in store for users?

Morantz: Control is becoming more and more distributed, passing from a central or unconnected controller(s), to smart remote I/O, and ultimately to smart devices. This is becoming possible through the application of embedded control technology.

IEN: How are software and equipment being integrated in today's HMI/MMI world?

Morantz: The paradigm shift is well underway. More and more, emphasis is shifting from the hardware to the software for retained value. That is not to say that hardware no longer plays a vital role in the solution, but rather that software plays a more important one. We only have to look back on our experiences with office automation some 10-15 years ago (those of us who can) to make the point. Computer users tended to be very hardware-centric, and somewhat distrusting of the software of the day. The proposition of upgrading to a more modern version of either hardware or software was often met with the anxiety associated with the ever-present prospect of losing one's data. Nowadays we are regularly shoved aside by the office IS person while our software is routinely upgraded, without any fear whatsoever of losing data or incompatibility. We are no longer hearing the question like we used to, "Is it IBM compatible? We have effectively become software-centric, as witnessed by consumers lining up at retailers, for example, for the latest release of an operating system, or a computer game. We are starting to witness this shift in factory automation as well. Hardware may come and go, but it is in the software that users are adding value on an ongoing basis. It is their intellectual value.

IEN: Are we entering a new era of E-manufacturing?

Morantz: Now, we are in the midst of this new era. Widespread conversion to the new technology is not something that we expect to take place overnight. The dynamics of the manufacturing industry are such that it reacts cautiously to change, for understandable reasons. What is very encouraging, though, is that the rate at which industry is embracing the new technology is curiously similar to the rate at which the industry adopted the introduction of the PLC, some thirty years ago -- just a lot faster. And the charge is being led, as always, by the automotive industry. If history teaches us anything, we expect open architecture computer-based automation to be the norm within five years.

IEN: How will the drive toward lean manufacturing impact this sector?

Morantz: Open architecture automation will prove fundamental toward realizing truly lean manufacturing. The ever-increasingly competitive market of the global economy will drive the evolution of lean manufacturing, which will in turn drive the adoption of this new approach to automation. It will be fast paced. It has already arrived with Web-enabled technology, which is available now.