Efficient Factory

Microsoft Windows is known for the immense size of the program. When reminded that the Windows program is a behemoth Bill Gates recently commented that “Windows is a big challenge, the amount of hardware that it has to run with, the amount of software… it’s a daunting set of requirements that people have” Charlie Rose Television Program Aired on PBS Monday December 22, 2008. In fact here a link to the show.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9875

In order to accommodate all of the functionality does it have to become more complex? It’s Kind of a trick question.

If one entity is responsible for all of the “operation” of the system yes that entity will be complex. Now you know about – web based applications – aka – Service oriented Architecture; aka – Software as a service; aka – SaaS, aka – the cloud. Complexity is migrating from the operating system to the network. Devices will be enabled to communicate in the space we call the internet but these devices don’t have to have the level of a behemoth operating system.

Thinking about a Factory, it really makes sense. There have been 20 plus years of centralized control. A virtual alphabet soup of “solutions”; MRP (Materials Requirement Planning), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) The future of Information Technology on the factory floor is in making the assets integrated into the network. Make the Factory one big machine.

Think about it.