ALC choose to work with us because they wanted to install our Cora PPM solution. They needed a system to help them better manage their resourcing, their capacity management and to streamline the workflows they operate with their licensed vendors.

Essentially, they required a digitised and cloud-based collaboration tool to deploy across the organisation. What our Cora PPM solution offered them was a platform that assisted them in standardising work processes across all their business units so they could operate more efficiently and, for example, improve the execution transparency of projects at all tiers of the organisation. This was key.

Create dynamic Gantt-style scheduling chart

Once Cora PPM has been implemented, ALC are now able to import the detailed scope of any awarded project and create a dynamic Gantt-style scheduling chart, which sets all projects across the United States off on a level footing.

It provides a convenient way to access documentation and standard templates for every project. ALC’s business executives are able to delve instantly into the detail of each portfolio of work on major projects, delivering significant time savings and making them more competitive.

Mark Ruettiger, North America operations manager for automated logic, has summed up the benefits of the partnership: “We chose to work with Cora Systems because it’s proven to be one of the more innovative software companies in the industry and it has an extremely customisable PPM solution, which is what we needed – a solution that would fit to the way our business processes operate.

"Everything from being able to do our monthly forecasting to our cost reviews are all very detailed and specific. We’ve had a good, collaborative working relationship to date. It’s been a positive experience.”

It is gratifying for us that we’re already seeing results from the implementation and it has encouraged UTC, which is ALC’s parent company, to roll-out the solution to other divisions of the business.

Author: Philip Martin is CEO of Cora Systems. For an introduction to Cora PPM, including a short overview video, click here: https://corasystems.com/takeatour

And professional systems can be designed more efficiently and with higher quality using intelligent automation solutions from Festo.

OEMs and end users increasingly rely on modular production systems, which offer a flexible, individual and maintenance-friendly alternative to conventional systems.

Incorporating conventional systems into monolithic automation solutions is often a time-consuming task.

However, a high degree of system modularity also requires new automation solutions – here Festo uses the principle of modular automation.

More flexibility through scalable systems

Automation solutions from Festo are particularly suitable for bulk handling systems in which a large number of different raw materials are stored and therefore a large number of filling stations have to be controlled.

While the entire system is usually controlled centrally by one process control system, modular systems can be scaled, expanded and adapted almost infinitely by simply integrating autonomous modules into the existing production system. And this is where solutions from Festo can help

Autonomous modules with their own intelligence

When it comes to modular automation, the electrical terminal CPX with integrated controller CEC and valve terminal MPA play a central role in the automation of production modules.

This makes it possible to provide each system module with a decentralised controller, giving it its own intelligence.

The modules are thus autonomous and can easily be added to or removed from the overall system as required.

There are already concrete applications for handling bulk materials, including filling systems with up to 60 filling stations.

Each filling station is equipped with its own decentralised controller and can thus be integrated more quickly into the overall system; this significantly reduces the risk of errors in the actual production process.

The process control system becomes leaner because only the initial commands for the modules are needed, and then all detailed processes are run directly via the decentralised CPX CECs.

As a result, it is possible to create modules individually from stock and test them in advance; this improves the supply capability of the OEMs, accelerates commissioning and reduces the software complexity of the system.

The bottom line: thanks to modular automation from Festo, manufacturers and operators of bulk handling systems will not just be able to achieve massive cost savings, but they can also improve the productivity of their systems by using autonomous modules.

The strict consideration and implementation of the NAMUR recommendation 'NE 148' offers you additional peace of mind.

Further information can be found at: https://www.festo.com/cms/en-gb_ie/70166.htm