“The war between plant operations and IT is over. Here’s a look at the major trends in information technology that are having a direct and growing impact on plant operations.”
So begins Rob Spiegel’s article “Blending Plant Operations with Enterprise Management” in Automation World. While I think his assessment is a little ahead of its time, it certainly is the right goal. Rob will be one of the editors at the PTO General Assembly Meeting this year, so I’ll try to corner him in search of more details. Especially since this is one of pet topics; I blogged about this again recently with links to prior posts on the topic.
While I’m recommending reading, check out the side bar to the above article, “Office/Plant Security Clash.” This does an excellent job of contrasting IT’s and the plant’s approaches to the technology. It’s therefore a good discussion starter for your plant.