Ok, there is no PROFIblog, the Movie. But I am excited about the movie I saw tonight. My Saturday night movie this evening was Safety, Uncover the Competitive Advantage. [Please withhold any comments about Saturday night movies that would be more typical. Also, don’t ask how I got an advance copy – I’ve been sworn to secrecy.]
Cutting straight to the bottom line: GO SEE THIS MOVIE!
I’m not sure what I expected. Maybe a Siemens commercial. Maybe a dull “Save money using integrated network safety.” Siemens did sponsor the movie and safety does save money – fewer wires, yadda, yadda, yadda. But it wasn’t a commercial and the primary message was “Safety used to be a burden, now it’s an opportunity.” That may sound a bit trite, but really the main reason to use this technology is to increase production! That’s not what I expected to hear and it is an opportunity.
I was surprised to see how many of the cast I already knew:
Heinz Gall from TUV Rheinland North America talked about the international standards. I met him when he participated in the PROFIsafe course we offered preceding the PTO General Assembly Meeting this year.
The folks from Kuka I met on a trip to Detroit when they were just completing testing the line they show in the movie. One of the startling things about the line compared to a conventional line they were also testing was the size of the cable trays – they were wide and filled on the conventional line and small on the new line. The savings using PROFIsafe mentioned in the movie were incredible: 85% savings on safety material, 2 hours vs. 5 days for initial power up, 15% savings in floor space, and $3,000,000 less expensive to build.
Mike Bryant, Executive Director of the PTO, absolutely stole the show. You have to wait for the closing credits to see his best work, though. <Pandering-to-the-boss mode is now off.> Mike talked about the long experience of PROFIsafe and its large installed base.
If you need to increase production, go see the movie. (Yes, you’ll save money on design, installation, and maintenance, too. You can even save money on your insurance bill.) For ticket information and to see the trailer: www.safetythemovie.com. PROFIsafe on PROFIBUS and PROFINET is featured prominently. There’s even a little AS-i safety. But the message of this movie is not the technology – it’s what you can accomplish with it.