The Last Metre - Memex Automation's Leadership in Connectivity on the Manufacturing Floor

I wrote an article at Memex Automation, called The Last Metre.

Below is a snippet at the beginning.

What is the last metre?  The last metre, or last meter if you live in the United States, is the combination of technical, and sometimes business, challenges involved to make the final connection of a device to the Internet.   A device would be any device from a multi-million dollar machine tool to an inexpensive sensor.

Many have heard of “the last mile problem” as it relates to the challenge of connecting a house to the Internet.  Solving “the last mile problem” can be quite complicated and costly with legal right of ways, homeowner associations, and local politics and of course homeowner concerns.   Solving the last metre is exponentially more complex because of the number and types of machines and devices on the manufacturing floor.  At Memex, we know how to solve the last metre on the manufacturing floor and we know our methodologies and toolkits can provide the platform to solve the last metre problem in a variety of non-manufacturing industries.

Please checkout the entire article and why Memex Automation is THE answer to The Last Metre! 

Bosch and Pratt & Miller - Forward Focus Collision Avoidance

I saw this technology on a Corvette Forum.  Extremely cool!

Seven year anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

Today is the seventh year anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families, relatives and friends of those who lost their lives on April 16th, 2007 in this senseless tragedy.....

The picture below was on the Collegiate Times in 2007 at VT:

 

There is a permanent memorial at VT. The Collegiate Times has a nice article describing the memorial.

My memories of last April 16th started with a phone call from my wife. Julie called and said, "just wanted to let you know that John is fine." At the time I was on my SunRay reading email while on a con call when she called my cellphone. She never calls me during theday since she is a school teacher. "Why would John not be be fine?" I asked. She asked me if I was watching TV or listening to the news. Of course I was not watching TV or listening to the news. She explained what was going on. I immediately interrupted the Sun folks on the con call and quickly said, "I had to get off the call, there was a shooting at my son's school."

It was then that I turned on the TV and was shocked to see the peaceful and beautiful VT campus on the news. I started getting emails, phone calls from literally around the world checking on John. You sometimes forget in casual conversation that you mentioned something about your kids that your friends and colleagues remember. Every time a call came, I paused the DVR. I was getting the current updates from friend, colleagues\s and family all around the world via email and non stop phone calls. As the numbers kept rising, it became more and more surreal.

 My son John was working for the Collegiate Times during his freshman year.  He put together a very nice week long history of events starting on April 16th through April 23rd that shows what happened each day.

I can not imagine the horror the students and faculty must have felt. There was an article in the post today by Nick Miroff, titled, "A Year Later, Virginia Tech Is Still Healing" is a well written article worth reading. As Miroff points out:

"Virginia Tech students have learned to talk about it in shorthand, if they talk about it at all. This Story

• A Year Later, Va. Tech Is Still Healing
•  Special Report: Va. Tech Shootings 
•  Essay: In Blacksburg, An ER Physician Still Tries to Heal
•  Blog: Va. Tech Students Remember  
•  VT: One Year Later - Living With Cho

They do not use the words massacre, or

shootings, or rampage. They call it "April

 16th," and sometimes not even that. To
 say "four-sixteen" is enough. Everyone
 knows." 

I have been back to VT many times since April 16th, 2007 both as a parent and working for Sun Microsystems where I have given talks and brought down Sun's thought leaders to speak at VT's ACM where my son John is President.  Each time, the first thing I do is visit the memorial

          Governor Kaine has did a good job demanding there was the VT Task Force.  Governor Kaine stated:

"On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech University suffered a terrible tragedy. Today, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and the entire Virginia Tech community.

"In the year that has passed since that horrible day, we have grieved for those we lost and prayed for the comfort of their loved ones. We have rejoiced in the recovery of those who were injured. We have been inspired by the unfaltering hope and Hokie spirit of Virginia Tech. And we have renewed our commitment to do even more to learn lessons from that day and to make our campuses and communities safer.

"As I think about the victims' families, I am at a loss for words to express what is in my heart. The courage and strength they have shown in the face of such tremendous, tragic loss is awe-inspiring. We have been inspired by the resilient Hokie spirit of Virginia Tech, both in Blacksburg and around the world. Since that tragic day last April, the unshakeable sense of unity and hope demonstrated by the Hokies has touched the lives of people around the world. Their focus on pulling together to support their school and each other in the days after the shooting, and their commitment to public service through the VT Engage program in the months that followed has moved us all.

"We still have work to do. A continued commitment to improvement is the best tribute we can pay to those who lost so much. And as we move forward, we will continue to be inspired by those in the Hokie Nation."

VT seems to have made the right changes. The VT Task Force seemed to not pull any punches when it came to how the University should have dealt with the events on the morning of April 16th, 2007. As the AP reported and I FULLY AGREE with Governor Kaine about purchasing firearms at gun shows. Virginia needs to get its act together.  This loophole is INSANE!

"Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed mandated background checks yesterday for everyone who attempts to purchase firearms at gun shows - legislation that he called critical to helping prevent future tragedies like the shootings at Virginia Tech. Many families of those killed or injured in the April shootings have called on legislators to close Virginia’s so-called gun show loophole, which allows people to purchase firearms from unlicensed sellers at gun shows without having to submit to background checks. Under current Virginia law, only licensed dealers are required to run background checks on customers.
“If by doing this, we can keep one family from having to go through what these families have suffered, it will be the best thing that the legislature will do this year,” Kaine said at Virginia State Police headquarters, surrounded by several of the victims’ families."

VA continues to be a backward state and allows the gun show loophole.   I also called into the Kojo Nnamdi Show when he had an anniversary show on the VT shooting.   If you go to the 11:52 mark, you can hear my statements and question that goes until the 13:14 mark.

 

"Courage is the first of human qualities because it
is the quality which guarantees all others."

Winston Churchill

The tragedy at Virginia Tech is still heart wrenching. As a parent of a VT freshman, it is still hard to comprehend the magnitude of this tragedy. There
were many heroes on VT's Campus on April 16th, 2007. Many
are well documented in the press.

There are five individuals who were behind the scenes
that are absolute heroes in my mind. Those five heroes are
the individuals who run online Collegiate Times which is
VT's main online paper and kept the world informed on the
latest breaking news coming out of VT on this senseless
tragedy. These five individuals were literally working
around the clock, giving up sleep to keep their fellow
students, parents, family, friends, faculty and the rest of
the world informed.

These five unsung heroes all have the "first of human
qualities" - courage. It would have been perfectly
understandable if these five individuals would have given
up when their servers went down. But they did not. They
had the courage to literally work around the clock to get
the server back up *and* keep the rest of the world
informed of the latest updates to one of the most of
horrific days in the history of our country. The five
individuals are:


Chris Ritter, Online Director
Tim Tutt, Web Developer
John Edstrom, Associate Web Developer
Gabriel Martinez, Associate Web Designer
Collin Smith, Multimedia Editor

One of the many amazing statistics is that the
Collegiate Times received up to 53 million hits by
early afternoon on Monday April 16th.

Wikipedia has a nice history of the Collegiate Times with the
picture that appeared on the Collegiate Times April 17th, 2007,
edition titled "Heartache."




Below are just some of quotes on the fantastic work that
these five unsung heroes did under
tremendous pressure.

The OnLine Newshour on PBS

"The Internet became a prime place for people to
get the news out of Blacksburg. The college
newspaper, the Collegiate Times, scooped the major
media, getting the story online, right after the
first shot rang out, and staying on it non-stop
ever since.

The 104-year-old paper received up to 53 million
hits by early Monday afternoon, forcing the site
down for a time. It also listed some of the dead
early Tuesday morning, prompting the New York Times
Web site and other news outlets to link to the
Collegiate Times."
The Shield - University of Southern Indiana Student Newspaper
"The information on the Web site is remarkable.
Besides the list of confirmed deceased, the site
provides a graphic map of the shootings, a photo
gallery, personal accounts and interviews and
related stories ranging from emerging donation
details to the impact on the nearest hospital. The
staff has handled the facts correctly, but not
without compassion, which is a difficult task.

The Collegiate Times editorial says, "When
considering the number of deceased victims, 32 is
devastating, but those lives are not just a number,
each one is a member of our community." Journalism
cannot be disregarded due to a personal tragedy,
since citizens rely on journalists for information.
Such journalists must remember, however, that
although horrific tragedies stir media attention as
sensational, there is nothing sensational about
human suffering and coverage must be conducted
tastefully.

Well done Collegiate Times staff.

To those that believe campus newspapers are a waste
of time and funding, let this tragedy serve the
purpose of proving the necessity of campus
newspapers nationwide."Chronicle of Higher Education

"National Public Radio is among news organizations
that have profiled and praised Virginia Tech
student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, which has
become a crucial source of information for other
reporters covering Monday's events.

The papers online edition, said NPR's Larry
Abramson, has grabbed international attention
indeed, on Tuesday The New York Timess home page
linked to the student publications list of
confirmed victims of the shooter. Mr. Abramson
also pointed out that Collegiate Times staff
members know how to mine Facebook for information
inaccessible to many older reporters who are
unfamiliar with the social-networking site." -WGHP Fox TV VIDEO:


"The team at The Collegiate Times, the campus
newspaper, will remain. So far, they have been
setting the pace for all journalists"Middlebury Campus


"The face of a crisis, the writers, photographers
and editors of Virginia Tech's student daily, The
Collegiate Times, transcended their roles as
college journalists to not only inform their
community, but to inform the world. With many local
news sources shut out, only limited comments coming
from Virginia Tech officials and an entire campus
on lock-down, the importance of these students'
work was heightened to an extreme. The written,
photographic and video posts to The Times website
throughout the day were among the most vivid and
honest portraits of the campus available. Working
from computers outside of their offices, the
students held nothing back, and produced a raw,
emotional narrative of the tragedy. Their reporting
was effective, critical and in every sense, brave."

Editor and Publisher


"While the editors of the student newspaper went
about their work with inspiring leadership,
internal communications by Virginia Tech
administrators showed the University was less than
fully prepared. As more and more details about the
sequence of events have been released, it has
become clear that administrators did not notify the
entire campus or order a full lockdown until more
than two hours after the first round of shooting
began. Whether or not any of the deaths in the
second round of shooting could have been avoided,
we should realize the need for all institutions to
prepare for the unimaginable. And in the face of
this shooting, college administrators everywhere
should recognize the need to share information with
their communities quickly and clearly, even as the
full extent of a crisis may remain unknown."


"The college paper at Virginia Polytechnical
Institute kept a running account of the tragedy
that struck the campus today, with more than 30
students gunned down in at least two areas of the
campus, a dorm and a classroom. The shooter is
allegedly dead as well, but not identified. It is
not known if he was a student ...

Here is how the student-run Collegiate Times
reported it, blog-style, with the most recent
posting first. A full article is now posted there,
which includes the note that police "are also
investigating if it has any relation to the recent
bomb threats on Tech's campus."


Seattle Post Intelligencer


"For unique reporting on the massacre read the
Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech's student-run
newspaper."University Daily Kansan

"While news organizations like CNN have done a
thorough job in covering Monday's events, I'd like
to point the readers of kansan.com to Virginia
Tech's student newspaper, the Collegiate Times.
After overcoming early technical difficulty when
the news initially broke, they've done what I feel
is an admirable job as the student voice of the
Virginia Tech community.

In the process of learning about these tragic
events, be sure to not overlook the students
themselves. http://www.collegiatetimes.com"WRAL

"I found a couple sites with unique angles on this
story. One of the most interesting is The
Collegiate Times, which is VT's student newspaper.
Their staff apparently first reported this shooting
this morning. The server is overwhelmed right now,
but it will be interesting to check their coverage
in the days and weeks ahead."Forbes

"Monday's shooting at Virginia Tech provided a
grim, real-time stress test for the effectiveness
of Web 2.0 technologies. And on Monday, all of them
seemed to work: Information flew through text
messages, blog posts, Web sites, online videos and
social networking sites.

The Internet reacted to the event immediately--and
more quickly than Virginia Tech administrators, who
took two hours to warn students, via e-mail, about
a first shooting. The Web site of VT's student
newspaper, the Collegiate Times, crashed when
students flooded it after the first shooting. As a
replacement, students created a low-tech blog,
CollegeMedia.com.
It posted the first entry about the event at 9:47 a.m.,
minutes before the second shooting began."
Yahoo News

"The student newspaper, the Collegiate Times,
regularly updated its website proving to be a
valuable resource for the campus as well as the
national media."Daily Californian


"And as this happened, students at the Collegiate
Times, the Virginia Tech student newspaper, were
able to live-blog the days events. The Web site
began the day with a post at 9:47 a.m. EST,
reporting Shots were fired on campus and
provided continuing updates throughout the day. The
entries of the papers staff provide an
illuminating window into the fear and questioning
that doubtless gripped the campus in those
uncertain hours."


"The Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech's campus newspaper,
was the first media outlet to break the story Monday with
on-line reports of shots fired on campus."Manhattan Mercury

"No amount of on-the-job experience or education
could have prepared Kelly Furnas for what he's
faced this week in his capacity as an editorial
advisor to the campus newspaper at grief-stricken
Virginia Tech University.

.....

To be honest its been pretty much non-stop working
with the student newspaper I have not had time on a
personal level to sit down and digest everything
yet," Furnas said.

The Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech's campus
newspaper, was the first media outlet to break the
story Monday with on-line reports of shots fired on
campus.

"I can't put into words how proud I am of our
students," Furnas said. "They have provided
desperately needed information to their readers,
and they have done that with gusto. I think the
campus newspaper's reputation with the students
here has helped a lot."

The Age (Australia)

"'The school's student newspaper, The Collegiate
Times, filed up-to-the-minute online dispatches. At
4.44pm: "Police have confirmed that the shooter
took his own life." At 4.54pm: "University
Relations has confirmed 31 deaths at Norris Hall,
in addition to two deaths at West Ambler Johnson."Gulf Times

The Collegiate Times (its server quickly crashed
and a blog written by editors with messages from
students appeared instead on the web site of the
newspapers owning company), as well as to media
outlets around the world, including CNN and the
BBC. Regardless of where the contributions are
aimed, the back and forth on facebook.com and other
social networking sites are equally an instant and
new resource for news producers and reporters


NPR


"As reporters from around the world descend on
Blacksburg, Va., one publication stands out:
Virginia Tech's student newspaper, Collegiate
Times, is doing a truly remarkable job of covering
the story."

About 15 staff members were rushing to update the
site about every 15 minutes with news of the
convocation, shooting investigation and candlelight
vigil plans.

"We're getting like 10 billion phone calls,
everyone from Al Jazeera to tiny radio stations in
Iowa," Kendall said.LA Times


"The paper's scoops included eyewitness accounts of
the shootings, interviews with a classmate of the
shooter and a list of victims' names that was
posted late Tuesday. A reporter was one of the
first to question administrators about why they
didn't warn students during the two hours between
the two shootings Monday morning."
Poyneronline

"The Web staff for Virginia Tech's student
newspaper, The Collegiate Times, was also
scrambling for solutions after its servers crashed
around 10:30 a.m. the day of the shootings.
Online editor Chris Ritter's main goal was to get
the site back to its original state -- a large,
graphical and Flash-intensive homepage. When that
couldn't happen, Ritter and his staff opted for a
simple text page with blue background -- to ensure
they could communicate information quickly to
users. After that page continued to overload its
own server, The Collegiate Times tech adviser,
Scott Chandler, suggested that the staff use the
College Media server, the parent company which
hosts the publication's site.

Once the site stabilized on the additional server,
The Collegiate Times began posting photos and
videos to a third server usually reserved for
design research and development. To prevent
crashing again, a Virginia Tech server is now
hosting videos and photos for the site.

Monday night The Collegiate Times staff redesigned
its homepage from scratch to have a Web site that
was "intuitive and a graphically pleasing display"
of its special content for the shootings. The
Collegiate Times began creating breaking-news
multimedia when escaped convict William Morva shot
two police officers at Virginia Tech on the first
day of school last August.

Since then, Ritter said users are looking at the
Web for information more than ever before, and the
staff has adopted a Web-first attitude change."
Roanoke Times on CT:
Coping Through Journalism Video

 

Hopefully the healing will continue for those directly affected...

Memex Automation Wins 2013 PEM Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company Under 50 Employees

This is extremely impressive! 

 

Memex Automation is the recipient of the 2013 PEM Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company Under 50 Employees. 

 

I am very, very fortunate to have joined the Memex Automation team!

 

In presenting the award the judging panel focused on Memex Automation's outstanding ability to serve customers. Judges are also this year's award sponsors: FLIR Canada, Siemens Canada Ltd., Fluke Electronics Canada LP as well as PEM Magazine staff. 

Memex Automation’s latest award also recognizes its ability to provide rapid customer Return On Investment (ROI) for its flagship product MERLIN. MERLIN boosts productivity, profits and efficiency for manufacturers by monitoring the performance of machine tools.  

Please see the press release below for details. The image attached is of Rehana Begg, Editor, PEM Plant Engineering & Maintenance Magazine, and John Rattray, VP Sales and Marketing, Memex Automation. 

Memex Automation receives PEM Plant Engineering & Maintenance Magazine Award

Burlington, ON, Canada – April 15, 2014 – Astrix Networks Inc. (TSX-V: OEE) operating under the trade name Memex Automation Inc., the global leader of manufacturing Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity solutions, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the 2013 PEM Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for Best Company Under 50 Employees. Sponsored this year by FLIR Canada, Siemens Canada Ltd., and Fluke Electronics Canada LP, the PEM Maintenance Awards were first introduced in 1999 with the mandate of acknowledging and rewarding excellence in industrial technology.

Memex Automation’s latest award is based on its ability to prove customer Return On Investment (ROI) for its flagship product MERLIN. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is the measurement of plant-wide capacity utilization, and MERLIN generates OEE in real-time, enterprise-wide, machine by machine. In one instance, MERLIN increased OEE from 40% to 82% across 30 machines in a custom manufacturing company. In another example, MERLIN’s productivity boost cut a major aerospace manufacturer’s work order completion time from 35 days to just 5 days – a 700% improvement.

“The MERLIN product team is extremely proud of our 2013 PEM award,” said David McPhail, Memex Automation’s CEO. “Plant Engineering & Maintenance Magazine is well-read and well-respected by industrial engineers, plant operations and maintenance professionals and this endorsement of our technology will further fuel our sales growth and customer success.”

MERLIN lets customers know exactly where they can improve manufacturing operations in order to operate faster, and more efficiently.  When manufacturing shop floor team members address production bottlenecks with MERLIN, they can improve throughput, and increase overall profitability.

About PEM Plant Engineering and Maintenance Magazine
During the past 30 years, PEM Plant Engineering and Maintenance Magazine has evolved and kept pace with industry growth. Today PEM is Canada’s total reliability magazine for industrial engineers, plant operations and maintenance professionals. Its mission is to provide readers on the shop floor with the information they need to increase manufacturing production and equipment uptime, integrate new technology, reduce operating costs, manage groups of skilled professionals in an industrial setting and encourage career development. For more information, please visit: www.pem-mag.com.

About Memex Automation Inc.
Memex Automation (TSX-V:OEE) is the global leader of manufacturing Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity solutions and the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness in real-time (“OEE”). In 2013, Frost & Sullivan awarded MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) its Technology Innovation Leadership Award, and Microsoft picked MERLIN to be its mid-market ERP machine connectivity solution. Mazak, North America’s largest original equipment manufacturer of machine tools purchased MERLIN to manage its Florence, KY, plant and offers MERLIN on its price list. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca

Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) Magazine on MTConnect, Memex Automation and Dave Edstrom

One of the many areas that has really impressed me in manufacturing is both the quality and the depth of the writing of those in manufacturing media.

I had the privilege of speaking with Rob Colman of Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) Magazine.  Rob wrote an article titled:

MTConnect hits its Stride: In Conversation with Dave Edstrom

 I  really enjoyed speaking with Rob on MTConnect and Memex Automation.  Rob did a fantastic job with this article!  As I stated in the article, I feel we have seen a number of important inflection points with MTConnect and there is no company better positioned to lead manufacturing and MTConnect than Memex Automation!

Please checkout Rob's article!

 

MTConnect Challenge 2 Winners Announced at [MC]2 Conference

Below is the press release that went out on the [MC]2 winners.  I was there, saw them live, cast my vote.  Great, great contest and HUGE congratulations to ALL of the folks who submitted their entries!

BLAIRSVILLE, PA, Apr 11, 2014 – The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Defense-wide Manufacturing Science and Technology (DMS&T), sponsored along with AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the US Army Benét Labs, proudly announce the three top winners of the MTConnect Challenge 2 as voted by [MC]2 2014 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference attendees:

First Prize $100,000 Winner:Valerie Pezzullo of Clemson University for Machining Process Monitoring to Aid in Chatter Identification
This application developed by Clemson University’s Valerie Pezzullo offers machining process monitoring, facilitates the communication of part-specific information, and includes customization and scalability for different manufacturing facilities and academic research institutions. By integrating machining process information gathered through MTConnect with information from proprietary data acquisition tools and custom sensors, this application provides a means to monitor cutting conditions to help reduce and prevent chatter and aid in analysis to avoid subsequent unstable operating conditions. It also improves the input and tracking of part numbers and organizes machining process information in a central location according to the specific part.

Second Prize $75,000 Winner: Joel Neidig of Itamco for Expanding Manufacturing’s Vision: MTConnect + Google Glass
By leveraging the capabilities of Google Glass with its heads-up display, camera, touchpad, microphone, email and internet connection built into the spectacle frame and combining it with MTConnect functionality, Joel Neidig of Itamco provides a never before view into the manufacturing process. The user of the Google Glass equipped with MTConnect is not only liberated from laptops and hand-held smart devices, but also is able to travel the entire shop floor, gathering and sharing machine data provided by MTConnect, and accessing the internet on demand for more information.

Third Prize $50,000 Winner: Shane Crandall for Promise
Designed to be general, flexible, scalable, reliable, fast, and free,Shane Crandall’s Promise is a blank canvas to create custom views of real-time data from MTConnect devices. It is a user-configured MTConnect client in the form of an intuitive Web application. Promise is an intranet Web application—or Web site —that may be easily deployed and widely utilized by and completely configurable from any device with a Web browser.

The final round of judging occurred Wed., April 9 by [MC]22014 Conference attendees upon the conclusion of presentations by each ofthe five finalists.The OSD DMS&T sponsored the MTConnect Challenge, which was a two-part competition for the development of manufacturing intelligence ideas and solutions using the MTConnect standard. NCDMM, AMT, and the U.S. ArmyBenét Labsoversaw the Challenge.

“On behalf of all of us at NCDMM, AMT, the U.S. Army Benét Labs, the MTConnect Challenge judging panel, and the MTConnect Institute, we extend our congratulations to the three top winnersfor their participation and innovative MTConnect-based software applications,” said John Wilczynski, NCDMM program manager. “We hope Challenge 2 will serve as a catalyst for the development of more MTConnect-based software that will enable manufacturing intelligence breakthroughs for the defense manufacturing industry. We also want to thank [MC]2 attendees—our community of MTConnect supporters—for voting and helping to determine our top winners.”

With the MTConnect Challenge 2, participants were tasked with the development of innovative and unique software applications using the MTConnect standard that could be easily adopted by manufacturing enterprises, especially lower tier producers, to enhance their manufacturing capabilities and support the Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain management objectives.

MTConnect is an open, royalty-free set of communications standards intended to foster greater interoperability and information sharing between manufacturing equipment, devices, and software applications. The MTConnect Institute manages the development and further adoption of the standard. Prior to the development of the MTConnect standard, harnessing the wealth of available information and data across equipment and devices has been challenging due in large part to the disparate nature of software programs.

For more information about the [MC]2 2014 MTConnect Conference, visit MTConnectConference.com. To learn more about MTConnect, visit the MTConnect Institute at MTConnect.org.

About NCDMM
NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. NCDMM also manages the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3DP printing (3DP), America Makes—the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute.For additional information, visit NCDMM at ncdmm.org.

About AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology
AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology represents and promotes U.S.-based manufacturing technology and its members—those who design, build, sell, and service the continuously evolving technology that lies at the heart of manufacturing. Founded in 1902 and based in Virginia, the association specializes in providing targeted business assistance, extensive global support, and business intelligence systems and analysis. AMT is the voice that communicates the importance of policies and programs that encourage research and innovation, and the development of educational initiatives to create tomorrow’s Smartforce. AMT owns and manages IMTS — The International Manufacturing Technology Show, which is the premier manufacturing technology event in North America.
For more information, please visit www.AMTonline.org.

About Benét Labs
Benét Labs is a Department of the Army Center of Excellence supporting the management and execution of life cycle research, development, engineering, design, producibility, and engineering standardization programs for large caliber armaments, mortars and direct fire systems. A full complement of modern laboratory equipment, along with a highly trained staff of scientist, engineers, and technicians, enables Benét to be a world leader in innovative technology and applications.

0.00002% is Voter Fraud

Democrats play with numbers and Republicans play with numbers.  This Republican obsession with voter fraud is ridiculous.   What sane person on planet earth would put any resources into this problem?

President Obama discussed the point this week that of the 197 MILLION votes cast for federal elections between 2002 and 2005 there were 40 fraudulent voters.

President Obama put it in perspective when he said, "For those of you who are math majors, that is a percentage that is 0.00002 percent. Let's be clear, The real voter fraud is people who try to deny our rights by making bogus arguments about voter fraud."

He's 100% right on this issue

My [MC]2 2014 Manufacturing and Scaling Big Data Presentation

Yesterday afternoon, I gave a 45 minute presentation on Manufacturing and Scaling Big Data at [MC]2 2014.  Here are just a couple of my slides where I was sharing some of the laws and numbers around Big Data as well as the summary.



100,000 Libraries of Congress 

•The amount of printed material at the Library of Congress is 10TB

–A petabyte is 1,000 TB

•An exabyte (EB)

–The prefix exa means one billion billion, or one quintillion

–1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes

–1,000 petabytes, or a million TBs or a billion gigabytes

–67 million iPhones of data

•It is rumored that NSA has 3 to 12 Exabytes at their new facility in Bluffdale, Utah

•New large data set tools, like hadoop, have replaced yesterday’s tools, and new tools will be created to deal with tomorrow’s even larger data sets


340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456  

•That’s 340 undecillion

•aka IPv6 addressing – 128 bit addresses

•If we took every single atom on planet Earth, we would be able to give each and every atom 100 IPv6 addresses

•IPv4 was too small at 4,294,967,296

•That’s 4 billion

•That’s 32 bits

•IPv6 is the foundation for manufacturing and scaling big data

  O'Dell's Law  

•Scaling is ALWAYS THE problem

•If you’re not afraid, you simply do NOT understand

  Groundwater's Law 

•/* You are not expected to understand this */

•Everything you know is wrong

•How do the little electrons know?

–Monster cables versus Home Depot wire

•Do the math

–Sun Net Manager’s Two Questions

•Can be summarized as, “stop, and think through this problem.”

Edstrom's MTConnect Law

•The value of any manufacturing network is the number of MTConnect enabled systems plus the number of software systems that are integrated with that MTConnect data squared

•[MTConnect + Integrated Software ]2

Below is the summary of my presentation:

• Manufacturing means accessing and creating the RIGHT data and the right metadata  

• Scaling means using the right metrics and algorithms to separate the signals from all the noise

• It’s not the size of your data, it’s what you do with it.

[MC]2 2014 Memex Automation Presentation: MTConnecting Your Income Statement

Yesterday, Dave McPhail and I gave a presentation at [MC]2 2014. It was a BIG hit and we received many compliments. 

MTConnecting Your Income Statement

The Holy Grail in manufacturing is not just about getting the data via MTConnect and having a shop floor monitoring dashboard in place.  The true Holy Grail is the ability to associate and correlate MTConnect data with the financial costing data contained within most manufacturer's ERP systems, as well as to quantify and display real-time dashboards that show the cost of poor performance in real-time in dollars and cents.  This allows for the first time the ability for the manufacturing operations team to understand the absolute true cost of manufacturing minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, anytime on any device.  Important and timely decisions can now be made to increase income from operations by these new and important derived metrics, thereby achieving true manufacturing excellence.

Below is the press release on our presentation:

Shark Tank-Inspired Manifesto for Manufacturing CEOs and CFOs-"Show me the money!"

ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwired - April 08, 2014) - MC(2) 2014 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference - David McPhail and Dave Edstrom are on a network connectivity mission on behalf of manufacturing CEOs and CFOs. Their company, Memex Automation Inc. (TSX VENTURE: OEE), is an award-winning global leader of Machine to Machine (M2M) manufacturing productivity solutions, but they're not content to transform machine-level productivity. At a talk they're giving tomorrow at the MC(2) 2014 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference, the executives are laying out their vision to tie income statements real-time to what is happening on the shop floor -- something they call "Financial OEE."

"Overall Equipment Effectiveness, or OEE, is the measurement of plant-wide capacity utilization, and it's generally accepted today as the most important manufacturing metric. However, using the open, royalty-free MTConnect standard, manufacturing companies can generate OEE in real-time, enterprise-wide, machine by machine," said McPhail, Memex Automation's CEO. "As useful as that is for shop-floor management engineers and continuous improvement coordinators, we're now saying that's not good enough. Manufacturing CEOs and CFOs deserve more. To use an analogy inspired by the popular business TV show Shark Tank, they have a right to stand up and say 'Show me the money!'"
"CEOs and CFOs in every manufacturing company can and should demand industry solutions that go beyond shop-floor monitoring systems to drive real-time updates to their income statements," emphasized McPhail. "The holy grail of manufacturing excellence comes from understanding how manufacturers can move from an OEE utilization dashboard to solutions that produce real-time costing and financial data so they can understand at any given second what their plants are producing in dollars and cents versus percentage efficiency metrics."

McPhail is teaming up with Dave Edstrom, Memex Automation's CTO, to deliver this productivity manifesto on Financial OEE. Edstrom was formerly President and Chairman of the Board of the MTConnect Institute, where he was instrumental in the creation of the MTConnect standard.

In October 2006, while working at Sun Microsystems, Edstrom and Dr. David Patterson of the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), laid out the MTConnect vision at AMT -- The Association for Manufacturing Technology's Annual Meeting. Edstrom is also the author of the book "MTConnect: To Measure Is To Know" as well as a prolific writer of white papers, technical and business articles.

McPhail and Edstrom's April 9(th) talk is titled "MTConnecting Your Income Statement" and will be given from 1:30 to 2PM at the Exhibit Hall of the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, FL. Both executives will be available for interviews before and after that time.

About Memex Automation Inc.
Memex Automation (TSX VENTURE: OEE) is the global leader of Machine to Machine (M2M) manufacturing productivity solutions and the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness in real-time ("OEE"). In 2013, Frost & Sullivan recognized Memex's flagship product MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) with its Technology Innovation Leadership Award, and Microsoft picked MERLIN to be its mid-market ERP machine connectivity solution. Mazak, North America's largest original equipment manufacturer of machine tools purchased MERLIN to manage its Florence, KY, plant and offers MERLIN on its price list. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Memex Automation Inc.
David McPhail
CEO
Phone: 905-635-1536
Email: davem@memex.ca
market2world communications inc.

Jill McCubbin
Communications Architect
Phone: 613-256-3939
Email: jill@market2world.com

MTConnect Challeng Winners Announced at [MC]2 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [MC]2 2014 Conference Attendees Vote and Award  Three MTConnect Challenge 2 Winners Blairsville, Pa. - April 10, 2014. The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Defense-wide Manufacturing Science and Technology (DMS&T), sponsored along with AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Army Benét Labs, proudly announce the three top winners of the MTConnect Challenge 2 as voted by [MC]2 2014 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference attendees: First Prize $100,000 Winner: Valerie Pezzullo of Clemson University forMachining Process Monitoring to Aid in Chatter Identification  This application developed by Clemson University's Valerie Pezzullo offers machining process monitoring, facilitates the communication of part-specific information, and includes customization and scalability for different manufacturing facilities and academic research institutions. By integrating machining process information gathered through MTConnect with information from proprietary data acquisition tools and custom sensors, this application provides a means to monitor cutting conditions to help reduce and prevent chatter and aid in analysis to avoid subsequent unstable operating conditions. It also improves the input and tracking of part numbers and organizes machining process information in a central location according to the specific part. Second Prize $75,000 Winner: Joel Neidig of Itamco for Expanding Manufacturing's Vision: MTConnect + Google Glass  By leveraging the capabilities of Google Glass with its heads-up display, camera, touchpad, microphone, email and internet connection built into the spectacle frame and combining it with MTConnect functionality, Joel Neidig of Itamco provides a never before view into the manufacturing process. The user of the Google Glass equipped with MTConnect is not only liberated from laptops and hand-held smart devices, but also is able to travel the entire shop floor, gathering and sharing machine data provided by MTConnect, and accessing the internet on demand for more information. Third Prize $50,000 Winner: Shane Crandall for Promise  Designed to be general, flexible, scalable, reliable, fast, and free, Shane Crandall's Promise is a blank canvas to create custom views of real-time data from MTConnect devices. It is a user-configured MTConnect client in the form of an intuitive Web application. Promise is an intranet Web application-or Web site-that may be easily deployed and widely utilized by and completely configurable from any device with a Web browser. The final round of judging occurred Wed., April 9th by [MC]2 2014 Conference attendees upon the conclusion of presentations by each of the five finalists. The OSD DMS&T sponsored the MTConnect Challenge, which was a two-part competition for the development of manufacturing intelligence ideas and solutions using the MTConnect standard. NCDMM, AMT, and the U.S. Army Benét Labs oversaw the Challenge. "On behalf of all of us at NCDMM, AMT, the U.S. Army Benét Labs, the MTConnect Challenge judging panel, and the MTConnect Institute, we extend our congratulations to the three top winners for their participation and innovative MTConnect-based software applications," said John Wilczynski, NCDMM Program Manager. "We hope Challenge 2 will serve as a catalyst for the development of more MTConnect-based software that will enable manufacturing intelligence breakthroughs for the defense manufacturing industry. We also want to thank [MC]2 attendees-our community of MTConnect supporters-for voting and helping to determine our top winners." With the MTConnect Challenge 2, participants were tasked with the development of innovative and unique software applications using the MTConnect standard that could be easily adopted by manufacturing enterprises, especially lower tier producers, to enhance their manufacturing capabilities and support the Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain management objectives. MTConnect is an open, royalty-free set of communications standards intended to foster greater interoperability and information sharing between manufacturing equipment, devices, and software applications. The MTConnect Institute manages the development and further adoption of the standard. Prior to the development of the MTConnect standard, harnessing the wealth of available information and data across equipment and devices has been challenging due in large part to the disparate nature of software programs. For more information about the [MC]2 2014 MTConnect Conference, visitMTConnectConference.com. To learn more about MTConnect, visit the MTConnect Institute at MTConnect.org. ### About NCDMM NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. NCDMM also manages the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3DP printing (3DP), America Makes-the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. For additional information, visit NCDMM at ncdmm.org. About AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology represents and promotes U.S.-based manufacturing technology and its members-those who design, build, sell, and service the continuously evolving technology that lies at the heart of manufacturing. Founded in 1902 and based in Virginia, the association specializes in providing targeted business assistance, extensive global support, and business intelligence systems and analysis. AMT is the voice that communicates the importance of policies and programs that encourage research and innovation, and the development of educational initiatives to createtomorrow's Smartforce. AMT owns and manages IMTS - The International Manufacturing Technology Show, which is the premier manufacturing technology event in North America.www.AMTonline.org About Benét Labs Benét Labs is a Department of the Army Center of Excellence supporting the management and execution of life cycle research, development, engineering, design, producibility, and engineering standardization programs for large caliber armaments, mortars and direct fire systems. A full complement of modern laboratory equipment, along with a highly trained staff of scientist, engineers, and technicians, enables Benét to be a world leader in innovative technology and applications.   About [MC]2 2014 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference The [MC]2 2014 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference is a three-day conference designed for end users, equipment and device suppliers, software developers, distributors, integrators, students, and professors interested in the advancement of data-driven manufacturing. The MTConnect Institute compiled a world-class roster of manufacturing technology thought leaders and industry insiders for the [MC]2 conference. The theme for 2014 is "Advancing Data-Driven Manufacturing." For more information about the [MC]2 2014 MTConnect Conference, visit MTConnectConference.com. The MTConnect Institute The MTConnect Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) organization established to further the development of the MTConnect standard and publish related materials. The organization includes Board of Directors, Technical Advisory Group (TAG), Technical Steering Committee, as well as various working groups to further the standard in specific technology areas. Any company or organization can be a member and aid in furthering the development of the MTConnect standard by becoming a member of the TAG. Membership is free, and it requires agreement to the MTConnect Intellectual Property Policy, which can be found on the MTConnect website's "Institute" section. www.MTConnect.org. Media Contact: Scott Deutsch Phone: 724-539-8811 Email: ncdmm.info@ncdmm.org

Memex Automation Joins Partners in THINC

This is a BIG deal.  Okuma are great partners.


For Immediate Release 

Contact: Julie Murphy, Marketing Manager Okuma America Corporation 704-504-6324 or 704-547-4930 jmurphy@okuma.com 

Memex Automation Joins Partners in THINC 

Okuma America Corporation announces that Memex Automation has joined Partners in THINC. Memex Automation joins 40+ other members that provide solutions to end-users and enhance productivity while maintaining lean operations. 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 1, 2014) – Okuma America Corporation, a world leader in CNC machine tools, is pleased to announce that Memex Automation Inc., the operating company of Astrix Automation Inc. (TSX-V: OEE) and maker of the MERLIN Manufacturing Execution System, an innovative shop floor productivity solution, has joined Partners in THINC. 

Memex Automation, headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, specializes in networking machine tools to management information systems. This communication allows for productivity, plant- wide visibility and other statistics to be sent digitally anywhere in the world. Memex Automation solutions are used by a variety of Okuma customers throughout a variety of industries. Their applications are designed to interface with a wide range of controllers and data including the open-architecture Okuma THINC®-OSP control. 

Benefits of Memex Automation solutions include:

• Manufacturing Execution System which improves profitability, reduces waste and
  ensures compliance with regulations
  
• MERLIN machine monitoring typically increases shop floor efficiency by 10% or more
  
• Direct Numerical Control allows for simultaneous upload and download of multiple CNC
  controls
  
• MERLIN offers an M2M communications platform for enabling information from
  machines to be utilized for improving machining operations
  “We are excited to announce our new partnership with Memex Automation. Their expertise and dedication to helping manufacturers obtain the highest level of profitability possible through real time productivity information tools, makes them a great addition to Partners in THINC.” says Jeff Estes, Director of Partners in THINC.
  For more information on Memex Automation and other members of Partners in THINC, visit http://www.okuma.com/partners-in-thinc.
  

Okuma America Corporation
11900 Westhall Drive • Charlotte, North Carolina 28278 • Phone: (704) 588-7000 • Fax: (704) 588-6503 • www.Okuma.com ISO 9001:2008 Registered Quality System

About Okuma America Corporation:

Okuma America Corporation is the U.S.-based sales and service affiliate of Okuma Corporation, a world leader in CNC (computer numeric control) machine tools, founded in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. The company is the industry’s only single-source provider, with the CNC machine, drive, motors, encoders, spindle and CNC control all manufactured by Okuma. Okuma’s innovative and reliable technology, paired with comprehensive, localized service protection, allows users to run continuously with confidence – maximizing profitability. Along with its industry- leading distribution network (largest in the Americas), and Partners in THINC®, Okuma facilitates quality, productivity and efficiency, empowering the customer and enabling competitive advantage in today’s demanding manufacturing environment. For more information, visit www.okuma.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @OkumaAmerica.
About Partners in THINC:

Partners in THINC is a collaboration network of more than 40 industry leaders who come together to solve problems and explore new productivity ideas for real-world manufacturers. With the open architecture, PC-based THINC®- OSP control as its nucleus, Partners in THINC brings specialized equipment, expertise and a commitment to provide the best possible integrated solutions to the end-user. For more information, visit www.okuma.com/partners-in- thinc.
About Memex Automation:

Memex Automation (TSX-V:OEE) is the leader of the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (“OEE”) in
real-time. OEE is the measurement of plant-wide capacity utilization. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE enterprise-wide, machine by machine. Frost & Sullivan awarded MERLIN its 2013 Technology Innovation Leadership Award. In 2013, Microsoft picked MERLIN to be its mid-market ERP machine connectivity solution. MERLIN incorporates the MTConnect standard, an open source royalty free XML protocol, and it solves the last meter connectivity problem faced by 97% of manufacturers. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.
###