Track Overview

Industrial IT & Connectivity

Track Leader:  Tom Burke
Wednesday May 21, 2008

Industrial automation has fueled the tremendous manufacturing productivity growth of the last 20 years. And it’s not slowing down. An increasing number of systems and devices are being developed that enhance industrial efficiencies, but these systems do not function in isolation. They form a very large and complex industrial ecosystem that must interoperate for maximum benefit. This ecosystem spans from field instrumentation through control and manufacturing execution systems up thru Enterprise Resource Planning. As industrial systems become more integrated with energy systems, this ecosystem will expand and grow beyond existing boundaries. The IndConn track explores several key areas that are critical for improving the connectivity and interoperability of complex industrial systems.

Industrial Collaboration Landscape

11:30 - 1:00

Industrial standards have grown out of the customer’s need to integrate systems and devices from different manufacturers. These standards are often targeted at solving specific interoperability problems within defined application domains. The growth in the number and scope of these standards has resulted in an increasing overlap in functionality and applicability, often leading to market confusion. This panel session will bring together influential leaders of several important standards organizations to discuss the collaboration landscape and the importance of standards harmonization within industrial systems and between industrial systems and electric systems.

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The Greening of Industry

2:30 - 4:00

The consumption of affordable, ubiquitous energy has fueled our economy and way of life. As the side effects of this consumption are better understood, it is becoming apparent that the environmental impact is significant: Energy supplies are limited and costs are rising. As a result, industries will be analyzing business operations in context with carbon emissions, energy supplies and costs. Energy, including electrical power, will be a first-class resource. Industrial automation will enable active energy and power management through enhanced connectivity with energy suppliers. Capital investments in carbon reduction technologies will also require enhanced automation. This panel session will explore the opportunities and challenges that automation end users and vendors face in the years ahead as the importance of energy conservation increases.

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Information Modeling

4:30 - 6:00

Communication between systems requires more than basic connectivity, network connectivity, and syntactic interoperability. For systems to effectively interoperate, the information that is communicated must also be understood by all systems. This becomes even more important as industrial systems cross traditional boundaries and interact with the electrical system. Achieving common understanding of terminology and concepts involves both the message constructs themselves and the relationships between constructs. Information modeling provides a set of tools for defining this common understanding. This session will discuss the importance of information modeling as well as technologies and techniques for creating interoperable solutions that enable complex integration.

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