22 May

Knowledge is Not as Powerful as Actionable Information

by Synergy Systems in Engineering & Automation Experts

This photo, “Information” is copyright (c) 2014 Barney Moss and made available under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license

The old trope says that knowledge is power and technology has made knowledge more available than ever. In fact, knowledge has become almost too easy to acquire. Books have been written about information overload. What these books really point at isn’t knowledge or information. We live in a time of data overload to the point where it’s difficult to translate it all into actionable information. Luckily for the business world, all this data can work towards a profitable end.

The process industry benefits from advanced technology that not only collects all data available, but translates it into actionable information. We stressed this last week in our discussion on Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. KPIs are the informational result of data translation. They let everyone from the engineers to plant managers know exactly what they need to without forcing them to sort through masses of irrelevant numbers.

Power to optimize your process and increase bottom line profits requires more than simple knowledge, these days. Knowledge is data. You can accumulate as much as you want, but it will mean nothing if it’s not actionable. Business with expertly designed control systems and HMI screen receive a huge competitive advantage over the competition. With real time data translated to actionable information, businesses having all they need to achieve their goals.

23 Jan

The Effect of Industrial Automation on Job Growth

by Synergy Systems in Industry News

Today’s news on industrial automation often revolves around the speed of growth. Similar to other technologies, automation has grown faster than we could ever have expected. Intelligent systems can measure almost any Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and predict future plant needs. The abilities of today’s industrial technologies are nothing short of astonishing.

The truly great thing about the evolution of industrial automation has nothing to do with its capabilities. Instead, it’s in how it effects job growth in industrialized nations. Martin Buchwitz wrote a column in Automation World crediting automation with the prevention of de-industrialization.

Before the rise of today’s advanced technologies, voices in the industrial world discussed automation as a job killer. We see today that advanced industrial automation has done quite the opposite. The catalyst of low job growth is not in the advancement of machinery, but in the competitive low wages of developing countries.

Industrial automation provides businesses and process industries significant monetary savings. As such, many do not feel a need to move out of industrialized nations. Buchwitz speaks about this effect on Germany, but the same can be said for the United States. Those businesses who may have considered moving production out of our country have the superior alternative of adopting money-saving technologies that allow them to stay right where they are while still competing in the global market place.

The influence of advanced automation in the job market is especially evident to Synergy, as we reach out to people with an interest in automation technologies. We’ve even created a job posting on LinkedIn. Industrial automation will only continue to benefit future businesses and economies. Perhaps it will even play a role in the return of industries which, until now, had to rely on cheap labor to save money.

24 May

Data vs. Information: a growing Synergy

by Synergy Systems in Synergy News & Achievements

Synergy Systems Services Include

These days, there is nothing our state-of-the-art technology can’t measure. From the amount of electricity being used per hour in a plant to the amount of product being created within a day, nothing is beyond measurement. While the data we can gather is remarkable, translating it into useful information that can be used at every level in a plant can be difficult.

To this end, we have updated our website to reflect three of our growing services aimed at turning data into information, improving the overall process of the plant and defining the specific information needed in all levels of a plant.

The following services are growing areas of Synergy Systems Inc.

Asset Reliability: We imagine a process system with tangible assets that have the ability to collect a variety of data and easily resent it as information relevant to workers in every level of a plant.
Business Performance: Since business performance is often dependent on the human element of a plant and worker’s ability to make fast decisions, we strive to design HMI which takes this human element into consideration. We strive to create HMI that makes it easy to read and react to information about the plant or process.
Key Performance Indicators: Key Performance Indicators, also known as KPI, are specific measure of performance chosen by a business in order to maintain progress toward a goal.

These three services together create the most optimized system for safety, reliability and efficiency. Intelligent technology is able to gather enormous amounts of data and present to those at different levels of a plant the specific information they need.

We are proud to be growing our expertise into these areas and furthering our commitment to the creation of safe, reliable and efficient plants.