Furthering its push to help manufacturers integrate multifarious silos of business and plant floor data, Incuity Software Inc. has released a new version of its flagship product, Incuity EMI.
Incuity EMI version 2.4 is packaged with preconfigured templates that let users tailor applications for viewing and analyzing data from multiple sources and databases, from any location within the enterprise, company officials said. The aim is to increase operational equipment efficiency and production performance.
Usability enhancements include Type Builder, which creates data models in a "point and click" environment in which a user identifies data types and enters text, prompting the Incuity system to automatically write the associated XML code on the back end, said Ted Hill, head of business development and a co-founder of Incuity, in an interview with Managing Automation. Previously, users needed a systems integrator or consultant to provide the XML code, Hill added.
"A lot of [MI] applications are more of a toolkit: Users have to start from scratch and determine what data they want to look at and in what format," AMR Research analyst Alison Smith told Managing Automation. "Then someone in the company has to spend a lot of time becoming a product expert" to deal with configuration. The Incuity product bucks that trend, she said.
Other user interface enhancements in version 2.4 include customizable graphical dashboard icons for monitoring and measuring any KPI entered into the software.
"Theoretically, it's possible to roll up a KPI metric to a CEO sitting in his office, and tell him whether he's making money from a certain process on the plant floor at a given time," said Don Allen, Incuity's vice president of corporate communications, in an interview. Other contextual information associated with a certain data point, such as meaning, consequences, and corrective actions, can be accessed in real time via the same dashboard, he said.
While Incuity EMI users could always access multiple data sources, they now can aggregate disparate data from otherwise unrelated systems. In one example, a specialty chemicals company using the new version of Incuity EMI noticed that one of its fluid vessels was taking longer than usual to heat up, Allen said. The company drilled into its OEE data and found no problem with the vessel itself. But because the company's utilities usage data was also tied into the Incuity system, the manufacturer determined that the steam delivered to the affected vessel was coming in at a lower-than-normal temperature. The company made the necessary adjustment to get its batch times back to normal.
"Manufacturers can't afford to silo manufacturing process performance data from their asset data and supply chain execution data" when seeking to optimize profits, a recent report from AMR Research stated. A related survey by the research firm found that in response to gaps in manufacturing performance areas, such as optimized finite capacity scheduling, in-process quality management, and information exchange between plant floor applications and ERP systems, manufacturers have identified enabling technologies — including EMI applications — as significant investment targets in their upcoming budgetary planning cycles.
"The market is starting to recognize the value of manufacturing intelligence products based on the levels of investment we're seeing," Smith said, adding that such investments typically range from $125,000 to $200,000. Pricing for the Incuity EMI system starts at around $25,000, the company said.
Similar to the recent consolidation of other enterprise application areas, Smith noted, small, niche MI vendors like Incuity are expected to become prime targets for acquisition by larger automation infrastructure and software vendors. Incuity officials declined to comment on the possibility of an acquisition.
In its latest round of financing last summer, Incuity received $5 million in venture capital, which brought total investment in the company to $7.3 million over the past two years, company officials said at the time.
Incuity maintains 23 active value-added reseller agreements, Allen said, with plans to announce two or three additional VARs later this month. The company claims about 1,000 customers in its main vertical markets, including oil & gas, specialty chemicals, food & beverage, and metals.
In addition, although its reseller agreement with Wonderware has expired, Incuity continues to support Wonderware's ActiveFactory manufacturing intelligence product, which is based on the original Incuity tool set, through a version of the EMI product called "Incuity Classic," Hill said.
Incuity EMI is built on open standards and platform technologies that facilitate interaction with almost any data source and client application in an enterprise. Version 2.4 adds support for international versions of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft Office.