ORLANDO, FL—Invensys Operations Management used its OpsManage ’10 North American conference here to brief more than 1,100 attendees on the company’s efforts to unify nine of its brands under the InFusion Enterprise Control System umbrella.
Invensys Operations Management also unveiled a slate of component products for the InFusion control system this week, including an ArchestrA-enabled programmable automation controller (PAC), a SIL-2 safety system, and a software-as-a-service (SaaS) mobile reporting application with manufacturing intelligence capabilities.
Perhaps the most noteworthy announcement was a preview of the company’s ArchestrA Workflow engine, the offspring of the company’s acquisition of Skelta Software this past April. Currently in beta, the workflow engine will be the key to closing the loop between business strategy and plant floor execution, officials said.
The workflow technology will be embedded across the product portfolio, said Rashesh Mody, Invensys Operations Management senior vice president of portfolio and marketing, during a press and analyst lunch meeting today. Mody characterized operational workflow as a central focus for global manufacturers, Companies may produce the same types of goods at different manufacturing locations around the globe, Mody explained, but each site uses different processes and people. “The way to capture that [and standardize it] is to create a template in which workflow is the key,” he said.