- A Gift of Manufacturing Funding for Christmas - Last week, Governor Cuomo announced the award of half a billion dollars in state economic assistance to Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. That is a nice Christmas gift. Just how great it is will depend on how much value we and the region can gain from it. The question we should ask ourselves is,… Continue Reading
- Need Equipment? Consider Retrofitting - When your solution provider presents you with a proposed equipment project to solve a current manufacturing need, is he or she really offering you the most cost effective approach? How can you be sure that your partner has left no metaphorical solution stone unturned, and that you are in fact being offered a well thought… Continue Reading
- Diversity of a different kind also yields success - Business Truth: a successful company provides products or services with a unique value proposition. One way to do this is by specializing in one particular area, or ‘vertical.’ Another way to do this is to provide a flexible solution that can work well for a variety of clients. This is true for my industry -… Continue Reading
- Safety Co-Ops at Optimation - In the past 7 years we have been using college co-ops in a Corporate Safety Engineering role at Optimation. Three of the six we have had have moved on to careers in the health and safety field, one will be returning to college shortly and one will continue to work for Optimation on a part-time… Continue Reading
- Manufacturing Trends in 2016 - At Optimation Technology we care deeply about manufacturing in the USA. It is our passion to grow the U.S. manufacturing base and increase manufacturing employment. We served a broad cross section of industries and provide automation, process optimization and customized manufacturing equipment for our clients. 2015 was a difficult year for many U.S. manufacturers. Manufacturing… Continue Reading
- DCS Systems and the “Connected Enterprise” - It’s been just a few weeks since my FT Batch presentation at the Rockwell Process Systems User’s group meeting in Chicago and I remain overwhelmed by a significant theme of the event: our modern DCS systems are now a “connected enterprise.” If you read this overview article on Rockwell’s site, The Connected Enterprise puts the… Continue Reading
- Train Multiple Resources For Contract Engineering Services - Many of our clients look to hire one of our employees as an embedded resource at their facility. This work could be anything from being a part of the customer’s project team, to being an on-call resource to do whatever is required onsite, or as an engineering consultant. Some companies are constrained by headcount limits,… Continue Reading
- Simplified Incremental Manufacturing Improvements with Skid Systems - Many companies who manufacture goods frequently find themselves lacking resources, space, and time to invest in their business when it comes to improving or expanding their production processes. Attempts to add new equipment, or shutdowns to existing equipment for upgrades, become disruptive and interfere with meeting production quotas; the additional work also stretches staff with… Continue Reading
- Why system integrators should be technology agnostic - "If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail." That old saying sounds a lot like the scenario that many system integrators perpetuate, by focusing on the solutions of only one hardware provider or technology. Being good at something doesn't necessarily qualify you to apply that expertise to… Continue Reading
- The Outlook for US Manufacturing in 2016 - At Optimation we support the manufacturing industries with engineering, design, and skilled trades’ services. In part, our success is based on the strength and growth of the US manufacturing sector. 2015 was not one of our best years and we heard similar reports from many others providing industrial services. 2015 is a year when manufacturing… Continue Reading
