Optimation Blog

“Rapid” is how we describe getting things done quickly.  It implies that an objective is pursued with haste, but not with waste.  Rapid is positive, advantageous, and sought-after.

In the brave new world of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), many companies are discovering that they have better connectivity and access to a wide variety of data generated by their business and manufacturing computing systems.  This digital information is a product of databases used to order products, manufacture them, and even ship them.  With all this information at hand, manufacturers are beginning to ask how the data could be used (mined) to improve a whole host of company metrics, like lead times, yields, supply chain efficiency, etc.  With most businesses that utilize computers across their product delivery stream, the key is to cull out the valuable information from the massive amounts of less valuable data at hand.  As you might imagine, this becomes a daunting challenge.

For those of you who believe your data really resides in a cloud, I’m about to burst your bubble. Did you know that 99 percent of the data traffic that is crossing oceans is carried by undersea cables? Yep – that’s right. For those of you that think Amazon, Microsoft, Dell, Google, IBM, & Alibaba are the data traffic kings, think again (although they may help fund the majority of these cables).

Here in Rochester, as we enter the official start of winter, we are experiencing the weather conditions that herald the season of chill:  short days, snowy fields, nasty driving conditions, and festive holiday lights that attempt to take our minds off of all that has gone into hibernation.

At Optimation we design and fabricate many skid systems. These systems are used by manufacturers for a broad variety of applications. Skids can be built as carts, in frames, in shipping containers or trailers. They can be built as prefab production lines units that can be bolted together to form larger systems. Physical layout can be tailored to the complexity, geography and environmental conditions the skid needs to perform in. Some are mounted indoors in factory conditions, others may ultimately be located in the arctic, or on an offshore oil platform. Applications also vary. Some are used for chemical delivery or small scale chemical processing. Others have been used for hydrogen distribution, high pressure test systems, food processing or testing medical devices. Skid systems have the advantage of being built in a shop in controlled conditions and then installed in remote or challenging locations.     

One of the most important factors for a successful project is being able to specify the requirements up front. Many times, the customer doesn’t know exactly what he needs. More preliminary engineering is required to get the project requirements specific enough for suppliers to offer a fixed price bid for the project. But often, clients don’t realize they need to budget for this and therefore don’t want to pay for this service.

The introduction of collaborative robots (cobots) in manufacturing has presented some unique safety challenges for production workers, engineers, managers, and safety professionals. In my opinion, cobots represent the ingenuity driven by continual process improvement for sustainable and safe work.

What a fabulous week of celebrating Apprenticeships! If you've been following along, we've shared an interview with a journey worker and an apprentice at Optimation each day. Each one gave a different answer to the same questions I've been asking all week. We had a breakfast with our apprentices on Wednesday, celebrating them for making an investment in themselves, Optimation's future, and manufacturing's future. We're truly fortunate to have the best group of apprentices out there. Happy National Apprenticeship Week!

We're celebrating National Apprenticeship Week all week long here at Optimation! As a part of our celebration, we're featuring interviews from one Optimation apprentice and one of our skilled journey workers each day this week. It's a chance to get to know some of our employees a little better, learn about the apprenticeship experience firsthand, and learn some wisdom from the folks who are fully immersed in their careers.

We're celebrating National Apprenticeship Week all week long here at Optimation! As a part of our celebration, we're featuring interviews from one Optimation apprentice and one of our skilled journey workers each day this week. It's a chance to get to know some of our employees a little better, learn about the apprenticeship experience firsthand, and learn some wisdom from the folks who are fully immersed in their careers.