PAS Musings

We wrote the book on that!

As I have mentioned before, PAS was first with alarm management software, and now re-asserts its position as The Global Alarm Authority with this book.

    

The book is co-authored by a couple of Alarm Management authorities – PAS Founder & CEO, Eddie Habibi, and PAS Principal Alarm Management Consultant, Bill Hollifield and is based on PAS’s collective expertise & insights from completing hundreds of alarm management projects over the last decade.

    

So besides asserting our rightful leadership position, why write a book?

   

We believe that by sharing best practices and how-to details with the industry, we can help increase safety and reliability in the process industries.

      

If nothing else, we’ll at least raise awareness of how important proper alarm management is, and maybe, just maybe help avoid a situation like that of BP Texas City, where the wrong combination a level, an operator and an alarm meant that cost 15 people their lives last year.

   

<< Check out the animation of the BP incident – well worth viewing.  If this link does not work for you, it is also available as the first link on the BP Texas City page referenced above. >>

   

Back to our book and our aim to help the process industries, we have included step-by-step instructions for developing an alarm philosophy, rationalizing existing alarm systems and even a section on real-time alarm management. 

   

But why is PAS “giving away” the value that we might otherwise sell?

   

It’s because we believe that those who give and seek to help others will also receive.  And even though a pro-active position to share our learnings with the world could cost us potential business, we believe that it will bring about more value over the long term. 

    

There’s already too many secrets in our industry anyway, and so if PAS can help out by sharing, we’re all for that – especially if it can help save lives!

   

Want your own copy of the book?  You can request an advance copy or just wait a few weeks until it is up for sale on Amazon.com. I’ll fill you in on the details for that later.

© Copyright PAS 2006.  No part of this blog is to be copied in full or in part without the express written permission of PAS; but references and web links are more than OK!

   

Blog delays...

For you regular readers out there, I have to tell you that this last week has been full of post-user-conference chaos and so my blog factory is a bit backed up.

On top of that, I moved house this weekend from one apartment to another.  Scary  stuff signing a 1 year lease contract – makes me feel like I moved out on my wife and family for good.  Yikes!

Big stuff happening with the secret weapon at work though… we have published our first-ever PAS book and are now working the publicity and distribution details.

Come back next time to read all about it.

Have a great week!

Users Conference = Success!

We did it!  PAS just pulled off its First-ever Users Conference. 

Not only that, but it was successful.  Not successful like it was our first time ever, but successful like our industry peers who have hosted these events for years.

Customers loved it and long-time PAS staffers were blown away. 

Even I was impressed!   

The PAS marketing machine is really starting to prime the pump for success now!

Although the Users Conference has been a “Gedankenexperiment” with PAS management for about 5 years, it wasn’t until we hired our secret weapon for marketing that things actually took shape. << But that’s a whole other story….>>

Like I said, despite our best Gedankenexperiments, it was the actions of our secret marketing weapon that finally brought about the current success and cranked up the creaky old marketing machine to produce!

And produce it did.

CEO and Founder Eddie Habibi even testifies to that. In a moment of exuberance over the success of the conference and the awakening of the marketing beast, he ‘fessed up that between the Users Conference and the Honeywell deal, PAS has had more market exposure this past month than in the previous 10 years…

Now that may sound great on the surface, but the truth is that it really validates what I saw when I first joined some 6 months ago – that PAS is a company with some great technologies, lots of smart people (including a dose of Super-Gee’s), and a potential for success far beyond what has been imagined in years gone by.

<< Reading between the lines, you can see that there was this big ol’ hole where marketing should have been…>>

As I see it, the company is like one of those little foam pills that your kids might play with – just add water and watch it grow into the shape of an animal.  In this case, we just need to add a touch of marketing, some additional sales focus – and **POOF** – instant success!

As I say, even I’m impressed.

But, as they say in show business –

You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Just you watch and see what is about to transpire in the next week or two.

Yee-haw!!! This is going to be one fine ride!!!! 

Woo-hoo!

© Copyright PAS 2006.  No part of this blog is to be copied in full or in part without the express written permission of PAS; but references and web links are more than OK!

6 Months of Blogging

It has now been 6 months since I started this whole blog adventure. 

And for  that I want to thank my daughter, Bianca, who got me going on this after starting her own blog at college well before I did. 

Kids like her have a lot of great ideas that apply to our world as adults and even companies.  We need to stay tuned to what they have to say…

Thanks also to the others at PAS who have contributed ideas and content ready for use in the blog.  You know who you are – thanks again!

Lastly, I want to thank the many people who have been an encouragement for me to keep writing - especially my business partner Eddie, my wife Elizabeth, and even my neighbor Patricia.  Thanks to these and each of you who have send me feedback, ideas and comments!

People often ask what it’s like to pound out a blog or two every week… I can honestly say it’s not easy and that’s why I encouraged your feedback last time.

The closest analogy that I can come up with for doing a blog is a never-ending English assignment, with deadlines every week. 

For those of you thinking a corporate blog is a good idea, be sure to think twice before jumping off… or you may find, like a boat owner, that the happiest two days of your blogging life are the day you start and the day you end!  J

Despite the time and effort, I find the blog a rewarding outlet – and have yet to fall prey the “boat owner syndrome”.

Looking back over the past 6 months and all that’s been written, I sense that there is some value here worthy of adding a teeny-tiny copyright notice to all the postings.  A matter of process, hopefully offending no one.

6 months down already… bring on the rest of the year!!

Remember – I really value your comments, ideas and feedback.  Click here to email me, even if it is just to say that you’re still reading…

Have a great day!

© Copyright PAS 2006.  No part of this blog is to be copied in full or in part without the express written permission of PAS; but references and web links are more than OK!

Imitation is Flattery

PAS has a long history of firsts:

>> 1st No-Step-Test Multivariable Control (STAR, 1988, via Dot Products)

>> 1st Open Equation Optimizer (NOVA, 1990, via Dot Products)

>> 1st Alarm Management Software (AMO, 1996)

>> 1st Control System Management Software (DOC3000, 1996)

>> 1st First-Principles Non-Linear APC (Polymers NLC, 1998)

>> 1st Multi-System Automation Asset Management Software (Integrity, 2001)

>> 1st Unified Linear/NonLinear Control & Optimization (Galaxy, 2005)

And most recently, this blog is a first.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery and at PAS we welcome that.  Imitation of our software innovations keeps us focused on raising the bar and bringing ever more value to customers. 

And now it seems that at least one of our competitors thinks our blog to be a good idea and has started their own.  This also raises the bar and keeps the pressure on for me to keep on blogging, and blogging, and blogging… – and hopefully adding value as well. 

Over the months, this blog has built up to cover a number of topics – about the company, our products, our strategies and about our industry and my own life as well.  The blog has grown into quite a varied collection of stories and insights and is hopefully proving to be of interest to most of you. 

I’d love to hear from any of you by the way – you can comment directly on any blog or email me your feedback, comments or ideas for topics to discuss.  Any sort of feedback or ideas are helpful – and I promise to keep it anonymous if that’s what you want.

Matrikon's Challenge

Here’s an interesting question: 

>> What happens when a CEO, COO, CFO and VP of sales all quit? 

This is surely a question that Matrikon investors and employees must be asking….

Four officers of the company all gone within 4 months.  Ouch!

Here’s the script:

>> First, the CEO leaves in December – read more

>> Then, in January the Executive VP of Operations leaves – read more

>> And then, in February, the CFO announces his departure – read more

>> And last month, the leading VP of Sales resigns – read more

I don’t think we’ve ever seen such an exodus from the top at any publicly-traded vendor in our industry.

A first test of whether lead balloons can actually float took place yesterday when Matrikon announced their quarterly earnings. 

And even though the stock dropped by 15-20% around the recent earnings and strategy telecon, it looks like common perceptions about flotation may be suspended for a time…

Hard to tell what’s next though through the mixed signals… quarterly revenue growth is down to single digits, even though quarterly gross margin is claimed to have reached a new high. 

With the company-provided forecast at double-digit revenue growth and extreme profit growth ( a rather wide range of 34-62% was provided in the recent news release ), it would seem that the new CEO has his hands full.

Only time will tell what’s next.

Stay tuned, I guess.

50,000 mile checkpoint

They say time flies when you’re having fun.  If my time at PAS is any indication, then I am having a blast!

This week is 6 months since I started.  50,000 miles done of my 100,000 mile commute. 

It’s a good time to take stock and check on progress both at PAS and on the home front.

On the PAS front, we’ve accomplished much in the last 6 months.

We turned what looked to be a conflict with Honeywell around the Integrity software into an OEM deal that benefits both parties in an innovative iPod sort of way.

We’ve reorganized PAS around four strategic lines of business, helping to make the transition from the Owner/CEO model and profitably sustain the high growth  achieved in 2005.

We revamped our website (finally!) and actually started some marketing to customers – which when added to the sales growth we achieved in 2005 without any marketing should put PAS on steroids for growth!

We’re in the midst of launching our first-ever User Conference – scheduled for next week – and promising to be a big success for both existing customers and others wanting to learn more about how our solutions can help them.

We’ve written a book and are having it published this month.  I won’t reveal its content just yet – that’s a surprise for our Conference – but let’s just say that it firmly places PAS on the map as the thought leader in one of our key business areas.

We’ve reorganized our sales leadership and added a VP of sales – Cory Engel – from one of our most aggressive competitors.   And we’ve added talent to all parts of the organization – with more to come (including Software Developers, an Alarm Management Line of Business Manager, a Marketing Manager, Sales Staff, and more) – all of which further strengthens our ability to deliver as we grow.

All in all, I am even more pumped about PAS than when I first started.  This place is good and only getting better!

I guess one other barometer of how things are going is that our Founder and CEO has recently been able to take a longer vacation than he has in years – trusting that the place is in good hands and that the company has the momentum to carry forward even without him. 

And, in a nutshell, that is probably the best report card I could get.

So all is well for the job, but what about my home life?   

Being gone Sunday-Friday is tough duty, but to be honest, there’s no way I’d get all the things done that I do if I was trying to have a family life all through the week…

It might be fine for me to say these things, but what about those at home?

Let’s start with the dog.  He still knows who I am and is excited to see me each Friday.  In fact, he seems even happier to see me come home now than when I cam home every day.  Not sure if there is some sort of doggie-message in that, but all is fine with him. 

So far, so good.

As for my high school daughter, I still seem to be on good terms with her.  I’m not always there to help her with homework, fix her stereo when it breaks, or check the car when it rattles, but she’s tolerant of the situation and appreciates my travel (versus her moving to Houston for her senior year).

Also, so far, so good.

Now for the most important person – my wife.  I have to say that I’m not the easiest person to live with (sound familiar?), and there may be some slight advantage in not always being there, but nonetheless being apart every week from Sunday-Friday has its cost.  Even so, she has been wonderfully supportive, even when I can’t finish all the “honey do” list on the ever-so-short weekend.  And in a strange sort of way the whole being-apart-all-week and then let’s-spend-the-weekend-together thing does have its high points, in a newlywed-ish sort of way.

So it is true that “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”.

In closing – good people at PAS and strong family relationships are making the 100,000 mile commute possible.

Life is good – I have been blessed on both at home and at work.

Thanks for putting up with my musings…

Honeywell's new iPod?

This iPod idea for ease of use and integration of disparate data types really has some attraction to it.  Even (or should I say especially?) in the process industries…

Check out the recent decision by Honeywell to adopt the PAS Integrity product as an OEM product of their own. 

Automation Change Manager, they call it.

This is great news – for customers and for PAS.

Customers benefit because they can now capture all the great benefits that DOC3000 has given them since 1997 for all sorts of other automation assets, including all types of PLC’s, DCS’s, real-time databases, advanced controls and more…

PAS benefits because the significantly larger Honeywell sales force is now out there promoting and selling a PAS product. 

And, of course, Honeywell benefits too – having a solution that differentiates them from other DCS vendors and making them that much more attractive to those customers already using multiple brands of DCS.

Everyone wins - just the kind of story that we all like.  Yeay!!

But that’s not where it ends.

At PAS, we are already busy working with the other vendors of control systems, real-time databases and applications – all to broaden the “footprint” and increase the value of our Integrity product to customers.

Who knows?  Maybe our next OEM partner with Integrity (pun intended) will happen to be your most favorite DCS vendor....

Until then, Integrity is always available directly from PAS.

Integrity – the iPod for automation assets in the process industries….

Our Industry's Start to an iPod?

Last time, I paralleled the iPod to a vision we might set for systems & software used for automation in the process industries. 

The iPod allows anyone to easily manage videos, photos and music on a wonderfully-designed device made for easy use.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could manage process operations at a manufacturing site so easily?  The analogy might be stretching it a bit too far, but the point I want to make is that the iPod was designed for intuitive use by anyone, even for multiple data types from disparate sources.

At most operating facilities today, there is a disparate set of automation assets – Distributed Control Systems, real-time databases, advanced controls, etc. – which are designed for purpose around a specific technology and not always even for ease of use by the end-user. 

As the industry has leaned more heavily on technology over the years, significant benefit has been realized.  Systems, devices & advanced controls have all increased throughput. Real-time databases have provided a basis for spreadsheets, performance applications & business applications to optimize decision-making. 

Each of these investments has helped capture ever more profit. But each new investment requires its own care and feeding. 

And then we ended up with a tangled web of connectivity between many different automation assets, each with its own expert to keep it all running. 

And now how does the controls expert know that the range change he just made now invalidated a spreadsheet calculation used by the engineer to adjust unit operations? 

Or how does the real-time database administrator know that changing the name of a certain yield calculation means that the default value used in the business application is now leaving $125,000 of profit on the table?

Enter the iPod precursor… the Integrity software from PAS.

Integrity interconnects all automation assets at the configuration level to automatically generate and maintain a data map of all real-time data flow across the unit, plant or enterprise. 

Now the controls expert and database administrator can see the impact of their change – BEFORE they make it.  Similarly, engineers and businesspeople can be aware of any changes that impact their decision-making tools and applications BEFORE they act.

At the plant with Integrity, decisions are made on the right information. 

At the plant without Integrity decisions are made on the available information, but NOBODY KNOWS if that is still the right information.  In fact, they will never know until something goes seriously wrong or somebody takes the time to come up with the latest real-time data map. 

Integrity compensates for the jumble of mismatched systems, devices, databases, applications and real-time interconnectivity between them all – simplifying the management of all these disparate assets, just like an iPod simplifies management of music, photos and videos.

There isn’t yet an iPod for our situation and there may never be, but there sure is a pretty close precursor to that, and it’s called Integrity.

Think your plant doesn’t need Integrity?

Ask a summer student to map out the real-time data flow for your plant and see what kind of data mismatch and bad assumptions you have your plant.

Just try it.  And then email me to tell me what you find.