PlantSuccess Newsletter

Volume III, Issue 6

19 March 2003

Dear Subscriber:

We’re just 18 months from 9/11, an event that none of us will ever forget, because of the senseless, unprovoked terrorist attacks resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent non-combatants. Almost immediately, we had to make the decision of canceling or going ahead with PlantSuccess 2001, just three weeks hence. We chose to go ahead.

Responses were numerous and from around the world; some of the most poignant came from beyond our shores. Richard Longdon, AVEVA Group plc CEO, expressed the sentiments of many when he said, “I like the tone of your message. In the UK we feel as much a part of this as you and having had to live with terrorism across our country for many years we, perhaps more than any other western nation, understand your horror and anguish.

“As you say we must not change our lives, as this would be to give in. In order to show our strength we need to prove through our actions that we are stronger than this and terrorism will not stop us going about our business and living our lives in freedom.”

We have been at war since then – no new major attacks on our soil and the capture of several terrorist leaders tell me that we’re making progress. Unfortunately, we’ll be entering a new phase soon with war against Iraq only hours away.

For the past several months, the threat of war has hurt the world economy; that uncertainty is gone. With other excuses out of the way, our businesses need to focus on the positive and the successful PlantSuccess Gulf Coast 2003, 9-10 April at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake, will do just that. Join another outstanding roster of speakers, innovative managers from industry leaders including:

	AVEVA		Fluor
	Bayer		Intel
	Black & Veatch		Ivara
	Breakthrough Process Consulting		J D Edwards
	CDM		OSIsoft
	Dow Chemical		SAIC
	DuPont		Shell Global Solutions
	ExxonMobil		Ventura Foods

Visit www.PlantSuccess.com to:

Review abstracts and the agenda
Review prior presentations
Register online for PlantSuccess Gulf Coast 2003
Read a review and order the first in a new series of books, “Circle of Knowledge” by John Voeller, chief knowledge officer and chief technology officer for Black & Veatch Corporation.

Best regards,

Carl Howk, Chairman

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Featured Sponsors

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PlantSuccess values the support of many sponsors with leading products and services marketed to the owner-operators, all of which have been successfully implemented numerous times and can be demonstrated to improve plant operations and maintenance. Attend PlantSuccess; visit our sponsors.

J.D. Edwards (Nasdaq: JDEC) offers collaborative enterprise software as well as consulting, education and support services. The company believes strongly in a deeply ingrained attitude of listening to customers, innovating on their behalf, and delivering solutions as part of a results-oriented relationship.

J.D. Edwards 5, the newest generation of the company’s offering, is a comprehensive family of modular, web-enabled, collaborative enterprise software products and services. J.D. Edwards 5 consists of seven product lines: ERP, CRM, Supply Chain, Supplier Relationship Management, Business Intelligence, Collaboration and Integration, and Tools and Technology.

OSIsoft is privately held and is headquartered in San Leandro, California with offices worldwide. With more than 10,000 PI Systems installed in 80 countries, OSIsoft is the leading provider of software products for Enterprise Performance Management to global manufacturing and utilities. OSIsoft’s Web services enabled products are used to build enterprise-wide information architectures, to collect real-time information from the manufacturing floor, for vendor-managed inventory systems and for product lifecycle management.

JD Edwards and OSIsoft join AVEVA Group, plc, Ivara Corporation and FIATECH as sponsors of PlantSuccess Gulf Coast 2003.

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Conference Agenda

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In a short period of time, PlantSuccess has built and enviable reputation for outstanding content in a conference focused on the owner-operator and his successful use of IT and its impact on business drivers, work practices and integration requirements.

		PlantSuccess Gulf Coast 2003
		Best Practices Driving Plant Performance
		April 9 - 10, 2002
		Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake

	Tue; 4/8/03
	7:00 – 9:00pm	PlantSuccess Registration - Admiral Ballroom Foyer
	7:00 – 11:00	Sponsor Set-up – Solutions Marketplace

	Wed; 4/9/03
	6:30 – 8:00am	PlantSuccess Registration - Admiral Ballroom Foyer
	6:30 – 8:00	Continental Breakfast – Solutions Marketplace – Admiral Ballroom
	8:00 – 9:00	Welcome – Carl Howk, Chairman
		Introduction – Kirk Wilson, VP of Engineering Services, Bayer
		Keynote Address – The Environment for Competitive Success
		Doug Walker, retired executive, ExxonMobil
		Moderator: Rob Harvan, Senior Editor, World Refining Magazine
	9:00 – 9:30	Beverage Break – Solutions Marketplace
	9:30 – 10:45	From the Leaders: Different Approaches to Supporting Plant Operations
		Martin Brown - Manager of Site Engineering, Bayer
		Richard Brod - Engineering Leader for Technical Operations, Dow Chemical
		Kelly Byers - Regional Engineering Manager for Technology Operations, DuPont
		Moderator: Charlie Gillard, Principal, Charles Gillard & Associates
	10:45 – 11:45	ERP Integration at Eastman: A Path to Success
		Johnette McDaniel, I/T Manufacturing & Services Systems, Eastman Chemical
		EAM Integration at Ventura Foods: A Path to Success
		Carlton Cunningham, Manager of Facility Engineering, Ventura Foods
		Moderator: Gerhard Meinecke, Principal, Facility Life Cycle Consulting
	12:00 – 1:00	Buffet Lunch – Solutions Marketplace

	1:00 – 1:45	Driving Software Project Management to Success
		Michael St Angelo, Principal, Breakthrough Process Consulting
		Moderator: Charlie Gillard, Principal, Charles Gillard & Associates
	1:45 – 2:30	Industrial Site Security - Threats & Solutions
		Ben Butchko, Senior Security Engineer, ExxonMobil
		Moderator: Bill Beazley, Exec Director, Society of Piping Engineers & Designers
	2:30 – 3:15	ESP: Economic Targets, Improved Work Processes, Increased Collaboration
		George Pohl, Senior Staff Engineer, Shell Global Solutions
		Moderator: Rob Harvan, Senior Editor, World Refining Magazine
	3:15 – 3:45	Beverage Break – Solutions Marketplace
	3:45 – 5:00	Panel Discussion -- Solutions for Process Industry Owner-Operators
		Steve Lorenz, Business Development Manager, AVEVA
		Gino Palarchio, VP of Client Solutions, Ivara
		Mark Wieber, Marketing Manager, Asset Intensive Industries, JD Edwards
		Tom Hosea, Application Consultant, OSIsoft
		Moderator: Bob Donaho, Director of Design Engineering, Dow Chemical
	5:00 – 7:00	Visit PlantSuccess Sponsors ... Learn Their Capabilities – Solutions Marketplace
	5:00 – 7:00	Cocktail Reception – Solutions Marketplace

	Thu; 10/10/01
	6:30 – 8:00am	PlantSuccess Registration - Admiral Ballroom Foyer
	6:30 – 8:00	Continental Breakfast – Solutions Marketplace – Admiral Ballroom
	8:00 – 9:45	Knowledge Management -- Getting Tangible About the Intangible
		Charles Rowney, Chief Knowledge Officer, CDM
		Carol Arnold, Leader - DuPont Engineering University
		Jill Kennard, Business Manager for Knowledge Management, DuPont
		John McQuary, VP of Technology & Strategies Organization, Fluor
		Peter Engstrom, VP for Corporate Development, SAIC
		Moderator: John Voeller, CKO and CTO, Black & Veatch
	9:45 – 10:15	Beverage Break – Solutions Marketplace
	10:15 – 11:00	Intel Retrofit Succeeds with Technology, Innovation and Time to Market
		Mike Alianza, Capital Development Group, Intel
		Moderator: Bill Beazley, Exec Director, Society of Piping Engineers & Designers
	11:00-11:45	Mapping Plant Information and Re-use: Benefits to Process Facility O & M
		Charles Wood, Project Manager, FIATECH
		Moderator: Gerhard Meinecke, Principal, Facility Life Cycle Consulting
	12:00 – 1:00	Buffet Lunch and Wrap-up – Solutions Marketplace

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Current Links

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Gartner CEO: Economic Malaise is Mostly in our Heads

A few voices are sounding optimistic about IT and the US economy, including Gartner Group CEO Michael Fleisher.

"Today we find ourselves at a point of deep pessimism, but I think we're getting lost in the emotions of the moment, succumbing to conventional wisdom and short-term thinking instead of using our experience and our knowledge to find a path forward," Fleisher said. "The claims of the Internet-era entrepreneurs and investors were overblown, and they collapsed with such abruptness that we seem frightened to dream any more about where all this marvelous technology can take us."

Fleisher called such thinking a mistake and said "it is simply inconceivable that technology will not significantly grow in its importance to business and to almost every human endeavor. Almost any activity that we as humans do - from the profoundly important to the trivial and amusing - will likely be advanced by more computing power. Our mutual challenge is taking advantage of what this industry can and will be in 2004 and beyond."

Fleisher predicts three trends will drive demand:

1. The need to replace aging systems;

2. Aggressive vendor pricing policies that have made the benefits of IT investment "clear and dramatic;"

3. The emergence of new technologies and platforms such as Web services and wireless. READ MORE.

Market Forecasts Based on Demand Lend Wisdom to Business Decisions

“Timing can be everything when it comes to closing a deal, winning a new customer, and delivering products and services. Most companies are striving to be real-time enterprises, with key operational data fed to decision makers who can foster immediate responses to changing business conditions.”

A critical component of reaching this goal is forecasting demand for products and services. The Gap Analysis column in the current Optimize Magazine examines how technology and business managers view the importance of demand forecasting. READ MORE.

The PlantSuccess Newsletter generates a substantial number of visits to our website, we welcome the interest and the access to previous issues of the Newsletter which are available there. If you'd like to share this newsletter with a colleague, just forward a copy. Subscribe or cancel by sending a request to Carl.Howk@PlantSuccess.com

Full links to Volume III, Issue 6 Newsletter articles: