PlantSuccess
Newsletter
Volume III, Issue 14
23 July 2003
Dear
Subscriber:
PlantSuccess
has a unique focus: The successful implementation of engineering IT and its impact
on operating plants with innovative managers from industry leaders speaking to
business drivers, the impact on work processes and integration requirements.
The IT discussed is application software that improves plant production and
operational effectiveness and makes good use of available computer technology –
something most of us take for granted.
It has been
several years since the celebration marking the 50th anniversary of
the U.S. Army unveiling the Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer (ENIAC) the world's first operational, general purpose, electronic
digital computer, developed at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering,
University of Pennsylvania. It had 19,000 vacuum tubes and weighed more
than 30 tons. Of the scientific developments spurred by World War II, ENIAC
ranks as one of the most influential and pervasive.
The first
commercial computer, UNIVAC 1, was delivered to the U.S Department of
Commerce in 1951. In five years, the measure of OPS (operations per second)
increased by a factor of 100. By 1964, the unit of measure was another 100
times faster -- 1 megaOPS. Also, this was the year Seymour Cray designed
the first commercially successful supercomputer, the CDC 6600, rated at 9
megaOPS. Cray continued as the leader in supercomputers, at CDC with the Cray 1
and Cray 2 (rated at 1 billion OPS) in 1985; he founded Cray Computer in 1989
and, in 1991, launched a supercomputer with a speed of 16 gigaOPS.
Today, for
less than $1,000, anyone can buy a personal computer capable of several gigaOPS
– equivalent to one of the fastest computers in the world less than 10 years
ago! In 1996, IBM developed ASCI Red, the first teraOPS supercomputer;
the unit of measure is now multiple teraOPS. In 2002, Japan jumped into the
supercomputer lead with Earth Simulator, a $500 million machine operating at 35
teraOPS. This lead may be short-lived as IBM was awarded a contract by the U.S.
Department of Energy to build a 100 teraOPS machine.
Government
funds the leadership position and the use is greatest within the government
sector as well; however, commercial applications for supercomputers are
increasing. Saudi Aramco uses a cluster of 1800 Pentium III processors
to process seismic data from its oil and gas explorations. Other commercial
users for at least one of the world’s fastest 500 supercomputers include Johnson
and Johnson, Charles Schwab, Sprint, State Farm, Nike, Nestle and Avon.
As we
reaffirm at every PlantSuccess conference, the limitations for the successful
implementation of engineering IT are not technical and, obviously, we will
never be at loss for compute power. The primary issue is managing change and
people and technology and the information needed to improve plant performance.
PlantSuccess
attracts speakers, attendees and sponsors to share experience, products and
services that will help achieve a successful implementation of engineering IT,
manage change, and improve production.
Sponsors
for PlantSuccess Northeast 2003 include The
Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SGR). Established in 1987, The Shaw Group is a
global provider of comprehensive services to the power, process and
environmental and infrastructure industries and includes the venerable Stone
& Webster, Inc, one of our industry’s oldest engineering companies, founded
in 1889. The Company operates three business segments:
The
Integrated EPC Services segment provides a range of design and construction
related services including design, engineering, construction, procurement, and
maintenance, piping system fabrication and consulting services, primarily to
the power generation and process industries. The Environmental and
Infrastructure segment provides services that include the identification of
contaminants in soil, air and water and the subsequent design and execution of
remedial solutions. Through the Manufacturing and Distribution segment, Shaw
manufactures specialty stainless, alloy and carbon steel pipe fittings for use
in pipe fabrication.
Learn more
about The Shaw Group at www.shawgrp.com
and from Shaw Group personnel in the Solutions Marketplace at PlantSuccess
Northeast 2003, 15-16 October at the PHL Airport Marriott. Visit www.PlantSuccess.com for more
information and join us.
Best
regards,
Carl. Howk,
Chairman
*****************
Current
Links
*****************
Real-time Performance
Management
A very good
article from ARC Advisory Group (Cambridge,
Ma) supporting their claim that RPM is the next frontier in operational
excellence … READ MORE.
A
comprehensive report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers
on a topic that impacts too many global companies. No industry is safe; asset
misappropriation is the most widely reported crime and the average loss per
company is more than $2 million. According to the survey, asset
misappropriation and cyber crime will remain the most visible of economic
crimes. 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 14 Newsletter articles: