Manufacturing Automation Protocol

Manufacturing automation protocol can involve several different things. From a business perspective, the protocol refers the proper procedures used to implement the process. An information technology specialist will have several different protocols in mind when he hears the phrase most likely. The business owner or administrator is interested in the operation of the business, while the information technology specialist is interested in the operation of the machines.

While the administrator may pride himself on being a big picture person, he needs to pay attention to the recommendations of the information technology staff he entrusts to run the equipment for him. Using machines that run on different or completely incompatible protocols will cause a the process to come to stand still. This is true even if the machines run different versions of the same manufacturing automation protocol.

Another thing that may make an overall manufacturing automation protocol difficult to implement is that some companies offer “extensions” to their machines that are not always supported by the company’s competitors. Such extensions resemble the attempt International Business Machines made in the past to make sure that PC clones did not achieve the dominant market share.

The reader can assume that since IBM no longer makes personal computers that this attempt failed miserably. Even though IBM failed, it does not mean other companies have not have had success using similar strategies. The goal, stated or otherwise, is to make sure a customer only buys equipment and replacement parts from the manufacturer. Conflicts in protocol implementation of the same manufacturing automation protocol are at best problematic. Fortunately, many companies do not use this practice. It occurs most frequently when two companies are competing to establish a not well-defined protocol and have their particular version implemented as the standard. Most manufacturing protocols used for manufacturing are long-established by now.