Steeplechase Software Inc.Ann Arbor, Mich.
Dec. 21, 2004
Doug Bartholomew, Samuel Greengard, Glenn Hasek, John Jesitus, Scott Leibs, Kristin Ohlson, Robert Patton, Barb Schmitz, Tim Stevens, and John Teresko contributed to this article. In the late 1960s when banks of hard-wired industrial relays provided process control on production floors, the advent of the solid-state programmable logic controller (PLC) had most seers predicting the demise of the older technology and/or industry. That didn't happen, but a significant PLC industry was born as manufacturing management took advantage of the benefits of the new control scheme. Today, history in the control arena seems to be repeating itself with an equally significant watershed event. Now, the PLC is meeting new competition. Personal computers (PCs) are vying for control of the factory floor. While predictions are again being made that one will replace the other, the more significant issue is why and how the shift is taking place. Strategic business benefits are the "why," says Steeplechase President and CEO Mike Klein, whose company offers Visual Logic Controller (VLC) software that enables PCs to perform discrete control. He emphasizes three benefits:
- Lower control investment.
- Increased productivity in design and manufacturing operations.
- Reduced downtime with built-in, flow-chart-based diagnostics.
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