Business Value of Theory of Operations Content

Among all the kinds of technical documentation that can be written, a Theory of Operations document stands out as one that should be prioritized.

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8 New Year’s Resolutions for Technical Information Managers

JANA has put together a list of 8 New Year’s Resolutions that will help put you on a productive path.

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Readability of Technical Content

At its core, readability is a measure of a content consumer’s ability to understand the content. There are many factors that affect how the concepts in the content are comprehended, but most affecting readability are functions of the words used. 

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Digital Transformation and Rail

The railroad industry is embracing its own digital transformation. Norfolk Southern chief executive Jim Squires made a statement in-line with a vision that is becoming more common across the rail industry.

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Is DITA the Answer for Learning and Training?

You can author, manage, and deliver your Learning & Training content in multiple languages and formats with DITA XML and a good Component Content Management System. The cost savings downstream can be substantial, but there is work to be done upfront.

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Digital Twinning: The Future Is Now

Through the application of advanced data gathering techniques and artificial intelligence the digital twin can be used to mimic or predict the function of (or the presumed wear-and-tear on) its physical counterpart.

Why Is Digital Twinning So Important?

A digital twin, as a ‘live’ representation of reality, enables organizations to better utilize the massive amount of data that is collected throughout a product’s lifetime. Done properly, the interpretation of this data can be invaluable to organizations that rely on artificial intelligence platforms to plan for and make decisions regarding things like repair and replacement intervals, maintenance scheduling and obsolescence planning.

Can Digital Twins Be Used to Assist in Design and Test?

Digital twins can be initiated and utilized at any point throughout the course of any product’s lifecycle:

  • DESIGN: Digital representations can be used to simulate and optimize a product (size, fit, operating parameters, etc.) and even its production system before having to invest in physical prototypes and assets.
  • TEST: Through digital twinning an engineer can incorporate multi-physics simulation, analytics, machine learning, etc. to show the impact of any design change, repair, usage scenario, environmental condition, and accurately predict the outcome of endless variable scenarios. This helps eliminate the need for wear-and-tear on the physical prototype, which helps to reduce development time and costs, downtime for repairs – ultimately improving the efficiency and quality of the development process and the final product.

What Are the Different Types of Digital Twins?

There are three main types of digital twins:

  • PRODUCT: Digital twinning is used to virtually validate a given product’s performance.
  • PRODUCTION: Digital twinning can help to validate how effective a manufacturing process will be before actually putting it into production.
  • PERFORMANCE: Digital twinning captures and analyzes massive amounts of data regarding the utilization, effectiveness, and performance of an asset and provides actionable information from which an educated decision can be made about the best way to move forward without wasting time and money.

The combination and integration of these three digital twin processes is commonly referred to as a digital thread. This is because they bring all the data from each stage of the product and production lifecycle together.

Is Digital Twinning Applicable to Aircraft?

When the same data points that are used when building and monitoring an aircraft throughout its lifecycle are used to build 3D digital twin models, the digital twins can be used to monitor and track the condition of any aircraft engine or airframe in virtual real-time. The software handling the digital twin can collect and relay status, predictions and even early warning information to the airlines, OEMs, and MROs, providing critical business information about the aircraft throughout its lifecycle.

Engineers can then proactively develop an action plan for each possible behavioral scenario for each potential situation such as the weather, the aircraft’s performance and operations, etc.

How Do I Find the Best Digital Twinning Solution for My Business?

Through its potential to keep an aircraft and its systems/components/parts in service longer and avoid expensive delays in maintenance and repair efforts, the time savings, cost savings, and efficiency improvements when using digital twinning are substantial. Many large companies have achieved major benefits through its proper application.

When looking for a suitable digital twinning solution for your business, there are several factors to consider:

  • RELATABLE AND EXPANDABLE: Any digital twinning solution you are considering should be capable of collecting, monitoring and displaying a wide array of data directly related to the parts and systems that your company creates or manages. Many outside factors may eventually need to be considered when deciding what it will require to build and manage a digital twin, such as production and manufacturing concerns, replacement part lifecycles and inventory levels, supply chain systems, etc.
  • SUPERIOR DATA PROCESSING CAPABILITIES: Your chosen digital twinning solution, in conjunction with any network systems you have in place, should be able to easily process large volumes of data simultaneously for proper real-time processing.
  • ANALYTICS AND FEEDBACK: In order to bolster the return on your investment your chosen solution should offer a variety of applicable analytics tools and algorithms that are suitable to your program requirements. They should also be able to provide real-time feedback and actionable information as necessary.
  • CUSTOMIZABLE: Before committing to any digital twinning solution, you should confirm that the one you are considering offers customizable solutions. For example, do they have customizable dashboards, built-in alerts, and settings that are specific to your business? Additionally, specific settings and program parameters should be configurable and work seamlessly around your requirements.
  • EASY TO USE INTERFACE: The interface for any digital twin solution you are considering should be clear, concise, intuitive, and easy to navigate for everyone who will be using it.

What’s Next?

If you would like more information about digital twinning and how it could be used to improve your businesses costs and performance, uur consultants would be happy to share their significant knowledge with you.

Contact JANA Today

Structured Content in Life Science

During the 2019 AMPLEXOR ‘Be The Expert’ meeting, Jan Benedictus of Fonto presented his views on the potential of structured content authoring for the Life Sciences industry.

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ATA Spec 2500 and Blockchain

Blockchain has recently been mentioned as a disruptive technology that may provide benefits to various business processes involving multiple stakeholders and “proof” that various events occurred.

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What is Data Conditioning and Cleaning?

Data conditioning and cleaning are two different concepts that are closely related. Both are designed to optimize the integrity of data and make its management more conducive to the goals of the company.

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Decoding Cognitive Computing, Industry 4.0, Predictive Maintenance & Data Conditioning

It isn’t easy, is it?  But don’t worry, because by reading this post, you’ve taken the first step in making sure your business can operate intelligently by actively seeking the newest information and trends about the most important topics in your industry. So let’s get started…

Four Industry Technical Terms and What They All Mean

Cognitive Computing, Industry 4.0, Predictive Maintenance, and Data Conditioning… these are some of the most common terms being used in tech today. Let’s go over them in detail so you can make educated decisions about how to use them as they relate to your particular business interests.

What is Cognitive Computing?

Have you ever heard of artificial intelligence? Well, cognitive computing is directly related to artificial intelligence in that it simulates human thought processes using a computerized model to identify patterns. In other words, cognitive computing uses machine learning algorithms to recognize and process compounded data over time. This process is designed to provide the user with a series of related results based on what the learned data determines to be the most likely intended request. As closely as possible it mimics how the human brain works, and in many cases even performs tasks faster and more accurately than the human brain can. What does this mean for you? Well, going forward, cognitive computing could be applied to other areas of your business as well. For example, consumer behavior analysis, personal shopping bots, customer service bots, travel agents, educational tutors, security, and just about any type of diagnostics. If you think about it, this is the next natural step as we already have digital personal assistants on our mobile devices and computers.

What is Industry 4.0?

This term refers to the transformation in the way we currently produce products due to the digitization of manufacturing. The number four represents the fourth transition that has occurred in manufacturing over time. The first was the industrial revolution, which used water and steam as its main mechanism. The second was assembly lines and mass production, which used electricity. The third which utilized computers and automation. The fourth, also known as Industry 4.0, is an expansion of the third revolution, which refers to how it will enhance computers and automation with smart, self-thinking systems that use data and machine learning.

What is Predictive Maintenance?

The purpose of predictive maintenance is to predict when a piece of equipment might fail and to prevent it from failing by proactively replacing it or performing the necessary maintenance to it. This helps avoid unplanned reactive maintenance, while saving money on the cost of performing too much preventive maintenance. The way predictive maintenance works is by using condition-monitoring equipment to assess any given asset’s performance in real-time. The main component in making this process work is the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT process enables different assets and networks to communicate and work together to share, analyze data, and other similar actions. This is important because these systems depend on the predictive maintenance sensors to gather information and analyze it to find areas of concern so it can proactively perform the recommended maintenance before the equipment actually encounters a problem.

What is Data Conditioning?

Data conditioning, also referred to as data cleaning or data cleansing, is the detection and removal of errors of corrupt or inaccurate information on a database. Once identified, the errant or erroneous data is modified, replaced or deleted. Failure to perform proper data conditioningcan lead to any number of problems, including the compilation of false data results. However, data conditioning itself doesn’t come without problems. Improper data conditioning can sometimes result in losing vital information or other important data. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools that can be used for data conditioning. Some statistical programs have the data validation built in – actually catching some pre-conceived data errors, such as non-valid variable codes, automatically as they are entered.

The Bottom Line

Time marches on, and so does the evolution of technology. It looks like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the way we used to do business is going to continue changing. That means staying current with the ever-changing trends is no longer optional…it’s mandatory – if you want your business to succeed and grow.

What’s Next?

JANA is an experienced technical services company that specializes in authoring, managing and publishing technical documentation. We would love the opportunity to help you take your business to the next level.

If you would like to discuss business, software, engineering solutions, or need XML consulting services:

Contact JANA Today