Michael, you’re working for a Japanese company. If we talk about standards, do you think about OPC UA or do you have totally different standards in mind?

Nahum: Well, we’re a global company, so we have to consider all the different standards. Of course I agree completely, the ISO10360 has to adapt to the inline world. But as a metrology company what we like about standardization is that the sensors are interoperable, compatible and consistent. So from our point of view, we’re really supportive of standardization.

Mann: I really like the two perspectives we we’ve seen on standards in terms of metrology and standards in terms of interfaces. I think one very important role will be played by these interfaces, because we need to collect the data to get the full power of the metrology information we have. And what we also need to keep in mind is, when we’re talking about the digital world of metrology, that there are many metrology devices out there from small companies which are not IIoT. So we have to think about how can we make them somehow IIoT-ready, Is there any external device we can use and what standard has it?

Which standardized interface would you prefer if you could choose?

Modrich: From the production perspec-tive in the Automation community they might say that OPC UA is the one, because it allows us to exchange the highest amount that fits our strategy. But this is not the situation that we have right now in the Automotive industry. There we have Volkswagen standards, Mercedes standards, we have GM standards, Toyota standards and other OEM specific standards. And if you want to get into these factories, make business with them, then you have to comply to their standards. If not you make no business there. If you’re going to the medical market, there are other standards that you have to fulfill. If you’re going to the Aero market, there are also other standards you have to fulfill. That means from market to market and from application to application you will find different standards you have to comply. That means for smaller companies a huge effort to comply all these standards in the different applications and markets. Therefore focusing the business is key if you want to scale your business.

Nahum: If you think about society in general, if we’re spending all our time and effort focusing on different standards to do basically the same job, it’s really wasteful. We’re not advancing society as much as we could.

Are these new data analytics driven systems only something for very large companies like the automotive players or is it also worthwhile for medium or small companies?

Mann: I would say it’s not a matter of company size, it’s a matter of the production processes and the application cases they have. If we especially look at the smaller companies and we also take into perspective the demographic change and the uprising lack of skilled workforce then especially those companies should use these new opportunities to automate their processes. So maybe they will even feel a higher pressure to move into these directions then the big companies.

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