The fix works… until next month.

Downtime starts showing up across lines or plants.

You already know RCA matters. The challenge is getting to a root cause that actually prevents the next failure.

“5 Steps to Completing a Successful Root Cause Analysis” provides a clear step-by-step approach to eliminate recurring problems for good, whether they stem from equipment, materials, process gaps or maintenance breakdowns.

You’ll learn how to:

• Pinpoint true root causes faster using Fishbone, 5 Whys and Pareto analysis.
• Prioritize the failures driving the most downtime, warranty claims and production loss.
• Turn findings into corrective actions that prevent repeat failures long-term.

With 73% of organizations experiencing a recall in the last five years, repeat issues aren’t rare. They’re costly.

For decades, Foxboro DCS has served as the “brain” of industrial operations, enabling real-time control and coordination of complex processes. But today’s landscape demands more – greater agility, fewer costly upgrades, and simplified compliance. EcoStruxure Foxboro SDA delivers exactly that: flexibility, scalability, and cost efficiency without sacrificing reliability.

The importance of open industrial systems was highlighted in Schneider Electric’s recent global research report with Omdia, which uncovered closed systems cost mid-sized industrial companies 7.5% of revenue through downtime, inefficiencies, and compliance retrofits every year.

“EcoStruxure Foxboro SDA marks a defining moment for industrial automation,” said Hany Fouda, Senior Vice President, Process Automation, Schneider Electric. “By embracing openness and software-defined architecture, we’re giving our customers the agility to modernize without compromise, protecting their investments while unlocking future-ready capabilities. This evolution is a strategic enabler for digital transformation, and Schneider Electric is proud to lead it.”

Developed by listening to real customer challenges; aging systems, rising costs, and the need to do more with less, Foxboro SDA decouples hardware from software to protect existing investments and enable a smooth, lower-risk modernization path. The result is simpler workflows, faster insights, and sustainable performance gains.

Key Features

• Open, Software-Defined Architecture: Foxboro SDA decouples software from hardware to deliver vendor independence and interoperability, enabling flexible, scalable architectures that simplify
• Cybersecure & Future-Ready: Foxboro SDA is built with secure-by-design principles and IEC 62443-3-3 compliance, delivering a future-ready platform that enables IT/OT convergence, AI/ML integration, and autonomous operations for Industry 4.0 and energy transition.
• Simplify Operations & Reduce Costs: Customers can lower CapEx and OpEx, streamline deployment with intuitive tools, and minimizes downtime by avoiding obsolescence and enabling predictive maintenance.

As the first software-defined distributed control system, Foxboro SDA is a validated, software-defined automation architecture for distributed control systems powered by EcoStruxure Automation Expert (EAE). It enables interoperability, rapid deployment, and fit-for-purpose configurations while maintaining high availability. The system ensures digital continuity by keeping data connected and consistent throughout the plant lifecycle—from design to production to maintenance. This enables automated workflows, better product quality, and easy integration with analytics for smarter, real-time business decisions.

Customers benefit from a future-ready upgrade path, built-in cybersecurity, and simplified operations that support IT/OT convergence and advanced technologies like AI and machine learning. Foxboro SDA provides our customers with a control solution that is unbound by hardware, engineered for agility and empowered by data. It’s more than a system – Foxboro SDA is a strategic enabler for digital transformation.

“The launch of EcoStruxure Foxboro SDA marks a major milestone in the evolution of process automation,” said Craig Resnick, Vice President at ARC Advisory Group. “By decoupling control logic from hardware, Schneider Electric is providing manufacturers with the agility to scale, adapt, and simplify their operations. This software defined approach helps to reduce maintenance costs, protect legacy automation investments, and ensure digital continuity throughout the entire plant lifecycle. With cybersecurity built into its core, and a commitment to open, interoperable standards, Foxboro SDA enables manufacturers to modernize at their own pace, accelerate IT and OT convergence, and increase their adoption of next generation technologies, such as AI, edge computing, and autonomous operations.”

About Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader, driving efficiency and sustainability by electrifying, automating, and digitalizing industries, businesses, and homes. Its technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and grids to operate as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing performance, resilience, and sustainability. The portfolio includes intelligent devices, software-defined architectures, AI-powered systems, digital services, and expert advisory. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is consistently ranked among the world’s most sustainable companies.

The acquisition was financed by Gary Griffiths, co-founder and Managing Director of WISDOM LLP, who formed Vector GFX to bring long-term focus, stability, and renewed investment to one of the most established technical illustration platforms on the market. Griffiths will serve as Chairman of the Board for the new entity.

Joining the leadership team is Rebecca (Becky) Darsch, a co-founder of Vector GFX, who is running all commercial operations. Vector GFX is led by a founding team with deep operational and product expertise rooted in the history of Canvas X Draw. The company expects to share further announcements regarding the expansion of its team throughout the coming months.

“Vector GFX was formed to ensure that Canvas X Draw continues to thrive as a standalone powerhouse,” said Griffiths. “By combining our deep roots in the product’s history with fresh investment, we are providing the stability our users and partners rely on.”

Headquartered in Carver, Massachusetts, Vector GFX is expanding the Canvas X Draw roadmap with immediate priorities that include performance improvements, user experience modernization, and continued innovation for technical illustration professionals.

About Vector GFX

Vector GFX is a software company based in Carver, Massachusetts, specializing in high-performance technical illustration tools. Founded by industry veterans, the company owns and operates Canvas X Draw, delivering precision-grade software solutions to professionals across aerospace, defense, engineering, and manufacturing.

As interest rates show signs of easing, many manufacturers remain cautious about capital investment. According to Ann Brodette, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Industrial Equipment Finance Division at Mitsubishi HC Capital America, uncertainty—not borrowing costs—is now the primary factor slowing growth.

“Interest rates may be easing, but it is uncertainty that continues to slow investment,” said Ann Brodette. “Manufacturers can’t afford to wait on interest rates to be attractive. If manufacturers want to grow, they must understand their liquidity, read the economy with discipline, and make strategic moves to remain competitive—and be positioned ahead of the next cycle.”

At the same time, persistent labor shortages are forcing manufacturers to reassess how work gets done. Automation and workforce development are no longer distant objectives; they have become immediate operational priorities.

“Persistent labor shortages are pushing manufacturers to rethink how work gets done,” Brodette said. “Automation and upskilling are no longer long-term concepts—they are near-term necessities. The right financing structure can make that transition faster and more practical for companies of all sizes.”

Brodette cautioned against treating technology investments and workforce development as separate or competing priorities. Instead, she emphasized the importance of coordinated planning.

“Manufacturers are treating automation and upskilling as competing investments when successful companies prioritize financing both simultaneously,” she noted. “Automation without trained workers leaves expensive equipment sitting idle because no one knows how to operate it effectively.”

With supply chains stabilizing but economic caution lingering, Brodette said manufacturers that align investments in both people and technology are gaining a measurable advantage.

“With supply chains stabilized but economic caution persisting, companies making coordinated investments in both technology and people are gaining competitive ground,” she said.

As manufacturers navigate a complex economic environment, strategic financing decisions can help balance risk, accelerate modernization, and ensure organizations are prepared to capitalize when market conditions improve.

Visual Components Robotics OLP software programmed the KR AGILUS’ complete weld path with just a few clicks. Attendees watched as the process was verified and validated offline on a screen then simulated within a KUKA Edu_ArcWelding mobile training cell. In addition to KUKA’s automation, built-in post-processors make OLP software compatible with a wide range of globally recognized brands and more than 40 robot controllers, eliminating the need to know multiple languages and protocols.

Visual Components’ OLP software allows manufacturers to reimagine new and efficient processes and systems without risk or loss of production for programming and commissioning. The software imports part data via a 3D CAD file directly to the robot, allowing engineers to program multiple robot paths and test performance without spending hours mapping and teaching repetitive movements.

In addition to reducing programming and commissioning time from days to hours, the software allows programmers to update and reprogram their system from anywhere and store process knowledge for future use, making it simple to reuse programs and preserve institutional information.

Attendees at FABTECH 2025 also learned more about the highly anticipated Visual Components 5.0 all-in-one manufacturing simulation that brings better performance, more customization options, and expanded support for virtual commissioning – all with greater flexibility and efficiency. This platform empowers manufacturers to fully leverage model-based engineering with its most advanced model yet and is expected to be released later this year.

About Visual Components

Visual Components is a leading developer of 3D manufacturing simulation and robot offline programming (OLP) software. For more than two decades, the company has been a trusted technology partner to companies worldwide to support critical planning and decision-making processes in the areas of factory design, virtual commissioning, production planning, offline programming, personnel maximization, and more. Visual Components’ North American operations are based in Carmel, Indiana.

With Intecrowd’s deep Workday implementation expertise and Kahuna’s certified Workday integration, organizations across energy, healthcare, manufacturing and field services can enable and streamline their Workday and Kahuna systems and gain a comprehensive understanding of frontline capability to make better staffing, compliance and training decisions.

Together, Kahuna and Intecrowd help organizations:

• Ensure compliance with industry and regulatory standards
• Optimize staffing and scheduling based on who’s qualified and ready
• Get new hires up to speed faster
• Identify and close skills gaps before they impact operations
• Support career growth and improve retention with more transparent development paths

“We are excited to partner with Kahuna to help organizations connect validated skills with their Workday system,” said Mike Christman, senior vice president, strategy and business development at Intecrowd. “With our integration and implementation expertise, and Kahuna’s powerful platform, customers gain a complete solution that brings their systems together seamlessly and supports stronger workforce outcomes.”

“Organizations across industries are prioritizing skills-based strategies to improve compliance, boost productivity and increase workforce readiness,” said Jai Shah, chief executive officer at Kahuna. “This partnership helps our customers get more from both Kahuna and Workday by aligning HR strategy with daily operations and turning skills data into action to build more resilient, future-ready frontline workforces.”

About Kahuna Workforce Solutions

Kahuna Workforce Solutions is a leading skills and competency management SaaS platform designed for operations, learning and human resources. The platform provides enterprises with validated skills data, offering valuable insights into workforce capabilities, aligning talent supply and demand and maximizing training investments. Kahuna helps organizations build a more skilled, adaptable and competitive workforce.

About Intecrowd

Intecrowd is a premier Workday-only services partner, delivering strategic deployment, optimization, and full life-cycle support through a global team spanning 10 countries to organizations worldwide. With tailored solutions and expert guidance, Intecrowd supports more than 1,000 Workday customers to maximize their Workday investments. For more than a decade, Intecrowd has operated with the mindset of a boutique firm, while offering enterprise-level expertise in Workday deployments, Phase X implementations, AI-driven innovations, and ongoing system optimization.

“The volume of available data isn’t the problem,” says Alex Douglas, Client Development Director at Pulsant. “The real challenge is knowing which datasets are critical, processing them fast enough, and where that needs to happen. Without that clarity, the system becomes clogged and expensive, especially if cloud usage scales without control.”

Manufacturers under pressure to digitise every part of the operation often end up with sprawling data flows that are hard to act on. This article explores the importance of manufacturers having the right digital infrastructure to ensure timely and efficient collection of information from devices within their facilities. This, in turn, enables actionable insights that drive value and boost productivity.

Understanding the Manufacturers’ Challenges

In low-margin, high-pressure manufacturing environments, timing dictates value. A deviation in motor temperature, a stockout risk flagged by ERP, or a sensor warning on packaging alignment only deliver impact if processed and surfaced immediately.

Edge computing makes that possible. By handling time-sensitive data locally, closer to the machines, personnel, or product lines, it means manufacturers can reduce latency and decrease dependency on distant cloud zones. This not only cuts bandwidth costs but also enables action before problems escalate.

“Pushing analytics to the edge removes the noise and preserves relevance,” says Douglas. “By avoiding dragging everything into central systems, it is easier for teams to quickly obtain actionable insights. More importantly, it puts control back in the hands of those closest to production.”

This leaner approach depends on infrastructure built for data throughput, proximity, and real-time availability. That means secure, high-performance networks capable of supporting sensor-to-action workflows, paired with regional data centres that offer scalable processing without losing traceability, using distributed platforms such as platformEDGE , Pulsant’s nationwide edge computing and connectivity platform, which enables businesses to process data closer to where it’s generated while maintaining control and compliance.

Benefits of Smart Data Strategies

When manufacturers move away from indiscriminate collection and towards targeted, time-aware consumption, the efficiency gains are immediate. Engineering teams can prioritise predictive over reactive maintenance. Supply chains become more responsive, with lower inventory costs and tighter just-in-time margins. And business decision-makers operate from a current, unified view of operational performance, not a delayed or conflicting picture.

By offloading only high-value data to hyperscale platforms and keeping operational intelligence local, manufacturers also mitigate risk. System-critical datasets stay within defined governance perimeters. This approach also helps control bandwidth and processing costs, especially across data-intensive operations. The path to compliance, whether around data sovereignty, ISO 27001, or sector-specific standards, becomes easier to manage.

Operational resilience improves, too. As localised processing reduces exposure to internet outages or third-party cloud issues.

The Future of Lean Data Manufacturing

Digital transformation in manufacturing relies on turning data into a useful asset. By building digital infrastructures that prioritise real-time analysis, localised processing, and smart data filtering, manufacturers can cut through the noise, respond faster to operational risks, and drive meaningful productivity gains.

For an industry where every second counts, relevance will always beat volume. And with high-performance platforms close to point-of-use, the opportunity to act on the right data, at the right time, has never been more attainable.

SmartRoughing

Setting the right parameters for roughing often relies on programmer experience to balance material removal, tool wear and machine stability, which can result in conservative choices, longer cycle times and inconsistent results.

With SmartRoughing, ModuleWorks introduces a physics-driven toolpath algorithm that removes the guesswork. By using information on the machine’s capabilities, tool geometry and material properties, SmartRoughing automatically generates toolpaths with constant engagement and optimized chip load. This enables programmers and machine shops to achieve faster machining, longer tool life and more consistent quality while making roughing processes accessible to less experienced users.

FeedControl

Ensuring consistent chip formation is one of machining’s toughest challenges, with heat, tool load, spindle deflection and material hardening making the process unpredictable and difficult to control.

ModuleWorks 2025.08 introduces FeedControl, an intelligent feed rate optimization technology that balances chip thickness, cutting forces and spindle loads in real time. By adapting to machine-tool capabilities, tool geometry and material behaviour, FeedControl is designed to ensure process stability, protect tools and deliver consistent results.

High Dynamic Turning

In conventional turning, machining contours requires multiple tools, leading to higher tooling costs and longer cycle times due to frequent tool changes. In addition, traditional turning does not accommodate toolpaths in the Y-Z plane, restricting process flexibility and efficiency.

The new ModuleWorks 2025.08 turning feature in combination with the FreeTurn tool removes these limitations. A single tool can now machine all contours of a workpiece in one operation, while toolpaths are created directly in the Y-Z plane. This significantly reduces cycle times through fewer air cuts and tool changes and enables faster feed rates for more efficient machining.

Deburring – Exclude Holes and Vertical Edges

In conventional workflows, deburring holes often requires multiple passes with a spot drill with no option to exclude smaller holes. At the same time, in 3-axis setups vertical edges cannot be filtered out, leading to additional rework.

To solve this, ModuleWorks 2025.08 introduces a new deburring enhancement that allows users to filter out holes by diameter and exclude vertical edges directly within the toolpath calculation. This gives programmers greater control, reduces redundant work and ensures deburring strategies match the exact requirements of the cutting process.

Cutting Simulation – Pixel-Perfect GPU Renderer

Standard rendering modes often fall short in delivering the visual fidelity required for high-precision machining and fine-detail inspection. Inaccurate or blurry representations of the stock state can make reliable part inspection and deviation analysis difficult.

ModuleWorks 2025.08 addresses this issue with a new GPU-accelerated rendering feature that generates pixel-perfect visuals whenever the camera is idle. It gives machinists and inspectors a highly detailed and accurate view of the current stock, making it easier to spot deviations and verify machining results with confidence. The sharp inspection visuals lead to trustworthy analyses, enhancing quality control and supporting high-precision requirements in modern manufacturing environments.

ModuleWorks 2025.08 is available for download from the ModuleWorks website.

About ModuleWorks

ModuleWorks is at the forefront of digital manufacturing software, playing a key role in enabling the efficient production of increasingly complex parts in an environmentally sustainable way. As a strategic partner to leading CAD/CAM vendors, CNC control makers, machine tool builders and cutting tool manufacturers, ModuleWorks develops software that powers solutions throughout the manufacturing industry which contributes to 16% of global GDP worth $16 trillion per year.

CONTACT Elements enables companies to merge data silos into a single source of truth and seamlessly exchanges information with third-party apps. It can be hosted in the cloud, embeds sustainability data directly in product development, and includes platform-wide AI capabilities. Built on a composable architecture, CONTACT Elements can be gradually expanded as a company’s needs grow—providing a future-proof solution that adapts to evolving market requirements, customer demands, and changing regulations.

As CONTACT’s regional partner, Razorleaf’s experts will support customers along the entire implementation journey: from consulting and needs analysis to deployment, system configuration, data migration, training, and long-term support. Razorleaf’s OnPoint implementation methodology uses a proven six-step framework to seamlessly integrate CONTACT’s solutions into the client’s digital ecosystem, ensuring quick deployment and delivering immediate, measurable results.

“We’re proud to partner with CONTACT Software to bring their Elements platform to the North American market,” said Eric Doubell, CEO of Razorleaf. “This collaboration empowers manufacturers to accelerate innovation and efficiency by building agile, end-to-end digital threads across the entire product lifecycle.”

“North America is one of the most dynamic and innovation-driven regions in the world,” said Dimitri Baumtrok, Head of International Sales at CONTACT. “Together with Razorleaf, we bring our ‘top floor to shop floor’ vision to manufacturing companies across the region—making it easier for them to start small, scale fast, and realize the full value of PLM, MES, and IIoT.”

Said Peter Bilello, President and CEO of CIMdata, Inc., “The combination of CONTACT Software’s modern composable PLM platform and Razorleaf’s deep domain knowledge and integrations expertise makes this an ideal partnership to launch CONTACT Software’s offerings to North American manufacturers.”

About CONTACT Software

CONTACT is the leading vendor of open standard software and open source pioneer for the product development process and digital transformation. Our products help to organize projects, reliably execute processes and work together worldwide using virtual product models and the digital twin. Our open technology and our CONTACT Elements platform are ideal for connecting IT systems and the Internet of Things for end-to-end business processes.

About Razorleaf Corporation

Founded in 2000, Razorleaf is a consulting & systems integrator with specialized expertise in PLM, MES, and integration and migration of product data. We are focused on helping manufacturing organizations connect products and processes across the digital enterprise to drive more value from the innovation process. Led by a highly skilled and seasoned team of experts across the United States, Europe, and Asia, Razorleaf transforms businesses by offering comprehensive consulting and implementation services focused on managing the digital thread across the product life cycle and supply chain.

BySoft Suite is a groundbreaking software solution developed for the sheet metal industry by Bystronic. BySoft Suite expands on the existing and highly popular BySoft software products already used by most of Bystronic’s customers. With the new software solution, customers can now completely digitalize their business, from quote to delivery – a step beyond Smart Factory.