Automated Picking Systems

I’m often asked – what is the best way to deal with the unprecedented pressure that supply chains are under? In my latest article, I delved into the critical role of technology in transforming supply chains, with a focus on the consumer products and retail industry. Here are some key insights: •       Understanding the implications of market volatility and unforeseen disruptions is crucial: Organizations will need strategies that build resilience and adaptability in these challenging times •       Speed-to-market is the new currency: In this context, reimagining your approach to product development and accelerating product launches is essential •       AI and automation are revolutionizing supply chains: When implemented effectively, new technologies can cut product launch times in half, enhance efficiency, and reduce costs •       New Product Innovation-as-a-service is an emerging trend: Learn how it is enabling companies to innovate faster and more effectively In industries like CPG, healthcare, retail, and energy, I've witnessed firsthand how #BSV can transform supply chain challenges into new opportunities for business growth and value creation.

🚀 Safety Standards : DO-178C vs. ISO26262 🚗 Ensuring the safety and reliability of software in critical systems is crucial in both aerospace ✈️ and automotive 🚙 industries. Here's a comparison of two important standards in their respective fields : Industry Scope ⦿ DO-178C : Tailored for aerospace, focusing on software in airborne systems. ⦿ ISO 26262 : Tailored for automotive, covering functional safety for electric and electronic systems (hardware and software). Safety Levels ⦿ DO-178C : Defines Design Assurance Levels (DAL A to E) based on potential failure impacts, with DAL A being the most critical. ⦿ ISO 26262 : Defines Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASIL A to D) to classify risks, with ASIL D being the most critical, with an additional Quality Management (QM) level for non-safety-critical components. Development Process ⦿ DO-178C : Emphasizes a sequential lifecycle with extensive documentation and rigorous verification, including structural coverage analysis. ⦿ ISO 26262 : Follows the V-model, integrating safety throughout development with a focus on safety case development and hazard analysis. Certification and Compliance ⦿ DO-178C : Certification through authorities like FAA/EASA is a legal requirement for manufacturers. Compliance must be demonstrated with comprehensive evidence. ⦿ ISO 26262 : While compliance is not legally mandated by a specific regulatory authority, adhering to the standard is crucial for manufacturers to ensure safety and market acceptance. Compliance is typically achieved through third-party assessments and emphasizes lifecycle management and traceability. Risk and Safety Analysis ⦿ DO-178C : Focuses exclusively on software failure conditions within the aircraft's operational context. ⦿ ISO 26262 : Addresses both hardware and software, employing detailed risk assessment methodologies, including HARA, FTA, and FMEA, to ensure the entire system's safety. Key Takeaways ⦿ DO-178C : Prescriptive and certification-focused, crucial for the aviation industry. ⦿ ISO 26262 : Flexible framework for the dynamic automotive sector, focusing on functional safety management across both hardware and software. #SafetyStandards #DO178C #ISO26262 #Aerospace #Automotive #SoftwareSafety #FunctionalSafety

Tired of Upgrade Headaches? How GitOps & Terraform Keep Our Investing Infrastructure Always Current. In the world of investing engineering, where speed, accuracy, and reliability are paramount, keeping infrastructure and applications in a perpetually good upgrade state is a critical challenge. Manual processes for upgrades can introduce risk, downtime, and significant overhead. That's why we're deeply invested in GitOps principles combined with the power of Terraform for our upgrade management strategy. This approach has been transformative for us, enabling: 1. Declarative Infrastructure & Applications: Define your desired state in Git for both infrastructure (with Terraform) and application configurations. 2. Automated Rollouts & Rollbacks: Changes pushed to Git trigger automated deployments, making upgrades predictable and rollbacks simple. 3. Continuous Reconciliation: GitOps agents constantly monitor the live state against the declared state in Git, automatically resolving deviations and ensuring your systems are always at their intended version. 4. Improved Security & Compliance: Every infrastructure and application change is a pull request, providing an audit trail and enabling peer review before deployment. 5. Reduced Technical Debt: Proactive upgrade management keeps our tech stack current, minimizing the accumulation of costly technical debt. For any organization striving for true operational excellence and resilient systems in the investing space, adopting GitOps with Terraform isn't just an advantage – it's quickly becoming a necessity. How are you tackling upgrades in your environment? Let's discuss! #InvestingEngineering #GitOps #Terraform #InfrastructureAutomation #DevOpsPractices #ContinuousDelivery #CloudInfrastructure #SiteReliability

🌍Global Standards Certifications for BESS Container-Based Solutions🔋 As Battery Energy Storage Systems become critical to modern power infrastructure, compliance with international standards ensures safety, performance, and interoperability across components from cells to containerized systems. Here’s a breakdown of key standards at each level with snapshot🔻: 1️⃣ Cell / Module Level: ✅ IEC 62619 and IEC 63056 ensure safety and performance for industrial lithium-ion cells. ✅ UL 1642 and UN 38.3 verify safety and transport compliance of lithium cells. ✅ RoHS and REACH (NPS) ensure environmental and chemical safety. ✅ IEC 60529 governs ingress protection (IP rating) against dust and water. ✅ IEC 60730-1 applies for safety of electrical controls, often embedded in smart modules. ✅ IEC 60332-1-2 addresses flame retardancy for wires and components. ✅ UN 3480 ensures proper sea and road transport labeling and packaging. ✅ UL 9540A helps assess fire propagation behavior of individual cells. 2️⃣ Pack / Rack Level: ⚡️ IEC 62619, IEC 63056, and UL 1973 provide safety and performance compliance for energy storage packs and systems. ⚡️ IEC 62485-5 focuses on installation safety in battery systems. ⚡️ IEC 61000-6-2, 61000-6-4, and 61000-4-36 ensure electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). ⚡️ IEC 62477-1 offers safety guidelines for power electronic converters in racks. ⚡️ RoHS, REACH, and UN 38.3 apply at this level as well. ⚡️ UL 9540A evaluates thermal runaway propagation between cells in modules/racks. 3️⃣ Container / System Level: 🧿 IEC 62933-2-1 and IEC TS 62933-5-1 / UL 9540 ensure complete system safety and performance. 🧿 IEC 62040-1 covers general safety for uninterruptible power systems. 🧿 NFPA 855, NFPA 69, and NFPA 68 provide fire protection, explosion prevention, and ventilation design standards. 🧿 UN 1364 and UN 3536 regulate transport and hazard labeling for large systems. 🧿 IEC 60529 (IP ratings) and IEC 62485-5 address protection and operational safety. 🧿 UL 1973, UL 9540A, RoHS, and REACH also remain applicable. Compliance with these standards builds trust, ensures grid compatibility, and supports the global transition to sustainable energy. #BESS #BatteryStorage #EnergyStorage #IECStandards #ULStandards #FireSafety #SustainableEnergy #RenewableIntegration #CleanTech #GridModernization #ESS #Electromobility #EnergyTransition #SmartGrid #GreenEnergy #SafetyFirst

Automation is more than just clicking a button While automation tools can simulate human actions, they don't possess human instincts to react to various situations. Understanding the limitations of automation is crucial to avoid blaming the tool for our own scripting shortcomings. 📌 Encountering Unexpected Errors: Automation tools cannot handle scenarios like intuitively handling error messages or auto-resuming test cases after failure. Testers must investigate execution reports, refer to screenshots or logs, and provide precise instructions to handle unexpected errors effectively. 📌 Test Data Management: Automation testing relies heavily on test data. Ensuring the availability and accuracy of test data is vital for reliable testing. Testers must consider how the automation script interacts with the test data, whether it retrieves data from databases, files, or APIs. Additionally, generating test data dynamically can enhance test coverage and provide realistic scenarios. 📌 Dynamic Elements and Timing: Web applications often contain dynamic elements that change over time, such as advertisements or real-time data. Testers need to use techniques like dynamic locators or wait to handle these dynamic elements effectively. Timing issues, such as synchronization problems between application responses and script execution, can also impact test results and require careful consideration. 📌 Maintenance and Adaptability: Automation scripts need regular maintenance to stay up-to-date with application changes. As the application evolves, UI elements, workflows, or data structures might change, causing scripts to fail. Testers should establish a process for script maintenance and ensure scripts are adaptable to accommodate future changes. 📌 Test Coverage and Risk Assessment: Automation testing should not aim for 100% test coverage in all scenarios. Testers should perform risk assessments and prioritize critical functionalities or high-risk areas for automation. Balancing automation and manual testing is crucial for achieving comprehensive test coverage. 📌 Test Environment Replication: Replicating the test environment ensures that the automation scripts run accurately and produce reliable results. Testers should pay attention to factors such as hardware, software versions, configurations, and network conditions to create a robust and representative test environment. 📌 Continuous Integration and Continuous Testing: Integrating automation testing into a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline can accelerate the software development lifecycle. Automation scripts can be triggered automatically after each code commit, providing faster feedback on the application's stability and quality. Let's go beyond just clicking a button and embrace automation testing as a strategic tool for software quality and efficiency. #automationtesting #automation #testautomation #softwaredevelopment #softwaretesting #softwareengineering #testing

When most people hear automation, they think of expensive robots, complex integrations, and big enterprise budgets. It feels out of reach for smaller businesses. But it doesn’t have to be. Research from MIT Sloan School of Management shows that SMEs can approach automation differently, and affordably, without losing sight of competitiveness. One way is to start with peripheral processes. These aren’t the core operations that need high reliability, but the supporting activities that often drain time and attention. Think QR codes to monitor container unloading, sensors to track equipment health, or simple smartphone apps to give real-time visibility. Small steps like these can improve efficiency by 10–15% with minimal cost. Another way is to use stand-alone solutions. These don’t require deep IT integration, which makes them easier to deploy and scale. AI chatbots, IoT sensors, or plug-and-play analytics tools can be rolled out gradually, growing with the business rather than demanding heavy upfront investment. The lesson is simple: automation costs spiral when you chase customisation, tight integration, or unnecessary reliability. Costs come down when you design for compatibility, modularity, and just-enough functionality. For SMEs, the challenge isn’t whether automation is possible, but it’s learning where to start, and being smart about how far to go. Start small, scale at your own pace, and you’ll find automation doesn’t have to break the bank. #Automation #DigitalTransformation #SMEs #Innovation

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀? If so, you're not alone. When it comes to bringing a medical device to market, the journey can feel anything but straightforward. Here are some actionable steps to make your regulatory path less tenuous and more secure: 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 → Different regions have different requirements. → For instance, the FDA in the U.S. and the MHRA in the UK have unique criteria. → Knowing the specifics can save you from surprises later on. 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗲𝘆 → Maintain thorough and organised documentation. → This includes everything from design history files to risk management reports. → Trust me, when an auditor/inspector comes knocking, you'll be thankful for your meticulous records. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → Misclassifying your device can lead to major setbacks. → Ensure you understand whether your device falls under Class I, II, or III. → This will dictate the level of regulatory scrutiny your product will face. 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 → Don't wait until the last minute to interact with regulatory authorities. → Early engagement can provide critical insights and help you avoid common pitfalls. → For example, presubmission meetings with the FDA can be invaluable. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 → Regulatory standards are constantly evolving. → Subscribe to industry newsletters and join relevant forums. → Being proactive can often mean the difference between compliance and costly delays. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 (𝗤𝗠𝗦) → A robust QMS is not just a regulatory requirement; it’s a business asset. → Implementing standards like ISO 13485 can streamline your processes and improve product quality. 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂���𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 → Don’t hesitate to bring in external expertise. → Regulatory consultants can provide specialised knowledge and help navigate complex requirements. → This can be particularly useful for SMEs with limited in-house resources. Conduct Thorough Testing and Validation → Ensure that all necessary tests are conducted and well documented. → This includes biocompatibility, electrical safety, and performance testing. → Proper validation can prevent last minute hitches during the approval process. Plan for PostMarket Surveillance → Regulatory compliance doesn’t end at market entry. Remember, the regulatory journey might seem tenuous, but with the right approach, you can navigate it successfully.

In a recent roundtable with fellow CXOs, a recurring theme emerged: the staggering costs associated with artificial intelligence (AI) implementation. While AI promises transformative benefits, many organizations find themselves grappling with unexpectedly high Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Businesses are seeking innovative ways to optimize AI spending without compromising performance. Two pain points stood out in our discussion: module customization and production-readiness costs. AI isn't just about implementation; it's about sustainable integration. The real challenge lies in making AI cost-effective throughout its lifecycle. The real value of AI is not in the model, but in the data and infrastructure that supports it. As AI becomes increasingly essential for competitive advantage, how can businesses optimize costs to make it more accessible? Strategies for AI Cost Optimization 1.Efficient Customization - Leverage low-code/no-code platforms can reduce development time - Utilize pre-trained models and transfer learning to cut down on customization needs 2. Streamlined Production Deployment - Implement MLOps practices for faster time-to-market for AI projects - Adopt containerization and orchestration tools to improve resource utilization 3. Cloud Cost Management -Use spot instances and auto-scaling to reduce cloud costs for non-critical workloads. - Leverage reserved instances For predictable, long-term usage. These savings can reach good dollars compared to on-demand pricing. 4.Hardware Optimization - Implement edge computing to reduce data transfer costs - Invest in specialized AI chips that can offer better performance per watt compared to general-purpose processors. 5.Software Efficiency - Right LLMS for all queries rather than single big LLM is being tried by many - Apply model compression techniques such as Pruning and quantization that can reduce model size without significant accuracy loss. - Adopt efficient training algorithms Techniques like mixed precision training to speed up the process -By streamlining repetitive tasks, organizations can reallocate resources to more strategic initiatives 6.Data Optimization - Focus on data quality since it can reduce training iterations - Utilize synthetic data to supplement expensive real-world data, potentially cutting data acquisition costs. In conclusion, embracing AI-driven strategies for cost optimization is not just a trend; it is a necessity for organizations looking to thrive in today's competitive landscape. By leveraging AI, businesses can not only optimize their costs but also enhance their operational efficiency, paving the way for sustainable growth. What other AI cost optimization strategies have you found effective? Share your insights below! #MachineLearning #DataScience #CostEfficiency #Business #Technology #Innovation #ganitinc #AIOptimization #CostEfficiency #EnterpriseAI #TechInnovation #AITCO

CFOs and finance teams are constantly bogged down by slow, manual expense approvals. Employees submit claims, managers delay responses, and finance teams waste hours chasing approvals. This bottleneck disrupts cash flow visibility, delays financial reporting, and creates compliance risks. Robotic Process Automation (RPA), using tools like UI Path, transforms this outdated process by automating policy checks, approvals, and escalations. Here’s how: ✅ Expense claims are auto-checked against policy compliance. ✅ Approved expenses move instantly to reimbursement—no manual processing. ✅ Flagged expenses are escalated automatically to the right person, reducing back-and-forth. Without automation, finance teams are stuck spending hours every week on unnecessary admin work instead of focusing on forecasting, cost optimization, and strategic growth. A CFO who adopted RPA saved 8 hours per week—freeing up valuable time for high-impact financial planning. If expense approvals are still a bottleneck in your company, it’s time to automate. RPA eliminates inefficiencies, ensures compliance, and lets finance teams focus on what really matters. Are you ready to transform your finance operations? Let’s connect and explore how automation can make it happen. #Automation #RPA #CFO #FinanceLeadership

Engineers must master codes and standards to ensure safety, reliability, and compliance in industrial facilities. In the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors, a deep understanding of ASME and API standards is not optional — it’s an essential requirement. These international references define the rules for design, fabrication, inspection, and maintenance of pressure equipment, piping systems, heat exchangers, and storage tanks. ASME Codes (B31, B36, B16, BPVC) cover the design and construction of pressure equipment. API Standards (510, 570, 650, 660, 580, 581, etc.) govern inspection, repair, reliability, and mechanical integrity practices during operation. Mastering these standards enables engineers to: Ensure personnel and plant safety, Optimize maintenance and shutdown strategies, Guarantee regulatory compliance, And standardize engineering practices across projects worldwide. Understanding, applying, and correctly interpreting international codes and standards is at the heart of engineering excellence. It’s also what distinguishes an executing engineer from a leading engineer. #ASME #API #EngineeringStandards #MechanicalIntegrity #ProcessEngineering #OilAndGas #Reliability #Maintenance