NEWS RELEASE                                                                                        OCTOBER 2016

Interconnecting the Flow Control and Treatment Industry

It is the digital age and it is the dawn of machine-to-machine communications. But we are in the dark ages when it comes to interconnectivity.  Large flow-and-treat end users and large suppliers have minimum connectivity within their own companies.  McIlvaine has created a Global Decisions Orchard structured to maximize interconnectivity between individuals in diverse groups. The new embellishment is to maximize intra-group interconnectivity.

Owner/Operator Groups

More than half the flow control and treatment products and services are purchased by multiple plant owners.  Custom websites and Decision Systems are being set up for these owners.  The first such system is Berkshire Hathaway Power Generation Decisions.

Flow and Treat Suppliers

More than half the flow control and treat products and services are sold by companies providing multiple products from a number of locations.  Interconnectivity has been slowed by divisional self-interest. The bottoms-up approach applied by McIlvaine avoids divisional rivalry.   The interconnected owner/operator group with a bridge to the interconnected supplier conglomerate is now a reality.

Interconnectivity between the suppliers and end users needs to be expanded to include consultants, investors and regulators.  This requires niche experts who, like bees, pollinate one flower after another.

Funding for experts in narrow niches has been impossible because there has not been global support.  Many of the world’s most expert flow and treatment people retire each year and many become consultants. However, without a big demand for their niche specialty they are soon involved in extraneous activities and soon lose their knowledge advantage.  With the Global Decisions Orchard there are enough flowers to support a large hive.

The expanded interconnection allows the “wise crowd” to make more valuable contributions. Each person is a niche expert in a number of areas.  In one of five “wise crowd” webinars for a Berkshire Hathaway project a senior engineer volunteered information from an obscure R&D project conducted several years earlier.  This apparently minor contribution has become important to greatly reducing the project cost. The “wise crowd” is necessary to take advantage of the rapidly expanding world knowledge. 

For more information on the interconnection program contact Bob McIlvaine at 847 784 0012 ext. 112 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.