01
The running program is the truth
Printouts drift. Binders go missing. We start from what is actually in the controller.
About
Putting PC and IT technology to work on the factory floor, since before it had a name.
Automation & IIoT Services, LLC was founded in 2016 by Dale Ross, after nineteen years at Mitsubishi Electric Automation. The company name describes work he had already been doing for two decades.
Dale Ross, founder
The person who'd know.
For most of his career, Dale has been the engineer customers, salespeople and Mitsubishi's own engineers in Japan went to when something didn't work. His range is unusual: drives, PLCs, motion and servo, HMIs, networks, PC-based control and manufacturing data, all on the same equipment.
He was writing drive control programs for Mitsubishi's engineers in Japan in the early 1990s, working on PC-based control in 1996, and leading MES and manufacturing-data work at Mitsubishi from 2007. In his final full year there, about 120 different people asked for his help. The work has taken him all over the United States and to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada and Japan.
Since 2016 he has done the same work independently: training, troubleshooting, migrations and data, for plants directly and for the integrators and distributors who serve them. Kyle Stegal joined AIS in 2019 and handles IT, networking and remote-access work.
Mitsubishi Electric University certified trainerPLC, HMI, GX Works and MES interface courses
Mitsubishi Electric “Going the Extra Mile” award, 2012For weekend MES firmware work at an automotive plant
Microsoft MVP, about 1994–2001Recognized by Microsoft for community technical work, spanning his integrator, distributor and early Mitsubishi years
ICONICS GENESIS64 and IgnitionSCADA and HMI experience on both, from MC Works to today's platforms
EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) and CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA)AIS is a member of both, and builds EtherCAT® and CC-Link IE support into its products from the specifications
- 1988
First Mitsubishi A-Series PLC
The start of nearly four decades on MELSEC hardware.
- 1989–1995
Plant Engineering Consultants
System integrator and, at the time, Mitsubishi's largest variable-frequency drive customer worldwide. Wrote A-Series drive programs that showed Mitsubishi's engineers in Japan the special drive functions we needed, including the traverse pattern-disturbance function for winders. Taught his first A-Series classes in 1990.
- 1995–1997
Livingston & Haven
Technical manager for factory automation at one of the largest Mitsubishi distributors in the US. Advisor on an early PC-based control product that connected to an A-Series rack.
- 1997–2016
Mitsubishi Electric Automation
Field application engineer, senior FAE, then application engineering team leader. QnA and Q-Series launch work, input to Japan on A-to-Q migration strategy, MC2 PC control, motion and servo rescues, and from 2007 the company's MES and manufacturing-data authority. Gave input to the development of the iQ-R generation.
- 2016–today
Automation & IIoT Services
Certified Mitsubishi training, troubleshooting, migrations, OPC and MES data collection, AI-assisted data analysis, PC-based control, and a growing set of in-house engineering tools.
In their words
What colleagues and clients have written.
Your knowledge and guidance has yet again proved invaluable!
I’ve known and worked with Dale for 30 years, very very knowledgeable. Not sure I could get you anybody better.
Thank you for your visit on Friday. It was very helpful.
What we believe
A few things thirty-plus years have taught us.
02
Data beats opinion
Intermittent problems get measured, ranked and proven, not argued about.
03
PCs belong on the plant floor
Set up properly, PC-based control and edge computing are as dependable as any PLC, and far more open.
04
Tell the client the truth
Including “this isn't our specialty.” We'd rather point you to the right person than stretch.
05
Leave the knowledge behind
Every job ends with documentation your own people can use: commented code, plain-English write-ups, training.
06
Never surprise a running machine
We don't connect to or change a live controller without permission, and every change has a way back.