15 Year Partnership with Johnson Controls

Today, Patti Engineering, a control systems integration company based in Auburn Hills, MI with offices in Massachusetts and Texas, celebrates their 15 year partnership with Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI). 

It is hard to believe that Patti Engineering’s successful business partnership with JCI began 15 years ago with just a casual backyard conversation. One never knows where such a conversation may lead. Sam Hoff, president of Patti Engineering, had just that experience. Back in 1996 Sam’s neighbor, Eric Klebba worked at the Johnson Controls automotive seat manufacturing facility in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Sam and Eric’s conversation about a failing control system at that plant was the catalyst to Patti Engineering’s lengthy relationship with Johnson Controls. Eric Klebba is still with Johnson Controls today and Patti Engineering still serves as a trusted partner and resource to Johnson Controls Automotive Division. 

“It has been our pleasure to serve Johnson Controls over the past fifteen years. We appreciate the confidence, loyalty and trust JCI has placed with Patti Engineering through the years,” said Hoff. “We are proud to be associated with a global leader in the automotive industry with products, technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities that demand our very best. ”

Johnson Controls is a leading supplier of automotive interior systems and electronics. Patti Engineering collaborates with JCI on system architecture and data structure requirements for manufacturing execution system (MES) applications operating in the space between the front office information technology (IT) and plant floor operations. According to Hoff, “JCI is one organization that has figured out that the war between operations and IT is over and that both organizations need to work together to increase overall efficiency.”

Patti Engineering has been instrumental in the development of manufacturing and production Intelligence “Excellence Standards” for JCI’s automotive division. Many of the MES applications developed and supported by Patti Engineering include MIRA (Manufacturing Intelligence Reporting Application), an Iconics based application, JCI’s custom Integrated Production Control (IPC) system, and the lot traceability application required for tracking and maintaining critical build data such as serial numbers of airbags, pretensioners, and occupancy detection devices.

“Lot Traceability” is critical to the improvement of manufacturing productivity, efficiency and quality assurance. The Lot Trace application was initially developed in 2000 and has been continually improved over the last decade with collaboration from all the JCI manufacturing facilities across North America. In addition to application development and implementation, Patti Engineering provides 24/7/365 support to JCI manufacturing facilities across North America.