Balancing people and technology to optimise plant operations.

Robotic process automation (RPA) can help drive business transformation forward, but only if it is implemented correctly.

Many manufacturing industries have had to reconsider their infrastructure, processes and workforces as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With additional pressures to meet increased customer demand while restricted by social distancing measures, many organizations are turning to technology for a solution.

It has often been said that necessity is the mother of invention and the COVID-19 pandemic has served as the backdrop for numerous instances when this has been proven true.

Automation design and system integration: When designing automation for the future, consider open source, capital costs, evolution, multi-vendor capability and cybersecurity.

Great product design using automation and controls isn’t just about solving existing problems faster and cheaper than others. It’s about living in the future. Don’t just do a better version of the same thing. Ask where the industry is heading, ask customers where they want to go, and then design a product that can live in that future.

Before investing in an industrial mobile robot, get answers for these five questions.

If you are thinking of moving to a mobile robot or automated guided vehicle (AGV), there are questions that should be asked. BlueBotics chief executive officer, Nicola Tomatis, with a PhD in robotics, covered five key areas to consider before buying mobile robotics.

A digital workforce reflects the evolution of technology within the modern workplace. This technology is central to the way we do business. As a result, many organisations already use elements of a digital workforce without realising.

People play a crucial role in the Smart Manufacturing transformation and culture is an important part of that. See some of the ingrained challenges companies face as well as ways to overcome them.

There is a required organizational culture change that goes along with the business process changes to assure the success of achieving high levels of transparency, threaded business processes, and integrated transactions in the value chain. This article focuses on managing the people dimension in the transformation.

Robots-as-a-Service uses a cloud-based system which allows for easier requirement changes.

The intent behind these “as-a-service” implementations is to democratize the technology while lowering the barrier to entry for businesses, large and small alike. The “as-a-service” philosophy is becoming more prevalent in today’s working environment and is spreading to new aspects of work. One of those new arenas is robotics as a service (RaaS).

In 2018, the global cybersecurity market was already estimated to be worth an impressive £91.21 billion, with projections for the year 2024 pegged at £205.59 billion. The application of the Internet of Things (IoT), bring your own device (BYOD), machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) in business has brought a whole new level of hyperconnectivity between industries, their employees and customers. This high degree of connectivity, however convenient and useful to both manufacturers and customers, comes at a great cost as it opens up systems to outside tampering. Coupled with increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and attacks, these innovations will continue to fuel the importance of cybersecurity in all business domains, including manufacturing, and this cannot be ignored.