Positioning for the Next Wave of Transformation in Manufacturing

It’s incredible to stand back and observe the evolution that’s taken place in manufacturing over the past century. Since the introduction of the assembly line, manufacturers have endeavored to find new ways to produce more with fewer manual inputs. This ambition has led us through a progression of mechanization to automation to, in today’s world, digitalization.

Transformation, therefore, is nothing new – with this wave of change set to define the coming era of manufacturing. The emphasis for manufacturing leaders is to create a smarter, more adaptable production environment. Achieving this requires the development of a highly intelligent and integrated end-to-end production system, as part of a connected enterprise that delivers the business benefits of technological innovation. One that stretches all the way from design and simulation through to automation, operations, and maintenance.

A core part of digitalization is the use of data to bring a more informed, connected experience to each user, spanning end-user customers, plant workers, partners, and other stakeholders across every company’s emerging digital ecosystem.

The Role of Intelligent Solutions

The adoption of smart manufacturing technologies offers greater opportunity to integrate traditionally siloed informational assets throughout the manufacturing lifecycle. This is done by adding a deeper layer of intelligence to existing manufacturing capabilities such as CAD, CAE, PLC, HMI, MES and ERP, and enabling the adoption of new technologies such as Edge-to-cloud analytics, IIoT, AR and Machine Learning. By connecting these applications, a wealth of data becomes available to each user and stakeholder, in the process enabling more informed next-step actions.

A smart manufacturing environment means putting the end user at the center by enabling a deeper understanding of what their customer wants and helping them to put in place intelligent information analysis that leads to continual improvement. The adoption of real-time capture, diagnostic reporting and application building supports this goal by creating a more responsive approach to dealing with potential production challenges that is based on clean, real-time data. By connecting varied applications, stakeholders can be more proactive towards issues such as product variability, quality gaps, and supply chain challenges.

For the end-user customer, this integrated, data-driven process produces a series of beneficial outcomes. These include better-quality products, more reliable operations, greater agility and time to market, and reduced risks such as unplanned downtime and wasted resource. Such an approach also contributes to an industry-wide commitment toward carbon reduction, giving way to circular economy and sustainable products.

For individual manufacturers, achieving greater sustainability produces benefits on both the supply and demand side, supporting strategies to reduce unit cost over time while making the product more in tune with public sensibilities around climate change.

Finding the Right Kind of Transformation

Taking the path towards transformation can be challenging for many manufacturing organizations. While they may recognize that a user-driven approach is a core part of shaping their competitive edge, the process of modernizing their production environment and business operations involves a series of potential pitfalls. These include:

• Challenges in migrating to cloud. Becoming cloud-first means redefining protocols and processes to create a coherent and consistent approach in areas such as multi-cloud orchestration, backups, data security and compliance.
• Assessing digital maturity. Just because a system or process can be digitalized doesn’t mean it needs to be, right now. Some elements of the enterprise require a longer transformation process, for reasons such as to allow staff time to upskill, to avoid creating gaps in IT security policies and procedures, or to develop a consistent approach with partner businesses, including OEMs and supply-chain partners.
• Setting expectations around time to value. Digitalization is a multi-year commitment that penetrates every area of the manufacturing organization. Being able to show the value of change to stakeholders in a short a period as possible helps to get broad buy-in and overcome the risk of inertia.

In areas such as these, a more calculated and well-calibrated approach can help to make sure that the transformation approach taken is the correct one for the business.

Helping Customers Embrace Transformation

At Rockwell Automation, we operate on the principle that we ‘don’t find customers for our products; we find solutions for our customers’. That’s because we understand that manufacturers need to work with a company taking a consultative, outcome-based approach. This insight-led approach helps avoid the risk of pushing individual, siloed technology for its own sake. We do this by committing to three core principles:

1. Empathy. Getting deep into the fabric of their business to understand the right approach, navigate internal challenges and become a true collaborator across the process.

2. Consultation. Gaining a deep understanding of our customer’s existing business, their digital maturity and challenges in progressing to the next step in their transformation roadmap.

3. Outcomes-based approach. Taking the time necessary to properly understand their goals and values so that the selection of technology is consistent with their desired outcomes.