Get on the fast track to smart manufacturing
For over a decade, people have been talking about the next industrial revolution, but industry leaders don’t feel like it’s happening. The Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is still in the proof-of-concept phase, data is often trapped in isolated systems, and popular terms like predictive maintenance are more hype than reality.
This is because decision-makers want to modernize, but they can’t ignore the economic realities of their businesses. Many factories have a mix of old and new machines, which can make implementing modern sensor technology difficult. Retrofit solutions often don’t work well and don’t take full advantage of data. Even in new projects, incompatible technology standards can be a barrier to data-driven improvements.
Existing PLC technology providers are sticking to legacy hardware concepts.
If modernization is approached at all, the Cloud is promising to solve it all – however, typical requirements of equipment providers and operators are left out.
Total transparency is threatening the machine builder’s business model.
