{"id":17512,"date":"2022-11-18T13:55:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T13:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/?p=17512"},"modified":"2022-11-18T13:55:27","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T13:55:27","slug":"the-trends-shaping-tomorrows-industrial-facilities-sustainability-digital-transformation-and-flexible-manufacturing-driving-the-worlds-process-industries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/the-trends-shaping-tomorrows-industrial-facilities-sustainability-digital-transformation-and-flexible-manufacturing-driving-the-worlds-process-industries\/","title":{"rendered":"The trends shaping tomorrow\u2019s industrial facilities Sustainability, digital transformation and flexible manufacturing driving the world\u2019s process industries"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 2022<\/em><\/strong>: Identifying the current drivers of the world\u2019s process industries can be boiled down to three mega trends: Sustainability, digital transformation and flexible manufacturing. That was the consensus of an eight-person panel discussion during the opening session at\u00a0Rockwell Automation\u2019s Process Solutions User Group\u00a0this past week.<\/p>\n

\u201cA keyword to all of this is that it is a journey,\u201d said Jim Winter, Rockwell Automation\u2019s director of global process business, emphasizing that change won\u2019t be easy for many companies, and it will take a concerted effort to address all three trends. Another panellist, Kumar Sokka, global business director for digital at Rockwell Automation, said his business often describes the process of industrial digitalization as \u201cdifficult digital\u201d due to the commitment necessary.<\/p>\n

Craig Resnick, vice president of ARC Advisory Group, picked up on that theme and added that the common denominator in all three mega trends is that they all revolve around industrial workforce issues. Even as automation technology is used more and more to offset a lack of experienced workers, producers are seeking to increase productivity and control costs in the face of a fast-paced and ever-changing world where consumer demands shift often.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can almost look at the workforce and categorize it as to how each of these trends affects it,\u201d Resnick said. \u201cWhen we talk about sustainability at the C-level, we spend a lot of time looking at things like net-zero, circular economy, energy saving. When we\u2019re in the plant, it\u2019s an operational resilience story.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we compensate if there is another pandemic, or we\u2019re cut off from our supply chain? Is there a plan and tools in place that we can go to, so we truly do have a sustainable plan?\u201d he continued by asking hypothetically: \u201cDo we have the right tools and technology in place knowing we might not have a workforce that\u2019s able to support them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Resnick told the audience that digitally transforming a facility can help a workforce to reach heights it might not be prepared to reach. While the youngest generations of workers are also the most technically savvy, the right technology is still needed to help those workers be more productive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might be great at Fortnite but when you say something like \u2018cat cracker\u2019 they\u2019re completely lost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When it comes to flexible manufacturing, Resnick added, manufacturers these days are required to look at their supply chains from a real-time perspective and be prepared to shift gears at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

Sustainability front and centre<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Pete Morell, global OEM industry director, sustainability and process, at Rockwell Automation, picked up the discussion on sustainability by saying many new OEMs coming into the process industries, whether in energy or food processing, really understand their processes but don\u2019t necessarily understand the automation involved. He said Rockwell\u2019s work with such customers is centred around driving consistency, which he said can ease the burden.<\/p>\n

He also said many can\u2019t seem to hire enough workers to develop such consistency. \u201cThat\u2019s where we advocate a concept around \u2018connected workers,\u2019\u201d he said, describing a plant where there is a central control room and workers are able to communicate and work in tandem.<\/p>\n

John Steckler, director, North American Process Automation at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a Chicago-based food processing corporation, said consumers around the world have made it clear that they expect the products they purchase to come from sustainable sources, produced by companies that share their values. \u201cWith our role in the food chain, we really have a responsibility to scale up our sustainability efforts to the ever-expanding needs of the global population,\u201d he said of his company.<\/p>\n

To accomplish its sustainability goals, Steckler said the company focuses on its supply chain, which are farmers. \u201cWe\u2019re helping to enroll over two million acres in regenerative agriculture for low-carbon intensity products,\u201d he said of his company\u2019s efforts. He outlined several other key initiatives such as the company\u2019s \u201cStrive 35\u201d commitment, which aims to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2035.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat commitment also includes targets for reduction in energy, water intensity and diverting waste from landfills,\u201d he added. \u201cSo, we are looking at scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said the company is involved in projects and joint ventures for the production of bioplastics and sustainable aviation fuel. In addition, he highlighted its \u201cProject Subway,\u201d which is a project to produce feedstock for renewable diesel fuel.<\/p>\n

For the project, Steckler said ADM needs a highly automated plant in North Dakota, which it hopes to have in operation by next year\u2019s harvest, although Steckler admitted the timeline is aggressive. Steckler said the process of automating the plant, while sustainable in scope, was \u201creally digital transformation in the form of a brand-new plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said that ongoing workforce challenges needed to be considered, and that the plan for the new plant redefines roles, something he said is becoming increasingly necessary in today\u2019s world. \u201cThe operator of yesterday is probably not the operator of tomorrow,\u201d he said. \u201cAll roles in a plant might be different than what we would call traditional roles in plant production.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to the need for building much more automated unit controls. He added that things such as full plant production adjustments need to be based on demand or key performance indicators. \u201cWith less human interaction, normal process changes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Digital transformation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Getting started on the digital transformation journey is no easy feat. Sokka said, \u201cIf you look at the market, you can see how everyone wants to figure out how to get into digital transformation and figure out what the problems are to solve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere we sit, right in the middle is trying to bring all of the hardware, software, domain expertise, services, and partner software technology together to solve value,\u201d he continued as he discussed Rockwell\u2019s approach to digital transformation. \u201cOur biggest focus is \u2018fast value.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He said their approach is to work with customers to figure out what they can digitalize over six to eight weeks and then how to scale the solution. This approach drives larger scale transformation, he said.<\/p>\n

One industry that has an urgent need for digital transformation but has struggled to master finding the right value is oil and gas. Andrea Monte, vice president, digital automation solutions and services at Sensia, an oil and gas technology company that brings together real-time control and IoT technology from Rockwell Automation and pairs it with software and analytics from oilfield services giant SLB (formerly Schlumberger), said the oil and gas industry face three main obstacles to digital transformation.<\/p>\n

First, he said the global nature of the oil and gas business means there are very different operating conditions in different countries that companies face. \u201cThat makes standardizing difficult,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that the lifecycle of an oilfield is measured in decades, so architecture gets outdated even though it is still in use. That means it might not be capable of being transformed easily. Finally, he reiterated the theme of the panel and pointed to the industry\u2019s \u201cGreat Crew Change.\u201d Ironically, this is a reason for digital transformation to step up in pace, he said. \u201cThere\u2019s an opportunity for digital technology to replace domain knowledge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Flexible manufacturing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The driver behind flexible manufacturing is quite simply consumers. Consumers aren\u2019t just seeking sustainable products they want increased functionality, said Mark Massey, global electrical and controls manager at Primient, a manufacturer of food and industrial products from plant-based and renewable sources. \u201cAll the while still purchasing products from their established brand,\u201d he added. \u201cThis puts a lot of pressure on the manufacturing space to change production more frequently and get to quality standards more quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

This evolving demand requires products to move quickly from plant floor to end consumer without increasing warehousing or tank space, and while reducing working capital, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be about everyone working together up and down the supply chain and requires stakeholders to think holistically about their businesses,\u201d Massey said. He added the trend toward flexible manufacturing offers the opportunity to revolutionize how companies manage their production. More importantly, it offers the opportunity to build smarter facilities.<\/p>\n

Tim Shope, vice president, digital transformation at Endress+Hauser, agreed, saying new plants will be built \u201cvery differently.\u201d Shope added that flexible manufacturing needs to be accounted for when building plants because the possible lack of workforce in the future will require more automation and less direct human interaction. He cited new green hydrogen plants as examples of facilities coming online that will be more about the technology and less about how many people are needed to run it.<\/p>\n

Both men agreed with the rest of the panellists that flexible manufacturing has already arrived and is here to stay. \u201cFlexible manufacturing is no longer a far-off wave but a tsunami that has already hit,\u201d Massey said.<\/p>\n

And, it goes hand-in-hand with the trends toward sustainability and digitalization in defining the future of the process industries.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

About Rockwell Automation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rockwell Automation Inc., is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26 000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com<\/a>. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life in the industrial enterprise, visit www.rockwellautomation.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information, contact: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Michelle Junius<\/p>\n

Channel & Field Marketing Lead \u2013 Africa<\/p>\n

Rockwell Automation<\/strong><\/p>\n

mjunius@ra.rockwell.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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