{"id":17518,"date":"2022-11-29T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/?p=17518"},"modified":"2022-11-29T12:00:45","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T12:00:45","slug":"finding-success-in-a-post-pandemic-world-three-trends-industry-is-adopting-to-power-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swmcommunications.co.za\/press-office\/finding-success-in-a-post-pandemic-world-three-trends-industry-is-adopting-to-power-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding success in a post-pandemic world Three trends industry is adopting to power growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

29 November 2022<\/em><\/strong>: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way we live and work. Now, nearly three years on, industrial operations are facing challenges both new and enhanced as the world makes major shifts in the way people are working and expectations of consumers and stakeholders change rapidly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenges all of us were experiencing prior to the pandemic, particularly the lack of access to skilled workers, has only become more pronounced over the past two years,\u201d said Tessa Myers, senior vice president of intelligent devices at Rockwell Automation. Myers was one of the featured speakers during the Perspectives <\/em>thought-leadership session recently held ahead of the Automation Fair 2022, presented by\u00a0Rockwell Automation<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started a lot of what we focused on was lean manufacturing. It was a wonderfully simple time for manufacturers,\u201d Myers told the audience. \u201cAll of us had the playbook for what it took to drive improvements in our operations, but that\u2019s not the case today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, today\u2019s industrial sector not only faces a lack of human resources for its operations, but also new expectations from stakeholders who have different thoughts on what it means to be a responsible industrial company. \u201cThere\u2019s been a rapid evolution in customer-buying preferences. Customers want what they want, when they want it, and how they want it,\u201d Myers said. \u201cIt feels like consumer preferences are moving at hyper speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the pandemic may have accelerated expectations it also opened opportunities and set examples of what can be accomplished by manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Myers pointed to successes such as the rapid production of vaccines and the acceleration in construction of new facilities in response to needs for things such as masks during the pandemic as shining examples of new ways of addressing the industrial environment post-pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all living in what is a rapid changing workplace,\u201d she said. \u201cHere\u2019s the good news: We\u2019ve never been more well equipped and more enabled to succeed by the technology we must leverage. The companies that come out on top and realize their full potential are those focused on building agility, resiliency, and sustainability in their operations. Not only can we work differently, but time gives us the opportunity to work better.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get there, Myers said she sees three trends being adopted in industry to \u201cpower growth for what\u2019s next.\u201d Those trends include the transformation of production logistics to adapt quickly to changes in production needs, producing locally for rapid order fulfilment and embracing data-driven sustainability efforts.<\/p>\n

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Transforming production logistics<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the past, the way industry dealt with spikes in production needs was to throw people at the problem, according to Myers. With the workforce woes trending in the sector, as it is with many industries, that\u2019s not an option anymore.<\/p>\n

As several other speakers noted throughout the week at the event, Myers said, \u201cWe need to reconsider how goods move through the plant to be able to handle a wide variety of product with the least amount of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cue the technology. Rockwell Automation boasts products enabling \u201chundreds of thousands of configurations with thousands of flavours,\u201d Myers continued. In short, automation technology is ready to fill the void left by the lack of a qualified human workforce.<\/p>\n

Among the solutions available is independent cart technology, which is designed to change the way products move through plants. Myers said the technology has proved to boost customer efficiency and increase throughput by up to 50%.<\/p>\n

Myers also pointed out that the barriers for integrating robotics into the plant floor have been lifted. She showed that unified robotics allows for one control platform for motion and robotics.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, integrating robotics and other mechatronics into systems was pretty arduous and time-consuming. You needed very specialized skill sets, multiple hardware platforms,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been focused on building kinematic control in our logics controllers, and I\u2019m excited about the unified approach to systems design.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myers discussed Rockwell Automation\u2019s partnership with robotics company KMel Robotics. The two companies launched a unified robotics solution at Automation Fair this week.<\/p>\n

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Producing locally<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to stay competitive, companies are moving to be more local,\u201d Myers said. \u201cThey are gaining proximity to their customers and building resiliency in their supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that it is vital to maintain resiliency and simplification in rapid asset deployment. \u201cWe\u2019ve been driving technology developments over the last few years that are really enabling companies to rapidly deploy automation and process systems in their facilities around the world,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n

She highlighted the new FLEXHA 5000 I\/O, a fully configurable input\/output platform\u2014any point can be discrete, analog or HART\u2014built for the requirements of process applications. She said it cuts programming time by 50%. Myers also highlighted the company\u2019s Armor PowerFlex drives, which requires fewer manual connections and speeds installation.<\/p>\n

She also touted Rockwell\u2019s investment in its digital engineering tools, which she said enable customers to test, design, refine and improve every aspect of an automation design before moving into production. The result, she said, has been a reduction in system engineering of 30% for electric vehicle battery manufacturer Hirata.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Data-driven sustainability<\/strong><\/p>\n

For all the talk around net-zero goals, less than 25% of all companies are on track to meet their sustainability goals, according to OMNIA Partners.<\/p>\n

Considering the requirements of stakeholders around sustainability, there\u2019s a lot of work yet to be done. Myers said help lies in the data.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s really important is that sustainability efforts have to be data driven,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been investing in our intelligence device portfolio, we\u2019re not just enabling agility, rapid deployment, and new ways to automate equipment. We\u2019re really investing in an infrastructure that\u2019s going to provide the data that\u2019s needed to drive resiliency and sustainability through the improvement of operations and processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that the connectivity capability of devices across the entire portfolio is the core of digital transformation. Data starts at the devices, and it\u2019s critical to connect those data sources together to provide insights to all customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s critical is an integrated system, hardware and software working together, to drive true value,\u201d Myers added.<\/p>\n

Myers said the oil and gas industry is \u201cprobably under the most pressure\u201d when it comes to sustainability. Rockwell Automation recently worked with an oil producer in the Permian Basin of West Texas to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by leveraging a connected device platform, according to Myers.<\/p>\n

She said it was a classic example of industry not only working differently but working better.<\/p>\n

 <\/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

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