Data-based decisions

When we talk about automation we mean using technology to reduce the need for human intervention within a plant. The aim is to optimize the factory, making it more productive and, ultimately, more competitive in an environment where competition is growing and margins are becoming increasingly narrower.

As we saw at the start of the pandemic, digitized companies have been those best able to overcome the limitations of confinement. They have also had, and continue to have, the greatest potential to succeed in these times of uncertainty. In times of coronavirus, the value of connectivity has been recognized for its ability to enable productive activity to continue through remote working.

Until not very long ago, machines were totally dependent on orders from people. They were not autonomous and did not communicate amongst themselves, slowing production and thereby also making them more vulnerable to manual operating errors. Now, in the era of smart & digital factories, MES (manufacturing execution systems) continue to be the backbone that control and oversee everything occurring inside the plant, but they have now moved up a category, revolutionizing management and production.