Digitalisation of the manufacturing sector provides a new opportunity to increase efficiency, but also brings with it new challenges, Rockwell Automation Europe, Middle East and Africa president Susana Gonzalez has highlighted.
Rockwell recently hosted its first fully virtual conference to discuss how digitalisation and the use of smart technology can contribute to improved productivity, efficiency and safety in operations.
"Most of our customers have digitalisation at the top of their agendas, specifically a blend of information technology and operational technology," Gonzalez said.
She pointed out that customers had indicated that they were not accelerating their digital journeys mainly as a result of not having the access to people who understand new technologies.
Therefore, technical training . . . enables customers to stay up to date and current and helps technologies to be introduced faster, said Gonzalez.
One of the two technical seminar tracks focused on smart machines, sensors, safety devices, security, motor control and overall control, and optimisation to increase productivity in the Industrial Internet of Things.
The second track's theme was the digital transformation journey that detailed technologies such as augmented reality and digital twins, big data analytics and connected services, which are enabling more collaborative environments and allow for decisions to be made faster and more efficiently. The track also provided an overview of how manufacturers can use data from devices and transform it into information to make more efficient decisions.