19 Apr Manufacturing Changes on the Horizon. Click to keep reading…
Manufacturing, which in many places hasn’t fundamentally changed in hundreds of years, is now poised to become a lot smarter. Automation and AI are creating innovations not seen since the First Industrial Revolution 300 years ago. By 2025, Forbes Magazine predicts, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, will be upon us. We are already seeing autonomous warehouses with robots talking to each other over secure Wi-Fi, and production machines being fixed before they fail – the future factory is coming and in some cases, it’s already here.
There are more current scenarios to help prove Forbes prediction:
Cobots (collaborative robots) once sparked concern about their possible negative impact on the workforce, but what manufacturing trends are showing is just the opposite – robots and people who work collaboratively in factories and warehouses can get more done, faster and safely. Joe Campbell, of Universal Robots, states that Cobots are “easier to digest, faster to deploy and generate returns quicker, the enabler is the ability to work side-by-side with skilled operators.” Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, are having a major impact on manufacturing. AI doesn’t mean walking, talking robots, but instead refers to a computer’s ability to recognize trends and logical conclusions that can help manufacturers make data-driven decisions. Machine learning uses analytics and algorithms to finds patterns in data, predict outcomes, and automate processes, so we can effectively forecast and plan for the future. For manufacturers, being proactive rather than reactive is critical. Instead of waiting for a machine to fail and then fixing it, organizations can anticipate what could go wrong and prevent or correct it in advance – which eliminates downtime, avoids unnecessary costs, and increases customer satisfaction.
Many of our manufacturing facilities are capitalizing on these innovations, creating new business models that make us better, faster, and smarter than the competition.
Are you ready to allow us to utilize our investments to make your products?
Let us know. We are ready when you are! Commentary provided by Jennings Harley, Business Development.
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