Smart factories Intelligent manufacturing: Where does the industry stand?

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Smart factories are designed to manufacture products particularly efficiently. The extent of industry expansion is analyzed by Rockwell Automation in the "State of Smart Manufacturing Report".

Nicholas Baldwin is Senior Sales Executive at Rockwell Automation.

In today's rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape, companies in the automotive manufacturing industry are at the forefront of technological innovation. With the aim of greater efficiency and lower costs, more productivity and competitiveness, manufacturers are turning to advanced digital solutions to transform their operations.

The recently published "State of Smart Manufacturing Report" by Rockwell Automation shows that smart manufacturing technologies and artificial intelligence are particularly in focus at German manufacturing companies.

Although the cloud in the automotive industry does not primarily serve to fully replace software, hardware, and physical access on site, it still enables extending over existing systems. In this way, efficiency can be increased and collaboration optimized.

Smart Manufacturing is intended to promote jobs

The report makes it clear: In addition to inflation, shortage of raw materials, and the associated high prices for manufacturing materials, the shortage of skilled workers is the greatest challenge for German companies in order to remain sustainably competitive.

However, by increasing the use of smart manufacturing technologies, the majority of manufacturers expect to hire more people or retrain them for other tasks. While smart manufacturing tools can simplify and make certain areas of activity more efficient, well-trained personnel are still needed to operate these tools.

AI in Intelligent Manufacturing

The role of artificial intelligence in smart manufacturing has become a key factor in the manufacturing industry, as shown by the "State of Smart Manufacturing Report". More and more manufacturers are using industrial AI approaches to cope with growing challenges and optimize their operations. In particular, generative AI, "GenAI", has gained significant importance in the last twelve months and has triggered high demand for industrial applications in which AI is embedded.

Gen AI refers to systems that can create new content or ideas - based on the data they have previously learned. In manufacturing, Gen AI can be used, for example, to develop new product designs or to improve existing manufacturing processes.

Industrial AI can be used in various areas, including production planning, quality control, preventative maintenance and warehouse management. With the help of AI, manufacturers can detect patterns in their data, make more accurate predictions, and make automated decisions, which can significantly increase efficiency and productivity.

The role of data management

Effective data management is another key factor in promoting AI and smart manufacturing technologies. However, many companies are not using their collected data effectively enough, according to the Rockwell report. This can be compensated by upgrading the network infrastructure.

Investing in better networked hardware is also advisable here. This way, companies can monitor and analyze their operating data in real time: to quickly identify and solve problems, increase productivity and reduce operating costs.

Implementing cloud-based smart manufacturing platforms is essential for improved coordination and efficiency, as it brings the entire company together under a single data set system. It can therefore be concluded that despite various challenges, the automotive industry is making significant progress in implementing innovative digital solutions to transform their operations and become more competitive. Artificial intelligence plays a key role in this, especially generative AI.

Example of a MES approach

With a cloud-native MES solution, such as "PLEX" from Rockwell Automation, manufacturers in the automotive industry can coordinate processes more precisely and bring them together under a company-wide data set system. At the same time, the system needs of individual sites can be taken into account. Plant-specific information on production, inventory, and quality therefore remains accessible at all times for other plants and for its own personnel as needed.

By precisely capturing material and traceability data in real time, it can be ensured that production can always continue without interruption. An MES solution thus enables lower manufacturing and downtime and a minimization of scrap. In addition, production processes can be organized directly on the basis of a control plan, which shortens cycle times and increases efficiency by making paper-based processes unnecessary.

Download the full annual report on the state of smart manufacturing for free.