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“In the past few years, open process automation and industry initiatives have focused on open modular, interoperable and portable solutions,” Bridget Fitzpatrick, Process Automation Authority for Wood Applied Intelligence, said during her keynote speech at the International Society of Automation (ISA) Process Industry Virtual Conference (PIC).

Chinese manufacturing is under pressure from both ends: raw material and energy prices are rising sharply; while consumer demand is weak. However, despite considerable supply chain problems during the latter part of the year, the 4th quarterly update of our Manufacturing Industry Output (MIO) tracker, shows that Chinese manufacturing is on track to achieve 5.9% growth.

Now that bad actors have witnessed the impact an attack can have on critical infrastructure OT systems, they’re emboldened to try and expand cyber campaigns to illustrate supremacy and increase public distrust and anxiety. So, we’ll dive into some of the most significant concerns that OT leaders need to be aware of in the coming year–and what can be done to strengthen your security posture.

In this insight, we take a look at German manufacturing, where COVID-19 recently forced the cancellation of the leading global show for advanced manufacturing and industrial technologies: Smart Production Solutions (SPS) in Nuremberg.

With the growing number of controller choices available to automation engineers, separating the chaff to find the best device for their particular application can be difficult when evaluating multiple platform types.

As defenders and engineers who need to keep systems running securely and safely, it’s important to understand how the adoption of IoT impacts visibility and security for OT systems.

To realize the potential of smart factories and Industry 4.0, the coming together of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Operational Technology (OT) is essential. Achieving a working relationship is, however, going to take work, says Tom Richter.

By calibrating closed-loop digital twins in the intralogistics industry, warehouse managers are running operations at peak levels, unleashing orders to fly off the shelf.

If you're a machine builder or user maintaining hundreds of machines, then failures are the things you dread most. You know you need Predictive Maintenance, but the cost is often prohibitive. This article discusses a retrofit approach that uses an edge device to continuously measure a machine's critical parameters and send the sensor data to the cloud.

From raw materials for plastics and semiconductor chips to household products such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer, one thing is abundantly clear: automated manufacturing is needed now.

The variable speed drive market is back on track, with 7.7% growth predicted for 2021. Interact Analysis' latest market research offers insight into three important trends influencing the drives market: functional safety, predictive maintenance and efficiency regulations.

Moxa Global Technology Partner Manager and member of the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) Chih-Hong Lin talks about the role of Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and industrial Ethernet in shaping the future of industrial automation.

In a conversation with Rockwell Automation’s Matthew Giordano (pictured above), IS Solutions, partner manager, he described the companies scalable OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) solutions to achieve Industry 4.0 to understand “what is happening on the shop floor."

With the new Ethernet-APL communication technology, users in the process industries have gained a strong partner at their side in their quest for higher efficiency and increasing quality. This new form of data transmission will give digitalization a boost in process engineering production environments. Data from all areas of a process system will be connected in a secure and practical manner and made available from a central point. This helps users derive valuable information from vast amounts of data points.

Companies like BASF face the challenge of keeping countless production systems and plants around the world up to date with the latest technologies. To make sure that powerful technologies are employed without any surprises occuring, new instruments and technologies are first put through their paces–and the introduction of Ethernet-APL is no different.

Reliability and process engineers need solutions that fit their needs for operational insight and asset management. The valuable skillset of data scientists must be complemented with engineering wisdom and AI applied within the business processes to create role-based applications that will eventually lead to the self-optimizing plant (SOP).

Fears of perfection, narrow focus and regulatory compliance are major hurdles faced in improving reliability through predictive analytics. Here’s how to overcome them.

Inevitably, IT/OT integration has become one of the key indicators of a company's potential future growth. However, despite its importance, IT/OT integration remains inconceivable to many companies due to one main obstacle: cybersecurity.

The five core challenges process engineering businesses face–and how an Intelligent Edge approach is key to more successful edge deployments.

Scalability and connectivity of PLCs and operator interfaces played a key role as TMEIC integrated 86 new container automatic stacking cranes for the Port of Virginia.