Data Interoperability to Accelerate Cognitive Manufacturing
Manufacturing is still waiting for the Cambrian moment of data interoperability. Supply chain issues put focus on JIT and near-shoring. Piece picking robotics firms begin to scale.
Assembly Line
What’s Cognitive Manufacturing? Why Should It Matter To You?
Date: February 24, 2022
Author: Avnish Kumar
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The whole complex ecosystem of industries requires integration of various data systems. It is not just the sensor data system that needs retrofication. As many systems are analogue, there exist multiple interfaces because of various proprietary and automation systems such as DCS, SCADA, Historian, and PLC systems. With multiple protocols a simplification of this ecosystem can be done by customisation, bringing data from all the heterogeneous processes to a big data platform, understanding the business processes and gaps, and applying the predictive and prescriptive analytics.
Read more at Electronics B2B
Manufacturing Excellence in Michigan
The Money Is in the Verticals – How Analytics Unlocks 5G Value
Date: February 24, 2022
Author: Atul Purohit
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In 2019 the race to launch commercial 5G services was hot, with both the USA and South Korea claiming firsts. Gaining early competitive advantage was key for many communications service providers (CSPs). So much so that initial 5G subscription plans for consumers were in many cases set on a par with those for 4G or only slightly higher. 5G SA changes all that by implementing a service-based architecture and the road to value creation is not that steep because native AI/ML analytics capabilities fully harness the power of 5G and enable value extraction and creation for multiple vertical use cases.
Read more at LightReading
Why Manufacturers are Abandoning Just-In-Time
Date: February 21, 2022
Author: John Nanry
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The problem is that organizations are following JIT manufacturing principles in a way that can’t keep up with expectations in today’s supply chain. Nearly half of respondents (48 percent) have moved away from JIT, with the majority making the change during the pandemic. This is no surprise, as respondents’ top supply chain pain points correspond to the greatest weaknesses of JIT.
Read more at Engineering.com
Mexican manufacturing: so far from EU, so close to US
Date: February 21, 2022
Vertical: Pharmaceutical
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Kearney’s US Reshoring Index (April 2021) shows that many US manufacturing executives perceive nearshoring to Mexico or Canada as even more advantageous than reshoring to the US. The index also noted that US manufacturers will specifically strive to reduce dependence on China for manufacturing, another positive sign for nearshoring operations to Mexico. Since 2020, Covid-19 related supply chain disruptions have caused many US companies to take steps to bring some of their manufacturing closer to home.
The US pharma market is the largest worldwide. There is a great incentive for North American countries to trade with each other (and promote nearshoring, given lower overhead costs) since the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the US, came into force in July 2020. At the same time, the US has had trade disputes with a major pharma exporter, China, in recent years. Many of the world’s largest pharma companies already operate facilities in Mexico, and nearshoring could increase international investment further.
Read more at Pharmaceutical Technology
Surge Demand
Volkswagen plans for an IPO of Porsche. RIOS raises $28 million to transition its robots to learn to grasp and manipulate objects on their own without any human intervention while RightHand Robotics raises money for their piece picking robots. A new framework of a circular economy based on biofuels and bioproducts. The shift to a low-carbon economy is leading to a super cycle for metals.