Industrial automation can transform the landscape of a country's workforce and economy.
Countries are transitioning from mining economies, into manufacturing economies with the sometimes unseen fourth industrial revolution's slow march.
Berg Insights reported that 4.6 million wireless devices were shipped globally in 2018 for the purpose of industrial automation. Industrial automation accounted for six percent of newly connected IoT nodes. It also meant that the number of devices connected for Industrial Automation reached 21.3 million in 2018.
Wireless devices are flowing into the industry replacing previous technologies that do not have the kinds of monitoring and data generating technology that modern-day sensors and communication devices do.
The Berg Insights report also points out that smart wireless devices monitoring the entire manufacturing process will lead to more ‘predictive maintenance.' The likelihood of manufacturing equipment lasting longer than its predecessor has increased with the new Industry 4.0 technology emerging in the industry. As a result, there will be less wasting of money for maintenance and more for the payment of employees.
Rockwell Automation's On the Move event for 2019 was held in India. It saw industry leaders encouraging the country to embrace automation to turn India into a manufacturing economy.
Rockwell Automation is so interested in growing the manufacturing output of India that they have recently branched into the country. Dilip Sawhney, Managing Director of Rockwell Automation India, said:
“We want to take the lead in building India’s first industry 4.0 ecosystem of partner companies that will create solutions for The Connected Enterprise that can analyze machine conditions in advance to avoid breakdown and enhance productivity but also improve on quality and compliance parameters.”
John Watts, Regional Marketing Director, for Asia Pacific at Rockwell Automation added:
“Globally, digital-induced disruption is inevitable. To maintain and improve global competitiveness, Indian manufacturers need to accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0. While India has a lot of catching up to do in this respect, it can accelerate digital transformation by leveraging its strengths in the IT services sector and tapping the entrepreneurial spirit seen in the start-up sector.”
The experts at Rockwell believe that if India adopts more automation technologies, their combined factory output would make manufacturing a US$ 1 trillion business by 2025. Rockwell Automation has partnered with L&T, Cisco, Microsoft, Endress+Hauser, and Wipro Infrastructure Engineering to help develop smart manufacturing solutions in India.
Works Cited
“Industry 4.0 Tech Can Triple India's Factory Output, Says Rockwell Automation.” Tech Observer, 22 Jan. 2019, techobserver.in/2019/01/22/industry-4-0-tech-can-triple-indias-factory-output-says-rockwell-automation/.
IoT.Business.News. “The Installed Base of Wireless IoT Devices in Industrial Automation Reached 21.3 Million in 2018.” IoT Business News, IoT Business News, 21 Jan. 2019, iotbusinessnews.com/2019/01/21/62655-the-installed-base-of-wireless-iot-devices-in-industrial-automation-reached-21-3-million-in-2018/.
