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Asia-Pacific most receptive to smart manufacturing usage globally

Companies believe smart manufacturing is key to their business’ future success, The State of Smart Manufacturing Report reveals. Plex Systems, a Rockwell Automation company in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, has announced the results of its 7th annual study, “The State of Smart Manufacturing Report.” The research reveals that smart manufacturing adoption accelerated by 50% globally in 2021, and these new technologies are now solving the industry’s critical challenges. Asia-Pacific (APAC) organisations (93%) view smart manufacturing as “very” or “extremely” important to future success, compared to North America (NA) (84%) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) (75%). Reflecting their optimistic attitude towards smart manufacturing, most APAC companies reported a shorter timeframe – “within the next 7 to 11 months” – for adoption of smart manufacturing solutions, compared with NA and EMEA’s majority response of “within the next 1-2 years”. The global study surveyed more than 300 manufacturers in a variety of industries including automotive, aerospace, food and beverage, electronics, consumer goods, plastics and rubber, precision metal forming, and more. This year’s report, conducted in collaboration with Hanover Research, offers valuable insights into trends, challenges, and future plans for global manufacturers. The report aims to help manufacturers benchmark their technology strategy and incorporate smart manufacturing best practices to stay competitive and thrive. A scalable technology strategy makes it possible to incrementally adopt solutions and achieve value quickly. As manufacturers look to streamline processes and solve today’s challenges, they are placing significant value on using smart technology to address and improve actual business outcomes. The report’s findings show the pandemic both exposed and exacerbated pre-existing conditions in manufacturing. Skilled worker shortages, competition, and supply chain disruptions are the top three challenges being faced by Asia-Pacific companies because of the pandemic. With that in mind, nine in 10 APAC respondents (93%) believe smart […]

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be people powered

Companies at the forefront of the technology frontier are empowering their workers with digital technologies—and the skills they need to use them. For many members of the world’s workforces, change can sometimes be seen as a threat, particularly when it comes to technology. This is often coupled with fears that automation will replace people. But a look beyond the headlines shows that the reverse is proving to be true, with Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies driving productivity and growth across manufacturing and production at brownfield and greenfield sites. These technologies are creating more and different jobs that are transforming manufacturing and helping to build fulfilling, rewarding, and sustainable careers. What’s more, with 4IR technologies in the hands of a workforce empowered with the skills needed to use them, an organisation’s digital transformation journey can move from aspiration to reality. While there is a common perception that digitisation and automation are a threat to the world’s workers, companies at the forefront of the technology frontier have actually created jobs—different, new roles that are much more high tech than the roles of the past. And with the current labor mismatch being felt in many countries, the time is now to further engage workers for a digitally enabled future. This focus is backed by growing research proving that workforce engagement is key. Over the last several years, research with the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with McKinsey, surveyed thousands of manufacturing sites on their way to digitising operations and have identified about 90 leaders. These are the lighthouses—sites and supply chains chosen by an independent panel of experts for leadership in creating dramatic improvements with technology. Together they create the Global Lighthouse Network, committed to sharing what they’ve learned along the way. A common theme among these sites is their worker centricity—they are supporting the […]

We Need to Talk About Inflation

Stephen D King With the title clearly a take on the Lionel Shriver book, “We must talk about Kevin”, one is immediately warned to approach Stephen King’s book with trepidation. Like Kevin, inflation in this book is bad, particularly if out of control. And like Kevin’s parents, those responsible for keeping inflation in check should be made to read and understand the warning signs early enough and act decisively to tame it. Otherwise, it all ends in tragedy. Unless of course we learn the lessons – 14 of them according to King, and not just from the recent crises but going back 2,000 years. So we can live happily ever after and in one piece, unlike the characters in Lionel Shriver’s tale. Well- that at least is the conclusion one gets to when reading King’s book. There are some lighter moments like the recurring theme of the love/hate relationship between Richard Burton and Elisabeth Taylor to characterise what is going on between monetary authorities and the fiscal side of the equation. Periods of harmony are great. Pulling in opposite directions proves disastrous. And King offers lots of historical examples as to when things went well on the inflation front and when they didn’t. Some interesting conclusions though. In King’s view the argument used by central banks against tightening, that it was all just ‘transitory’, was fuelled by central banks having presided over a low inflation environment for nearly two decades, falling victim of their own anti-inflation propaganda. As a result, serious mistakes were made when circumstances suddenly changed. We saw the impact of the supply and demand imbalances when Covid restrictions ended and then the extra pressures on energy and food prices with the war in Ukraine. But in King’s view the reappearance of inflation in the last couple of […]

What is the future of work?

Just like the world at large, the world of work shifts and changes over time. The future of work refers to an informed perspective on what businesses and other organistions need to know about how work could shift (given digitisation and other trends), plus how workforces and workplaces can prepare for those changes, big and small. When you think of the future of work, what do you picture? Offices that look more or less like today’s? Factories full of robots? Or something else entirely? While no one can predict the future with absolute certainty, the world of work is changing, just as the world itself is. Looking ahead at how work will shift, along with trends affecting the workforce and workplaces, can help you prepare for what is next: One in sixteen workers may have to switch occupations by 2030. That is more than 100 million workers across the eight economies studied—and the pandemic accelerated expected workforce transitions. Job growth will be more concentrated in high-skill jobs (for example, in healthcare or science, technology, engineering, and math [STEM] fields), while middle- and low-skill jobs (such as food service, production work, or office support roles) will decline. A few job categories could see more growth than others. The rise of e-commerce created demand for warehouse workers; investments in the green economy could increase the need for wind turbine technicians; aging populations in many advanced economies will increase demand for nurses, home health aides, and hearing-aid technicians; and teachers and training instructors will also continue to find work over the coming decade. But other types of jobs may be at risk: for example, as grocery stores increasingly install self-checkout counters, there may be a need for fewer clerks, and robotics used to process routine paperwork may lessen demand for some office workers. The future of work was shifting […]

Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology

By Chris Miller An epic account of the decades-long battle to control what has emerged as the world’s most critical resource—microchip technology—with the United States and China increasingly in conflict. You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil—the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything—from missiles to microwaves, smartphones to the stock market—runs on chips. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower. Now, America’s edge is slipping, undermined by competitors in Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and, above all, China. Today, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more money each year importing chips than it spends importing oil, is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America’s military superiority and economic prosperity. Economic historian Chris Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the U.S. become dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. America’s victory in the Cold War and its global military dominance stems from its ability to harness computing power more effectively than any other power. But here, too, China is catching up, with its chip-building ambitions and military modernization going hand in hand. America has let key components of the chip-building process slip out of its grasp, contributing not only to a worldwide chip shortage but also a new Cold War with a superpower adversary that is desperate to bridge the gap. Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War shows that, to make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips.

Horizons of growth in a challenging world

Image: Karsten Würth on Unsplash. “Over the longer term, the only way for the world to propel itself out of the low growth environment is through cooperation.” -Mirek Dusek The world is currently mired in a low growth environment, with the latest IMF forecasts projecting 2.8% global growth in 2023 and 3.0% in 2024 – rates which are well below the average experienced over the past decade. This is in the context of other ongoing fragilities including stubborn inflation, a global debt crisis, geo-economic rivalry, geopolitical conflict and vulnerabilities in the financial sector, among others. Despite this sobering outlook, or perhaps because of it, it is so crucial not to lose sight of avenues to relaunch growth and put us on a firm trajectory to new competitiveness and resilience. In this respect, I would like to point to three horizons of growth, for short-, medium- and long-term revitalization of the global economy: Reopened Asian economies Among the regions hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Asia is emerging from a protracted period of muted economic activity and looks set to resume its role as the world’s growth engine. China’s economic opening up earlier this year has provided a much-needed boost to both the regional and global economy. The reopening of crucial Asian economies at large provides us with immediate growth markets which can serve to spur growth in the short-term, while also establishing a base from which to overcome the low growth environment moving forward. In comparison with other regions, Asia-Pacific is by far the brightest spot for economic growth at present, with the IMF’s latest estimates projecting the region to contribute 67.4% of all global growth in 2023, and with China alone contributing 34.9% of that total. The annual growth rate for the region is projected at 4.6% for 2023, representing […]

Becoming a data-driven organisation to optimise performance

-Adam Sharmer, senior partner, Dsifer As the pace of digital innovation accelerates, and organisations look to exploit the financial and strategic advantages of digital technology, automation and AI, data is increasingly becoming the lifeblood of organisational decision ecosystems. Whilst the collection and analysis of data to inform operational decision-making is not a new concept, advances in connectivity of technology, AI and machine learning as well as ERP and MES solutions have driven exponential gains in the availability, quality, and integration of data in manufacturing organisations. Spend a few moments on LinkedIn and its easy to become overwhelmed by the level technology available and the visions of possible futures available through its adoption. However, whilst there is no doubt that Industry 4.0 technologies represent a potential step-change in manufacturing performance, the reality is that the CAPEX required for investments in, for example, lights-out warehousing or production automation, is beyond the reach of a lot of organisations. As a result, the journey from current state to the Industry 4.0 utopia can seem like an insurmountable one. The good news is that, whilst strategic adoption of technology should be on the business plan for all organisations if they are to remain competitive, there is a lot of value that can be unlocked with the current context or with low levels of investment. In our experience, most organisations have increased their maturity in the collection and storage of data in all or most organisational processes. However, the true value of this data is not yet being realised. A deliberate focus on process, system, analytics and cultural dimensions to become a data-driven organisation, can unlock the latent value in current systems and data and build the foundation from which to optimise I4 technology. From our experience, data-driven organisations share the following characteristics: They collect […]

Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023

1. Flexible Batteries Standard rigid batteries may soon be a thing of the past as thin, flexible batteries – made of lightweight materials that can be twisted, bent and stretched – reach the market. This new generation of battery technology – expected to hit a market value of $240 million by 2027 – has applications across medical wearables, biomedical sensors, flexible displays and smart watches. 2. Generative Artificial Intelligence This year’s list would not be complete without mentioning generative AI – a new type of AI capable of generating new and original content by learning from large datasets that was catapulted into public dialogue at the end of 2022 with the public release of ChatGPT. Evolving rapidly, generative AI is set to disrupt multiple industries, with applications in education, research and beyond. 3.Sustainable Aviation Fuel With 2%-3% of annual global CO2 emissions coming from aviation, and no sign of long-haul electric flights, sustainable aviation fuel produced from biological (e.g. biomass) and non-biological (e.g. CO2) sources could be the answer to decarbonize the aviation industry in the short to medium term. 4. Designer Phages Phages are viruses that selectively infect specific types of bacteria. Equipped with increasingly sophisticated genetic engineering tools, scientists can now reprogramme phages to infect the bacteria of their choosing, allowing them to target one type of bacteria in a complex community of co-existing types of bacteria such as in plant, animal and human microbiomes. Though many of the near-term applications will be in research, there are signs these “designer” phages could eventually be used to treat microbiome-associated diseases or eliminate dangerous bacteria in food supply chains. 5. Metaverse for Mental Health Responding to the growing mental health crisis, product developers are starting to build shared virtual spaces to improve mental health. Video games are already being used to treat […]

Increasing interest in ZLD driven by costs and environment

By Matt Hale, International Sales & Marketing Director, HRS Heat Exchangers In 2021 the global market for zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technology was estimated at US$1 billion and is forecast to grow at almost 12% over the next ten years. The rise is being driven in particular by an increase in adoption of the technology by the food and drink and textile industries as a growing world population puts greater pressure on fresh water supplies. What is ZLD? Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) is a liquid waste stream treatment which involves transforming liquid waste streams into clean water (which can be reused) and a minimum volume of solid residues. One of the advantages of ZLD over other treatment techniques is its theoretical ability to separate unwanted materials from water, whether they are benign, hazardous or toxic. The resulting solid residue is often more stable, making it suitable for recycling or landfill. However, poor management or handling of the remaining residue can result in unintended environmental consequences. For example, storage ponds may leak or affect local wildlife while there is the potential for toxic chemicals to leach into groundwater from landfill. It is therefore important that when implementing a ZLD system, full consideration is given to the entire process, including the ultimate fate of liquid and (semi-)solid waste streams. A well-designed ZLD system should minimise or even eliminate liquid waste streams, resulting in clean water for reuse or environmentally-friendly discharge, and a solid residue suitable for further processing (often to recover valuable components for use elsewhere) or for safe disposal. The factors driving ZLD uptake According to Transparency Market Research, ZLD is being implemented across a wide range of industries, including chemical and petrochemical production, food and drink production, textiles, energy and power, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. These industries are being driven to […]

AI helps the impossible become possible

When Sandvik Coromant engineers, Henrik Loikkanen and Jakob Pettersson, were tasked with creating an AI-generated, stainless steel synthesis of some of history’s most famous works of art, their metal cutting expertise was put to the ultimate test. In partnership with Sandvik Group, Sandvik Coromant has developed a statue for the history books. Made using AI modelling and cutting-edge manufacturing solutions, the sculpture combines the dynamic poses of Michelangelo’s work, the musculature craftmanship of Auguste Rodin, the somber tones of Käthe Kollwitz, Takamura Kotaro’s Japanese influence and Augusta Savage’s inspirational defiance to unite some of history’s most famous artists from a period spanning 500 years. Weighing 500 kilograms and standing at 150 cm tall, the Impossible Statue was officially inaugurated at Tekniska Museet, Sweden’s National Museum of Science and Technology, in April 2023. Producing a statue in such a way has never been done before. So how did Loikkanen, Pettersson and the team craft this blend of art and science, past and future? When AI meets art AI has been around for some time, with intelligent machines tasked with performing activities that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, language translation and problem-solving. Its concept dates back decades with the earliest program written in 1951 by Christopher Strachey, later director of the Programming Research Group at the University of Oxford. But the emergence of new, conversational AI programs such as Google’s Bard and ChatGPT open up even more applications of the technology. Today, the achievements of AI seem almost limitless — it can even create art. After establishing a 2D design that brought together the styles of the five artists, Sandvik began translating the model into a complete 3D image. Using depth estimators to build the 3D model, human pose-estimators to refine the body, videogame algorithms to […]

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