Industry professionals are feeling the pressure. Productivity has been down for the last decade, partly because only 1% of the data being collected is actually used in industrial applications. In North America, we talk about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) as the emerging solution to the productivity crisis. In Europe, they refer to Industry 4.0, but the implication is the same. Collecting data throughout the enterprise and putting that data to work in making more informed business decisions will enable industries to grow faster and achieve higher return on their investments in people and technology. BUT, throughout the world, industry is experiencing a lack of skilled labor. Forty-eight percent of companies say they have a talent gap when it comes to gathering, consolidating, and analyzing disparate data.
In a recent IndustryWeek/Machine Design webinar, Emerson experts Vibhoosh Gupta and Darrell Halterman, with moderator Dan Hebert, put forward the idea that great strides can be taken toward realizing the promise of IIoT/Industry 4.0 by focusing on control system architecture. Gupta stated that just as more connected humans make smarter decisions, so too do more connected machines, and he said, we can help offset the lack of availability of skilled workers by increasing focus on smarter machines.
Being able to gather disparate and nontraditional data and then combine that nontraditional data with traditional control data enables industry to solve problems that we haven’t been able reach before. And the technology that allows this vital problem solving is edge control.
To understand what edge technology really means, the nature of edge control technology, and how it can impact industrial productivity in new ways, check out this interesting webinar.
Have you moved from edge devices to true edge control? Check out our new industrial automation and controls website today to learn how to move your control systems into the future and really take advantage of the industrial internet.