The Future for OEMs and Machine Builders is at the Edge

 At a recent webinar, Emerson’s Derek Thomas spoke about the challenges being faced by OEMs and how edge technology can resolve many of those challenges rapidly and affordably. Some of Derek’s thoughts are shared here.

Derek said that the current trends and speed of industry evolution are creating a time of unparalleled uncertainty for OEMs. OEMs are seeking new revenue streams and technology that can both make them more competitive and differentiate them in the market. At the same time, 40 - 50% of current machines are not equipped to meet the emerging requirements and demands of end users. Industry 4.0 is promising an increase in productivity of 15 - 25%, and yet only 18% of companies have the advanced data analysis capabilities to take advantage of this promised increase.

OEMs must adapt to very real demands, including:

  • Reliability: Continuous machine operation – 24/7/365 – with advanced notice of potential failure
  • Flexibility: Support the emergence of multiple business models including leased, owned, and various MaaS opportunities and consider how those different models integrate with customer automation infrastructure
  • Scalability: Simplified implementation with a single platform from the smallest to the largest application and seamless integration of logic, visualization and IIoT
  • Sustainability: Reduction of energy, water use, emissions and waste including continuous energy monitoring

Today, as much as $1M is lost simply from machine downtime resulting from lack of predictive maintenance. Downtime can have a 5% profitability impact, while 34,000 people sustain a lost-time injury annually. OEMs know they have to modernize and, as Derek explains, edge technology is the key to that modernization. Edge eliminates islands of automation, enables connected automation, enhances connectivity and analytics, and leads to insight-driven operations.

The Emerson PACSystemsTM edge technology platform is a fully-integrated edge environment focused on four key areas – edge controls, reliability, open exchange, and security. See figure below.

 

With PACSystems, OEMs can easily integrate every aspect of edge control as their application demands – from field devices though edge controls and data management. 

With an easy-to-implement, fully integrated solution solving a myriad of immediate challenges and providing a highly scalable foundation, OEMs can begin to focus on new revenue streams and business models to propel them into the future.

How are you implementing edge technology?