Four out of five end users at food and pharmaceutical plants are gathering at least some data now, but more robust data collection and data utilization are on the horizon, according to the report.
In the next decade, the top five significant improvements automation will make possible are:
- Ability to run multiple sizes on the same machine
- Labor reduction
- Maximize Uptime
- Efficient short runs
- Minimized changeover times
Predictive maintenance, used rarely now, is expected to become reality for most in the next ten years. Current automated maintenance is primarily reactive, or in some cases scheduled. The future of sensors and warning will allow equipment to do its own condition monitoring and ultimately artificial intelligence (AI) will enable the machine to learn.
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Source: PMMI Business Intelligence, 2017 Evolution of Automation Report.