Total Automation: The Next Frontier Is Sensor to Cloud

Looking ahead

Brandl said the concept of a “digital companion” has started in the medical field. A digital companion provides personalized assistance. “We need a digital assistant for everyone performing manufacturing operations management tasks, either on the shop floor or in the production back office. A digital assistant that looks over your shoulder would manage your tasks, make reminders, bring up relevant information, record completions, walk you through manual steps in processes, and collect information from equipment; it is truly mobile. We already have a name for it: Manufacturing operations management [MOM]. But it’s your personal MOM, loaded with your tasks and schedules,” he said.

Brandl advocates performance management—measuring and improving individual processes—for all activities. “Personal productivity effectiveness (PPE) is the human equivalent of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE),” he said.

Standards require consensus. With so many things to gain, and nothing to lose, total automation stands to take automated manufacturing to the next level.