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UK MANUFACTURERS NOT LEVERAGING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF DIGITISATION SAYS REPORT
U A
s manufacturing moves further into the digital age
and the ‘smart factory’ becomes a viable reality, automation technology is going to play an ever larger and more important role in the industry. Most manufacturers now have some form of automation somewhere in their production process, and with the technology constantly developing and becoming more cost-effective, we are likely to see its implementation increase substantially over the next few years. One of the most visible, high profile and headline- grabbing industrial automation devices are robots. Despite only forming part of a
fully automated system, robots attract a lot of attention and are often seen as key to improving the repeatability and efficiency of a production line. Robots are now more readily available, cheaper and easier to install and use than ever before, yet they are still often misunderstood and viewed as an expensive and risky capital investment. It’s for these reasons that we have decided to hold a new conference event dedicated to robotic automation called ‘Future Robotics’. Taking place in Warwick this November, the event aims to cut through the jargon and misconceptions and take a closer look at the benefits of robotic automation, with a particular focus on SMEs and general industry. We’ll have more details about this exciting new event in the next issue.
Neil Mead - Director of Editorial
K manufacturers are applying new technologies to their
operations, but must do more to avoid being further outmaneuvered by global competitors who are fast becoming digital champions. That’s the main finding of new analysis from PwC’s Strategy&. The Strategy& study, Digital
Champions: How industry leaders build integrated operations ecosystems to deliver end-to-end customer solutions, reveals that UK manufacturers currently demonstrate a sound level of digital ecosystem maturity, with adoption of technologies from predictive maintenance and manufacturing execution systems, to connectivity and the Industrial Internet of Things. But they have a lot of catching up to do, only one per cent of UK firms have attained ‘digital champion’ status compared to 19 per cent of Asian companies and 11 per cent of businesses in the Americas. Over 1,155 executives at global
manufacturing companies in 26 countries, including 72 in the UK, were asked about their views on
Industry 4.0 and digital operations. The survey concluded that digital champions are those firms already investing and focusing more on digital operations as well as digital product and service offerings. The surveyed companies expect
rich rewards by investing in digital operations and digital product and service offerings. UK manufacturers expect an average 10.8 per cent revenue boost and 9.3 per cent increase in cost efficiencies over the next five years, as well as an increase in productivity. Darren Jukes, PwC UK’s industrial
manufacturing and services leader and Industry 4.0 champion, said: “While the UK’s Industrial Strategy reinforces the huge potential technology can offer, making radical shifts across the manufacturing process or supply chain is neither quick nor easy to implement. As this report shows, there is also a risk that if UK companies don’t pick up the pace, they could find themselves outmaneuvered by digital champions in other territories.”
INDUSTRY CALLS FOR SUMMIT WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO SAVE APPRENTICESHIP LEVY
B
ritain’s manufacturers are
calling for an urgent summit with Government to discuss fundamental reforms to make the Apprenticeship Levy work, and to ensure the creation of additional numbers of high value manufacturing and engineering apprenticeships.
The call comes on the back of a survey by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, showing overwhelming support for sweeping reforms to the operation of the Levy and the latest figures for overall apprenticeship starts showing a 31 per cent fall in for January 2018 compared to the same period last year.
Making the call, EEF
head of education & skills policy, Verity Davidge, said:
“Everyone shares the ambition of creating high quality apprenticeships which are essential if industry is going to access the skills it will need in the future, especially post- Brexit when fewer skilled workers will come to the UK.”
PP Control & Automation, which employs 230 people at its state-of- the-art factory in Walsall, is providing Hedinn, one of Iceland’s key suppliers to the fishing sector, with early-stage design support and electrical control systems build for the production of its Hedinn Protein Plant (HPP). These machines make fishmeal and fish oil production on land or sea more economical and efficient and are already installed in Icelandic vessel Solberg and German vessel Berlin, which are both reporting 100 per cent utilisation of fish proteins and oil.
www.ppcanda.com
Robotics specialist Sewtec has appointed new heads of finance and business support as the company implements a growth plan which will see it double its turnover to £32m in five years. Lizzie Hay joins the high technology company as head of finance, whilst Mark Atkins joins as new head of business support.
www.sewtec.co.uk
Sentryo, a leader in cybersecurity for the Industrial Internet, has announced a worldwide distribution agreement with Siemens AG. Under this agreement Siemens AG will offer Sentryo ICS CyberVision, the leading- edge asset discovery and anomaly detection solution, as part of its industrial cybersecurity product & service portfolio.
www.sentryo.net
ABB has won Manufacturer of the Year at the Motion Control Industry (MCI) awards for the second year running. The award recognises ABB’s commitment to developing technologies and services that help improve the performance of motor- driven applications across diverse industries, from food & beverage and packaging to water and oil & gas.
www.abb.com
RAMP UP YOUR PRODUCTION
WAGO-I/O-SYSTEM 750 series • Allows seamless automation of complex industrial systems • Modular system can be quickly scaled up to meet future challenges • Compact design saves control panel space, leaves room for expansion • Supports all commonly used network protocols, ensures ease of use and short development times
DMX 4 MAY 2018 | AUTOMATION
Telephone 01788 568 008 E-Mail
ukmarketing@wago.com Internet
www.wago.com Search for “WAGO 750”
/AUTOMATION
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