Barbara Humpton is President and CEO of Siemens USA. She has a lot to tell us about trends in automation—and how those trends reverberate across industries.
AUTOMATE:
Barbara, developments in automation seem to be moving at lightning speed. What are you most excited about right now?
BH:
I'm really excited about what we can do right now with the hardware and software that's available to us. When you automate, you can simulate, you can design products using digital twins and optimize both the product and the production. And we can also now create what we call digital threads that connect all the tasks and processes across the manufacturing life cycle.
We're solving lots of challenges, but when I think about the emerging opportunities, the thing that excites me is the rise of platforms. You know, in the world of IT, we've got apps that make it easy to engage and now we're bringing that same platform architecture to operational technology. So, not just engineering experts, but really any lifelong learner who's interested in technology can harness the power of industrial automation. Last year at Siemens, we launched our new digital business platform called Siemens Xcelerator.
AUTOMATE:
What does Siemens Xcelerator do?
BH:
Like the name says, the platform is all about helping customers and partners to accelerate their digital transformation and it packages up our software and hardware in a marketplace. So, companies everywhere can engage and download, deploy the technologies they need. It also gives customers access to an ecosystem, enabling them to partner with third-party providers who are part of our network.
At Automate, you'll hear me talk about an expanded offering on Siemens Xcelerator, Industrial Operations X, which brings low-code, edge, cloud computing and AI into industrial automation. One exciting outcome here is the idea of software-based automation. We've introduced our first virtual controller. It's actually hardware independent and it allows applications to be centrally managed and flexible to meet our changing customer needs.
And I'll give you an example: let's say a service specialist is not in the factory. When something happens on the floor—say a controller stops—well, they'll get a diagnostic message alerting them to the problem. And then they'll have edge management tools, enabling them to access the virtual controller remotely so they can get things up and running again. We've been thinking a lot about how manufacturers can have the same flexibility in their work lives that our office workers have and this could ultimately be part of the answer—not to mention the gains factory teams will get as they maximize the uptime for their operations!
“Any lifelong learner who's interested in technology can harness the power of industrial automation.”
AUTOMATE:
Speaking of manufacturers, can you tell us about how technology has transformed the manufacturing industry, and how large a role automation plays in that transformation?
BH:
Well, I'd like to share with people that from the first time a human picked up a rock and used it as a tool, technology has enabled us to do more. It elevates the role of the human in solving problems in being more productive. The role of automation has always been about expanding what's humanly possible.
AUTOMATE:
What does that expansion look like now?
BH:
You know, a little more than a decade ago, we heard the term “Industry 4.0” for the first time and it sounded kind of academic, right? Well, here we are today and we've now seen Industry 4.0 advance from a concept to reality. Think about the advanced mode of industrial software and the many manufacturing operations now commissioning virtually, or running small lot sizes repeatedly and efficiently. That shift from mass production to mass customization. That's Industry 4.0.
Think about how we're using data to continuously optimize operations, surpassing what many people have imagined. Factory automation is the backbone of this progress. It's the backbone of Industry 4.0. And what really excites us—you'll hear me talk about this at Automate—is that we have the tools available to us right now to take things a step further. We have the tools and the knowledge to achieve new levels of productivity, efficiency and sustainability.
This is a moment where we can enable automation to become more intelligent and powerful by incorporating the advances in surrounding technologies like cloud computing, edge computing, 5G and augmented intelligence. This is the time to dream and I'm convinced that no matter how big we dream with the technology available to us today, it's not nearly enough.
AUTOMATE:
What are the biggest opportunities that automation will unlock for manufacturers in the next few years?
BH:
Well, let me tell you, my academic background is in mathematics and as I look at the manufacturing workforce, the number of retirees and then the mere trickle of new people coming in due to the overall labor shortage…we have a workforce math problem. We've consistently had more than 800,000 open manufacturing roles nationally for quite some time. And it's gonna be really difficult, even with perfect recruiting efforts, to close the gap. So, I think the biggest opportunities with automation are this: it's gonna enable the same size workforce to do more. And in this moment I call it “glocalization,” where we have supply chains that are regrowing U.S. manufacturing more is certainly needed. We need more scale, more speed, more sustainability, and now we have all the tools we need to deliver those.
“I'm convinced that no matter how big we dream with the technology available to us today, it's not nearly enough.”
AUTOMATE:
As you know, Automate draws people from a lot of industries, not just manufacturing, and they all use automation in different ways. Do they have any shared experiences? What can they learn from each other?
BH:
Yeah, what's exciting about where we are right now is that digitalization is a trend that's affecting every market. Every market. So one by one, we've had markets recognize the power of data, the power of using technology, in order to really not only change what they do but how they do it. And everyone goes through a very similar curve.
You know, the very first thing we do is we put in sensors and we begin to gather data about our operations. Then the next thing we do is we say, how could we use that data to make what we currently do more effective? Then we take that to the next level and say, well wait a minute, what could we actually do differently? And that leads us to new business models, new relationships with other companies, new relationships—even, I'd say, in a competitive field. And all of that is transformative.
AUTOMATE:
It sounds like all these businesses have a lot more in common than we might think!
BH:
This is one of the things we're so excited about at Siemens. We used to be thought of as a conglomerate serving very disparate markets, but when you look closely, you discover there's a backbone of technology transforming the everyday for billions of people everywhere. And we are constantly looking for those new opportunities and we're showing shareholders the power of taking this technical core and applying it to different domains. It's the concept that networks beat hierarchies and the more we network, the more powerful we'll become.
AUTOMATE:
We’ve covered a lot today. Anything else you want to tell our attendees ahead of the show?
BH:
Well, I'll tell you, I can't wait for Automate and I've been proud to share a few of the concepts here, but I wanna tell you: if you wanna know more, you've gotta attend!
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