Daily Archives: June 8, 2024

At the Smart Factory Expo this week FANUC UK named commitment as the number one driver to help inspire a change in culture towards robotics and automation among British manufacturers.

Head of UK Sales Oliver Selby gave the keynote speech at the events Automation & Robotics Acceleration Symposium and said a change in culture was needed to ensure continued UK manufacturing success, calling for commitment towards skills and education across all levels from students to C-Suite as well as commitment to a long-term automation investment strategy.

Despite being the eighth largest manufacturing nation, we are 25th in terms of robotics adoption, he said. Just imagine what we could achieve if we raised our automation levels.

Citing a difference in attitude towards investment in robotics between the UK and many of the leading automated nations, he added: In countries such as Germany, Japan and the US, automation is prioritised from the outset of any new manufacturing project its not an afterthought. And in Scandinavia, a realistic view on payback periods (as well as a realisation that total cost of ownership is a better measure of value than ROI) sees companies prioritising a long-term investment strategy around automation.

Of course, government support also plays a large part, and in this regard, we are playing catch-up. However, its not too late to make a change if all stakeholders work together.

Increasing education around automation at every level is also crucial to boosting the UKs robotics uptake, according to FANUC

Particularly SMEs, its essential that a range of staff are trained and educated on the benefits that the right automation solution can deliver, said Mr Selby. Whether thats the finance department, engineering or operational staff, management, board members and even the owner, everyone has something to learn.

This commitment to education also extends to inspiring the next generation of engineers and ensuring they are equipped with the skills that will be needed by modern manufacturers. To this end, FANUC has partnered with WorldSkills UK for fourth time, in the Industrial Robotics competition. The qualifying rounds for this years contest took place live at Smart Factory Expo and saw the 12 highest ranking teams compete in a 3.5-hour challenge to pick and place 10 cylinders, following a pre-set robotic pathway.

We are extremely proud of our partnership with WorldSkills UK. The five best teams will go on to compete in the WorldSkills UK final at the FANUC Open House event at our Coventry HQ in November, while the ultimate winners will have the chance to represent Squad UK in the global competition, said Mr Selby.

The Smart Factory Expo showcased the finest technologies and solutions available to manufacturers today. For FANUC, the event proved highly successful, bringing multiple new leads across sectors as diverse as medical, semi-conducting, bakery, confectionery and plastics.

FANUC UK

http://www.fanuc.eu/uk/en

Read this article:

More commitment needed to change UKs approach to automation - PES Media

07/06/2024 FANUC UK Ltd

At Smart Factory Expo (5-6 June 2024, NEC Birmingham), FANUC UK named commitment as the number one driver to help inspire a change in culture towards robotics and automation among British manufacturers. FANUCs Head of UK Sales Oliver Selby gave the keynote speech at the events Automation & Robotics Acceleration Symposium and said a change in culture was needed to ensure continued UK manufacturing success, calling for commitment towards skills and education across all levels from students to C-Suite as well as commitment to a long-term automation investment strategy.

Despite being the eighth largest manufacturing nation, we are 25th in terms of robotics adoption, said Oliver. Just imagine what we could achieve if we raised our automation levels.

Emulating best practice

Citing a difference in attitude towards investment in robotics between the UK and many of the leading automated nations, Oliver believes the UK has much to learn in terms of best practice: In countries such as Germany, Japan and the US, automation is prioritised from the outset of any new manufacturing project its not an afterthought, he stated. And in Scandinavia, a realistic view on payback periods (as well as a realisation that total cost of ownership is a better measure of value than ROI) sees companies prioritising a long-term investment strategy around automation. Of course, government support also plays a large part, and in this regard, we are playing catch-up. However, its not too late to make a change if all stakeholders work together.

A focus on learning

Increasing education around automation at every level is also crucial to boosting our robotics uptake. Within firms, particularly SMEs, its essential that a range of staff are trained and educated on the benefits that the right automation solution can deliver, said Oliver. Whether thats the finance department, engineering or operational staff, management, board members and even the owner, everyone has something to learn.

WorldSkills UK qualifiers

This commitment to education also extends to inspiring the next generation of engineers and ensuring they are equipped with the skills that will be needed by modern manufacturers. To this end, FANUC has partnered with WorldSkills UK for fourth time, in the Industrial Robotics competition. The qualifying rounds for this years contest took place live at Smart Factory Expo and saw the 12 highest ranking teams compete in a 3.5-hour challenge to pick and place 10 cylinders, following a pre-set robotic pathway.

We are extremely proud of our partnership with WorldSkills UK and watching the talented young competitors complete the qualifying challenge was very rewarding, said Oliver. The five best teams will go on to compete in the WorldSkills UK final at the FANUC Open House event at our Coventry HQ in November, while the ultimate winners will have the chance to represent Squad UK in the global competition.

Showcasing success

Attracting over 7,000 visitors on day one alone, Smart Factory Expo showcased the finest technologies and solutions available to manufacturers today. For FANUC, the event proved highly successful, bringing multiple new leads across sectors as diverse as medical, semi-conducting, bakery, confectionery and plastics.

With over 35 system integrator partners, we are well placed to support manufacturing firms from every corner of industry, added Ollie. Our stand featured five of our key partners and enabled us to showcase the added value that FANUC can bring beyond supplying automation technology. The event was busy across both days and brought quality leads to our door, as well as allowing us to demonstrate the value of the WorldSkills UK initiative. We are already looking forward to what next years show will bring.

Process and Control Today are not responsible for the content of submitted or externally produced articles and images. Click here to email us about any errors or omissions contained within this article.

Here is the original post:

FANUC says 'commitment' is needed to change UK culture around automation - Process & Control Today

In todays world where data rules decision-making processes, the future will be powered by analytics and predictive AI operations.

Harman Internationals partnership with QlikTech International AB exemplifies this, demonstrating the potent combination of advanced analytics and gen AI to revolutionize business processes.

Harmans Nick Parrotta and Qliks Mary Kern discuss advanced analytics and gen AI.

Were trying to stay ahead very rapidly, and the partnership with Qlik has helped us do that, saidNick Parrotta (pictured, right), president of digital transformation solutions and chief digital and information officer of Harman.Fundamentally, we have built out some robust use cases. Weve been a Qlik partner for a long time, so getting the data right was always the first foundational element. The combination of really focusing on data, training the users in the right way, and then democratizing and providing a self-serve model through our platform was great.

Parrotta and Mary Kern (left), vice president of analytics product marketing at Qlik, spoke with theCUBE ResearchsJohn FurrierandSavannah Peterson at Qlik Connect, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Medias livestreaming studio. They discussed Harmans drive toward AI-driven automation, Qlik Answers and other innovative solutions to ease the burden of erecting scalable and predictive AI operations.(* Disclosure below.)

Harmans solutions offerings extend across automotive, consumer and global tech services sectors. The integration of AI into its analytics dashboards, with integrated capabilities such as Qlik Answers, has enabled prompt engineering capabilities, allowing users to interact with AI for deeper insights, according to Parrotta.

Weve built capabilities around algorithms and machine learning to embed into the analytics dashboards this prompt engineering capability where you can ask the AI to tell you what they see, he said. Its an augmentation that we love, and it drives even greater insights for those who understand the data and have the domain knowledge. Having that power of not only the static dashboards, but now the interaction around augmented AI, is fantastic for us.

Qliks focus is on enabling 80% of business users to make better decisions through analytics and gen AI, emphasizing ease of use and accessibility. Enhancements in the companys core analytics solutions, including AI automation and natural language generation, aim to simplify model selection for predictive AI, according to Kern.

Being able to change from hunting and guessing what you should do to actually getting a real prediction of whats likely going to happen, it not only improves your productivity but also your effectiveness and your ability to make better decisions, she said.

Harmans strategic utilization of gen AI and analytics not only boosts operational efficiency, but also drives significant business benefits. Capabilities such as personalized driving experiences and intelligent virtual assistants are enriching the overall customer experience, Parrotta explained.

When you drive in our vehicles, with our software-defined vehicle, all of the advanced software and generative AI and personalization in the vehicle is pretty remarkable, he said. When you look at our smart audio technology and, again, personalized experiences around what you like to listen to and how that may affect your mood.

Heres the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLEs and theCUBE Researchs coverage ofQlik Connect:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Qlik Connect. Neither QlikTech International AB, the sponsor of theCUBEs event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

THANK YOU

See the original post:

Dissecting Harman's use of analytics and gen AI with Qlik's platform - SiliconANGLE News