US-based Emerson, a global technology and engineering company, has unveiled significant enhancements to its Plantweb digital ecosystem, the industry’s most comprehensive Industrial IoT automation platform.

Built on the foundation of best-in-class process control and safety systems, Plantweb expands on existing automation infrastructure to make the promise of Industrial IoT scalable and achievable, with a broad portfolio of pervasive sensing technologies, an extensive suite of analytical software tools, secure and robust data infrastructure devices and expert services, said a statement from Emerson.

Peter Zornio, chief technology officer, Emerson Automation Solutions, said: “Manufacturing jobs are rapidly becoming data-centric roles, requiring immediately actionable information for experts across the enterprise.”

“Through a deep understanding of customers’ vision for organisational effectiveness and business performance improvement, we are innovating breakthrough products and services to accelerate that organisational transformation,” he stated.

A 2017 Industry Week survey of manufacturing leaders revealed more than 60 per cent of those surveyed indicated active pilot projects in IIoT, but only five per cent identified clear business objectives at the heart of their programmes.

Of the 205 industry executives responding, 34 per cent stated that lack of clear technology strategy was a barrier while 61 per cent confirmed that a scalable approach to investment is preferred.

Zornio continued: “A clear message from the industry is that a one-size-fits-all, vendor-prescribed IIoT approach won’t work.”

“They want to identify specific business challenges, target technology to improve performance, then scale up their investment based on results achieved. That’s why we have architected Plantweb to enable companies to get started where they can gain the greatest near-term impact,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service