Category Archives: Automation

Tight labor supplies will increase the pace of automation in the food supply chain, according to a new report from CoBanks Knowledge Exchange.

The most significant lasting impact from COVID will be an acceleration in automation, said report co-author Dan Kowalski, vice president of CoBanks Knowledge Exchange division.

Kowalski said that while investment in automation and robotics was increasing before the pandemic, labor challenges over the past 18 months (and likely for the next 6 to 12 months) will only hasten the pace ofautomation.

The pandemic has brought on a trifecta of labor issues for those in food and agriculture: health and in-person dependence risk during COVID, hiring challenges today, and elevated wage inflation that we believe will last into 2022, he said in the 23-page report.

All of these concerns incentivize businesses to increase automation, and it will affect the entire supply chain from field to grocery and restaurants.

Historic drought conditions in the Western U.S. intensified last quarter with water allocations to some agricultural irrigators cut to zero in California, according to the report.

Growers are adjusting by fallowing crop acreage and allocating scarce water to permanent plantings rather than field crops, co-author Tanner Ehmke said in the report.

Prices for fruits and vegetables are rising for consumers, but not necessarily for growers, the report said.

The cost of moving produce in refrigerated trucks climbed to $3.10 per mile in May, up 41% compared with the same time a year ago, according to the report, citing DAT Freight & Analytics.

With 95% of California and Arizona, 77% of Oregon and 46% of Washington experiencing severe drought conditions, the region is now in the worst drought in four decades, according to the report.

The extreme drought situation is expected to persist until winter rains arrive and is shrinking crop prospects, the report said.

Prices on the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index (NQH2O) have nearly doubled since January to $850 per acre foot, the report said.

Originally posted here:

CoBank: Investment in automation to surge for U.S. food and agriculture - Agweb Powered by Farm Journal

Dive Brief:

For years there has been notable interest in warehouse robotics as Amazon, Krogerand other companies have turned to automation to increase productivity.

The pandemic boosted the use of roboticsas a way to make up for productivity losses associated with social distancing. As COVID-19 case numbers fall in the U.S., interest has remained as companies have struggled to hire workers, Lawton said.

"We talk to customers that have said to me flat out, 'I don't care if it has no ROI, I am just desperate to find an alternative, to be able to have a way to supplement the people that I have because I simply can't hire enough people,'" he said.

He and Wise acknowledged that attracting workers to low-level warehouse positions can be difficult given the job's reputation, taxing nature and lack of career path. And if companies are able to hire, that doesn't mean the workers are sticking around. "We talked to some customers that are facing upwards of 40% turnover," Wise said.

Zebra, which provides several solutions for grocers, including point-of-sale tech, inventory management and click-and-collect, has been working with Fetch to combine their offerings.For example, the companies developed a cloud robotics platform for moving material around a warehouse, and they have worked to use Zebra technology to scan a barcode and have that transmit a command to a robot to let it know the location of material that needs to be moved.

Wise said there are already "several customers" that are using Zebra technology in their warehouses to tell Fetch robots what to do. "When you look at it, many of those customers are getting a return on investment inside of 12 months," she said, later adding that the ROI is measured through increased productivity such as upticks in units per hour or cycle time.

An example of how the technologies are being used together is in a replenishment workflow, she said. "The person loads a cart with the goods, and then when they're ready, they scan the appropriate barcode to say which part of the warehouse it goes to," she said. "And so then the robot comes and picks it up and takes it to that part of the warehouse dynamically."

The robots can also be set up to bring workers items they need. If a worker scans a barcode for more tape or corrugated packaging, then a robot will bring it to them, Wise said.

The companies are already working to more tightly integrate their technology. This includes work with Zebra's FulfillmentEdge warehouse management software, which connects with warehouse management systems to provide pick instructions, Lawton said.

Continued here:

Zebra to buy Fetch Robotics as interest in warehouse automation grows - Grocery Dive

TikTok is rolling out a new system that will allow the company to block videos that violate its policies automatically when they're uploaded. The social network is also changing the way it will notify users when their content is removed.

Why it matters: TikTok says the new system will not only improve the user experience, but will help reduce the number of distressing videos (such as those with violent content) that its safety team must review, freeing staff to focus on more nuanced content areas, like hate speech, bullying and harassment.

Details: Beginning this week, TikTok will test the automatic deletion of several content categories that violates its policies, like minor safety, adult nudity and sexual activities, violent and graphic content, illegal activities and regulated goods.

Be smart: TikTok's safety team has always removed content its technology screened as a violation of its rules, but these changes will bring more automation to the process, making its moderation efforts more efficient. Its safety team will continue to review reports and content removal appeals from users.

The big picture: The changes are part of a wider company effort to be more transparent about the way TikTok moderates content.

What's next: TikTok said that as a part of Friday's update, it will also change the way it notifies users when they violate the Community Guidelines.

Yes, but: TikTok acknowledges that its tech isn't perfect and it may inadvertently remove someone's video that doesn't violate its terms. In that scenario, TikTok says the content will be reinstated and the penalty will be erased from that user's record.

Continue reading here:

Exclusive: TikTok introducing more automation to video removals - Axios

The news is filled with talk of real estate.Bubbles have that effect.We know through the work of people likeRobert Shillerand others that narratives are indeed economic forces and that compelling narratives can move markets.

In the U.S. real estate market, matters are of course more complex than mere narratives, but we do all know that constant hype adds to the buoyancy of markets, which then creates more hype.These virtuous loops are common in a variety of areas of the economy and real estate is no exception.

A lot is at stake.The U.S. residential real estate market is valued at about $40 trillion in aggregate. Real estate/housing is the bellwether for the entire economy and houses represent the typical familys most important financial decision.So much of life radiates from both the location and the valuation of the house a family occupies.

This twin importance on both the macro and the personal level draws a great deal of interest in this marketplace and its various offshoots.Still, the residential real estate ecosystem is complex, even opaque to many.Homebuyers and sellers contend with a variety of entities banks, insurance companies, mortgage servicers, appraisal companies, title providers, agents, brokerages, and even real estate marketers and the process can be labyrinthine to even those who have gone through it before.

Technology plays a big role.So too does trust usually manifested in the relationship between a buyer/seller and a real estate agent.For those who choose not to work with agents, the trust must be transferred to the technology platform or other form of automation that is used in the process.

Does your CRM hurt or help the customer experience?

In real estate, data is king. The more you leverage your own data the better off your agents or loan officers will be because theyll be able to identify, target and create better customer experiences.

Its worth reiterating the importance of trust.As mentioned, much is determined by the location and valuation of houses.The residues last for generations.Houses represent a major part in generational wealth transfer and inheritance and also play a major, and persistent, role in determining life conditions during the owners lifespan.What schools do the kids go to?How safe is my family?Who are my neighbors?How much wealth have I amassed?When can I retire?All of these fundamental questions radiate from what can appear to be a mundane question: What house do I buy?

With so much riding on this, it is important to locate the most relevant elements when determining whether to buy or sell a house.Of these, one stands tall:valuation.What is the house worth?What does the house cost?These two questions are at the center of all things residential real estate.

Such a simple set of questions with such complex answers.Many variables impinge on the value of a house.There are the usual ones: size, age, location.There are important ones that are hard to capture in macro-statistics the interior condition of the house being a major one. There are external factors that weigh heavily, alluded to in the first paragraph above, that have to do with momentum, fashion, and the narrative/desirability of a particular neighborhood over another.And so many more parameters as well.

Thus, the simple questions have complex answers.As real estate experts will tell you, the process of valuing not only a house,but large swaths of houses, even all houses in the U.S., requires deep technology insight, incredible ability to extract, transform, and ingest data, and a process by which you can query data with ease and speed.Not only are there a huge number of variables to understand, but also a variety of forms the data comes in spreadsheets, pictures, and so on.

The task is best suited for advanced technologies, collectively referred to as AI and machine learning.Add to this computer vision and you get the right cocktail for which the industry has long waited and which, more importantly, consumers and all parts of the real estate ecosystem deserve.

In a $40 trillion market that constitutes most families most important investment, good enough is not in fact good enough.

There is more too than simple economics.There is also a matter of, to put it clearly, fairness and justice.House valuations come into play at crucial times in the transaction process; they not only bookend the entire journey but also crop up during the time of appraisal.

We hear shocking stories of racial discrimination and a variety of other ills during the appraisal process.While people are prone to massive bias as with the case ofappraisers who suggested that an African-American womans house was worth half of what it was appraised for when she had a white friend pose as the stand-in owner.

Technology has biases too but only to the extent that they are algorithmically coded into the outcomes.As such, black box AI, which is to say completely opaque AI, needs to be replaced with an AI that is explainable and deconstructable so that biases can be identified and done away with.

The value of a house is a number of incredible importance and is one that is invoked often in real estate and in personal financial planning.Still, while it is given heed by many parts of the real estate ecosystem, few elements of that ecosystem demand simultaneous precision and depth.This is a mistake, and one that can have massive consequences for individual families, entire neighborhoods, and for the economy as a whole.Settling wont do anymore.

In the recent Gathering of Eagles conference, a particularly high-powered set of panelists all agreed that real estate is a people business.While this might be true at some level, there is nothing that suggests that people need to perform every single function in the multiple and complex journeys of house buying and selling, nor that they can be relied upon to offer unbiased and fair valuations without fear or favor.

Technology is not a panacea, nor will it ever be.But to use the tools that have been painstakingly developed over decades to enhance what is absolutely a people business is the smart thing to do. And it can help reduce bias, increase fairness and generate economic bounty for the entire real estate ecosystem.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWires editorial department and its owners.

To contact the authors of this story:Romi Mahajan at romi.mahajan@quantarium.com

Jeremy McCarty at Jmccarty@valligent.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story:Sarah Wheeler atswheeler@housingwire.com

Continued here:

Real estate is a people business, but automation can help - HousingWire

New York, July 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Lab Automation Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06103715/?utm_source=GNW

To scale up the process of manufacturing and to produce accurate results with increased quality and reduce time consumption, lab automation is gaining high traction in the healthcare industry. Many large hospitals in the developed countries have adopted lab automation techniques. As a result, the global laboratory information management system market is expected to exhibit a significant CAGR and annual growth during the forecast period. In addition, a high level of investment in healthcare and life science research is boosting the demand for lab automation.

The following factors are likely to contribute to the growth of the lab automation market during the forecast period: Increased Adoption of Lab Automation Among the Genome Research Labs & Companies Robotics Revolutionizing the Lab Automation Rising Demand for the Task Targeted Automation Future of Lab-Automation Smart Labs

The study considers the present scenario of the lab automation market and its market dynamics for the period 2020?2026. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The report offers both the demand and supply aspects of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent ones operating in the market.

LAB AUTOMATION MARKET SEGMENTATION The global lab automation market research report includes a detailed segmentation by product, application, automation, end-user, geography. The latest workstations, which are modular and customized to suit a particular application, such as sample preparation for genomics, proteomics, cellular analysis, and more, are gaining high momentum in the market. For instance, Abbott provides total labor depending on the requirement of the laboratory, and workstations can be procured. As a result, large laboratories are planning to prefer automated workstations to increase productivity across the globe.

The application of automation is helping researchers to test a more significant number of hypotheses. The automated robots and workstations benefit the researchers to evaluate large numbers of compounds against specific biological targets rapidly. Adopting digital workflow management practices and automated solutions is a key growth driver for labs to improve their efficiency and reduce their costs.

With the rise in the COVID-19 pandemic, most companies have invested in the task-targeted analyzers to increase the safety of lab personnel and handle the virus samples, especially in the preanalytical phase and preparing the samples to analyze it. Some pharma companies and research labs prefer using task-targeted analyzers in the post-analytical phase to produce error-free results. Compared to the total laboratory automation, implementing task-targeted automation is low, creating high growth in the market.

The biotechnology and pharma companies are increasing their usages of automated laboratory instruments, creating lucrative opportunities for the players in the market. The improved agility with the reduced testing time can reduce lead time for quality control labs by 60% to 70% and eventually leading to real-time product releases. Additionally, hospital laboratories are unique entities within the hospitals. Around 92% of the hospitals operate with their laboratories. In recent years, private laboratories have expanded their footprints, especially in developing countries, fueling the market growth. Public health laboratories are implementing partnership strategies with the World Health Organization and other international health entities to prevent and control health threats. The investments in new technologies with automated features will be high in the upcoming years.

Segmentation by Product System o Automated Workstations o Automated Microplate Reader o Robotic Systems o Others) Software o LIMS o ELN o Others

Segmentation by Application Drug Discovery Clinical Diagnostics Genomics Solutions Microbiology Others

Segmentation by Automation Subtotal Automation Task Targeted Automation Total Laboratory Automation

Segmentation by End-User Biotechnology and Pharma Companies Hospitals and Diagnostic Laboratories Forensic Laboratories Food & Beverages Environmental Testing Laboratories Research And Academic Institutes

INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY Many hospitals in North America have started to automate their labs to improve the quality of the labs, to provide better treatments to the people. Shortage of skilled laboratory technicians, increase in the number of diagnostic tests conducted, and increased investments in the life sciences industry are some of the major factors driving the demand for laboratory automation in the US. In Canada, two gene therapies for cancer treatment have been approved, and there are plans to implement somatic gene therapy in the coming years in lab automation market.

Segmentation by Geography North America o US o Canada Europe o Germany o France o UK o Italy o Spain APAC o China o Japan o India o Australia o South Korea Latin America o Brazil o Mexico o Argentina Middle East & Africa o South Africa o Saudi Arabia o Turkey

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE Manufacturers such as Abbott and Danaher are continuously focusing on product development and offering lab automation with new technology to increase their presence in the global market. In addition, key players are engaging in strategic acquisitions as part of their inorganic growth strategy to improve sales and profit margins. With the increase in the competition, vendors are expected to actively launch innovative devices to penetrate and tap the huge growth potential in the lab automation market. Danaher, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Tecan, Illumia, Abbott, and Agilent Technologies are the leading players and accounted for significant shares in the market.

Key Vendors Tecan Danaher Thermo Fisher Scientific Illumina Abbott Agilent Technologies LabVantage

Other Prominent Vendors Aurora Biomed Accelerated Technologies AgileBio Autoscribe Informatics Ambidata BD bioMrieux Bio-Rad Laboratories Blomesystem Benchling Bio-ITech BV CrelioHealth CompuGroup Medical Dassault Systmes Dotmatics Eppendorf F.Hoffmann-La Roche Gilson HighRes Biosolutions Hudson Robotics Hamilton INTEGRA Biosciences i-LIMS LabLite LabLynx Modul-Bio LabPLUS Novatek PerkinElmer Peak Analysis & Automation Promium QIAGEN Siemens Healthineers Synchron Lab Automation Sapio Sciences Sunquest Information Systems

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED: 1. How big is the lab automation market?2. What are the major drivers for the lab automation market?3. Which is the fastest-growing region during the forecasted period in the lab automation market?4. What segments are covered in the lab automation market?5. What is the impact of COVID-19 on the global laboratory automation market?Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06103715/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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The lab automation market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.53% during 2021-2026 - GlobeNewswire

Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Oil and Gas Pipeline and Transportation Automation Market Analysis Report by Application (Pipeline and LNG and terminal) and Geography (North America, APAC, Europe, MEA, and South America), and the Segment Forecasts,2021-2025". Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders. Track key industry opportunities, trends, and threats. Information on marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales, and supply functions. https://www.technavio.com/report/report/oil-and-gas-pipeline-and-transportation-automation-market-industry-analysis

The oil and gas pipeline and transportation automation market are driven by the expansion of oil terminals. In addition, the benefits of pipelines over other modes of oil and gas transportation are anticipated to boost the growth of the oil and gas pipeline and transportation automation market.

Oil terminals serve as centers for oil and gas transportation. Globally, the rising energy demand has resulted in the increase in new oil terminals and pipeline constructions as the continuous need for energy is demanding new oil and gas infrastructure. Some of the oil terminal projects are Fujairah Oil Terminal to increase its storage capacity, Saudi Aramco constructed the Muajjiz oil terminal, the Port of Corpus Christi Commission approved the construction of refined petroleum products terminal. These new oil and gas exploration and production activities, along with improved and efficient pipelines for oil and gas transportation, will drive the growth of the market in focus during the forecast period.

Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free.

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Major Five Oil and Gas Pipeline and Transportation Automation Companies:ABB Ltd.ABB Ltd. operates business through Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, Robotics, and Discrete Automation, and Corporate and Other. The company offers pipeline technology and all related operations for the transportation of oil and gas from the wellhead to the refinery such as gas processing, terminals, and storage, pumping stations, cargo tankers, etc.

Eaton Corporation PlcEaton Corporation Plc operates business through Electrical Products, Electrical Systems and Services, Hydraulics, Aerospace, Vehicle, and eMobility. The company offers solutions for upstream, midstream, and downstream applications for both onshore and offshore drilling.

Emerson Electric Co.Emerson Electric Co. operates business through Automation Solutions and Commercial and Residential Solutions. The company provides gas transmission and distribution, liquid transmission, and storage solutions.

Honeywell International Inc.Honeywell International Inc. operates business through Aerospace, Honeywell Building Technologies, Performance Materials and Technologies, and Safety and Productivity Solutions. The company offers advanced software solutions along with the expertise to integrate third-party pipelines software manufacturers or in-house developed custom applications.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp.Mitsubishi Electric Corp. operates business through Energy and Electric Systems, Industrial Automation Systems, Information and Communication Systems, Electronic Devices, Home Appliances, and Other. The company offers a variety of solutions such as rotating equipment, including electric motors, gas generators, pumps, and compressors, among others for oil and gas operations.

Oil And Gas Pipeline And Transportation Automation Market Application Outlook (Revenue, USD million, 2020-2025)

Oil And Gas Pipeline And Transportation Automation Market Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD million, 2020-2025)

Know more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40118

Related Reports on IndustrialsInclude:Global Compressor Control Systems Market- The compressor control systems market is segmented by product (control elements and communication), end-user (process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing), geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA), and key vendors.Download FREE Sample Report

Global Industrial Boiler Market- The industrial boiler market is segmented by end-user (food and beverages, chemicals and petrochemicals, pulp and paper, oil and gas, and other end-users), geography (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America), and key vendors. Download FREE Sample Report

About TechnavioTechnavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

ContactsTechnavio ResearchJesse MaidaMedia & Marketing ExecutiveUS: +1 844 364 1100UK: +44 203 893 3200Email: [emailprotected]Report link: https://www.technavio.com/report/oil-and-gas-pipeline-and-transportation-automation-market-industry-analysis

SOURCE Technavio

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Oil & Gas Pipeline and Transportation Automation Market in Industrial Machinery Industry to grow by $ 742.43 million| Emerging Trends, Company...

Shanghai is the world's largest container prot handling 43.5 million TEU in 2020 (file photo)

PublishedJul 9, 2021 3:12 PM by The Maritime Executive

Already the busiest container port in the world, Chinese officials announced an ambitious plan to further expand Shanghai by 2025. The efforts to enlarge the regional port operations and enhance the use of technology are part of the fourteenth five-year plan that also encompasses cruise ship operations and air travel.

Shanghai's international influence is steadily growing, according to Yu Fulin, director of the Shanghai Municipal Transport Commission, who detailed the new five-year plan for the region. In the past five years, the plan notes that Shanghai has become an international shipping center and acquired the preliminary capability of allocating global shipping resources.

Despite the impact of the pandemic on shipping in the first half of 2020, Shanghai saw a small increase in overall container throughput to 43.5 million TEU last year. That was up just a half a percent over 2019, but was more than enough to maintain Shanghais position as the busiest container port for more than a decade. The port achieved strong gains in both transshipments and inland volumes during the year.

Container throughput at the Shanghai port hit a record high of 4.2 million TEUs in October, a year-over-year increase of 15.7 percent, according to official data released by the Chinese authorities. The new record exceeded Julys 3.9 million TEUs, and also made Shanghai the first container port to exceed the 4 million TEU mark in a single month.

The new plan calls for an overall eight percent growth in TEU volumes in the port over the five-year period. By 2025, they are forecasting that Shanghai will handle 47 million TEU annually.

"In accordance with the central government's new strategy, and following the new requirements for the development as a shipping center, Shanghai will try its best to build a hub and strategic nexus under the new dual-circulation development pattern, government officials said according to China Daily. Shanghai will upgrade itself into a world-class international shipping center with convenience, high efficiency, full functions, eco-friendliness, and strong safeguards by 2025."

Among the projects outlined by the plan are efforts to optimize operations, further integrate port operations across the region, and introducing new technologies to improve shipping services. They are also seeking to enhance the cruise port operations.

Building on the current automation efforts at the port, the government is targeting expanding the handling of containers at the automated terminal. The terminal is currently capable of handling up to five million TEU annually through the automated operations with a goal of handling 30 million TEUs in the next five years. They also plan to increase the automated capacity to seven million TEU annually.

See the article here:

Shanghai Targets 47 Million TEU Annually Through Growth and Automation - The Maritime Executive

You may be familiar with the term manufacturing process automation. If youre not, now is the time to familiarise yourself with it as it is becoming a standardised tool in manufacturing across the globe.

Automation in manufacturing has had a bad reputation in the past, with many people associating it with conveyor belts and robotic technology that no longer requires the need of human labour. However, although in some instances this may be the case, automation is a vital tool for any manufacturing business and no longer a huge threat to employees.

Why Automation?

Automating manufacturing processes can save companies time, money and increase their growth at a substantial rate. With the need for products rising dramatically, the manufacturing sector must adapt to keep up with this ever-growing demand. As technology continues to advance, it wont be long begore all businesses in the manufacturing sector have to automate their processes to help increase the speed to produce and send product to customers around the world.

Enhanced Supply Chain

It is important to keep your customer base happy. After all, without them your company will no longer generate profit. When a customer makes an order with a company, they are often given an estimated delivery time. If you dont have a strong supply chain in place, then this can lead to customers waiting a long time for their orders which can lead to complaints that can damage your companys reputation.

Automating your supply chain can help you decrease your delivery time to customers due to increased speed in processing orders. Routine manufacturing holds high importance as it maps the journey of your products throughout the manufacturing process and you will also be able to improve this through automation.

Improve Customer Relationships Through Better Packaging

There are specific areas of your manufacturing process that you can automate to help improve the relationship between your brand and the consumer. Industrial packaging machines are a resource being employed by many companies across the globe. They can help package goods at a fast rate and to a high-quality to ensure that your customers are receiving their product safely.

Blue Print Automation are packaging machine manufacturers with years of experience in the industry. They can supply your company with specialist solutions for packaging your products. You can cater your packaging solutions to suit the needs of your company and help work towards a more efficient production line and happier customers.

Minimise Production Waste and Cut Costs

Most businesses can fall victim to production waste which can be damaging to a companys budget. Using lean inventory techniques can help you monitor your costs, inventory and progress of operations. This has been crucial in helping companys highlight areas where they are overspending and as a result, they can cut these costs. This can also allow for production waste to be minimised through using programmed machines which use materials accurately to try and reduce as much waste as possible.

Automating your manufacturing processes will also allow you to handle multiple projects at once from creating a product to packaging it up. This allows for a surge in workplace productivity and opens up the opportunity for a business to generate more income.

Allows Businesses to Evolve with Technology

We live in a world where technology is fast evolving and just like we do in our everyday lifes, businesses must also evolve and adapt with it. Traditional manufacturing methods are slowly dying out and the introduction of impressive industrial equipment has seen a dramatic increase in the speed in which products can be created and shipped.

The reason we should accept manufacturing automation is down to the fact that businesses need to grow in order to survive in a competitive market. With the rise in the use of the internet millions of people across the globe have a high demand for product and want it available to them at the click of a button. Companies need to have the ability to meet this demand so automating processes in all aspects of their business is crucial in helping them to survive.

Improve Decision Making

Any business who automates manufacturing processes will find that is helps to improve decision making through the ability to analyse data. Having real-time data allows manufacturers to provide accurate timelines of when tasks can be completed, and stake holders can be provided with more transparency on proceedings. As a whole, automation can make processes in manufacturing run more smoothly.

If you are a consumer who likes to buy online, or a business owner who is aiming for impressive growth, automation is the key to producing and delivering products at a fast and efficient rate. As a business owner, if you havent already started to think about automating your manufacturing processes, now could well be the time to start.

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Manufacturing Process Automation in Business: Why We Should Accept It - River Journal Staff

A perfect storm of surging deal flow and burnt out workers is pushing some investment banks to automate more.

M&A deals are getting done at record levels. And junior bankers, often the ones responsible for the grunt work required to close deals, are waning as firms strive to keep pace. Working remotely has exacerbated the situation, in addition to a labor shortage.

Now, firms are looking to technology to catch up, and maybe even get ahead.

While Goldman Sachs' automation endeavors in its investment bank are not new, the past six months have fortified those efforts.

"It certainly made us re-evaluate and recommit ourselves in the sense that we were already on this path," Akila Raman, chief operating officer of Goldman's investment bank division, told Insider referring to the bank's automation strategy.

Raman and Miruna Stratan, who leads the IBD engineering team, detailed three use cases the bank is eyeing for additional automation.

Over the last several years, Goldman Sachs has worked to automate data scrubbing for company comparison tables, Raman said. The so-called peer sheets are used by investors to size up company prospects against competitors, often including market analyses and charts about pricing, stocks, and interest rates.

It's a time-intensive process and a rote task that's handled by junior bankers. But because many charts are built on market inputs, they're obvious candidates to create a framework where inputs are automatically fed into the pages.

Peer sheets are one component of pitch books, whose assembly is often left to junior bankers and is an area ripe for automation.

While pitch books still hold value, and the process of assembling them won't be fully automated, there is room for streamlining, Raman said.

"Especially if it's a longer term deal process, the client may need to see a particular chart several times. So does somebody physically update that chart, and then copy and paste that into a pitch book, or can technology be levered to take some of those steps out?" Raman said.

Goldman started using sophisticated algorithms two years ago to help bankers identify deal opportunities for clients, Raman said. The algorithms flag if a certain metric in a customer account has hit, meaning bankers can anticipate the client's upcoming needs.

If a customer's balance sheet hits a certain number, the algorithm may suggest the customer will need to issue debt, refinance, or could be a good candidate for equity issuance.The algorithm is designed to help bankers not miss opportunities and prioritize services.

It will also continue to evolve, as bankers can inform the model if a suggestion was helpful or not, giving it an opportunity to improve.

Another ongoing initiative designed to lift banker work is a long-term project of consolidating data in Goldman Sachs' debt capital markets.

To start, the bank is organizing data by financial instrument like bonds, loans, and structured finance products by unifying several legacy systems that are currently in place, Raman said.

Eventually, the bank will develop a single tool for the entire debt capital markets. This should ultimately save bankers time when collating and analyzing data, she added. Raman declined to disclose a specific timeline.

All of the work is done with a goal of receiving constant feedback in order to understand how to better make adjustments, Stratan said.

"You've got to be constantly challenging yourself to figure out what is truly value-add, and what is stuff that technology can do with equal or better impact," Raman said.

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Goldman Sachs Execs on 3 Automation Plays for Its Investment Bank - Business Insider - Business Insider

Quick hits:

Related to this episode:

Im David Greenfield, Director of Content at Automation World and thanks for joining me for this Take Five with Automation Worldepisode where Ill be explaining why remote access technology is so popular in the process industries.

Now, I should begin by noting that we first noticed the popularity of remote access in the processing industries, as compared to the discrete manufacturing industries, while conducting research into automation technology spending trends for 2021. Two articles weve published so far from this research look at trends for the discrete and batch manufacturing industries. The report on our findings for the continuous process industries will be featured in our August 2021 issue and online as well. I should also note here that PMMI has created a report on adoption of remote access technologies among CPG manufacturers and the OEMs that serve this market.

So, while reviewing the results from the Automation World research, we noticed that remote access technologies ranked among the top five for expected spending in the continuous processing industries. Butit didnt rank that highly for discrete manufacturers.

Considering that a number of the same technologies ranked in the top 5 across all verticalsfor example, data acquisition and analytics, cybersecurity software, and IoT platform software, we were curious as to why remote access would rank so highly among continuous processors compared to the discrete manufacturing industries.

Josh Eastburn, director of technical marketing at Opto 22, suggests the reason for this is largely due to continuous process operations often being in hazardous, restricted, or remote areas. He pointed to the petrochemical industry as a perfect example of this.

And Jesse Hill, process industry manager at Beckhoff Automation, said, In upstream and midstream oil-and-gas applications, the control systems are often in remote locations that are difficult to access. And this can also be the case in downstream oil and gas and other large processing plants. So, even though the location of the assets may be within the confines of the plant itself, the system that needs monitoring and access may be hundreds of meters or even miles away.

Michael Risse, vice president and chief marketing officer at Seeq, pointed out that production assets in continuous processing tend to lend themselves to constant monitoring more so than in discrete industries. He explained that: time series datathe basis for monitoringis often limited to short bursts, such as a weld, a dip tank, or a seal in discrete manufacturing because operations there are more about assembly than long-running processes. This scenario changes, of course, when a discrete manufacturer puts sensors on a device. At that point, telemetry from the sensors is 100% time series data.

Now, despite the differences in remote monitoring use between discrete manufacturers and continuous processors, discrete manufacturing plants still have a need for remote access and monitoring. Aaron Crews, director for modernization solutions and consulting at Emerson said: increased use of remote access in discrete manufacturing was a trend we saw rapidly increase when the global pandemic limited the number of people that could be in a facility at any given time. He added that, because discrete manufacturing industries are more likely to be located close to population centers, having expert personnel arrive onsite is often less complicated and costly than in continuous processing.

And there are specific business trends influencing the increased use of remote monitoring too. For example, many companies are re-evaluating who should handle asset monitoring.

To show how this is playing out, Risse cited a supplier of turbines and steam traps that offers a monitoring system to its customers. He also noted a processing industry customer that has an internal remote monitoring and best practices center for monitoring assets on behalf of the companys plants.

Kevin Finnan, an industry consultant at Yokogawa, also noted this trend saying, Among Yokogawas customers, those most rapidly deploying remote access were those who had already been working on integrated operations or remote operations centers. These customers operate many facilities and are consolidating their subject matter expertise, maintenance support, and other disciplines in key remote locations.

So, I hope you enjoyed this Take Five with Automation World episode and remember to keep watching this space for new episodes each week to help keep you on top of whats happening in the world of industrial automation.

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Remote Access in the Continuous Processing Industry Take Five with Automation World - Automation World