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Category Archives: Automation

DataOps: The Future of Healthcare Automation – ETHealthworld.com

Posted: November 28, 2021 at 9:56 pm

By Dr. Sina Bari

Traditionally, healthcare has been human-powered. Physicians and related staff have always driven manual processes, be it record keeping, diagnosis, or administrative tasks. However, unprecedented challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating cost have put immense pressure on healthcare systems and conventional methods have fallen short.

The healthcare industry generates vast amounts of data through record keeping, imaging, laboratory analysis, and compliance. In high-pressure, resource-depleting situations, such as the pandemic, managing and analysing the large volume of data could be strenuous. Thus, the utilisation of data from electronic health records (EHRs) is increasing significantly and automation is playing a key role.

As of 2020, 34% of large healthcare organisations had already implemented automation solutions, said a report by Statista. A pre-COVID survey by Deloitte similarly found that 75% of healthcare organisations with an annual revenue of $10 billion have already invested over $50 million in artificial intelligence (AI) projects and research. Moreover, 73% of all healthcare organisations plan to increase investment in AI development soon.

Data challenges in healthcareAs healthcare takes center stage across the globe, there is a need to address challenges and streamline the ecosystem to deliver fiscal impact and timely care. The pandemic uncovered the shortcomings of healthcare systems and underscored these data-related flaws:

Difficulty in analysing real-time data in large amounts and deriving real-time insights for better decision making Challenges in extracting, integrating and standardising data generated in the ecosystem Complexities in using data to monitor and manage resources and integrations due to budgetary constraints and staffing issuesDataOps for addressing healthcare challengesWith increasing social and environmental complexities, traditional healthcare systems are bound to get overwhelmed. This is where technology, especially the adoption of DataOps solutions, will play a vital role.

Optimising staff and systems: Clinical staff and operations are the most crucial elements of the healthcare ecosystem. They are also complex and costly. Intelligent, data-driven insights can enable organisations to predict the right clinician mix needed for a specific department. It can create a value-based ecosystem by automating clinical operations such as investments in physician recruiting, clinical staff scheduling and clinical systems change seamlessly.

Insights into community health: A data management approach using automated data pipelines and governance can enable the creation of dashboards of community health data to deliver insights. These insights are important in dealing with community health crises as well as forecasting future health challenges. This is important as it helps organisations to prepare for and reduce negative impact.

Patient-centric systems: DataOps can assist in creating patient-centric systems to deliver enhanced operating processes and better customer engagement. Such DataOps-led architecture can help assess tools and capabilities to identify and recommend patient-centric approaches to improve connectivity, engagement and collaboration with patients.

Optimised revenue: Data-driven systems are capable of processing large volumes of data to deliver actionable insights. Managing revenue models manually is error-prone, time-consuming and may lead to delays and backlogs. With DataOps, these challenges can be managed daily and in real-time.

Pharma innovation and investigative analysis: Advanced analytics can add immense value to pharmaceutical discovery and investigation. It automates data analysis and extracting insights to improve performance of lab experiments and molecular data, leading to accelerated results. It also enables analysis of patient data to match diseases and treatments in vulnerable populations for improved patient care.

Technology in healthcare is not just about medical robots. It is about employing modern technology to advance performance and delivery of solutions. DataOps in healthcare has the potential to provide benefit to not just the healthcare ecosystem but also society overall. It can build strong healthcare systems with the capability to manage local as well as global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic efficiently.

Dr.Sina Bari, - Director of Medical AI at iMerit.

(DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHealthworld.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHealthworld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.)

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National Highways develops automation and digital strategy for roads and road projects – New Civil Engineer

Posted: at 9:56 pm

National Highways has begun a digital revolution, adopting new technologies for road maintenance and operation.

As the world of construction technology evolves, National Highways digital strategy is moving with it.

In September, the roads operator revealed a swathe of new initiatives and systems as part of its new digital roads strategy a plan that includes connected and autonomous vehicles, digital twins and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors.

The strategy has a clear purpose. National Highways chief digital and information officer Victoria Higgin explains the important role of innovation.

Its about keeping up, she says. Making sure were an attractive place to work and we can attract talent. Our mission is connecting the country. We dont want to be behind. We want to push boundaries and lead the way.

We dont want to be behind. We want to push boundaries and lead the way

In addition to this, traditional road maintenance methods present challenges in relation to resources, materials and scheduling and lining all of those up, says Higgin. She adds that completing work efficiently, for example doing several items of work simultaneously, can reduce the impact of roadworks on journeys.

In an ideal world, if youre doing maintenance, youd do everything together but you need visibility of everything to see what needs to be done on the network. You need data, she explains.

National Highways is developing digital twin technology for roads projects

This is where National Highways new strategy comes in. The strategy is outlined on a new website and in a virtual learning environment, which sets out thecompanysDigital Roads 2025 vision.

Between now and 2025, National Highways road works activities will be increasingly automated, modular and conducted off-site, with new initiatives rolled out on the strategic road network each year.

Overall, the vision is structured around three core themes: design and construction, digital operations and digital for customers.

One key innovation under the design and construction theme is the use of digital twins to help with design. Digital technologies are also expected to change construction processes.

Higgin explains: If you want to rehearse a bridge lift, you can do that via your digital twin, so that saves time.

In addition, the strategy involves increasing the use of offsite fabrication and modular construction, along with component standardisation.

This improves safety, reduces carbon emissions and minimises disruption.

Bridges and gantries should just be repeatable patterns apart from having to take into account the environment, Higgin says. Constructing as much as possible off site is good.

Finally, the strategy suggests the use of connected and autonomous plant to be embedded in construction processes, improving efficiency and enhancing safety. Semi-autonomous plant, such as a cone-laying machine, has already been trialled.

The digital operations theme of the strategy involves intelligent asset management. One innovation, for example, is the creation of a digital twin of the road network which can predict when and were potholes will occur and other maintenance issues.

National Highways is developing this system in collaboration with UK Research & Innovation, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC), the European Unions Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Cofund programme, Costain and the University of Cambridge. It is funded by an 8.6M EPSRC Digital Roads Prosperity Partnership grant and the 6M MSCA Future Roads Fellowships programme.

The system works by combining live data from intelligent materials in an existing road surface with a digital twinning system that visualises the road and its condition. This then identifies when maintenance workis needed.

This is about removing repetitive tasks to repoint human beings to more rewarding areas where we need more brain power

National Highways says the approach will dramatically reduce the need for time consuming and costly on-site inspections, prevent unnecessary delays to drivers and reduce emissions generated by roadworks.

Overall, it will ensure data is available so that teams can look at the road network at any point in time and make decisions.

Knowing when you need to maintain and repair things without having to go out and do continual inspections is important, Higgin says. That also has a safety element because you have fewer people roadside.

When it comes to inspections, the process can be enhanced by technology either Internet of Things (IoT) sensors or camera tech in cars.

If you put sensors onto bridges, for example, or different parts of the road, you can start to pick stuff up without having to do routine maintenance, Higgin says.

The ultimate goal is to be able to do predictive maintenance based on whats coming back from sensors, because you can use your resources in the best way and plan better.

As such, sensor technology will forecast traffic levels, weather and environmental conditions enabling National Highways to pre-emptively prepare for and respond to situations.

Higgin adds that this means humans can be deployed on more complex tasks which are more satisfying work.

She explains: This is about removing repetitive tasks to repoint human beings to more rewarding areas where we need more brain power.

The final theme centres on how National Highways communicates with its customers, before or during journeys.

Ultimately, the roads operator envisages providing its customers with journey information through in-car systems. Deploying connected and autonomous vehicles is expected to drastically improve traffic flow and reduce incidents by up to 90%.

I think if you look to the very future, you will have cars that are connected and autonomous on highways, Higgin says. When I say connected, imagine a world where signage and signals are transmitted directly into your cars and even where we can send messages to people in their cars. Thats our aspiration.

Digital technology could mean that road information is sent to drivers digitally

This connectivity will also enable National Highways to receive better quality data from customers, which in turn informs decision making.

Its not just about providing data to drivers but also what data can we take information about journeys, for example, and how can we optimise them, Higgin explains. If we get the intelligence from that data, how do we run the network better?

When is it best to do maintenance? What technology can we use to make it last for shorter periods of time? How can we predict rather than wait for something to be broken?

National Highways ambitions include freight platooning driving a group of vehicles together and the personalised in-vehicle messaging, as well as vehicles sharing data and decluttered roads free from signage. As such, the vision for digital roads looksforward to2050 and beyond.

The three core themes of National Highways Digital Roads 2025 strategy are as follows:

Design and Construction

Digital operations

Digital for customers

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How technology is playing a key role in the automation of traditional Indian snacks – YourStory.com

Posted: at 9:56 pm

The food processing industry in India is one of the largest across the globe. According to Invest India, a national investment promotion and facilitation agency, India's food processing industry is expected to touch $535 billion mark by 2025-26.

It would be appropriate to say that the eponymous sector is an imperative part of our country and its economy. Hence, it becomes critical for India to enhance the use of technology and automation in the industry in order to keep up with the changing times and grow further.

It seems that the country's traditional snack segment, which constitutes one of the major segments of the food processing industry, is also gradually adopting automation and the latest technologies to keep pace with the quality of produce.

Typically, Indians have been more disposed to unpackaged foods as they were prudent about packaged delicacies, particularly snacks. Hence, the majority of them preferred loose food items from their long-trusted shopkeepers.

However, the pandemic completely transformed the market scenario. It doesn't come as a surprise that health and well-being, in such unprecedented times, have become the utmost priority for people. They are actually reassessing what they eat. The global health crisis has certainly led to a greater focus on health, thereby changing the behaviour of people.

Moreover, the packets additionally label the item and make the buying system simpler by stating all pertinent data on the cover. The packaging of snacks or of any other item permits easy and sterile transportation of food across locations.

Today, almost every other industry is rapidly picking up the trend of automation to stay afloat in the market. The traditional Indian snack industry has been no exception. Undoubtedly, to expand the progress, there is a dire need to make the processes more effortless and efficient. Thus, the food and snack processing industry has begun to embrace the process of automation to further increase the efficacy of the operations.

Food manufacturing has become troublesome and tricky due to the intricate processes involved in accomplishing various tasks. These range from preparing ingredients, methods of cooking, packing and picking, and enhancing the overall hygiene standards of the food manufacturing system.

Technology is slowly but surely being adopted to perform regular tasks as it puts an end to human errors. The machines are less likely to be fatigued and carry out repetitive jobs for long hours with competence.

Since the automation of processes cut out the requirement for recruiting and maintaining various human resources, it helps in saving money. Moreover, interestingly, machines do not take leaves as well as require minimal maintenance.

All this lends a helping hand to cut back on the expenditure of both times as well as money. Besides, mechanisation likewise prompts lesser utilisation of ingredients, without influencing the look or taste of the item. It helps fulfill the safety and quality standards identified with the food products.

Ultimately, since the errand is being performed by a machine, there is consistency in the work done and consequently, the shot at slip-ups or holes in food quality or taste is minimized. For instance, traditional Indian snacks such as namkeen, moong dal, and mixtures utilise pumping and extrusion, washing and soaking, weighing and blending equipment, respectively.

Indian sweets such as soanpapdi, barfi, and kajukatli use the portioning lines. These machines offer peace of mind to the operator for uninterrupted and hassle-free operations.

Indeed, even from the point of view of the customer, this move is creating a win-win situation as the decrease in both the financial and time-sensitive expenses for the organisation would ultimately reflect in lesser costs and easier accessibility of food products for the customers.

It would be appropriate to say that technology and automation were already on their high in the food processing industry before the outbreak of the pandemic.

The health crisis just accelerated the process. An ever-increasing number of individuals have come to trust and prefer processed foods and snacks, which have led the food processing industry to soar lately.

In light of the trends, one might say that the industry can anticipate further automation, even in the most intricate of its processes.

As the sector turns out to be increasingly more dependent on technology and automation for its several complex processes, both the productivity as well as the profits of the food processing industry are contemplated to rise. For the manufacturer of such food processing tech equipment, the future looks promising indeed.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)

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Automation and the radicalization of America – Brookings Institution

Posted: November 23, 2021 at 4:24 pm

As digital technology accelerates, there are questions about who is most likely to lose jobs due to automation and what the overall future of the US economy looks like. These questions are worth askingparticularly after a pandemic that appears to have hastened the automation of many tasks in American industries. Yet research on automation has so far centered almost entirely on the presence of digitalization, automation-potential estimates, the relationship between technological change and macroeconomic conditions, and techs impact on inequality and wage divergence.

Since technological change often is quite disruptive and spurs economic and political shocks, it is vital for researchers to study the attitudes of the individuals most vulnerable to new technological shifts. In doing so, researchers can gain a humanizing window into how these shiftsso crucial to capitalisms advancementare borne out in the beliefs, characteristics, and fears of the individuals most likely to experience disruption due to automation

The results of my work offer an ominous window into how technological change may correspond with despair, radicalization, and democratic erosion. This study shows that the Americans whose occupations have the highest automation potential tend to have a dark and cynical view of politics, the economy, the media, and humanity. They comprise a traditional working class that is politically left-leaning on economic issues and slightly right-leaning on socio-cultural ones. Although they are moderately more likely to support Democrats, they are increasingly likely to support Republicans since 2000. These often-economically-vulnerable Americans are deeply pessimistic about the state of the world and politics; they also have a tendency to vote against their economic interests and become more authoritarian in their outlook.

My work examines studies on the relationship between economic upheaval and radicalization, polarization, and revolution. In addition, I look at how technological change impacts inequality, wage divergence, and job polarization. Works from David Autor, Robert Allen, and Daron Acemoglu, in particular, have been able to illustrate the ways that digitalization can catalyze labor substitution, the erosion of the middle class, and greater income inequality.

It seems clear that technological advancement can both stifle real wage growth for many workers while simultaneously increasing returns to capital by making labor more productive. This tends to benefit the owners of productive capital and some workers whose skills are complemented by the new technology. Moreover, when productivity tends to rise faster than wages, inequality increases almost by definition since new GDP gains accrue primarily amongst capital owners, rather than workers. Technological change can additionally lead to a hollowing out of middle-wage work, in turn producing a smaller middle class. Digitalization appears to be inducing dis-equalizing shifts through all of these mechanisms.

My study merges American National Election Survey data from 1990-2016 alongside the automation-potential estimates that are produced by McKinsey and presented by Mark Muro in a 2019 report. Due to the considerable size of this dataset, I utilized 11 indexed variables to proxy for specific general characteristics (see Figure 1). I then looked at the relationship between the automation potential of an occupation and the beliefs of workersfor example, if a person believes the minimum wage should be increased or lowered.

First, I look at the demographic characteristics of the Americans most susceptible to automation.

Table 1 clearly demonstrates that Hispanic individualsfollowed by Black and Asian individualsare more likely to work in jobs with the highest automation potential; women, too, are slightly more likely to fall into the high automation pool. This corroborates Mark Muros 2019 findings. Beyond this, the automation potential of the average worker tends to be higher in the South, among the lowest third of the income distribution, and generally among people with less education.

Yet what are the beliefs of these automation-susceptible individuals? In Graph 1, I look specifically at this question by offering a brief portrait of the views that the Americans most susceptible to automation are likely to hold.

As the model shows, Americans who work in an occupation that has a high susceptibility to automation tend to be less politically engaged, less supportive of the media, and more pessimistic about the nature of politics and the power of their voice. Although highly automation-susceptible individuals show a slight preference for Democrats, this preference is waning; in the years since 2000, it has fallen below the average support for Democrats amongst the broader US voter population. This indicates a possible shift away from the Democratic Party in the last two decades, as both political apathy and engagement have worsened.

Moreover, Americans with a high susceptibility to automation since 2000 also are nearly 5 percentage points more likely to express racist, antisemitic, homophobic, or sexist attitudes. This increase in intolerance is even more pronounced when isolating for more specific categories of racial animus; although many of the same individuals who hold racist views of Hispanics will also hold racist views of Black Americans, for example, this is not necessarily always true. The 5 percent figure thus underrepresents the relative increase in intolerance amongst automation-susceptible individuals.

Beyond this, Americans whose jobs are highly susceptible to automation are less supportive of globalization and immigration; however, they hold more left-wing economic views on average than the median working American. Automation-susceptible individuals also tend to be slightly more culturally conservative since the 2000s. Finally, highly automation-susceptible individuals are more likely to have a cynical view of human nature (e.g., believing people are fundamentally dishonest) and to express authoritarian tendenciesvaluing obedience, for instance, over individuality and expression. In Table 2, I offer a breakdown of these results between different demographics of Americans.

Political

Affiliation

Some key findings here are that white Americans with a high automation potential diverge from other racial groups in their slight preference for Republican candidates and conservatives over Democratic candidates and liberals. White Americans whose jobs are highly susceptible to automation are also more likely to have a grim view of their lives and to be opponents of immigration and international trade than whites who are not as vulnerable to automation. Highly automation susceptible individuals of all demographics, however, are more likely to hold authoritarian views than low automation susceptibility groups.

My results point to three important trends in American politics and the economy. The first is that automation-susceptible individuals are indeed a demographic category with a sufficiently unique set of beliefs and characteristics. Second, individuals highly susceptible to automation are more likely to hold progressive economic beliefs, in line with their interests. Finally, highly susceptible individuals are becoming more despairing and more likely to vote for Republicans and against a progressive economic agenda.

One possible explanation for this is that the demographic most likely to be harmed by technological-change-induced labor shocks are increasingly voting based on cultural, rather than economic, issues. If this thesis is true, it would corroborate the notion that a distinct portion of the American working class has shifted away from the Democratic Party as the cultural wars came to dominate public debates. My results thus suggest that a combination of progressive economic and conservative cultural policies may prove most attractive to Americans whose jobs are highly susceptible to automation.

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Texas Integrator Adds Outside-the-Box Automation to Every Room of Award-Winning Smart Home – CEPro

Posted: at 4:24 pm

The backyard area of the home includes an inground pool, an area to watch an outdoor TV, minigolf in the center, a full outdoor audio setup and more. (Photos by Cristian Gomez)

Afternearly a quarter-centuryin the business, Theater Advice has designed and integrated a vast array of technology solutions for residential projects of all sizes, styles, and scopes. From plans that entail massive distributed AV systems and dedicated theaters to elaborate shading and lighting systems; catering to clients who want everything hidden to those that want to admire their investments; providing the personalized system for families thatentertain frequently or not at all, Theater Advices portfolio is about as diverse andbroadas they come. But nothing prepared the team for this project. Unique features and applications of technology resonate throughout the 12,000-square-foot estate, requiring Theater Advice toapproach andimplementtechnology in a whole new way, as CEO David Huse explains.

There are a host of interesting ways to welcome guests to a home via technologybrightening the lights as they approach the front door, using the doorbell to activate music, programming a pathway of lights from the driveway to the entrance as a car enters the property, for example.

Equipment List:

Theater Advice raised the Welcome bar further by presenting to dinner party guests a beautifully scripted list ofcourseson the menu. The Menu is displayed ona 19-inchSuraTV flush-mounted to a wall in the foyer. The integrators also connected the display directly to a PC hiddenin a nearby closetso theowners can conveniently key inthebill of fare.

The dedicated theater is impressive in and of itself, fitted with a 170-screen from Screen Innovations,11-channel Dolby Atmosaudio comprising color-matchedTriadin-wall and in-ceiling speakers, Epson projector and three rows of seating.

But its whats hidden under the last row ofchairsthat sets this entertainment escape apart. As familymembersandtheir beloved petssettle into thegrand entertainment space,the last thing theywant to do is leave the room to let the dogs out. A hidden door built underneath the last row precludes the interruption. The dogs canexiton their owninto an air-conditioned, monitored kennel. From there, they are free to roam to a fenced outdoor dog run, Huse says. All the while, the owners can access the surveillance camerasand see the dogsvia theControl4 appon their smartphonesorthehome theaterscreen.

Also receiving a unique touch of technology is the master bathroom. Here, positioned over the urinal is a 19-inchSuraTV. Simply turning on the bathroom light signals the display to activate and tune to ESPN. The opposite happens when the light is turned off.

There isnt a place on the property where the family doesnt havehigh-res streamingmusic or video nearby; all told the project incorporated 22 audio zones and a dozen video zones.

Despite having to work arounda lot ofcement and retaining walls outside,Huse notes,Theater Advice was able to addOriginBollardspeakersto thelandscape by the lazy river and adjoiningswimming pool, sports court,andputting green.All of the common areas have a display, and even some of the closets, the patio, and two in the kids1,500-square-foot bunk house on the third floor, one of which dedicated to gaming.

The size and scope of this project demanded well-choreographed control system and Theater Advice truly delivered a home run of a final product, so much so that the install recently won a CE Pro Home of the Year Award for the best whole-house smart home over $150,000.

Some elements, like Screen Innovations motorized Nano shades, are automated to adjust per a pre-determined scheduled programmed into the Control4 platform. Other adjustments happen via voice command or a tap of a button of one of many Control4 touchscreens and handheld remotely located conveniently throughout the home.Its what makes this test-bed of innovative applications of technology feel like an integral part of a comfortable, well-managed home.

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The Global Industrial Automation Device Manager Software Market is expected to grow by $ 1.29 bn during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of almost 7%…

Posted: at 4:24 pm

Global Industrial Automation Device Manager Software Market 2021-2025 The analyst has been monitoring the industrial automation device manager software market and it is poised to grow by $ 1.

New York, Nov. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Industrial Automation Device Manager Software Market 2021-2025" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05387043/?utm_source=GNW 29 bn during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of almost 7% during the forecast period. Our report on the industrial automation device manager software market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the growing demand for integrated asset management services and increase in need for data analytics. In addition, growing demand for integrated asset management services is anticipated to boost the growth of the market as well.The industrial automation device manager software market analysis includes the end-user segment and geographic landscape.

The industrial automation device manager software market is segmented as below:By End-user Oil and gas Power Chemical and petrochemical Automotive Others

By Geographical Landscape APAC North America Europe South America MEA

This study identifies the increased adoption of IIoT as one of the prime reasons driving the industrial automation device manager software market growth during the next few years.

The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on industrial automation device manager software market covers the following areas: Industrial automation device manager software market sizing Industrial automation device manager software market forecast Industrial automation device manager software market industry analysis

This robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading industrial automation device manager software market vendors that include ABB Ltd., Emerson Electric Co., General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc., Moxa Inc., OMRON Corp., Rockwell Automation Inc., Schneider Electric SE, Siemens AG, and Yokogawa Electric Corp. Also, the industrial automation device manager software market analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.

The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. Technavios market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast the accurate market growth.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05387043/?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 Process Automation Map – TechSpective

Posted: at 4:24 pm

Imagine your CEO wants you to increase process automation as part of the organizations push towards becoming a digital enterprise. As a first project, you need to automate the payroll run, which is a manual and tedious process at your company currently. How could you go about this? Should you look into process automation platforms to help out?

In this case, the decision is not too hard: as thousands of companies have the exact same requirements you have, you can simply buy a standard HR software or leverage an off-the-shelf cloud service around payroll. This will quickly and cheaply automate this process for you.

Empowered by this success, your next process to automate is your companys core order fulfillment process, also known as order-to-cash. Order fulfillment needs to integrate some really beasty legacy systems, so what do you do now? Buying standard software again, probably customizing it to your specific needs? Leveraging one of the low-code tools industries are raging about? Or applying software engineering methods accelerated by developer-friendly process automation technology?

This is actually much harder to answer. And guess what: it depends. It depends on various aspects of your situation and the process at hand. To help you with this kind of decision, I created what I call the process automation map (inspired by the culture map by Erin Meyer, which is not a prerequisite to understand this article, even if it is definitely worth a read).

The process automation map defines the following set of dimensions that can guide you towards the right software solution for process automation:

Now, you can rate the process automation candidate on all of these dimensions:

This rating now helps you to determine which solution to pick. For this article, I focus on four solution categories:

1. Commercial off-the-shelf software providing a ready-to-use implementation for certain common problems.

2. Tailor-made solutions requiring own development effort to build out the final solution for the business problem. The development effort can either use low code or pro code tools.

2a. Low code, meaning that non-developer are enabled to build the solution, which is typically reached by a mixture of abstractions of technical details, pre-built components, and graphical wizards.

2b. Pro code, meaning that software development is happening, but accelerated by tools that solve all problems related to process automation.

You can read more about these categories in Understanding the process automation landscape.

Now, the payroll process is a standard process. This rating leads you to a quick conclusion: you should go for commercial off-the-shelf software and can mostly ignore the other dimensions.

In contrast, unique processes require tailor-made solutions. These solutions can be built by low code or pro code tooling. And depending on where your rating tends to be on the map, you should select one or the other. The following illustration gives you a good indication of where the sweet spots for solution categories are.

In the order fulfillment process, the ratings are placed more on the right-hand side of the map so you are in the realm of pro code (developer-friendly) process automation tooling. These tools allow you to model the order fulfillment process graphically and then add glue code, most often in well-known programming languages like Java, C#, or NodeJS, to integrate it with its surroundings, in your case Salesforce and the bespoke systems via an API (e.g. REST) and your mainframe via custom code.

Using pro-code techniques allows you to leverage all best practices from software engineering: reusing existing frameworks and libraries, leveraging development environments and version control, applying continuous delivery practices, and so on. These practices have proven that they can deal with high complexity, scalability, and stability requirements very well. Solutions have high quality and maintainability. The process automation platform will simply add capabilities to deal with long-running process flows.

Lets also look at the left-hand side of the map with another example. Assume you want to automate your marketing campaign process. This involves defining a campaign, approving it, making the necessary bookings, and assessing the impact it had afterward. Lets rate this process:

1. Uniqueness of process: While this process is not super unique, the way you decide for campaigns and assess its result means that you need something additional to the standard marketing tools out there.

2. Process complexity: This process is not very complex. It is also fully owned by a handful of people all within the marketing team.

3. Process scale: You only run a handful of campaigns a month, which is a low scale.

4. Scope: Campaigns involve a couple of steps, so it is a process, but only with very simple process logic.

5. Project setup: As you just evolve your marketing practice, you expect that the process will also evolve over time. So you might be happy to automate only certain pain points in an ad-hoc fashion, knowing that you will replace these pieces of automation sooner or later again. If they fall apart, it does not do much harm.

This time, the ratings tend towards the left-hand side. This is an indicator that low code tooling could work well in your case. Maybe a simple Airtable to list campaigns alongside status flags is a sufficient basis for you. You can then build some low-code integrations that simply trigger emails when something needs to be done.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for process automation. This is why companies must understand the forces that might drag you towards one or another solution category. I have only scratched the surface, but you might want to have a look at exploring the Process Automation Map for more details on the various dimensions and guidance on how to rate your own process.

Depending on this rating, the sweet spots help you determine the solution category to look at. In this article software categories were simplified to standard software, low code, and pro code tools, but if you want to dive deeper into solutions categories, it might be worth looking into understanding the process automation landscape.

Of course, the map will always be an oversimplification. But as long as it is useful to guide you through the tooling jungle or help you find arguments to sell this approach internally, it is worth its existence. To help you create your own map, I uploaded a template slide here. Feel free to use and distribute that at your own discretion. And I am always happy to receive copies of your own processes rated on the map.

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The Process Automation Map - TechSpective

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Tech roundup: DoorDash is thinking differently about automation – Restaurant Business Online

Posted: at 4:24 pm

Photo illustration by Nico Heins

Welcome toRBsweekly roundup of the latest in restaurant technology. To get this and other tech news sent right to your inbox every Wednesday,click here.

DoorDash, like a lot of companies we write about here, wants to bring more automation to the process of delivering food.

But the way it plans to go about doing that is notably different.

Last week, the company unveiled a new team called DoorDash Labs that will focus on developing its own delivery robots. After working with other robotics companies over the past few years, it has apparently decided to build its bots in-house. It hired Ashu Rege, a former VP with autonomous vehicle company Zoox, as VP of autonomy.

It also gave an example of what those robots might do, and that too deviates from much of the automated delivery happening now.

Under a proposed hub-to-hub model, bots would handle the so-called middle mile between restaurant and driver. It could work like this: DoorDash would aggregate orders in an area with a lot of restaurants or other businesses, like a shopping mall or perhaps a ghost kitchen. A robot would then deliver that batch of orders to a separate location that is close to consumers. Human delivery drivers would pick up their individual orders there and deliver them to their final destination.

An illustration of DoorDash's proposed hub-to-hub delivery model. / Courtesy of DoorDash

DoorDash said this model would shorten the distance that human drivers have to travel and potentially allow them to deliver more orders.

It also simplifies things somewhat from a technology perspective, because the robots would be traveling on a predetermined route rather than navigating to individual customers homes.

A few weeks ago, DoorDash rival Uber Eats announced plans to start using Serve robots to deliver food in Los Angeles early next year.

Speaking of Serve, the company is adding a former product designer from Apple and GoPro to the team. Euan Abraham will become Serves SVP of hardware engineering starting in January. He will be working on its autonomous sidewalk rovers.

Uber Eats made some headlines of its own last week.Parent company Uber unveiled a new membership program, Uber One, that offers perks on rides, food delivery and groceries for $9.99 a month. The program combines the companys various business segments into a single subscription, replacing the stand-alone Uber Eats Pass. Customers will continue to get the same benefits with One as they did with Eats Pass: 5% off and free delivery on orders above $15.

While were talking third-party delivery companies: Grubhub now integrates with Deliverect, a startup that streamlines third-party delivery orders for restaurants. That means that the 12,000 restaurants using Deliverect can now have orders placed on Grubhub sent directly to their POS systems, eliminating the need for a separate Grubhub tablet. Its the latest major integration for Gruhbub under new owner Just Eat Takeaway.com.

In other news ...

Toast added some new features. The three products--the first since its IPO--are as follows:

The new Toast Pay Card allows employees to get paid faster. / Photograph courtesy of Toast

A new bowl-making robot is launching with support from C3. The stand-alone robotic kitchen from Nommi will be able to make grain-, noodle- and lettuce-based dishes. It launched behind a $20 million seed round led by C3, the digital restaurant company led by Sam Nazarian. C3 will partner with Nommi to scale the concept, starting with an initial order of 1,000 units.

C3 will test the bots with its SaMoto restaurant brand from chef Masaharu Morimoto. SaMoto-branded Nommi kitchens will be able to operate 24/7.

The Nommi bot can cook meals in as little as three minutes. / Photograph courtesy of Nommi

Kitchen United opened its third New York City ghost kitchen. The 6,400-square-foot space on Manhattans west side will feature Wingstop, Jersey Mikes Subs, Chilis, Burger Village, Han Dynasty, Hawaiian Bros, and Cafe Habana, with more partners to be announced. Its two other NYC locations opened last month in Soho and Hudson Yards. Those outlets were repurposed from Zuul, the ghost kitchen company Kitchen United acquired last month.

Nextbite hired a CFO. Paul Pucino is the former CFO of Evite, a digital invitations company. He will help manage the companys financial strategy as it looks to continue its fast growth.

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Tech roundup: DoorDash is thinking differently about automation - Restaurant Business Online

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Allied Electronics & Automation Expand Product Offerings in November – Automation World

Posted: at 4:24 pm

Allied Electronics & Automationexpanded its suppliers in November withKIPPintools and hardwareproducts;Nachi America Hydraulicsinpneumatics and fluid controlofferings; andMurrplastikadding products in thewire and cablecategories. The new suppliers further expand Allied's linecard of more than 550 world-class suppliers.Newproducts from these suppliers arenowavailable atwww.alliedelec.com.

Allied's recently added suppliersinclude the following:

Allied also continues to add products and suppliers to itsfacilities cleaning and maintenance inventory.As part of its focus on improving the customer experience, Allied will continue to expand its product portfolio throughout 2021 and beyond to meet customers' wide-ranging needs. In 2020, the company added more than 50new best-in-class suppliersto its linecard, bringing more than 10,000 new ready-to-ship product lines to customers. Allied has also recentlydoubled the capacity of its Fort Worth distribution centerand provides online customers with tens of thousands of360-degree high-resolution images, more than1.1 million up-to-date product data sheets,expert adviceon a wide range of topics,anda connection to the company's globalDesignSparkfree online engineering collaboration platform.

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Allied Electronics & Automation Expand Product Offerings in November - Automation World

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Loadsmart challenges brokers to offer more than automation – FreightWaves

Posted: at 4:24 pm

Automating for the sake of automating accomplishes little in the way of supply chain optimization.

People have become obsessed with these automation messages about digital brokerages, Loadsmart co-founder and co-CEO Felipe Capella told FreightWaves. Often when you automate the internal inefficiencies of a brokerage, there is no added value to the shippers or carriers. [Shippers and carriers] dont care about your inefficiencies. We need to start talking about the value proposition [of digital brokerages] to shippers and carriers.

Adding value was the reason for Loadsmarts recent strategic moves, according to Capella.

An example of Loadsmarts value-added approach is its August announcement that it is working with Home Depot to revolutionize the home improvement retailers approach toward its overall supply chain capabilities.

Capella explained that Home Depot recently started sourcing its own transportation for vendors to leverage its large flatbed footprint. Instead of vendors selling their products to Home Depot with added transportation costs, the retailer now routes shipments with its own dedicated capacity.

Often when fleets are dedicated to a one shipper like this, carriers find themselves charging more to cover a likely empty backhaul. Using Loadsmarts supply-led platform Flatbed Messenger, Home Depot can now find its carriers backhauls, driving down their transportation costs.

Home Depots flatbed transportation spend is going to keep growing aggressively over the next two or three years, said Capella. Home Depot was smart enough to see that in order for them to benefit from that growth, they should leverage the needed capacity for other shippers. If you have a truck delivered at Home Depot that is constantly backhauling empty, you have an opportunity to get them a load, bringing down costs for both shipments, which goes directly to your bottom line.

While Capella said creating the automated technology behind the solution was not easy, the forward-thinking, supply-led option is an example of how digital freight providers should be using technology with their customers, adding value to the shipper-broker relationship.

Capella said Loadsmart also is investing in its carriers, which have concerns around wait times and the decision-making processes behind choosing loads. Instead of building these products in-house, Loadsmart leaned on its investors to acquire the value-adding products for its carrier network.

We cannot build every technology by ourselves, he said. We have tremendous support from our investors to try to identify solutions out there that add value to our customers including our carriers.

In early November, Loadsmart announced it had acquired two solutions, trucking management system Kamion and warehouse dock scheduling software Opendock to help carriers improve their overall operations.

Capella said these acquisitions give Loadsmart tools to enable carriers to grow their businesses with Kamion and provide shippers scheduling software through Opendock.

Opendock currently runs around 600,000 appointments per month, he said. We have customers that give us their demand by API as well, so now we know what trucks are arriving to a specific warehouse at any given time and we can match this to a shipment coming out of that warehouse, eliminating deadhead.

When it comes to Kamion, we now have a full platform for carriers to run their whole business on, Capella said. Small carriers in particular wake up and open up 10 different load boards trying to match their trucks up with shipments. Carriers can have that load board data sent directly to them through Kamion.

He explained that with Kamion, carriers will have the option to see loads that arent organized by Loadsmart, and the loads that are being offered by Loadsmart will include transparency into its fixed 8% margin for Kamion.

In order to build better trust with our carriers, we decided to fix our margin, making us one of the first brokers to be completely transparent with how much money they are making, he said. I think one of the biggest issues this industry has is this competition between people that should be collaborating and this is our way of fostering a new sense of collaboration.

Capella has been leading Loadsmart in its value-adding mission since the companys inception in 2015.

When we first started Loadsmart, we launched our instant pricing system that booked loads via the web. And guess what? Everyone is doing instant pricing and instant booking via APIs [application programming interfaces], he said. We would love to start this new trend of value-focused initiatives for shippers and carriers and see brokers and 3PLs move in that same direction.

But Capella believes that is easier said than done for his competition and that getting the entire brokerage industry on the same page will take time.

We have a tech team of 160 people today and I think very few brokers out there have this kind of large team that can build a cloud-based technology infrastructure that allows you to absorb new technology. Its actually pretty complicated to build, he said.

Making these changes is a marathon, not a sprint. But I think leaders should realize that youre not going to get a lot of benefit by trying to build volume with negative margins. The goal here is to be focused on value-adding technology and cloud adoption, not in volume building.

Loadsmart continues growth strategy with flatbed offering

F3 chat: Solving supply chain challenges through data solutions

Big Tech executives find new frontier in FreightTech

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