(Image Source: Siemens)
The company is leveraging its broad technology to address digital transformation, cybersecurity, safety and sustainability. This new group will operate both as a vertical industry group and a horizontal business operation and will reside within the Siemens Digital Industries — Motion Control business. It will function in tandem with the organization’s existing additive manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, food-and-beverage and other industry verticals.
This new group will serve machine builders and end-customers alike. For example, using the Siemens TIA Portal, a warehouse facility or postal clearing house will be able to integrate all its motion control hardware, software systems and communications protocols. Additionally, Siemens digital twin and simulation technologies allow a warehouse or manufacturing operation to test all the “what ifs” before tackling a material handling challenge.
“The goal for all companies should be smart manufacturing and automated material flow, which is adaptable to changing market and technology conditions,” says Joel Thomas, who will head the newly launched business unit. “This is especially challenging in older brownfield operations, where the legacy equipment might not handle the needs of the company tomorrow or even today.”
Predictive analytics and predictive maintenance will be a big part of Siemens Intralogistics’ development of system components to maximize productivity and to gather the data needed to monitor and maintain an operation.
The biggest challenge for this new group, according to Thomas, is to identify and bring the necessary skills and solutions to the resident knowledge base for each customer because these needs will vary considerably based upon each company’s size and existing skill sets.
Siemens says that energy consumption and the ability to anticipate what equipment and software will be needed in the future to keep the plant running at maximum efficiency, will be a critical factor in the service package provided to customers.
Siemens says the use of this digital-to-real world technology will help the Intralogistics business develop more productive eco-systems within companies, with the aim of future-proofing their operations.