Manufacturing Automation at the Crossroads

Information technology has become an important discipline for the manufacturing industry. However, the complexity of modern production has made manufacturing dependent on a rapidly developing computer-based support technology. The growth of a multitude of data-solutions and the use of incompatible products on different factory locations have led to so-called islands of automation. Such islands may be of considerable individual value, but pose integration problems if one wishes to integrate factory functions. The complexity of the modern factory sets stringent requirements to the systems integrator.