What Is Industrial Automation and Why?

Industrial automation is the direct result of the rapidly growing demand to increase productivity while reducing costs. A primary driving factor is human operators and the need to increase safety conditions for operations, especially where people are not allowed or not comfortable performing a function in person.

An automated solution can resolve these types of issues, delivering productivity around the clock, while offering opportunities to direct resources towards value added activities vs. functions technology could support. The new challenge is focused on how to provide progressive, highly flexible, customized production solutions with a reduced time to market, all without compromising quality or performance.

What is the Future of Industrial Automation?

The fourth industrial revolution drove exciting new ground-breaking technologies including machines capable of collaborative operations (Industry 4.0.). Now, industry is focusing and developing plants where automation and humans operate collaboratively, making decisions in real-time, continually interacting to improve productivity and performance through configurable products, signifying the reality of a co-working environment between humans and machines. 

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Most people have never received prior training to use their devices, yet almost all know how to operate them, often with a high level of expertise, simply through practice and use.  An easy interface for human interaction is the new mind-set to achieve success! 

The development and growth of digital environments with virtual simulation, augmented reality, and additive manufacturing + generative design will eliminate today’s large and centralized factories.  Factories of the future are smarter, require less space, are flexible and are mobile to where a need exists to meet expectations; resulting in significant infrastructure cost savings.

What Roles Does Fives Play in these Markets?

Fives is a global industrial engineering group that has grown through numerous industrial revolutions, developing and delivering landmark technology solutions and services.  It is organized around three Major Activities - High Precision Machines, Energy and Smart Automation Solutions.

Its Smart Automation Division delivers value-added, global, adaptable and customizable solutions for almost every automation process, with leading expertise in combining technology with equipment and proprietary software with aftermarket solutions.  

The Smart Automation Solutions Division’s innovative technology solutions are based on its customer’s business needs, particularly for consolidating automotive business operations and the rapidly growing logistics market, including e-commerce and postal processes. There are numerous opportunities for all areas of industry to benefit from automated solutions; following in the footsteps of the automotive and logistics markets.

Fives Cinetic Corp. is focused to serve our customers in North America with a global mind-set and expertise. 

Marco Andriano is the CEO and President of Fives Cinetic Corp., a subsidiary of Fives Group under its Smart Automation Division, a global industrial engineering group employing more than 8,700 people worldwide.  He oversees the direction of the businesses’ North American operations in the U.S. and Mexico, leveraging the talents of its industry leading experts.