Digitalization is changing manufacturing and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is going to help fuel those changes. See video.

Digitalization’s role in manufacturing is growing and is changing how engineers gather, process and interpret information. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public consciousness is having a major impact, as well. What does it mean for the future of manufacturing and where are things heading? These are uncertain, but exciting, questions. Pramesh Maheshwari, president and CEO of Honeywell Process Solutions, offered his thoughts in a video interview.
Digitalization has changed with AI and how it’s being implemented has changed, according to Maheshwari.
“There is a change that is happening. What am I seeing when I travel and meet with customers… one thing I am seeing is there much more acceptance on digitalization across the industry,” he said. “There is more acceptance on remote connection. When there’s acceptance on remote connection, they become much more secure and more effective. There is more acceptance on data sharing and clarity on what is being shared.”
He added there is more transparency on what kinds of data are going out while maintaining security and privacy within the silo so there aren’t security breaches.
While there’s greater acceptance and its presence is growing in manufacturing, Maheshwari said there are still some hurdles that need to be overcome, but it has more to do with the people than the technology.
“There’s a hurdle more on where they are and how much knowledge they have and what exactly they are doing,” he said. “Because they are not able to measure and do not know the outcomes of their actions.” The challenge, he said, is if they perform one action, they don’t always know the outcome, which can be a challenge. “Until that time, customers do not see that these actions will give me these outcomes, there will be a challenge of adoption. The important thing will be using digitalization to know the outcomes of my action and that will give customers the confidence to go in that direction.”
Chris Vavra, web content manager, CFE Media and Technology, [email protected].
ONLINE extra
See additional video interviews with Honeywell thought leaders below.
How digital transformation and AI are changing process manufacturing
How Industry 4.0 is evolving and fostering innovation, growth
How artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing process manufacturing