Scaling AI-driven reliability in process manufacturing: culture first, then code
AI, prescriptive maintenance, and edge analytics are reshaping how process plants run. Yet the gap between a successful pilot and full-scale impact rarely closes on technology alone. The differentiators are culture, operating model, and data foundations.Build…
Inside Merck’s smart manufacturing revolution
An in depth conversation with Michelangelo Canzoneri, Global Head of Group Smart Manufacturing at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, GermanyInterview by Jan BurianHeadquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, Merck employs around 65,000 people in 66 countries, contributing to both the…
Beyond Dashboards: Manufacturers Want Predictive Data, Not Pretty Graphs
Walk into any modern factory and you’ll see walls of dashboards. Vibration graphs, torque curves, temperature plots, even “traffic-light” alarms glowing red or green. It looks sophisticated — until a critical press fails and the line…
Building Digital Reliability: Why Your Maintenance Strategy Needs External Expertise
The manufacturing sector faces a persistent tension: should organizations build all digital capabilities in-house or leverage external partners? The answer, increasingly, is neither—it’s both, strategically combined.The Cost of Doing Everything YourselfMany industrial leaders assume that maintaining…
What Makes Digital Investments in Industry Actually Pay Off
Every industrial company is under pressure to “go digital.” But not every investment creates value—and in manufacturing, complexity can spread faster than clarity.According to Amit Khanna, Vice President of Business Excellence at Tata Steel Thailand, the real challenge…
Real-Time Data Plumbing: The Hidden Cost of Scaling Predictive Analytics
When manufacturers discuss predictive analytics, the focus often jumps straight to machine learning models or AI. But as the panel “Predict, Prevent, Optimize: Real Results from Augmented Industrial Data” made clear, the biggest challenge isn’t the math—it’s…
Trust, Security, and Human Factors in Agentic AI
Autonomous AI on the factory floor is not just a technical challenge — it’s a human one. Operators want to know they can trust the system. Executives need accountability. Security teams demand resilience. At the “Agentic AI…
Inside Tata Steel’s Reliability Mindset: What Really Drives Uptime
Walk into any plant, and within minutes, you can tell if reliability runs deep or if it’s just a slogan on the wall. You don’t need a report to see it—you can feel it.As Amit Khanna, VP…
Prescriptive AI That Respects Reality: Recommendations You Can Actually Execute
Midnight on a production line isn’t the time for a generic alert. When a critical asset starts drifting, teams don’t want a chatbot—they need a specific diagnosis and a plan they can run safely, with the…
Agentic AI Isn’t a Product – It’s an Integrated Business Strategy
Everyone’s talking about AI. From pilot projects and co-pilots to promising dashboards, artificial intelligence is cropping up left and right in manufacturing. What’s rare, however, are wide-scale implementations that deliver measurable results on the factory floor.…