ARC’s European Industry Forum 2024

Summary

Automation end users, suppliers and experts are joining up on many occasions, be it at industry trade show or at major meetings, hosted by organizations or the suppliers themselves. Most of those events are designed to cover a multitude of topics or are very focused on certain solutions or product offerings. So, what makes ARC’s European Industry Forum (EIF) different? ARC Advisory Group is a global market research and advisory firm for industry and infrastructure. Every year, the ARC Europe team is organizing their forum to cover the important topics of automation in various industries from a neutral, independent perspective.

For years now, the ARC European Industry Forum has been taking place in the picturesque town of Sitges, near Barcelona in Spain. This year, 150 participants from 20 countries had the opportunity to attend keynotes, exclusive presentations and workshops on strategies and case studies, centered around the event’s theme: “Managing Digital Transformation in the Age of AI, Open Architectures and Sustainability."

This year, the sessions were, as always, complemented by an exhibition, industry meetings and plenty of network opportunities. In this article we are looking at the keynotes and some selected sessions from the event, that covered some most current topics in industrial automation and digitalization.

Keynotes on digital transformation

The global digital manufacturing leader of Nestlé, Danilo de Faria, has 25 years of experience in the Food & Beverage industry and is passionate about new technologies and how to leverage them to contribute to his company’s ambitions and objectives. In his keynote at ARC’s European Forum he showed how he and his team are constantly reviewing their automation strategies, highlighting their goal to deliver the most flexible, reliable and sustainable automation technologies to Nestlé’s operations.

In his keynote address, “Are the Robots and AI Coming for Our Jobs? Separating Fact from Fiction about Automation and the Workforce," Prabhu Soundarrajan, president of the International Society of Automation (ISA), shared use cases, statistics and talking points. Those can be used next time these concerns are raised- whether in the boardroom or around the dinner table. Ultimately, automation depends on people–and the focus should be on preparing the workforce to meet the high and growing demand for engineers and technicians. In conclusion: automation does not eliminate jobs, as some have feared; rather, it repurposes existing jobs and creates new ones.

Libanio Carlos de Souza, vice president of CEISE Br - The National Center for Industries in the Sugar-Energy and Biofuels Sector of Brazil, presented some of the relevant programs for the digital transformation in Brazil, and reported on the results obtained. Some developing countries might be wary of recent technological innovations while others see them as opportunities to modernize existing and create new industries, automated with modern technologies. Open solutions present themselves as a viable option, capable of keeping up with the evolution of digital technologies and providing flexibility.
 

AI in Industrial Automation

Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic in all areas of life, not just in the industrial sector. While there is a lot of excitement surrounding AI, it is common for some industry players to overhype its capabilities, while others remain skeptical and highlight potential challenges. To have a more realistic understanding of the potential and limitations of AI in automation, it is important to consider multiple perspectives. In our workshop end users, technology providers and machine builders discussed the current state of AI technology and its growing role in automation. One of the sponsors, Siemens, is particularly active in this area with already years of experience in using AI. 

The conclusions of the session were that pragmatism and simplicity are important in delivering industrial grade AI solutions to customers who may not be interested in the technical details. AI interface need to be easy to understand for the operator, yet safe and secure. Industrial grade AI (IGAI) will become more scalable and profitable once the technology’s reliability and robustness improves, which depends on the quality and the compatibility of the AI hardware, models, applications and data exchange. Industrial grade foundation models need data partnerships and pools for specific industrial use cases where data can be shared and used securely and ethically while respecting the privacy and the ownership of data providers.
 

Sustainability and decarbonization

Worldwide we see a rapidly growing demand for more efficient products to lower energy consumption, reduce emissions and build a more sustainable future. Rising energy prices as well as geopolitical and supply chain issues require heavy investments in power generation and energy. Most energy generation still relies on natural resources that are being depleted due to continuous usage/extraction and impact the environment adversely.

To reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, governments worldwide have imposed local regulations, putting industrial companies under increased pressure to reduce carbon emissions. Decarbonization targets require manufacturing and energy companies to limit these emissions and to invest in sustainable, energy efficient solutions and green energy sources.

A key case study on how suppliers, end users and government bodies collaborate on this was given by SMAR, a global sponsor of this forum. 

Recently, energy transition and sustainability are being woven into the core business strategies of industrial companies, who now have the mandate and the opportunity to tackle environmental and social challenges. Some industrial companies are already making good progress in their digital journey, implementing energy transition initiatives and taking significant steps towards achieving sustainability goals. These efforts are powered by innovative processes, alongside transformative and decarbonization technologies. Their experiences allow for new insights and create important use cases.
 

Digital services as a new reality

In today's evolving industrial landscape digital services play a crucial role in industrial operations. These services increase efficiency, improve operations and reduce expenditures. Cases studies highlighted this for automation as well as electrical equipment, as demonstrated by Schneider Electric. How this is important this is for hazardous areas was demonstrated by HIMA. The rapid advancement of digital services is reshaping the industrial landscape, offering significant benefits for end-users, suppliers and service providers.

End-users can achieve greater efficiency, reduced downtime and improved maintenance processes, which are essential for staying competitive. Automation suppliers and machine builders can strengthen customer loyalty and enhance their market positions by integrating digital services. Third-party service providers benefit from open architectures and platform solutions, enabling easy comparisons, installations and software updates. As the industry continues to evolve, embracing digital services will be crucial for all stakeholders to drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge.  
 

Organizations at the EIF 2024

UniversalAutomation.org (UAO) is an independent, non-for-profit association managing the implementation of an industrial automation, shared source runtime execution engine, based on the IEC 61499 standard, providing a basis for an ecosystem of portable, interoperable, “plug and produce” solutions. Like last year, UAO held its Annual Membership Assembly as a closed-door session on the first day of the Forum.

The Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF), a Forum of the Open Group, offered a workshop, giving the players in the OPA ecosystem, such as system and component providers, software providers and integrators the opportunity to show results, share experiences and answer questions from the audience.  Among the key players around OPAF is COPA, the coalition for open process automation.

The road show event “O-PAS the standard of standards & Industry 4.0” was also part of ARC’s European Industry Forum 2024. It is already the second road show hosted by Nova Smar in partnership with ARC this year, as it has successfully taken place in Orlando during the 28th Annual ARC Industry Leadership Forum in February.
 

Conclusion

“In these challenging business times, we were happy that the level of registrations was comparable to last year. The quality of speakers and attendees was high and we got much positive feedback. This was all made possible by our sponsors and the professional and enthusiastic engagement of the European Team,” concludes Florian Güldner, managing director, European Operations for ARC Advisory Group.

The ARC Europe team thanks their sponsors, who supported ARC EIF 2024, and all their speakers and presenters, who made the event interesting, exciting and memorable. The next Forum will take place in Sitges (Barcelona), Spain, May 5-7 2025.