BABENHAUSEN, Germany-- A new initiative spearheaded by Continental AG aims to help automotive manufacturers thrive in the digital world.

To improve its manufacturing and supply chain operations data, Johnson Controls implemented LeanDNA, a cloud-based platform that connects the company’s numerous ERP systems. Like many companies with distributed locations and processes, Johnson Controls data was scattered and difficult to find and understand. LeanDNA provides the company with a comprehensive, organized view of cross-site analytics. 

LOUISVILLE, KY—GE Appliances, a Haier company, has graduated the first engineer from its new Industry 4.0 Development Program, which targets recent engineering college graduates or midcareer employees who want to work at the company’s nine smart factories in the U.S.

ANDOVER, MA—Mercury Systems Inc., a manufacturer of electronics for the aerospace and defense industries, has selected FactoryLogix manufacturing execution software from Aegis to run its network of 16 factories worldwide.

SANTA CLARA, CA—Absolute EMS Inc., an electronics manufacturing services provider here, has selected FactoryLogix manufacturing execution software from Aegis Software to support requirements for adaptability, traceability, paperless manufacturing and insights into its production processes.

Capturing and controlling reliable production line data is the great mystery underlying the fulfillment of the promise of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Beyond storage solutions, the data that’s available on machines hasn’t been communicated correctly with business systems. Accepted solutions for data exchange create organizational conflicts and security issues that raise difficult barriers.

One hundred years ago, a vertically integrated manufacturing complex in Schenectady, NY, defined the company behind the famous blue monogram. Today, the future of General Electric is in San Ramon, CA. That’s the home of GE Digital.

Industry 4.0 technology promises to transform plant floors during the next two decades. It will also change the way that engineers and assemblers interact with machines.

In the nautical disaster movie, “The Perfect Storm,” three weather fronts converge off the coast of New England to create one of the fiercest storms in U.S. history. A similar convergence is occurring in the manufacturing world today. It’s called Industry 4.0 and it promises to transform the way that engineers design and build products over the next two decades.