A smart factory is the achievement of full connectivity and inter-communication of all hardware components and operational processes inside a production facility, and the analytical use of the collected data to enable machines and people to make intelligent decisions resulting in either automated or human actions.

The evolution is towards a data-driven management culture. Getting to autonomy will require that plant managers evolve from a hero culture, with one person who can solve the most complex problems, to more of a watchmaker culture. This means the new digital worker will constantly tune a complex, self-running system. We see this kind of change often overlooked, meaning that the current organizational structure will be one of the biggest obstacles to achieving smart-factory objectives.

Read how smart factories are driving transformation in Achieving an autonomous smart factory.