Smart Manufacturing Blog

Welcome to your source for all things smart manufacturing. Whether you’re looking for expert insights, hard data, or actionable tips for your plant floor, we’ve got you covered every week of the year.

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Plex Team

About the Author

Plex Systems, Inc., a Rockwell Automation company, is the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, empowering the world’s manufacturers to make awesome products. Our platform gives manufacturers the ability to connect, automate, track and analyze every aspect of their business to drive transformation. The Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform includes solutions for manufacturing execution (MES), ERP, quality, supply chain planning and management, Industrial IoT and analytics to connect people, systems, machines, and supply chains, enabling them to lead with precision, efficiency and agility.

Looking Beyond Your Horizons in 2024

Plex Team December 19, 2023

Put yourself in the mindset of settlers from long ago exploring a new landscape. As they started each new day, their effort to understand what was beyond the horizon faced a manual and labor-intensive process. Several scouts would head off in different directions, hoping it was the right path to answers. They had to endure harsh conditions, uneven terrain, obstacles like rivers and mountains,…

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The 2023 Innovator Impact Award Winner: The Shyft Group Electrifies and Pursues Innovative, Sustainable Excellence

Plex Team December 12, 2023

Steering the commercial vehicle industry into the future requires not only creativity but innovation. The Shyft Group is fearlessly up for the task, leveraging smart manufacturing technology to aid in their quest to reinvent the wheel. Since implementing Plex in 2021, The Shyft Group has acted with precision and speed to develop commercial-grade electric delivery vehicles....

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The Top 5 Moments of Automation Fair® 2023: Relive the Excitement

Plex Team December 5, 2023

In early November, many of us gathered in Boston for the industrial automation event of the year: Rockwell’s Automation Fair®. This is a time for industry members—from customers and partners to Rockwell team members—to connect and learn about the future of manufacturing together. This year’s event was no exception, and it was an especially exciting opportunity for Plex community members to gather…

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Inflation: Saying the "I" Word Out Loud

Plex Team December 5, 2023

Inflation - it’s the dreaded “I” word. After decades of historically low rates, it came back with a vengeance and continues to disrupt operations everywhere.There are virtually no sectors of the economy nor any industry untouched as prices have risen across every category. Most of these categories, like energy, transportation, raw materials, labor, and others, impact manufacturing directly,…

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The Journey from Process Improvement to Continuous Improvement

Plex Team November 20, 2023

Improving production processes is a priority for every manufacturer. For decades, companies have devoted enormous resources in the form of teams, training, and methods to focus on processes and make them more efficient and profitable.However, continuous improvement and process improvement are not the same thing. And despite the difference, it is how data is collected and utilized that impacts the…

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Digitization: Taking a Deep Dive into Improving Quality

Plex Team November 7, 2023

Spending time outdoors is more fun when you have access to a pool. Games, good food, and spending time with friends are all better when water is nearby. As people get more comfortable in the water, they start to swim and dive, taking their fun to another level.But some seem to get stuck in the shallow end of the pool. They may make a splash and cool down a bit, but while others are learning to…

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Why Manufacturers Must Embrace Data-Driven Operations

Plex Team October 25, 2023

There was a time in manufacturing before personal computers (PCs). Data was manually tracked, and decisions were made based on experience, gut feelings, and guesswork. But the lowly PC changed all that. Suddenly, companies could store more data and utilize spreadsheets to analyze operational aspects.As much as that was a big leap in operational improvement, it still relied on an overabundance of…

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Is Your Manufacturing Operation a Haunted House?

Plex Team October 24, 2023

A door opens with a creaking sound. Faint groans are heard just around the corner. And the distinct sight of a completely bandaged entity is seen shuffling down a corridor. Is it a haunted house? A scary abandoned building? Or is it your manufacturing process?While haunted houses can be a fun way to celebrate Halloween, they’re not so fun when they reflect a harsh reality within your plant. That…

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