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Digital twins are a key component of the factory of the future – in fact, they are a key component now. The ability to create a digital model of any process, asset, product, and even facility—regardless of the complexity—transforms how manufacturers design, build, commission, maintain, and decommission all aspects of their operations. Rockwell Automation and Microsoft are helping manufacturers deploy digital twins to automate and optimize production, create resilient and predictable supply chains, empower the workforce, drive sustainability and ESG initiatives, as well as accelerate business transformation.

The Safety Functional Requirements Specification (SFRS; sometimes referred to as SRS or Safety Requirements Specification) is the plan for the safety controls on a machine and is the second step of the safety lifecycle. The SFRS document serves as a framework for the safety control system design, is informed by prior work done in the risk assessment, and directly impacts the design and validation of the control system.

Skilled labor shortages are a familiar headache for the manufacturing industry. The problem has been looming for years and there is no end in sight. By 2030, manufacturers will need to fill 4 million jobs, with 2.1 million of these jobs at risk of going unfilled. This is the primary challenge for 71% of manufacturers, which in turn is putting immense pressure on the industry to find new ways to operate efficiently and maintain productivity and growth. To compensate, manufacturers are progressively turning to automation as the top solution. However, automation alone isn’t enough to solve the complex challenges, and that is where generative AI (GenAI) comes into play.

“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” This quintessential quote by Arthur C. Clarke appropriately foreshadows and encapsulates the spirit of innovation and progress that has driven humanity to push past conceivable boundaries. More than ever, people look to their resources, neighbors and leaders for intuitive and adaptable solutions to their persisting problems. Now, in the realm of safety, Rockwell Automation answers the call, standing at the precipice of a new era, where the limitations of the past are giving way to future possibilities.