The modern workforce is shaping up to be very different from the traditional understanding of a workforce and how it should function. The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be an inflection point for the reconfiguration of the modern manufacturing frontline paradigm. Disrupted supply chains, lack of external support on the shop floor, and the absence of specialized and task-oriented workers all changed the core perception of how a typical manufacturing workforce should operate. The pandemic made it clear that manufacturers need to empower their workforces and use the best possible digital means to do so.

Understanding the role, a connected enterprise and an empowered workforce plays in laying the foundation for a successful AI implementation.

A common misconception when it comes to Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0 is that with the rapid adoption of the technology gamut associated with them, the manufacturing operation would, as a step change, transform into a fully automated endeavor, orchestrated almost entirely by autonomous AI applications, self-optimizing and self-driven.

As industrial and energy market incumbents rebound from Covid, digital transformation has become a key pathway for companies to build resilience to risks and ensure business continuity. To that end, many enterprises have sought to simplify their technology (tech) stack from the ISA-95 (Purdue) model to a leaner tech stack in which real-time process automation can thrive. This means the impetus on having data engineering, management, and analytics-- that is, a data-oriented business model as the business driving force-- has become a top priority. As part of this permanent shift, enterprises must also seek to accelerate digital transformation of their frontline workforce and related operational processes to realize higher efficiency gains, if not implemented already. By doing so, enterprises will gain operational intelligence through the frontline workforce, meaning all events associated with the workforce can be tracked, managed, and optimized for performance improvements and productivity gains.