24 November 2025 
Manufacturing faces problems that can’t be solved by small tweaks or improvements. There’s an urgent need for control systems that are dramatically better than what currently exists. Dennis Wylie, principal product manager at Rockwell Automation, explores some of the issues, and explores five big challenges that every manufacturer has to deal with.
Let me paint you a picture of modern manufacturing that might sound familiar. Imagine trying to run five modern apps on an old iPhone – it’s likely everything slows to a crawl, right? Now imagine that iPhone is controlling your entire production line. That’s essentially what many manufacturers are dealing with today: systems that simply can’t keep up with the complexity being asked of them.
Manufacturing complexity and whatever else is keeping plant managers up at night is not going to abate. Cyberattacks are on the rise – up 71% in 2024 alone and the No. 1 target is manufacturing. And the US is heading for a shortage of 2.1 million skilled workers by 2030, potentially costing the economy a staggering $1 trillion.
Manufacturing today faces problems that can’t be solved by small tweaks and improvements. There’s an urgent need for control systems that are dramatically better than those that currently exist. This isn’t just about making things faster – it’s about finally tackling the real issues that stymie efficient and secure operations: cyberattacks; getting robots to work together seamlessly; connecting all the different systems and vendors; keeping workers safe; and finding people with the right skills to run everything.
Put simply: we can’t apply old thinking to fix today’s manufacturing problems. Small incremental gains? They’re like putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone. We need something fundamentally different.
The stakes have never been higher.
Think about it: you have a nuclear power facility (far-fetched, maybe, but stay with me), and your primary control system fails, you need backup systems that kick in in milliseconds. Because if they don’t, you risk widespread destruction. Not good. Your plant probably isn’t nuclear-powered, but the same principle applies: when state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment fails, the shock waves ripple far and wide. A cyberattack doesn’t just add up to downtime – it can add up to safety risks, ruined products, and a bill running into millions.
Now to the good news. There are five forces that are affecting manufacturing, and here’s how to approach them:
- Cybersecurity: When Every Machine Becomes a Target
The 71% jump in manufacturing cyberattacks is real. Digital transformation has created unprecedented vulnerability. Every networked device, connected system, and point of data transfer, is a potential point of entry for malefactors.
Cybersecurity for modern manufacturing is more than IT security as usual. We’re working with OT (operational technology) environments where attacks not only expose data – but they also bring production lines to a standstill, destroy equipment, or put lives at risk. The intersection of IT and OT has created an intricate environment where legacy perimeter defences are inadequate.
Vendors need to implement defence-in-depth controls, such as secure-by-design control systems and sophisticated threat detection capabilities. A key is integrating security into operations, and not as an afterthought.
- Advanced Robotics: Getting the Orchestra to Play in Harmony
Imagine six different manufacturers’ robots, AGVs (automatic guided vehicles) and collaborative robots that work in concert with humans, and traditional automation. It is like conducting an orchestra where half the band is playing from different sheet music.
Modern production facilities require seamless integration of multiple robotic systems from different suppliers operating at different speeds and on different control schemes. Consider a modern automotive assembly line where cobots work alongside traditional industrial robots, AGVs and human workers. Orchestrating these diverse elements requires control systems capable of managing microsecond-level precision while maintaining flexibility for rapid changeovers and customisation.
The challenge is more than coordination. Producers need systems that adjust in real time to changes in materials, environmental conditions, and production needs. That requires high-level control algorithms, machine learning, and advanced sensor integration – all of which must be reconciled with deterministic response for safety and quality.
- Systems Integration: Dismantling the Tower of Babel
Stroll through your plant and tally equipment from different vendors. Now count how many actually talk to each other without an interpreter or human intervention. Troubling, isn’t it?
No problem vexes manufacturers more than systems that won’t talk to one another. The average facility has equipment from dozens of vendors, decades-old legacy systems, and newer cloud applications – none of which are made to communicate with one another. This fragmentation results in information silos that block the visibility and responsiveness that organisations require. Quality data is quarantined from production metrics. Inventory management systems are unable to talk to maintenance systems. Visibility of the supply chain stops at the factory gate.
Genuine digital transformation requires the tearing down of silos through full-range integration strategies – accepting open standards, installing formidable middleware, and even “re-architecting” basic systems. Top manufacturers treat integration as a strategic imperative, investing in connecting legacy and new platforms, while setting the stage for innovation to come.
- Shifting Safety Standards: Safety in a Complicated World
As more sophisticated and autonomous manufacturing equipment becomes the norm, safety requirements have expanded beyond simple emergency stops and light curtains. Existing standards must consider human-robot collaboration, cyberattacks on safety networks, and highly automated environments where traditional safety zones are disappearing.
Contemporary safety implementations must be adaptive, responding to evolving conditions and operational modes. A cobot working safely at a lower speed when personnel are in the vicinity must change flexibly to high-speed operation if the space is vacated. Safety systems must be integrated with cybersecurity controls to avoid malevolent manipulation.
Conformity to evolving standards requires a complete cycle of design, construction, and repeated verification. It demands smarter safety systems that can anticipate risk and help prevent hazards.
- The Skills Crisis: Where Did All the Experts Go?
As noted previously, America could have 2.1 million vacant factory positions by 2030 – not because employees refuse to work, but because they lack the required skills.
Twenty years ago, fixing a car required a wrench and imagination. Now mechanics need laptops, software licenses, and computer science knowledge. It’s the same in manufacturing. Today’s operator needs to understand mechanics, programming, data analysis, and system integration. They must diagnose problems spanning physical and virtual worlds – part software engineer, part mechanic, always mindful of cybersecurity and safety standards.
This talent shortage cannot be solved by normal training alone. It requires reimagining system design to be more accessible, applying augmented reality technologies guiding new workers, and creating lifelong learning environments. Forward-thinking manufacturers work with schools, committing to apprenticeships and leveraging simulation and digital twin technology to accelerate skill development.
The long game
Here’s something that I find staggering: when the US Navy buys control systems for their ships, they’re not asking for 10 or 20 years of support, but 30 to 40 years. Why? Because when you spend $5bn on a ship, you can’t go back five years later and say: “Hey boss, the computer’s obsolete.”
This kind of long-term planning is needed by every manufacturer, not just the military. If you make Tylenol or any FDA-regulated product, changing control systems triggers a recertification that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. You pay for FDA inspectors to come through, reverify everything, demonstrate that engaging button A still gets you outcome B.
That’s why the “spare tyre strategy” is so important. When a tyre fails, you need to be able to swap it on the road. Pull over, put on the spare, get back on the road. No recertification, no reprogramming, no days-long downtime.
Addressing these five forces of complexity requires more than incremental improvements – it demands a fundamental shift in how we approach manufacturing systems. The solution lies not in tackling each challenge in isolation, but in recognising their interconnected nature and pursuing integrated strategies that address multiple challenges simultaneously.
Modern control platforms must be secure by design while providing the openness necessary for integration. They must deliver the performance needed for advanced robotics while maintaining the safety and reliability manufacturing demands. Most critically, they must be intuitive enough for today’s workforce while powerful enough for tomorrow’s challenges.
Change or Get Left Behind
These five forces are not a fleeting fashion – they’re a watershed dividing global manufacturing leaders and followers. The question is not can you afford to change – it’s can you afford not to?
Producers successful at this complexity, view it as a differentiation play. They are betting on platforms providing flexibility at the expense of reliability, using architectures that evolve with changing needs, and building organisations capable of evolving perpetually.
I envision manufacturing control systems as a pick-and-mix sweets counter. Need more processing? Check. Management of advanced robots? Check. Improved cybersecurity? Check. Pick desired functionality, and the system follows.
This is not pie-in-the-sky. Today’s technology can handle all five forces of complexity. Modern platforms offer the security, performance, integration, safety, and user experience manufacturers need. Whether businesses have the vision and the courage to use them is the question.
The future is clear: accept complexity, bet on integrated solutions, and build the adaptive, responsive operations today’s marketplace demands. The future of manufacturing is being written now.
The question is simply whether your company will be an author – or a footnote.