Productivity decline in the crosshairs at Innovation Summit

How can Australian government and industry work together to ensure our continuing competitiveness in the globalised environment of today? What can companies do to embrace new ideas in industrial automation from global sources — and make them work in their local operations?

These questions, and more, will be answered on 25 May 2016 at the Profibus & Profinet Global Forum and the Automation Innovation Summit in Sydney.

The forum’s morning session will provide attendees with technical updates, news on IIoT and practical knowledge about how they can implement fieldbus and industrial ethernet technologies in their manufacturing and process plants.

Technical experts from around the world will present global best practices and case studies on how they applied automation technology in innovative new ways to boost productivity and reduce costs.

After lunch, the event transitions to the Automation Innovation Summit, where industry and government representatives will exchange information and engage in debate about innovation and its impact on productivity.

The transition to a globalised, information-saturated economy has overturned traditional understandings about what drives productivity. A nation’s productivity is closely tied to its standard of living. But Australia is falling behind: the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission noted in its latest productivity update that “the productivity growth witnessed in 2013–14 remained well below what is required to maintain our historical growth in living standards”.

To reverse this stagnation in productivity gains, increased focus on innovation is needed. It is innovation which opens the door to new technologies and new ways of applying these technologies. It is the promise that there can be better ways to do things and that more can be achieved with less.

But innovation does not just happen. Rhetoric and ideas about innovation must be backed up by concrete planning and real investment of time, effort and money. Profibus Australia’s Automation Innovation Summit seeks to address these issues by bringing together representatives from all levels of the government, industry and academia.

Speakers at the Automation Innovation Summit will offer their ideas on how government and industry can work together in developing strategic policies that enable the importation and integration of automation knowledge from other parts of the world. They will also set out practical plans for whole-of-government innovation policies that bring together research, infrastructure, education and industry.

Be part of the conversation at the Profibus & Profinet Global Forum and Automation Innovation Summit, and take home practical knowledge on the next innovative steps your company can take.

For more information, contact Profibus Australia at www.profibusaustralia.com.au or via the following:

• Rafael Koenig, chairman, Profibus Australia
• Andrew Dummett, secretary, Profibus Australia
• Email info@profibusaustralia.com.au
• Phone (02) 9555 7899