Owners and operators of refineries, chemical plants and manufacturing facilities must change the way employees work as quickly as possible, and it is clear yesterday’s traditional operating model of onsite availability has evolved – not just due to current circumstances, but because of “The Great Resignation,” retirement of experienced plant workers is creating a shortfall of key skills.

In October, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2021.

Manufacturers are adopting tech like artificial intelligence (AI) to automate some basic tasks and allow human employees to focus on bigger, more important jobs. New technological breakthroughs for power plants come when there’s a need to focus on sustainability to protect the environment and avoid using up natural resources. Now, wireless technology may play a pivotal role in power plants. Here’s how it will likely improve power plant operations.

Industry 4.0 revolutionized the way manufacturers design, create, and distribute their products. Its focus was on efficiency and productivity using the industrial internet of things (IIOT), machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and automation. However, in early 2021 the European Commission released a report introducing Industry 5.0, focusing on the wellbeing of the worker within the production process.