Today’s plants tend to consist of a wide assortment of assets patched together like a colorful quilt. The machinery and equipment can range from highly advanced robotics to outdated legacy solutions, stretched past their normal life expectancy. Plant engineers must make these disparate assets integrate and perform as one, which can be a challenge, especially when lean budgets, escalating market demands and conflicting strategies add to the complexity. Forward-thinking plant engineers, though, can step up to the challenge, elevating processes beyond simple reactive mode. It begins with a new mindset – and modern technology.