• Integration brings AI-powered visual inspection into QMS workflows to help improve quality, traceability, and defect detection.
    Integration brings AI-powered visual inspection into QMS workflows to help improve quality, traceability, and defect detection.
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Rockwell Automation is expanding AI-driven manufacturing with a new integration connecting Plex QMS and FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI for smarter, automated quality inspection.

The integration expands AI-driven quality management and reflects Rockwell’s continued investment in AI and elastic MES solutions. The company continues to advance AI/ML across its offerings, including cloud-based MES platforms, edge AI, and digital twins.

According to Rockwell’s ‘Scaling MES Across the Enterprise’ report, 42 per cent of manufacturing processes are expected to become AI-supported within the next year.

The company says that Plex QMS and FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI integration offers manufacturers opportunities for strategic, automated quality intelligence.

“AI plays a critical role in Rockwell’s industrial autonomy strategy,” said Devin Burke, group product manager at Rockwell Automation.

“With predictive intelligence, manufacturers can shift from scripted automation to adaptable autonomy as systems learn, adjust and collaborate across software, hardware and workers.”

The integration builds on the API-first architecture of Plex QMS, enabling interoperability. When connected to FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI, Plex QMS delivers AI-driven workflows to new and existing camera systems.

According to the company, the Plex QMS and FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI integration delivers exceptional visual inspection, as results recorded in the Plex system provide traceability, product serialisation, and an accurate record of inspection history.

In addition to the new integration, Plex Connected Worker recently introduced AI-powered authoring agent within the Digital Work Instructions suite, which transforms CAD files and technical assets into structured, step-by-step instructions for frontline employees.

Similarly, Plex includes an AI agent embedded within its Reporting and Analytics capabilities, delivering out‑of‑the‑box dashboards that turn operational data into real-time, actionable insights.

Users can engage these agents in natural language to proactively surface risks, predict issues, and drive faster, smarter decisions – moving from operational foresight to action with a single click.

“At Rockwell Automation, we’ve built a context-rich industrial data foundation shaped by years of manufacturing expertise,” said Manu Ravichandran, senior product manager at Rockwell Automation.

“This foundation gives manufacturers the structure, context, and scalability needed to operationalize advanced analytics and AI across complex operations.”

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