The ISA-95 automation pyramid, the manufacturing hierarchy from PLC to ERP, process vs. discrete manufacturing, continuous vs. batch processes, core terminology, and the automation project lifecycle — the map every later module in this program assumes you already have.
Most automation training jumps straight into ladder logic. This module deliberately starts one level up: what industrial automation actually is, how a facility's control systems are layered from field-level sensors up through SCADA, MES, and ERP, and why process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing demand fundamentally different control approaches.
By the end of this module you should be able to explain, from first principles, why a PLC keeps a process running safely even when the SCADA system goes offline — a distinction Module 8's SCADA content and Module 12's safety content both build on directly.