Why do we want to digitalize manufacturing?
We talk about digitalisation all the time, but why do we do it?
We talk about digitalization all the time, but why do we do it? Why do the companies we work for want to pay for it?
In this IT/OT Insider we are taking a closer look at some drivers of digitalization in manufacturing.
Optimization
This is the most common one. What are engineers trained to do? To improve things before optimizing them and to finish it, take a derivative and equal to zero for good measure. We search for bottlenecks, perform statistical modelling to look for hidden trends and move from linear to nonlinear models in the hope to get closer to the true optimum.
Most digitization efforts fall in this category, and rightly so.
The amount of waste in our processes is still enormous. However the effort it takes to solve those problems is too large. There is only so much you can do with data pulled and cleaned in excel in a day.
By making it easy to analyze data in a smart way you’re empowering your engineers to solve more problems in the same amount of time (we wrote this article on data platforms you might want to review).
And when a problem is identified we look for a way to automate the solution so that human error is eliminated and cognitive load is reduced on the shop floor .
Which brings us to the next point …
Digitizing the shopfloor
“If only people on the shop floor knew what they had to know. Why aren’t they following the new process I described in my 5 page instruction sheet I gave them 3 months ago?”
Wouldn’t it be better if the system could handle the process so the shopfloor can focus on the work that needs to be done? If we could remove all those manual processes, written reports and unlinked excel files…
A digital tool can’t replace a culture of open communication or the change management required when introducing a new way of working. But it can make the difference. And once you start automating processes you’ll also be able to measure them more effectively. It’s the start of a data driven approach to improving your ways of working.
New and improved Business models
Manufacturing companies usually sell what they’re making. But more and more digital services are part of the service offering or a whole new branch of business.
The use cases are diverse : remote monitoring coupled with a maintenance service model, monetizing your expertise by offering mathematical modeling as a service and even remote operation of small production plants.
Outperforming the competition
Most people consider an optimal process as the most important way to outperform the competition. That can be achieved by having the lowest cost per product/ton, or by having the best possible OEE (pro tip: if you don’t need to run at 100% utilization, OEE might not be interesting for you)
Another way to outperform the competition is by being the first to enter a market or launch a new product. Digitalization might help you achieve that goal:
By using an engineering Digital Twin to fully test a process and train operators before the line/plant is actually built
Using new technologies to increase the level of automation (eg Tesla’s GigaPress which reduces the number of individual components in a car and thus the number of robots/humans and reduces the time needed to created new casts and thus introduce new cars)
With wireless technology/IIoT to reduce the installation time of a new piece of equipment (obviously taking availability requirements into account!)
VIDEO: Inside Hyundai’s new sci-fi smart factory (found via our friends at Exponential Industry)
Megatrends : Aging Workforce
This is for those who dare to look further than next quarter. The workforce is changing drastically in the coming decade. Boomers are retiring, young people don’t want to work in a ‘dirty’ industry doing shift work. Oh, and you know that one guy who has been 20 years in the same plant and knows everything? Forget about that as people switch jobs every 5 years.
The goal is here to do the same with less people, or even doing less with even fewer people. You achieve this by automating repetitive work (digital and physical). And why not work with a skeleton crew while the plant runs semi-automatically at night and during the weekends?
The good news is that this newer generation is used to trusting digital solutions and are even expecting them.
Ambition and Politics
What better than a successful digital transformation on your resumé for the next step in your career! Integrating Cloud based Virtual AI Reality in your mobile digital twins’ IIoT platform is the path to success! You basically Invented Industry 9.0.
We’re exaggerating, but it can’t be denied that digitalization is hot, and hence gets attention from ambitious people who want to show their competencies in pulling it off.
This can be a good thing, as this means it gets talent and funds, but only if the person leading it knows what they’re doing…
Did we miss something? Do you want to highlight your use case? Let us know via LinkedIn (David and Willem) in the comments!