Data – and intelligence-based self-regulation systems for factories are on the rise

Interface Think Tank: Focusing on China, how do you see opportunities for Chinese factories in terms of automation and green transition? And which industries deserve the most attention in the current industrial landscape?

CI590-CS31-HA Federico Torti: As I mentioned earlier, China is probably one of the fastest growing and most transformative regions in the world. In our Chinese “lighthouse factories”, the level of automation is generally high. In addition to the automation of the production process, we also observe close connections between the factory and upstream suppliers, downstream customers, and highly integrated and advanced solutions. Some black light factories, for example, operate almost without lighting, indicating that systems are highly interconnected at all stages of production. Automation is not limited to production processing, but also includes quality inspection, real-time procurement of materials and adjustment of production plans. It all relies on algorithms, systems and robotics. It is worth noting that these highly automated applications are more common in China and less common abroad.

CI590-CS31-HA In particular, over the past 12 to 15 months, we have seen an increase in applications from Chinese factories for technologies that directly or indirectly contribute to sustainability, which means that Chinese factories are not only investing in efficiency and productivity, but also explicitly investing in sustainability.

As for your second question, most Chinese “beacon factories” are concentrated in the electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical and automotive industries. All of these industries are becoming more sophisticated and smarter. The food and beverage and consumer goods manufacturing industries also have a large number of application cases of AI technology.

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Globally, more emerging industries are joining the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as the water treatment plant in South Korea and the DHL logistics distribution center in Memphis, USA, are positive examples. This shows that technological transformation and the implementation of advanced technologies are not limited to traditional manufacturing.

CI590-CS31-HA Speaking of artificial intelligence, how have you observed AI being integrated into the production process of the Lighthouse Factory? What role does big data analytics play in the factory’s decision support system?

Federico Torti: That’s a really good question. Our latest white paper focuses on the revolutionary impact of AI, and the latest “Lighthouse Factory” case shows the maturity of various AI technologies.

AI plays a role at all stages of the production process, driving better product design and integrating customer feedback, insight into needs or resolving complaints. AI applications are already integrated into every step of the production process, including contact with suppliers, production scheduling, procurement, and more. Based on the reach of AI applications, we also classify “lighthouse factories” as those that apply AI technology within the factory or along the entire value chain.

In the latest white paper, data on the speed at which companies are implementing AI stands out in particular. With regard to the role of data and analytics in the transformation, we have seen some organizations make the leap from having little data to having high-quality, reliable data, which relies on large-scale standardization and data architecture efforts. Once implemented, data-based decision-making becomes extremely important, leveraging pools of data across the network to drive intelligent production, including predicting equipment maintenance, optimizing production processes, scheduling adjustments, and more.