FEATURE Smart Factories
Smart factory technologies address wastes, as part of lean concepts
employees throughout the process: • Infi neon introduced change ambassadors at its factory in Singapore. In 2017, this Germany-based global electronic and semiconductor manufacturing company announced a fi ve-year transformation roadmap for its Singapore manufacturing site. To engage its employees from the start, members of the workers union were appointed as “change ambassadors” to facilitate two- way communication of new initiatives and promote feedback between shopfl oor staff and management.
5. Smart factory initiatives replace existing continuous process- improvement projects. WRONG. Smart factory initiatives need to work alongside existing process-improvement tools (e.g., Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma) rather than replace them.
Smart-factory technologies play a vital part in automating aspects of data collection and analysis, and in eliminating ineffi ciencies and errors associated with manual processes, thereby improving the effi ciency of the continuous improvement process.
Even though the “lean” methodology in its purest form avoids signifi cant technological assistance, many practitioners now try to use various smart factory technologies to help eliminate diff erent wastes; see table above.
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6. Scaling the successes at one factory to other factories in the network is easy. WRONG. Scaling from one smart factory to several others is often the most diffi cult part, because each factory setup is inevitably diff erent from the predecessors, with both the tangible (machine conditions, IT landscape, product features) and intangible conditions (employee mindset, management mindset) being entirely diff erent in diff erent locations. The journey of a smart factory often begins with a single digital use case and quickly grows into a mesh of technologies and use cases. Approaches on how to navigate the strategic decisions around scaling a smart factory vary. Some companies fi nd it easier to fi rst try some of the technologies and use cases in an existing factory before building a new smart factory from scratch (greenfi eld): • The German conglomerate Siemens heavily invested into digitising its existing Amberg plant before deploying a similar setup, with very minor local modifi cations, at its greenfi eld Chengdu plant in China. • Yet, Italian manufacturer of power transmission components, Bonfi glioli, in 2016 introduced its “EVO” (short for evolution) strategy to build technologically-advanced smart factories. A new fl agship factory was built at its Clemintino Bonfi glioli site in Italy, and is now used to recruit new employees, train existing ones and transfer technologies
and methodologies to Bonfi glioli’s other plants in various locations worldwide.
7. A smart factory must be fully automated. WRONG. While many smart factories contain highly-automated systems, automation is not a prerequisite for realising the goals of smart factories. According to our research, data – not automation is the key foundation underpinning all smart factory use cases: Apparel maker Hugo Boss implemented technologies such as augmented reality, machine learning, cloud computing and data analytics in its smart factory in Izmir, Turkey. The factory saw efficiency improvement by using Wi-Fi tablets to capture data and empower front-line employees with order and operational information.
Smart factory blueprint Based on our research, here are three action points that have worked for several manufacturers in starting their smart factory journey:
• Focus on a use case and not a technology. Pick an applicable high- ROI, high-benefit use case and then experiment with suitable technologies. • Engage front-line workers from the beginning of the smart-factory project. Alleviate their doubts through transparent communication and empower them through upskilling programmes. Above all: communicate, communicate, communicate! • Tie the smart factory to an existing
process-improvement initiative. Support the initiative with smart-factory technologies to make processes more efficient.
CONTACT:
IoT Analytics
www.iot-analytics.com
automationmagazine.co.uk Automation | April 2022 17
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