AI & IIoT
Digital food for thought Smart factories and the use of AI from an automation perspective
Factory automation has traditionally provided the food industry with faster, more reliable and cleaner production capacity - however, with the advent of the smart factory and commercial AI, the factory of the very near future is starting to make production efficiency improvement decisions itself. Mitsubishi Electric’s Chris Evans investigates
infrastructure allows companies to create, move and use that data efficiently. With the swift movement and processing of data comes homogeneous control and fast responsive manufacturing, which in-turn justifies investment in the latest automation technology. Getting the most from a Smart factory is
T
then a case of being aware of the possibilities, this is where using state-of-the-art technology such as AI can already improve the performance and efficiency of factory equipment and human resources.
ThE rolE oF ThE IndusTrIAl InTErnET oF ThIngs (IIoT) The role of the IIoT in today’s factory is to connect customer demand to a fast and flexible production facility. Once a purchase decision is made then any increase in the speed of response from the manufacturer is a competitive advantage. If the IIoT offers us one thing, then it is the ability to define customer demand instantly and adapt production to suit. Companies that can be flexible enough to
move away from large batch production can also avoid the cost of large stock holding, both at the manufacturer and throughout the distribution chain. Customisation is already a unique selling point for a large number of consumer goods. The food industry is following suit with individual printing and marking options being designed into many new products. Customisation equals profitability in both
cases. The transfer of data from a sales operation to a manufacturing site, out to the suppliers and then simultaneously back to the distribution and retail network is the key to responsive, flexible manufacturing. To achieve ‘batch size one’ profitably and efficiently we must have the connectivity that the IIoT offers. The ability to generate, record, transfer and
process a large amount of data reliably and efficiently has other benefits. It enables a higher degree of traceability for example, serialisation is
18
he first stage of becoming a smart factory is digital network communication, having the right data
already essential for many food, pharmaceutical and consumer products. Better information also allows for continuous improvement and process optimisations at a micro and macro level, generating multiple opportunities for increased efficiency and cost reduction.
ArTIFICIAl InTEllIgEnCE (AI) In ConTExT AI is still at the beginning of its journey but we can expect it to have a substantial impact on the industrial environment over the next few years. AI is a perfect fit for manufacturing and leading companies are now integrating various AI functions into factory automation equipment. Advanced Analytics (AA) and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) technologies are extending traditional machine control architectures with more advanced data processing, learning and decision-making capacity. The objective is to deliver increased productivity, efficiency, reliability and accuracy, as well as opening up new
January 2021 UKManufacturing
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
