IT in Manufacturing
Fueling Curiosity, Igniting Expertise
The “IT in Manufacturing Blog” is a collection of articles I wrote for SA Instrumentation and Control, South Africa’s premier process control and factory automation publication and the official publication of SAIMC (Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Computer Engineering).
It’s now time to imagine the near future of IT in manufacturing!
How will AI transform your mining and manufacturing operations?
Can you answer the question – how will AI impact your operations in the next 5 years? Artificial Intelligence (AI) will disrupt the mining and manufacturing industry by optimising operations, improving safety, and reducing costs. AI can predict equipment failures, automate routine tasks, and provide valuable insights to enhance decision-making. But above all, AI will change the world of work, disrupting engineering, projects, operations, and business management.
What if you could whisper to your factory?
Imaging walking around your plant talking to the equipment! Observe a safety or housekeeping issue – no problem, just mention it to your mobile device and have it attended to depending on the full context. The Internet of Things (IoT) with new AI enables machines to communicate and coordinate with each other and with you. This can lead to increased efficiency, reduced downtime, and improved product quality in your operations.
What if you could anticipate disruption before the day starts?
Imagine getting a summary of the likely disruptions before you reach the factory today! Predictive forecasting, powered by AI and IoT, can alert you to potential disruptions before they happen. By being prepared you can save time, reduce costs, and prevent unplanned downtime.
Have you considered the impact of emerging technologies on your industry?
Imagine being ahead of the competition because you have been mindful and strategic in your technology choices. Emerging technologies can disrupt traditional business models. Staying informed about these technologies can help you anticipate changes and adapt your strategies accordingly.
How are you investing in your personal development to keep pace with the rapid advancements in IoT, AI, and Cloud Services?
Imagine being top of your game in all that you do. Avoid being labeled a “luddite” or a”technology dinosaur”! Continuous learning and skill development are crucial in the fast-paced world of technology. By investing in your personal development, you can stay ahead of the curve and ensure that you’re equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to leverage the full potential of these technologies in the mining and manufacturing industry.
AI in Manufacturing: A Process Engineer’s Perspective
The expert will tell you what to do, the philosopher will tell you why to do it and the engineer will do it. What specific new skills and knowledge are really necessary in order to apply AI in manufacturing? How should we as Engineers respond?
Navigating disruption in manufacturing
Over the years, I’ve written several articles on IT in manufacturing. Reflecting on these as we start 2024, I realise that most revolve around applying technology to real-world challenges in plants and mines. Many of the disruptive forces have affected all countries,...
Unlocking the Potential of Industrial AI: Real-World Applications in the Making
Introduction Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just a buzzword; it's a dynamic field with tangible industrial applications that are already starting to reshape certain industries. In this article, we explore the real-world impact of industrial AI, moving beyond the...
Benchmarking IT in Manufacturing: Unlocking Value and Driving Success
Introduction It was quite a defining moment in my early days as an IT manager when a seasoned and outspoken business leader challenged me on both the high IT costs and underperformance of our plant. This encounter left me pondering the true value of IT in...
Digital transformation for sustainable manufacturing
What is sustainability? Is it environmental impact? Triple bottom line? Making a profit? There are several answers to this question, but it can probably be summarised as “Will your business/company/operation still be around in ten years?” Sustainability in...
The rise of AI in manufacturing
ChatGPT has limitations, such as inconsistency with open-ended questions and specialised topics. AI in manufacturing will need to understand these limitations. ChatGPTis currently at the “peak of inflated expectations” in Gartner’s “hype cycle”. Machine learning, a subset of AI, has been used for years in industrial applications for image, text, and speech recognition. AI, which mimics human reasoning, differs from machine learning and interacts differently with users. AI could potentially guide process operators in their decision-making, predicting and averting costly mistakes. However, it’s important to remember that at its core, this technology can only provide a statistically probable answer from lots of learned data. Future applications of AI in industrial operations require imaginative prediction.
Applying systems thinking to smart plants
A systems thinking mindset is a useful tool for analysing the smart plant by considering the system as a whole, as a complex network of many interconnected elements.
An example of control and automation using IIoT, edge computing and the cloud
Countries are looking towards more sustainable, cleaner energy solutions. Renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and biogas are very promising, but the transition cannot happen overnight. It is predicted that over the next 10 years the overall energy mix in...
Finding the common thread in process industries
During the 1970s, the process industry was at the forefront of digitalisation. At the time, the vision of a single integrated system running on a database became what would later be known as ERP (enterprise resource planning). The earliest large-scale deployments of...
AI in manufacturing – revolutionary opportunity or well-trodden path?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a catchphrase used by marketers that attributes the characteristics of human intelligence to a computer system. AI incorporates concepts like machine learning and pattern recognition. It is impressive that facial recognition can...
Integrating IT with Operations Technology – a CIO perspective
Over the past few years, there has been a growing realisation that traditional IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operations Technology) must work very closely together in order to unlock new value. Digitisation projects, spurred on by Industry 4.0 and technological...
Preparing fertile ground for a successful IIoT project
In common with many engineers, I do enjoy shopping for new power tools for my workshop. I therefore often find myself totally absorbed in hardware stores, captivated by new innovative devices for solving almost any problem. The low cost of modern mass-produced tools,...
Outsourced Services: Now might be the time to have a constructive talk with your IT service provider
How is your IT outsourced services provider performing? The Gartner hype cycle provides a simple graphic representation of how emerging technologies are adopted in the market. The principle is quite simple: a new technology (such as augmented reality) will start...
How adding services to products could start your journey towards an Industry 4.0 solution
Digital transformation, according to Microsoft, is about reimagining how you bring together people, data and processes to create value for your customers and maintain a competitive advantage in a digital-first world. For manufacturers, digital transformation involves...
Using predictive analytics to improve planned maintenance
During my days as a process engineer, I worked on an amino acid fermentation plant where it was very important to keep the process sterile at all times otherwise entire batches could be lost to contamination. Dozens of automated diaphragm valves were used to control...
What is the future of blockchain in manufacturing?
Blockchain technology has recently come into focus with Bitcoin’s prominence as a viable cryptocurrency. In manufacturing circles, it is probably fair to say that there is some uncertainty as to exactly what future impact blockchain may have on manufacturing systems....
Innovating in the process industry with PLM
There is no doubt that with Industrie 4.0 there is a lot of innovation taking place in manufacturing IT. But ‘innovation’ is not only the creation of a new idea out of nothing but more often the combination of two existing ideas in a new way to create something...
The potential value of manufacturing analytics
Process manufacturing plants create enormous amounts of data every day, much of which is captured and stored in SCADA systems. At the same time business ERP systems also contribute to the volume of data collected and stored. Documents in e-mail systems contain...
How will digital manufacturing impact on IT outsourcing?
IT in manufacturing is changing fast as companies introduce technologies that reach beyond the factory boundary in line with trends such as Industrie 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). At the same time, executives are looking to make organisational...
The role of the Chief Digital Officer in industrial manufacturing
As manufacturing companies look to leveraging the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) they might appoint a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) to lead their digital transformation. What then is the role of the CDO and what are the success factors in the job? Like the...
EAM software – what business leaders need to know
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) is the process of optimising business value from assets across business units, locations, and facilities. EAM is concerned with the total asset lifecycle. This lifecycle typically starts with design and specification and then...
How to build a cloud IoT system around a manufacturing process
To increase their competitiveness, a number of manufacturing companies are starting to incorporate cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) using simple architectures that extend the existing plant and business systems. Cloud-based IoT is a potential game-changer that...
How to determine the business need for industrial Internet applications
Manufacturing companies have to plan for a future where the industrial Internet is going to change the way their business is managed. Capital investment in the industrial Internet in Europe alone is expected to be around EUR140 billion every year until 2020,...
When should manufacturing organisations embark on digital transformation?
Manufacturing organisations are faced with a fast-moving and evolving landscape. Increasing customer demands for speed and quality, combined with strong pressure to operate at lower margins, means little room for error. Increased competition from top performers is...
The IoT opportunity for Manufacturing IT
Manufacturing companies are expected to prosper in an environment where very little is controllable. New markets based around informed consumers who want choice and unique personalised products are emerging. As a result of globalisation, these markets are now being...
How exactly does IT support manufacturing compliance?
Manufacturing companies are increasingly subject to new compliance frameworks that need to be understood, incorporated, and adhered to in order to stay in business. Manufacturing compliance is increasingly a concern as a result of new regulations, and globally...
IT in manufacturing – the CIO’s new challenge
The computerisation of manufacturing as encapsulated in “Industrie 4.0”, or the so-called “fourth industrial revolution” is attracting attention by manufacturing decision-makers who find their companies increasingly part of the global supply chain. Industrie 4.0 fact...