Industry
Manufacturing
Future-Ready Manufacturing: Partnering in your journey to a sustainable manufacturing enterprise
Highlights
- In today’s ever-evolving world, customers are demanding personalization and customization, and the gap between consumer and creator continues to blur.
- The integration of the physical and digital realms has enabled real-time analysis and control of manufacturing units across the value chain and opened new avenues and challenges.
- Together, 5G and edge computing contribute to the development of advanced Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications, leading to more agile and interconnected smart factories.
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Manufacturing of the future
Manufacturing is no longer about just making products.
Business operations have fundamentally changed due to a shift in consumer demand, the nature of products, the production process, and supply chain dynamics. In today’s ever-evolving world, customers are demanding personalization and customization, and the gap between consumer and creator continues to blur. To remain competitive, businesses must adapt to the collaborative ecosystem approach. By orchestrating the right data, skills, technology, capabilities, and insights, business can spark innovation, reduce costs, and create maximum value for themselves, the market, and their customers. Following the global pandemic, the manufacturing sector took a big leap in a positive direction. By 2025, 25% of chief information officers (CIOs) will also have the role of chief ecosystem officers, orchestrating information technology and business across their ecosystem to meet customer needs and lower cost of ecosystem participation by 25%, as per IDC.1
Meanwhile, the industry is making a generational shift from machine-based assembly lines to smart factories that incorporate robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, augmented reality (AR), and other technologies. The integration of the physical and digital realms has enabled real-time analysis and control of manufacturing units across the value chain and opened new avenues and challenges.
Here, we will delve into the top five technology trends that will shape the manufacturing industry in 2024.
AI, generative AI at the forefront
AI has the potential to revolutionize multiple facets of manufacturing.
That includes production design, aftermarket services, and supply chain operations. Its application in predictive maintenance will allow manufacturers to operate with minimal or zero unplanned shutdowns. Cognitive assistants, for example, might supervise intricate tasks such as assembly line monitoring or machine inspection.
The automation that we are currently experiencing with smart home products such as Google Home and Amazon Echo is just the beginning of what artificial intelligence (AI) can accomplish. While we may be approaching the era of self-driving cars, AI will play a wider role in the realm of manufacturing trends. The market size of AI in the manufacturing sector is expected to be about $21 billion by 2028, up from just $3.2 billion in 2023, at a CAGR of more than 45%. AI offers a solution to the need to swiftly analyze vast datasets. Extracting valuable or actionable insights from this data holds the key to optimizing production, scheduling maintenance, and managing assets.
Generative AI (GenAI), a subset of AI, can further transform the manufacturing sector. Siemens’ Industrial Copilot is a collaboratively created AI assistant to enhance human-machine cooperation in manufacturing. Automakers, such as General Motors, are using generative design algorithms to optimize parts and reduce weight in their vehicles. After the algorithm produces several design options, they are assessed and chosen based on how well they function in a simulated scenario. The components, thus, are stronger, lighter, and cost-effective.
Data-led, greener future
Digital technology can provide manufacturers with greater visibility into energy consumption, production processes, and equipment wear-and-tear.
According to the World Economic Forum, one-fifth of the world’s carbon emissions come from the manufacturing and production sectors, which consume 54% of the world’s energy sources. Several Fortune Global 500 companies are already committed to going carbon neutral, and one-fourth of them have committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2030. Manufacturers need to evaluate their supply chain and seek opportunities to reduce waste, increase supplier diversity, and prioritize the use of fuel-efficient vehicles on the factory floor and for delivery of raw materials and products. Some manufacturers have begun to invest in smart building technologies such as sensor-controlled heating, cooling, and lighting systems, which reduce energy needs; some are pairing those efforts by using renewable energy sources for their facilities.
Using digital capabilities to implement lean processes has increased production, created safer workplaces, and decreased costs. Digital technology can provide manufacturers with greater visibility into energy consumption, production processes, and equipment wear-and-tear. Organizations then can use this data to maximize production and enhance predictive maintenance to lower energy loads and minimize material and water waste - the key components in achieving sustainability goals. This is crucial, as energy efficiency improvements are increasingly being mandated by licensing authorities.
Metso launched over 100 Planet Positive products to reduce carbon emission, reduce pollution, reduce water consumption, as part of their sustainability efforts.
With the launch of its data center suite, Honeywell unveiled a collection of software programs that help data-center owners and managers boost operational expenses, worker productivity, the health of critical assets, and operational costs while enhancing visibility into sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs).
Spurring innovation
Manufacturers can create a private 5G network on their premises, which will give them superfast, cable-free connectivity, and improved data security.
Complementing industry 4.0, industry 5.0 takes an all-encompassing approach and is the next stage of manufacturing evolution. The goal of industry 5.0 is to boost resilience and improve sustainability, while also improving the work environment’s quality. Collaborative robots (cobots), which assist humans on the shop floor and digital twins, which are virtual representations of a real-world process, are integral to this evolution. Thus industry 5.0 meets the central idea of human beings in the production process, supported by technology. Enterprises, however, will need to plan investments wisely, because these changes require smart machines and highly skilled employees.
Accel Atoms, an Accel initiative that is aimed at fostering and supporting early-stage startups, has announced a dedicated cohort aimed at supporting visionary founders developing Industry 5.0 innovations that can shape the future of manufacturing.
Rockwell Automation made a strategic investment in Swiss company Momenta’s Industry 5.0 Fund that develops sustainable and human-centric industrial technology of the future.
Automotive manufacturers, such as BMW and Ford, frequently use cobots for gluing and welding, greasing camshafts, injecting oil into engines, and performing quality control inspections.
Next-gen connectivity
5G network technology will enable manufacturers to easily connect their assets leveraging IoT technology.
That will enable data collection and data processing within devices such as smart machines and sensors (also referred to as edge computing). Manufacturers can create a private 5G network on their premises, which will give them superfast, cable-free connectivity, and improved data security. Edge computing complements 5G by processing data closer to the source, which reduces latency and improves responsiveness. That helps in quicker decision-making, enhanced automation, resource efficiency, and smart factories. Mercedes-Benz, with Telefónica Deutschland and Ericsson, is setting up the world’s first 5G mobile network for automobile production at its Factory 56 in Sindelfingen. More than one-third industrial organizations will have to deploy private LTE or 5G networks by 2028 to at least 30% of their operational sites to reduce up-front costs and improve data collection, as per IDC.2
Ignite your imagination
Integrating metaverse into manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize operations and streamline supply chains.
Extended reality technologies such as augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) will play a crucial role in manufacturing. The metaverse, with its immersive and interconnected digital environment, can facilitate collaborative design, virtual prototyping, and remote operations. These technologies are transforming traditional manufacturing practices, spurring innovation, and improving efficiency.
NVIDIA launched omniverse cloud services for building and operating industrial metaverse applications. Users can design and collaborate on 3D workflows with a single click, without the need for any local computing power.
Nokia is collaborating on industrial metaverse applications, such as digital twin technology, with organizations such as Dassault Aviation. Additionally, the technology may reduce the need for training equipment.
Furthermore, the introduction of the Siemens Teamcenter software integration with Microsoft Teams will facilitate the industrial metaverse by streamlining the virtual collaboration of frontline workers, design engineers, and other teams across various business functions.
Embracing technology
Manufacturers need to be in sync with these technology trends, going ahead.
Leveraging these will help them optimize operations, address supply chain problems, reduce costs, improve customer experience, and adopt a sustainable business process.
Reshoring offers an opportunity to build resilience, mitigate supply chain risks, and prioritize carbon neutrality which will contribute to a more sustainable world and attract eco-conscious consumers. It will also help manufacturers to position themselves as industry leaders, shape a prosperous future, and maximize enterprise value.
1. IDC, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing 2024 Predictions, US51276023, October 2023.
2. IDC, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Operations 2024 Predictions, US48535322, October 2023.
