What is Smart Factory? Benefits of using smart factories in businesses
What is a smart factory ? What benefits and outstanding features does this model have and how is it applied in today's manufacturing businesses? In the article below, let's learn details about Smart factory with 1C Vietnam!
1. What is a smart factory?
Smart factory, also known by other names as digital factory, connected factory, is a term that describes an environment in which the production process of products at factories and workshops is improved. through automation of machinery and equipment. This is the result of combining achievements of the 4.0 technology revolution such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), Big Data (Big Data) and ERP or MES software,...
Smart factory applies modern technology to automate production processes
2. Benefits of using Smart factory in businesses
Smart factory application in production can bring many significant benefits to businesses including:
- Cut production costs: Automated and optimized processes will help businesses cut time, labor, and save on machinery and equipment maintenance costs, thereby avoiding wear and tear and waste of assets.
- Improve labor productivity: Smart factory operates on modern technologies to complete production processes, helping businesses speed up progress, reduce production time, and require less human participation. .
- Remote monitoring: Monitoring the operating status of machinery and equipment becomes easier thanks to the ability to display quickly and accurately on remote monitoring systems, helping to promptly detect errors and report errors. provide timely solutions.
Smart factory application helps save costs and time while improving productivity
- Pre-maintenance: Smart factory enables machinery maintenance planning based on real-time and historical data. From there, businesses can more accurately predict possible problems before they become too serious, helping to reduce downtime and preventive maintenance costs.
- Process optimization: IoT (Internet of Things) technologies help form a seamless network of links between machines, equipment, components and people. Thanks to that, businesses can optimize data processing, contributing to increased efficiency and productivity.
- Safe and sustainable production: With traditional production processes, people must participate in most stages. When building the Smart factory model, all activities are performed by machines and people only play the role of support and supervisor, thus minimizing errors and preventing occupational accidents that cause injury.
Smart factory helps create a safe and effective working environment
- Product quality control: Previously, product quality control was done manually by production workers, so it was both time-consuming and ineffective. Today, with smart factories, IoT technology and sensor devices applied in monitoring and controlling the production process, it is easy to detect defective products to give early warnings and timely corrective actions. troubleshooting.
- Gain a competitive advantage: Operating in today's fiercely competitive environment requires businesses to be faster, smarter and more innovative than their competitors. This can be achieved by applying Smart factory to the production process. At that time, the products produced will promptly meet customer needs at low cost and guaranteed quality. This will help businesses form an outstanding competitive advantage.
- Enhance customer satisfaction: Products reaching consumers on time, in the right quantity and of high quality will increase customer satisfaction.
3. Structure of a smart factory Smart factory
3.1 Automate information and data
The Smart factory model is applied and operates based on modern information technology. In particular, information from the simplest to the most complex is displayed clearly and accurately on status simulation or monitoring systems to monitor the activities of objects in the production process.
Smart factory allows information to be automatically updated on systems
3.2 Connectivity (IoT)
IoT connection helps form a communication network between machines through the network system. Information about orders and production processes is continuously collected by sensors to promptly make decisions with the goal of increasing productivity, optimizing production time as well as increasing quality in all stages.
IoT technology helps build a connection network between objects in the production process
3.3 Big data
Big data is a large and complex data file that is continuously updated from objects during the production process. Based on this giant data center, managers will analyze to make predictions about design trends or decisions related to product production.
Large data centers are the basis for business decision making
3.4 Artificial intelligence AI
AI will be a tool to support humans in analyzing Big data to form meaningful information to provide warnings, trends and provide automatic, adaptive adjustments.
AI intelligence supports businesses in analyzing big data to output necessary information for action plans
4. Main features of Smart factory
4.1 Proactive system
Smart factory allows employees to proactively predict, plan and form potential response actions for problems that may arise. This feature will rely on both historical and real-time information to improve productivity, quality and safe work environments.
The smart factory model enables employees to proactively predict possible scenarios in real time
4.2 Flexibility (Agile)
Agile is the ability to promptly adapt to changes in production schedules or product technical requirements. The smart factory will automatically configure equipment and materials, then reconfigure the production process and see the impact of changes in real time.
Smart factory supports employees in resetting production schedules when unexpected changes occur
4.3 Connected ability
When applying Smart factory, processes and materials are connected to make real-time decisions. Sensors will automatically update information to systems about all components, allowing for a comprehensive view, helping to leverage the entire network from purchasing raw materials to distributing products to customers.
Smart factory builds a network of connections between components based on real-time information
4.4 Transparent collected data
Real-time data will be analyzed, converted and displayed visually to help businesses make more accurate decisions. In addition, Smart factory also provides tools such as setting up reports and automatic warnings to help easily track and monitor the process.
Real-time data displayed visually allows businesses to make better decisions
4.5 Optimization ability (Optimized)
The working process in the Smart factory is fully automated, minimizing manual intervention by the workforce, helping to increase reliability, improve productivity, quality, and save costs and time.
Smart factory automates the entire process to help reduce costs and improve quality in each stage
Above, 1C Vietnam shared in detail what a Smart factory is as well as the benefits the model brings to businesses. When machinery and equipment are automated, businesses will optimize the production process to become faster and more cost-effective to gain a competitive advantage.