For years
there has been a lot of buzz around intelligent computer systems and their
capability to replace human-operated jobs. What does this look like in
manufacturing and other industrial settings?
We are not
talking about robots – like the one’s we see in Hollywood blockbusters –
running factories and replacing humans. The fact is, the amount of data that we
are processing in manufacturing is higher than ever, with faster production rates
than ever – while at the same time, the total number of employees has decreased
in manufacturing… this isn’t about loss of jobs. Humans simply can’t keep
pace with the data. We need a system to triage the information and respond
automatically (or if needed, escalate to humans) when there is a fault.
Artificial Intelligence makes this possible.
Artificial
Intelligence is already being used by manufacturers who deploy “Smart
Manufacturing” technologies including manufacturing operations management software.
Systems and solutions utilize Artificial Intelligence to allow software to
perform actions that previously required human analysis and calculation. This
automation of manufacturing processes can be applied at nearly every stage of
the product life cycle: design, production planning, production and
distribution.
Decision
complexity is a common issued faced by manufacturers throughout production. A
system that not only collects incoming production data, but also analyzes that
data in real-time alongside context and historical data can automate decision making.
Artificial Intelligence can be used to look at manufacturing data from a
holistic approach – looking for errors that might not be readily visible during
the manufacturing process (i.e. general trends and possible causal/effects
correlations). If the system can detect patterns and react accordingly
equipment downtime, faults and wasted materials are decreased.
The bottom
line? Artificial Intelligence should not be feared by manufacturers, but embraced
as a tool to optimize operations and raise profitability.
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