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THE SHIFTING VISION OF A SMART FACTORY Today, our understanding of the “Smart Factory” is unequivocally linked with deep learning and AI. This is very different to our understanding of the concept fifteen years ago, when the first visions of the Smart Factory of the future emerged. What became of these early visions? And where are we today? We lack a globally accepted definition of “Smart Factory”. Further, what we label as “the factory of the future” today is likely to be different to the concept 10 years from now. And this shifting definition is but one complication. The term also implies an end state which, once reached, provides no further room for improvement. Surely the Smart Factory built 10 years ago has become smarter since? Likely, it’s seen improvements due to further investment and by making better use of available information. I, therefore, prefer the term “Smarter Factory”, since it describes a factory that is smarter than its previous incarnation yet has the potential to become smarter still. The goal of a Smarter Factory is achievable in small steps, with the chance to learn while doing. A Smarter Factory approach can also be applied to existing factories – whether there is already technology, automation, and data collection in place or not. While one can debate the argument, I think that making an existing factory smarter is much more easily achievable than building a new Smart(er) Factory from the ground up.
MARK CLEMENS
Connectivity Architect & Security Strategist Mark Clemens has been part of the COPA-DATA HQ customer services team since 2002. In his role he is also a product owner for connectivity topics. As an expert for cybersecurity, he helps connecting IT, OT, and IIoT, while keeping security in check. As a frequent IU author, he shares his views on the buzzwords of our time. markc@copadata.com
A SMARTER FACTORY DEMANDS A STRATEGY For many industries, making production smarter is a no-brainer of a goal. Yet, in some industries, you might argue that production doesn’t need to become smarter than it is today. I think that today’s reality – an aging workforce, the changing climate, the need to drive sustainability while maintaining competitiveness – creates challenges and opportunities for every company. BUT WHERE TO BEGIN? It definitely makes sense to define a Smarter Factory strategy from which small achievable goals can be derived. This allows for an iterative, agile approach. Many topics can be worked on in parallel, rather than starting one big project for which the benefits may be hidden from the business for a long time. It is key to get people involved from different domains from the very beginning, especially when improvements could make some job roles superfluous. The involvement and outlook of different roles in an agile process provides future perspective and reduces the risk of efforts being sabotaged. Let’s take one example where there are quick wins to be had: a company thinking about net zero and how to move from fossil fuels to electrification. One challenge is the grid connection which cannot quickly be upgraded to the necessary capacity by the electricity provider. Not doing anything is not an option. Local generation, in combination with storage,
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