How industrial digitalisation is transforming manufacturing

Manufacturing is no longer about large plants and long assembly lines. Gone are the days of paper drawings, 2D schematics, specification sheets, and punch cards. Now, processes are digitised. Designs are completed in 3D CAD files, digital twins exist to mirror the objects being built, and everything is connected through the Internet of Things.

The drawings are not transmitted to the workshops in books, but are sent to tablets designed specifically for that purpose. Finally, the paperless office has arrived in factories, although not 100% yet, we are well on our way.

In this regard, we will now look at how digitisation is transforming manufacturing and what this means for companies in the industry. To begin with, digitisation is the process of taking non-digital information formats and converting them into digital formats.

Mail to email, spreadsheets to Excel, typewriters to Google Docs, clay models to CAD files—the list goes on, and that has only been the beginning. The key is that processes and systems remain the same when processes are digitised. For example, if your process is to obtain a signature on a design to approve it for the manufacturing floor, then the digitisation process could be an electronic signature on the CAD file.

That's digitalisation. So, How has it transformed the manufacturing industry? We will examine this here.:

1. Manufacturing will move much faster.

   The first thing we are seeing as digitisation transforms the manufacturing industry is the speed of manufacturing. Driven by rapidly changing consumer tastes and a fast pace of new product introduction/innovation, manufacturing must find the best way to adapt.

   Digitisation provides an instant boost to productivity, enabling projects to move forward more quickly and manufacturers to meet more aggressive deadlines.

   Specifically, manufacturers will be able to move quickly from design to floor and vice versa as changes are made by the engineering team.

   At present, this process is extremely manual in many circumstances. 3D designs are converted into 2D specification books, and then those books are delivered to machinists on the shop floor, who review and “write” (literally, mark up) the books.

   These books are then returned to the engineering teams for review. And within that process, there are many inefficiencies:

   • Printing a specification book can take hours with complicated designs.
   • Delivery is fine if the flat is below you. But what do you do when the factory is halfway around the world?
   • The red line should be done page by page, rather than simply reviewing the changes.

   And of course, the entire process is manual. There is no automatic verification or opportunity for further innovation to optimise the process. Digitisation makes this process more efficient by solving these problems. And, as we shall see, it opens the door to innovation in modern manufacturing.

2. Digitalisation is the biggest step towards the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

   The Industrial Internet of Things is a dream of a total product data cycle. First, machines are loaded with sensors when they are built. Then, those sensors provide continuous feedback throughout the manufacturing supply chain.In response to real-world data on aspects such as maintenance requirements and wear and tear, the manufacturing process can be refined.

   Some refinements occur automatically (machine-to-machine communication), but some data is fed into business intelligence (BI) tools and dashboards, giving people the ability to find efficiencies.

   However, at the heart of this entire process is data. Data that can be collected and leveraged on a truly astonishing scale. And that data can only be collected and managed reasonably if it is a completely digital product:

   • Designs can be changed automatically in response to environmental challenges.
   • Changes can be sent automatically to the production floor.
   • Products may be modified as they come off the production line.
   Over time, we may reach a point where automation and artificial intelligence continuously optimise existing designs in response to real-world circumstances, allowing engineers to focus on innovating new products.
3. Integrated manufacturing processes

   We mentioned earlier that a significant problem with analogue processes is that organisations struggle if they manufacture in multiple locations. And given that manufacturing is now a global industry, this is a major issue.

   Digitisation can offer much-needed relief for global manufacturing value chains for several reasons. First, data is easier to share. It is much easier to share files over a network than to send files by post. Even if files are sent and then printed, that is another translation of data and therefore another vulnerability for the organisation.

   Secondly, continuous manufacturing is more realistic. When factories moved overseas and engineering consultants became more common, continuous manufacturing began to be perceived as an achievable reality for the first time.

   The idea is that as one plant or design office closes during the day, the next one in the finished time zone is opening. Work can be transferred seamlessly to a new team, and there is never any «downtime» overnight. However, this is only possible if:

   • Organisations can share data essentially in real time across multiple global locations.
   • All necessary data can be accessed by anyone, at any time.

   It is worth analysing the second point here. One of the reasons why lean manufacturing is so difficult is that we overlook how important it is to ask for help. Especially at engineering handover points, when clarification is often needed. That is not possible with lean methodology, so it is imperative that all information is communicated the first time around.

   Digitisation can help both with simple clarity and with process enforcement. For example, specifying that all fields on a form must be completed. While not perfect, with digitisation, you have levers you can use to increase compliance.
4. Rapid iteration will become the norm.

   Digitisation will not only make manufacturing faster. One thing we are already seeing is that it drives innovation through rapid product iteration. Better data exchange between divisions, organisations, and software packages via APIs will only drive this speed of iteration.

   By connecting silos and enabling access to real-time data anywhere in the world, organisations are better equipped than ever to act on innovation trends, market opportunities and consumer demands.

Ultimately, digitisation is not the end of the story of the digital transformation as we move towards the Industry 4.0. But it is a critical start. Once processes are digitised, additional technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, IIoT, digital twins, and a complete and comprehensive product lifecycle can emerge.  But we have to take the first step and put down our pens.

Since you are interested in learning more about how digitalisation is transforming the manufacturing industry, we invite you to discover the reasons not to delay the digitisation of your manufacturing plant any longer, as well as learn about the types of solutions for the digital transformation of food and beverage plants, in addition to ssubscribe to our Newslettera newsletter that provides you with technical content about the best technological solutions for industrial plants, focused on automation and maintenance.