How to Increase Sustainability in Production
There is an abundance of people in the world and that requires an abundance of resources. About 8 billion people have to eat, drink, wear clothes and live in houses. And more and more people are interested in cars, computers, toys and other goods that need to be produced and manufactured. This demand will only grow over time, and that means unfortunately more pollution also.
Carbon dioxide emissions released by burning fossil fuels and industrial processes increased by around 35% globally between 2000 and 2020. As the effects of climate change continue to unfold, governments, communities and concerned citizens worldwide are likely to expect significant changes from businesses in all sectors, particularly manufacturing.
Sustainable manufacturing means manufacturing goods in a way that minimizes the impact on the environment, including the use of energy and natural resources. If we don’t take actionable steps to create sustainable manufacturing companies, the problem will only get worse. Luckily she is technology of today is ready to fight the increased consumption of tomorrow. By using predictive maintenance tools and prioritizing both machine health and process health, manufacturers can walk the path to sustainability in manufacturing.
Obstacles to sustainable manufacturing
Much of the problem for manufacturing leadership lies in thin profit margins. A recent study found the average manufacturer loses 12-15% on energy consumption by inefficient machines.
This waste exacerbates the apparent pollution problem. When calculating how much CO2 is produced, for example, in the production of beverages, we not only have to take into account the completed production, but also the defective products. The most sustainable option would be to close the shop – but that’s obviously not an option. People rely on finished goods, which means manufacturers have to fight the uphill battle to create more sustainable manufacturing.
They need to invest in several areas – including equipment, knowledge and training – to improve sustainability. That leaves manufacturers stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand it is expensive to switch to sustainable manufacturing, on the other hand manufacturers cannot remain ethical and competitive otherwise.
The reality is that We need this industry. That’s why Agencies like the EPA are focused help manufacturers do their part to rebuild strong, sustainable infrastructure after the pandemic. But how do sustainably producing companies remain profitable?
Achieve sustainability in manufacturing while making profits
Manufacturing involves many complicated machines that need to be perfectly calibrated to carry out simple commands on a production line. This allows them to accomplish complex, dynamic things on a scale only limited by human effort. Of course, this is where artificial intelligence is really changing the game – developing data insights beyond human limitations.
The right AI, when built specifically for manufacturing, can provide both a bird’s-eye view of production lines and a deep dive into their inner workings. Done right, this AI can act as a decision support, looking at all your processes and constantly learning how to improve them. By applying purpose-built AI to production lines, manufacturers gain access to thousands of complex calculations every minute.
And with the right algorithms to help digest it all, manufacturers gain meaningful insights into key operational questions: When are machines most likely to fail? Which parts are most important for the machine? How does the production line run optimally? With these answers, the entire production line becomes more efficient while improving the health and safety of production. Introducing AI solutions to manufacturing will give you a cheat code to solve any problem that is too complex for manufacturing teams to tackle, no matter how experienced they are.
AI not only helps design for sustainable manufacturing, but can also proactively monitor machines enable predictive maintenance. Machine health can be continuously monitored through a series of sensors that provide real-time insight into the performance of every gear in the machine, and Process Health allows you to do this optimize quality, yield, waste and all other manufacturing metrics while minimizing downtime. Of course, as factories are optimized, the amount of waste (and pollution) will decrease.
With AI, production integrity becomes achievable. When machines run better profit margins grow, enabling scalable investments in sustainability. And there are three steps that can make it happen now.
- Evolve beyond traditional ways of thinking
Imagine you are given an impossible task, e.g. B. to be sustainable and profitable without using AI. Often the solution is to ignore sustainability as it is a long-term problem with delayed consequences. Over time, the problem never goes away; it will only continue to become an obstacle to business.
Burying your head in the sand is not a business; it is an avoidance tactic. Our mindset must evolve alongside technology. AI-supported machine status and process status always find the perfect balance between sustainability and profitability. While that scale is a moving target, these AI insights mean you don’t have to compromise.
- Create change management processes
Once manufacturing executives open their eyes to what’s possible, they need to plan a roadmap for the next 20 years. The next generation of your team will work very differently; Change is the only guarantee in business. This means that every manufacturer needs a solid, well-documented change management process.
AI insights work faster than we do, which means changes can happen at an incredibly fast pace. This can be overwhelming for a team, so make sure everyone feels prepared. A solid change management process helps the team adapt faster, which means less time is spent getting the team on board and more time focusing on real innovation.
- Use existing tools
Production changes are inevitable, and AI can help with this transition as well. A solid platform can track assets to optimize resources. It’s not uncommon for things to be overlooked as a business expands, and some businesses may not be aware of all the tools available, leading to costly iterations.
Sustainability in manufacturing is not a new concept and the right software solutions can optimize any equipment still in use. We often talk about AI and machine learning as the future, but the reality is that they are already on the market and in use. Not only that, it’s a lot more sophisticated than it was a decade ago.
This means that the transition to sustainable production is best tackled sooner rather than later. European regulations are already tightening, and it’s only a matter of time before the United States follows suit. In fact, regulations around the world are changing rapidly in the wake of the pandemic, and CO2 emissions are always high on the legislation list.
Starting (or continuing) the transition to sustainability in manufacturing is perhaps the most important thing you do today.
Author’s bio
Liran Akavia is a serial entrepreneur specializing in the fields of AI and manufacturing. He is co-founder and former COO of Seebo and now works as VP of Sales for Process Health augura digital machine health company building a future where people can always count on the machines that matter.