How AI and IoT can become game changers for manufacturers amid COVID-19: Part 2

In my previous blog, I explained how AI and IoT are crucial in maintaining your employee health and competitive position. In this concluding blog, you will learn how they have helped the manufacturing industry open and stay open.

Grip on COVID-19 and higher efficiency

The data that is gathered, of the distance and the number of employees on the factory floor, provides many more interesting insights. By comparing the data with the production speed, managers can see which shifts, at what times and under what conditions will achieve better results. Factories can also compare production processes at different locations and can work towards an optimum process. In this way, you keep your colleagues healthy, improve continuity of operations, and reduce the spread of infection.

Investing in IoT and AI pays off in the short and long term

We’ve been working with an aerospace manufacturer who has been using this type of IoT technology for years to track tools used during the assembling process. AI analyzes the patterns in which the tools circulate in the factory. This allows them to see when and where exactly which tools are needed. Armed with the information, they continuously improve their production process and ensure increased OEE. An investment in this technology not only helps manufacturers to implement temporary COVID-19 rules, but also to organize their production processes more efficiently in the long term.

A secure, scalable data platform

To scale AI solutions across factories and not get stuck at the pilot (POC) stage, it is critical to have a data platform where all data streams come together. The more relevant dataflows you connect, the greater the chance of finding actionable insights. You want a holistic view of everything that is going on in your factory: from the raw materials to the production units and the workforce of not one, but all locations. This is where the data platform becomes an essential for everyday operations.

Quickly starting the IOP

Capgemini and Microsoft have jointly developed the Industrial Operations Platform (IOP). Azure offers a scalable, secure platform with Capgemini’s building blocks that enable manufacturers to quickly get started with IoT and AI, making complicated technology easy and quickly accessible. This way the start time is minimal with predictive maintenance, adaptive scheduling, asset performance management, quality inspection and worker safety.

How do you start with IoT and AI?

The benefits of using sensors and AI to analyze its data are countless, but how do you start? The first step is to create a business case to obtain the necessary commitment from your organization which we can help to scope based on an assessment. Next, we securely gather the appropriate data and advise on any gaps in the process. Finally, we would hold a strategy session to bring all the pieces together to recommend a solution that’s right for your situation. Capgemini has standardized frameworks and reference architectures for implementation. We’ve built reusable AI solutions for most manufacturing use cases: from demand forecasting to predictive maintenance to visual quality inspection, and many more. There’s no reinventing the wheel here, the necessary knowledge is available at the beginning of the project. For some of the use cases we only need to provision your data sources, and you can start using AI solution as a service immediately.

Start the factory of the future now

If you want to learn how to set up your factory more efficiently with IoT and AI, we are offering an operational assessment. Please reach out to smartcovidresponse.nar@capgemini.com.

For more information, watch the webinar we recently ran with Microsoft, “How AI and IoT are Changing Manufacturing and help to control COVID-19 on the factory floor.” In this webinar, Patrick van Loon (Microsoft) and Sergey Patsko (VP AI & Analytics, Capgemini) show you how to set up the factory of the future. Register now for the webinar here.