Prashant Verma, Director & India Head, Nanoprecise Sci Corp., explains how technology can be a pillar of sustainability for improving the efficiency of manufacturing processes.
In an era where industrial growth is accompanied by growing concerns about environmental impact, the need for sustainable practices has never been more pressing. The traditional methods of industrial operations have often contributed to pollution, resource depletion, and ecological imbalance, so it’s imperative to mitigate the impact and find sustainable alternatives. As the global community increasingly acknowledges the urgency of addressing these environmental challenges, technology emerges as a beacon of hope and a powerful solution.
From Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Internet of Things (IoT), technological innovations offer a way forward, providing tools to revolutionise how industries operate. These technologies not only address environmental concerns but also enhance operational efficiency and profitability. This shift towards sustainable technology is not just a trend but a necessity for industries aiming to thrive in the long term.
Predictive Maintenance
For decades, industries adhered to a reactive maintenance approach, addressing equipment issues only when failures occur. This ‘fix it when it breaks’ mentality not only resulted in frequent downtime but also contributed significantly to inefficiency and increased environmental impact. Unplanned breakdowns necessitate immediate and often costly repairs, and can significantly impact productivity, increase maintenance expenses, and negatively affect overall operational efficiency. Moreover, machines operating under faulty conditions contribute to higher energy consumption, resulting in an increased carbon footprint. Streamlining these maintenance processes is crucial to promoting a more sustainable and efficient manufacturing environment.
Predictive maintenance has emerged as a transformative solution, challenging the status quo of reactive practices. Unlike reactive maintenance, which responds to failures, predictive maintenance employs advanced technologies to anticipate equipment issues before they escalate. This foresight enables planned, proactive interventions, preventing unexpected breakdowns and optimising the use of resources.
It utilises technologies such as AI, IoT, cloud computing and edge computing to empower manufacturers and operators with the right data at the right time. By leveraging data-driven insights, predictive maintenance enables more informed decision-making, thereby reducing the environmental impact traditionally associated with reactive approaches.
Real-Time Condition Monitoring
Real-time condition monitoring refers to the monitoring of the health and performance of industrial assets. It is achieved with the help of IoT devices that collect the output parameters such as acoustic emissions, vibration, temperature or speed of equipment sets.
This not only facilitates the rapid identification of potential issues but also enables proactive decision-making to prevent disruptions before they escalate. With a continuous flow of actionable data, manufacturers can optimise processes, improve quality control, and enhance overall productivity. The dynamic nature of real-time monitoring paves the way for a more responsive, adaptive, and sustainable manufacturing environment.
Prescriptive Maintenance
The integration of IoT has brought massive volumes of data at the disposal of maintenance professionals, and AI is the most advanced tool that has the potential to comb through vast amounts of complex machine data and provide the much-needed insights to improve maintenance activities.
The genuine value of AI is its ability to analyse large volumes of different kinds of data, in conjunction with complex machine operations and real-world applications to provide a better understanding of the overall health and performance of industrial assets.
AI can not only predict when equipment is likely to fail but also prescribe specific actions to optimise performance and prevent breakdowns. This advanced form of maintenance goes beyond merely forecasting issues; it recommends precise steps to address identified vulnerabilities, minimising the risk of unexpected failures. By continuously learning and adapting to evolving conditions, AI-driven prescriptive maintenance aligns with the principles of Industry 4.0, fostering a dynamic and responsive manufacturing environment.
Smart Energy Management
Traditionally, manufacturing processes struggle with energy inefficiencies due to equipment faults. Malfunctioning machines experience heightened frictional losses and consume higher energy to compensate for these inefficiencies. However, with IoT hardware and AI-driven analytics, manufacturers can achieve efficient energy usage. IoT sensors placed strategically on the machines themselves, collect real-time data used by the AI to identify energy-intensive zones, thereby pinpointing areas of energy wastage. The insights offered by AI empower manufacturers to take targeted actions to reduce energy wastage and optimise energy consumption.
Cellular Networks
As organisations increasingly adopt technology to address various industrial challenges, the focus on obtaining data from diverse machines gains prominence. The growing affordability and widespread availability of cellular IoT devices intensifies interest in their application.
The impact of different cellular standards, such as LTE, on IoT connectivity has been profound, offering low cost, ease of implementation, and low power requirements. The introduction of e-sim platforms further resolves challenges related to deployment bottlenecks, providing flexibility in carrier selection, and facilitating faster scalability for IoT applications.
As the manufacturing sector embraces cellular IoT connectivity, the benefits of high network reliability, increased data rates, and enhanced mobility contribute significantly to reduced downtime, improved productivity, and accelerated progress on the Industry 4.0 journey. Furthermore, the transition to 5G not only propels connectivity to new heights but also unleashes the full potential of Industrial IoT by enabling greater capacity for handling real-time information, offering a quicker, less expensive means to monitor industrial assets even in remote and challenging environments.
Edge and Cloud Computing
Cloud computing, with its centralised storage and processing capabilities, enables manufacturers to efficiently manage and analyse vast datasets, fostering collaboration and data-driven decision-making. On the other hand, edge computing brings computation closer to the IoT hardware, reducing latency and enabling real-time processing. It offers real-time monitoring without full-time connectivity. This collaborative approach not only enhances overall performance but also contributes to a more sustainable and environmentally conscious evolution in manufacturing processes by minimising energy consumption and reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional computing models.
Conclusion
The integration of advanced technologies in manufacturing marks a pivotal step towards a sustainable and forward-thinking industrial landscape. The journey from reactive to predictive maintenance, facilitated by AI and IoT, showcases a commitment to proactive interventions, minimising disruptions and optimising resource usage. It collectively propels manufacturing operations toward efficient resource utilisation, enhanced energy efficiency and improved safety practices. The interconnectedness of these technologies marks a radical change in how industries approach their environmental footprint, paving the way for a more sustainable and ecologically responsible future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Prashant Verma, Director & India Head, Nanoprecise Sci Corp. is passionate about solving problems by building world-class products. With an engineering background and entrepreneurial mind, he has been a founding member of three deep-tech startups in the past decade.
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