Digital Twins: Your next strategic advantage in manufacturing
How to identify your first digital twin opportunity
Here's what most consultants won't tell you: The best digital twin projects start with two days of undivided attention from key stakeholders involved. We call this an Inception, and it's where business leaders, development teams, and end users come together to dive deep into your operation's needs, capabilities, and constraints.
Why two days? Because you'll never know less about a project than you do at the start. During our Inception, we use proven facilitation techniques to turn abstract ideas into tangible plans. We map business processes onto sticky notes, force-rank objectives based on importance, and build ROI models in real-time.
When one manufacturer came to us wanting to transform their entire operation, our Inception process revealed that starting with a digital twin of their factory floor would deliver the highest ROI – specifically because they already had digitized equipment they could leverage. By day one of implementation, they were discovering maintenance patterns they never knew existed.
Ready to start your digital twin journey? Let's explore the opportunities together.
How to move forward without perfect data
Let me be blunt: If you're waiting for perfect data, you're already behind. Successful manufacturers know this secret: data preparation happens in parallel with digital twin development.?
Take one manufacturer's approach. During their two-day assessment, they determined that creating a digital twin to replicate their factory floor in real-time would deliver the highest ROI. While their equipment already had digital components tracked by software, they identified the need for additional temperature and humidity sensors. Rather than delay, they moved forward, adding data sources as they became available. On day one of operation, they discovered how humidity patterns directly impacted maintenance costs across their facility.?
Read more in our manufacturer's guide to digital twins and learn our 4-step process for building your first digital twin—including what data you need and what you don't to get started.
How to drive operational excellence through digital twins?
For over twenty years, we've empowered manufacturing and logistics companies to embrace smart factory solutions. Whether you call it Smart Manufacturing, Industrial Automation, Industry 4.0, or the Titanium Economy, the game has changed. Today, there are loads of opportunities to gather, synthesize, and act on data.
We're seeing manufacturers achieve greater visibility into operations, enhanced connectivity across supply chains, efficiency gains in production processes, and improvements in product quality and safety. These aren't theoretical benefits—they come from actual implementations of digital twins, augmented reality, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.?
Let's review how sensors, simulations, and data can help successful implementations, starting with understanding where where solutions will have the biggest operational impact.
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How to transform a century-old manufacturer into a technology company
Consider what happened when a century-old environmental monitoring manufacturer needed to modernize. Rather than simply updating equipment, they underwent a complete digital transformation with TXI, evolving from a traditional manufacturer into a technology-driven enterprise.?
The transformation went beyond implementing digital twins and smart factory solutions. Together, we created a sustainable model that enhanced customer satisfaction, streamlined operations, and fostered a company culture that embraces technology and innovation.
Today, Dickson is a prime example of how traditional manufacturers can successfully transition to Industry 4.0. Watch the Dickson transformation story and learn how we can help you make a similar journey.
How to leverage edge computing for immediate impact
When it comes to effectively implementing digital twins, Amazon's fulfillment centers offer a masterclass in practical deployment. Their use of computer vision and edge computing for quality assurance demonstrates a crucial principle: process your data where it makes the most sense. At each packer's workstation, computer vision performs quality checks by comparing images before and after item selection, ensuring accuracy while saving data transfer time and resources.
This isn't just for retail giants. Our manufacturing clients are implementing these same principles, using edge computing where it matters most for quality control and operational efficiency. The technology has matured to the point where it's accessible and highly effective for industrial operations of any size.
Listen to the podcast on edge computing to learn how to implement these solutions in your facility.
?Look, digital transformation is complex enough without adding unnecessary mystery. Our team brings over two decades of experience helping manufacturers embrace smart factory solutions. Whether you're just exploring digital twins or ready to scale existing implementations, we're here to give you straight answers and practical guidance.
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