Digitization – Lifeline of a Smart Factory

We communicate electronically by using either analog or digital technologies. What is the difference? Analog communication is a continuous, time varying, wave like signal. Digital communication uses time varying binary pulses as the signal. 

A look at Figure 1 shows:

• Analog signal is continuous and has time varying values
• Digital signal is discontinuous. Here information is organized into a pattern of bits. At each sampling point, a digital signal has a discreet data value 

Study of Table 1 shows the advantages of digitization vis-à-vis analog communication. Digitization is seen to be the best way to

1.    gather data in real time using IIoT within the smart factory and across its extended supply chain, 

2.    use data analytics to practically instantly make sense of this data, and

3.   make very fast automated decisions through artificial intelligence enabled computation methodologies. 

Digital signals broadcast more precisely and efficiently than analog signals because digital impulses, which are well-defined and orderly, are easier for electronic circuits to distinguish from chaotic noise. Also, computing systems "talk" and "think" in terms of binary digital data; analog data must be converted into digital form before it can be manipulated. Considering this, we digitize all communication to enable real time fact based, precision and efficient work flow in a smart factory and across its extended supply chain. 

Let us look at two quotes about digitization by today’s thought leaders:

“Sharing is good, and with digital technology, sharing is easy.” – Richard Stallman

“The biggest sources of opportunity are collaboration and partnership. And today, with digital communication, there is more of that everywhere. We need to expose ourselves to that as a matter of doing business.” – Mark Parker

“Collaboration among individuals, brands, and industries will only continue to accelerate as technology facilitates and enables greater connection in real time from anywhere in the world. It's why we're experiencing such an unprecedented pace of innovation in every aspect of our lives.” – Mark Parker

Another relevant quote relates to what will happen when artificial intelligence based computing systems become more intelligent than humans: 

“We believe the singularity is inevitable, and all businesses will be redefined as computers overtake humans in intelligence.”Masayoshi Son

Computers are already endowed with artificial intelligence through the application of machine learning. Within the next decade they may possibly overtake humans in intelligence, capable of innovative thinking and learning new skills on their own. The word “Singularity”, as used in above quote means a hypothetical moment in time when artificial intelligence and other technologies have become so advanced that humanity undergoes a dramatic and irreversible change.The catalyst for this change will be artificial intelligence enabled, fully digitized smart cities and smart businesses of all types, including farm produce focused agribusiness.

Digitization at the core of Industry 4.0

Any Industry 2.0 or Industry 3.0 level factory can be transformed into an Industry 4.0 smart factory through digitization. Whereas physical processes remain the same, what creates a smart factory is digitization. We achieve this through wide-spread use of IIoT. 

The broader objectives achieved through digitization are:

1.    Personalized Customer Engagement: This enables design, development and creation of smart products and mass customization. 

2.    Total Quality Control in Real Time: This prevents defect generation at each work stage by making corrections on line in real time. This is done by capturing and analysing information through smart sensors at tip where work is being done.

3.    Mass Customization:Achieved by using Wi-Fi enabled communication that coordinates and handles even a batch size of one with the same ease as large batch sizes. Batch switchover cost is zero.

4.    Maximized Value for Everyone:End Customer and all stakeholder needs are effectively and efficiently met. 

Digitization of Manufacturing

Let us look at what happens in the current breed of world class manufacturing based factories vis-à-vis emerging smart factories.

Industry 2.0 and 3.0 factories optimize work by adopting world class manufacturing practice. The technique used is work cell optimization, cellular flow and line balancing. This is achieved step by step:

1.    Industrial engineers map the complete manufacturing process; creating a maze of vertically and horizontally linked sub-processes. 

2.    Each sub-process is reviewed, designed and developed into a work cell, co-locating machines and operators. This involves grouping products, machine layout, examining multi-tasking for operators, establishing tact time, reviewing work sequence, balancing the work cell. Standardize the work cell. 

3.    Connect adjacent standardised work cells and balance operation between the two. 

4.    Keep connecting all standardized work cells to achieve flow and balance the complete process.

This methodology improves efficiency and better productivity and minimizes waste. Opportunities for improvement become more visible when cellular manufacturing is adopted. This is due to shared information and feedback – mostly through statistical process control based process control charts. 

In this scenario, we continue to work at optimizing individual sub-process cells – focusing on manual work activities and the output of individual machines. The leading practitioner for this methodology in the automotive field is Toyota Motors. In Toyota factories, focus is on using simple, standardised work processes, self-inspection, large scale use of poka-yoke devices and Single Minute Change of Die (SMED) system. 

In Industry 4.0 smart factories, we continue to use above described world class manufacturing practices. The difference is that all information is digitized in real time and used for automating decision making horizontally and vertically within the smart factory and across its extended supply chain. 

This is what happens after digitization: 

1.   Real time digitization of complete manufacturing process by using Wi-Fi enabled smart sensors and IIoT. 

Smart machines and equipment displace lessor skilled workers, while still employing appropriately trained high skilled operators and managers to monitor and manage across all functions. Low labour cost is no longer an advantage. 

Example: Workers in material handling and transportation areas are replaced by Wi-Fi digitized autonomous material handling systems and self-driving material handling carts. Practically all material handling activities are automated, displacing a large number of workers on the shop floor and warehouse locations.

2.   Self-driven and self-correcting processes, guided by near and cloud based decision making. Machines use Wi-Fi enabled smart sensors to generate data, do simple on the spot analysis and “talk” to each other and to human operators to self-adjust as needed. Human to human interactions are also in real time, using hand-held smart devices. Generated data is continuously uploaded on to the cloud for automated data-analysis and decision making across the extended supply chain.    

3.   Wi-Fi enabled full digitization integrates all horizontal and vertical operations within the smart factory and across the extended supply chain. Without full digitization we cannot have smart machines, smart factories, mass customization, smart supply chain, connected customers and connected smart products. 

5G Connectivity

A smart factory generates a massive amount of raw data, then does data analysis in real time to arrive at meaningful information, followed up by artificial intelligence based automated decision making which is used for running all operations. Doing all this in real time requires very high speed internet connectivity. This is possible through the emerging 5G networks which are expected to have speeds of up to 100 Gigabytes per second – 1000 times faster than the fastest 4G networks. Ericsson forecasts that 1.5 billion users will be subscribed to 5G networks by 2024. In fact, complex smart products like safe autonomous cars will displace other cars on a mass scale only when 5G connectivity is widely available.

5G Advantage is Industry 4.0 Enabler

In computing, latency is the delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer. 

Wikipedia elaborates this and explains, “Latency is a time interval between the stimulation and response, or, from a more general point of view, a time delay between the cause and the effect of some physical change in the system being observed. Latency is physically a consequence of the limited velocity with which any physical interaction can propagate.” For humans and non-computing systems, in place of latency we commonly use the term “reaction time”. Reaction time is defined as the length of time taken for a person or system to respond to a given stimulus or event. For all practical purposes, latency and reaction time refer to the same phenomenon.

Latency Rates for different generations of cellular technology, when introduced commercially, latency rates and what they support is described below:

• 2G Technology: Commercialized 1991. Latency 300 milliseconds. Allows voice calls and limited data transmission.
• 3G Technology: Commercialized 2001. Latency 120 milliseconds. Allows mobile phones, computers, and other portable electronic devices to access the Internet wirelessly.
• 4G Technology: Commercialized 2009. Latency 45 milliseconds. Allows wireless Internet access at a much higher speed than 3G.
• 5G Technology. Large scale rollout in 2020. Latency 1 millisecond. This is a mobile network for the internet of things and big data.
• Human Beings: Average reaction time 250 milliseconds.  

5G extremely low latency rate makes it possible to introduce truly smart factories, smart products such as high speed autonomous mobility, and Industry 4.0 enabled smart cities with smart city components as shown in Figure 2. This is the latency advantage of 5G. Without it there would be no true Industry 4.0 revolution encompassing industries, businesses, supply and value chains worldwide.

Added advantage of 5G is that it provides higher resolution and larger bandwidth, which will enable gathering of large networks on a single platform. Its 90 per cent lower battery consumption is another huge advantage. 

Digitization at Scale Changes Strategic Approach 

Amazing changes occur when we digitize manufacturing to create smart factories. The company’s strategic approach to business changes and we are able to do what seemed impossible in pre Industry 4.0 scenario. See Table 2. 

Digitally Empowering India

Digital India – Power to empower, is a pathbreaking nation-wide initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India.  The soul of this programme is a brilliant vision statement:

“The vision of Digital India programme is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.” 

See https://digitalindia.gov.in/content/vision-and-vision-areas

When this programme is implemented fully using 5G networks, digitizing at scale will help plan and create truly smart cities across the whole of India. What these smart cities should look like is shown in Figure 2.