How leveraging smart factories optimises products and operations for manufacturers

By Mei Dent

Manufacturing processes and supply chains have become more complex over the past few years, making traditional methods insufficient to meet the demand for greater customisation and shorter production cycles. Manufacturers feel pressured by rising labour and material costs to find more efficient ways to produce high-quality goods. Additionally, the increasing need to meet environmental regulations and sustainability goals pushes manufacturers to adopt greener practices. As global competition intensifies, manufacturers must find ways to innovate and stay agile to respond quickly to market changes According to Global Market Estimates, the Indian smart manufacturing market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2024 to 2029, driven by government initiatives like “Make in India” and “Digital India.”

Smart factories tackle production challenges by integrating advanced technologies like AI, ML, and IoT to optimize processes, manage real-time inventory, streamline logistics, and enhance factory management. These factories use predictive analytics and big data for real-time monitoring and closed-loop optimizations, fostering collaboration between advanced robotics and humans. However, a key challenge is bridging the gap between IT professionals, who prioritize comprehensive data collection and cloud solutions, and plant managers, who focus on immediate operational concerns.

While IT advocates for automated updates and virtualization, plant managers worry about production levels and disruptions to established systems. Bridging these perspectives is crucial for successful IT and operational technology (OT) convergence in smart factories. By aligning objectives and addressing the concerns of both IT professionals and plant managers, manufacturers can fully leverage the benefits of smart factory technologies, including:

• Enhanced productivity and efficiency

Manufacturers can significantly boost productivity and efficiency by using predictive analytics and big data insights. This provides optimised processes and just-in-time inventory management, reducing downtime and improving operational flow. For instance, remote connectivity solutions provide detailed views of all IT and OT hardware assets, helping manufacturers manage warranties, patch information, and potential security risks while troubleshooting issues remotely.

• Improved workplace safety

Smart factories create safer work environments by reducing the risk of injuries from harmful objects, heavy lifting, and repetitive tasks. Advanced robotics and automated systems handle these dangerous jobs, ensuring worker safety. Additionally, industrial augmented reality (AR) solutions enhance frontline workers’ skills by providing step-by-step instructions and remote assistance, empowering them to perform complex tasks more efficiently.

• Optimised sustainability efforts

Real-time data helps manufacturers adopt sustainable practices by optimising energy consumption and reducing waste. Consumers are increasingly willing to pay more for products made responsibly, making sustainability a competitive advantage. Implementing a central industrial IoT platform facilitates seamless communication between machines and IT systems across multiple factory sites, creating a strong foundation for sustainable operations.

• Upgraded product quality

Manufacturers can respond to trends and customer demands quickly by integrating cloud connectivity and real-time insights into the manufacturing process. This leads to higher product quality and a better customer experience as companies can deliver customised and up-to-date products. Advanced platforms structure and analyse manufacturing data, turning it into a powerful foundation for AI-driven insights, which allows manufacturers to make informed, data-driven decisions and maintain an updated view of production.

• Streamlined logistics and material flow

Automated material handling systems streamline logistics and material flow within the factory, minimising manual handling and reducing cycle times. Leading manufacturers’ smart factories interconnect humans, robots, and logistics using digital twin technology—a virtual representation of a physical object, process, or service—and AI-driven systems to optimise production plans and inventory management. This ensures high efficiency and responsiveness to customer demands.

Facilitating IT and OT convergence

A successful smart factory hinges on the seamless convergence of IT and OT, despite their distinct focuses—IT on data processing and communication, and OT on monitoring and controlling physical devices. To maximize the benefits of smart factory innovation, collaboration is key through four critical steps: finding common ground by fostering mutual understanding of priorities and challenges, ensuring practical solutions with clear communication and user-friendly approaches, leveraging private cloud and edge architectures to balance data processing and security needs, and establishing joint KPIs across productivity, quality, resilience, innovation, and costs to measure and enhance overall factory performance.

While the scope of smart factory applications is broad, it is important to note that most vendors focus on specific areas and the industry is still learning to find the best ways forward. Current use cases in smart factories might be limited; however, there are significant strengths in areas such as warehouse picking and after-sales services, like remote support and training, where innovation and value delivery are well-positioned to drive progress.

Embracing smart factory innovation puts manufacturers at the cutting-edge of industrial progress, unlocking impressive improvements in productivity, efficiency, safety, sustainability, and product quality. By seamlessly merging IT and OT, companies can break down barriers and adopt practical, data-driven solutions that optimise operations and build resilience. Leveraging real-time data, predictive analytics, and advanced automation, manufacturers can quickly adapt to market demands, minimise downtime through predictive maintenance, and boost sustainability by reducing waste and optimising energy usage.

(The author is Mei Dent, Chief Product and Technology Officer, TeamViewer, and the views expressed in this article are his own)