How AI might help manufacturers boost intelligence
For many industrial organisations, the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is more appealing than reality, and the path from present to future states has just recently begun. The technology's transformational impact is still on the horizon.
It takes more than installing new software and receiving the benefits to become a leader who incorporates AI into their organisation. It takes time and careful planning, but the benefits are significant.
It's simple to see why manufacturers are excited about artificial intelligence. Smart sensors, the internet of things, and artificial intelligence (AI) enable predictive maintenance in factories, utilising to save money and extent the life of critical equipment. There are also digital twins, which are virtual reproductions of a product, process, or piece of equipment that may use in simulations. AI may also play a role on the opposite end of the value chain by allowing chatbots to rapidly react to inquiries through text analysis and cybersecurity intrusion detection.
Other use cases are more immature but strong – for example, AI can assist estimate consumer demand (37%), managing inventory (32%), and providing smooth fulfilment. Analytics may also lead to better decision-making and more efficient labour usage, and AI can utilise visual analytics in maintenance to speed up inspections and verifications.
However, "doing AI" means more than just putting the technology in place. A focused strategy on business objectives first, followed by a rigorous data quality and governance framework, is required to deliver business value at scale. Companies can face new challenges, such as how data must be acquired and cleansed to be readily integrated into AI systems in production.
There are also manual procedures to digitise and sensor-based data points to connect. Governance is also essential for company-wide development and exploitation of AI to overcome the trust gap. And technology is as much about people as computers and digitisation: how your employees operate, the tasks they do, and the culture that supports that work will all take on new dimensions.
Whether you're just getting started or wanting to enhance your strategy to make it more comprehensive, shaping, accelerating, and optimising your AI journey involves six phases.
Great problems bring with them an equally more significant opportunity. Manufacturers who foster an AI-friendly culture position themselves to increase customer and team member happiness while costs fall, giving them a competitive advantage in a challenging and complicated time for enterprises worldwide.