Precipice of Green Manufacturing Sustainability

Manufacturing sustainability targets are under pressure by investors and government. Green steel, recyclable materials, energy consumption, and water usage are among the top focus areas.

Sep 19, 2021

Manufacturers and energy companies are facing an ultimatum: get green or lose investment and market opportunities. Facing pressure from endowments, governments, and consumers, manufacturers must position themselves as green while navigating tremendous supply chain bottlenecks with both shipping containers and semiconductors. To start, Capgemini recently released a comprehensive guide for sustainable operations to help manufacturers realize the benefits of sustainability.

This week a long list of news hit the wire regarding industry strategy for reducing carbon emissions and improving manufacturing sustainability:

In the Energy sector, Chevron announced $10 billion in capital investment for new energy businesses while Air Liquide and TotalEnergies are joining forces to decarbonize hydrogen production.
In Primary Metals, a new manufacturing technique for steel can reduce carbon emissions by using hydrogen.
In Automotive, they are sourcing for green steel and decomposing the entire bill of materials to swap in parts that are easier to recycle.
In Computers and Electronics, Apple plans to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030.
In Semiconductors, challenges remain to getting to carbon neutral but with the vast demand for chips there are plenty of resources available to make sustainability investments.

Industry software providers also sense product opportunities to support sustainability. OSisoft shows how they are creating a sustainable future in Pulp and Paper. C3 AI and Ball Corporation “are committed to providing low-carbon, infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging to drive their vision for a more circular and sustainable economy” through the use of C3’s Energy Management product. AWS and Bloomberg have developed a machine learning model to estimate corporate greenhouse gas emissions to help investors “align their investments with the regulatory measures and achieve net-zero goals.” As net-zero carbon, green manufacturing, and corporate sustainability targets get closer, more part and software suppliers will fill the need for better materials and tools to alleviate the pressure.

Visual Inspection

Also, watch how Anglian Water is solving its submerged pumps’ condition monitoring challenges.

Acoustic Monitoring

Helping manufacturers realize zero defects by adopting AI-enabled solutions

Assembly Line

Revolutionizing the Composting Industry

Date: September 8, 2021
Author: Haley Rischar

“To our knowledge, this facility is the first time that AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics have been used in a pre-sort facility for organics in North America,” says McMillin. “The goal of the presort facility is to remove contaminants from the organic waste stream prior to processing instead of trying to remove those contaminants after they’ve been through the composting process via vacuums and wind sifters that have historically been attached to the screening process.

This is why railway communications needs great network design

Date: September 13, 2021
Author: Juan Manuel Melero
Vertical: Railroad

A solid network design is the foundation to deliver on stringent performance requirements associated with mission-critical railway communications and to deliver on consumer expectations, which remain unchanged regardless of being at home or sitting on a train moving at 500km/h.

Network design has the potential to identify the optimal site locations to deliver the target performance at the best TCO, but its complexity cannot be overlooked. While cell planning tools exist, operating them for the right outcome is not trivial and requires highly skilled experts connected to a global knowledge base to keep up to date with the latest industry developments and realize the potential of 5G-based FRMCS.

Thermal Process Modeling to Save Energy

Date: September 14, 2021
Authors: V. Mendoza, J. Gonzalez
Vertical: Primary Metal

The thermal schedule for heating workpieces is often determined by simple rules and experience in industrial production. Thus, a finite element method (FEM) based simulation of heating ingots in heat treatment furnaces is of great importance to thermal optimization. FEM modeling allows for the prediction and control of temperature uniformity — and ultimately microstructure, residual stresses, workpiece properties, and reducing energy consumption.

Read more at Carpenter Technology Blog

Before the Flood: How Technology Is Helping Build Water Resilience Around the Globe

Date: September 15, 2021
Author: Mark De Wolf

At Veolia Water Technologies—a division of global water, waste, and energy management giant Veolia—the company’s developers are working on new ways to prepare cities for the inevitable. They’re applying digital and IoT technologies and predictive analytics to build water-resilience management techniques such as flood modeling, sustainable drainage design, clean water distribution, and resource optimization.

Applying deep learning to sensor data to support workers in manufacturing

Date: September 17, 2021
Author: Yuichi Sakurai

To achieve next-generation production systems and Multiverse Mediation with CPSs, 4M (huMan, Machine, Material, and Method) work transitions need to be clarified and used more accurately. However, traditional systems cannot detect deviations in manual procedures. To resolve these issues, we are developing a highly accurate detection technology for “human work”. Figure 2 shows the assembly cells considered in this study.

Compared to conventional approaches, we achieved a 15% reduction in product assembly time and a deviation detection leak of almost zero (more than 95% work identification accuracy). These results demonstrated the potential for our system to efficiently and effectively support manufacturing workers and contribute to greater efficiency and quality management in the assembly of complex equipment.

Read more at Hitachi Industrial AI Blog

Real-Time Sensors Allow Data-Driven Monitoring of Flow-Measurement Systems

Date: September 17, 2021
Author: Behzad Nobakht
Vertical: Petroleum and Coal

The downtime of manufacturing machinery, engines, or industrial equipment can cause an immediate loss of revenue. Reliable prediction of such failures using multivariate sensor data can prevent or minimize the downtime. With the availability of real-time sensor data, machine-learning and deep-learning algorithms can learn the normal behavior of the sensor systems, distinguish anomalous circumstances, and alert the end user when a deviation from normal conditions occurs.

Read more at Journal of Petroleum Technology

Europe’s new €1.6bn chip plant needs only 10 workers on factory floor

Date: September 17, 2021
Vertical: Semiconductor, Automotive

A 60,000 square meter facility built specializing in power semiconductors seeks ease bottlenecks for major automotive clients. The increase in automation solutions has made localized European production of semiconductors possible. By reducing comparable personnel needed to run the facility from 150 to 10 makes the factory cost competitive with factories in Asia.

Surge Demand

LG Electronics turns home appliance plant into smart factory. How Shell restarted their oil platforms in the Gulf after Hurricane Ida. Google releases a new supply chain digital twin solution. John Deere is acquiring 5G spectrum for their factories. Japan reevaluates its strategic position in the semiconductor industry. Rivian sparks a green-economy boon town by their factory in Normal, Illinois.

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