The automobile of the longer term shall be far completely different from the vehicles of the previous. Actually, the following era of vehicles shall be electrical and sensible, gathering and disseminating information to create a extra snug and handy journey for drivers—but in addition the automobile of the longer term shall be manufactured in a approach that’s extra environment friendly, resilient, and sustainable. And it’s fairly cool for the atmosphere, too! Let’s go for a producing journey.
Maybe some of the current examples of this got here from an announcement final week between Mercedes-Benz and Microsoft Corp. With the brand new MO360 Information Platform—which is the evolution of the automobile maker’s digital manufacturing ecosystem—Mercedes-Benz is connecting roughly 30 passenger automobile crops worldwide to the Microsoft Cloud. The worth right here is it creates information transparency and predictability throughout manufacturing and the availability chain—one thing everyone knows is crucial when constructing vehicles of the longer term at the moment.
The platform is standardized on Microsoft Azure, offering Mercedes-Benz with flexibility and cloud computing energy to run AI (synthetic intelligence) and analytics. The platform is already obtainable to groups in EMEA (Europe, the Center East, and Africa) and shall be deployed in america and China.
Right here’s a visible of how the know-how works on the plant ground. Mercedes-Benz professional (duction employees will get entry to the MO360 Information Platform by way of a self-service portal obtainable on any firm system together with tablets, smartphones, and laptops. Its visualization with Microsoft Energy BI supplies a what-you-see-is-what-you-get expertise, permitting workers to change into information employees with the flexibility to mannequin and correlate information. The Groups Walkie Talkie app supplies employees with an on the spot PTT (push-to-talk) communication on their enterprise telephones—no further system wanted. (A blast from the previous for these of us who’ve been in manufacturing or building for some time.)
With all of this know-how in place in crops all over the world, vehicles shall be produced in a approach that’s extra environment friendly, resilient, and sustainable. So, what is going to the influence be on every of those three areas?
Environment friendly Manufacturing
With the MO360 Information Platform, groups can work collectively and leverage data to determine potential provide chain bottlenecks quicker, which finally allows a extra dynamic prioritization of manufacturing sources towards electrical and top-end automobiles.
What’s extra, Mercedes-Benz can create a digital duplicate of its car manufacturing course of from meeting insights, manufacturing planning, store ground logistics, provide chain, and high quality administration. This digital simulation could be run earlier than attempting them on the store ground, which is able to finally speed up operational effectivity, in addition to power financial savings.
The numbers inform an fascinating story right here. With the MO360 Information Platform, groups at Manufacturing unit 56 have shortened their every day store ground assembly by 30%. As well as, they determine precedence duties to optimize manufacturing workflows inside two minutes, which took as much as 4 hours previous to the introduction of the platform.
Trying to the longer term, the automobile maker can be exploring the combination of the info platform with different information sources from different departments to allow a digital suggestions loop. This can allow steady studying and innovation throughout the group.
Resilient Manufacturing
Wanting past a extra environment friendly manufacturing course of, the platform additionally creates resiliency, particularly within the provide chain. With the platform, groups can analyze and visualize manufacturing information, which allows a dynamic allocation of operational sources inside and throughout crops to prioritize the manufacturing of low-emission and top-end luxurious automobiles.
The worth right here is the Mercedes-Benz Operations Logistics staff will have the ability to resolve provide chain bottlenecks a lot quicker. Employees will have the ability to evaluate the provision of parts, together with semiconductors, with manufacturing orders. This information can them be used to maintain the manufacturing operating and prioritize related automobiles even when provide chain challenges and materials shortages do in actual fact happen—which we all know they may.
To deal with shortages in parts and stop supply delays, the MO360 Information Platform will allow groups to discover a wide range of manufacturing situations relying on the provision of parts like semiconductors, based mostly on realtime information concerning the high quality of elements and tools. That is anticipated to end in productiveness positive factors of 20% in passenger automobile manufacturing by 2025 and assist keep away from unplanned downtimes.
In at the moment’s financial local weather, resiliency is probably some of the vital traits wanted in a producing plant. With out it, manufacturing will stall. If know-how will help present resiliency to a plant, I say do it.
Sustainable Manufacturing
In case you have been following my blogs for the previous few years, then you realize sustainability is close to and pricey to me—and I like dissecting how completely different firms are approaching it. For Mercedes-Benz, it’s undoubtedly one of many prime three pillars—and this know-how is enabling it to succeed in its targets.
The MO360 Information Platform will make it simpler to keep up manufacturing of each electrical and combustion-engine automobiles on a single manufacturing line because the market demand step by step shifts towards an all-electric future, in response to the corporate.
Along with offering extra sustainable automobiles to shoppers, Mercedes-Benz can be utilizing know-how to scale back its personal ecological footprint throughout car manufacturing. In actual fact, it has an Ambition 2039 initiative to change into carbon impartial by 2039.
Right here is how it’s doing it. With the info analytics device, groups can observe and forecast carbon emissions, power, and water utilization, in addition to waste administration. With this data in hand, the corporate can roll out finest practices throughout the manufacturing community.
Mercedes-Benz plans to cowl greater than 70% of its power wants by way of renewable sources by 2030 by increasing photo voltaic and wind energy at its personal websites and thru Energy Buy Agreements. The corporate additionally intends to chop its use of water by 35% by way of the reuse of water in manufacturing.
We’ve checked out three huge wants in automobile manufacturing—effectivity, resilience, and sustainability—and the way one automobile maker is utilizing know-how to enhance every. With all this in thoughts, how will you convey know-how to your organization’s operations and do the identical?
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