Lean manufacturing in the age of the Industrial Internet

whitePaper | December 9, 2022

The manufacturing sector is no stranger to change. Over the course of three industrial revolutions, companies have relied on everything from water and steam to electricity and information technology to power their operations, provide services and make products. But the evolution taking place with Industry 4.0, which McKinsey & Company defines as “a new wave of technological changes that will trigger a paradigm shift in manufacturing,” may be the most significant change of all.

whitePaper | November 2, 2022

This white paper entitled "Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing" reports the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in European manufacturing, and its potential to enhance competitiveness and technological leadership in the future. The paper is based on research conducted by the Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing NETwork (AIM-NET), which represents the viewpoint of the manufacturing community on the achievements and challenges of AI solutions. The document covers topics such as AI in manufacturing processes, robots, machines, and operations support in manufacturing, and AI in manufacturing systems. It also includes discussions on cross-cutting aspects such as regulation, education, systems engineering, and data augmentation. The paper also presents the maturity achieved TRL levels of existing AI-based applications in manufacturing, typical KPIs used to assess performance, and barriers and limitations to wide adoption. It also provides a roadmap for future work on AI, with efforts needed in short-term and long-term time horizons. Overall, the paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current status and future vision of AI in manufacturing for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers.

whitePaper | August 9, 2023

The industrial sector contributed approximately one-third of the 35 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted in 2020. Industrial market engagement is going to be crucial to meet the climate change targets being set by governments around the world. However, challenges extend beyond just the industry’s carbon footprint, with concerns around raw material depletion, harmful emissions, pollution, and water consumption.

whitePaper | August 1, 2022

One of the most important decisions that an asset-intensive enterprise must make is how to manage and care for its assets (i.e. equipment, buildings, plants and machinery). This is a decision that affects everyone in the organization, from the plant operators, to the engineers and all the way to executives in the C-suite. The solution will be different depending on the needs of the business and how each uses its assets.

whitePaper | February 4, 2022

Digitalization is an evolving process that took roots several decades ago. The first business computers and data storage units emerged in the 1950s. In the 1960s, companies invested in databases and automated processes to make reservations and plan materials or to gain easier access to schedules/inventories, MRP was born in response to the Toyota Production Systems and Methods. In the 1970s, banking experienced its first digital advancement with the invention of ATMs, which ignited a major digitization trend

whitePaper | May 11, 2022

The first industrial revolution transformed the manufacturing sector, helping it take the first steps toward automated operations. The fourth industrial revolution, today, is modernizing various sectors of manufacturing operations with artificial intelligence(AI). The use of AI in the manufacturing industry has helped process the account receivables data, tackle delayed payments, missing invoices and addressed various challenges caused by labor-intensive processes.