AI for Manufacturing? Discover the value of optimizing energy consumption with BeChained.
Written by Briana Keyser (business intern at BeChained)
Understanding the balance between increasing profitability and maintaining sustainability is tough.
With booming developments in AI technology, where in 2021 the investments reached $4.4bn like the UK’s GDP, an abundance of solutions emerge. Making this an exciting opportunity for industrial divisions of all kinds.
Manufacturing could be overlooking the powerful benefits of AI-technology.
Energy costs is the actual torn for manufacturers
Manufacturing industrial systems are complex. Production combines a messy link of machinery, all operating simultaneously, but not in-synch. Since the process is not linked their efforts collide, causing chaos and inefficiency.
With electricity prices skyrocketing 3 fold and natural gas 4 fold during the past 2 years, the industry struggles to find new solution to pay less for energy resources.
So, production efficiency is the ultimate goal for most manufacturers – the focus on maximizing output while minimizing the consumption of inputs. Typically this requires tribal knowledge to continuously maintain the balance.
Production efficiency has historically been a hamster wheel of tracking information. A massive pain-point in the industry is collection of process data that is both accurate and measurable. Manufacturing contains too many moving parts and gray areas. It is impossible for a human to trace metrics needed to achieve true production efficiency.
This is a capability not yet realized in most manufacturing systems – even though appropriate technology exists. Although available, it is not yet exploited to improve business operations and decision making capabilities.
Except: AI is capable of unlocking a level of visibility that was once impossible to harness.
For example:
- What if there were a solution capable of visualizing the entire process’ energy data – chaining one machine’s output as another’s input?
2) What if this data became digitized within a virtual dashboard, updated in real-time?
3) What if that solution could also control and optimize the consumption of energy?
Here, the software integrates Artificial Intelligence decision making. Although there are automatic changes made to process, the AI is always supervised and within a certain safe extent. So, it does not harm production continuity.
→ Thus lowering the cost of the most vital input – energy! Up to 19% is the proven track for BeChained, so far.
BeChained is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for manufacturers
BeChained acts as a on-stop solution, capable of chaining all process data together. Consolidating information into one virtual space —perfect for monitoring energy consumption.
Visualizing Production Energy Consumption
Information is a priority resource to any organization. It’s a crucial input for most business operations – especially when decision making.
Information can mean the difference in the success or failure of a project. Due to this, it is vital to have accurate and measurable data. Obtaining proper data is a difficult task for most large-scale manufacturers. It can be timely, costly, and ineffective.
BeChained collects energy-consumption data and delivers it to users in real-time.
Through the BeChained Dashboard, information becomes a tangible tool for decision-making. Finally, large-scale manufacturers can understand actual total use of energy and CO2 emissions in production.
BeChained users will unlock new decision-making capabilities by tapping into the energy consumption metrics.
Real-Time Metrics Reported in a Virtual Dashboard
The user’s process is completely digitized through sensory reporting software. These sensors deliver real-time information straight to the BeChained dashboard.
Installation of this software is seamless. BeChained uses industrial standard protocols to communicate with the factory:
- Modbus from smartmeters
- SCADA from Manufacturing Execution System, or production scheduling
- MQTT to wrap up messages delivered to the Cloud-based platform.
The customer is only asked to install a simple smartmeter per individual machine. BeChained will then work on the data.
Sensors gather data from production and report your energy metrics straight onto the dashboard. Here, users will find a treasure of insightful metrics about their various processes.
BeChained’s dashboard will additionally forecast the peaks and dips in production’s energy usage. This makes an incredible tool for understanding how your process consumes energy through the day.
Automated Fine-Tuning of Energy Consumption
AI is a powerful tool for optimizing production processes. It can analyze the collective system, and produce optimal levels of function from each individual machine.
*A task that is humanly impossible for a single person*
Though, smartmeters do more than recording data. They help learn consumption and behavioral patterns. Then, software harnesses AI to automate decision-making.
However, users never lose control over their process.
Not only is the software supervised, but it’s limited within a ‘range of value’ from the user. This is the spectrum of machine settings prescribed by business magic receipt. This range of value creates the breadth of AI decision-making abilities.
Meaning: users decide sensitivity of AI when it ‘fine-tunes’ energy consumed during production.
Optimize your process with BeChained
BeChained is capable of chaining your manufacturing process together. Production optimization is possible – and achievable without pricey consultants.
Contact BeChained and try out the Demo to see how BeChained will benefit your process.
