A sustainability report using CRANE’s model, which estimates future emissions reductions, shows how companies such as Augury allow manufacturers to immediately tackle environmental issues while also streamlining production. “The report is saying nothing exotic: by running your assets more efficiently, you emit less. It’s a double win,” says Augury’s James Newman.

This article was originally published on September 19, 2022.

Better Production For Plant and Planet

“It’s always good to plan ahead – but not if it paralyzes you in taking action now,” says James Newman, Augury’s Head of Product and Portfolio Marketing. He’s feeling bullish in response to a recent report that highlights how manufacturers can start today – not one day – in cutting their emissions. 

It’s as simple as making your machines run more efficiently. “It’s really not rocket science. Augury’s AI-driven insights into Process Health and Machine Health work to improve production for both your plant and the planet.” 

“It’s really not rocket science. Augury’s AI-driven insights into Process Health and Machine Health work to improve production for both your plant and the planet.”

“Manufacturing represents around 24% of global carbon emissions,” according to the ‘2022 Eclipse Carbon Optimization (ECO) Report – Quantifying Sustainability for Technologies Enabling the Industrial Evolution’. “The overwhelming majority of the carbon intensity comes from energy and waste. Eclipse Ventures’ portfolio companies focus on enabling increased efficiency through higher yield, more productive assets, and ultimately, far lower energy intensity per unit of production. Some of the companies addressing the carbon intensity of the physical world include Bright Machines, Augury,  and Arc.”

Industrial Evolution

The Eclipse Carbon Optimization (ECO) Framework uses the open-source CRANE’s model, which estimates future emissions reduction “much like an investor would evaluate an investment’s future revenue and profit potential.”

Developed by climate nonprofit Prime Coalition and in partnerships with ESG advisory firm Rho Impact, Eclipse Ventures applied this methodology to 11 companies in its portfolio to better understand their carbon reduction potential.

“With our ECO Framework, we are able to dynamically assess a technology’s economic value potential and its environmental value potential, both now and 10 to 20 years into the future,” the report states. “Our goal is to reveal the true promise and impact of that technology in order to build and increase investor and public confidence in companies transforming physical industries.”

“It’s great they are now able to make these kinds of assessments,” says James. “It clearly measures the before and after states of Augury’s solutions so you can see the tangible impact it has on your energy consumption, which by extension is directly tied to your energy emissions. It’s an amazing tool – and will only become more accurate moving forward.”

“We can double a manufacturer’s impact by doing what they should be doing anyway: making their assets run better than they were running before.”

Cutting Emissions. Now. And Without Fuss.

The report estimates what Augury brings to the table in terms of cutting emissions: “Due to higher uptime, more efficient energy use, and higher yield, Augury cuts emissions by ~12%, resulting in 3 MMtCO2 reduced annually by 2040.”

To put it into more concrete terms: saving 3 million metric tons of CO2 annually is the equivalent of taking around 750,000 gas-powered cars off the road every year.

“But what I think will get people most excited is how this doesn’t involve anything exotic,” notes James. “Most sustainability programs involve buying new assets, switching over to alternative fuels or some sort of offsetting – and there’s nothing wrong with any of these efforts. But we can double a manufacturer’s impact by doing what they should be doing anyway: making their assets run better than they were running before.”

Impact: Not Additive But Multiplicative

“And this is really just the tip of the iceberg,” says James. “I see a lot more good news in what the report doesn’t cover. Not only are they using the lowest possible numbers to manage expectations, but the report is also very USA-centric. I’d like to know the numbers on a world level – especially when it comes to the global manufacturers who are our current target verticals.”

As the report makes clear, the CRANE analysis also did not factor in the energy and utilities sector, where Augury is now also active, but only included “traditional” manufacturing rotating equipment based on the company’s existing verticals. “Further, we do not assume any emissions reductions from the elimination of product waste during manufacturing downtime,” the report states. “We will make adjustments based on Augury’s progress in the next report.” 

“Indeed, you’ll see a huge jump in our performance in the next report,” says James. “Especially since it will also include the impact of our acquisition of Process Health leader Seebo. As we leverage our ability to combine what we do on a machine level and on a process level, the impact will not be additive but multiplicative.”

 “It has become even more evident that our physical industries bear the greatest responsibility for fulfilling the needs of people worldwide.”

Time is Ticking

Eclipse obviously takes seriously its mandate to invest in technologies that can drive sustainability today, and not just in some unknown future.

“In recent years, it has become even more evident that our physical industries bear the greatest responsibility for fulfilling the needs of people worldwide,” the report states. “Yet, the aging systems and processes upon which physical industries were built have brought forth dire consequences – our environment is at a critical juncture, and if we do not act now, the well-being of our society and planet will be jeopardized.”

To learn more about how Augury is meeting the challenge in our race against the clock, reach out! Meanwhile, you can also read more about sustainability and ESG here.

The post How Manufacturers Can Go After Sustainability Goals appeared first on Augury.

This year’s World Earth Day focuses on solving our problems with plastics. There’s a lot of work to be done. Can AI help? Please read all about it in our regular round-up of manufacturing-related news.

Once upon a time, plastics were like AI: “the future”. As famously illustrated in the 1967 Oscar-winning film The Graduate, the young Dustin Hoffman character was forced to listen to an older businessman’s job advice: “One word: plastics. There’s a great future in plastics.”

Well, today, the future is here, and plastics have proven to be a mixed blessing… And now, we’re saying: “AI is the future!” [Insert: alarm bells?] 

Homo Plasticus

The theme for World Earth Day 2024 on April 22 has a series of goals: “to advocate for widespread awareness on the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single-use plastics, urgently push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, and demand an end to fast fashion.”

It’s a worthy call to action. Especially since plastics remain ubiquitous. We breathe it, eat it, and drink it. It fills our landfills and fills our bodies (and placentas). Recent research suggests plastics also affect our immune system. 

Plastics have even become an intrinsic part of our culture. Lego! Barbie! Rubber duckies! 

A Circular Train Wreck

To deal with our plastic problem, we must overcome a dizzying array of challenges. The main one is that plastics have to be sorted into thousands of different types before they can be recycled appropriately – but then the quality deteriorates with each round of recycling, which makes the current process far from circular. 

Even the much-touted “chemical recycling,” where plastics get broken down into component parts, is not yet delivering, according to ‘A Breakthrough in Plastic Recycling Is Coming Up Short’.

A recent research paper in Nature, ‘Designing A Circular Carbon And Plastics Economy For A Sustainable Future’ sketches out several scenarios. “Only one of which achieves sufficient greenhouse gas savings in line with global climate targets. Such a bold system change requires 50% reduction in future plastic demand, complete phase-out of fossil-derived plastics, 95% recycling rates of retrievable plastics and use of renewable energy.”

Meanwhile, people continue to produce 350 million tons of plastic waste annually – a figure set to triple by 2060. Only around 5% is recycled in the USA, and 15% in the EU. And virgin plastic production is set to rise 40% over the next ten years. [Source]

But happily, hundreds of manufacturing organizations worldwide have meanwhile pledged their commitment to a New Plastics Economy. 

Let’s get to work.

Citrus Skins. Is It Enough?

“Reducing the use of plastic is an obvious way to push back against a changing climate. Plastic is created from fossil fuels, the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases. It chokes the oceans and seeps into the food chain. Estimates vary, but about 40 percent of plastic waste comes from packaging,” according to ‘So Much Produce Comes in Plastic. Is There a Better Way?’

“Yet plastic has so far been the most effective tool to fight another environmental threat: food waste.” In short, one study showed one thrown-away rotting cucumber has the same environmental impact as 93 plastic cucumber wrappers.

So yes, it’s a tricky balance.

Meanwhile, many are working on plastic alternatives – from citrus cellophane to jelly ice to edible containers. But a problem remains: consumers. While most do not want to use plastic, most still send another message with their wallets. Look at the $4.3 billion of bagged salad bought in the US alone last year. 

“The pushback you are getting is that if you eliminate plastic and go to fiber, it depletes the shelf life really fast,” says one supermarket VP. “The question is which side of the balloon are you trying to squeeze?”

“The ideal solution, he said, would be to go back to the days before plastic, when grocers stacked their produce by hand and no one demanded that seasonal fruit like blueberries be available year-round.”

“I don’t think we’re going to live to see that,” says the VP. 

So… Is AI The Future Of Dealing With Plastics?

AI is being applied on many fronts in the battle against plastic waste. For instance, the renowned Ocean Cleanup Project has long used AI-powered cameras to evaluate the best places to target their efforts. More recently, the company has been busy using AI to chart the state of ocean plastic from the vantage of space. 

But what happens to plastics once they are collected? Not much…

“That’s why Bollegraaf, the world’s biggest builder of recycling plants, and the AI start-up Greyparrot are rolling out artificial intelligence systems for sorting recycling,” according to  ‘How The World Of Recycling Is About To Be Transformed’. “The companies plan to retrofit thousands of recycling facilities around the world with computers that can analyze and identify every item that passes through a waste plant.”

By cutting contaminations, recycled materials would become more valuable and attractive to companies to make new products out of them. 

Plus: “The AI systems are so accurate, they can identify the brands on individual items.” So, perhaps down the road, misbehaving brands can be named and shamed if they are not meeting their commitments to the public or their shareholders. (It’s always good to have a Plan B.) 

Stella!

Meanwhile, in other futuristic let’s-hope-it’s-scalable news: “Protein Evolution uses artificial intelligence to determine the correct enzymes to recycle textile and plastic waste into fresh materials,” according to ‘AI Enables Customization Of Enzymes To Recycle Plastic Waste’.

The process “takes mixed plastic and textile waste, analyzes its composition to prepare it for biological recycling, and then applies enzymes designed using artificial intelligence (AI) to break it down into feedstock, such as polyester chips for fiber and fabric manufacturing. […] The first garment made with Protein Evolution’s biologically recycled polyester process was a “parachute” parka by Stella McCartney.”

Sounds amazing. But instead of only thinking about how amazing we’d all look in such a parka, we should also think about how we can make AI amazing to contribute in helping us with our plastic problem – while making sure it doesn’t create its own unforeseen problems. 

Whatever we do, let’s not hear: “AI is the new plastics.”

Read last month’s ‘Manufacturing – The News: Always Chasing The Sweet Spot’.

The post Manufacturing – The News: Is AI The Future (Of Dealing With Plastics)? appeared first on Augury.

An AI-driven sustainability strategy can unlock a world of business benefits, including overcoming conflicting production objectives, empowering the workforce, and meeting regulatory requirements.

Can sustainability deliver better business outcomes? There’s no doubt: Cleaner, less wasteful production also optimizes them for efficiency, safety, uptime, and capacity, which all lead to more profitable operations.

Meet the Experts

Allison Kuhn is an analyst with LNS Research, an advisory and research organization focused on best practices in industrial transformation for operations and technology leaders. James Newman is Head of Product and Portfolio Marketing at Augury. In episode 4 of Flip this Factory, James and Allison discussed how sustainability trends are reshaping the manufacturing industry.

#1: Improve Revenue, Operating Margins, and COGS

Only a few years ago, improving sustainability and ESG performance ranked among the lowest of the options when manufacturers were asked which trends were impacting business the most. But there’s been a dramatic shift: Today it’s often listed as one of the top three most impactful business trends. Here’s why:

• 86% of those with sustainability as Imperative grew revenues by at least 3%
• 85% of those with sustainability as Imperative improved operating margins 
• by at least 3%
• 82% of those with sustainability as Imperative reduced cost of goods sold (COGS) by at least 3%

#2: Win the War for Talent By Redefining Manufacturing Work

Research finds that more than 70% of job seekers are not interested in manufacturing careers. Worse, a large majority of manufacturing workers would not recommend manufacturing as a career. coming to work for manufacturers. How can sustainability strategies help manufacturing companies overcome this trend and reimagine industrial work to counter the “dirty, dull, and dangerous” reputation? It starts with understanding the values of the “next gen” workforce. 

“You can’t pay your way out of this issue,” Allison explained. As digital natives, this group demands work that incorporates digital technologies. But that’s just the start. “The future of industrial work “is about meaningful work, it’s about showing them that you’re doing something for the greater good, you’re not being wasteful, and you’re really interested in not just improving the lives of the workforce, but improving our overall footprint on the planet.” 

Which is exactly what sustainable practices can deliver: new ways of working that emphasize the more thoughtful use of resources, employee health and safety, and prioritizing efficient machines and processes–for the good of the business, consumers, and the environment. 

#3: Adopt Emerging Technologies

Technology is not a silver bullet. So when and how should companies wield new IoT or AI tools in ways that will help the business, its employees, and its ESG or sustainability efforts? 

“One of the biggest gaps is that people don’t know what data they need in order to drive improvements,” Allison explained. “So the cost effectiveness and availability of sensors and edge technology to give you that information, real time from the floor, has significantly improved.”

Business leaders adopt emerging technologies at a substantially higher rate than non-leaders. But it’s not about embracing the latest technology; it’s about embracing technology that provides significant returns. 

Allison pointed to a few examples. “Right now, we have a lot of folks educating executives on the investments needed to get to net zero. There are systems that can [calculate and understand] their true emissions. We have systems that are looking at people issues–do we have the right PPE, are we ergonomically safe or not? And a lot of these things are filling in the gaps that we’ve seen in the past.” 

The post 3 Ways Sustainability Is Changing Manufacturing for the Good appeared first on Augury.

At a recent World Economic Forum gathering, industry leaders talked about how to drive progress towards a more sustainable future. James Newman, Augury’s Head of Product and Portfolio Marketing, was there and witnessed one ESG sticking point – the “G” of governance. How do you control Scope 2 emissions? And are manufacturers willing to foot the bill?

I was thrilled to represent our company in Amberg, Germany at Siemens‘ with the World Economic Forum. The event brought together two different communities – The Global Lighthouse Network and the Net Zero Initiative – to discuss best practices when it came to manufacturers meeting their environmental goals. 

A Gathering Of Leaders 

It was inspiring to hear how industry leaders are confidently taking charge within their own four walls. But this confidence began to wobble when the discussions turned to dealing with the outside world. Namely, what are the regulations you have in place for your suppliers? How are you making sure they comply now? How will you make sure they comply in a future of increasingly tighter regulations? 

Welcome to the complicated world of Scope 2 emissions. These are the greenhouse gas emissions manufacturers do not control directly but are still ultimately responsible for – whether it’s those emissions made further along your supply chain, or even those emissions when a product reaches the hands of the consumer.

So yes, it’s tricky.  

“So who’s going to build the world’s first sustainable supply chain?“

Remember The Issue Around Digital Twins?
(Answer: “Issues” Are Almost Always About Money)

These discussions around governing Scope 2 emissions reminded me of the beginning days of digital twins. This was when everybody said, “I want a digital twin and I need all my suppliers to give me their digital twin, so then I can include it in my digital twin.” And then the suppliers said, “Sure. And it will cost you X amount of dollars to make that happen.” 

Suddenly everybody went quiet. A few tumbleweeds went by. The crickets started to chirp. In other words, nobody wanted to pay. 

Of course, digital twins are a far cry from emissions. They are under no regulatory or societal pressure. Digital twins are a “want to have”. Sustainability is a “must have” – especially in Europe where the conference took place and where regulations are quickly becoming more stringent.

But like digital twins, it may only be the larger players who can afford to pay. 

So, What About The Little Guys?

The biggest challenges lay with smaller companies – the SMEs. How do you help them? They probably don’t have the financial resources. They definitely don’t have the people resources. Yet, they make up a huge portion of all emissions. 

And yes, among those gathered in Germany, some of the major players seemed to know they would have to foot the bill. They knew they were the leaders and had to get it right. At the same time, some companies are further ahead than others. Most really don’t know what to do and are waiting for answers. They know it’s an issue. They know they have to solve it.  

The Big Challenge: How To Comply While Still Making A Profit

So unfortunately, it looks like these big players will have to pay. They are the lighthouses after all. The good news that down the line once we figure out how it’s done, it will get cheaper for everyone. 

WEF will be releasing a report with some guidelines around these challenges by the end of year. It will be interesting and full of good stuff. However, it remains to be seen how tactical it will get.

Some Friendly Advice 

So here’s my gut- and street-level friendly advice: 

1) Realize you will have to invest in your suppliers – to spend capital to help them get to where they need to be. 

2) If you are indeed a success within your own four walls, teach them what you know. Be bold. Be brave. Require that they do what you do. Share your list of responsible vendors. Insist they at least start down the road to certification. And if they don’t comply? Well, then you might have to consider if they’re the right supplier for you. This is the price of leadership. This is the price of doing business in our current world. And we really do need to get this right.

Yet, you’re also allowed to hope that by being first, you may also be the first to reap any related benefits down the line.

The post Who Pays For Your Factory’s Non-Direct Emissions? appeared first on Augury.

A World Economic Fund white paper on making manufacturing more circular offers an ambitious vision. “In fact, it’s audacious,” writes James Newman, Augury’s Head of Product and Portfolio Marketing. “It’s a call for manufacturing leaders to be bold with their suppliers – to make them accountable. But it also means manufacturers have to be bold with their stockholders.” 

Towards Circular Manufacturing

The white paper ‘Circular Transformation of Industries: Unlocking New Value in a Resource-Constrained World’ is a radical call to action. Released during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2023 at Davos, it was a collaboration between usually more restrained voices: WEF, Bain & Company, University of Cambridge and business school INSEAD. 

Read: ‘Transforming Manufacturing:
Turning Lighthouses Into Seas Of Light’.

“With an ever-changing landscape in the global economy, industrial companies are forced to rethink their use of resources and their contribution to economic growth. Circular transformation can help achieve robust and sustainable expansion in a resource-constrained world,” says the report. 

You are reading it right: the report is actually saying manufacturers can boost profits while doing right by the environment. 

But yes, it won’t be easy and the payback won’t be immediate. 

Opening Up The Walls To More Partners

Over the last 20 years companies have tried to amplify their circular initiatives. But they have largely failed since they constrained themselves to the four walls of their organization. While easier to control, this approach ignored all the outside sources they used – which were perhaps staying dirty-business as usual. While these efforts may have been “on-brand” and satisfying certain stakeholders, the WEF makes clear it was not enough. Companies have to open themselves up to more partners – especially within their supply chain.

According to the report, systemic change and the backing of government, academia and civil society will also be required to make this work. Hence, the WEF is using this paper to inspire all stakeholders “to share insights, best practices and lessons learned, and forge new partnerships to accelerate the circular transformation of industries.”

Consider us onboard. 

Learning To Be Bold With Your Suppliers

For me, this report primarily underlines the need for manufacturers to be bold with their suppliers. Historically, people have said: “Hey, Supply Chain: you should be sustainable.” However, no one held them accountable and mandated they had to work in this way. Why? Because no one wanted to bear the cost they assumed was going to be imposed on them for “making me do this.”

Sure, some attempts have been made to make suppliers take ownership, but these only highlighted the immensity of the challenge. Just look at interoperability: when everyone jumped on the digital twin bandwagon, every owner of a large manufacturing firm said, “I want a digital twin of my facility!” Every supplier answered: “Great! Here’s how much extra it’s going to cost you.” And then most every owner replied: “Oh, right. Never mind.”

It might be nice to imagine that a circular economy is going to be free. But the fact is it will require a significant investment across your supply chain to work. And people need to understand this from the very beginning. 

Only then, will you be able to mandate the way people work for you. Only then, can you start saying things like: I want to have KPIs that show your uptime. I want to have KPIs that show your process efficiency. Show me the year over year improvement in your energy and water usage and in your worker safety statistics. And if you can’t, here’s the people I use to help me internally. I recommend you use the same people or an equivalent – but then you need to prove your choice is equivalent, so I can trust your reports. And if you don’t, the next list will be the new suppliers I will be working with. 

Now Try Convincing Your Investors

Of course, it’s been attempted many times to mandate compliance across the supply chain – may it be around pollution or working conditions. Sometimes it works. But the main reason it fails is because the person at the top of the food chain is surprised when people say it’ll cost more to work differently.

Many technologies and techniques already exist to streamline production, work in more sustainable ways and track impact. But before you can apply them in any meaningful way, leaders also need to stand up and be courageous enough to say to their stockholders: “This might cut into our profitability as I pay for an ecosystem that will enable this to work.”

Are you ready to do that? And sure, companies like Augury can help you achieve these goals, and your ROI might prove speedy and spectacular. And you can  confront those pressure points you know you can win – to inspire everyone involved to continue down the path towards circularity. 

But you will still need to invest – while also entering largely uncharted waters…

Towards The World’s First Sustainable Supply Chain

At the end of the day, systemic circularity is about boldly looking outside the four walls of your company. Before, you had some control over what happens internally. But you needed to be a Walmart to have more control over what happens externally. To gain this control, they built a linear integrated supply chain so they now know in advance who to order what from, and at what price. 

 But even Walmart hasn’t built a sustainable supply chain – there is no circular economy happening  in their supply chain. Now, they have to figure out how to do this in a sustainable way using sustainable goods – while having second- and third-tier supply chain impact reports and following accepted circular economy metrics… Etcetera. 

No one’s built for that complexity. Yet. 

CEO after CEO has committed their organization to be Net Zero by 2030. That’s a terrific objective. But now we have to reach for a greater beyond – a supply chain that’s Net Zero. The big goal has become: Who is going to build the world’s first sustainable supply chain?

The race is on. Who’s in?

Read: ‘Today, Not One Day: How Manufacturers Can Go After Sustainability Goals’.

The post Who’s Going To Build The World’s First Sustainable Supply Chain? appeared first on Augury.

The Industry 4.0 success story of the Global Lighthouse Network deserves applause. However, now it’s time for the real work, according to James Newman, Augury’s Head of Product and Portfolio Marketing. “How are we going to go from solitary points of light in an ocean of darkness, to illuminating the full map?”

Sharing Innovation-Driven Success 

The Global Lighthouse Network of the World Economic Forum (WEF) currently brings together 132 manufacturing sites using Industry 4.0  innovation to achieve remarkable improvements in terms of productivity, sustainability and resilience. The ultimate goal of this network of frontrunner leaders is to share knowledge and best practices so these innovations can be scaled across organizations.

Released during the WEF’s Annual Meeting 2023 at Davos, the white paper ‘Global Lighthouse Network: Shaping the Next Chapter of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is a collaboration with McKinsey & Company. At its core, the paper offers three recommendations by which companies can tap into these success stories: “build a clear, value-driven strategy, invest in people and set up the right governance.”

Read: ‘Who’s Going To Build The World’s First Sustainable Supply Chain?’

As a member of the network’s Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains platform, Augury certainly applauds and supports these continued efforts. Unfortunately, lighthouses remain a problem by definition: for too many organizations they are solitary lights in an ocean filled with darkness (and the accompanying  shipwrecks). 

From Spotlights to Floodlights

The challenge is indeed scaling. Recently, Augury did a webinar with LNS Research where these industry transformation specialists discussed a common chasm their customers face: while they can build a lighthouse, they can’t build on that magic to create a network of lighthouses across their organization.

So, how can we bring the light of the poster child to all your problem children – such as #37 on your list of 50 locations? 

Bringing High-Level Advice Back Down To The Factory Floor

Companies seeking to scale are largely following WEF’s solid advice. First off, they have built a clear value-driven strategy, which is based on specific use cases to avoid getting mired down in pilot purgatory. Secondly, they are investing in people by increasing their capabilities and access to resources. And thirdly, they have set up the governance needed to capture any generated value – to inspire all involved to happily continue down this path of innovation.

But why does it stop with one lighthouse? Because, while the recommendations are solid, they remain very top-level e-suite conversations. We need to bring it back down to earth and make these recommendations more tactile and tactical for all the people involved.  

‘Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast’

So, what does “investing in the people” really mean? My role is almost 100% involved in creating great digitally-driven strategies and how we transform them into reality. But I also bow to that famous Peter Drucker quote: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”  

In other words, if you don’t loop in the individual culture of each specific site, there will be no transformation. You can’t just throw tech and training at them and see what sticks. Each site is different. You have to solve the things that ruin their day, such as machines failing, processes having defects, being overwhelmed by data or being just plain-old overworked. Solve those challenges and that creates a situation people at the site will want to buy into.

Although organizations have corporate cultures they work hard to build, the reality is, every site is unique. So, assuming what worked at one site will work at another without modification will always result in a less than stellar outcome. You need to go site-by-site and pick a unique starting point for each one so you can change the culture from the inside – while giving them the space to be successful on their own terms.

Work For The Best Future for ALL your Teams…

Let me come in from a different angle with another quote: “AI will not replace you. A person using AI will.” In the context of this conversation, the people at the lighthouses are people who want to use AI. Why do I know this? Because that’s why those factories are lighthouses. These are people who want to use this cool new cutting-edge stuff – they are convinced of the value.

Hence, the deeper dive challenge becomes: How do you convince the guy on the shop floor who’s been working his job for a decade or two of the value of this tech? He does his job. He has a lot of institutional knowledge. But he still gets yelled at for underperforming – for being one of the worst in the company. 

It’s not as if he wants to perform badly. He goes to work every day knowing it’s going to be a challenge. And sure, he’s taken some courses. He’s also seen pilot projects come and go. So far, nothing has worked. He’d love to go to work happy. He’d love to improve. In fact, he’s probably tried – and a couple of things probably already worked for him. How do you build on that? What are you going to do to help change his working world so we all win? How do you get him excited about innovation?

When Culture Meets An AI-Driven Strategy

Transforming every one of your sites into lighthouses isn’t easy, nor is it simple. It is possible, however, when culture meets an AI-driven strategy that enables your teams to create new cultures and transform how people work. Yes, even at the sites today that rank in the bottom of your productivity. So, let’s start with that one guy at Factory #37 and take it from there.

 To scale, you need to listen to his story and those of his colleagues. But that’s only step 1. The real work is to help them find a better future that they can believe in, want to be part of and ultimately, makes everyone better, through introducing the right AI-enabled co-pilots that can help them see wins. Once they see that first success, transformation becomes endless.

Read: ‘Who’s Going To Build The World’s First Sustainable Supply Chain?’

The post Transforming Manufacturing: Turning Lighthouses Into Seas Of Light appeared first on Augury.

AI can help cement manufacturers reduce emissions while maintaining – or even improving – their production process efficiency and key business KPIs. In other words, your business goals and your environmental goals are no longer diametrically opposed.

In recent years, the cement industry is particularly talented at bringing together words of seemingly opposite meaning: quality vs throughput; throughput vs. energy efficiency and emissions; alternative fuel rate vs. overall efficiency.

Decarbonization has certainly gained increasing importance over the past decade, and continues to occupy the minds of cement manufacturing executives. Between the CemBureau 2050 target for zero emissions, mounting government legislation and penalties, and incentives in areas such as alternative fuels, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is no longer just a vague, long-term aspiration. Sustainability has become a firm, immediate business objective.

And certainly, manufacturers have a number of options at their disposal: from improving energy efficiency to switching over to more sustainable fuels and clinker alternatives. Of course, many of these options are only as viable as local and national governments make them – but still, the race to net-zero is progressing at a global level.

The Eternal Tension: Profits Vs Environment

However, the fundamental challenge remains. Cement manufacturers need to produce as much high-quality cement as possible, to meet demand and beat out the competition – or in short: to be profitable. But if you do use less energy, or switch to less ideal fuel or clinker alternatives, you are being forced to compromise key KPIs such as clinker quality, kiln throughput, cost per ton of clinker, 28-day strength, etc.

Related: ‘How A Cement Manufacturer Reduced Quality,
Throughput & Energy Losses – While Cutting Emissions’

This tension between profitability and environmental protection lies at the heart of the issue of decarbonization. Cement manufacturers cannot be expected to cut emissions at the expense of their business. While this might rankle many die-hard environmentalists, it’s simply a reality – for better or for worse.

However there’s now a way to have it all. Cement manufacturers can both reduce emissions, and still maintain or even improve their production process efficiency and key business KPIs.

Decarbonate – And Still Run A Highly Efficient Plant

At a recent cement industry panel, a senior cement manufacturer discussed how some of their factories boast alternative fuel rates of 90% – and still continue to push the limits in terms of process efficiency.

That might sound like a fairytale, but the “secret” is actually quite straightforward. The production losses that harm cement manufacturers’ bottom line – like unstable kiln throughput, clinker quality and energy inefficiency – usually stem from the same process inefficiencies that cause higher emissions levels as well.

And if these process inefficiencies are eliminated, it is possible to reduce quality, throughput and energy losses – and bring down carbon emissions at the same time.

Related: Download the full World of Cement
report ‘Best of Both Worlds’ [gated].

Erasing Conflicts: Optimizing The Full Process

As example, let’s look at two of the most common approaches to reducing cement manufacturing emissions: increasing alternative fuel rates (AFR) and/or clinker alternatives, and reducing overall energy consumption.

Where government incentives exist, alternative fuels are certainly a particularly effective way to reach emissions reduction goals. The major challenge here is process stability: given the unstable and inconsistent nature of alternative fuels, increasing AFR destabilizes the process in unpredictable ways, and thus impacting everything from the kiln throughput, to 28-day strength.

The same is also true for clinker alternatives. While there are a number of viable options, any change to the most basic of raw materials can alter or destabilize the process further downstream.

However, with a Process Health Solution, you can quickly identify where and when these process inefficiencies are happening – so you can make sure they no longer happen in the future. As a result, both the environment and the bottom-line benefit.
 

Listen to the World Cement Association podcast ‘The Clinker Factor’ with Liran Akavia, Augury’s VP of Sales for Process Health, where he dives deep into how AI the key to both net-zero and greater profitability in cement manufacturing.

Or reach out direct to find out more about applying an AI-driven sustainability model for your own particular business challenges. 

The post How Cement Manufacturers Are Reducing Emissions Without Sacrificing Profits appeared first on Augury.

Developed to maximize production efficiency, Lean Manufacturing meticulously broke down waste into different categories – to better confront this enemy. Today, Process Health Solutions can look at how manufacturing processes can impact each of these types of waste – without sacrificing your other KPIs in the process.

Leaning Into Waste Minimization

The manufacturing industry is as broad as it gets. It consists of five different types of processes, spans dozens of verticals, and involves various methods, philosophies and approaches. But all manufacturers have one common challenge: the problem of waste. 

And that’s what Lean Manufacturing is all about. In fact, it’s defined as a systematic method for waste minimization. Originally derived from the Toyota Production Systems (TPS) in 1990, Lean Manufacturing considers everything that doesn’t add value as waste.

The 8 Wastes, According To Lean Manufacturing

Originally, Lean Manufacturing categorized waste into seven different categories. But later, many added an eighth category: the waste of wasted human potential.

1)     Transporting: Moving materials from one position to another adds zero value. So, avoid it. 

2)     Waiting: Boring but true… Waiting for goods to move or be processed is a big waste of time. 

3)     Inappropriate Processing: Often organizations use high precision equipment in circumstances where much simpler tools can do the job as good or better. Keep it simple!

4)     Defects: Defects eventually affect quality, which leads to loss of money, either because a product is sold for less, or not sold at all. And since detecting these defects afterwards is too late, it all comes down to: Prevention!

5)     Overproduction: The old law of supply and demand… Why produce more goods than people want? Overproduction can also lead to other wastes, such as waiting, inventory, resources, etc. 

6)     Unnecessary Inventory: Unsold products result in extra inventory that organizations are “stuck” with – taking up space and/or transportation. 

7)     Over Processing: When inappropriate techniques and/or equipment are used, unnecessary processes are performed – which still costs time and money.

8)   Human potential: Human talent and ingenuity is a beautiful thing. Use it. The training and empowerment of frontline workers works! They are in the best position to both identify and solve problems.

In Search Of The 9th Waste: Process Inefficiencies

Though the above list of opportunities and potential to minimize waste in manufacturing seems comprehensive, there’s an additional type of waste many process manufacturers deal with: process inefficiencies.

Process inefficiencies are different “disturbances” in the production line that can affect quality and yield. For example, for the chemical manufacturing industry, such inefficiencies include:

• Formation of undesired side products that affect the product purity (such as when two or more reactions occur simultaneously)
• Incomplete reactions that damage yield and quality of the finished product
• Losses during separation of the desired product from a reaction mixture
• Process instability due to blocked assets, leakages, and other asset faults
• Losses during purification due to the transfer of material from reaction vessels
• Etcetera

The bad news is that these process inefficiencies are often caused by the pressure of meeting production goals, such as increasing product purity, preventing asset failures, increasing throughput, and – most importantly – reducing waste.

But the good news is manufacturers can now leverage AI-driven Process Health Solutions to predict and prevent these process inefficiencies. Hence, you are enabled to be more strategic when it comes to your production lines in minimizing waste without killing other KPIs.  

From Data Chaos to Actionable Insights

When it comes to AI, it’s important to understand the difference between traditional AI versus process-based AI. While traditional AI looks at raw data from production lines (OT data) and applies machine learning to it (causing many false-positives), Process Health AI contextualizes the data by adding business data from IT systems into datasets — together with the specific production process flow context — and builds a process-based data model. 

It then applies process-based machine learning algorithms, which are able to clear the noise and pinpoint actionable insights. What this means, is that by implementing a Process Health Solution, we can now understand three important insights:  

1)     Why process inefficiencies happen 

2)     When they will happen, and

3)     How to avoid them from happening again  

Armed with this big picture of the production line, manufacturers can now find the best and most balanced way to reach multiple objectives – including minimizing waste. 

In other words, Lean Manufacturing just got a whole lot leaner.

If you are interested in learning more on how to increase yield while decreasing waste, please reach out.

The post The Art Of Minimizing Waste While Maximizing Production appeared first on Augury.

Sustainability is no longer an elusive concept that competes with traditional metrics of profitability and efficiency, but one that can be measured and achieved by using what you have, far more intelligently. 

This article was originally published in Supply and Demand Chain Executive

Supply chain disruptions and inventory concerns have continued to trouble governments, businesses and consumers worldwide. Even as current supply chain bottlenecks begin to clear up, severe sustainability and supply problems remain due to the amount of waste traditionally produced by retail and manufacturing sectors and the increasingly stringent metrics by which they are judged by investors and consumers.

Moreover, with ongoing geopolitical contention in Europe and Asia, severe inflationary challenges and increased consumer spending amid extreme inflation, the manufacturing and supply chain industries are under pressure to navigate constant obstacles.

The Interconnectedness Of The Supply Chain

It is time to look at the interconnectedness of the supply chain to understand where solutions could reside. Factories, for example, play a prominent role in mitigating a host of supply chain problems and can aid in lowering the impact of inflationary pricing by working more efficiently in several ways. For instance, worn down and inefficient machinery slows production, causing bottlenecks and waste – in both energy and materials.

Furthermore, labor costs increase as more people are brought into the fold to address broken down machinery, while even more money is lost while the factory line pauses production. And inefficiency in machines and processes drives up labor and energy costs in subtle ways ranging from overuse of materials to over maintenance of equipment.

Where Does Sustainability Come into Play?

Oftentimes, efficiency and sustainability are seen as competing interests in operations, but what if there was a way that companies can establish both in their manufacturing processes and support supply chain efficiencies?

A focus on sustainability on the factory floor can reduce scrap and waste (most obviously by lowering costs and increasing yields) while alleviating pressures at other less obvious points in the supply chain. How so? When less materials are needed to create a product, less mining, harvesting and sourcing these materials is required, thus involving less processing, trucking and warehousing and minimizing potential pain points in other areas of the supply chain.

And when machines operate efficiently while producing quality goods, there is also a chance of fewer recalls around issues that occur in the manufacturing process. This, in turn, diminishes the inventory volume of goods traveling back through the supply chain, alleviating another host of problems. And these benefits compound; improvements in quality issues not only boosts sustainability scores but will show up in customer preferences scores as well.

Running manufacturing assets better and more efficiently can help organizations realize their sustainability goals and serve customers better, while easing supply chain pressures ahead of the holiday bloat.

To do so, we must consider machine and process health through a predictive lens.

Machine Health

There are three key components to machine health: mechanical problems, design problems and operational problems. Therefore, every industrial leader must understand how the factory level is performing across these three measurements to ensure production runs smoothly. 

Monitoring for mechanical problems includes monitoring temperature, vibration and magnetic data to identify changes ahead of complete machine failure.

“Running assets more efficiently can also save U.S. manufacturers $3.3 billion in waste caused by downtime, reduce energy consumption by 12% to 15% and avoid up to 6,500 workplace accidents annually.”

Design problems come to the forefront when individual machines undergo extra amounts of stress due to an inefficiently designed production facility. As a result of getting ahead of these issues, facilities can avoid unplanned downtime, delays, bottlenecks and inconsistent product quality, tying back to the efficiencies detailed above. 

Operational problems come into play with the human element. Even with a perfectly designed machine, people make modifications and unknowingly create additional issues.

Continuously monitoring machine health can curtail unplanned downtime and boost productivity to new heights that will be felt throughout the supply chain. Running assets more efficiently can also save U.S. manufacturers $3.3 billion in waste caused by downtime, reduce energy consumption by 12% to 15% and avoid up to 6,500 workplace accidents annually.

But machine health is only half of the equation to solving industry concerns. Process health offers a look into the interconnected inputs and elements of a full production system and other contributing factors, which when misaligned become part of the industry’s sustainability problems.

Process Health

Manufacturing and supply chain leaders are aware of profits left on the table but that does not have to be an accepted standard. There is a critical measurement that can combat inefficiencies and losses. Enter: process health.

“There is an estimated $1 trillion loss due to unplanned downtime in the process industries.”

Process health looks at the ability of a process to realize its objectives or outcomes. In other words, are things running efficiently and effectively? 

According to a report by ARC Strategies, there is an estimated $1 trillion loss due to unplanned downtime in the process industries. In order to bridge the trillion-dollar gap, organizations can unlock productivity by honing in their machine health and optimize production by 40% and improve energy use up to 30%. Those are significant markers!

Process health can help leadership prevent losses from occurring in the future by analyzing data at every step and level of production. It can also identify optimal process settings and establish connections between dynamic and complex variables. It is a no-brainer for industry leaders who want to see significant improvements in quality, throughput, energy and reductions in CO2 emissions and waste.

Big Picture Vision

The supply chain is undoubtedly a complex structure, but one that is the backbone of our economy. While there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution to address the dilemmas of late, repositioning our understanding of the interconnectedness – starting at the factory floor – can illuminate opportunities that may not have been as apparent. 

Continuously monitoring machine and process health can reveal untapped potential. In fact, it is estimated that 10% to 20% of manufacturing capacity is shadow capacity or production capabilities that exist within current manufacturing lines but are going unused. Embracing shadow capacity has positive implications for onshoring, productivity and efficiency. 

As supply chain obstacles continue amid ongoing geopolitical turmoil, fluctuations in consumer spending and a possible recession, it is high time we rethink the relationship between sustainability, manufacturing and the supply chain. Sustainability is no longer an elusive concept that competes with traditional metrics of profitability and efficiency, but one that can be measured and achieved by using what you have, far more intelligently.

To learn more about what Augury’s full-stack prescriptive solutions offer manufacturers, get in touch today.

The post Reimagining Sustainability in the Supply Chain appeared first on Augury.

Whether it was as CEO and Co-Founder of Process Health pioneers Seebo or now as General Manager of Process Health at Augury, Lior Akavia does not see a difference in his fundamental job description. “My job – and passion – is to help manufacturers do their jobs better by optimizing their production lines through AI. And in the process, I feel a growing sense of both optimism and responsibility.”

The above illustration is courtesy of DALL-E inspired by the words ‘green’, ‘manufacturing’ and ‘future’.

My aim is to have a positive impact. Today, I see my job as helping manufacturers do their jobs better. Why is this important? Because manufacturing is all around us – in terms of the food we eat, the medicines we take, the homes we live in, etcetera. 

In short, manufacturing is critical for our health, wellbeing and our ability to live a good life. And any improvements can also have a very dramatic effect on our daily lives – for several reasons. 

Three Reasons Why We Need To Help Manufacturers

1) Everything Is Only Getting More Expensive 

First off, things are only getting more expensive. The cost of living is becoming too much for too many people. And this inflation relates in many ways to supply chains and, specifically, to manufacturing. And if we can help manufacturers to do their job better, we can lighten the load: making things less expensive and more available to more people.  

2) Everyone Deserves a Decent Job  

Not all countries are equal. Even within countries, it’s not equal for all people. And as human beings we must all aspire to have a better quality of life for all people. But it’s tricky. Because if we will take the whole world population and magically enable them to live the quality of life many of us enjoy in so-called developed countries, then we need to manufacture dramatically more – more medicine, more food, more cars, more toys. So, we really need to figure this out…

And while manufacturing represents around one-sixth of the world’s economy, it’s not always easy to get a decent job in manufacturing. You need training and skills. And if we can help manufacturers to train people, we help both manufacturers and those looking for a good job. In the process, more people can live better lives.  

3) The Earth Is Getting Warmer

Meanwhile, we are all witnessing how the Earth is becoming less livable for us and future generations due to global warming. And manufacturing is a big part of the reason why this is happening. And consumption – due to both population growth and the goal of improving people’s lives overall – will only grow. So, the challenges are only getting larger – with even more inflation waiting in the wings… 

Now The Good News…

It’s easy to get cynical. But there’s good news: humanity is pretty good at inventing new stuff – to solve problems through innovation, creativity and technology. That’s what motivates us at Augury. And happily, we are not alone. We are part of a larger team of scientists, engineers and designers who while working at different companies are all still working to confront these very important challenges.  

Yet, in terms of pure potential impact, we are in a rather unique position at Augury. As the global leader in manufacturing AI, we can empower manufacturers to do their jobs at maximum effectiveness and efficiency. 

Knowledge is Power: From Understanding Yields To Explaining Emissions 

To give a concrete example… When we start working with a chemical manufacturer, we see how their emissions are fuzzy and unpredictable – and the team there cannot fully explain why. But once we install our Process Health solution, and let the AI figure it out, you realize there are very clear explanations. Our human brains are simply not built to digest so many dynamic parameters simultaneously. But when armed with the right AI-induced insights, you can simply change the process settings to decrease emissions. 

We see similar results with food manufacturers where the amount of required raw materials to produce the end product is very variable. No one knows the exact reason – until we run the AI and you realize there are very clear reasons for this volatility. And by adjusting your process settings, you can save food – and feed more people in the process. 

Snowballing Sustainability

And the beautiful thing is most of our clients are not adopting our solution for their impact on sustainability, but because of the financial gains brought on by the increase in yield and quality and the reduction in waste and energy use. 

By realizing that technology can have such a dramatic effect on both the environment and the bottom line, we and our partners have only become more optimistic – while also feeling more responsibility since we know the real-world impact our particular solutions can have. 

Of course, we can’t do it alone. We need others to come up with their own game-changing technologies that help prevent global warming. We need those manufacturing visionaries – may it be the VP of Manufacturing or the operator on the line – to deploy these technologies in-house. Regulators are required to help boost the use of these technologies. Investors are needed to push a company’s board towards a more sustainable direction. Etcetera…

At one point, all these efforts – both intrinsic and extrinsic – will snowball and make manufacturing continually greener. We all have our part to play. So let’s get to work.

Learn more about how Augury is powering sustainability for the manufacturing industry.

The post Empowering Manufacturers To Do A Better Job – While Creating A Better Future For All appeared first on Augury.