Sustainability is a top issue in society alongside Corona. More and more customers pay attention to sustainable products. Their buying behavior influences the market. Economy and industry are therefore under increasing pressure. The consequence is to think green and digital and focus on sustainable production.
Because a "green factory" needs digital support. The Internet of Things (IoT) plays an important role in environmental protection. IoT helps to save resources and energy. IoT can reduce costs and simplify complex processes. At the same time, productivity increases and every process step becomes visible. A green image of companies is increasingly playing a role in purchasing decisions. This is confirmed by Telekom's IoT experts in a survey.
Bitkom surveyed German companies on Industry 4.0.: 94 percent see industrial digitization as a prerequisite for maintaining competitiveness. The constantly growing competition also increases the demand for flexibility and necessary change. Companies want to digitize machines, buildings, products, supply chains and even the running of factories.
The advantages are obvious: factories increase their productivity through transparent goods flows and optimized utilization of machines. This is confirmed by the Smart Factory Study 2019 from Deloitte and MAPI: Companies can increase their production by up to 12 percent by digitizing individual areas of their factory.
How do you bring factories into the digital, sustainable future?
Deutsche Telekom's IoT solution "Industrial Machine Monitoring" monitors the machine park. The complete package can be retrofitted quickly and cost-effectively in complex machines. It sends reliable information about their condition in real time. For example, Petko has connected its compressed air systems: status data such as temperatures, pressures, power consumption or running hours are recorded. If a limit value is exceeded, an alarm is triggered. If, for example, the power consumption of a tool increases, this can be a sign of wear and tear. Unplanned breakdowns, production downtimes and delivery delays are avoided. At the same time, the lifetime of the machines is extended. Technicians read error codes remotely and avoid unnecessary service trips. The IoT solution minimizes the negative impact on the environment. It reduces energy consumption and conserves resources.
Digital twins are multitasking
A digital twin in manufacturing connects the real world with the digital world. As a virtual mirror image, it simulates products, machines and plants. The development of expensive and complex prototypes is no longer necessary. Companies recognize errors earlier. This enables shorter reaction times and faster decisions. Capacities can be planned more precisely, and production can be better controlled. This conserves natural resources. The digital twin provides transparency about energy and water consumption. The mirror image also calculates impending machine and wear part failures. Maintenance only takes place when required. In this way, the digital twin ensures a positive environmental balance and helps to cut costs and emissions.
90 percent less travel costs with a clear view
Schwan Cosmetics produces cosmetic pencils for almost all well-known brands. The pencils are manufactured in eight plants worldwide. Until now, machine defects, product changeovers or routine maintenance work required the support of German experts. Now Schwan Cosmetics works with virtual glasses. The T-Systems’s solution connects the expert with the machine operator on site via computer and HoloLens. Through his colleague's glasses, the German expert can see where the fault lies. From his workplace, he can guide his colleagues at the machine through the necessary steps. Long flights to locations around the world are no longer necessary. This saves emissions and around 90 percent of travel costs and time. At the same time, machine downtimes are reduced to a minimum.
Investments in digitization and sustainability pay off
A good strategy for sustainability requires digital building blocks. IoT solutions can even be an advantage in attracting investors. This is confirmed by the IoT experts surveyed: 69 percent expect investors will give more and more attention to companies' use of IoT solutions in the future. Environmental protection on the assembly line does not yet exist. But there are many digital solutions for sustainable production.
