Taking Industry 4.0 to the Next Level at P&G
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What do you get when you combine one of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers with one of the world’s leading technology providers? Smarter manufacturing processes.
At least that’s the aim, according to Vittorio Cretella, CIO at P&G.
P&G is a nearly 185-year-old global manufacturing powerhouse that creates everything from well known laundry soap brands through to razers, toothbrushes and even cough drops. There’s a good chance that your cupboards are filled with many of the company’s products.
The company has partnered up with Microsoft to take its implementation of Industry 4.0 technology – which includes IIOT, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more – to the next level.
“P&G intends to make manufacturing smarter by enabling scalable predictive quality, predictive maintenance, controlled release, touchless operations and manufacturing sustainability optimization — which has not been done at this scale in the manufacturing space to date,” said P&G CIO Vittorio Cretella in a written news statement.
“At P&G, data and technology are at the heart of our business strategy and are helping create superior consumer experiences. This first-of-its-kind co-innovation agreement will digitize and integrate data to increase quality, efficiency, and sustainable use of resources to help deliver those superior experiences.”
The company is already using Microsoft’s Azure IoT Hub and IoT Edge to enable insight into its production lines and operations to reduce cycle times, improve quality, and minimize scrap.
For instance, P&G has embedded IIOT and advanced machine analytics into its diaper production line, one of several global pilot projects that the company has been running at facilities in Egypt, India, Japan, and the United States.
Sensors continuously monitor the production line for potential problems to identify risks early and reduce production downtime.
This helps to improve cycle time, reduce material waste, and lower maintenance costs, according to the press release about the program.
The extended program aims to enable insights that will improve energy efficiency and optimize manufacturing sustainability, increase productivity, and enhance the company’s use of existing digital twins and AI capabilities.
