Smart Factories

Smart Factories Production has undergone change throughout history alongside historical developments. From the Industrial Revolution through digital transformation and Industry 4.0, the operation of factories established alongside production transformed by technological advances has shown differences. As a result of these changes, Smart Factories have emerged. The Industrial Revolution first appeared in 18th-century England with the birth of steam-powered machines. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, production speed gradually increased and mass production was gradually adopted. With advancing technology over the years, machine power in production increased. By 2011, the term "Industry 4.0" was used for the first time at a trade fair held in Germany. Referred to in some sources as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0 is a German project presented by Germany. The goal targeted by this new industrial form is the merger of production and information technologies. The scope of the project involves the use of machines in production that consume less energy, take up less space, produce faster, operate more economically, and can perform data analysis by communicating with each other. In this new form of production, robots are the entities that monitor machines, shape production, and evaluate data. By embarking on these objectives, the transition to Industry 4.0 has taken place. The Internet of Things, Internet of Services, and cyber-physical systems form the main features of Industry 4.0. With the combination of these elements, Smart Factories have emerged today. Smart Factories were born as production began to be controlled with robots and data was transferred by machines. Smart Factories are also called "Dark Factories" because they operate with less human labor.  

What is a Smart Factory?

While we have outlined the emergence of Smart Factories above, in simple terms, Smart Factories have emerged through the equipping of production systems with technology and digitalization. Although there is no precise definition of Smart Factories, a Smart Factory can be defined as a factory that can adapt to technological developments such as automation, software combinations, hardware, and mechanical infrastructure, can be reconfigured, and can dynamically, flexibly, and agilely solve manufacturing-related problems. Smart factories enable self-correction of processes and offer a machine and equipment-focused production environment using automation. In Smart Factories, production proceeds through the integration of product, information, and communication technologies. Comparing old factories with Smart Factories: while old factories had human-based production, Smart Factories operate on internet-based production. Production is based on the interaction of objects and autonomous systems through network connections. In these factories, decisions are also technology-oriented rather than human-oriented. Decision-making processes are carried out through robots equipped with artificial intelligence. Multiple factors have been effective in the transition to Smart Factories. The first of these factors is the steadily growing world population. When examining changes occurring in industry, it is observed that with increasing population, industries continuously seek new ways and show development in order to adapt to rising demand. Producers are constantly seeking new ways to respond faster to increasing demand and produce faster. One of the reasons for establishing Smart Factories is the desire to produce faster.

Advantages Provided by Smart Factories

Extensive research has been conducted on the transition to Smart Factories, newly established factories have been examined, and findings have been determined. As a result, the advantages that Smart Factories offer in production processes have been observed.  

Fewer Errors in Production

In Smart Factories, all data is stored by machines and production continues through the communication of machines with each other. Measurements such as hardness and weight of previously produced products are also made by these machines. Thus, machines selecting the most suitable product can transition to mass production and produce from this product, resulting in fewer errors in production. The primary reason producers attempt to transition to digitally equipped factories is to minimize human error. Particularly with the growth of world population and the rise of capitalism, there has been a transition to faster production. More production has resulted in more errors. For this reason, minimizing human error is of great importance. At this point, Smart Factories utilize digital systems to detect potential errors beforehand. With Smart Factories, possible errors can be identified in advance and the system can be controlled with a few keystrokes.  

Lower Costs

As factories grew and production increased, workload also increased. For this reason, producers began seeking solutions to reduce workload. At the same time, as the number of workers increased, costs also rose. With Smart Factories, less human labor is needed, allowing operation with fewer workers and thus reducing labor costs. Although establishing a Smart Factory appears more costly initially, by identifying more foreseeable requirements, achieving lower scrap rates, reduced processing, and improved quality with lower maintenance and repair needs, it reduces costs compared to older factory types.  

Better Working Conditions

The increased working hours and difficult conditions resulting from increased workload create a significant burden on workers. In Smart Factories, machines can be adjusted appropriately and adapted to working conditions. Through this, workers' working hours can be made more flexible.  

Production Efficiency

Thanks to the digital production processes conducted in Smart Factories, greater access to data across the entire supply chain network is provided. Through this, producers and suppliers can access needed data simultaneously; required materials, supply quantities, and processing times can be determined precisely. This increases production efficiency.

Performance Evaluation

Early error detection and continuous data monitoring enable more accurate performance evaluations. By collecting data from objects rather than people, more precise data can be obtained and thus more definitive results can be achieved. This allows production to be better evaluated and enables performance and necessary improvements to be made more quickly and effectively.  

Fast Production

Another advantage provided by Smart Factories is the ability to conduct fast production in synchronization with customer demand.  

Smart Factory Examples from Around the World

France

One of the Smart Factories showing the characteristic of being one of the world's most advanced production facilities was established in France by an electrical company. This factory uses augmented reality to enable operators to accelerate all maintenance services and production operations. At the same time, the factory incorporating the most current technologies provides a productivity increase of 2 to 7%. Additionally, with a cutting-edge application used in the factory, energy savings of up to 30% are achieved.  

China

In the city of Wuxi in China, a factory owned by a private company is an automotive diesel systems facility. To monitor all production processes inside the factory, the company has interconnected all equipment. This interconnection of equipment is achieved through sensors. Through sensors installed in machines, data is collected on matters such as machine status and cycle time. Subsequently, this data is evaluated in real time through a complex data analytics system, production process problems are identified, and workers are informed. Through this method, equipment failures can be predicted in advance and maintenance procedures can be programmed beforehand. As a result, equipment can be used for extended periods without downtime.  

Germany

One of the most advanced facilities in the world is a facility established in Germany in 2021 and is the world's most advanced high-volume electric vehicle production facility. This factory is built on an area of 300 hectares and has a future production target of 500,000 units. One of the most striking details in images of the Smart Factory is the solar panels installed on the factory's roof. Through these panels, more sustainable production is conducted.  

Conclusion

Industry 4.0 has brought many innovations to industry. One of the elements resulting from this innovation is Smart Factories. With intelligent systems and robots entering our lives, the idea of using them in production processes was also born. Smart Factories have begun to be implemented in many parts of the world and research and development work on this subject continues. Thanks to Smart Factories, the need for human labor in production has decreased, enabling more error-free and faster production. Moreover, through the integration of new technologies in factories, renewable energy usage and energy savings can also be achieved. Experts anticipate that in the future, factories could come completely under the control of digital technologies.     References 1- Smart Factories; Dr. Lecturer Zümrüt Hatice Şekkeli, Prof. Dr. İsmail Bakan 2- Smart factories in the age of Industry 4.0; Graboowska Sandra 3- https://www.threadinmotion.com/tr/blog/d%C3%BCnyadaki-ak%C4%B1ll%C4%B1-fabrika-%C3%B6rnekleri 4- https://www.optimak.com.tr/akilli-fabrika-nedir-nasil-kurulur/   Image Source https://pixabay.com/tr/     Prepared by: Nilsu Kotil