As the concept and added value of manufacturing continue to shift from hardware to intangible assets like software, services, and solutions, digital factories are becoming increasingly recognized. However, most understandings still remain at the level of "traditional factory" upgrades. Many are unclear about the pros and cons of traditional factories, and where do the advantages of digital factories lie? So, join me as we delve into who really holds the upper hand.
Cost
Traditional factories not only have low resource utilization, with rising costs for raw materials, factory rent, and labor, but also high logistics and inventory costs. However, lean management in digital factories eliminates waste, automation reduces labor, and logistics and production optimization decrease inventory and handling costs. Information system management of inventory warnings and cycle times, cost optimization, and production scheduling enhancement improve resource utilization.
2. Quality
Traditional factory quality issues cannot be addressed promptly, there is a lack of rich data support for quality improvement tracking, and the materials and processes corresponding to problem products need to be clearly defined; whereas, the digital factory system includes card control inspection of processes, system process control, quality traceability with QR codes, SPC quality analysis control, and system self-inspection monitoring.
3. Efficiency
As traditional factory production lines increase, managing work-in-progress (WIP) and controlling errors due to personnel turnover becomes more urgent. The accelerated pace of new product launches necessitates stricter engineering change management. In contrast, the digital factory's process traceability, timely fault repairs, reduced waiting times, optimized capacity planning, and lower rework rates offer significant advantages.
