Schneider Electric’s smart factory in Batam, Indonesia which aims to kickstart Industrial IoT (IIoT) in Asia, has been designated as an Advanced 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) Lighthouse by the World Economic Forum (WEF) at its 13th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC).
The company’s Le Vaudreuil site in France and its Wuhan site in China have received the same recognition in 2018.
A WEF white paper, entitled “Fourth Industrial Revolution Beacons of Technology and Innovation in Manufacturing” and published in January 2019, explained that “lighthouses” are companies leading the way in innovations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
WEF believes that “transforming existing production systems, innovating value chains and building new business models with disruptive potential for established businesses can create value.”
Hence, lighthouses can “serve as an inspiration for defining a strategy” and”managing changes from the shop floor throughout the value chain.”
The AMNC forum on global Lighthouse network cited Schneider Electric’s Batam Smart Factory for its success in adopting 4IR technologies at scale and its impact to the company.
Being part of the global Lighthouse network means Schneider Electric will be able to share knowledge and best practices with peers and engage in new forms of collaboration, something it already does with its own Smart Factory Program.
Schneider said in a news release that the Batam factory has achieved a 44% reduction in machine downtime in a year.
“The factory leverages IT/OT convergence by implementing digital tools like planning and scheduling management that provide an end-to-end view of demand, aligns all partners, and engages all workers, resulting in a 40% improvement in on-time delivery,” it said.
Schneider Electric has launched nine smart factories in the US, Mexico, China, France, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
“We understand the value of the IIoT and the positive business impact that innovation and digitization can have on our operations – particularly in our global supply chain,” said Mourad Tamoud, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, Schneider Electric.
The 13th edition of the AMNC was held in Dalian, China from July 1 to 3 and has the theme "Leadership 4.0: Succeeding in a New Era of Globalization."
