Schneider Electric, a leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, said it has launched the first smart factory in the US to demonstrate in real time how its EcoStruxure architecture and related suite of offerings can help increase operational efficiency and reduce costs for its customers.

Embracing cutting edge technology and the benefits of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to drive process optimisation, the facility has opened its doors to share their IIoT knowledge and smart manufacturing technology best practices with customers and partners across industries, said a company statement.

In operation for more than 60 years and employing nearly 500 people, the Schneider Electric Lexington facility has embraced modernisation and digitisation as critical aspects of their continued success, it said.

Today the factory is smart and integrated, relying on digital tools such as augmented reality, which empowers operators to gain visibility into operations maintenance, driving a 20 per cent reduction in mean time to repair on critical equipment, and process digitisation eliminating paper work by 90 per cent.

Schneider Electric has launched several smart factories around the globe in countries including Mexico, China, France, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

These are core in its Tailored Sustainable Connected 4.0 supply chain digital transformation where Schneider Electric leverages digitisation across its supply chain operations to deliver end-to-end integration and visibility to enhance its performance.

Mourad Tamoud, executive vice president, global supply chain, said: “We understand the value of IIoT and the positive business impact that innovation and digitisation can have on our operations – particularly in our global supply chain.”

“As a living example of how our EcoStruxure solutions deliver benefits to our customers, we are gaining those same benefits in our operation and sharing that knowledge,” he stated.

“With our latest smart factory showcase, we are able to demonstrate this value in real-time, show the solutions at work and share the tangible benefits that we ourselves are seeing from our own IIoT investment as we accelerate our tailored sustainable connected 4.0 digital transformation,” he added.

Modernising a working facility that has been in operation for over half a century presented a challenge. Unlike a greenfield facility - one that is built new with the latest technologies incorporated from the beginning - modernising this legacy brownfield facility needed to be done over time, requiring the Lexington team to strategically balance the need to embrace new, connected technologies with the needs of the business and a set operating budget, said the statement.

This successful digitation evolution took a step-by-step approach, adding new EcoStruxure technologies individually where they would provide the greatest value and connecting them with existing equipment, it added.

As part of the smart factory programme, Schneider Electric outlines that brownfield implementation for customers who may be facing the same challenges with their existing production facilities.

The team is able to offer strategies and talk through the challenges they faced to help customers exploring IIoT connected technologies overcome those same hurdles toward their modernisation goals.

By sharing their experience in leveraging EcoStruxure solutions, visiting customers can better understand the value of the brownfield modernisation and the resulting operational efficiencies, it added.-TradeArabia News Service