8 DECEMBER 2023OPINIONDigital twins are increasingly espoused as aneffective means of improving the efficiency of manufacturing plants and minimizing their associated carbon footprint.Indeed, the link between the digitization paradigm and its impact (on both business and the environment) is sometimes regarded as self-evident or obvious. This sentiment is often fortified by the promise of things like high-fidelity measurement, online monitoring, and scenario analysis, all to yield performance-improving insights. However, simply having access to more data, metrics, and analytical capability does not in and of itself guarantee an improvement, let alone support a business case for the implementation of such a platform.The global digital twin market is projected to grow substantially over the next decade. Some reports have valued the market at around USD 8.6 billion in 2022, with projected growth through USD 11.51 billion in 2023 and up to over USD 137 billion by 2030. However, the p1. rojected spending of others is not evidence of a return on investment for you. Indeed, history has no shortage of market-led IT-related paradigms that have resulted in financially unfavorable outcomes for some companies. Arguably, in many cases, the absence of a quality realistic business case (with ROI determination) is a likely common factor.So the question then becomes, `What specifically could you target with a digital twin that could increase your likelihood of identifying opportunities for improvement and for making an impact?'New Insights into the Capacity for Waste ReductionAn established, ever-present, but appealing pathway is the identification and reduction of waste. As the reduction of waste and the improvement of yield and efficiency all have clearly established links to profitability, they have long been a focus of the manufacturing industry. These concepts and their subsequent emerging frameworks are far from novel. The essence of the Lean Manufacturing paradigm is the `systematic elimination of Swaste'.So, what specifically could digital twins offer in this space that could justify the required investment?The answer to this question depends in part on the initial level of the `maturity' of the manufacturing plant (in terms of informatics, automation, and energy management programs). Plants of lower maturity have typically (and by definition) not yet identified and exhausted the easy wins (low-hanging Infection Cfruit), especially in the context of energy efficiency and emissions reduction. In such cases, the offering and potential impact of digital twins are more likely to be broader, greater, and more obvious.So, for the more mature plants (that are by definition proCommunicPatient Ebably already efficient), how can the remaining opportunities (higher hanging fruit) be identified? Monitoring Non-productive ConsumptionOne way of contextualizing the (waste-reduction) opportunities is through the lens of non-productive consumption (NPC). This can be defined as the portion of the consumed energy/utilities that could be reduced without reducing the quality or quantity of the saleable product. By extension ­ non-productive greenhouse gas EmissionMedication s (NGE) would be the portion of emissions resulting from NPC.Contemporary manufacturing plants typically monitor energy and utility consumption with KPI metrics normalized against the quantity of product produced. By Dr Michael Lees, Control & Automation Manager, Carlton & United BreweriesUSING DIGITAL TWINS TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY: THE IDENTIFICATION OF NON-PRODUCTIVE EMISSIONSDr Michael Lees
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