By Dr Oluseun Adediran
About the Author
Dr. Oluseun Adediran (British-Nigerian Manufacturing and Oil & Gas Expert UK-Based) is a highly skilled chartered mechanical and marine engineer, and registered with UK Engineering council, holding a PhD in mechanical engineering. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) in the UK, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), and the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FNIMechE).
Oluseun is currently Lead Engineer (Global Technical Lead) – OE Packaging for Clyde Union Pumps UK, part of Celeros Flow Technology. Dr Adediran is the pioneering Chair of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the founder of the British Nigerian Professionals United Kingdom, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting educational, technology and engineering excellence, with a particular focus on supporting individuals from Black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds.
Introductions:
This article delves into how Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are being applied within manufacturing firms, with a particular emphasis on the benefits and incentives of incorporating AI into production processes.
How can Nigerian manufacture cheaper, faster and higher quality?
The application of AI technologies into manufacturing in Nigeria can lead to significant time savings, particularly within the production process. One of the primary advantages of AI adoption is its ability to enhance long-term time efficiency. AI can dramatically accelerate tasks such as initial analysis and complex data processing, aiding companies in streamlining decision-making and increasing operational efficiency.
By automating repetitive tasks and optimizing workflows, AI ensures that production line operations are faster and more efficient. This not only expedites the manufacturing process but also improves the speed at which products are delivered to the Nigeria market. AI can significantly enhance production speed by automating tasks and deploying robots, allowing engineers and workers to dedicate their time to creative work rather than repetitive tasks in Nigeria.
A critical factor in this accelerated speed is substituting human workers with AI-controlled robots on the production line. These robots can operate continuously without breaks, substantially increasing manufacturing speed. With advanced AI, robots perform tasks with greater accuracy and consistency than humans, working relentlessly without rest. This results in higher overall efficiency and swifter attainment of production targets with minimal downtime.
Additionally, AI-controlled robots can swiftly adapt to new tasks and processes, easily reprogrammed to handle different aspects of production. This adaptability not only accelerates production but also facilitates quicker launches of new products and innovations, making the manufacturing process more flexible and responsive to evolving needs.
The application of AI technologies in Nigeria would enable the real-time monitoring and adjustment of robot performance. By analyzing data and identifying inefficiencies, AI systems can make immediate adjustments, ensuring the production line operates at peak efficiency.
The applications of the AI can significantly cut down the time employees spend on repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on creative and higher-value work. By automating tasks such as data entry, scheduling, and responding to common customer queries, AI makes these processes faster and more accurate. Consequently, employees can dedicate their efforts to critical and innovative tasks like refining ideas or enhancing designs.
Furthermore, AI’s quick data analysis provides insights that support better decision-making. By handling routine work, AI boosts productivity and creates opportunities for employees to learn, grow, and find more enjoyment in their roles. AI technologies have advanced significantly in optimizing maintenance schedules, playing a crucial role in the industry. By predicting maintenance needs and avoiding unnecessary part replacements, AI enhances production speed and minimizes downtime. Advanced predictive maintenance algorithms analyze data from sensors and historical performance records to forecast when equipment might fail or require servicing. This proactive approach enables companies to schedule maintenance during planned downtimes, avoiding unexpected breakdowns. As a result, AI minimizes unplanned outages and maintains efficient production lines.
AI identifies which parts genuinely require maintenance, preventing unnecessary repairs and reducing operational costs. This targeted approach allows for a dynamic, need-based maintenance plan rather than rigid schedules, ensuring optimal servicing of each component. Beyond predictive maintenance, AI optimizes the entire maintenance workflow by planning schedules and ordering parts in advance, minimizing delays due to parts or technician availability. This streamlined process helps machinery return to operation quickly, boosting production speed.
Additionally, AI enhances overall machinery health and efficiency by continuously monitoring equipment performance, detecting early signs of damage, and recommending minor adjustments before they become major issues. This proactive monitoring extends equipment lifespan and maintains high productivity levels.
AI technologies have significantly advanced production planning and product design optimization, making them essential in modern industries. In production planning, AI improves demand forecasting by analyzing historical sales data, market trends, and other factors to accurately predict future demand.
This alignment ensures production schedules match market needs, preventing overproduction or underproduction. AI-powered scheduling tools enhance efficiency by creating optimal schedules that consider constraints such as equipment availability, labor shifts, and maintenance needs, leading to smoother operations and fewer delays. Additionally, AI enhances supply chain management by improving visibility and coordination, ensuring raw materials and components are available when needed, reducing bottlenecks, and maintaining steady production flow. In product design, AI enables generative design, allowing designers to explore numerous options based on specific criteria and constraints, resulting in innovative solutions that balance performance, cost, and manufacturability.
AI also facilitates detailed simulation and testing of product designs under various conditions, predicting performance and identifying potential flaws early in the design process. This reduces reliance on physical prototypes and accelerates product development. AI also analyzes customer feedback from reviews, surveys, and social media to understand preferences and identify issues. This feedback improves product designs to better meet customer needs. By integrating AI-driven product design optimization, feedback analysis, and production planning, companies create a streamlined workflow that enhances overall efficiency. This approach allows real-time adjustments to production plans based on changes in design, demand, or resource availability.
How can AI enhance manufacturing cost reduction?
AI tools can significantly reduce costs by leveraging advanced algorithms and real-time monitoring to eliminate unnecessary expenses across the entire supply chain. Data gathered from interviewees highlights the vital role of AI in lowering production costs. Open-source AI algorithms offer an affordable development approach, providing a strong foundation that can be customized to meet specific manufacturing needs, without the high costs of proprietary software. This approach not only lowers initial development expenses but also offers greater flexibility and adaptability as manufacturing processes evolve.
Moreover, the hardware requirements for deploying AI solutions are relatively modest, further reducing the overall investment needed. Interview data indicates that open-source AI algorithms provide a cost-effective solution for development. They allow for customization tailored to specific manufacturing needs, avoiding the high costs associated with proprietary software. This approach not only cuts development costs but also adapts as manufacturing processes change. Moreover, some AI solutions require lower capital expenditures compared to traditional methods, which typically demand significant investments in installation and ongoing maintenance.
AI technologies are flexible and scalable, enabling companies to implement them incrementally, based on specific needs and budgets, thereby reducing upfront costs. AI tools also play a critical role in reducing costs while improving sustainability by optimizing energy usage. With advanced algorithms and real-time monitoring, AI can analyze and adjust energy consumption, minimizing waste, lowering energy bills, and reducing carbon emissions. For instance, AI systems can automatically regulate heating, cooling, and lighting according to real-time data, ensuring more efficient energy usage in manufacturing.
Additionally, AI-driven energy management systems can identify peak usage times and suggest strategies to shift consumption to off-peak hours, reducing both costs and emissions.
In maintenance management, AI helps companies perform maintenance only when necessary, cutting down on unnecessary activities and reducing costs. AI identifies which components require servicing and which do not, preventing the premature replacement of functioning parts. This approach saves resources and minimizes expenses associated with purchasing and installing new components. AI also optimizes the maintenance process by predicting the parts and tools required, allowing companies to order them in advance and in the right quantities, preventing overstocking or emergency orders.
Continuous monitoring by AI also helps detect small issues before they escalate into major problems, enabling cheaper, smaller repairs instead of costly breakdowns. This proactive approach significantly lowers long-term maintenance costs. AI also helps lower inventory costs by improving inventory management and demand forecasting. AI-driven analytics ensure materials and products are available when needed, preventing both overstocking and understocking. This minimizes excess costs while ensuring efficient inventory levels. AI technologies also help manage costs related to labor and employee turnover. By automating routine tasks, AI enables employees to focus on more meaningful and valuable work, which can boost job satisfaction and reduce turnover. This, in turn, saves on the costs of hiring and training new staff. Moreover, AI can address labor shortages by taking over tasks that are difficult to fill, ensuring that productivity remains steady.
How to leverage on AI in manufacturing for quality enhancement
AI offers significant advantages to manufacturing, especially in enhancing quality through advanced vision systems. These AI-driven systems automate image analysis for quality control, reducing the need for manual inspections and minimizing errors. By automating the inspection process, AI ensures consistent product quality while generating substantial cost savings by eliminating the need for manual checks.
Moreover, AI, especially when using Deep Learning-based vision systems, significantly cuts down on false alarms and enhances the accuracy of defect detection. Traditional vision systems often generate numerous false positives, leading to unnecessary rework and elevated production costs. In contrast, AI-powered systems provide more reliable quality checks, flagging only genuinely defective products. This improved accuracy helps reduce waste and rework, resulting in cost savings, better product quality, and improved sustainability.
Overall, integrating AI into manufacturing processes results in superior product quality and positions manufacturers for long-term success in a competitive market.
How can Nigeria leverage on AI to enhance and maintain competitiveness in the manufacturing sector?
AI-powered systems can analyze data with remarkable accuracy, identifying potential defects or inconsistencies early in the manufacturing process. By providing real-time insights, AI helps Nigeria companies make informed decisions that improve quality control and ensure products meet high standards and customer expectations. Additionally, AI optimizes processes to reduce errors and variations, ensuring consistent quality across production lines. As a result, strategically adopting AI boosts competitiveness and customer satisfaction, positioning companies for long-term success in the Nigeria market.
To remain competitive, Nigeria manufacturing companies must embrace AI technologies and develop AI-related skills. As full automation becomes the ultimate goal, even traditional manufacturers must become adept at software.
Transitioning to a software-driven approach is critical to maintaining a competitive edge. Achieving full automation requires the use of AI technologies, custom agents, and robots to replace manual processes with digital solutions. In Nigeria, where the manufacturing industry is still undergoing development and advancement, it is essential for companies to integrate AI strategically in ways that align with their specific needs. Staying ahead of the competition demands a commitment to innovation and adopting new technologies. For leading companies across diverse product sectors, leveraging AI and other cutting-edge technologies is crucial for sustaining and enhancing their competitive advantage.
