A Perspective on Smart Process Manufacturing Research Challenges for Process Systems Engineers

The challenges posed by smart manufacturing for the process industries and for process systems engineering (PSE) researchers are discussed in this article. Much progress has been made in achieving plant- and site-wide optimization, but benchmarking would give greater confidence. Technical challenges confronting process systems engineers in developing enabling tools and techniques are discussed regarding flexibility and uncertainty, responsiveness and agility, robustness and security, the prediction of mixture properties and function, and new modeling and mathematics paradigms. Exploiting intelligence from big data to drive agility will require tackling new challenges, such as how to ensure the consistency and confidentiality of data through long and complex supply chains. Modeling challenges also exist, and involve ensuring that all key aspects are properly modeled, particularly where health, safety, and environmental concerns require accurate predictions of small but critical amounts at specific locations. Environmental concerns will require us to keep a closer track on all molecular species so that they are optimally used to create sustainable solutions. Disruptive business models may result, particularly from new personalized products, but that is difficult to predict

Industrial Internet of Things based Collaborative Sensing Intelligence: Framework and Research Challenges

The development of an efficient and cost-effective solution to solve a complex problem (e.g., dynamic detection of toxic gases) is an important research issue in the industrial applications of Internet of Things (IoT). An industrial intelligent ecosystem enables the collection of massive data from the various devices (e.g., sensor-embedded wireless devices) dynamically collaborating with humans. Effectively collaborative analytics based on the collected massive data from humans and devices is quite essential to improve the efficiency of industrial production/service. In this study, we propose a Collaborative Sensing Intelligence (CSI) framework, combining collaborative intelligence and industrial sensing intelligence. The proposed CSI facilitates the cooperativity of analytics with integrating massive spatio-temporal data from different sources and time points. To deploy the CSI for achieving intelligent and efficient industrial production/service, the key challenges and open issues are discussed as well

Key Factors of Customer-Supplier of Smart Manufacturing Implementation

The paper presents a conceptual framework of the key factors of customers and suppliers in the implementation of smart manufacturing in the company. The field of the study related to competitiveness through cutting-edge technologies related to the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Hence, it shows accurate and effective decision-making in real-time from the smart manufacturing implementation. This comes together with the converging of the actual manufacturing technologies as an aid for the operations and productions. On the conceptual development, the journal articles, conference proceedings, books, dissertations, online news and newspaper, magazines related to smart manufacturing have been analyzed. A critical review creates an appropriate conceptual framework with the relationships of the key concepts of the link between customers and suppliers for the smart manufacturing implementation, as a contribution to the body of knowledge

FORGOTTEN INFRASTRUCTURE: The Future of the Industrial Mundane

The typical cycle of industrial use, disuse, and abandonment is no longer acceptable or feasible. This thesis investigates phased remediation and conversion of petrochemical structures and their respective sites with the intention of increasing both the socioeconomic vitality and environmental quality of the area. The oil silo is an intriguing object and industrial artifact. Being close to one of these massive structures is captivating and there is something truly exciting and thought provoking about inhabiting a space that was clearly not meant for humans. These are qualities that provide opportunities to connect people with a site and create a place with substance in a way that is unique, thoughtful and long lasting. Millions of these structures exist throughout the world, creating the opportunity for a new typology of adaptive reuse. Society is currently operating within a pivotal moment in time. There is a global increase of awareness and understanding when it comes to the limited resources available on this planet. Topics such as renewable resources, peak oil, and climate change continue to be key aspects of the global conversation. Reducing consumption, waste, and pollution are of the utmost importance in considering the future of our world. Petrochemical structures around the world may become obsolete in coming years due to the decline in oil dependence and the reuse of these structures will save tons of material from ending up in landfills. This thesis posits that the spectacle of industrial infrastructure is a catalyst for repurposing and remediating underutilized lands, and that the process of repurposing and remediation presents powerful opportunities for place-making

Industry 4.0: The Future of Indo-German Industrial Collaboration

Industry 4.0 can be described as the fourth industrial revolution, a mega- trend that affects every company around the world. It envisions interconnections and collaboration between people, products and machines within and across enterprises. Why does Industry 4.0 make for an excellent platform for industrial collaboration between India and Germany? The answers lie in economic as well as social factors. Both countries have strengths and weakness and strategic collaboration using the principles of Industry 4.0 can help both increase their industrial output, GDP and make optimal use of human resources. As a global heavy weight in manufacturing and machine export, Germany has a leading position in the development and deployment of Industry 4.0 concepts and technology. However, its IT sector, formed by a labor force of 800,000 employees, is not enough. It needs more professionals to reach its full potential. India, on the other hand, is a global leader in IT and business process outsourcing. But its manufacturing industry needs to grow significantly and compete globally. These realities clearly show the need for Industry 4.0-based collaboration between Germany and India. So how does Industry 4.0 work? In a first step, we look at the technical pers- pective – the vertical and horizontal integration of Industry 4.0 principles in enterprises. Vertical integration refers to operations within Smart Factories and horizontal integration to Smart Supply Chains across businesses. In the second step, we look at manufacturing, chemical industry and the IT sector as potential targets for collaboration between the two countries. We use case studies to illustrate the benefits of the deployment of Industry 4.0. Potential collaboration patterns are discussed along different forms of value chains and along companies’ ability to achieve Industry 4.0 status. We analyse the social impact of Industry 4.0 on India and Germany and find that it works very well in the coming years. Germany with its dwindling labor force might be compensated through the automation. This will ensure continued high productivity levels and rise in GDP. India, on the other hand has a burgeoning labor market, with 10 million workers annually entering the job market. Given that the manufacturing sector will be at par with Europe in efficiency and costs by 2023, pressure on India’s labor force will increase even more. Even its robust IT sector will suffer fewer hires because of increased automation. Rapid development of technologies – for the Internet of Things (IoT) or for connectivity like Low-Power WAN – makes skilling and reskilling of the labor force critical for augmenting smart manufacturing. India and Germany have been collaborating at three levels relevant to Industry 4.0 – industry, government and academics. How can these be taken forward? The two countries have a long history of trade. The Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) is the largest such chamber in India and the largest German chamber worldwide. VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, Mechanical Engineering Industry Association), the largest industry association in Europe, maintains offices in India. Indian key players in IT, in turn, have subsidia- ries in Germany and cooperate with German companies in the area of Industry 4.0. Collaboration is also supported on governmental level. As government initiatives go, India has launched the “Make in India” initiative and the “Make in India Mittelstand! (MIIM)” programme as a part of it. The Indian Government is also supporting “smart manufacturing” initiatives in a major way. Centers of Excellence driven by the industry and academic bodies are being set up. Germany and India have a long tradition of research collaboration as well. Germany is the second scientific collaborator of India and Indian students form the third largest group of foreign students in Germany. German institutions like the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH) are working to strengthen ties between the scientific communities of the two countries, and between their academia and industry. What prevents Industry 4.0 from becoming a more widely used technology? Recent surveys in Germany and India show that awareness about Industry 4.0 is still low, especially among small and medium manufacturing enterprises. IT companies, on the other hand, are better prepared. There is a broad demand for support, regarding customtailored solutions, information on case studies and the willingness to participate in Industry 4.0 pilot projects and to engage in its platform and networking activities. We also found similar responses at workshops conducted with Industry 4.0 stakehold- ers in June 2017 in Bangalore and Pune and in an online survey. What can be done to change this? Both countries should strengthen their efforts to create awareness for Industry 4.0, especially among small and medium enterprises. Germany should also put more emphasis on making their Industry 4.0 technology known to the Indian market. India’s IT giants, on the other hand, should make their Industry 4.0 offers more visible to the German market. The governments should support the establishing of joint Industry 4.0 collaboration platforms, centers of excellence and incubators to ease the dissemination of knowledge and technology. On academic level, joint research programs and exchange programs should be set up to foster the skilling of labor force in the deployment of Industry 4.0 methods and technologies

Industrial Internet of Things, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence in the Smart Factory: a survey and perspective

International audienceThanks to the rapid development and applications of advanced technologies, we are experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, which is a revolution towards smart manufacturing. The wide use of cyber physical systems and Internet of Things leads to the era of Big Data in industrial manufacturing. Artificial Intelligence algorithms emerge as powerful analytics tools to process and analyze the Big Data. These advanced technologies result in the introduction of a new concept in the Industry 4.0: the smart Factory. In order to fully understand this new concept in the context of the Industry 4.0, this paper provides a survey on the key components of a smart factory and the link between them, including the Industrial Internet of Things, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. Several studies and techniques that are used to enable smart manufacturing are reviewed. Finally, we discuss some perspectives for further researches

Impact of Targeted Sanctions on Belarus

The present study analyses the potential impact of the EU targeted sanctions against Belarus imposed in the aftermath of the presidential elections of 19 December 2010, following the Belarusian authorities' crackdown on the political opposition. It reveals that a broader sanction approach to Belarus, implying targeting key state-owned enterprises with high export potential (chemical and petrochemical industry) and contribution to the economy, or imposition of restrictions on capital flows, may potentially cause higher economic damage for the economy as a whole, affecting vulnerable populations in the first instance, but be less efficient in facilitating a regime change. This may lead to further political and economic isolation of Belarus in the international arena and to the intensification of economic ties with Russia. EU sanctions are more likely to have the desired impact in Belarus if they target representatives of Belarusian the business elite actively supporting the regime. These businessmen have a strong lobbying power and their influence could be strengthened as a consequence of adverse effect of sanctions on their welfare status. Sanctions are likely to force them to negotiate their interests in the government and may thus lead the government to make some political concessions

The Increasing Multifunctionality of Agricultural Raw Materials: Three Dilemmas for Innovation and Adoption

Bio-economy, industry convergence, renewables, disruptive innovation, multifunctionality, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Q10, Q27, Q42, Q47,