Today's next generation factory

Speaker A: The modern factory is getting an upgrade and it doesn't require abandoning what's already been built. This linseed oil mill once supplied children of the early 1900s with cough syrup. It evolved to make a staple of a 1950s kitchen, the linoleum floor. But it failed to grow with the technologies of the competitors of the day, and it's largely been abandoned since the 1960s. Today, factories are avoiding this fate in the age of artificial intelligence by recognizing AI powered factories beat the competition because they're smarter and they're more efficient. Meet David Del Anzolotti. He's using edge computing connected to private wireless networks to unlock real time insights for predictive maintenance and the ability to make changes to workflows without risking downtime by using digital twins.

Speaker B: Technology's always going to keep pushing forward. Private networks are going to be the underpinning of that. But I'd like to see a future that really focused on the worker and how the worker will be at the center of the next industrial revolution.

Speaker A: Hello, I'm Michael Hainsworth. On this edition of the Network Effect, we explore the evolution of the factory by looking at real world use cases. This is a world where uptime is assured, safety is smarter, and maybe the four day work week is within sight. What was wrong with the old way of running a factory?

Speaker B: So whether you're looking at sustainability or whether you're looking at continuous uptime, I think what's wrong with an old factory is the fact that it's older and your competition is going to catch up with you and no one can afford to get uh, their, their competitors who beat them. And I think the end of the day, I think that's what's uh, that's what's going to set a, a new version 4.0 version of a factory as opposed to older factory.

Speaker A: Do you have to rip everything out and start all over again?

Speaker B: Absolutely not. Listen, uh, there's always this wi fi versus 4G, wi fi versus 5G, wi fi versus this, wi fi versus that. The, the truth is, is, you know, a brownfield setting for the most part is what the landscape uh, is showing us today. And that landscape uh, includes WI fi sitting alongside with, let's say in this case 5G or more importantly private 5G. Uh, so we really set ourselves apart for the fact that it's not one or the other. Both can coexist uh, to the extent of when we look at value based or application based or what we like to call beyond connectivity settings, we can actually marry together. What is Good about wi fi and what's good about private 5G to make a factory more efficient.

Speaker A: I'm fascinated by this holistic digital transformation that takes place. You've got this operational data that you never had before that gives you the analytics because of the connectivity and this expands all across the value chain. It's not just an isolated automation improvement. But what are some of the biggest hurdles that an enterprise would need to clear to be able to be part of this next generation?

Speaker B: I think the first and foremost is it's on the industry themselves to uh, make the manufacturing industry understand why they need to make this move. What are the use cases? What's the business case behind making a move from uh, the way factories are running today, which I'm sure has a lot of efficiencies to it, to what can happen when you utilize AI, when you utilize robotics, when you bring in worker safety, when you can actually run a factory maybe 24, seven or something close to it and make it more efficient. So the only thing that's stopping a factory uh, from doing that or stopping the industry from moving forward really is an education and people seeing the great use cases, taking advantage of all this technology.

Speaker A: So old factories aren't broken, they're just falling behind. The real problem isn't the machinery, it's the margin. Falling productivity, rising sustainability demands and relentless competition are driving the shift towards Industry 4.0. The challenge convincing manufacturers to move from good enough to next gen edge computing, AI driven predictive maintenance and digital twins. They're not just buzzwords, they're already reshaping everything from auto assembly to autonomous mining and edge computing Connected to private. Wireless plays a critical role in the success of the next generation factory.

Speaker B: I think it comes down to high leverage features that are really set us apart. Let's say um, AI driven insights for quality control, let's say preventive maintenance that already is fixing problems that haven't yet occurred or something maybe from an inventory standpoint where you're already seeing the analytics that you need to make sure you're recurring and having uh, the factor stay as um, up to date with all the current needs that it has at one time. So it's the predictability functionality that's really going to set it apart as you move forward.

Speaker A: I'm really fascinated by the idea that once you've got a private wireless network in any given campus environment, whether it be a office environment or a factory environment, you're collecting so much data that you can build digital twins of the operation to tweak how it works.

Speaker B: Yeah. Digital twins. Uh, by the way, this isn't a uh, separate set of children that you have to worry about. Uh made digitally digital uh, twins are really just kind of a bit what it sounds like which is a duplicate version, a virtual duplicate version of what you're needing to do or provide for so you can do a lot of testing looking at things that aren't going to break things down. Um, an incredibly important um tool and application that you can utilize uh, when you're looking at things like driving a factory. Um uh and Nokia really stands apart in its application of uh, presenting digital twins and how it can help uh, in several different use cases.

Speaker A: Well considering Nokia's managed to install one out of every two private wireless networks out there today, let's look at the operation behind you. Give us an example, a concrete use case for this.

Speaker B: Well there's so many use cases to draw from. Uh and by the way you know having this market leadership comes with a lot of responsibility, comes with a lot of drive and comes with a lot of innovation that comes out of our own factory. Right. Uh, of technology. Um but if you look at a customer, let's say Audi in Germany, uh that has to um, test and look at every car that comes off the line, that doesn't happen without um, the applications behind uh, what we're providing uh both with digital twins and with all different other technologies. Um if you look at other customers uh we have some, let's say in Germany with Siemens or Rio Tinto is a great example. Ah in a mining situation where we have to a look at autonomous vehicles. Uh, why autonomous vehicles? Well A, it's certainly more efficient, B you can work longer and uh, more continuously. But I think at the end of the day um, it's driving that safety component, that worker safety component that is so critical to keeping a business up and running but also keeping the people that you work for and work with um safe. Uh and what's more important than keeping the people around you that have to go home every night uh, and put them in the right place uh, and know that they're going to get home safe every night and not uh, especially in things that are as complicated as mines. So um, I love the mining example and uh, and how, and how private networks, private 5G networks really help um provide so many applications against that.

Speaker A: And I can imagine part of what makes that safety possible is the need to master Five nine's reliability.

Speaker B: Mhm, absolutely. That's really where Nokia comes in and really separates ourselves. You talk a bit about the 50%, um, uh, percentage that we have in the marketplace that really comes from our come our service provider heritage. Right. First and foremost, Nokia provides systems for you know, all the largest carriers worldwide. Every carrier on the planet utilizes some aspect of uh, a Nokia network. And, and when you can take that and privatize it and put it in an environment that an enterprise can now run, you know, you're getting the highest quality service provider level style of equipment to drive whatever application you need. But more importantly to drive that application that you need reliably. Five nines means a few minutes a year, your system is down. We take that very seriously. So as important as the applications are, let's say worker safety for instance, driving something or AI, which is a sexier thing. The most important thing is how reliable is that system that I purchased, how reliable is that system that I'm counting on my business to run, counting on my business to keep my employees safe. I think those are the reasons behind the five nines.

Speaker A: At five nines, reliability is about uh, more than just safety, it's also about productivity. David predicts that by 2530 there won't be a single new factory that isn't leveraging the power of IoT connected to private wireless networks to feed edge computing based artificial intelligence. But while the smart factory of tomorrow feels like what's next? It's already here.

Speaker B: What's next is kind of what we're already doing. Right? So we have a great application at uh, Lufthansa Tech in Germany where um, with AI automation the customer is going in and actually looking at and examining uh, plane engines and utilizing engineering staff worldwide to both inspect, fix and maintain these amazing engines that keep us in the air and keep us all safe. Um, that to me when I saw that application in their factory, uh, and I was just absolutely um, you know, shocked to be quite honest to see really the benefits of how private 5G can make a difference in a customer's life.

Speaker A: So we're talking about not just deploying AI, but using edge and cloud compute tied in with that mission critical connectivity of 5G private wireless networks. It sort of gives us that perfect storm to aggregate all of that data as well. How long before most factories are smart factories?

Speaker B: I think that's really dependent on the industry and I think many factories are kind of um, inching their way towards that every day. But it's funny, I get the question uh, from uh, really even from our folks on the Nokia side of how quickly is, and exactly when will um, private 5G be autonomous with everybody, uh, synonymous with everybody really that uh, when will this just be a very mainstream type of um, technology? And I can assure you that um, we are inching towards it every day. I wish we were leaping towards it but we are definitely moving in that direction. Every week, every month that goes by, the adoption to private 5G increases and Nokia is in a unique position as the market leader. To take advantage of that as the market continues to really take off would say in general in the next five years, um, a factory won't be built without a 5G system connected to it. A logistics hub won't uh, be put together and built without a 5G network associated with it. There won't be a mine or a port that won't want to automate on some level and won't come with that. So in general we are moving forward rapidly. We're pushing towards this technology every day a little bit more and every day it becomes more and more mainstream. Uh, and uh, yeah and I expect it to continue to drive in that momentum.

Speaker A: So then how do you see the industry evolving to get to that point five years from now where you wouldn't even consider building an operation without AI, uh, the big data and the connectivity necessary to bring it all together?

Speaker B: I think you answered the question in the question itself and that is these amazing technologies that are coming up behind private 5G. Right. So private 5G provides a connectivity layer, Mike, that helps you drive to what you need to get going. Nokia, Nokia, uh, the ECE team at Nokia especially looks at the use case, looks at the effects of the use cases and solves for those problems. And so what are some of those technologies that are helping solve those problems we've talked about already? AI for instance is going to drive enablement of this technology, Edge Compute. And for those that don't know what Edge compute is, it's pushing the technology and the smarts farther and farther away from typical data centers that are where everything really kind of happened from the center. Right. And the more we push those out, the more um, latency requirements shrink, uh, the more technology pushes out to the edge and enterprises want to own that edge technology on their own. And the fact that we can provide edge or what I even like to call the far edge technology out in customer sites are going to continue to kind of to really be important for these customers. So I think what you're going to see are the triggers are going to be the applications, uh, digital twinning, AIs, uh, uh, worker safety. And as those continue and continue to uh, Snowball, uh, we'll see this much closer. But I think those are the bigger triggers for driving technology.

Speaker A: Okay, so we outfit any given operation with the AI at the edge so that you reduce the latency and increase the response, uh, capability. You've got the private wireless networks that gets that data to the AI and the edge in the first place. So when you think about the future, what does it look like to you?

Speaker B: The future of private 5G networks, I think, is the real combination of bringing AI IoT and edge technology all together. I think that in combination with a private network is going to start to really drive and innovate, uh, the next generation of applications that are going to take us to the next level.

Speaker A: Awesome. But how long until we actually get our goal of a four day work week?

Speaker B: Oh, Mike, four day work weeks are a, uh, great concept and a great thought. And I think we'll get the efficiency to drive four day work weeks. Now will the worker base, uh, and the manufacturing bases let us actually do those four day work weeks? We'll have to wait and see.

Speaker A: The smart factory isn't a fantasy. It's already under construction. Legacy operations aren't broken. They're just behind the times. The competitive edge now comes from upgrading with AI for predictive maintenance, for digital twins, all connected by private wireless. While we're entering a future where technology evolves, we're not abandoning the idea of a factory where the worker is at the center of the industrial revolution. I'm, uh, Michael Hainsworth. This has been the network effect.