Let’s talk!

Kindly provide your details, we will reach you shortly.


Contact Us

Industry 4.0: Real-Time Monitoring for Optimal Asset Health

Industry 4.0 and How it Revolutionized Asset Monitoring in Manufacturing Sector

Industry 4.0, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or 4IR, brings forth the integration of digital technology and intelligent automation into the physical world of manufacturing. By harnessing the power of the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Cities, Cloud Computing, and Artificial Intelligence, it enables faster, more efficient, and personalized production of goods while cutting costs. 

Industry 4.0 brought a paradigm shift in manufacturing by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and data-driven insights, transforming manufacturing operations. Here, we delve into some of the foremost advantages and benefits –

Real-Time Data Monitoring

Integrating IoT devices and sensors into manufacturing equipment enables valuable data collection in real time. This constant stream of information offers manufacturers an accurate understanding of asset conditions around the clock, facilitating swift responses to emerging faults.

Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics

With cloud computing and interconnected systems, maintenance teams can access real-time asset health data anywhere. This remote capability promotes efficient monitoring and quick diagnostics without physical presence, thus saving valuable time, money, and resources.

Data Analysis and Insights

The digitized nature of Industry 4.0 enables the collection, management, and analysis of vast quantities of data across numerous assets. Leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI/ ML), users can extract valuable insights from this data trove and make informed decisions.

Predictive Maintenance

Combining real-time data and machine-learning algorithms allows manufacturers to predict when an asset is likely to fail accurately. Driven by this foresight, potential issues can be addressed before they escalate, saving on repair costs, eliminating unplanned downtime, and extending equipment lifespan.

Collaboration

Furthermore, Industry 4.0 promotes seamless collaboration between teams across the supply chain through real-time data sharing, remote access, and centralized control. Manufacturers can achieve an agile and responsive environment by breaking down silos with streamlined coordination and communication.

Real-Time Asset Health Monitoring

A new chapter has unfolded where advanced breakthrough technologies are transforming traditional factories into intelligent, data-driven powerhouses, revolutionizing how manufacturers operate and maintain their valuable equipment resulting in operational efficiency and cost optimization. But before we dig into it, let us understand how traditional monitoring methods in manufacturing are burdened with multiple challenges.

Drawbacks of Traditional Asset Monitoring Methods in Manufacturing

Lack of real-time insights: As manual data collection introduces delays in issue identification, traditional monitoring methods lack real-time insights.

Inefficiency and human error: Manual data collection is susceptible to human errors, inconsistencies, and delays, thus compromising the accuracy of analysis and insights.

Reactive approach: Relying on a reactive approach to issue resolution leads to production disruptions, quality issues, and increased repair costs.

Difficulty in scalability: Traditional monitoring methods struggle to scale alongside production and manufacturing processes, as manual data collection is burdensome and error-prone in complex setups.

Lack of integration and connectivity: The isolated nature of traditional methods inhibits incorporating advanced transformative technologies like machine learning and smart automation.

Limited visibility: Traditional monitoring methods fail to provide end-to-end visibility, restricting traceability and hindering the identification of bottlenecks.

Image of IOT trends

Benefits of Real-Time Asset Health Monitoring

As a game-changer, real-time asset health monitoring provides a myriad of invaluable benefits.

Proactive Maintenance: Real-time asset health monitoring helps identify early signs of deterioration, enabling proactive maintenance scheduling to prevent major breakdowns, minimize downtime, and avoid operational disruptions.

Increased Asset Availability: The equipment monitoring system can swiftly identify malfunctioning assets and alert personnel proactively. This promptness allows for quick troubleshooting and ensures enhanced asset availability.

Improved Reliability and Performance: Organizations can maximize operational efficiency and reliable performance by monitoring critical parameters and maintaining assets healthy.

Cost Optimization: Saves money by detecting and addressing issues promptly and avoiding costly repairs, emergency maintenance, and production losses.

Data-Driven Decision Making: Asset health monitoring systems collect and analyze data on performance, trends, and patterns. This wealth of information helps enterprises to make informed decisions and improve maintenance strategies.

Extended Asset Lifespan: Regular monitoring helps identify and address issues that may lead to premature asset failure. By extending the lifespan of assets, organizations optimize their investment and reduce the need for frequent replacements.

Embrace Digital Transformation with CES as Your Reliable Partner

Embracing Industry 4.0 is not just about adopting new technologies; it’s about unleashing a transformation that redefines how you do business. In this transformative process, CES is committed to providing continuous support and expertise to help enterprises navigate the complexities and seize the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0. 

Our experts work closely with your team, providing in-depth insights and hands-on assistance to optimize the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies into your existing processes. Our services help organizations harness the power of data-driven decision-making, predictive maintenance, and interconnected systems, gaining a competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving market. Our comprehensive range of services includes:

  • IoT Integration: We seamlessly deploy, manage, and analyze IoT devices, allowing for real-time monitoring, process automation, and optimization.
  • Cloud Computing: We help you harness cloud infrastructure’s scalable and flexible capabilities to collect, store, and analyze the vast volumes of data generated with Industry 4.0 technologies.
  • Custom Web and Mobile ApplicationsWe build tailored web and mobile applications to provide visualized real-time data collected from IoT devices, sensors, and machines in a user-friendly interface.
  • Analytics and Reporting: We collect valuable data from diverse assets and transform it into detailed reports with actionable insights, aiding you in making educated business decisions.
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine LearningWe develop and deploy advanced AI and ML algorithms that automate processes, unlock predictive insights, and reveal data patterns.

Transform your Manufacturing future with Industry 4.0. Reach out to our experts at info@cesltd.com.

GSK’s Environmental Sustainability Journey: A Pioneering Commitment

Continuing our insightful journey exploring environmental sustainability commitments with exemplary leaders, we now turn our attention to a global biopharma leader: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). By recognizing the critical interconnections of climate, nature, and health, GSK showcases its commitment to building a net zero, nature-positive, and healthier planet. Let’s delve into GSK’s climate and nature targets and how it empowers businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable practices.

Mapping the Path to Net Zero Impact on Climate

“As a global biopharma leader, we want to play our full part in protecting and restoring the planet’s health, in order to protect and improve people’s health. Improving the environmental sustainability of our business makes us more resilient, so we can deliver the products that patients rely on.”

Emma Walmsley, CEO.

Top five pharmaceutical companies by environmental sustainability metrics in their filings

[Source: Environmental Sustainability Ranking 2023]

To address environmental impact as a core mission, GSK sets ambitious climate and nature targets to mitigate risks. GSK aims to achieve 100% renewable electricity for its operations by 2025 (including Scope 2 emissions). By 2030, the company targets an 80% reduction in carbon emissions across all scopes. The remaining 20% will be addressed through investment in nature-based solutions, which help offset the environmental impact. GSK’s goal is to achieve net zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2045, encompassing all scopes of emissions.

A) Priority Actions to Minimize Operational Emissions – Recognizing around 8% of its carbon footprint stems from its operations, GSK is dedicated to implementing targeted strategies for minimizing these emissions, which includes investing in renewable electricity, electric vehicles, and energy reduction initiatives.

  • Renewable Electricity – GSK is a member of RE100, committing to source 100% renewable electricity by 2025. In 2022, GSK reached 73%, an increase of 28% since 2020, by adopting various methods, including on-site generation, off-site power purchase agreements, and wind and solar energy investments.
  • Electric Vehicles – Being part of EV100, GSK plans to transition its sales fleet to low-carbon vehicles and install charging infrastructure at 100 sites. Currently, GSK has installed 435 chargers at 30 sites. This shift reduces tailpipe emissions and improves air quality and human health.
  • Energy Reduction & Eco-Design – GSK accelerates its energy reduction program by analyzing on-site energy consumption and identifying opportunities for efficiency improvements. To reduce environmental impact, GSK incorporates eco-design and green chemistry principles into developing and producing its medicines.

B) Value Chain Emissions – Approximately 92% of GSK’s carbon footprint originates from its suppliers’ and patients’ use of its products. Identifying this, GSK is committed to collaborating with its entire value chain to mitigate carbon emissions with its structured engagement program with suppliers as a foundation for further progress.

  • Suppliers – GSK tackles supply chain emissions (29% of total emissions) through the Sustainable Procurement Program. Suppliers must act on carbon reduction, renewable energy, waste management, water conservation, sustainable sourcing, and greener API sourcing. From 2023, suppliers will be expected to disclose emissions, set 1.5°C-aligned reduction targets, and shift to renewable energy. GSK’s Energize program collaborates with peers and nine suppliers committed to buying two terawatt-hours of renewable electricity. GSK joined the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force, partnering with seven global healthcare firms to cut emissions.
  • Logistics and Carbon Credits – GSK is transitioning from airfreight to sea freight whenever possible, reducing emissions from logistics. Moreover, the company invests in high-quality nature protection and restoration projects to offset residual emissions, securing carbon credits with a focus on projects with positive co-benefits for nature and human health.

What does Nature Target mean for GSK?

The company prioritizes nature targets to mitigate risks from habitat degradation and deforestation. This includes the emergence of pathogens while ensuring raw material sustainability. GSK leads in setting nature-based goals that promote a sustainable future with clear targets on water, biodiversity, waste, and materials.

Water:

  • By 2030, lessen overall water use by 20%.
  • Be water neutral in own operations and with key suppliers in water-stressed regions by 2030.
  • Achieve good water stewardship at 100% of GSK’s sites by 2025.
  • Zero impact Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) levels for all sites and key suppliers by 2030.

GSK reduced operational water use by 5% overall in 2022 compared to 2021, with a 1% decrease in high-water stress areas. This translates to a 23% drop in overall water use and a 6% decrease in high water-stressed areas from its 2020 baseline. In 2022, all GSK facilities and 98% of antibiotic suppliers met industry requirements for safe discharges by the AMR Alliance.

Waste and Materials:

  • Achieve zero operational waste by 2030, including eliminating single-use plastics.
  • Attain a 25% reduction in the environmental impact of products and packaging by 2030.
  • Reduce waste from the supply chain by 10% by 2030.

GSK’s Environmental Sustainability Ratings from Multiple Agencies

[Source: Rating by Multiple Agencies]

My Green Labs, the gold standard for laboratory sustainability best practices worldwide, has certified GSK’s R&D facilities in Upper Providence. At some of its locations, GSK has eliminated the usage of disposable gowns, implemented new solvent recovery procedures and recycling for chemical containers, and removed the use of PVC and plastic in products.

Biodiversity:

  • Create a positive impact on biodiversity at all GSK-owned sites by 2030.
  • Sustainably source 100% of agricultural, forestry, and marine-derived materials, ensuring they are deforestation-free by 2030.

In 2022, GSK completed biodiversity assessments for 80% of its sites and commenced biodiversity uplift projects at three of its largest R&D facilities. It is addressing 12 critical agricultural, forestry, and marine-derived materials as part of its sustainable sourcing standard. GSK has reached 90% sustainable sourcing of paper and palm oil.

GSK invested in community-driven reforestation projects in Ghana, and mangrove restoration in Indonesia, covering 2,500 hectares. Additionally, the brand actively engages in the LEAF Coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance), supporting emissions avoidance measures in tropical and subtropical forests, and evaluates recommendations from the Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative to guide carbon credits.

GSK’s comprehensive climate and nature targets showcase its deep commitment to environmental sustainability, leading the way for a greener future in the pharmaceutical industry and beyond.

CES NeoSilica: Your Strategic Digital Partner for Energy Transition, Digitalization & Net Zero

We offer extensive IoT, IT, and IT/OT integration and functional expertise to build advanced enterprise solutions through Digital Transformation, Renewables, M&A, and ESG initiatives. As the portfolio expands asset classes, we facilitate smooth scalability. NSoT, a one-stop digital energy platform, digitally tracks all direct and indirect carbon sources and helps optimize energy consumption, integrate renewable energy sources, and reduce operational waste. The platform offers a unified system view across your entire portfolio with the seamless alignment of all stakeholders to attain maximum performance and revenues.

CES NeoSilica is committed to contributing actively in critical areas to achieve UN SDG – for Clean Water & Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Industry and Infrastructure, and Sustainable Cities and Communities. Our experts can help improve enterprise sustainability targets and enhance efficiency. You can connect with us at cesneosilica for further consultation.

Sources:

Impact of DevOps on Software Development

In the realm of software development, we cannot overlook the impact of DevOps. The transformative approach of uniting once-independent separate teams – development (Dev) and operations (Ops) unlocks a harmonious synergy to accelerate software delivery while maintaining uncompromising quality standards. This blog delves into the pros and cons of embracing DevOps methodology, key considerations before adoption, and use cases of successful utilization by industry leaders.

DevOps: Redefining the Software Industry for a Better Future

Traditional software development methodologies faced challenges due to a growing gap between software development and IT operations teams, resulting in silos and delivery delays. To address these issues, DevOps emerged, emphasizing collaboration, automation, and a customer-centric approach in every step of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). By fostering a culture of continuous collaboration, innovation, and rapid scalability, DevOps empowers enterprises to navigate through roadblocks and adapt to the ever-changing market needs.

Benefits of Adopting DevOps for Efficient Software Development

The reasons why DevOps has earned its rightly deserved status are –

Accelerated Deliveries

DevOps enhances the speed and efficiency of software development, testing, and deployment by implementing continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD). Companies can swiftly and consistently release software updates to meet the ever-growing user demands by employing the’ Automate Everything’ mindset of DevOps.

Enhanced Productivity

Unlike the traditional, sequential development processes, DevOps embraces an iterative approach that brings global teams together, eliminating idle time and boosting productivity. The automation of repetitive tasks frees up valuable man-hours, allowing teams to focus on more critical tasks.

Streamlined Communication

At its core, DevOps strongly emphasizes cross-team collaboration to break down silos and permit transparency between the development and operations teams. This culture cultivates efficient communication, a sense of shared responsibility, and aligned goals.

Rapid Innovation

DevOps plays a pivotal role in fostering innovation within organizations. The methodology embraces new ideas, allows fail faster, and continuously enhances code with its repetitive and short development lifecycle.

Consistent Quality

Leveraging automation tools and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) prevents manual errors and ensures consistent quality. Additionally, the iterative nature of DevOps enables a continuous feedback loop across teams to identify and resolve issues promptly.

Better Data Privacy

DevOps offers key vaults or secret managers to securely store sensitive information, including passwords, keys, and tokens. This centralized and secure location eliminates the need for hardcoding crucial data directly into the base code, preventing data leakage and unauthorized access. Secret management also enhances audit control for better monitoring and management of sensitive assets.

Key Challenges in DevOps Adoption

The successful adoption and implementation of DevOps practices are highly rewarding but come with a few challenges. 

Culture Change

Embracing DevOps requires a major cultural shift, as development and operations teams must unite around a common goal with shared metrics and toolsets. Transitioning to this can be challenging, particularly for those accustomed to traditional methods. Achieving complete collaboration relies on building trust and overcoming resistance within teams.

Steep Learning Curve

The transition to DevOps and adopting new practices can pose challenges for management and individuals attuned to traditional methodologies. Like the saying ‘Rome was not built in a day,’ a functional DevOps culture cannot be established overnight. It is a gradual process that requires a commitment to learning and continuous improvement to embrace it fully.

Upfront Expenses

Implementing DevOps comes with a few upfront costs, including acquiring new tools, establishing an automation infrastructure, and training employees. Even if the long-term benefits of DevOps often outweigh the initial capital, the initial investment may be challenging for enterprises with limited resources.

Possible Vulnerabilities

With a strong focus on speedy deliveries, security can sometimes be overlooked within the DevOps lifecycle. The open-source tools and the presence of weak access controls can present vulnerabilities. The fix is enterprises must incorporate DevSecOps practices like automated security testing and continuous monitoring at every step of the development process to alleviate these risks.

Will DevOps suit you?

Now comes the golden question! 

Despite the widespread popularity of DevOps, it may not be the perfect fit for every enterprise. Before embarking on the journey, it is crucial to conduct a thorough assessment to determine its compatibility with your organization. Here are some key considerations:

Not Focused on Rapid Releases

DevOps best suits companies that thrive on regular software releases and continuous improvements. If your enterprise operates in an industry where frequent releases are unnecessary or if your existing infrastructure is sufficient; a full-fledged DevOps adoption may be wasteful and can become a price burden.

Prioritizing Security over Speed

Regulated industries like healthcare and banking prioritize protecting sensitive information with robust security measures. However, the fast-paced nature of DevOps can introduce potential security risks if not implemented and monitored. It is paramount to establish adequate security measures.

Heavily Relying on Manual Expertise

In DevOps, automation is a key aspect that drives efficiency. However, it is important to acknowledge that not everything can be automated. There are instances where manual intervention or intricate decision-making processes are necessary. In such cases, it is pragmatic to stick to the relevant methods rather than add complexity to the entire process.

Even if a complete cultural shift may not be suitable for every organization, it is possible to adopt certain elements of DevOps practices that will lead to a desired value. For instance, adopting a collaborative work culture can improve the teams’ productivity, regardless of the extent of automation implemented.

Impact of DevOps on the Digital Giants: Exemplary Industry Leaders in Action

DevOps had a game-changing impact on tech titans Amazon and Netflix, revolutionizing their software development practices and organizational culture.

Impact on Amazon

Amazon’s DevOps story inspires organizations worldwide, showcasing the ultimate power of DevOps to drive operational excellence and business transformation. Leveraging the continuous deployment capabilities, the e-commerce giant releases new software updates to their production servers every 11.6 seconds, accelerating innovation and response to market demands. Prioritizing quality and risk management, Amazon implemented a cutting-edge load balancer that reduced the number of outages to just 1 per 100,000 deployments, improving customer satisfaction and brand reputation.

Impact on Netflix

Netflix’s DevOps adoption sets unmatched benchmarks for efficiency, speed, and customer satisfaction, paving the way for other digital media. With a cloud-based infrastructure and automated deployments, the streaming company seamlessly integrates code, delivering flawless experiences to 100+ million users. Through open-source solutions and the Simian Army’s automated tools, Netflix effectively tackles challenges and maintains smooth operations. 

CES Devops Capabilities

Partnering with CES for DevOps Adoption

In today’s high-speed, tech-powered digital era, adopting DevOps practices is no longer optional; it is slowly becoming necessary for organizations striving to succeed and maintain their competitive edge. 

DevOps success relies on the right partner choice – evaluating benefits, drawbacks, and compatibility with utmost care. As an expert Cloud & DevOps service provider, CES helped several businesses to adopt the DevOps culture and methodologies. Explore our compelling success stories in –

  • How we helped a leading Agri Retailer achieve faster time-to-market, improve code quality, and achieve a 50% reduction in downtime by implementing CI/ CD pipelines, Azure DevOps, and Python technologies.
  • We helped a global Asset Management Firm to implement DevOps by setting up automated deployment mechanisms to achieve reduced downtime, secured configuration, and consistent environments.

To know more about the transformative power of DevOps and kickstart your DevOps journey, contact us at info@cesltd.com.