Production Assurance AI answers: Can we be profitable in the future?

In the last few years, we’ve all learned how to become more agile. In the face of unplanned events like a global pandemic and various geopolitical events, we had to change and pivot on demand. 

This holds true for individuals and businesses alike, and notably so in the manufacturing environments where I spend much of my time.

That’s why the promise of a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology, called generative AI, is so promising for manufacturers – for today and the future. 

As Industry 4.0 establishes a strengthening foothold in manufacturing, the transition is facilitating greater accuracy and speed in areas where technology supports and improves human intervention. Generative AI will be an integral part of manufacturing’s technology transformation.

In manufacturing, new generative AI technology can be applied to the creation of an iterative, strategic business plan. 

In many ways, strategic business planning is ideal for AI’s capabilities. It can use disparate workflows and data siloes, allowing new levels of data-driven insight and precision. At Dell Technologies, we call this 

Production Assurance AI. 

What is Production Assurance AI?

Global economic conditions, labor shortages and supply chain issues are putting pressure on manufacturers’ profitability. 

In a market that’s competing for skilled workers and balancing unexpected outside disruptions, production efficiency is not the main goal for the digitization of manufacturing—it’s resiliency. 

While manufacturers confront many different challenges, the need for manufacturing organizations to adapt to changes on demand has never been greater. 

However, the most significant challenge involves the ability to plan and ensure profitability in the future. Addressing this challenge requires the creation of a strategic, iterative business plan. 

Capabilities of Production Assurance AI

Production Assurance AI uses enterprise-wide data to train the first pass and second-pass models. The generative AI solution then applies intelligence and inferencing to analyze that data. Insights from that data produce a business plan that predicts future production capacity and profitability and a way to track ongoing progress against the plan over time.

In support of strategic business planning, Production Assurance AI creates reports, forecasts and recommendations from the model for analyses. The generative AI solution has tools that allow “what-if” plans and analytics to track performance using inputs such as market analysis, production rates, maintenance costs and demand forecasts. 

Further, Production Assurance AI helps shape future profitability by enabling production risk mitigation and intervention processes, predicting future costs and product pricing to estimate future profitability. Production Assurance AI executes at the speed of each organization’s business. 

For example, Production Assurance AI can predict future maintenance costs and timing if manufacturers need new equipment for upgraded production lines or require major repairs to bring production lines back up to speed. 

In addition, the solution can evaluate the distribution system, channel partners and the current service network to estimate when expansion will be required. Production Assurance AI also examines and recommends any necessary logistics and supply chain changes, such as shifting from trucks to rail. 

Benefits of Production Assurance AI 

Production Assurance AI can bring a multitude of business-changing benefits to manufacturing organizations. Each benefit on its own is significant. Together, they can be revolutionary.

Benefits include: 

• Create the M&A strategy for the new enterprise.

• Eliminate siloed calculations with no data interdependencies. 

• Reduce reliance on massive spreadsheets and subjective, labor-intensive and hard-to-change manual analyses.

 • Enable weighted interdependencies among departments and the ability to change them easily. 

 • Produce an iterative, multiyear business plan using technology designed to maximize shareholder value. 

• Predict outcomes by using Production Assurance AI “what-if” tools to predict outcomes.

• Monitor how the organization is tracking with the business plan by using Production Assurance AI. 

Moving Forward

Whatever the time horizon — next week, next month, next quarter, or five years from now — Production Assurance AI is a powerful solution. It upgrades a less accurate, time-intensive, disconnected approach with one that creates a fast, accurate, holistic business plan with analytics that deliver insights into future profitability while tracking ongoing progress against that plan. Production Assurance AI is applying new generative AI technology to help manufacturers answer the question: Can we be profitable in the future?

Dell Technologies. Dell Technologies helps manufacturers around the world transform their business outcomes by applying technology to manufacturing practices and processes.

Intel. The compute required for GenAI models has put a spotlight on performance, cost and energy efficiency as top concerns for enterprises today. Intel’s commitment to the democratization of AI and sustainability will enable broader access to the benefits of AI technology, including GenAI, via an open ecosystem. Intel’s AI hardware accelerators, including new built-in accelerators, provide performance and performance per watt gains to address the escalating performance, price and sustainability needs of GenAI. Read more: Taking on the Compute and Sustainability Challenges of Generative AI

Want to learn more about Production Assurance AI? Click here to read a white paper for a deeper discussion HERE