How intelligent batteries and process mining tools can drive savings in manufacturing

Success in business doesn’t occur as a result of how much you know, it happens because of what you know. So, if you’re struggling to stay afloat in your manufacturing business, it’s most likely because you don’t have the right information. Thankfully, you’re about to access knowledge that will drive savings and create an amazing turnaround in your business. 

Now, the difference between a thriving manufacturing business and a sinking one is not only in how much profit they rake in. It’s also in how much savings they make. So, if, with all the technology solutions available in today’s world, you’re not making huge savings in your manufacturing processes, you need to pay attention.

Have you heard of smart manufacturing? What do you know about business process management? How about process mining? Do you know what intelligent batteries are and how they can impact your business? 

If these concepts sound strange to you, then you’ve been missing out on innovative solutions that could drive savings and uplift your business. But better late than never, like they say. It’s time to buckle up and take advantage of technologies that would make your competitors envy you. If you’re ready, we are. 

What is smart manufacturing

Smart manufacturing simply refers to embracing innovative and advanced technologies in your manufacturing processes. Let’s face it; the world has changed (and still changing) and no business can flourish without undergoing digital transformation.

Using modern data science and artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing removes points of weakness in your system, enhancing efficiency. It promotes communication and interconnectivity in manufacturing processes, helping you unlock business productivity, economic growth and sustainability.

What is business process management (BPM)

Business process management (BPM) is the practice of managing and optimizing a company’s top-to-bottom processes to achieve strategic business outcomes. BPM employs proven techniques to boost efficiency, agility and performance. 

With business process management, you can do a thorough assessment of your processes, discover ways to improve efficiency, reduce errors, save costs, boost your digital transformation efforts and elevate your business.

What is process mining

Simply put, process mining is a way of applying a data-driven approach to process management. By combining data mining with process analytics, you extract readily available information from event logs to discover, validate and enhance workflows.  

Process mining lets you have a clear understanding of your work processes which is important if you’re aiming to improve them. With this evaluation, you get to see inefficiencies, bottlenecks and variations. 

A benefit of process mining is access to fact-based insights that are derived from real data. These insights allow you to audit, evaluate and enhance your workflows. Another advantage of this approach is that it is fast. You see the loopholes in your processes quickly, unlike when you mine data manually. 

What is a process mining tool

A process mining tool is a software specially designed to help you evaluate, visualize and boost your business processes. It does this by deriving information and insights from existing event logs. With these insights, you have a clearer grasp of your processes and are better positioned to make informed decisions that will help you improve on them.

This software not only shows you inefficiencies and bottlenecks in your workflows, it opens your eyes to opportunities and enables you to prioritize them. With a process mining tool, you drive change, get the best out of your processes and save money.

7 Specific business processes in manufacturing where mining tools can drive savings  

Now that you understand what process mining is all about, it’s important to know the exact areas of your business you can apply it to. This part is essential so you can streamline your approach to get a more impactful result. Here are seven business processes in manufacturing where you can use process mining tools.

1. Production processes

Production is the heartbeat of manufacturing. Therefore, it’s essential that the entire production workflow be put under a microscope to identify inefficiencies, inadequacies, bottlenecks and activities that add little or no value. A process mining software will do this for you perfectly. 

As a result, you’ll see areas where you need to improve or reshuffle resource allocation. This exercise will also enable you to utilize machinery optimally. In short, process mining software helps you optimize the whole production process and save time and money.

2. Battery management process and battery intelligence

Having a solution like Fortescue battery intelligence for battery management comes as a result of process mining. When you use a process mining tool for your battery management process, you will discover inefficiencies that are affecting performance and longevity.

In manufacturing, you need batteries for power generation and fleet. The process of managing these batteries can cost the business a fortune if smart measures are not taken. Also, your batteries could be underperforming without you being the wiser, affecting other aspects of production. 

That’s where battery intelligence comes in. Using a battery management system (BMS), battery intelligence maximizes the performance and lifecycle of your batteries. Through machine learning and data analytics, data from your batteries can be used to efficiently and accurately determine, predict and improve battery performance.

In this system, batteries communicate details about their current, voltage, temperature, charging cycles and other information with an end device. Insights from these data enable you to make decisions that result in better battery performance and longevity, driving huge savings in the process. 

3. Quality control process

No serious business jokes with quality control. It helps ensure that products are as uniform as possible and meet a certain standard. However, the process can be ineffective, draining the company’s resources and wasting time and manpower. 

To improve this process, you need a mining software. This tool easily helps you detect patterns of anomalies. It also lets you see the cause(s) of these defects so that you can make necessary corrections and adjustments. Overall, you’ll minimize scrap, rework and warranty costs.

4. Inventory management process

Inventory management is another aspect of business processes that needs a mining tool. A process mining tool can help scrutinize the trend of orders, inventory levels and replenishment. With this, you will be able to reduce the rate of stockouts and overstocking. 

5. Supply chain process

The supply chain is a broad segment of manufacturing. Therefore, optimizing the process will lead to a significant increase in savings. A closer look at transportation, lead times and supplier relationships, for example, will show loopholes in the supply chain process. 

If transportation is gulping too much money, you want to find out why and look for ways to reduce costs like opting for shorter routes or going for electric vehicles. Streamlining all sub-processes under the supply chain also becomes possible when you leverage process mining tools. 

6. Power consumption process

Energy runs manufacturing, and if care is not taken, it will keep gulping money. With process mining software, you can see your energy consumption pattern. This exercise will let you see where energy is being consumed excessively so that you can take measures to control the situation.

Without a process mining tool, you will just be on a guessing spree and strategizing blindly without the right data. However, with this digital solution, you have accurate data on your energy consumption which will equip you to make the right decisions. 

7. Equipment maintenance process

Equipment maintenance in manufacturing is non-negotiable. These equipment are used daily and ensure the smooth running of the business. Therefore, routine maintenance is compulsory. However, are you spending more than you should on maintenance? You won’t know if you don’t put your processes under a microscope. 

To do this, you need to apply process mining. It will enlighten you on the loopholes in your equipment maintenance process, enabling you to devise strategies for improving efficiencies.

Process mining tools – a sure path to smart businesses and cost savings 

Digital transformation is here to make business processes simpler, quicker and cost-saving. It’s up to you to ensure your company takes advantage of these digital solutions. Tus entails taking the smart path. With smart manufacturing, you leverage data science and artificial intelligence to improve your processes and drive savings. 

One step toward running a smart manufacturing business is practicing business process management (BPM). This involves optimizing your end-to-end processes for strategic business outcomes. Process mining is an offshoot of BPM; it involves applying a data-driven approach to process management.

Manufacturing business processes that can benefit from process mining include production, battery management, quality control, inventory management, supply chain, power consumption and equipment maintenance. 

Going forward, to drive savings in your manufacturing business, take an in-depth look at your processes and adapt process mining accordingly. 

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Moyofade Ipadeola is an SEO writer, UX writer and editor. Witty, she loves personal development and helping people grow. Mo, as she’s fondly called, is fascinated by all things tech. She can be reached on Linkedin. 

09/10/2023