「視覺化」是系統整合與製造商產生專注力的關鍵因素

先構技研

原文來源:Visual Components

毫無疑問，製造業正處於復甦的時期。而跨越式創新技術的發展從本質上打破現狀，這使得製造業的新式復甦，產生震撼的變化。但是，除了製造技術外，還有另一項革命也在默默的進行，它的改變甚至超越了技術領域，那就是製造商的思維模式，更具體來說，就是工廠營運的樣板模式;如何以精實生產來進行製造商計劃、設計和生產製造。這場革命的非常簡單且具深度，其實我們可以用一個名詞來概括：專注力。

There’s no question the manufacturing industry is in the midstof a renaissance. Complete with leaps and bounds of enabling technologiesfundamentally disrupting the status quo, the new renaissance is forging seismicand dynamic shifts in the space. But there is another, concurrent revolutionhappening within manufacturing beyond technology, and that is of themanufacturer mindset and, more specifically, the factory paradigm itself; thelens through which manufacturers plan, design and operate the shop floor. This revolutionis profound in its simplicity and can be summed up in one word: cohesion.

根據LNS Research最近進行的一項調查，製造業運營管理調查受訪者面臨的前兩大運營挑戰，分別是缺乏跨不同部門和不同系統和數據庫的協同作業.這對於現代工廠來說尤其困難，而在21世紀取得成功要取得成功，需要對市場需求要如何做出快速響應和靈活應對，並且最大化的提高生產力和利潤。製造業的規劃者需要工廠與供應鏈的協同作業，藉此在產品開發和其他組織資產進行整合和凝聚。此時系統整合商的解決方案看要如何產生專注力的議題，將會變得更加重要，當然製造計劃者則需要改進與利害關係人的溝通與協作方式。

According to a recent survey conducted by LNS Research, the toptwo operational challenges facing its Manufacturing Operations Managementsurvey respondents were a lack of collaboration across different departmentsand disparate systems and data sources, respectively.1 This is especiallyproblematic for modern factories, which strive to be responsive and flexible tomarket needs, while maximizing productivity and profit. In order to succeed inthe 21st century, manufacturing planners need their factories to be integratedand cohesive with their supply chain, product development and otherorganizational assets. This requires system integrators to become moresensitive to how their solutions impact this cohesion, and manufacturingplanners to improve the way in which they communicate and collaborate with allstakeholders involved in the planning process.

幸運的是，有一些工具可以讓“每個人都在同平台上”，進而對團隊溝通和縮短實施週期產生催化作用。這些工具中最有效的一種就是視覺化的技術。

Fortunately, there are tools to get “everyone on the same page”,creating a catalytic effect on team communication and shortening implementationcycles. One of the most effective of these tools is visualization.

視覺化的技術通常被定義為“研究抽象數據的視覺表示以加強人類認知”，自上一次工業革命以來，它一直是製造計劃的一部分。視覺輔助工具，如繪圖、藍圖和照片，以及後來的CAD繪圖和3D渲染; 是幾十年來製造規劃師和系統整合商用來交流製造設計概念的視覺化形式。在過去的幾年中，視覺化技術已經與模擬技術和互聯網相結合，逐漸發展成為3D製造模擬技術。該技術整合了不同來源的輸入數據，如CAD幾何圖形和編程邏輯; 並使用特定製造模擬行為，這些輸入的資料都是為了創造精確的模擬視覺化與可呈現的簡報。簡而言之，模擬可以幫助規劃團隊以工程級的準確性視覺化工廠的環境，藉此降低決策錯誤對製造設計和性能的影響。這很重要，有兩個原因，因為模擬降低了設計錯誤和疏忽的風險，並且帶來更多效益。

Visualization, commonly defined as “the study of visualrepresentations of abstract data to reinforce human cognition”, has been a partof manufacturing planning since the dawn of the last industrial revolution.Visual aids such as drawings, blueprints and photographs and, later, CADdrawings and 3D renderings; are forms of visualization that manufacturingplanners and system integrators have used for decades to communicatemanufacturing design concepts. Over the last several years, visualizationtechnology has coalesced with simulation technology and the Internet, evolvinginto 3D manufacturing simulation technology. This technology integratesdisparate sources of input data, such as CAD geometries and programming logic;and, using manufacturing specific simulation behaviors, creates accuratesimulations and visual representations of those inputs. In a nutshell, it helpsplanning teams to visualize their factory environment and the impact of theirdecisions on manufacturing design and performance, with engineering-gradeaccuracy. This is big for two reasons – it reduces the risk of design errorsand oversights, and empowers more stakeholders to participate in the planningprocess.

現實情境常以Excel進行規劃，而文件中往往存在輕微錯誤計算（實際上是完全遺漏，沒有計算到），而系統整合商的客戶工廠可能錯過了貨物交付，並且專案的損失可能超過100萬美元。這種錯誤計算在整個生產過程中得到恰當的考慮和擴大後，意味著產出量顯著下降。因此，以規劃的工具（例如Excel而言，就是普通的電子試算表）雖然把所有的東西都放入表單，但確實無法準確解釋在工廠或是生產線上的空間的差異，儘管幾乎不可能在Excel中進行計算，但對規劃人員來說，使用3D製造模擬工具會有更好的結果。

Consider the following scenario (taken from a real-worldexperience) in which an integrator’s client factory missed delivery of goodsand lost more than $1M on a project due to a slight miscalculation (omission,actually) in an Excel planning file. This miscalculation, when accounted for properlyand scaled across the entire production, implied a significant reduction inthroughput. So, one piece of the planning toolkit (in this case, an ordinaryspreadsheet) threw everything off in its inability to accurately account for aspatial nuance that, while nearly impossible to capture in Excel, would havebeen obvious to the planners had they been using a 3D manufacturing simulationtool.

會更好的結果？簡而言之，也就是說系統整合商和製造計劃人員如果於規劃過程中，採用全面視覺化技術，可以減少可能產生下游的重大錯誤與疏忽風險。當系統整合商和規劃人員僅在流程的某些步驟中使用錯誤的方法與流程時，對於重要信息和關鍵細節，可能很容易被忽略或遺漏，例如不同機器人和工作站之間的空間議題，或者流程中的警示和細微差別。而3D製造模擬技術可以整合不同的數據來源，藉此幫助規劃團隊視覺化可能的錯誤和疏忽，這將可避免影響設計決策品質。

What does that mean? In short, it means that system integratorsand manufacturing planners who employ comprehensive visualization in theirplanning process reduce the risk of making mistakes and oversights that canhave significant downstream effects. When system integrators and planners relyon a combination of disjointed tools in only certain steps of the process,important information and key details can be easily missed or left out, such asspatial irregularities across different robots and stations, or caveats andnuances in processes. 3D manufacturing simulation technology integratesdisparate data sources and helps planning teams to visualize the impacts oftheir design decisions, so they catch mistakes and oversights before theybecome operational hazards.

也許視覺化的最大好處是在整個規劃過程中，可以提升協作和溝通。

Perhaps the greatest benefit of visualization is how it improvescollaboration and communication throughout the planning process.

21世紀製造商的製造計劃過程變得更加複雜。其中涉及廣泛的利益相關者，從銷售團隊和整合商方面的佈局規劃人員到製造商方面的控制工程師和財務分析。每個人都有不同程度的知識和投入。現代視覺化技術，對這些不同組織或是成員來說，是一個非常寶貴的工具，因為可以快速了解所有部件，視覺化將可提升決策對製造設計和性能品質。這方法改善了協作的流程，並允許每個人更有效地參與到流程中。

The manufacturing planning process for 21st centurymanufacturers has grown much more complex. It involves a breadth ofstakeholders, from the sales team and layout planners on the integrator side tocontrols engineers and financial analysts on the manufacturer’s side – all withdiffering degrees of knowledge and input in the process. Modern visualizationtechnology is an invaluable tool for these stakeholder groups to quicklyunderstand all the moving parts and visualize the impact of their decisions onthe manufacturing design and performance. This insight improves collaborationand allows everyone – from the finance team to the manufacturing engineers – tomore effectively participate in the process.

在專注力的競賽中，數位工廠是工業4.0的重要主題。而因為數位信息在整個價值鏈中存在單向雙向流動的技術-。整體來看，視覺化對於系統整合商和製造計劃者具有先進者的優勢。

In the race toward cohesion as an integral theme of Industry 4.0and the so-called Digital Thread – technologies that enable a single,bi-directional flow of digitized information across the value chain –comprehensive visualization is essential for system integrators andmanufacturing planners to get ahead.