With the deployment of 5G+ industrial Internet applications, 5G has become an essential component for any company’s digital transformation journey. Implementing 5G into factories, upgrades manufacturing to another level: cameras transform to become new eyes and robotic arms empower production.
As a top-tier state-owned company, China First Heavy Industries provides substantial technical equipment - a series of cutting-edge technological products and services for industries such as steel, electricity, petroleum and chemical engineering. It advances the development of key heavy machinery for the country.
In March 2021, China Mobile and China First Heavy Industries signed a strategic partnership agreement to initiate joint, all-round coordination in areas entailing 5G+ industrial Internet, Cloud platform synergy and DICT (data, information and communications technology) solutions. It also accelerates industry intelligence about upgrades and transformation.
China First Heavy Industry’s first smart factory project is a milestone for the China Mobile 5G network footprint and demonstrates the potential of smart manufacturing.
With China Mobile’s 5G private network providing real-time data uploads, the factory’s maintenance teams will receive instant alert notifications to ensure in-time repairs; Technicians can send remote instructions and monitor operating status through the 5G private network; machine operators can use data analytics to consolidate technicians’ performance. Factory managers can gain a comprehensive understanding of real-time productivity rates via the platform dashboard.
China Mobile 5G built a premium private network that covers the entire factory area, utilizing China Mobile’s OnePower services on its industrial Internet platform and 5G+ extensive data mining solutions. This enhances the factory’s network devices, data platform, energy consumption monitors and provides transparency for managers.
Leveraging on the advantages of high bandwidth, low latency and the wide-ranging connectivity of China Mobile’s 5G network allows real-time, stable and highly efficient data sharing at China First Heavy Industries’ smart factory.
Furthermore, 5G+OnePower IoT products, smart electric meters and electric detectors were added onto the existing machines. This increased the efficiency of energy consumption data collection and better supports the production team to navigate abnormalities instantly through real-time monitoring of equipment condition and the ability to optimize equipment maintenance planning.
IoT technology has become a useful tool to better support production and management of equipment and technical team as well as quality control, and the Smart Factory Project is setting the benchmark for intermittent manufacturing using 5G.
Following China First Heavy Industries’ 5G smart factory deployment, the company reports notable impacts on its cost savings and increased efficiency which should ensure steady growth in annual production.
Cost savings
Unplanned downtime and machine failure that avoid leading to losses by using program management to identify production errors. Labor and material preparation costs can be minimized by analyzing energy, waste and optimize processes.
Improved efficiency
With interconnectivity initiated by 5G technology, all kinds of work at the factory saw improvements in productivity. This includes the implementation of integrated management and real-time issuance of machine programming, and the coordinated advancement of technical, programming and maintenance management.
Enhanced product quality
Process optimization improves product quality through tracing and evaluating various data. Simultaneously, quality scrutiny and tracings are realized based on data monitoring of the entire process.
The project execution has shifted factory management from a qualitative to quantitative style, which improves the factory’s lean production capabilities through transparent management. Technicians are also no longer required to be onsite to trace quality issues and program tracking.
5G and the industrial Internet is well positioned to accelerate in digital transformation. China Mobile is committed to building a more versatile product system for the industrial Internet with our partners, and sharing successful 5G+ Smart Factory Project experiences to contribute to the 5G industry and enable better use of mobile intelligence.
