Schneider Electric’s Smart Factory in Batam Takes Organisations in Asia on Their First Step towards Industrial IoT

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, is at the forefront in taking organizations in Asia on their first step towards Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Utilizing cutting-edge technology, Schneider Electric’s Batam smart factory is both a working factory and a showcase for customers and partners to witness how digital transformation can help them make informed, data-driven decisions that bring about improved profitability, asset management performance, operational efficiency and a smarter productive workforce while keeping the operations secure, agile and environmentally sustainable.

Smart factory in Batam has become a IIoT showcase for companies in Asia, proving to customers and partners that it is easy to get started on their digitization journey. For those that have started this journey, the Batam showcase aims to help them accelerate their digitization plans. More than 150 customers and partners from Indonesia, China, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Middle East have visited the factoryThe smart factory in Batam is just one of Schneider Electric’s smart factory showcases around the world which includes China, France, Philippines, North America and India.           

Xavier Denoly, Country President Schneider Electric Indonesia said, ”We strongly believe in the value of smart factories and ensure our own factories are equipped with the latest IIoT technologies to spearhead the new Industry 4.0 era. Our smart factory in Batam is a test bed for machine learning, AI, predictive and digital maintenance, connected machines and processes. The integration of big data, cloud and IIoT technology will pave the way for organizations in Asia to work towards their smart factory vision, becoming more energy efficient and sustainable in the long term.”

The smart factory in Batam deploys EcoStruxure™ Machine – one of EcoStruxure™ solutions, Schneider Electric’s IoT-enabled, plug-and-play, open, interoperable architecture and platform – that provides real-time tracking of the performance of its operations and better visibility of machine performance and preventive maintenance needs. Using the Manufacturing Control Tower dashboards, plant managers can make better decisions and shorten reaction times to issue to the manufacturing shop floor. The Batam plant has, thus far, seen a reduction in 17% man-hours spent on maintenance and 46% waste material.

“Empowering local competencies and nurturing talents are also key success factors in Batam factory’s digital transformation. Schneider Electric team in Batam has successfully designed, developed, tested and deployed several digital solutions across the company’s global manufacturing network. Moreover Since 2017, Schneider Electric has provided vocational students and Batam Polytechnic students opportunities to participate in developing Batam’s Smart Factory applications through its Digital Internship Program.” said Xavier.

In Batam, Schneider Electric employs 2,900 people across its network of plants where they manufacture a wide range of products which are distributed globally. The three sites have also been certified with international standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001.

Sirichai Chongchintaraksa, VP Supply Chain Performance East Asia Japan – Global Supply Chain Schneider Electric said, “We understand that it is not easy for organizations to take the first step towards IIoT. However, our Batam smart factory can serve as best practice and example of the benefits of digitizing energy management and automation in manufacturing industry and help organizations to get started on their digitization journey”.

According to Sirichai:

• Digital  transformation empowers real-time tracking of operations performance from shop floor to top floor — gaining visibility on machine performance, preventive maintenance needs, process quality control compliance, process drifts, energy management and most activities you can find in a manufacturing shop floor.
• All employees in our factories benefit from this digitalization as they have more time to focus towards the strategic tasks that support the company’s growth, increase productivity and better decision making based on real-time data analysts and improve working conditions.
• The return on investment of such technologies vary from less than 6 months up to 2 years; to give one specific example the Return On Investment of the deployment of EcoStruxure™ for one of our electromechanical production line was less than 6 months thanks to 46% wasted material reduction and maintenance manhours decreased up to 17% and it took us less than a month to implement it.

Schneider Electric has been a working partner of the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia for the development and implementation of industry 4.0 since last November 2018 and Batam smart factory has just received an award from Ministry of Industry of Republic Indonesia as “A National Lighthouse for Indonesia”.