Hitachi Vantara has announced advancements to the Lumada software platform to aid in the digital transformation of industrial processes.

According to Hitachi, the new updates will help deliver real-time actionable insights that can accelerate the ability to predict problem areas, streamline production and maintenance, and create a connected supply chain. It says this will result in enhanced operational efficiency, minimal revenue disruptions, and product quality improvements.

The updated Lumada portfolio allows customers to automate tasks and make faster decisions by training data models in the cloud and deploying them to edge devices, creating actionable insights at lower infrastructure cost.

“Across the globe, industries are dealing with increasing complexity, a faster changing environment and greater competition that together are driving a need for accelerated digitalisation,” says Hitachi Vantara's chief product officer, Radhika Krishnan.

“Supply chain disruptions, health and safety measures and operational challenges have highlighted this need for data-driven innovation. Today's advancements allow our customers to make faster, more informed decisions so industries can thrive in our rapidly digitalising future.

“Hitachi Vantara is accelerating industrial digitalisation with major enhancements to data-driven offerings for manufacturing, extending AI and automation from edge to core, and delivering deep real-time insights from new combinations of data and connections,” he says.

Meat - Livestock Australia has been collaborating with Hitachi Vantara on a number of digital projects over the past five years.

Dr Nigel Tomkins, program manager at Meat - Livestock Australia, says, “Leading up to our latest project, the Connected Beef Supply Chain Control Tower, Hitachi Vantara's Lumada Manufacturing Insights has allowed our industry to integrate both sensor and system data to provide insights across the supply chain.

“This has led to improved productivity and quality outcomes,” he says.

“We look forward to leveraging the capabilities of the Supply Chain Control Tower even further gaining insight on factors impacting supply and consumer demand.

Hitachi Vantara says for manufacturers to get real end-to-end benefits from data-driven solutions, it's important to focus not only on the obvious areas of production. Other data sources and solutions beyond the factory floor should also be looked at.

“Video analytics are used to study material flow from receiving dock to warehouse to shop floor and lidar is used to monitor employee movements from a safety perspective,” says Hitachi Computer Products America's senior director, Allen Ahlert.

“There are so many ways to use this technology, and the applications become more apparent as the team familiarises with the sensors and analytics.

Sandvik Rock Processing's vice president, Petra Sundstrom, says their industry is experiencing rapid digitalisation and a distinct increase in the pace of business. He says this underscores the need for more agility and predictability in everything they do and what they deliver to their customers.

“We're collaborating with Hitachi to innovate our business models,” says Sundstrom.

“With Lumada Manufacturing Insights, we are now able to offer predictive maintenance as a service, delivering the outcomes our customers are looking for in this digital era.