The factories coming into India are going to be highly automated, said Sujoy Ghosh, India Head of US-based solar panel manufacturer First Solar, and data is going to be at the centre of it. A lot of requirements are coming for advanced sensors across production lines, automation devices and manufacturing execution systems as the world looks at India as its next manufacturing destination away from China, he said.
“So, that’s one piece of technology which is completed. The other thing is that unlike traditional factories, factories of the future are going to be built around data. Data is going to be at the centre of the operations. There’s a lot of work around collecting information, analysing information and visualising,” he said, speaking at TiE Delhi-NCR Sustainability Summit held on October 13 in Delhi.
Using the First Solar factory as an example, he said that when they make solar panels, the panels travel 1.5 km within the facility. It goes at the speed of 1 metre per second. “As it goes through the line, we’ve got inline sensors all along to effectively scan the device, compare it with an ideal example and then react within seconds to make sure that it’s all good and there is no defect. And, if there is one, it is routed back into the strap,” he said.
This is done 24X7 and the company is able to generate tons of data during this time, he said.
Ghosh also mentioned that the company has about 85 robots in its backend operations, along with autonomous vehicles moving products at various stages of production. “We cannot depend on manually operated copious notes to give us the consistency of the throughput, which is required when you’re talking about high-volume manufacturing such as solar panels or semiconductors,” he said.He also acknowledged that when one looks at the factories of the future, there is also an emphasis on gender diversity and workforce obsolescence. He pointed out that it’s important to remember that technology evolves very fast, unlike the traditional sectors of manufacturing. Therefore, skills have to be updated continuously.“You need to invest a lot in terms of not just initial screening of the workforce, but making sure the skills have been updated. With the change in technology, there is also change in data. So it’s important to keep up,” he said.
At the same time, Ghosh mentioned that it creates a lot of opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs to bring new solutions to handle high-volume manufacturing. “There is a huge amount of opportunity as we transition into manufacturing over the next 15-20 years, into these high-tech areas,” he added.
