MotionBoard Supports Workstyle Reform at Manufacturing sites through Data Utilization , AWS AI and IoT Services

WingArc1st Inc. will launch a solution to solve issues at manufacturing sites. The solution, which brings together Amazon Web Services (AWS) AI, IoT services, and a MotionBoard BI dashboard, will be available on May 25, 2022.

The environment surrounding the manufacturing industry has become more complex due to the disruption of global supply chains caused by the spread of COVID-19 and the decline in the workforce in Japan. The number of workers in the manufacturing industry has decreased by 11.6% in the 20 years since 2002^*1, and labor shortages have become apparent in 94% of the manufacturing industry^*2. Manufacturing companies are under strong pressure to reform their work styles in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. Under these circumstances, the manufacturing industry is promoting the introduction of IoT and AI as part of digital transformation (DX). According to our survey^*3, the IoT adoption rate in the manufacturing industry is 31.4%, which is 6.7 percentage points higher than the overall average. The AI adoption rate is 26.7%, which is 5.1 percentage points higher than the overall average.

AWS offers a variety of IoT and AI services based on technologies used by Amazon's business to deliver off-the-shelf intelligence, such as image recognition and natural language processing, to applications and workflows to improve business outcomes.

This collaboration will make it possible to easily link and utilize unstructured data that has been considered difficult to utilize, such as IoT and camera video data obtained at manufacturing sites and text data from daily reports, to MotionBoard. Furthermore, by utilizing various AI services provided by AWS, it is possible to detect abnormalities from videos by identifying characteristics from the unstructured input data, thereby ensuring worker safety and improving operational efficiency.

Major collaboration with AWS:
・AI analysis of daily report text data with Amazon Comprehend improves efficiency and safety in the factory
By combining text data from daily reports generated at manufacturing sites with Amazon Comprehend, a natural language processing service, problems that could not be seen through measurement values alone can be detected in equipment inspection records and quality defect reports.

・Combining camera images with an image recognition service, Amazon Lookout for Vision and Amazon Rekognition, and production management system data to improve productivity
By capturing camera images, it is possible to save manpower for visual inspections and also to link images of processing conditions when quality abnormalities occur. Manufacturing productivity can be improved by analyzing the status of short stoppages and restorations of production machinery, as well as worker movement losses.

・Predictive analysis of IoT data through AWS IoT Core integration
Improve operating ratio by utilizing AWS IoT Core, which provides secure device connectivity to the cloud, to predict equipment failures based on equipment conditions. Stabilize quality by identifying good conditions based on inspection results and process data.

Since various types of data are stored in the AWS data warehouse solution Amazon Redshift, it is also possible for management to quickly utilize manufacturing site data, for example for cost accounting and profit margin management.

Endorsement from Amazon Web Services Japan:

WingArc1st aims to sell MotionBoard products utilizing this functional collaboration to 20 companies by the end of FY2024 and will continue to support companies in manufacturing and other industries that aim to improve their business productivity.

*1 "White Paper on Manufacturing Industries in 2020" by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in May 2020.
https://www.meti.go.jp/report/whitepaper/mono/2020/honbun_html/honbun/102011_1.html (Japanese)

*2 "Current labor shortage in the manufacturing industry and the use of foreign human resources" published by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Manufacturing Industries Bureau in July 2018.
https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/11223892/www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/gaikokujinzai/pdf/20180712005-2.pdf (Japanese)

*3 Survey on data utilization