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Schneider Electric's 锛侺ighthouse Factory锛� expands t

Date锛�2025-03-01 11:36Editer锛歛dminRead锛�锛�

On October 9, 2024, Schneider Electric, a leader in digital transformation in the global energy management and automation field, received good news that its two factories were awarded the title of "Lighthouse Factory" by the World Economic Forum. The Monterey 1 factory in Mexico was awarded the title of "Advanced Lighthouse Factory", while the Shanghai factory (Shanghai Schneider Industrial Control Co., Ltd.) won the title of "End to End Lighthouse Factory".
With these two factories successfully joining the World Economic Forum's "Global Lighthouse Network", Schneider Electric's global number of "lighthouse factories" has risen to seven. Previously, factories located in Wuxi, China, Batam Island, Indonesia, Leverdelli, France, Lexington, Kentucky, USA, and Hyderabad, India have been awarded this honor. Among them, three factories in Levedley, Lexington, and Hyderabad have improved their environmental footprint with advanced technology, ranking among the 17 sustainable development "lighthouse factories" worldwide.
Zhang Kaipeng, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Supply Chain China at Schneider Electric, pointed out that "we have achieved fruitful results in lean, resilience, digitalization, and sustainable development in the past few years. Factories in North America, Europe, China, and other international regions have been rated as' Lighthouse Factories'. This year, the number of Lighthouse Factories has increased to 7, with balanced distribution in various regions, which is in line with our global supply chain layout. In China, we have 19 factories that meet Schneider Electric's definition of 'zero carbon factories' standards, which are stricter than external institutions, including special framework requirements and talent management requirements. In addition, 15 Chinese factories have been awarded the national level' Green Factory 'title by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It can be seen that Schneider Electric has made significant progress in digitalization, intelligent transformation, and sustainable development
Schneider Electric Shanghai factory focuses on the production of key electrical equipment such as contactors, thermal overload relays, and motor circuit breakers. In the past four years, with the rapid development of the new energy market, the global order volume has increased significantly, and the product variety has expanded fourfold. To meet the growing demand of users, the Shanghai factory has increased production automation by 20% and adopted advanced technologies such as machine learning supported digital rapid prototyping, intelligent planning and scheduling, and generative artificial intelligence operation and maintenance. The order production delivery time has been shortened by 67%, and the per capita production efficiency has been improved by 82%, achieving remarkable results.
Shi Yiping, General Manager of Shanghai Schneider Industrial Control Co., Ltd., shared the experience of building a "lighthouse factory" at Shanghai Putuo Factory: "Our factory has been committed to digital and automation transformation for 28 years since its establishment in 1996. This year, we have applied more advanced technologies, such as innovative deployment of digital prototype development, intelligent planning, and the use of generative AI for intelligent operation and maintenance. We have integrated advanced technologies into key links such as research and development, procurement, production, and delivery, built an efficient and agile end-to-end value chain, continuously enhanced the competitiveness of the factory, and won the honor of" end-to-end lighthouse factory "globally, setting an example for the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industry
In order to efficiently respond to customer needs and cope with the market environment of rapid product iteration, Schneider Electric Shanghai Putuo Factory has introduced a machine learning based product life testing platform, greatly shortening the product validation cycle. This platform accurately locates the key factors affecting product life experiments from different dimensions by analyzing historical data and key experimental parameters, quickly identifies the causes of product failure, effectively improves testing effectiveness, and shortens verification cycles. Shi Yiping said, "In the past, it took about 4-5 years for products to go from development to market, and the product verification cycle accounted for about 80%. Now, with the help of this platform, only about 50% of the verification needs can be completed to meet customers' demand for rapid product launch
With the digital transformation and upgrading of Shanghai Putuo Factory, the automation rate continues to improve, and AGV cars, AI, AR applications, as well as various robots and complex automatic equipment are widely used, which puts higher demands on maintenance personnel. In order to improve maintenance efficiency and shorten the skill gap of maintenance personnel, the Shanghai factory combines AR glasses with the latest AIGC technology. With the help of a rich knowledge manual in the knowledge background, AIGC guides maintenance technicians to quickly identify and solve problems, shortening the training time for senior technicians from one and a half years to 6-9 months, while significantly reducing the average repair time for equipment failures.
Mourad Tamoud, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Schneider Electric, commented, "Schneider Electric's Shanghai factory fully demonstrates the value of Fourth Industrial Revolution technology. The entire industry should continue to increase large-scale investment in digital technology and empower employees to enhance operational capabilities and reduce operational risks
The Global Lighthouse Network of the World Economic Forum serves as a global collaborative platform, gathering global industrial innovation pioneers and leading the wave of technology application in the fourth industrial revolution. This platform was co founded by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey&Company in 2018. Currently, it has selected 172 globally leading use cases, showcasing how factories can use cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and big data analysis to significantly improve production efficiency, enhance competitiveness, and drive large-scale business model changes. Kiva Allgood, head of the Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Center at the World Economic Forum, said, "With the help of the AI wave, Lighthouse Factory has set a higher benchmark for industrial digital transformation. The factory that was awarded this time integrates advanced technology into daily operations, not only improving production efficiency, but also creating a more sustainable and inclusive future for employees and society
It is reported that Schneider Electric will showcase its transformation achievements and innovative experience, including the "Lighthouse Factory", at the upcoming 7th China International Import Expo, and work together with partners from all walks of life in China to move towards high-quality development.