Employees at the Codelco copper mine in Calama, Chile. Codelco and Honeywell are partnering on AI solutions aimed at improving productivity, safety and product quality at Codelco mines. Glenn Arcos/AFP—Getty Images
I was fortunate to start my career in the mid-80s, when the industry was undergoing major changes. Virtually every industry, from manufacturing to aerospace to architecture, can achieve significant productivity gains by switching from outdated pneumatic, analog, and hydraulic systems to modern digital technology enabled by microprocessors and software. experienced an improvement in
Since then, the industry has continued to evolve. These microprocessors and software have improved, and in recent years, the industrial Internet of Things has emerged. This has led to the birth of the connected workplace, enabling predictive maintenance, remote monitoring, and even further automation (also known as the “smart factory”).
Today, the world is understandably fascinated by the potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize many aspects of our lives, but it’s important to distinguish between marketing hype and business value. I am a strong believer in the problem-solving potential of applying AI to industry at scale. But in my world, autonomy is not simply a switch from the current state to fully autonomous operation. Resilience and safety are important in many industrial applications, so the path to autonomy is a step up. Each task brings you closer to complete autonomy.
Consider mission-critical activities such as flying airplanes or mining operations. We have not yet reached the stage where such functions can operate completely autonomously, without humans making the final decisions. However, in both these cases and many others, AI has been linked to a series of serious, interrelated challenges in industry: decreasing availability of skilled labor, aging of the workforce, and retirement. It promises to address the loss of institutional knowledge, organizational needs, etc. associated with Speed up the decision-making process while ensuring accuracy and quality.
In the case of aviation, the need is critical. The International Air Transport Association predicts that by 2032, the world will be short 85,000 pilots. Not only will there be a shortage of pilots, but the organizational and industry knowledge that has been built over decades will also be depleted.
AI can change that. Instead of two human pilots sitting in the front seat, AI is increasingly allowing one pilot to do the job. Over time, the co-pilot will be able to work on the ground while his flying partner is in the cockpit. Although we may be a long way from commercial passengers boarding planes that are fully piloted from the ground, AI will eventually allow cargo planes to fly without a pilot, or at least remotely, with a pilot on board to take over in case of an emergency. It will be possible to fly it. AI also plays a key role in increasing safety both in the air and on the ground.
In the mining sector, Honeywell and Chilean copper mining giant Codelco have long partnered on efforts to address skilled labor shortages, improve safety and improve operational efficiency through the comprehensive application of automation. This led to the establishment of a state-of-the-art remote operations center operated by Honeywell in Santiago, which uses data, analytics and predictive maintenance to improve the company’s mining capabilities. Leveraging our wealth of data and connectivity, we are now developing AI solutions aimed at further improving productivity, safety, and product quality in mines that are, in some cases, more than 1,000 miles away from their operations centers. We are conducting a trial run.
There are encouraging signs of progress in several other areas as well. For example, Globalworth, a leading commercial real estate owner/operator in Central and Eastern Europe, uses the power of data and AI to make operations more sustainable and energy efficient while adjusting comfort controls based on real-time This improves the resident experience. Commercial building data in Poland and Romania.
For Honeywell, AI is a natural fit. We have built a strong foundation of connected products, including technologies that enable efficiency in the process and building industries, worker productivity in warehouses, quality assurance in the life sciences industry, and emissions management in buildings and factories. Ta. All of this is made possible by our Honeywell Forge software. . We see AI as a natural extension of automation and build a path to autonomy in industrial sectors.
We are certainly not alone. Business leaders across multiple industries believe AI is the way forward. A recent survey of multinational decision makers sponsored by Honeywell found that 85% of companies “mostly” or “fully” trust automation to achieve their strategic goals, and 69% believes the hype about the future of AI is real. But the path to getting there will be iterative. For 2024 and beyond, organizations looking to harness the power of AI as part of their autonomy journey will need to assess and prioritize data, design, and talent.
- Harness the power of AI to unlock the massive amounts of data generated by complex operations for predictive maintenance, energy management, data security, improved safety, and product or service quality.
- Factories, airplane cockpits, high-rise buildings, etc. are designed with AI in mind. Your current design may not be compatible with AI, and you need to understand what changes are needed to maximize the benefits of the technology.
- Identify where AI can provide data and actions that make your workforce faster, more efficient, and more accurate, and ensure it’s deployed in thoughtful ways.
As a leader evaluating how to maximize the potential of AI within your organization, consider these three fundamental areas in the context of your own operations: This will allow you to strategically navigate your way from where you are to where you want to be.
The speed at which innovation is happening across industries is already impressive, and thanks to continued advances in AI, it will only get faster. The key is to assess where your organization is, where it wants to go, and the capital and human investment needed to get there. Leaders who recognize this will be in the best position to seize opportunities that continue to unfold at their speed.
Bimal Kapoor is Honeywell’s chief executive officer.
