Digital Twins by Ryan Vessey
The Next Era of Factory Optimization in South Africa
Digital twins are reshaping the decision-making landscape within South African factories, as forward-thinking manufacturers embrace this cutting-edge technology to enhance operational efficiency.
Manufacturers in South Africa, like their global counterparts, face mounting pressure to meet demand in challenging environments characterized by resource constraints, talent shortages, and supply chain disruptions. In this context, digital twins are emerging as a leading technology for rapidly scaling capacity, bolstering resilience, and optimizing operations.
In the fast-paced world of continuous operations, digital twins of factories – real-time virtual representations – empower manufacturers with the capability to make faster, smarter, and more cost-effective decisions. They deepen understanding of complex physical systems, optimize production scheduling, and simulate “what-if” scenarios to assess the impact of new product introductions.
The pace of technological advancement is rapid, with a recent McKinsey survey indicating that a majority of senior executives in South African manufacturing now recognize practical applications for digital twins in their operations. The era of the “factory of the future” is here, delivering value today.
According to the Think Collective team of senior executives in South Africa’s industrial sector, the top concerns keeping manufacturing leaders awake at night include material and labor constraints due to rising costs and talent gaps, as well as the need for improved production visibility through better demand forecasting, inventory processes, manufacturing flexibility, and real-time visibility of the factory floor.
Factory digital twins are emerging as a sought-after technology to address these challenges, with 86 percent of respondents across industries in South Africa indicating the applicability of digital twins to their organizations. Forty-four percent have already implemented a digital twin, while 15 percent are planning to deploy one.
Digital twins are real-time virtual renderings of the physical world, with applications ranging from individual products to entire factories and end-to-end supply chain coverage. They provide invaluable insights into complex systems, enhancing decision-making processes.
In South Africa, as in other regions, the deployment of digital twins is transforming factory operations. These digital replicas of factories simulate real-time conditions, allowing for “what-if” analyses across various production scenarios. From validating layout designs to optimizing footprints and estimating inventory sizes, digital twins contribute to efficient decision-making during the investment and build phases of a factory.
In established operations, digital twins predict production bottlenecks, model stochastic processes, and optimize production schedules, contributing to enhanced operational efficiency. South African manufacturers are witnessing tangible benefits from digital twins, including cost savings and improved yield stability.
Building a modular and scalable digital twin involves integrating diverse data sources and creating a tech stack that facilitates data analysis and visualization. A modular and scalable tech stack, with a single source of truth, ensures seamless integration of components, supporting efficient digital twin design.
Sourcing, storing, and processing data form the foundation of the tech stack, with systematic data cleaning ensuring reliable modeling. Establishing a standard language through data service integration software enables seamless data integration, while simulation software and optimization techniques contribute to accurate virtual renderings and enhanced decision-making.
Getting started with digital twins requires overcoming challenges such as limited awareness of capabilities, complex data landscapes, and a shortage of in-house talent. Adopting an iterative, agile approach based on continuous testing and refinement is crucial, and external support may be necessary to fill talent gaps.
Unlocking the full potential of digital twins in South Africa can revolutionize factory networks, addressing complex planning problems and capacity analytics. As digital twins evolve, the integration with generative AI technologies is expected to enhance interactions with factory leadership, providing real-time recommendations and insights.
In a rapidly evolving landscape where fast decision-making is a competitive advantage, digital twins are transitioning from a nice-to-have technology to a must-have tool for manufacturers in South Africa, eventually becoming integral to fully virtualized supply chains.