The words “manufacturing” and “construction” are thesaurus-confirmed synonyms. The industries bearing these names are also similar pursuits of making things—often exceedingly complicated things. However, the manufacturing and construction industries have approached adopting advanced technology a bit differently. Manufacturing has a major lead on construction in taking digital transformation journeys that digitize operations and find multiple efficiencies based on collecting and analyzing operational data. Construction for the most part has been slower to digitize, but that’s changing at an accelerating rate. By applying some of the lessons and techniques of smart manufacturing, construction is becoming more digital and also more efficient, safe, and sustainable.
What’s the difference between construction and manufacturing?
Manufacturing and construction are similar industries in that both involve the creation of an object. Construction is focused on the process of making buildings, bridges, tunnels, and more. Manufacturing is largely focused on creating goods, such as tables or smartphones.
In the third decade of the 21st century, the construction industry has begun to transition toward 3D printing, prefabrication, modular construction, and other manufacturing techniques to circumvent labor shortages and build faster, more cost-effectively, and with fewer materials than traditional methods.
Modern manufacturing industry
Modern manufacturing has largely embraced the automation and digitalization principles of Industry 4.0.
The modern manufacturing industry has embraced Industry 4.0, characterized by intelligent automation based on insights from operational data and AI-driven data analytics. Core to Industry 4.0 is the digital transformation to smart manufacturing and smart factories, which digitize all areas of manufacturing from product design to sales, including the supply chain, production, and distribution.
In a full-fledged smart factory, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) network collects massive amounts of data from many thousands of sensors embedded throughout the production line and factory floor. That data feeds into cloud-connected software platforms, where AI and machine learning technology analyzes it to provide actionable insights enabling predictive maintenance of machinery and improving production efficiency, quality assurance, supply chain management, and more. Robotics systems and other automation tied to smart factory operation execute on the data-derived insights to optimize areas like efficiency and worker safety. Often a digital twin of the entire smart factory provides a virtual window into the real-time monitoring and managing of the entire operation.
Smart manufacturing offers many benefits to businesses, such as higher productivity, cost savings, quality improvements, and the flexibility and scalability to identify and act upon new business opportunities like mass customization or manufacturing as a service (MaaS).
In addition, smart factories lead to more sustainable manufacturing by reducing waste and promoting efficient use of energy and materials—at the same time maintaining or increasing production output and product performance. Sustainability in manufacturing is important due to increasing demands from customers and governments for sustainable products, as well as the cost-cutting competitive advantages associated with reducing waste.
Modern manufacturing software provides sustainability tools that, for example, can outline the total carbon management of a product across its entire lifecycle, including material selection, manufacturing techniques, and end-of-life disposal, as well as additional sustainability factors like material toxicity. Total carbon management is also available to estimate and reduce the carbon footprint across the entire design and manufacturing enterprise, including both embodied and operational carbon.
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