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【2021 Application Example】 AI Complements the Disruption of Traditional Industry Experience: Production Forecast Analysis in Plastic Recycling Process

As the number of veteran craftsmen in traditional industries diminishes

In Taiwan, SMEs have always played a central role in Taiwan's industry, accompanying Taiwan through various 'economic miracles' periods. But as time progresses, the old masters gradually became elderly craftsmen. Coupled with the phenomenon of fewer children and changes in the overall industrial structure, fewer and fewer of the new generation are willing to enter traditional industries. Now, it can be observed that the main combination on most SMEs' operational fields is formed by 'elder craftsmen' together with 'foreign workers.' These experienced craftsmen, who act as living dictionaries of field experience, suffer from a lack of successors to continue the tradition, leading to a growing difficulty in sustaining on-site experience transfer in traditional industries.

The limits of traditional hands-on process optimization are in sight

Located in Tainan Baoan Industrial District, 'Tangxian Company' was established in 1972, initially manufacturing high-quality weaving equipment. It possesses the capability to manufacture machinery, and in recent years it has actively developed environmentally friendly plastic recycling equipment in response to international green energy, recycling, and environmental protection demands. Ultimately, they have successfully developed low energy consumption, low waste, high purity, and high output recycling granulators with a sleek and efficient machine design supplemented by advanced intelligent control technology.

▲Tangxian Company's self-developed plastic recycling granulator equipment

However, in the production process of plastic recycling, when faced with hundreds of material types and dozens of process temperatures, speed settings, what is faced is thousands of possible parameter combinations. Previously, the adjustment of various production process conditions was reliant on the on-site staff (the experience of the craftsmen). Thus, during the transition of production of different incoming materials (such as PET, PP, PE), a significant amount of raw materials would be wasted during the trial phase.

The professional information gap in traditional industries

Tangxian Company recognizes the importance of data. In the past, although process parameters were recorded, due to a lack of data capabilities at the time, it was primarily in paper form, manually written down by the operating staff, accumulating a large amount of paper data. However, this also meant a lack of scientifically accurate and detailed information available for real-time reference and adjustment.

Process parameters logbook, records the state of about a dozen machines and production figures hourly

▲Process parameters logbook, records the state of about a dozen machines and production figures hourly

In quality control as well, due to a lack of control over the quality of output and monitoring and feedback mechanisms for unit time production, it becomes difficult to predict the profit conditions of each batch. Production management can only estimate and average cost and productivity changes over the process from the outcomes, without being able to objectively and timely restore the production conditions to reasonableness or make clearer adjustments when facing quality abnormalities.

Site reality (left image shows recycled scraps; right image shows pellet production)

▲Site reality (left image shows recycled scraps; right image shows pellet production)

Taiwanese manufacturers possess strong machinery manufacturing capabilities, and many modern machines now have data capabilities, recording real-time status and information via IoT. But is the infrastructure of the factory's on-site and information systems ready yet?

When the Old Master Meets AI

With government referral, Tangxian Company partnered with a Taiwanese data science company, working together to integrate AI services and optimize internal processes using AI. They started with a medium-sized plastic recycling production line within the factory as a trial field. After establishing a successful benchmark, this model was expanded to larger plastic recycling machinery within the factory to continue verification and application.

Initially, both parties converted the past handwritten paper data into digital format using OCR supplemented by manual correction. Tangxian Company also worked with the supplier of the human-machine interface of the machinery to integrate the control panel and parameter data into the factory's database, allowing real-time monitoring of machine status and eliminating the complexities and potential errors of manual transcription.

Panel of plastic recycling granulation machine, showing current process temperatures, speeds, and power usage

▲Panel of plastic recycling granulation machine, showing current process temperatures, speeds, and power usage

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese data science company further modeled dozens of parameter data through AI, conducting scenario analysis to simulate various production possibilities under environmental parameters and material inputs, identifying key characteristic parameters and providing parameter adjustment recommendations to decrease costs during the trial phase.

Applying data analysis to traditional industry machinery processes

▲Applying data analysis to traditional industry machinery processes

After the old master receives the raw materials, they only need to enter the relevant material characteristic parameters, and the system automatically generates recommended process parameters. After small adjustments by the old master, they proceed with the trial production of the material, effectively reducing the waste of materials, water, electricity, and manpower caused by incorrect attempts. Moreover, Tangxian Company has proactively deployed the concept of 'production pedigree' in the plastic recycling process, allowing the batch's raw materials and process parameters to be accessed by scanning a QRCode.

Production and sales pedigree of plastic recycling pelletizing

▲Production and sales pedigree of plastic recycling pelletizing

Taiwan's SMEs have strong machinery capabilities, just waiting for the 'east wind' of data

From industrial revolutions 2.0 to 3.0, even 4.0, many Taiwanese SMEs face challenges in transitions not just in upgrading machinery, but after investing in modern equipment and generating data, they do not know how to utilize it effectively. It is impractical for these manufacturers to develop a specialized data analysis department on their own; meanwhile, Taiwan also has many innovative teams with strong software capabilities in AI and data analysis, possessing the technology but lacking the field and data. Therefore, if the traditional industries of Taiwan could be fully integrated with the innovative teams in AI and data analysis, it would not only address the current challenges of manpower and experience transfer faced by traditional industries but also advance Taiwan's development and application of AI significantly.

「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only. Translation date:2024-05-19」

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[2023 Case Study] AI Steps into Philanthropy: Stylish Tech at Food Banks

Taiwan Food Bank AssociationHereinafter referred to as 'the Association'With the mission of providing food aid, poverty relief, reducing food waste, and building a hunger-free network, there are locations across Taiwan that gather donations from wholesalers, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even generous individuals These sites also rescue food that would otherwise be discarded, properly allocate and distribute it to needy households, thus aiding local vulnerable families55Food banks at various locations collect daily donations from wholesale stores, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even benevolent individuals from all over Taiwan These places also rescue about-to-be-discarded edible materials, properly sort them, and distribute to needy households, assisting local vulnerable populations However, each location requires significant human and volunteer resources to manage daily operations using traditional methods of communication with non-profit organizations 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turnover rate This highlights the challenge of scaling up food bank services while lacking corresponding labor and material management systems At the same time, food bank resources come from various donations, thus they vary greatly in type, shelf life, standards, and quantity Volunteers at mini food banks, mostly also elderly, must handle multiple responsibilities such as case services, food resource management,resource allocation, and resource development Sometimes they must also explain and accept immediate, large quantities of specific resources, such as adults receiving baby formula 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' Resource Inventory Relies Entirely on Manual Labor Mini Food Bank Volunteers Handle Multiple Responsibilities Photo Source Taiwan Food Bank Association Reducing Scrap Resources60 Increasing Speed of Resource Transfer80 To enhance resource management and ensure effective use of materials, and to address personnel shortages, this field validation case has 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【解決方案】連聯合國都買單 悠由數據應用運用農業數據搶攻全球商機
Even the United Nations is on board! Yoyo Data Application captures global business opportunities with agricultural data

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AI Assists the Red Cross for Smarter Emergency Response

More Preparation Less Loss The Taiwan Food Bank Association, a non-profit organization, collects donations daily from wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers, and even kind-hearted individuals across Taiwan They also rescue consumable materials that are about to be discarded, properly allocate and deliver to households in need, aiding local underprivileged populations When natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, typhoons, floods, and droughts occur in Taiwan, the food bank's resources can be immediately deployed for disaster relief This field verification unit is the Nantou County Red Cross AssociationOne of the food bank locations, hereinafter referred to as the Nantou Red CrossIs responsible for tasks like pre-disaster supplies preparation and disaster relief material distribution, helping the government bear the responsibility of disaster relief and aid In Taiwan, various natural disasters have characteristics of different duration and spatial coverage, wide or narrow With the normalization of extreme weather, the scale and number of disasters are gradually increasing and becoming harder to predict The required amount and type of materials differ by disaster, and they must address the lifestyles of the affected areas, rescue needs, traffic conditions, geographical restrictions, and other factors for varied material allocation, facing numerous challenges Typhoon Kanu severely damaged transportation in Nantou mountain areas Nantou County Red Cross planned the mountainous route Puli gt Fazhi Elementary School gt Qin'ai Village gt Aowanda to deliver supplies Disasters happen repeatedly We need to be prepared at all times Effective disaster preparedness can mitigate the impact, including swift response to material needs in affected areas, aid distribution, and even psychological support, providing added security for life and property of those in disaster zones Lack of Timeliness in Disaster Information To improve the living conditions and address the lack of supplies in remote areas, the Taiwan Food Bank Association has partnered with the Nantou Red Cross and has successively established food bank points in Nantou City, Puli, and Ren'aiLixing, Ruiyan, XinyiWangmei, Tongfu, Shuili, Lugu and Caotun among others9establish food bank locations, providing supplies worth a certain amount per household every month6001000in New Taiwan Dollars However, many challenges still need to be overcome during natural disasters For example, when typhoons, earthquakes, and landslides occur, the information source for disaster relief dispatch systems relies on post-disaster reports The time lag between reporting, response, and execution prevents timely adjustment and distribution of 'disaster relief' supplies based on the needs of affected areas, affecting rescue efficiency due to lack of timely information The 'preparedness' supplies of the Nantou Red Crosssuch as dry food, water, instant noodles, etc,are recorded manually in terms of stock, expiration dates, and distribution,When a disaster occurs, there is a chance that 'preparedness' supplies have expired and cannot become 'disaster relief' supplies It’s also possible that both conditions mentioned above occur simultaneously, leading to a need for more time to reassign 'preparedness' supplies into usable 'disaster relief' materials On the other hand, upon receiving information about shortages in disaster areas, the supplies donated by the public often grossly differ from the actual needs of the disaster zone, leading to an excess of supplies The Process of Material Operations Before and After a Natural Disaster AIAnticipating Natural Disasters Reinforcing the Accuracy of Preparedness Material Dispatch Application API Technology connects to compute the state of the climate, the intensity of disaster rescues, prioritizing the main tasks of the Nantou Red Cross and the needed areas of search and rescue Coordinated with the existing heavy rain and typhoon simulation 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