KOLON Industries produces phenolic resin using the ‘cognitive manufacturing’ process at the KOLON Industries Gyeongcheon Plant. /Courtesy of KOLON

KOLON Benit announced on the 19th that it has set 'cognitive manufacturing' as the goal of the digital transformation (DX) in the manufacturing industry and is concentrating its business capabilities for this purpose. KOLON Benit plans to expand its DX business targeting external manufacturing corporations based on the know-how and successful experiences it has accumulated while building DX infrastructure for the core manufacturing subsidiaries of the Kolon Group.

KOLON Benit presents 'cognitive manufacturing' as a solution for manufacturing corporations to dramatically increase productivity per person. 'Cognitive manufacturing,' as defined by KOLON Benit, refers to manufacturing process systems that follow processes similar to human thinking. Just as humans consider emotions, thoughts, and actions holistically when making important decisions, 'cognitive manufacturing' autonomously leads an integrated process where the system itself perceives, analyzes, and executes based on the situation. KOLON Benit explains that completing a process where decisions related to production are made autonomously is the true digital transformation for manufacturing corporations.

KOLON Benit is accelerating the development of a circular autonomous process platform that allows factories to control processes and learn data on their own. This platform is based on the connected data platform developed by KOLON Benit. The platform includes an artificial intelligence system that learns from the skilled experiences of workers, real-time production conditions, and control data to predict abnormalities in processes, equipment, and quality, and suggests appropriate responses as part of a data-driven artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration system.

This platform analyzes vast amounts of data generated throughout the entire process, including planning, production, manufacturing, and shipment, in real-time to help ensure the timely launch of high-quality products, thereby fundamentally enhancing manufacturing competitiveness. All data is integratively collected in the real-time data management platform 'r-CoCoAna' and goes through ▲ 'Historian' for process data collection and analysis, ▲ real-time process monitoring system 'Manufacturing Execution System (MES)', ▲ demand-responsive production planning system 'SPIC', and ▲ 'Energy Monitoring System (EMS)' for establishing eco-friendly factories, to achieve process optimization, cost reduction, quality improvement, and productivity enhancement.

KOLON Benit is leading the implementation of cognitive manufacturing through digital innovation technologies encompassing the entire manufacturing process. Over the past three years, KOLON Benit has taken the lead in digital innovation for manufacturing subsidiaries with the goal of completing the Kolon Group's DX. It is gradually applying the 'cognitive manufacturing' process to subsidiaries such as Kolon Industries, KOLON Glotech, KOLON ENP, KOLON Life Science, and KOLON Pharmaceutical.

Among these, a representative case this year is the optimization of the phenolic resin production process at the Kolon Industries' Kimcheon Plant, which is enhancing production efficiency. This case introduces AI models such as ▲ virtual sensing, ▲ vision AI, ▲ optimal production conditions (Golden Recipe), and ▲ recipe-driven execution, to streamline the product inspection and response system. The system converts six inspection stages into an AI-based automation system, enhancing both quality stability and productivity.

Sung Sang-seop, director of DX business at KOLON Benit, noted, "Inquiries from external manufacturing companies regarding the establishment of cognitive manufacturing processes have been increasing due to the success of the integrated data analysis platform we developed and the efficiency improvements in production processes at Kolon Group subsidiaries," and added, "KOLON Benit will contribute to the intelligence of manufacturing processes for corporations contemplating the direction of DX through tailored consulting for business efficiency with specialized personnel."

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