Let’s start with the term. What does “sustainable development” really mean. According to World Economic Forum, it means development that increases the living standards of current generations without sacrificing that of future generations. This also includes addressing issues such as economic and resource efficiency, environmental accountability, and social equity.

This is where XpertRule comes into play. We are looking to empower intelligent manufacturing and smarter factories in ways that have never been possible until now. A move towards cleaner and more sustainable economic growth is possible through low carbon and AI-enabled technologies driving more efficient use of resources. We see this as one of the greatest industrial opportunities of our time.

Leveraging our XpertFactory software, companies can improve the quality of goods, increase uptime and operational efficiency, all while complying with environmental regulations such as Net Zero. The software transforms plant manufacturing by making it easy to digitally capture, streamline and audit the decision-making process leading to greater overall efficiencies and effectiveness. This is where XpertFactory can help modernize and optimize resource use while supporting Net Zero monitoring and compliance.

Here are four key areas where we can help to lower your carbon footprint:

Delivering greater operational efficiencies: Easily diagnose and predict faults, assess risks while meeting compliance and regulatory policies (including Net Zero). This includes compiling data and monitoring manufacturing operations to detect faults, sub-optimal performance, and anomalies. It also means trouble-shooting manufacturing problems to generate the optimal control settings.

Decarbonizing heat and power production (e.g., heat capture and reuse, renewables): Developing new, decarbonized processes for heating technologies represents an incredible opportunity to eliminating approximately one-fifth of global CO2 emissions, overall. XpertFactory can help reduce greenhouse gases through greater efficiency in energy and materials use as well as finding new ways of using renewables.

Optimizing design materials (e.g., material efficiency, weight reduction, waste reuse and circular economy): Providing a holistic view of the entire manufacturing process (factory floor to front office and transportation) it is possible to streamline and avoid future carbon emissions by evaluating the data, designing, and making decisions differently. This requires taking monitoring and collaboration to a higher-level by communicating in real-time through web, chat, voice and mobile.

Improving logistics and supply chain management: Sulfur, pollutants, and especially pollution is incredibly hazardous for the environment, and they are rampant in the logistics industry. Building a greener logistics and supply chain starts with IT, which organizes shipment processes more efficiently to reduce empty runs and make optimum use of transportation. That optimization should, necessarily, consider every facet of the supply chain, down to choosing the greener vehicles, which all consume less and automating procedure throughout.

XpertRule is here to help companies should reach their Net Zero goals through constant ongoing optimization. This is a journey not a sprint. We are working with companies in the manufacturing sector to improve performance through better utilization of their people, plant processes and products to drive better profits (the 5Ps). Just as important, we extend these capabilities to reduce waste and support environmental regulations, including the legally binding Net Zero target of 2050.  Over the next few months, I’ll have additional blog posts to share on the future of manufacturing. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out at icrosley@xpertrule.com.