Digitalization

Digitalization has now become part of our everyday life, and digital tools have reached high maturity. These smart tools could not exist and run efficiently without data. Everyone is familiar with the fact that data represent a powerful source of information to understand better reality. Indeed, Industry 4.0 could not happen without a major breakthrough in the data gathering and management systems.

 How is this related to quality?

We want zero-defect products. We want our machines to run smoothly. We want to avoid scraps and material waste for a sustainable production. The integration of multi-source data allows the development of advanced modelling and optimization solutions.

Hence, the Digitally-enhanced Quality Management we want to pursue in DAT4.Zero aims at properly integrate and manage data coming from different sources, such as expert operators, product tracking, advanced processes.

Why is this necessary? Because the effect of one phenomenon can propagate far with respect to where it occurs. A defect can be originated at the very beginning of the process chain but may be identified very late. Therefore, having an integrated data management approach eases the identification of non-quality phenomena, which could not be identified otherwise, or only with long and manual and exhausting processes, as root-cause analysis, etc.

Therefore, the Digitally-enhanced Quality Management provides a working platform to create a repository of production knowledge. The production knowledge can be then exploited to implement advanced modelling and optimization solutions for the production system improvement.

Which are the pillars of DAT4.Zero for Digitally-enhanced Quality Management?

• Product, process and human data gathering through novel sensoring solutions
• Advanced modelling and optimization solutions at system-level based on the integration of data and expert knowledge
• Data quality and cyber-security for the digital reliability of the implemented methodologies
• Digital architecture to support the scalable integration of the functionalities