SHANGHAI, Nov. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The development of smart manufacturing and industry 4.0 concepts in the manufacturing industry has become a key strategy for companies seeking to improve quality, safety and advance their technology. USI (SSE: 601231), a leading electronics designer and manufacturer in the world, is improving productivity standards and manufacturing quality through the deployment of networked infrastructure, automatic data collection, real-time monitoring and analysis, big data analysis, electronic reports and parameter management.

In recent years, the manufacturing industry has undergone profound changes. A low-cost business model is no longer competitive enough to meet the rising demands of a transformed industry that has moved up the value chain, nor resist the advent of smart manufacturing. "USI is adopting smart manufacturing to enhance our competitiveness through the digitalization of our production processes including the automation of infrastructure and logistics using robotics and automated guided vehicles," said Jim Cao, General Manager of Greater Shanghai and Smart Manufacturing/SiM BU, USI. "In addition, we are establishing real-time management and control, online quality and parameter management systems, that will assist our engineers in preempting, troubleshooting and analyzing data, in order to achieve a smart manufacturing environment," he continued.

With the increasing complexity of SiP (System-in-Package) technologies and the need to maintain a competitive lead, USI established a flagship smart manufacturing factory at its Zhangjiang, Shanghai facility in 2013. USI's smart manufacturing division and the R&D Engineering team have co-developed an integrated production facility test and inspection system that enables efficiency and quality in the production process. The implementation of equipment automation has already demonstrated significant positive impacts, and the number of automation programs introduced by USI will continue to increase at a rate of 20% each year.

USI adopts the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) concept to establish a smart manufacturing '5-star rating' system (for example; 100% automation, over 80% of production lines adopting lights off manufacturing, less than 30% direct manpower) that combines big data and industry standards. USI has 9 factories in the world, among which is the Zhangjiang Factory in Shanghai that boasts the highest level of automation. USI is planning to transform all its factories into 3-star and 4-star levels by 2023 and upgrade four of its factories into lights out factories (5-star level) by 2025. By that time, all the machinery in the lights out factories will be connected to the internet, and a parameter management system will be established. Achieving complete automation in manufacturing will reduce human error and raise product quality, whilst an automated logistics system will help connect remote sites to enable real-time production monitoring and increase production efficiency.