Volkswagen Group of America said today that it will connect production facilities in Chattanooga (TN), Puebla and Silao (Mexico) with the global Industrial Cloud initiative from the Volkswagen Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS). (*AutoInformed – GM’s Factory ZERO – First U.S. Plant to Install 5G)
Click to Enlarge.
The Industrial Cloud is an IT platform, designed to gather and analyze data from all connected Volkswagen Group facilities on a real-time basis to help increase efficiency and productivity. Volkswagen’s three North American plants are the first outside Europe to be networked with the Industrial Cloud. The three Volkswagen locations are expected to be connected by the end of the year. As early as spring 2021, Chattanooga, Puebla and Silao could access standardized software applications that are available for all factories in the Volkswagen Group connected to the Industrial Cloud.
The Volkswagen Group has networked 18 European plants with the Industrial Cloud since the end of 2019. Chattanooga currently produces the Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs, the Volkswagen Passat sedan and will be the central hub to produce electric vehicles in North America; Puebla manufactures several high-volume models, such as the Tiguan, Jetta and upcoming Taos SUV. The Silao plant produces engines for Volkswagen and Audi models.
The reach of applications is expanding, and Volkswagen in the North American Region is currently working on 51 projects. Connected locations could go without costly and time-consuming individual IT developments and have access to tested, ready-to-use applications.
“This is a big and critical step for our digital transformation as we work to apply the knowledge gained from one of the largest vehicle production networks in the world to our facilities in the U.S. and Mexico”, said Johan de Nysschen, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen Group of America. “We want to manufacture vehicles even more efficiently and sustainably, and the Industrial Cloud helps us do that.”
To date, available applications involve predictive maintenance of machines and systems. Chattanooga and Puebla will be able to optimize various maintenance cycles by analyzing streams of data, which can help reduce downtime in vehicle manufacturing processes, and can result in lower costs.
Another advantage is the reduction of potential rework on vehicles using algorithms. At the Chattanooga plant, the use of a shop floor reporting system is being tested, which can enable the factory to increase machine utilization by recognizing potential disturbance variables before they occur.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
US, Mexican Volkswagen Plants to Link with Industrial Cloud
Volkswagen Group of America said today that it will connect production facilities in Chattanooga (TN), Puebla and Silao (Mexico) with the global Industrial Cloud initiative from the Volkswagen Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS). (*AutoInformed – GM’s Factory ZERO – First U.S. Plant to Install 5G)
Click to Enlarge.
The Industrial Cloud is an IT platform, designed to gather and analyze data from all connected Volkswagen Group facilities on a real-time basis to help increase efficiency and productivity. Volkswagen’s three North American plants are the first outside Europe to be networked with the Industrial Cloud. The three Volkswagen locations are expected to be connected by the end of the year. As early as spring 2021, Chattanooga, Puebla and Silao could access standardized software applications that are available for all factories in the Volkswagen Group connected to the Industrial Cloud.
The Volkswagen Group has networked 18 European plants with the Industrial Cloud since the end of 2019. Chattanooga currently produces the Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs, the Volkswagen Passat sedan and will be the central hub to produce electric vehicles in North America; Puebla manufactures several high-volume models, such as the Tiguan, Jetta and upcoming Taos SUV. The Silao plant produces engines for Volkswagen and Audi models.
The reach of applications is expanding, and Volkswagen in the North American Region is currently working on 51 projects. Connected locations could go without costly and time-consuming individual IT developments and have access to tested, ready-to-use applications.
“This is a big and critical step for our digital transformation as we work to apply the knowledge gained from one of the largest vehicle production networks in the world to our facilities in the U.S. and Mexico”, said Johan de Nysschen, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen Group of America. “We want to manufacture vehicles even more efficiently and sustainably, and the Industrial Cloud helps us do that.”
To date, available applications involve predictive maintenance of machines and systems. Chattanooga and Puebla will be able to optimize various maintenance cycles by analyzing streams of data, which can help reduce downtime in vehicle manufacturing processes, and can result in lower costs.
Another advantage is the reduction of potential rework on vehicles using algorithms. At the Chattanooga plant, the use of a shop floor reporting system is being tested, which can enable the factory to increase machine utilization by recognizing potential disturbance variables before they occur.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.