As AI technologies continue to become more sophisticated, we’re witnessing their pervasive use across industries. Consider the case of manufacturing; from using RPA to handle repetitive tasks to employing digital twins to drive the entire manufacturing lifecycle, AI is serving well to demonstrate its inherent versatility in various sectors today.

But whenever we talk about AI, we also talk about its impact (and influence) on human-only workflows. Manufacturing and production facilities, in particular, find themselves at the center of AI experiments and the consequently changing role of humans. 

The discussion becomes even more profound when considering the AI-powered computer vision prowess and how it’s transforming the monitoring landscape across production facilities. In that light, isn’t AI making the role of human-supervision redundant? And it if is, how should manufacturers approach the same?

What Currently Falls in the Purview of Human Supervision at Facilities?

Before we can answer the question of what can be automated and what still requires human supervision, it’s important to understand what falls under the jurisdiction of human supervision.

In essence, human supervision demands human oversight and control. This is true for most functions across manufacturing and production facilities. Whether it’s in assembly or packing, the installation of assets or management of inventory, maintenance and repair services or providing technical support to plant operators and maintenance teams, human supervision has traditionally been driving these functions.

How Is Human Supervision Becoming Redundant?

Now that AI technologies are gaining ground in facilities, we’re beginning to see a blurring of the line between the actions performed by humans and automation. Take the case of how resolving issues has been transformed via visual analytics. 

Earlier, when a machine suffered an unplanned downtime or an asset malfunctioned, the plant operator would alert the maintenance team, who would subsequently go to the machine and assess the situation. In case they could rectify the problem without external help, they would. Otherwise, they would call third-party experts (remote or onsite) to get the work done. This process has been exceptionally time-intensive. The problem becomes more profound when you consider cases where human safety can be at stake. 

But now, AI-powered computer vision systems can be used to identify intended and unintended machine stoppages and malfunctions and alleviate the escalation of issues resulting from post-mortem analysis. They can also help in identifying potential hazards, unsafe conduct, etc. Then, they carry the burden of alerting the maintenance team before the machine or an asset puts human lives at risk.

Does this mean that human supervision will become completely obsolete? Absolutely not! While AI can perform tasks autonomously, human intervention and monitoring are essential for ensuring safety, ethics, and accountability. 

In fact, human supervision can establish control over setting boundaries, defining rules, and continuously evaluating and guiding AI systems to ensure their behavior aligns with desired outcomes. They can keep holistic visibility into processes that involve proactively identifying issues (like machine downtime or worker safety) and strategize for actions. In essence, they can handle exceptionally sophisticated situations seamlessly while keeping their “human judgment” at the center of decision-making.

But how can this transpire? How can manufacturing and production facilities leverage a combination of AI’s prowess and human involvement to establish new norms for handling production tasks?

The Computer Vision Platform Approach as the Answer

Speed, accuracy, and consistency are the cornerstones of a successful production process. A computer vision platform approach that harnesses AI’s capabilities to gather relevant data and process it in real-time can achieve the same. Essentially, what this approach does is deliver AI-based analytics and insights into production activities in a way that’s transparent, reliable, and scalable.

With computer vision platforms, manufacturers can gather and process data from a variety of devices and sensors across the facility. This could include robots, industrial cameras, motion systems, heat, and gas flow sensors, etc. To remove barriers and enable real-time access to this data, manufacturers can integrate their IT and OT environments seamlessly through a CV platform that is both secure and agile. With the use of computer vision for analytics, manufacturers can now identify potential machine and asset problems at the earliest stages and take preventive measures before they escalate. 

For example, via AI-powered visual analytics, KamerAI helps manufacturers with hard hat detection, unattended object identification, perimeter security, object dimensioning, etc. This way, human supervisors don’t have to waste time looking for hazardous situations or unsafe conduct. They can focus on what’s important and lead their team towards a task goal. In other words, they can pursue more nuanced tasks and have more time to perform manual, rigorous, and final checks. 

For instance, they can monitor the implementation of policies across facilities, track machine status and uptime, etc. While AI can provide data-driven insights, human expertise and intuition will remain invaluable for interpreting context, considering ethical implications, and making judgments in complex scenarios that may require subjective or contextual understanding.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, manufacturers need to stay abreast of developments in the AI space. After all, their competitive edge depends on their ability to leverage intelligent technologies and innovate new solutions and, at the same time, reinvent business processes to promote human productivity. 

With a computer vision platform approach that leverages AI’s ability to continuously process rich data and deliver value-based insights, they can streamline production processes and embrace a culture of technology-driven innovation that empowers their people to innovate more. Schedule a demo with KamerAI today!