Welcome to Eco Ask why a podcast that dives into industrial manufacturing topics and spotlights the heroes that keep America running. I'm your host, chris Granger, and on this podcast, we do not cover the latest features and benefits on products that come to market. Instead, we focus on advice and insight from the top minds of industry, because people and ideas will be how America remains number one in manufacturing in the world. Welcome to Eco Asks why. I'm your host, chris Granger, and looking forward to spending some time with you today and we're going to continue unpacking our whole look into industrial manufacturing, and last month we talked about a technology around digital twins and we got a lot of great feedback from that and we thought we'd take an opportunity this month to dig further and really dig into the advanced applications of digital twins, particularly in industrial manufacturing, because we know so many of you all out there are listening. You're in that space. We're here to serve and we recognize that the landscape of industrial manufacturing is rapidly evolving I mean all the time and there's a constant pursuit out there for efficiency. There's all these precision metrics and at the end of the day, we have to keep our plants as safe as possible right, because we want everyone to go home at the end of the day day. We have to keep our plants as safe as possible, right? Because we want everyone to go home at the end of the day, and the digital twin technology is a great tool to enable progress in all those areas. So this is not just animation. Again, a digital twin is a sophisticated dynamic simulation environment and these are purpose-built situations for testing, for validation, for training and really to optimize what you're doing in your process and with advanced applications, that helps us redefine how manufacturers are really working on their timelines, how they're mitigating risk and how they're preparing their workforce for the future. And I can tell you at ECO, we see it firsthand. We see it firsthand how the digital twins can really transform not only production floors but decision making. That's the big difference the decision making at so many different levels of organization. Difference, the decision making at so many different levels of organization.

So if you're out there and you're an executive or you're an engineer or you're an operator, we invite you. We would love to have a conversation with you on your specific application, and we'd like to do it at one of our state-of-the-art labs that we have all throughout our geography. So we have many, many different ways we can serve. We geography. So we have many, many different ways we can serve, we can connect, we can help, and this is where you can see the digital twin in action. So, if this is interesting to you, if it's of interest, if you've never been to one of our labs, you'd like to just learn what it's even about, I'd encourage you to check out the show notes. We're going to have links there for you. No matter what state you're in, we'll have ways for you to connect with us directly, and that'd be a wonderful way to get hands-on and get practical and to really see how this digital twin is not just some theory, but it's something that you can actually put in place today.

Okay, so, as we start thinking about this further, one of the most compelling advantages of a digital twin is the ability to accelerate your operational optimization. So traditionally refining, like speed configurations and a workflow of a complex line, could take a lot of months, could take a lot of trial and error. Just put this over there type of scenario to see how stuff works and at the end of the day, you could directly delay production and profitability. That's just a potential end result, but with a digital twin, you can do this much faster. We're talking weeks. So, for example, an entire facility could be simulated, including the original control code and the HMI projects. All this stuff could be loaded before any equipment's built or you move anything around. So if you're running a line, maybe you're moving cans and you're moving 700 cans a minute. That could be modeled virtually and that model potentially could show you exposed bottlenecks and areas that you need to consider for speed adjustment before you go into any type of commissioning. And at the end of the day, that results in a faster achievement of peak performance and you dramatically shorten the path for that return on investment, which really is what it's all about. So really, the strategic impact is clear, which really is what it's all about right? So really, the strategic impact is clear. So when production hits design targets faster, capital investments starts paying back sooner, everybody wins right, and for a leadership team, this means your digital twins are not just engineering tools but they're financial accelerators, and when you start thinking about it in terms of dollars and cents, it really is a big driver.

And the next one of the frontiers that's worth considering when you're looking at digital twins is how can you pair them with artificial intelligence. These AI agents out there are real and they have vast number of data points that can help you, within a simulation, to understand everything that may not be rightly available to us, from conveyor volume to machine speeds. They can recognize patterns and build some relationships that can really help you. Let's say, for instance, you're trying to get down and understand the project overall equipment effectiveness, right OEE we hear that all the time. The project overall equipment effectiveness OEE we hear that all the time.

An experiment with the configuration changes, maybe too hard for human observation, but if you integrate it with the AI agents, this gives you that opportunity to look at continuous optimization. So in a traditional setting line, optimization might happen at the commissioning and then it happens periodic right during audits when you're checking stuff. But with AI Digital Twin, that's ongoing. It's always looking for the next area of improvement, if you will. It's learning right. It's proposing new speed curves, it's proposing new settings, it's proposing new maintenance intervals, all while giving you actionable data to work with.

So this is a transformative type of way to think about this, particularly from an engineering team. Instead of just spending countless hours troubleshooting, hey, start validating instead. Start validating these insights and then implementing improvements, and this is how you take it from not just a plant that runs, but it moves it to a plant that evolves, and at that point that's when it gets really fun. And at the end, when really we start thinking about digital twins, they're really indispensable for testing and validation prior to you putting that piece of equipment in the plant, because when you put it in the plant you need to have confidence, and these are not just marketing or some type of animation. This is giving you real, highly regulated, in-the-moment information. So if you're a pharmaceutical and you need to know and that capability is crucial and you need to understand it this is great technology to look at, because, if we're just kind of pulling that pharmaceutical thread a little bit further, you can employ digital twins to simulate process kits and test how they integrate with multiple interfaces. So you're really, in a sense, virtually qualifying and validating.

Think about that. You get 80% or 90% of your operational accuracy before you install the first bolt or run the first piece of conduit. It's crazy, and if you do that, you can really reduce the costly errors that we run into, such as conveyor length adjustments and all this stuff. This stuff can be identified months before anything actually gets installed. Ok, again, financial investment and your overall reputation can help big time here. And we're not just talking about technical failures either. We're talking about trust.

Think about an industry like pharmaceuticals. We're talking about trust. Think about an industry like pharmaceuticals, where one mistake could put a lot of people and public in jeopardy for being safe or for missing that regulatory approval. This is built in insurance, if you will, against those missteps. Missteps happen, but if you can take advance or even further steps along the way to prevent it, how would you do it Again? This is another great way to just come in and test the technology at our labs. Talk with our experts. We have some people on the electrical equipment company team are just unbelievably smart, unbelievably smart. And when you can sit down with them in our labs and start asking your questions and getting into the data and really getting into your use case and your application, that's where the rubber meets the road. Ok, so highly encourage you can check out that. Set up that time to visit a lab. And when you're thinking about your workforce we've already a couple of podcasts ago we talked about the workforce development.

But this is an underrated advantage of digital twin, because training is a big deal. Think about how you onboard people typically and particularly when you have complex machinery with risk. You got potential damage to the equipment, you got production delays, potentially you have safety hazards. Well, digital twins can bring that down. They can put them in a safe, immersible environment where these operators, these new employees, engage directly with the screens, like they would be engaging with in the plant. And the great part is they can do this without consequence. They can hit a button and it's not an uh-oh. They can actually learn from it. And this is far more than just a demonstration. What you're doing is you're building confidence, you're building understanding and you're building assurance in your team that you're putting on your plant floor and operators can virtually pause a machine, for instance, and then they can see how everything else reacts, see how big a deal that would be versus actually doing it in the plant, and they can see okay, I understand how this machine, hundreds of feet apart, impacts this one when this happens. That prepares them, that gets them equipped, that gets them confident and that's also going to help them be better troubleshooters when things actually do happen. So if you start fostering these best practices and utilizing digital twins, you can really start closing your industrial, your skills gap and your setting. See how that works. And right here you're helping technicians and engineers adapt and come together and reduce downtime across the board. I'm telling you this Digital Twins is really it's kind of cool to think about your future proofing your workforce that's really what you're doing at the end of the day. Your workforce, that's really what you're doing at the end of the day.

So much of the conversation around digital twins focuses on production lines, like the potential applications that really go so much further than the factory floor. And when you start thinking about a digital twin, you can really get to the enterprise level, start thinking about your ERP, your MES system, supply chain management. You can have all this connected together with the single pane view of operations. So imagine you could not only know how a line performs mechanically, but how does supply chain disruption would ripple through the schedules. How would it impact the maintenance intervals? How would it impact delivery promises? See how this all works together, all ties together. So it's not just operationally, but it's a bigger piece of the puzzle.

So this enterprise integration transforms the digital twin into really more of a decision-making engine. It helps you make better decisions there, great, great technology. And then, when maintenance is needed, so it's just predictive maintenance. You know that's happened. If you mirror the performance of machines in real time, that digital twin is going to be giving you a constant stream of data and health and updates, and so, instead of relying on static maintenance schedules let's just be real, that stuff has changed you can shift to condition-based strategy. So this really again, when you start implementing this technology, you're talking about reducing downtime, lower maintenance costs, extending the equipment lifespan. All these things matter.

Particularly if you start thinking about have you considered this? You can combine everything you're learning on this AI and start even looking at your spare, your inventory, to make sure you have the optimized spare parts on the shelf. How about going to bed at night knowing you have the right components on hand when you need them, without the excess of carrying this overstock? You're carrying what you need because you know the technology, the systems is telling you this. So, at the end of the day, again, seeing is believing. I totally believe that it's not so much a problem of capability as much as it is awareness for us at ECO, because we think it's too far out there or my plant's not ready for this or whatever it may be. And again, this is why we're here with our labs to show you no, this is real world, this is what it means for you. And again, if you check out the links, we're all about connecting and bringing you in to let you have that experience firsthand.

Because this digital twin, this whole idea, this topic is not just about a future tool anymore. They are here today and they are essential for driving efficiency and resilience within your manufacturing facility. So if you really lean in to enable rapid optimization and you start thinking about this AI technology and predictive insights, you start validating processes and you start really considering how you can tie this into your worker development program and training. It's a game changer. It's a game changer. These digital twins will help you meet the demands of that competitive landscape that you're fighting in each and every day. Again, at EECO, we're embracing it. We're embracing these technologies and we're finding the people that understand them and we're aligning with the vendors to bring the solutions. And it's not just about adopting new technology. It's for us, it's about partnering with the right people and the right tools to transform how your facility is designed, built and operated.

So look, if you're out there and you're listening and you're interested and you want to know more. Connect with us, because we're here, we're ready to serve. We're in the driver's seat right now with so many wonderful partners. We're ready to connect you with them and let you have a conversation. And if you'd rather take the next step, we would be honored to show you what's possible inside, again, one of our state-of-the-art labs. It doesn't matter where you're located in our geography If you're listening to EECO Asks why and you are in our service area. We have labs in the different areas, and these labs are also set up with the technology that we can support in those areas as well.

So you're coming in, you're seeing what's available, how it works, getting to get your hands dirty what could be more fun than that? And usually we'll buy you a sandwich or something along the way too. How about that? So, again, check it out. Again, the links all the stuff is there in the show notes. If you're watching this on YouTube, you should be able to see the links underneath as well, and just connect with us directly. We would love to see how we could serve and to learn more about you and as well as everything that you have going your goals within your industrial manufacturing facility.

So thank you for listening to ECO Asks why. If you would give us a rating or review, that does help and we really just encourage you. If you don't want to do that, share this with others, particularly those in the industrial manufacturing space, because the topics we talk about we feel are very relevant. They're very applicable. They're happening now. It's not technology that's 30 years old. We try to talk about the technology that matters the most and just give you a little glimpse and a little insight in how you can apply it today.

So again, connect with us at ecoonlinecom. That's our website, so you can connect with us there. We're very active on LinkedIn as well, so if you want to follow Electrical Equipment Company on LinkedIn, that's a great way to connect with us, to ask questions and we can engage from there. All right. Well, thank you for listening. Thank you for spending your time. It's been an honor. I hope you have a great day and remember to just keep asking why. Thank you for listening to EECO Asks why this show is supported ad-free by Electrical Equipment Company. Eeco is redefining the expectations of an electrical distributor by placing people and ideas before products. Please subscribe and share with your colleagues and friends. Also leave comments, feedback and any new topics that you would like to hear. To learn more or to share your insights, visit EECOASYcom. That's E-E-C-O-A-S-K-S-W-H-Ycom.