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New technology drives Cummins innovation By Deeshon Munshi, Cummins Africa Middle East – Business Manager – Data Center & Telecom
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s the global leader in engine and power generation manufacturing and supply, Cummins is at the forefront innovation and digital transformation of these industries. The organisation has manufactured engines for 101 years, and was an early adopter of new technologies in its manufacturing business. It has long-embraced 3rd Industrial Revolution technologies at its manufacturing plants worldwide, which are heavily automated and employ many advanced technologies. Cummins sees the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies as a natural evolution. We are introducing these technologies into our
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Business Day - Focus 4.0
manufacturing operations where we believe they add value to our processes and products and maximise the benefits to our customers. Our global digital transformation team is constantly on the lookout for technological innovations that can be applied in our business such as the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is a network of wireless sensors linked to a central processing system that makes sense of the data sent by these sensors and takes programmed action based on those inputs. Imagine a power generation system that can monitor its own condition and request a service
or order a replacement part. The initial stages of IoT are already here. We will soon see generators ordering their own fuel! Innovation drives Cummins’ customer-centric operations Internally, Cummins’ high-tech ERP systems enable the streamlining of multiple operations to the benefit of customers. Advanced technologies enable the company to anticipate customer demands, plan and be ready for these so that when a customer requests a product, a part or a service, Cummins can immediately fulfil the request. The mammoth task of manual stocktake in our massive parts distribution centres around the world is thankfully a thing of the past. Technology has revolutionised stocktake. Our next-generation distribution business system provides real-time, accurate data
