LG Accelerates Smart Factory Solutions Business
The Production engineering Research Institute (PRI), which has been enhancing production and manufacturing competitiveness for LG Group affiliates, is now extending its expertise to external clients. Services offered include production consulting, development of equipment and operation systems and training for technology personnel.
LG Electronics is advancing its smart factory solutions business by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation. Photo: LG
Major clients include secondary battery manufacturers, automotive parts manufacturers and logistics companies. LG plans to aggressively expand into industries with rapidly growing factory demand, such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and food and beverage. The goal is to develop the smart factory solutions business into a multi-trillion KRW enterprise by 2030, excluding revenue generated within the LG Group.
LG has accumulated vast amounts of manufacturing data and know-how through 66 years of factory design, construction and operation. In the past decade alone, the company has amassed 770 terabytes of manufacturing and production data.The company's competitive edge also lies in its various core production technologies essential for smart factory configuration, with PRI filing over 1,000 patents related to smart factory solutions. Smart factory solutions focus on minimizing even the briefest delays or minute errors between processes. For example, at LG's refrigerator production line in Changwon, a refrigerator is produced every 13 seconds.
A 10-minute delay in the production line would result in a production shortfall of 50 refrigerators. Assuming the price of one refrigerator is KRW 2 million, a 10-minute delay translates to a loss of KRW 100 million. The production system design and operation solutions leverage real-time simulations using Digital Twin technology.
Before the factory is built, a virtual replica identical to the real factory is created, allowing clients to preview the production and logistics flow. During the operational phase, analyzing real-time data helps detect bottlenecks, defects and malfunctions in the production line in advance, thereby contributing to productivity improvement. Sensors installed throughout the factory detect abnormal signals such as vibrations and noise caused by equipment aging or lack of lubrication.
Big data is then used to determine the causes and recommend corrective actions. Generative AI based on large language models allows for easy use through voice commands. For example, saying "abnormal vibration in equipment A at 2 p.m." records the abnormal signal on the server. A command like "show recent abnormal vibrations and corrective actions" provides a list of defect types and previous corrective actions in order of likelihood. Additionally, LG has developed a real-time detection system powered by Vision AI.
This system learns the factory's normal operating conditions and detects anomalies such as temperature fluctuations and defects. It also enhances factory safety management by identifying workers who are not properly wearing safety helmets or work vests. LG's intelligent autonomous factories in Changwon, South Korea, and Tennessee, USA, have been recognized as Lighthouse Factories by the World Economic Forum. Following the implementation of smart factory solutions, productivity at the Changwon plant increased by 17 percent, energy efficiency improved by 30 percent, and quality costs due to defects were reduced by 70 percent.
