The Data Centric Architecture of a Factory Digital Twin
timeline where the FDT is not used . By comparing the performance between the two timelines the value of the FDT is apparent . Real-world processes usually do not have the opportunity to undertake such a controlled study .
Instead , the value can be estimated based upon some real world measures : ( 1 ) how busy is the plant , ( 2 ) how much revenue does the plant generate , ( 3 ) how severe are process pain points such as overtime or how much more product could be sold if it could be produced , ( 4 ) how long do manufacturing plans take to develop and how fast can they be changed when the unexpected happens ( Stevens et al 2024 [ 18 ]). Schregardus 2024 [ 19 ] describes a pharmaceutical scheduling application FDT that was justified based on producing just one additional batch a year , which had a value of $ 1 million .
As an intuitive rule , the busier the plant the more valuable the FDT . Pekny and Miller 1991 [ 3 ] provides a controlled study for a simple manufacturing process of the value difference that can occur between different operating strategies for an FDT . Anecdotally , for a busy plant the FDT can increase the throughput by 5-15 % even for a world class facility and more when unexpected events become more frequent . The intuition derives from the fact that FDTs can optimize over very many ways the plant can operate , take the best , and can get the details right every time .
A human may be able to match the FDT under ideal conditions , but in real world conditions and with time pressure the best way to proceed is to pair human intuition with the power of an FDT . A useful initial FDT can be developed in several weeks starting from existing data . Over many months an FDT in routine usage can get very sophisticated and catalyze a data-driven modeling culture that pushes the envelope of world scale performance .
In practice the development and use of an FDT catalyzes process improvement in multiple ways . Process data can get corrected or validated in a goal-oriented way . For example , throughput can be predicted by the FDT on a product-by-product basis and the predicted value can be compared against experience . Such simplified model-reality comparisons allow incorrect data to be quickly identified and rectified . Once the model data is validated the FDT can be used to accurately assess changes to the physical process . Process improvement guess work is replaced by data analytics and a high degree of confidence that process changes will yield expected results .
Manufacturing personnel operating under normal circumstances develop strong intuition as to how a process should behave . However , where normal operating intuition does not apply the value of an FDT can be significant in responding to the exceptional . When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005 a VirtECS FDT was being used to manage Folgers coffee production . The plant is above sea level , but the surrounding neighborhoods were flooded which made commuting to the plant difficult and utilities , such as fresh water , were in short supply .
The VirtECS FDT was quickly configured to determine the minimum amount of labor and process water that was needed to begin reduced operations . The National Guard then helicoptered in
118 February 2025