Portfolio project
One of the industries that is known to have quite a wide coverage globally is the clothing industry. Most of the current business processes in this industry are handled manually with only a few having been automated. The implication of this is that the players in this industry are still using business approaches and methods that are deemed outdated given the current increased technological innovation and invention. To gain relevance in the market, there is need for such firms to be aggressive enough in the course of the adoption of the latest technological trends while utilizing concepts such as analytics, artificial intelligence and data science. This will help in ensuring that more time is spent by the employees in production rather than in other activities, either major or minor.
One of the latest trends that can be adopted in the clothing industry, which is known to be one of the most labour-intensive industry is new technology and this is in regard to smart automation. In this case, there will be the application of artificial intelligence in that various critical functions will be automated, thus reducing the need for a human being to interact with the system so that such may be accomplished. For instance, when it comes to basic functions such as lighting when dark, this can be enhanced by the use of sensors which may help in automatically detecting when to put the lights on and when such should be put off (DiLouie, 2008). As a result, this may help in boosting the overall productivity of the industry as the time that could have been used in such basic activities will now be used in the core functions of the business.
With the application of new technology, it is noted that a person does not have to do the manual switching on and off of the lights All that happens, in this regard, is that the pathway of the individual will be illuminated at every step of the way as the lights fade up (Strengers, 2013). The introduction of this system in the industry will serve to get rid of the current practice, which applies a clunky system that operates in such a way that lighting is programmed to be on and off at certain times.
However, it should be noted that the introduction of this new technology may have to take a series of phases. The first phase is the recognition of the current practice that does not involve any form of automation. This should then be followed by the introduction of circuit-level timers that can put off lights after hours. After this, there should be the lighting automation systems that depend on the fixture-level occupancy sensing that is managed through the software that detects and records data like the ambient light, temperature, along with occupancy.
From the discussion above, it is clearly highlighted that the technology that should be adopted by the clothing industry is smart automation. Here is whereby there will be the use of sensors that use artificial intelligence to detect when to put the lights on and off. The specific technology, in this regard, will be the light dimming technology. With this form of innovation in place, the organization will be able to have sufficient cost savings on energy.
With the deployment of light dimming technology, there is no doubt that the industry will be able to attain significant efficiency and cost savings. For instance, this kind of system will be able to collect data in relation to a burnt bulb. Besides that, the system will also gather data and act intelligently on dimming a specific fixture because of aspects such as daylight harvesting. All this kind of data can be controlled remotely from a computer using various applications (Bahga, & Madisetti, 2014).
On the other hand, given the benefits that the technology will bring, there are also some drawbacks that can be associated with this. For instance, there will be a need to have a high initial cost of investment. In this case, the firms in the said industry will have to take large amounts of their profits to put the infrastructure in place. The capital requirement, in this case, maybe used in organizational redesigning and this may include things like putting in place new walls, roofing and floors that will accommodate the sensors.
Last but not least, there are various business factors that should be considered before the deployment of new technology. One of these factors is the size of the business. When the size of the business is large, it may be profitable for it to implement such an infrastructure in place. Apart from that, the other factor that should be considered is the level of preparedness. This is in terms of acceptance for change. An assessment should be done on the employees on their readiness to accept and adapt to the new initiative.
References
Bahga, A., Madisetti, V. (2014). Internet of Things: A Hands-on Approach.
United Kingdom: Arsheep Bahga & Vijay Madisetti.
DiLouie, C. (2008). Lighting Controls Handbook. Italy: Fairmont Press.
Strengers, Y. (2013). Smart Energy Technologies in Everyday Life: Smart Utopia?
United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.