Holcim plans to increase its use of artificial intelligence in manufacturing at more than 100 plants around the world over the next four years, seeking to improve efficiencies and reinforce capacity for customers.
With AI already deployed at 45 plants to predict and prevent failures before they occur, Holcim says it intends to deepen and broaden its AI use to boost operational resilience. This entails Holcim further rolling out a predictive maintenance solution from C3 AI, an AI platform software provider, as well as piloting generative AI to enhance its capabilities.
“AI is a transformative technology that will revolutionize our industry,” says Miljan Gutovic, CEO of Holcim. “Already widely embedded across Holcim, AI catalyzes operational efficiency and enhances customer service. We will ultimately scale up our use of AI to hundreds of sites worldwide.”
As part of the rollout, Holcim’s maintenance teams are being equipped with predictive technology for real-time asset management and optimization. According to Holcim, its AI initiatives in manufacturing span several other areas, from product quality and process optimization to autonomous vehicles and computer vision.
The AI rollout is part of Holcim’s “Plants of Tomorrow” program, which is geared toward modernizing a global network of 140-plus integrated plants and grinding stations across more than 40 countries.
