Why secure and well-governed data is non-negotiable for AI in CPG
AI is nothing without good data. In its absence, insights lose their meaning, decisions become unreliable and predictions are likely to fail.
But what makes data “good” and capable of fueling AI in CPG (consumer packaged goods) effectively? While completeness, consistency, cleanliness and accuracy are all critical components, there’s another factor that’s just as important but often overlooked: making sure your data is secure.
Data security ensures that your AI models receive clean, unaltered data for analysis. Secure data transfer is critical if you expect AI to provide accurate insights.
When data transfers aren’t secure, you run the risk of feeding AI with information that is corrupt, incomplete, intercepted or altered. This can lead to problems as it attempts to detect patterns, make predictions and generate meaningful recommendations.
In CPG environments, where real-time data is vital, it’s even more critical that data is safeguarded. It enables workers to trust AI insights so they can make timely and accurate decisions that result in quality products for consumers.
An important part of data security involves putting guardrails around your information. Data governance helps ensure that your data is consistent, accurate, organized and accessible to the people who need it.
From the C-suite executives in the boardroom to the machine operators on the production line, everyone in a CPG plant can benefit from real-time operational data, but they all use it differently. Defining clear policies can ensure consistency and security across the organization.
Clarifying your strategy for using AI in CPG is critical
Defining how you plan to use AI in CPG—whether it’s to increase throughput, deploy predictive maintenance or improve quality—will help you shape the processes and policies inform your data governance strategy.
Clarifying your AI strategy can help ensure that AI in CPG is done right the first time by determining:
- What type of data is needed and how often the data needs to be collected
- Who needs access to insights
- What types of access controls need to be in place
- What clean and well-structured data looks like for this application
- How information will be used and how it should be presented
Consider digital twins as an example. These AI-powered virtual models can help manufacturers optimize production, empowering leaders to test processes and simulate changes before applying them in real life.
In CPG manufacturing, for example, a digital twin can help you:
- See how adjustments to processes impact production before they’re applied
- Test changeovers and how they’ll work on the production floor
- Flag possible production defects early to prevent costly recalls
- Simulate failure scenarios to determine root causes, which can reduce unnecessary maintenance
- Train new workers in a virtual environment so they can learn how to operate machinery safely and correctly.
- Replicate material usage and energy consumption to reduce waste and optimize resource allocation
- Create different safety scenarios to see how injuries can be reduced
While digital twins are impactful in CPG, their effectiveness comes down to secure data transfer and robust data governance. To enable accurate decisions, you need first to understand what problems will be solved using the AI-powered digital twin. Then you can identify the data required to fuel it.
OT data must be transferred from CPG equipment to the AI system securely and in alignment with appropriate rules. From there, AI must be able to correctly interpret the data it receives and map it to the digital twin. Proper governance structures help avoid mistakes and misinterpretations, like acronyms that mean different things across departments.
Optimizing the value of AI initiatives
When your data is secure and well-governed, you can use AI in CPG to unlock untold possibilities to improve operations and decision-making.
Belden serves as your partner in securely sending data wherever it needs to go. As OT network experts, we understand the complexities of industrial data flows. We’re ready to help you establish governance policies around your OT data and monitor your network to detect unauthorized or unwanted traffic.
If a security incident unfolds in your CPG environment, our vast network of partners stands ready to respond.
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