Watch Vietnam Factory in Yeouido via Smartphone [Unmanned Era④]

Factories Get Smarter
Donghwa Enterprise Vietnam Factory, Overseas Factory Processes Checked in Real Time via Smartphone
Yujin Enterprise Cheonan Ready-Mix Concrete Factory, Moving Mixer Truck Mixing Status Confirmed at Factory

Dongwha Enterprise, panoramic view of the Ho Chi Minh City factory in Vietnam.
[Photo by Dongwha Enterprise]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Smart factories based on automation and unmanned systems are transforming manufacturing sites. Processes at overseas factories can be checked in real time via smartphones, and the mixing progress of mixer trucks at ready-mix concrete plants can also be monitored.

Dongwha Enterprise recently introduced its self-developed smart factory platform at overseas production bases. Following the introduction of the smart factory platform at domestic production bases such as Incheon and Asan, Chungnam last year, it started implementation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam last month, and plans to expand to global production bases including Hanoi, Vietnam and Malaysia within this year.

The smart factory platform collects and analyzes data generated during the product manufacturing process to predict quality in real time, improve production efficiency, and maintain optimal operating conditions. If a potential problem arises in production equipment, sensors detect it first and notify all workers via their smartphones. Even if the person in charge is offsite, they can remotely check the situation and decide on replacements. Such information is also transmitted to the headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. The headquarters can monitor the status of the Vietnam factory in real time through smartphones.

By collecting and analyzing data generated from all processes in real time, the quality inspections that were previously conducted every six hours to check past quality status have been eliminated. This is because the product quality status can now be checked in real time. Choi Byung-yeop, Executive Director of Digital Innovation at Dongwha Enterprise, said, "We will expand the production innovation of the smart factory platform to optimize operations not only domestically but also at overseas production bases, thereby enhancing global market competitiveness."

Yujin Corporation Cheonan Ready-Mix Concrete Plant. [Photo by Yujin Corporation]

At Yujin Enterprise’s ready-mix concrete plant in Cheonan, Chungnam, it is impossible to imagine a chimney. This site is the vanguard of Yujin Enterprise’s ‘100% automated ready-mix concrete plant’ to be completed in 2027. Ready-mix concrete is made by mixing cement, aggregates, water, and admixtures. Since the types of ready-mix concrete required vary depending on the building’s purpose, the mixing ratios also differ. The Cheonan plant standardized 40 ready-mix concrete product specifications to create mixing codes, and raw materials are automatically mixed according to the codes as soon as an order is placed.

Because an 80GHz high-frequency radar sensor measures the height of raw materials piled in silos to a precision of 0.01 meters, the defect rate is close to zero. The control room monitors the operation process with high-definition cameras attached to all equipment. Monitoring and equipment control can also be performed via a smartphone application, so there are no location restrictions.

The ready-mix concrete loading process, which previously could only be checked by “eyeballing,” has also been automated. To load ready-mix concrete onto mixer trucks, the trucks had to be parked precisely under the batch plant (ready-mix concrete production equipment). It was common to have to move forward and backward several times to get into position, but now sensors accurately indicate the stopping position, and if the sensor does not confirm the position, the concrete will not be released from the equipment.

At the Cheonan plant control room, the vehicle control system monitors the mixer trucks’ speed, location, mixing status, and loading amount in real time to prevent overloading and misdelivery in advance. Yujin Enterprise plans to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technology within the year. A Yujin Enterprise official explained, "As construction and architectural technologies advance, ready-mix concrete manufacturing technology is also rapidly evolving," adding, "Although the tall silo looks like a chimney, inside it is a smart manufacturing plant equipped with cutting-edge devices."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.