Siemens, a pioneer in industrial digitalization, has brought artificial intelligence and data analytics to the heart of production with a digital transformation project implemented at BSH Home Appliances’ Çerkezköy campus in Turkey. Integrated into the plastic drum production process of BSH Turkey’s washing machines, Siemens Industrial Edge technology has achieved striking results in terms of sustainability, efficiency, and quality.
Siemens, through its digital transformation project at BSH Home Appliances’ Çerkezköy campus in Turkey, has integrated artificial intelligence and data analytics into production processes. The Siemens Industrial Edge technology, integrated into the plastic drum production line at the BSH Çerkezköy Washing Machine Factory, has yielded impressive results in many areas, from sustainability and efficiency to quality management. The “Production Control Tower,” developed with an EdgeAI-based system, enables real-time analysis of data collected from the field, the detection of anomalies using artificial intelligence algorithms, and performance comparisons between machines producing the same product. All these new processes were integrated in a short period of one year, without ever stopping the production line, using a flexible and secure architecture.
BSH Turkey CTO & COO Hakan Mandalı said, “As BSH Turkey, this digital transformation project we carried out with Siemens has opened the doors to a new era in production technologies. With Siemens Industrial Edge and AI-powered systems, we have not only increased our efficiency but also raised the bar in sustainability and quality. The fact that this system, implemented for the first time in BSH Turkey, serves as an example on a global scale is an indicator of our digital transformation vision and the strong synergy we have established with our business partners.”
Creating Value Across a Wide Range
In his assessment of the project, Kerim Oal, General Manager of Siemens Turkey Digital Industrial, stated: “This project clearly demonstrates how IT capabilities can be integrated into production processes with Siemens’ open and compatible product portfolio. Our contributions to industrial digitalization with Siemens Xcelerator are evident in the secure and seamless integration of our customer’s system with different components. We create value across a wide range, from data analysis to artificial intelligence. We are building the production systems of the future today. With this exemplary project, we continue to add technological value to production processes, be a solution partner in our business partners’ digital transformation journeys, and support sustainable industry.”
Data Managed from a Single Point
BSH Turkey, by choosing Siemens Industrial Edge technology, has created end-to-end value in energy efficiency and sustainable production, beyond high reliability and strong integration capabilities. Industrial Edge, part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, enables easy data collection from the field in the washing machine drum production line, field-level analysis, increased operational efficiency in production with analysis outputs, reduction of quality problems and unplanned downtime, creation and recording of product identity for each drum produced, tracking of semi-finished products, monitoring of operator targets, and full integration with IT layers. This creates a central platform between IT and OT systems, making it possible to manage data from a single point. By using advanced technologies in the Industrial Edge platform to optimize BSH’s processes, detect anomalies with AI-powered algorithms, increase efficiency, and improve quality processes, both the technological level and flexibility of the production process have been enhanced. This solution also integrates with digital twin processes, a secure cloud environment, and data monitoring systems with visual inspection.
Operations Now Managed Better
Plastic drum production is managed with automated controls using AI-powered Industrial Edge, assigning a unique identification number to each drum. Process data such as energy consumption, performance, and quality are analyzed on Siemens Industrial Edge and the cloud. The system learns from anomaly models, automatically stopping machines, identifying root causes, and informing engineers. Models improved with historical data increase the system’s accuracy, enabling proactive measures.
Contribution to Efficiency
Following the implementation, overall equipment efficiency increased by 20%, while energy consumption decreased by 25%. This increase in efficiency also contributed to BSH Turkey’s sustainability goals. Each product is traceable with its unique digital identity, preventing substandard products and increasing both customer satisfaction and brand trust. The project stood out not only for its technical achievements but also for its strategic results. BSH Çerkezköy Washing Machine Factory was awarded the “BSH Global Production Technology of the Year Award” last year for this application. This system, implemented for the first time in Turkey by BSH, serves as an example for other BSH production facilities globally.